Mike and Carol

Drove over to the trailer today to adjust my Andersen hitch to the new truck which sits over an inch taller than the 2016 Ram. With no adjustments it was 25.5” to the top of the ball. I was in the bottom two holes in the ball mount so I had to remove the ball assembly and flip the mount over to use the top two holes. That made the top of the ball sit at exactly 23.5”. When I lowered the trailer the truck went down about 1.5” without the Andersen. With the WDH it was just above 22.5” at the top of the ball. When I used a level on the trailer, it was right at level. That is with an empty truck. Once I load the bed with camping stuff I should be very slightly nose down. We’ll load up this weekend for a Monday departure to points west for Jan/Feb and should get a better idea if any adjustments are needed.

Ray, good info. For those of us less experienced in navigating off-road it’s good to learn from those who know. I’ve also followed your latest thread on Airforums. Always learning... John, good info as well. I assume you don’t need cell service to use the apps you discuss? I carry an older Garmin to use when we’re out of cell coverage. I’m thinking the paper maps discussed above might be worthwhile to have on hand. Mike

I use 10’ too. If it’s lower I’m going to get out and check. Some of those RV owners in the video don’t seem to have a clue. I can cut a little bit of slack to the rental truck drivers, but not the RV drivers.

Your muddy boots will fit in the bottom of the closet. As Overland points out, it depends on what else you have in there. If I’ve taken shoes off outside due to mud and leave them under the step they are normally brought it at night and left on the mat by the door. I don’t like cold wet shoes either.

There have been a number of Oliver trips to Alaska. There are also some different ways owners have protected the front of their trailers. Do a search on “Alaska” and you will get a list of posts that should help with your questions. I’m sure those who made the trip will chime in too. Mike

Our pick up day in May 2016. Hooking #135 to our Tacoma. That’s Steve Landrum providing some expertise!

No ridicule here. I picked up and towed 6K miles with a 2012 Tacoma. As long as you are aware of your weight and know that hills will challenge you should be okay. The Oliver is a very towable trailer. You may get tired of not being able to carry much, or frequent stops at gas stations. That’s what drove me to a bigger truck. Mike

Congratulations and welcome! Looks like you had a great first trip. Thanks for the pictures, like the ones with snow! Mike

If you go to the link above there is a PowerPoint presentation (Camping for Dummies) that was given at last years rally. It’s a big file so you’ll have to download it. In it are some slides with pictures on shoe storage and trash plus a bunch of other stuff. We have a big command hook on the closet door that we hang a plastic shopping bag on for trash. We also have a small plastic trash can with a lid that gets lined with a plastic shopping bag. When we use it, it stays under the dinette or goes in the bathroom if we’re at the table. Others have put command hooks in other place for their trash. One owner converted the bottom two drawers in the kitchen to hold a full size trash can. Muddy shoes stay outside. You can set them behind the top step under the door. There is a bar that they can set on. I’ve left hiking shoes out all night, even in the rain and they did fine. Inside, some folks use one of those shoe pocket things you hang on the door - inside the closet door. Some put storage cubes on the inside of the closet for shoes. One owner cut a 4X4 white vinyl fence post to make a shelf and used command strips to put it under the lip of the double bed. I just did that a couple of months ago, keeps shoes off the floor. I’m sure there are other ideas. Mike

To cover the bathroom window I put up a couple of Command clips over the window and we slip a microfiber towel in when we want privacy. We have a couple microfiber towels that we use to wipe down everything after a shower. The wet one gets hung over the window to dry out after using it. Mike

I checked on proper chains since we’ll be visiting our son and family in Durango. The manual is pretty specific. I didn’t get the airbag option and will just continue with my Andersen that I’ve been using on my Tacoma then Ram 1500. This one sits higher than my old 1500 so some adjustment will be necessary. Mike

It rained all day yesterday as I was driving my SIL way over to IKEA to pick up some furniture. It is officially dirty! Any vehicle washing in this house is assigned to me. The Ram Boxes work well. Plenty of space, LED lights and 110V outlet. What I used to carry in a couple of toolboxes under all our camping stuff will go in them. Easy access. Mike

It’s got the standard 5.7. They had one with the eTorque, wrong color and wrong options. With 20% off MSRP they don’t stay on the lot long. I’ll post a picture with the trailer in a week or so, after the Christmas schedule slows down! Mike

OK. My itch is gone. I bought a Rebel, cargo weight on tire sticker is 1394 lbs, up from the ll65 lbs of the previous Rebel I was looking at. Had to forego a few options, mainly the multifunction tailgate. As it turns out, options are heavy. The math says I will be at or under that 1394 lbs when I’m packed for camping with Ollie attached. Mike

Agree with Overland. A half ton is a fine TV for the big Oliver. I’ve towed over 50K miles with a Ram 1500. An F150, Chevy 1500 or GMC 1500 or Tundra will work fine if properly equipped. Bigger is better, so a 2500 from any manufacturer will provide an great towing experience, but half tons are fine.

We’ve been using a water softener for the past few years. I also use a filter before the softener, just a small Camco filter. We also carry bottled water for drinking and coffee making. We started with a big softener, 18K grain, I think. It was heavy. Last year I got a very small one, 3K grain that is very light and fits in the basement. The big one is now used for car/truck/trailer washing.

Priceless!

Indeed. It’s interesting that dealers are all over the map on weight. Throw in a WDH and there’s some wavering in what they say. My current Ram 2016 1500 does a fine job, and this 2020 Rebel should as well, it’s just hard to nail down the truth!

How does a WDH affect payload capacity, if at all? If I have 600 lbs of tongue weight and use the Andersen hitch, does any of the “weight distribution” affect the cargo number?

My Ram 1500 has been a good tow vehicle. Half tons will work.

You can sleep either way. Some put the head of the bed at the kitchen. We’ve done both. Either way, we just put a pillow behind and recline against the pantry or counter and watch.

That’s interesting. I wonder if the quad cab long bed is configured that much differently than the crew cab short bed.

Yes, we do this all the time!

Yep. Same here. Especially the getting older part.

I think at 1165 lbs the Rebel would work. You’ve been towing with your Raptor for a while!