Mike and Carol

Ed and Nancy, welcome and congrats on your new Ollie! We were new RV owners as well and you don’t need to be too concerned. You will learn as you go and it will be fun with interesting stories and experiences to share along the way. You’ve probably already gleaned a lot of information from here and there a plenty of owners willing to provide information and advice, so take advantage. Mike

This is a good recommendation. Look for a truck that has the tow package with integrated brake controller and the biggest fuel tank. Fuel capacity and management are important when traveling the open spaces in the western US. Mike

Yes, Oliver did ask for owners to send them recommended repair shops 2 or 3 years ago. I sent them Boerne RV Repair where I go. I don’t know how many others submitted anything. If you have a business you’ve used I’m sure Jason would appreciate knowing. Mike

John, that is an interesting question. First, I think Oliver anticipates warranty work being done locally and then reimbursed. I have a local RV repair shop here in Boerne that I use (as does Pete Marks). They do good work at a fair price. Oliver has reimbursed me for warranty work they did. After that, I think most Oliver owners are not as set as you are as far as not traveling to certain regions or the other half of the US. We’ve had warranty work and modifications done in Hohenwald like many others and look forward to the trip and the sites along the way and in the central TN area. We always plan a few days in Nashville to go to the Opry and other music venues. If there was an Oliver sponsored Texas repair facility I would probably still go to my local (5 miles away) repair shop for immediate problems. The western US is pretty big and wherever they located a facility it would be a long way for a lot of western US owners. They are better off finding a local shop. It would be interesting to hear from other western US owners! Mike

I thought of that but he won’t let it go!

This one is hanging on the wall of my brother’s back porch....

Welcome to the group! It sounds like you’ve done good research and are reaching the same conclusions many of us did. We’ve been out in hail, half inch, and there is no sign of any damage. I was concerned with the solar panels and AC cover, but there is no evidence of ever being in hail. Southwest MO is a great part of the country. I was born just across the border in Pittsburg, KS and my dads family is all from Joplin/Carthage/Asbury, so we spent considerable time there. Mike

Aloha and welcome! There was a short discussion years ago asking about Olivers for rent. I don’t remember it going too far, most of us aren’t out of them long enough to rent them. There are other RVs for rent and you can get an idea of the RV life, just not in an Ollie. There are lots of folks happy to show their trailer and spend whatever time you would need. While in St Louis you could take a few days and drive down to Hohenwald and talk to the crew and get a tour. It’s an eye opener! We lived in Hawaii for a few years in the early 80’s, our son was born at Tripler. I worked up at Camp Smith. Great memories. Mike

We drive a Ram 1500, 5.7L, big gas tank, brake controller, 3.92 rear end. No problems towing our Elite II. We use the Andersen and it really isn’t an issue or a hassle to use, you just need to know how to use it. The Andersen part of hitching or unhitching is only a minute or less. We’ve got 70K miles in about two and a half years, over half towing. We like it. Next summer (2020) I will look to trade it in and will probably look hard at the new Ram 2500 with the 6.4L V8. One option on both the 1500 ad 2500 I will require is the Ram Box. I dislike always having a couple of tool boxes in the bed, especially when I’ve got all our camping stuff back there too. All that tool box stuff can go in the Ram Boxes and can be accessible without digging under camping stuff in the bed. The big gas tank is also a must. F150 owners (I used to be one) are a happy bunch and the 3.5L is a good tow engine. I just question longevity of the turbo V6 versus a big V8 as the miles roll up. Mike

I have also noticed a lack of information on Recreation.gov. I worked for Booz Allen Hamilton for 18 months in between my career as an Army officer and my career as an Army civil servant. It is a good company (despite the Snowden episode) that works hard to provide quality service and takes care of their employees. If they bid and were awarded a contract to take over recreation.gov they will meet the contract requirements and milestones, whatever the federal government decided to put into the contract. It won’t be fast enough for most of us - I’ve already been frustrated by the lack of site information on campgrounds where I’ve tried to make reservations. Mike

We will! Mike

Welcome GraniteStaters! My cousin lives in NH and we’re planning a visit and maybe then head up to Maine. I’m glad you were able to do the tour, it’s an eye opener and provides confidence on such a significant expenditure. The service and support continues after you pick up. You’ll get lots of advice and opinions on tow vehicles. We like our Ram 1500, it does a fine job and is a comforable daily driver. I may go with a 2500 next time because, well, bigger must be better! Mike

