Mike and Carol

My iPhone does what I need. I have an older Garmin that I keep up to date and carry for backup when we’re out of cell range.

We don’t have the keyless lock. Depending on how our trailer is sitting the deadbolt can bind both when locking and unlocking with the key. I have to push in on the door to relieve pressure so I don’t stress the key too much. Other times it is fine. If your unlocking motor is working it might be a case of the deadbolt binding and not retracting all the way. Just an idea. Mike

Nice looking trailer! Congrats and hope to see you out on the road. Mike

It’s a good question. I don’t know the origin but curbside is on the passenger side of your vehicle. Street side is the drivers side. Or, on the trailer, the side with the door is curbside. Now you know! Mike

I agree with this. At a dump station just be aware of front to back, with the front higher. If there aren’t folks waiting then you can fiddle with left to right, but I’ve found everything will drain fine if the front is a little higher than the back. Mike

Do a search for Tacoma’s. We towed our Elite II with the previous generation Tacoma. We were traveling fairly light and had the TRD Supercharger. We upgraded to a half ton because the gas tank was small and the drop in gas mileage meant we had to get gas way too frequently. We also wanted to carry more stuff for extended time on the road and the Tacoma was limited on payload.

When we started looking at Olivers in 2015 we were told that the back jacks could be used to raise the trailer for tire changing. They have since changed that guidance and don’t recommend using the back jacks for that. I can understand the liability issues. When I added the TST TPMS to my wheels I went in to my local tire shop to have metal stems installed and to have the tires rebalanced with the TPMS sensors. I got out my legos and 8” blocks and used the back jacks to raise the trailer, one side at a time to remove and balance the wheels. On our last trip, a grease cap came off one wheel and was rattling around inside the chrome hub cover. I used the jack to raise the trailer, remove the wheel and put things back in order. I’m not going to use those jacks to raise the trailer off the ground at a campsite for leveling. They are used for fine tuning only. But, for occasional jacking for wheel/tire work I will use the back jacks. Mike

We always run ours on Auto mode. If we’re plugged into shore power it goes to that. As soon as I unplug it goes to propane. I’ve never used 12V. Mike

More discussion here: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4513-nest-that-didn’t-last-very-long/

I agree with Steve. You can learn a lot from reading through this forum and asking questions. Our Oliver is our first RV and we had a lot to learn before we picked ours up. We were mentored by some experienced Oliver owners and are now pretty experienced campers. If you like the western US you will find lots of free boondocking spots. There are also lots of inexpensive COE/BLM/FS and other campgrounds. If you have a senior pass they are half price. There are apps that will show where these areas are, where dump stations are and where you can find free camping. Welcome! Mike

Welcome back, it has been a while. Glad to hear things worked out. I went back and re-read the entire thread, lots of good information here. Mike

Someone else will have to chime in here, I’ve never winterized. I don’t know how you would winterize just those areas and not the rest. If you’re driving all day in below freezing weather I would winterize everything. If it is only below freezing at night you should be all right.

For trips where towing temps are above freezing and nighttime temperatures are mid to high 20s I would not worry about winterizing. We’ve camped in the teens at night with and without hookups and had no issues. If you are going to have sustained temps in the 20s or below, day and night, then you might winterize or head to warmer temperatures. Mike

I’m a long time woodworker. What I’ve seen from Foy is top notch craftsmanship. If I was ordering a new trailer and wanted wood accents I would not get any fiber granite option and have Foy craft a custom interior for me. Mike

Dump station etiquette generally says that you shouldn’t take any more time than necessary. If I am using a dump station I ensure everything I need is accessible as soon as I get there. If the dump station isn’t level I try to pull in so the front is high, not always possible. If I need to, I put a tall block under the front jack and lift the front of the trailer and usually the back of the truck. I have also had to unhitch and raise. No big deal, if you socialize a little with your fellow campers in line nobody gets too excited about it. I’ve even had offers of help. I’ve noticed that RV’ers in general aren’t in too much of a hurry! As far as how high to raise the front, I use the bubble level on the jack (which I adjust frequently after leveling with a level), moving the bubble well out of the bullseye. Mike

You may be confusing the capacity of the Bulldog hitch with the weight of the Bulldog hitch. My Oliver weighed 5100 lbs (with the hitch) when it came out of the factory. I don’t know how much the hitch weighs, but stop by Tractor Supply and they have them on the shelf that you can pick up with one hand and look at. If your Escalade can tow 7800 lbs then it can tow an Elite II. Mike

It doesn’t matter what the valve in the shower is. You can drain the gray tank with it open or closed. Since we open it as soon as we set up it is usually open when we drain the gray tank if we’re at a full hook up site. The shower valve only prevents back flow from the gray tank into the bathroom floor when you are moving. It’s independent of the gray tank drain valve. Good luck and let us know what you find! Mike

There are three gates that open/close. The gray and black open when you pull the handles outside at the back of the trailer. The back flow gate (prevents gray water from flowing back from the tank into the shower pan) opens and closes with the handle in the bathroom down low just inside the door. Under the dinette seat closest to the bath are the black and backflow gates. The gray gate us under the bed on the side with the pantry. Look under the bed at the gate when it is closed. Then, go out and pull the cable to open it. Go back in and see if the gate opened. There is a cable that connects from the top to the gate that slides the gate up and down. If the cable is lose it might not be opening the gate enough. Mike

First thing I would try is to raise the front of the trailer to see if that helps. The gray tank is flat and sensitive to how level the trailer is. The black tank sits higher and is more square so it drains easier. If raising the front of the trailer doesn’t help, then I would check the gate which is under the street side bed closest to the pantry. I can’t imagine that the cable would come lose on such a new trailer but it would be worth a look. Mike

David, welcome to the group! We’re about the same age and I had several tours in Europe before retiring as well so we may have crossed paths somewhere. I’m sorry to hear about Kitty, traveling in retirement would have been such a joy. You’ll find a friendly community among Oliver owners who will be quick to welcome you in. If you’ve been on the forum for a while you know everyone is here to answer questions and help. Mike

They have a very popular YouTube channel. Do a search and you’ll find them.

Welcome MaryBeth to the group! Ask any questions we can help with, lots of knowledge from the folks on the forum. Our son and family live in Durango so we do Colorado frequently. Beautiful state. Mike

We were at Black Canyon a couple of years ago, so it probably wasn’t us. We also camped across from Sean and Kristy (LOLOHO) and their Airstream at Gros Ventre Campground at Grand Teton last year. Don’t think we’ve made it into any of their videos though! Highly recommend both of those parks. Black Canyon is pretty amazing. Mike

Welcome, we’re here to help! Mike

So, it looks like there are folks who spend a career building toilets.....