Vector - Lanham

Hey John, Sweet, i'll have to get me some of that. Maybe i'll throw it in the Kubota too... You shall have pictures, hopefully i'll get some online next week, wanting a nice, foggy backdrop w/ the Truck (name under development). i'll order some of that ArchOil on my next Amazon Purchase.. sweet, and thank you... Live well friends. Vector

I got mine there as well, or maybe Bellville. It's all really just one city. Cool. I looked all over, almost went to Nebraska, but ended up over here...and i'm happy i did.

well, my hitch is a touch high. love the truck, but have to get an even or a drop hitch. what's the best height after the trailer is even. The good Oliver folks said 23.5 to 25 inch ball height before attachment. the XD just doesn't drop enough for that. i think i need to drop another 1.5 inches, maybe two. So far the Cummins is good, just a couple weeks of driving. i'll be towing it this week on a trip. First trip w/ the Oliver. Mechanics I know and the manual says to limit biodiesel and to use a cetane booster. Mr. Davies, please tell me which you recommend, i bought some Kleen or the time being. Really happy w/ the XD though. Earlier when I was testing it out w/ the trailer and put it into Tow mode, the kept the RPM's up a bit...i think it would probably tow fine in regular mode. Love the upgraded brake controller/integrated. That's nice. i know a guy w/ a Dodge 3500 Cummins and he deleted and retuned it and put a huge air intake on it...a monster. He greatly improved his gas mileage, but then he broke his transmission, twice. He was out around $5K or the fixes, but improved his MPG... :) Cool, stay in touch. Vector

Thanks boys, appreciate the good words and advice, as always. I like that break down kit. I put Sea Foam in my gassers and my tractors every fillup on the road, and every 1/4 (about) in my local area w/ trusted gasoline. I even put it in my 94 Chevy Heavy half, which still runs good (for sale :) $2950, and that beauty is yours...). I'm looking for a good rack for it. its an Oddysey, 3 seater, 1 seater, 2 seater, depending on your preference and how many vegetarians you're haulling :) Cool, stay well. Vector

Hey Buzzy, Went with my instinct after quite a lot of research and analysis..bordering on pathological ;). very happy w/ my TV...

Hey B, i'm similarly wired...i bought my Ollie without ever having seen one in person...i research...a lot...but i did buy my truck locally, which should help with the service..but they provided me a fair price I think, and a young kid made some coin..so i'm cool with that. thanks everybody for the advice. i'm a big feller, so i sat in some trucks. the ford i sat in wasn't a good fit for me, and i did like the GMC quite a bit. but i liked the Nissan best, the controls were oddly simpler and less complex, which suits me. Good Human Factors design.

Hey Fellow Ollie Cousins: I now have a new truck...TV...and it's...drum roll please. Nissan Titan xd....drove it home tonight...you can feel the torque, it's quite comfortable. it sits higher that Ole Rustie (94 c2500), but is also essentially a heavy half ton, which i simply love its engineering. By mostly coincidence, it matches up to the Ollie's color scheme (gray, white, a touch of black)...although that was kind of an accident too (i didn't call Anita quickly enough to get my custom..i delayed my decision.. my bad. but, although i had to sell he wife's good femur...it's worth it ;) Diesel baby. OF course, the price will now drop 5K, but i paid a little south of list...so not horrible. It will make the Ollie adventures more enjoyable though, and it has A/C for the chairs...which is horrible selfishness...but i'm looking forward to more roadtrips with it :)

Hey Don, My situation requires a truck...i like to haul dirt/mulch/plants every Spring and waste tons of my retirement $$ doing so...my i get a nice Psychic income from doing that, so what the heck. The Nissan isn't a 3/4 ton, kind of a tweener, but just love the 5.0 Cummins. Plus, mine will haul a kayak or canoe on top a significant amount of the time. Toureg is pretty sweet though. i'll be hauling 4 humans, and assorted gear/food/water, etc. So, truck is where i gotta go. Who does your maintenance on the Toureg? Dealership, you, mechanic? Alrighty, thanks. Vector

Presently, trying to make a choice between these two for a TV. I'll get the Crew Cab in either. Might be able to get a good price on the GMC, but i really like the design and engineering of the Nissan. Gasser or Diesel...the ever present debate. As i am a fulltime worker, i'll use both to get to work (i have my trusty 97 Honda beater, that keeps on going, dutifully, like a loving labrador). Anyway, GMC or Nissan? What ya'all think..I value your opinions.

wish i would have known that..i'll be back in that country again sometime.