I have used my jacks to lift the wheels off the ground for wheel balancing. It was only for 15-30 minutes and one side at a time. I don’t think that should be an issue. Long term storage with that much on the jacks is a different story, in my view. Based on current guidance from Oliver and from the manufacturer I would be cautious about leaving my trailer elevated on the jacks for any longer period of time, even when camping. As far as flatspotting the tires, the most our trailer sits unmoved is maybe a couple of months on a gravel pad. I don’t do anything as far as taking weight of the tires and we’ve had no issues at all. 6 months might make a difference, especially if the tires aren’t aired up enough, but I don’t think I’d do anything different. Mike

I don’t know Ken. The more I think about it the more it seems like it should be something in the propane supply to the fridge, but it sounds like you’ve done a thorough check from the tanks to the fridge. Ours is either on 110 or propane, haven’t used 12v much and we’ve not had any issues. This is becoming an epic mystery. Mike

Our trailer was pre-Michelin and pre-Dexter EZ Flex. We left the factory at 80psi in our BF Goodrich tires. Our first year we experienced overhead doors opening, wires coming off the water pump and electrical connections loosening. I aired down to 60psi and installed the Dexter and we’ve had no problems since. I may try going down to 55psi, but 60psi has been working well. I keep an eye on tire temperature on the TPMS and haven’t noticed much difference at the lower pressure. Mike

I lost all of my 110v outlets when on shore power last year. I checked everything I knew to check. Finally I took it to my local RV repair guy who found a lose connection in the silver junction box next to my inverter. There were also a couple of other lose connections at the fuse box. Once he tightened everything the problem was solved. You might just systematically go through your wiring and ensure everything is tight. I’m sure my problem was from the vibrations of many miles on the road, if things are not tightened down it won’t take much for things to get lose. Mike

This is my main app for campground planning. Since we mainly do national/state parks, COE, military and BLM camping this app is the one to use. Plus, I’ve emailed the developer with suggestions, corrections and questions and they are quick to respond. I second John’s recommendation. Mike

We always travel with water in the fresh tank. When we have city water I just hook up, leaving the water pump off, and things are fine. The occasional time I get overflow from the fresh tank is when I turn off city water, use the pump for a few minutes, turn the pump off, turn the city water back on and problem is fixed. Mike

20 PSI is pretty low. I have my pressure regulator set for 60 PSI. Occasionally when my fresh tank is full and I’m hooked up to city water I will get a steady trickle from my fresh tank overflow. It’s happened two or three times over the last few years. When it does, I turn off the city water and use the water pump for a few minutes then switch back and the trickle stops. It must be a valve issue somewhere, but since it happens so infrequently the fix is easier than troubleshooting/fixing! Mike

When we picked up our trailer we had a 2012 Tacoma. We were at the upper limit of its towing capability. As I’ve posted before, it did fine. We did about 6K miles with it. Did some Ozark mountain towing and bad weather towing. It did fine and I never felt like we were on the edge. What I didn’t like was the small fuel tank and limited cargo capacity - which combined with 100K miles “encouraged” me to look at a new TV. Our Ram 1500 is much better in all categories. We now have 70K miles on it, mostly towing, and I’m looking at upgrading again in the next 12-18 months to a 2500 or F250. Sometimes, actual experience will influence your decisions. Mike

Welcome, Celia! I’ve been using Rejex and am happy with the results. It does take some effort to put it on, so maybe I’ll try duragloss like Bill recommends. Also, you’ll be good with a 20a connection in your storage, no need for anything else. Mike

We are doing National Parks and hiking. We are on our way home now and just did Death Valley, Pinnacles and Yosemite National Parks this last month. We also spent a week in Napa and did some serious wine tasting. Enjoying some mountain scenery in New Mexico the next couple of days. We like photography too, with a Canon digital SLR and iPhone. But, we are amateur amateurs! Mike

Nan, you can do this. I had done no serious towing before picking up our Ollie. Hooking up with and Andersen hitch is not difficult once you know how to do it. Jason or one of the Oliver folks can give detailed instructions when you pick up. Backing is a learned skill, but the hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and going SLOW is the best advice. We just had a tight back in site at a state park near Phoenix this week and with the help of my neighbor across we got in on the first attempt. Mike

I had a 2012 Tacoma when we picked up our Ollie 3 years ago. It pulled fine. The issue for me became range with the smallish gas tank and limited cargo capacity of the bed. Our Ram 1500 is a fine tow vehicle, 70K miles so far. When it’s time to get something new I will be looking at the new Ram 2500 or other 3/4 ton.

SweetiePie, welcome to the group! There are some full timers living in their Ollie’s and others who spend months at a time. You’ll get lots of advice so feel free to ask questions! Mike