Mike and Carol

Congrats and see you at the rally! Mike

Great pics! Looks like it was a great trip.

When I looked at both valves when I disassembled them, they both looked very similar. I assumed they were both check valves. It makes sense that the one that screws into the tank is a spray. Mike

Good question. Also, why do I have two check valves, one connected to the other? I thought about just eliminating the bad one (gray in the picture) and just going straight to the one that screws into the tank (white one).

Just to close this out…. I ordered a replacement Thetford valve from Amazon, $8. It’s one in the picture in John’s post above. There are actually two valves, one inside the tank (white) which comes out when unscrewed and the gray one which is the one that went bad. I put on new thread tape and reinstalled and we’re back in business. The replacement is a little shorter than the original, but fit with no problem. I’ve seen some pictures of what is in other trailers and they are not all the same. Here’s the assembly and the new part. The white part on the right is the second valve that screws into the tank. The new black valve replaced the old gray. Here it is back in place.

John, here are links to my “fancy” (as Bill says) cord holder and cover. Cover Jack Post Cord Storage I don’t really have a clear picture of them on the trailer. I mount the storage thing high enough on the post so that when the plug is in it the jack cover is over the entire thing. It’s worked well and isn’t expensive. Mike

Don isn’t on the forum much anymore, he’s moved on to some very nice Australian trailers. You could send him a PM, I’m sure he’d answer right away. Mike

Like others, we got a cord holder that mounts to the front jack post. It covers the openings when the plug is seated. Then, we cover the whole thing with a heavy duty cover that goes over the top of the jack and extends down past the plug holder. Keeps it nice a dry. Mike

Avoid I-20 through Shreveport if at all possible. Worst stretch of interstate we’ve been on in a long time.

There is no need to connect and disconnect the flush hose when you flush. My hose has been connected for years. After I dump I simply cap the end and stow the hose in the bumper area still connected to the trailer. Mike

Quick connects help a lot when hooking up water….

This has been discussed several times over the years. I’d have a quieter AC and a larger black holding tank. Mike

Congrats on your new Oliver and successful trip, I’m sure there will be many more! Mike

Radiant heat is great. I remember our homes in Europe having radiant heat, either from wall radiators or heated floors. It’s very consistent, doesn’t vary like our forced air heating. Mike

It would seem to me that if Oliver uses a Suburban furnace that they would all act about the same. But, it doesn’t seem to be the case for some reason. You may be right that it depends on the individual furnace.

We dry camped at 9,100+ feet near RMNP this summer. Furnace, stove top, hot water all worked fine. So did the Weber and Blackstone. I know some folks have had issues, it just doesn’t seem consistent.

Look under the curb side bed. The silver ducting should be connected to the furnace and to the vents into the trailer.

Congrats on your order! Before you know it you’ll be on your way to Hohenwald to pick up your new Oliver. If you can attend a rally you will meet a bunch of Oliver owners. It seems that we run into fellow owners quite often all over the US. Look forward to meeting you. Mike

That’s a nice vehicle. I would recommend that you look at the Elite I, your Land Rover would do fine with it. The larger Elite II could also be towed by your Land Rover but you would be near the safety limits and would not have an enjoyable towing experience, especially in any mountains. The payload looks pretty good, remember that what you carry in your Land Rover (including you and your dog) + trailer tongue weight should be under your vehicles payload limit. Check yours, often payload is reduced with certain options. I’m not a Land Rover expert, but there are some here who should chime in. MIke

Yes, this is an interesting discussion. We’ve camped in mid to low 20s frequently and a few times in the teens but the daytime temps were upper 30s or higher. We did do four days in Durango once with temps in the teens and barely over freezing during the day. Kept the heat up and no issues. Some good suggestions here. Mike

The national parks are amazing, we’ve been to almost all of them. What kind of tow vehicle do you have? There is always a lot of discussion on payload capacity, tongue weight and tow weight. These are all things that should be considered to ensure you stay within the margin of safety while towing.

Hopefully, you don’t smell gas anymore. I can’t add anything to what John suggests above. I would be sure to check to make sure the ducting is connected and you aren’t just heating up in space between the hulls. Mike

Welcome, Adeline! Do you already have a tow vehicle? The bigger Elite II requires a lot more towing capability than the Elite I. If you will be traveling alone with just your dog, the Elite I would be easier to tow. What kind of travel are you interested in? Mainly campgrounds or also National Parks and camping off the grid? You’ll get lots of advice and good input here. Mike

It’s doable. We’ve done it twice and will probably do it again next summer. Our son and family live at the southern end (Durango) and we like Ridgway State Park. It’s the only road between the two! Mike

My only complaint about the regular toilet has nothing to do with the toilet, it is the size of the holding tank. It should be double what it is. If composting toilets were available when we ordered I would have considered it. Mike