Hey OF's (Oliver Friends), I picked mine up a month ago.Ollie is going back to her Mama for a little tune-up , and I"m adding the solar package while it's there, an arrangement that was part of the original purchase agreement. Should work out, as I"m busy w/ work for the next couple weeks and otherwise busy too. Definitely leaning toward the XD diesel. Diesel has a few drawbacks when it's cold or if they sit too long..but I think it'll be alright. Don't know if the new technology has eliminated some of those issues. I have a little Kubota tractor and I love it. A touch of maitenance, but no big deal. Gasser's or easier to deal with, but i like the idea of the diesel for the Ollie, though i think it can go either way. Vector.

Appreciate the insight Buzzy. I like that truck that you bought, nice choice. That's on my short list..we'll see what the pricing works out to. thanks. Vector.

Thanks Buzzy. Working on getting approval from my CFO (Chief Female-Financial Officer) Strong on the XD right now, good to hear about the Cummins good rep. 5.0 TD, sounds about right for what I would like it for. I think i'll get 4 wheel drive, just for those slick spots, where it might be wet when you're turning around...i'll just retire later Know anything about the Aisin transmission? thanks.

Thanks Buzzy. Working on getting approval from my CFO (Chief Female-Financial Officer) Strong on the XD right now, good to hear about the Cummins good rep. 5.0 TD, sounds about right for what I would like it for. I think i'll get 4 wheel drive, just for those slick spots, where it might be wet when you're turning around...i'll just retire later Know anything about the Aisin transmission? thanks.

Right now I think it is a bad converter/charger, or maybe the batteries were wired backwards...i'm guessing.

Quick tip, you need a small (don't recall) square head drive to unscrew the securing screw on the black panel. After that, just gently grab the edges of the panel, especially where the black plastic tabs are, and it will snap from its seat...least that's what it did for me.

Thanks for the response. Nice. Just checked,the 30 AMP breakers are fine. Photo's to follow. So a short somewhere in the trailer, guess it could be anywhere on the thing? Hmmm..

I'm having problems with the circuit and charging my batteries. I have the AGM's x 4. While at the campground, i had some LED's flicker, and metioned this , but kind of forgot about it as a last minute fix overtook our time. So, get home, store the Ollie. Get it out and bring tot he house, and there is no battery power. Just enough to do the jacks,but it doesn't sound good. When i connect to shore power, the Sea Dog 40 am breaker kicks ( the one beneath the dinette on Port Side). I reset the Sea Dog, it clicks off and stops the circuit. With shore power, apparently all of the products were functioning, the lights anyway. Then I went out tonight when i didn't have to worry about being pelted by a 7 year old's water baloon (and it's quiet)...but now I hear a little fan come on on the little black breaker panel, on the left side, i can feel a little heat and then the Sea Dog trips again. This is what has been happening the whole time. I suspect it was doing that at the camp ground. Maybe under-powered, I don't know. Any thoughts? Is it a blown fuse? ?

When I purchased my Elite (18.5) in April 2015, I had the Coleman AC. On our first trip, we received some courteous complaints regarding the AC noise. The last night, we experienced some electrical problems. I contacted Oliver and arranged to have my AC changed out. I had a Dometic Penguin installed. Comparison of the two Coleman- noisy outside. Inside seems to be somewhat noisy, especially without a method to measure sound levels it becomes more of an opinion. My wife and I both agree, the Coleman is more noisy outside, less noisy inside. Dometic- definately quieter outside. Inside, much more noisy than the Coleman. Both units cool very well, no performance issues My humble opinion- Coleman exhausts their noise to the exterior. Dometic internalizes the noise. I would choose the Dometic over Coleman. After a few minutes,I do not hear the AC, I can hear the TV, and most important of all, Moma's HAPPY !! Cool, I was i was wondering about the differences.

