Overland

I don't think that a stainless plate would work with the magnetic mount, which is probably their reasoning. Though they could glue it down of course, which might be a better solution. Some washers would have prevented the screws from chipping the paint. They sell a marine mount and marine antenna that has a built in ground plane. Those look like a more 'oliver' solution than the antenna that comes with the kit.

Sorry about your troubles but thanks for posting them here so that those of us who haven't picked up ours know what to look for. I'm keeping a running list of things to check. Your trailer looks great - please keep us up to date on your adventures and modifications.

Can't answer your question, but I'll second your desire for the Blue Sea style switch panel. I'd gladly give up an overhead storage bin to have a nice instrument/switch panel where everything is together, easily accessed, and visible.

John, I thought you were planning to run a wired camera to the truck. Did you decide that it was going to be too much trouble or could you not find a good solution?

The WeberQ seems to be the go to grill from other threads we've had and also from what I've seen elsewhere. I'm going to try out the Charbroil Grill2Go only because we have an infrared grill here at home and really like it. I've seen some high end trailers/rv's that come with the pricy Solaire grills, so you might look at those also - I've read that if you get one of those to be sure to get the upgraded marine stainless since the regular one will discolor. If money were absolutely no object, I'd get a TEC Cherokee.

I think that the smaller eco diesels will get that mileage towing, especially if it's in something that's lighter and more aerodynamic than a truck. I have no problem believing that Reed and Karen get 18+ with their Merc and the Disco I was looking at promised to be the same. And I wouldn't be surprised if a Ram ecodiesel or the new Ford diesel would get 16-18 towing. The problem is initial cost - and maintenance, which, from what I've read is a big issue with the modern clean diesels. What I want to know is why no truck manufacturer makes a hybrid. Plenty of room for batteries and the extra torque would be perfect for towing.

Cool. I saw that one at the plant a few years ago - congrats on having one of the most unique Ollies on the road!

Awesome. That will be a fantastic resource.

If you haven't seen this post on the F150 forum already then it might help. Also, Ford has a TSB on trailer brake connection problems, #45236, which might be relevant.

That looks really nice. I have no idea how we'll end up using the dinette. We've decided to get the king bed model but to use it for the most part as two narrower twins, with the option of setting up the full bed if we want - we want the larger table more than the bed itself. We are getting the nightstand, though, so it will be a bit of a hybrid and could never be a full king unless we took out the nightstand. The table will block the nightstand when set up but that's no big deal. Anyway, our assumption is that we'll use the rear table much more than the dinette, and in fact I have an idea floating in the back of my mind that we could someday convert the dinette into a second kitchen counter with storage underneath. But we'll see how we end up using it.

Thanks for the info on southern mattress, but since we're not getting a full depth mattress, I'm not sure if they can help. I think that we'll try Sherry's advice with the 1.5" memory foam over the standard 4" cushion and we'll either see if the company that Oliver uses can make them for us or get it done locally. One more cushion question - has anyone ever looked into using wedge-shaped foam like this for the back cushions? I don't know why it bothers me that the back cushions sit 90° to the bottoms, but it does. I was thinking that if they made the bottom edge a few inches wider than the top so that the front face sloped back slightly that they would look a whole lot better and perhaps be a bit more comfortable too.

As far as I know, none of the people who have installed the composting toilet are active here on the forum, or if they are, I don't think they've posted about it. There were two people at the rally, however, who had the toilet and they couldn't say enough great things about it. I believe that John Davies chose the toilet and he's picking his trailer up now. I'm sure that we'll get a full report from him once he's back and posting.

Does the generator not transfer vibration and noise to the trailer if you run it while sitting in the basket? I think that I'd want to keep the ability to move it to the ground while running.

Thanks!

Randy, I just think a king size topper would be too cumbersome to roll up and store. Someone at the rally mentioned going with two twin toppers as a better alternative, which makes sense to me. Thanks for reminding me about the Bed Bath and Beyond coupons - I'm always forgetting about those. Sherry, why no piping? Does that make the front of the cushions more comfortable against your legs or do you just prefer the look? We were thinking about doing that to the back cushions only because we think they look a little too boxy with the piping.

The batteries I listed above are just generic LiFePo with no bells and whistles. But the Color Control GX can be monitored via bluetooth or internet, if so equipped. I think for bluetooth you add a dongle, but the internet monitoring is simply a matter of connecting it to the network. Once connected, you can control the system via the local network, or via their online portal. Or from the panel itself of course. They have some demo systems set up on their online portal. You can't control them, but it's cool to see what the interface is like and what info is available. Be sure to click on the advanced tab on the left to see all the graphs and logs.

Not really. It's the same inverter/charger but it doesn't include the MPPT controller, the color control, BMS or battery monitor and of course the batteries. I got mine specced and priced from Inverter Supply.

I'm curious if anyone with the king bed has done anything different than the standard cushions. We think that the standard ones are just a bit too hard to sleep on. I know that some people carry a couple of twin sized roll-out mattress toppers that they keep in their truck, but I was curious if anyone has asked Oliver for a thicker foam, different density, etc. We were thinking about maybe asking for an inch of memory foam to be added to the cushions. What I don't know is if that would end up feeling too soft to use as seating, or if the cushions would end up being too high to work well with the table. Also, all of the dimensions would need to be reworked so that the taller cushions work both in the bed and seating arrangement. If we go with the mattress topper, does anyone have a recommendation. I really like the TempurPedic travel set, but man, the price.

