Mike and Carol

BLM - Bureau of Land Management. A lot of land in the western US is public and BLM managed. For instance, at Quartzsite, AZ where there is a fiberglass rally every winter (January) there are miles and miles of BLM land where you can camp for free. No utilities or designated sites, just lots of land. If you use the Ultimate US Public Campground App it will show BLM, FS (Forest Service) and utility areas where you can camp, state and national parks as well as county and municipal campgrounds. It’s the app I use for planning. If I can’t find anything near where we’re going then I go to Allstays which shows commercial RV parks. Mike

Sounds like a very capable truck to me. Should have no problem pulling and Oliver. Mike

We’ve never stopped at a Walmart, but we have stopped at many Cracker Barrel’s and Rest Stops. These locations were all level enough that we didn’t unhook. The main reason you might need to unhook is if you had to lower the tongue. I have put down the jacks, but I have fairly tall blocks so the jacks don’t extend too far. The rest stops we’ve stayed at had RV parking and 24 hour security. We’ve overnighted at parks and BLM spots and we have had to unhook to get level at some of them. We haven’t tried truck stops yet (Pilot, Flying J or Love’s). Once you get the hang of the Andersen Hitch it goes on/off pretty quickly. Mike

We have a single outside sensor, too. I keep it unattached and just move it around as the sun moves around. Usually twice a day. If someone comes up with a good mounting spot please share! I’ve thought about mounting it in with the propane tanks, maybe against the outside trailer wall. I don’t know.... Mike

We have not had any problems using the MW when the AC was on. The AC is on its own breaker and the MW simply plugs into a 110 outlet on a separate circuit. So, we are careful when using the MW and another appliance plugged into a 110 outlet. I’m not an electrical expert, but that is my understanding of how things are configured. Having said that..... We had all of our 110 outlets go dead last winter. I checked and rechecked and couldn’t figure it out. So I went to my local RV repair guy and had him check. He found a lose cable in the junction box next to the inverter (under the dinette seat) and also a burned wire in the back of the circuit breaker box. He tightened the cable and replaced the wire in the box and also made sure everything else was tight. Problem solved. I supppose connections can loosen as the miles increase (we had about 30K miles on our trailer when this happened). Mike

Tom and Marie, welcome to you as well! September is going to be a great delivery month. We have fond memories of our time living in Augusta. Mike

Tom and Linda, welcome! September is right around the corner.... Mike

I had a TRD Supercharger on my 2012 Tacoma. I understand fun factor! Mike

I towed with a 2012 Tacoma for the first 6K miles of my Elite II. It had a tow weight of 6500lbs and tongue weight of 650lbs. If the Honda has a tow weight of 5000lbs you are already at or near the limit as it comes off the factory floor. I would be concerned with suspension and brake limitations with a 5000lb weight limit. I think “stopping” and handling curves and downhills is more important than “going”. I traded my Tacoma (100K+ miles) for a larger truck to get a larger gas tank and more load capacity. I was stopping every 150 miles for gas with the Tacoma. We don’t really carry much more now, but it’s just nice not to be pushing the limits. Since it is such a low mileage vehicle it might get a decent sale price or trade in for something more capable. Mike

John and Susan, welcome to the group from just down the road near San Antonio. The tour is a real eye opener. It’s good to know how our trailers are built. Lots of smart folks hang out here so don’t hesitate to ask questions! Mike

May 16-19 should be the dates. Thursday - Sunday. I’m sure Coy will weigh in to verify, he’s been traveling but is also already laying the groundwork for next spring. Should be a great time! Mike

Welcome to the group! Ours did not come with metal stems. I bought the TST TPMS and had metal stems installed then rebalanced the wheels with the TPMS mounted. Mike

Sherry, good info. I’m going to try the test on my iPhone. We use our cell booster quite a bit. Our iPhones are our hotspots for internet that we connect our iPads and MacBook to, we have the AT&T unlimited data plan. We find sitting at the dinette table that the booster gives us 1 or 2 more bars of signal strength. We don’t have a WiFi booster. Mike

We have never had an issue with mold. We’ve camped in cold weather (20s) and hot weather and have not had any significant moisture issues and no mold at all. Mike

It’s a good looking truck, Steve. Hook up the Ollie and take it for a spin up the Trace to see how it does! Mike

It’s been a year since we stuck our magnets on and they show no signs of coming off! Glad it’s working for you. Mike

Good questions. I’m sure some of our technically gifted owners will weigh in... from a technically non-gifted owner here’s how I think about it. If you’re not hooked to shore power many features of your trailer are powered. TV, Furrion, water pump, cell/WiFi booster, lights. Those all run on 12V. The fridge can run off anything, propane, 110V or 12V - you can decide. The water heater can be either 110V or propane (if you have the tank). The microwave is 110V as is anything that plugs into a 110V outlet. So, if you’re on a generator, all your 12V stuff works off batteries. Your AC is on the generator. If you have the hot water tank it could run off the generator or off propane if you choose. Anything you plug into at 110V outlet will run off your generator. Hope this makes sense! Mike

I try to fill while level. It’s a long flat tank so any elevation up or down will affect how much water you can get in. Mike

Once you know how to use the Andersen it only adds a minute to the hitching and unhitching process. If you do get it, just ask Jason or whoever does your orientation about it. It’s not a big deal. Mike

Ken, I understand the trepidation about the decisions you need to make for you trailer purchase. I can’t open your spreadsheet so I’ll just offer some comments in general. You have plenty of truck for a LEII. Some will tell you that an Andersen hitch is not needed and there are those who tow without one and have no issues. I got the Andersen because my initial truck was a Toyota Tacoma. I use it with my Ram now and am still happy with it and the extra margin of error that it provides. Other options we have that I can comment on: -Solar and AGM battery upgrade. Well worth the investment. We boondock about 25% of the time and it sure is nice to have. -Cell booster. We have ATT unlimited data so our iPhones are hotspots. The cell booster has come in handy. -Propane quick connects: we have one in the front and use it all the time. I will probably have one added in the back. We like the look of our fiber granite option, but it is a matter of personal taste. The composting toilet and tankless water heater weren’t available for us when we ordered in 2015. Our toilet works fine and dumping isn’t an issue. Our hot water heater is fine. If there are specific options you have questions about list them in your post and I’m sure you’ll get lots of advice! Don’t worry about pulling the trigger (even though it’s an inanimate object!), you’ll have many miles of fun and adventure. Mike

Our smoke alarm went off in the middle of the night last month. We had windows open with a nice breeze. The reset button wouldn’t silence the thing so I just took out the batteries. I tried putting in new batteries and the thing went off again 10 minutes later. Once we got home I brought it in the house and replaced batteries one more time. No change. Ordered a new one off Amazon (also noticed Walmart has them). In the reviews there were many complaints that these First Alert detectors don’t last too long. Ours was dated Nov ‘15 so it was less than three years. Mike

I blow out the channels on all 5 windows with compressed air after each trip. That includes lifting the thick black rubber weatherstripping to clean under as well. We’ve been in some pretty bad downpours and haven’t experienced any leakage yet. Mike

Ollies everywhere!

I’ve had repairs done locally and was promptly reimbursed by Oliver. I’ve also just asked for repair parts for things I could do myself and they were promptly shipped. Customer service has been excellent. We ordered in 2015 so I can’t offer a current wait time estimate. As Roguebooks mentions above, they have some available. I’d call Anita or Heather in the sales office for more information. Mike