So, even though there probably is not enough parasitic drain to cause a problem, in order to keep the solar panels charging the batteries without the parasitic drain, I should leave the red switch in the "on" position and push the red button on the breaker that turns the read-out panel lights off. My panel is exactly like the one shown by Carol and, therefore, should be very easy to "paint by number". Thanks Routlaw and those in Kansas for the help! Bill I'm having some issue with my batteries going dead. The "sea dog" switch keeps flipping off on its own when i'm plugged into shore power. and all of my batteries drained, but i have everything off..and to boot batteries won't get a charge at all, because the sea dog keeps flipping "off." I'm having a new sea dog sent to me tomorrow from Oliver. so, i may have to take it to a St. Louis camper place...man. i'm going to get the Solar put on it down in Hohenwald later this spring/summer. but, was wanting to get 'er done before the camping season.

Bob, if your travels, either way, take you through Kansas City, you are welcome to stop by, overnight or not, as we are a few miles just north of I70 between Lawrence, KS and KC. Always glad to meet other Ollie owners. Stan Hey Stan, How's it going. I come up to Kansas City and Lawrence once in a while (used to live in each)....pretty cool. We got our Ollie, tenative name "Campie" my daughter named it. My brother used to write for the Oskaloosa Independent and the Valley Falls Vindicator. Nice.

Really like this conversation, thanks to both of you. Any thoughts on the Nissan Titan XD? 5.0 Cummins TD and heavy frame? ..thanks. Vector Hi Manny, Sounds like you may be considering the purchase of a new or new-to-you tow vehicle? You expressed a preference for a mid-size SUV versus a pickup truck. Like yourself, I had a strong preference for an SUV but ended up purchasing a pickup truck to tow my future Elite II. I began in the customary manner with an understanding of the tow capacity as well as the pay load limits for the tow vehicles I preferred. I suspect my Ollie fully loaded will weigh around 6,000 pounds with a tongue weight of maybe 525 pounds. Since I hope to add into the tow vehicle people, sloppy dog, kayaks, outdoor gear, etc., I wanted a pay load capacity of at least 1200 pounds. The sloppy dog is not too heavy, but the sloppy people is where I pick up the added weight. Although there are many great tow vehicles on the market, you might seek a few added features which could make your life easier. The features I thought would be helpful for me are: 1. Tow Mirrors. 2. Integrated Trailer Brake Controller. 3. Extended Range Fuel Tank. 4. Navigation. 5. Rear View Camera. 6. Pro Trailer Backup Assist. 7. Hill Descent Control. 8. Hill Start Assist 9. Smart Trailer Tow Connector. Clearly, most of the features listed above are not required, but they can be helpful in functioning as a second set of eyes if you plan to travel solo. Just remember, as you add in options it can take away from the overall payload capacity for the tow vehicle. Three weeks ago, my tow vehicle (Ford F150) arrived and I was apprehensive about driving a full size pickup truck. My prior driving experience had been limited to compact cars and mid-size SUVs. I thought it might not be as maneuverable as I preferred and perhaps the ride would be too harsh. So far, I love the truck. All concerns have faded away. It is quiet, wicked fast (3.5L EB), great ride quality, very maneuverable, can tow over 11,000 pounds and has a payload capacity of 1777 pounds. I know it is overkill for towing an Elite II, but I should have no problems going up and over the White Mountains here in New Hampshire or the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I guess as long as it gets me out and about in a safe manner, it is a good tow vehicle for me. Buzzy

Thanks kindly Bill. Don't blame you..i'm gonna guess Boonville, NC Well, we're still working and have a social contract to raise these kiddos, so we'll be in the zip code for a while. Love Clayton, but i opted for nice little farm town w/ a great golf scene. Both have their advantages. Good stuff. Anita and Justin have constantly provided good info to me, and so has ole Mountainborn, all three are very helpful. thanks for the wisdom. v/r, Vector.