John and Debbie

I think our group is pretty special, actually. A lot of intelligent, curious, and caring individuals. I read that the people who own Olivers are a close knit group and from what I have seen so far that seem to be the case.

So much to learn. I wonder if the buyers of cheap stick built trailers are so knowledgable about the precautions and safety measures needed.

Thanks. Everyone here is very helpful.

Is there a way to weigh the tongue weight? I picture some type of scale where you put the tongue on it.

I think I need the Anderson hitch on my 2017 Ford Expedition from what I have read so far. If I had a tv like your current one I would be OK. Thanks for your comments.

I watched a video of a trailer that was in sway and it caused a roll over of both the tv and the tt. I keep reading how great the Oliver tows. Has anyone had issues with sway with their Oliver? My wife wants an R-Pod but I read that the water tanks are not placed in the best position. I see so many huge trailers being pulled by what seems small tv's. This forum has a lot of knowledgeable people so you probably have had experiences with other tt brands before you saw the light and bit the bullet and bought your Oliver.

2) Tongue Wt. of EII - ours ranged from a low of 580lbs (full propane, full food, but empty water. no tongue box load) to as high as 730lbs one time where I had too much front loaded gear including the tongue box full of gear How do you measure your tongue weight?

Thanks. I thought that I had responded earlier to you, but being a newbie, I thought I would respond again. Our Expedition has the factory max towing so your experience was good to read. We may find that the Expedition won't have adequate power. I was hoping that we wouldn't need to change tv as I do like the vehicle. I can live with a vehicle having to work harder as long as it doesn't ruin it, but I don't want to get halfway up a hill and find out it can't make it up.

OK. One decision down. It looks like it's worth it for both rain and sun. Thanks. Hopefully the double hull design keeps the inside cooler than other stick built or single layer builds.

I can see that as a great reason to have one. We live in the Pacific Northwest where it rains a lot, except now! No rain for about two months now

The trailer window shades have dual shades, so maybe it's not necessary. I am not sure if there's any benefit for keeping heat out with the street side awning. Maybe with the dual hull, that's kept to a minimum anyway.

That makes sense. Another person wrote that it shields the windows on the street side. That made sense too. So many decisions.

As I understand it, the 2021 Elite2 comes with the curbside power awning. I have seen some comments that say that it retracts too easily due to slight wind. I can see that protecting the awning from damage would be good, but is there a work around to anchor it better if the wind is manageable or is it not a problem? One other option is the manual awning on the other side. I am looking at the options list and wondering if anyone has opinions on whether the streetside awning is worth considering. I would think that it might be since the sun might be on the curb side at one point in the day and on the street side at another time. This way you could move your folding chair from one side to another. Thanks for any comments. I know that I am asking a bunch of questions in the last month or so.

So many supply line issues. No bicycles, computer chips, now these toilets.

I saw an Ollie up close and personal here in Oregon at a campground. We haven't ordered one yet, but the quality is very good from what I could tell. I have been busy getting opinions on different options. I don't want to waste my time looking at cheap trailers. I have been interested in Bigfoot trailers, but the guy that I talked to had one of those and said the quality of the Oliiver is better.

Thanks John. That was very useful. I can see now that the Ollie will do either boondocking or full hook up very well. Everyone on the forum has been very helpful. I am getting my option list figured out. I think next month we will be ready to order.

It only has a fresh water tank that can be used to pump water up to the sink or shower. I used a five gallon jug for gray water. It has a Thetford toilet.

That was very helpful. Thanks. It made perfect sense.

I can't find this in a cursory look at the manual, but in a campground, can you hook up to water and drain the gray water into the site drain that each site has? Basically, can you bypass the holding tank?

The do not exceed number on the door jam of the 2017 Expedition is 1408 pounds. Because it's a 4x4 EL they list max towing capacity of 9,200 pounds. Maybe keep the weight in the trailer and the tv weight low.

Very useful checklist. I am leaning towards the conventional toilet now. To be brutally honest, for years we had a toilet in our pop up trailer but used it only for pee. We usually camp in state campgrounds.

Good question. Hopefully we will get an answer from someone that has a composting toilet. Very good question though.

Hi all, so I am looking at ordering an Oliver and am leaning towards a composting toilet. My wife is struggling with the ick factor, but I think dealing with a black tank has a certain ick factor for me as she would most likely be in the tv reading a book while I was out dealing with the clean out. I don't see any down side other than it's not as attractive a toilet as the standard one. Not a big concern and a composting toilet allows for boondocking. Has anyone experienced a con with these toilets?

I live in Beaverton, Oregon. Tow vehicle will be 2017 Ford Expedition with heavy duty tow package. I tried to find how to add that to my signature. I am not too tech savvy however.

Thanks