Most everyone seems satisfied with the size of the bath. I suppose you could argue that bigger is better, but people much larger than me seem to have no problems with it. I think the only complaint I've seen about water getting out is that the shower door opens out and so can drip water on the floor if it's wet. Some people have installed a shower curtain over the door for that reason. Everything I've seen is that it's a cinch to clean. Fiberglass FTW. I think the AC 150 is way too much AC for the trailer personally. Talking to the people at Oliver, I think they'd say that the current unit is somewhat oversized. My personal take on heat pumps is that they have such a limited temperature range in which they work that it's not worth the extra. If I have power to fun the heat pump, then I have power for an electric heater that will work regardless of the outside temp. Getting a charge from the tow vehicle is tough - the distance from your alternator to your batteries is so far that you need to run really big cables on both the vehicle and trailer to make it work. Then you also need some equipment to make sure that your alternator doesn't burn up or overcharge your batteries and that your camper batteries don't drain your car battery. It can be done, but it will take work. We're swapping out to lithium right after we take delivery. Oliver isn't quite ready to do that yet. You'll need a different charge controller, and might want to consider relocating the batteries to the inside. We're going with a Victron system. Oliver keeps telling me that one other person is doing the same thing but they're getting AM Solar to do the install. I don't think that owner is on the forum, and if so, they haven't spoken up. I'll end up doing the work in my driveway. edit - here's our Lithium Shopping List. There may be some additional wiring, etc., but this is the bulk of it. The "Oliver Savings" section are items that I would otherwise purchase if I didn't go with the lithium. At the moment, though, there's no actual savings from Oliver because they aren't leaving off any standard equipment.

Is that the Bosjön? If so, we have that same faucet saved on our Ikea list, though we're leaning toward the Ringskär instead. I like that it has a pull out, but a much smaller and maneuverable one than what comes standard with the Ollie. My only concern is that it might be too tall. I love the design of both faucets, though I haven't a clue what the reliability might be - they seem well built enough. We asked Oliver about fitting this sink also, but it won't fit. I haven't heard which dimension is too big but I think it's the plumbing for the double basin that interferes with the drawers - just a guess, but from the dimensions I took it should have worked. Not a big loss - we might get the smaller one instead, even though it's not all that different from the standard bowl - only because we like all of the accessories that Ikea has to fit.

The Raptor only comes with a high output version of the 3.5 turbo and I think all the ecoboost F150s have the the 10 speed now. The drawbacks to the Raptor are fuel consumption and the soft springs that reduce the tow rating, though I can always swap springs fairly inexpensively if I need. Also it only comes with a 5.5' bed, though that's an advantage to me. They make an even shorter super cab version with the same short bed that would be really maneuverable but you lose towing capacity an of course interior storage. The back of the super cab is a cavern, with a flat floor that's really appealing to us.

John, my wife and I were just commenting on how packed the engine compartment in the F250 is. We took one home from the dealer to see how well it works around town. Surprisingly, she doesn't mind the size. She hated the old version but the hood on the new one is shaped better and the sight lines are much improved. In town, though, it drives much bigger than out in the suburbs where the dealerships are. It will fit in the driveway, but that's about the best I can say on that front. Power is good and the engine is fairly quiet. The interior is outstanding. We're still concentrating on off road ability. I think this is just a short detour for us to make sure we've made the right decision. It's been good to second guess ourselves for a bit but the more we look into other vehicles the more we think that the Raptor is right for us. I'll drive the 250 for a bit tomorrow but unless I come to some dramatic realization about it, it's looking like we'll place our order for the '18 Raptor on Monday. I did drive a Land Cruiser, by the way. I can see it's appeal. It's a good all rounder, though in the end, the price is too much for me. It's $15k more than the Raptor, which is already a stretch in my mind. Maybe if there was a better used market here I'd give it more of a thought but there really isn't anything nearby.

Guys, I agree with everything you've said. Just go back a few posts and see that what started this discussion was the lousy MPGs that my original choice for a tow vehicle was seeing out in the real world, and hence why I wanted to know if from a monetary standpoint the MPGs really mattered. From that view, it turns out that it doesn't - at least not relative to the alternatives I had picked, diesel or otherwise. That's not to say that a diesel might not be better for other reasons. We're on the same page as far as the 'feel' goes.

Well, whenever anyone tells me that I just don't 'get' something, what I usually 'get' is that they're upset that I'm not making the same choice that they did. If I wanted the best towing machine, I'd get a ¾ or 1 ton diesel pickup. If I wanted the best reliability, I'd get a Toyota. If I wanted the best every day driver, then I'd buy a new BMW. If I wanted the best off road vehicle, I'd have a Jeep. Etc. It's all about what compromise among those things and others works best for you. Gas mileage and range aren't the only factors, they're just the two that I'm talking about above. And if you want an objective look at value from that standpoint, you've got to use math. When just looking at pickups, we made our choice of Ford for numerous reasons well over a year ago. There are pros and cons for all the makes, but overall we preferred the Fords.

We had a great time, too. The effort put forth by both Oliver and the volunteers was outstanding. We really enjoyed meeting everyone and being able to see and compare so many Olivers has helped us immensely in making decisions for ours.