Mike and Carol

This what I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01KV5WC4K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1 It’s not available now but the dimensions are listed.

We often carry a large plastic bin in the backseat area of the truck for extra clothes when we’re on an extended trip through different weather areas. Your Rebel has a cavernous back seat area, plenty of room to carry clothing that won’t fit in the trailer cubbies. Mike

Bill, congratulations on your order! Another Texas Oliver. Looking forward to meeting you out on the road. Mike

Looks great, good paint match!

If I remember correctly you get about 5 gallons of propane in a 20lb tank and 7 gallons in a 30lb tank. The 30 is heavier and is difficult for some folks to lift over the fiberglass enclosure when full. Also, with 20lb you can exchange them more easily than a 30lb. With the 30lb you generally have to find a place to fill it. We also carry a 20lb in the truck for our fire pit and as general backup. We’re happy with the 30s, but could live with 20s. Agree with Sherry, solar is what really matters. Mike

We have traveled extensively through out the southwest. Our 2016 has the 320W solar and 4 AGMs and has proven to be enough to keep up with our needs. When boondocking we do heat water for coffee on the cooktop but we do occasionally use the microwave. Also, Carol will use her blow dryer every few days. Our south west camping includes west TX, NM, AZ (north and south) southern CA (Joshua Tree) and southern UT. The only time I had to pull out the generator (2K Champion) recently was last fall (Oct ‘19) when we were camping at Grand Teton NP. We had a 3 or 4 day stretch of cold nights and very cloudy rainy days. Furnace ran all night and the solar never fully charged our batteries. I don’t think that is something you will encounter in the southwest. Plenty of sun in AZ! We’ll be there the month of January into February. We spent last January in NM and AZ and had no issues with our solar keeping up. Mike

Better sound. Replacing the standard speakers with an upgraded model should result in crisper highs and less muddled midrange, especially with a two way speaker. I looked at adding a subwoofer in the space under the street side bed where my Blue Sky solar controller is. There is a subwoofer out connection on the back of the Furrion. Other projects took priority and we’ve been okay with the sound from the standard Jensens. They can get a little boomie and muddled sometimes, depending on what we’re listening to. I don’t like the placement of the speakers at the bathroom end, one pointing forward and one pointing down. Mike

We have been making our way around the National Parks and Monuments and enjoy camping there. A lot of NP/NM campgrounds have no hookups. At those locations we relied on our solar, 4 AGMs and inverter. It was also nice to have the larger propane tanks for the furnace, hot water and cook top. If you were going to camp at FHU sites those options are much less important. Mike

You could try sending Don a PM. He’s not on the forum any more since he sold his Oliver and moved on to an Australian off road RV. Unless he deleted his account he would still get the PM. I thought about upgrading but the space inside the trailer is small and we don’t do high volume so the standard speakers have been fine. Mike

I have a feeling it won’t be too long and you’ll be giving advice and sharing knowledge here. A lot of us were in you shoes not long ago. You are asking the right questions and doing your homework and are on the right track! Mike

The manual for a 2020 Rebel says that a WDH is “recommended” for tongue weights over 500 lbs. I don’t think the tongue weight for an Elite exceeds 500lbs.

You won’t need an Andersen with your new Rebel towing an Elite I. We are driving the same truck and I’ve considered ditching my Andersen and getting airbags for towing my Elite II. I mounted a light weight aluminum box on my tongue to carry blocks and chocks. It was only about $100 and has worked well the last few years. Congrats on the new truck! Mike

I did too! But, it’s good advice. Get the basics then add as you need. Between Amazon, Camping World and Walmart getting what you need is not difficult.

Jerome is an interesting visit, but not a place to live!

It was a little more than a reboot. Disconnect from power and let sit for 6 hours before reconnecting. I was surprised at the length of time with no power, but it worked.

Prescott is north of Phoenix. We’ve been through Prescott but didn’t spend enough time there to form an opinion. Sedona is up closer to Flagstaff and has a higher cost of living and is more touristy than Prescott. We have friends who live in Sedona and while it is very scenic they say there is a lot of tourist traffic. I previously mentioned Sierra Vista, AZ - we lived there many years and it is nice. We go back quite often to visit friends. There are also some Oliver owners that live there. We also have friends in Payson, also a nice medium sized town close to some nice camping areas and just an hour from Phoenix but with totally different weather. We were just there in August and it’s a town we could live in. Mike

We had an inverter issue a few years ago and the Xantrex support team was excellent. Walked me through a bunch of troubleshooting until we did a hard reset that did the trick. Mike

Although we try to avoid the heat (not easy living in south Texas) we’ve camped in temps above 100 numerous times. Our AC is 13.5K but it kept us plenty cool on Low. You aren’t cooling a very large area. I think you should be fine. Mike

1. Payson, AZ. Medium size. 5200 elevation’. 1 hour from Phoenix. Moderate weather. 2. Sierra Vista, AZ. Medium size. 5200’ elevation. 1 hour from Tucson. Moderate weather.

My son and family live in Durango, CO. It snowed today. Icicles everywhere.

We camped outside of Flagstaff in August, temps were in the 50s at night.

Yes. If I get another Ram (either 1500 or 2500) I will get the Ram Box option. I am not fond of the look of a cap/canopy on a pickup. I prefer the look of a tonneau cover. The seals work well, I’ve not noticed any moisture inside after a rain or after washing. I keep a number of tools, bungies, and other things that I would not want to get wet in there. If the cover of the Ram Box was a drop door design I think more customers would get that option so they had more options as far as covering the bed, but I’m happy with the boxes and the tonneau cover.

I’ve had Ram 1500s with and without the Ram Boxes. I used a Bakflip tri-fold tonneau cover on both which provides nice security for stuff in the bed. I don’t mind the squared sides of the bed with the Ram Box option. That space isn’t always real usable anyway and I like being able to put tools, supplies and other things that need to be accessible in each Ram Box. If you are going to go with a cap, like John says, don’t get them.

January is a good time to visit parts of the southwest. We plan on leaving the first week in January to spend all of January in Arizona and then possibly do some southern Utah before coming home. John’s advice is good. January in southern AZ is good, January in northern AZ can get dicey. Flagstaff and even Sedona to some degree will have lots of snow off and on. Southern UT and NV are usually good but can have some occasional weather. Elevation increases cold and precipitation. You haven’t said what kind of camping you do. We avoid commercial RV parks and stay at state and national parks, COE, FS and BLM areas. Right now, NM is pretty much still closed down as far as state parks and other public areas go. AZ is open, we will be staying at Kartchner Caverns SP, Catalina SP in Tucson, Lost Dutchman SP near Phoenix and Fool Hollow SP. The issue you might have with AZ state parks is that they are hard to get into. We made our reservations 6-12 months ago. Same with other public campgrounds, AZ is popular that time of year. Texas is open and has some nice state parks and other public campgrounds. Mother Neff SP outside of Waco is nice and there are a number of nice state parks between Austin and San Antonio. If you are traveling in January/February there can be some inclement weather along I-40. I-10 across southern TX through NM into AZ is pretty safe. Southern UT is nice. Any or all of the national parks are well worth visiting. There are some nice public campgrounds outside Arches and Canyonlands around Moab. Mesa Verde NP is also worth a visit, being in southwest Colorado it doesn’t get the same cold and snow you associate with Colorado. There is also nice camping around Lake Meade in NW AZ and up into southern NV. I don’t have any experience with commercial RV parks. Since NM has been closed down for COVID we do stay at a very small commercial park in Roswell when we’re going to Colorado. Mike

Mine isn’t black but it’s close....