Mike and Carol

That’s reasonable. I used 55 for a couple of years and have settled on 50 now for the last year or so.

We’ve stayed in MO state parks (just last month at Table Rock State Park near Branson) and had no out of state surcharge. We also stayed at Red Rock Canyon in OK a few years ago when it was still a state park and had a very nice stay, sounds like it has gone downhill since becoming private. Mike

Hello to the Elite II heading south on I-35 in Kansas just north of the Oklahoma border at around noon today. We were traveling without our trailer, which seemed really weird. Mike

Are you using your air conditioner?

I’ve changed and removed tires several times with the on board jacks. There are lots of threads discussing this. Mike

Welcome. This is a good place to ask questions. I lurk over on Escape forums and I think you’ll find a lot of good information here. Mike

I thought so! My son and his wife are class of 2004. I’m 1976 (genuine old grad), just had our 45th reunion. Mike

Looks great! I have to ask about the gray blanket with the gold stripe on your bed. It looks like the gray blanket that was on my cadet bed at West Point…. Mike

Good question. I am assuming that since I was charging the AGMs that the lithiums are getting some charge as we travel. I know whenever we arrive at a site we’re at or near 100% charge but that is probably largely due to the solar panels. I didn’t change anything that might affect TV charging. Mike

Not sure I understand. I have a Blue Sky solar controller. Last January I replaced my 4 AGM’s with two Battle Born Lithiums. I did 10 minutes of reprogramming of the Blue Sky and swapped out the 6 year old PD 4045 with a new one that is lithium capable. Done. The system has performed great during several months of camping. If I ever decide to sell, someone will be getting a great set up. No risk. Mike

I hope so! Thanks for the optimistic report!

I’m reading two issues here - winterization and batteries. Storing in PA or VA you’ll have to winterize. Storing in CA or AZ it depends. Where in CA or AZ? Both have regions where you would need to winterize. On my trailer when I had AGMs, Blue Sky solar controller and PD 4045 converter I just left the trailer plugged into a 20a outlet for up to 3 months and the batteries stayed charged. I don’t know about the current set up with the Zamp hardware or if it even makes a difference. If it is just in storage a normal 110 outlet should be fine if the trailer is just sitting there without anything being used. I’m sure an electrical guru will chime in on this! Mike

You should make reservations for weekends, most state parks get full on weekends. During the week there is better availability. Mike

An Oliver employee pulled that trailer to a rally a few years ago (before rally’s were moved to Alabama). The front was black, looked like a spray on bed liner and didn’t look bad. I’m sure it’s good protection. Mike

As Ralph said, it’s a big state. In the east you have tall trees and rolling hills, west is desert and mountains, north you have some big cities and more severe weather, south is warmer and access to beaches. Here in the middle/south generally nice weather and some big hills. Lot’s of good state parks. It depends on what you want to do and how long you want to stay at a location. Let us know what you prefer or are looking for. Mike

Don’t expect perfection. Your Oliver will be better built than about any other brand trailer out there, but will probably have a glitch or two. Mine did, I posted about it years ago, got it fixed (at Olivers expense) and have been camping trouble free since. Oliver doesn’t censor this forum, it’s all about owners helping owners here. Mike

There are others that can go farther back in Oliver history than I can but when we started looking 2015 there were very few Olivers on the road. Time on the “assembly line” was longer. There were not nearly as many units for service to work on. So, flexibility for mods and service projects was there. As Oliver went from one hundred trailers then to 1,000 or more now it resulted in that flexibility necessarily going away. I think you’ve got it figured out. Mike

Welcome to the forum. The main difference between new and old Olivers are the non-Oliver components (fridge, solar controller, microwave/convection, etc). The frame and body are pretty much unchanged over the years. Lots of experienced members here so feel free to ask any questions. Mike

I’ve never owned a Chevy truck… I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the truck manufacturers. I’ve owned Toyotas (2), Fords (3), Rams (3) and International Harvester (‘71 - a classic). All were good, I’m sure a Chevrolet or GMC would be good as well. In the current market you may not have a lot of choice, if it has the features and comfort you’re looking for it will be fine. Mike

Do a search on TPMS and you’ll find other threads over the years. I haven’t heard anything bad about the Tire Tracker and have been happy with my TST, so I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Mike

Our trailer came with a Blue Sky controller and Zamp panels, so it’s not an issue of mixing brands. I believe they went with the Zamp controller because it was simple to use and lithiums weren’t an option at the time. Mike

We don’t use a Dutch oven, we mostly grill on the Weber or Blackstone and keep meals very simple. We don’t have a convection oven but use the microwave occasionally to warm things up. Mike

If we have no other option (vault toilet or other) we can stretch it out to 4 maybe 5 days.

You haven’t mentioned where you might want to be camping. If you stay in Florida you should be okay with a Ranger. If you head north into the mountains in north GA and the Carolinas you will be less fine. Mountains and elevation in the west will be much more challenging. Payload capacities for trucks on the lot are usually much less than what is advertised. Once you add any options the payload decreases. I don’t know what the gas tank size is for a Ranger, but figure about 12 mpg at best and see how far you can go. Yes, you can always upgrade but probably at a higher cost than just starting out with a half ton. Have you considered an F150 or other brand 1500 without all the bells and whistles? Of course Oliver says you will be fine with a Ranger. “Fine” means a properly equipped Ranger will pull and Oliver. Again, a smaller truck means more work, less margin for error, less payload, less range. The decision needs to be what’s best for you and your current situation. If it’s a Ranger, go for it! Don’t let a truck decision spoil your Oliver acquisition process…. Mike

Wish it was more. It’s our limiting factor when boondocking.