Mike and Carol

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.....

Agree, a label is fine - if you look at it! Damp feet can also be a great reminder. 😬

Charlie sent me several guards before the last rally when I gave the class Camping for Dummies. I gave away a couple and still have one. I’ll bring it to the next rally for someone. We’ve had ours on for 4 years, after someone’s backside turned our fridge off! Send him a PM and he should answer. I think his forum name is tractor1. Mike

John (Raspy) jumps on this forum if you PM him. He likes to talk about his McHitch and his Black Series! He’s also a big Oliver supporter over on the Fiberglass RV forums. Mike

Is Oliver still putting the Hull Number plaques inside the door? I spoke to Larry on the phone when I was trying to get onto the old forum. He was happy to get me on and also wanted to talk and ask about me and Carol and made me feel welcomed and comfortable well before we even ordered #135. Mike.

Tractor Supply sells a nice little Champion 2K that weighs 37lbs and is very quiet. $399, we got one for $349 on sale. It’s been very reliable.

I liked the AGMs because they are no maintenance. 5 years and I haven’t done anything to them except looking at them a few times a year. I don’t know that they charge any faster than the T105s or that they last longer, just simpler and easier to maintain. I’m hoping I can get a few more years out of them We got the 30lb propane tanks and have not had any issues with getting them filled. They are a bit heavier and more awkward to lift back into place when full but not an issue for me. Remember you can access the basement from a hatch under the bed. If it was available, I probably would have the nightstand basement access. Mike

Hey Gary, welcome and congrats on the new trailer. I think they are pretty accurate these days on delivery time. You’ll get lots of advice here so don’t hesitate to ask any questions! Mike

Hey Dave, welcome! You’ll be fine with the Touareg, we’ve also got some Audi Q7 TV’s that work well. We ordered our trailer 5 years ago so I’m not up to date on some of the current options. A lot of the options back then are standard now. There are no options that we ordered that we regret. It was our first trailer and first camping experience, so we were sort of buying blind. Things we’re glad we have are: solar, 4 AGM batteries, cell booster, a couple of extra 110V outlets. We weren’t sure if we would be boondockers, thought we’d be FHU folks. What we found out in our quest to see national parks is that a lot of those campgrounds don’t come with any hook ups! National Park campgrounds and other Corps of Engineer campgrounds, Forest Service and BLM campgrounds are in the most scenic areas often have no hook ups. So, we’ve become prolific boondockers. That is why I’m happy with the solar and extra batteries. Enjoy your factory tour! Mike

Our son and his family live in Durango, so we are pretty familiar with the area. We’ve camped at Great Sand Dunes NP (and all of the other NP’s in Colorado). We travel to Durango frequently, so maybe we’ll have a chance to cross paths. Mike

Welcome, Mike. If you ask you’ll get lots of input here on trailer options! Where in Colorado are you? Mike

The hose fittings are all just standard fittings. Any old hose will work. Not sure what you mean by “pump hose”. The procedure I use is I take my hose, screw it into the water source and then screw the other end into the connection on the trailer. Mike

Lexi, glad to have you on board working this event! My thought is that a Utah/Colorado event would be more accessible to those coming from the eastern states. A west coast event would be nice but you might limit those not west of the Rockies. We’ve got a year for planning.... Mike

This is common. It’s happened more than once to us too! Mike