Overland

I check my tires regularly, so deflation rates aren't all that important to me. Plus, I typically inflate at a gas station, so whatever pure CO2 I put in them eventually gets replaced with air. In short, I haven't experienced any noticeable difference. But as for that article, yes CO2 diffuses through rubber roughly 11x faster than air, but not because of any weird chemical reactions going on - it simply has a higher diffusion rate. Diffusion rate isn't related to molecular value like that article says, otherwise Nitrogen would diffuse faster than Oxygen, etc. For perspective, water vapor diffuses through rubber 227x faster than air, despite its heavier molecular weight. And radiator hoses handle that just fine. Nitrogen is theoretically the best because it diffuses the least of any gas. But carrying a bottle of liquid nitrogen around is...difficult.

I used to have a nice Viair compressor, but one of the first things I did with my new truck was to run over it. That still seems to be the most recommended brand. Instead of replacing mine like for like, I decided to try out a PowerTank. More expensive, and definitely more bulky, but it does have some nice advantages - like being able to set a bead on a tire or drive air tools. It's also much faster than a compressor and mounts nicely to my rack so that it doesn't take up any storage space. In that respect, it's as good as a built-in air compressor. Portable air compressors do the job, but if you just want to adjust your tire pressures a bit, you'll give some thought to unpacking it, hooking it up, packing it back up, etc. Having used both, I'd say that the best route is probably neither, though I'd pick the Power Tank over a portable compressor, but only so long as you don't have to sacrifice valuable storage space for it. But ideally I'd rather rather take the time to build in a compressor, mounted under or in the bed of the truck. That way it takes up next to zero space and is always ready when you need it. The ability to set a bead on a tire is rarely if ever necessary, and with today's power tools, air tools are well on their way out. Edit - looking at PowerTanks's website, they've gone way up in price, moving an already questionable purchase into crazy territory, imo. So with that in mind, I'd look elsewhere unless you can pick up a good used deal on eBay.

Or put the truck on the street, which leaves plenty of room in the garage for the Porsche.

I had a wild idea to one day run a countertop across the dinette and build cabinets underneath, with space in the middle for a bigger fridge. It think it would work, but not without difficulty and you'd have to put a ton of thought into it to make it look good. But a much more practical solution is to get a separate fridge/freezer for your truck. We have a National Luna 60 liter with separate fridge and freezer compartments and between that and the trailer fridge, we can keep three weeks of food safely. The fridge fits well in the cab of our F150 - I installed a mounting plate to keep it secure, which is hard to notice with the seat down. Installing the fridge is just flipping up the seat and sliding in the fridge. Access is easy. If you're full timing it, then I'd recommend one of their larger double door models, and I'd recommend getting a topper for your truck and installing it in the back. You'll need a house battery for the truck, of course, and preferably solar to help recharge. I have a 200w panel I can attach to a rack over the bed and that does a good job except in the summer when it needs some drive time to keep up. Of course, if you have a generator for the trailer, you can use that on the house battery as well.

From the article, the trailer had come to a dead stop in the fast lane because of a brake problem. Maybe they had no choice, but that was surely an accident waiting to happen.

Mine is the 130. Here are two threads already with good info for you - http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/compressor-fridge-info-thread-for-those-of-us-considering-switching/ http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/legacy-elite-ii-dometic-rm2454-refer/ Happy to help with any questions.

I think the underside of the towel holder is hollowed out, so there might not have been anything to hold the tape. But it was a while ago so I don't remember for sure. If there's a flat surface, then I'm sure VHB tape would hold it fine. The towel bar is a refrigerator handle from IKEA. Another owner pointed me to that. It was a bit tricky to install since it's screwed in from the back side. I can't remember if I used a ratcheting bit driver or just a small stubby screwdriver, but I do remember that it required some patience and nimble fingers. It was a worthwhile addition, though.

Great work, as usual. I wonder if the center beam could be made of plywood to make it thinner and the whole thing storable under the mattress?

Just dump it in the campground toilet. Everyone quickly loses shyness over that sort of thing when camping - just get a tote bag to carry it in so it's not totally obvious that you're carrying a jug of urine around.

Shurflo also sells rebuild kits, if you don't want to carry an entire pump. I think the only thing not in the rebuild kit is the motor, but I also think there's more than one 'kit' so be sure of what you're buying . I figure that if my pump goes out, I'm not going to be in the mood to rebuild it then and there, plus I think the full rebuild kit was almost as expensive as the pump itself. Here is the pump - https://www.amazon.com/SHURFLO-4008-101-A65-Water-Pump-Revolution/dp/B00W5GCQC2/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=shurflo+4008&qid=1548082733&sr=8-2

My experience has been that the pump’s pressure is typically better. The drawbacks to using the pump are the effort it takes and long term wear on the pump. The advantages are not having to disconnect in freezing temps or having to use a heated hose, not worrying about water pressure, and just gaining a better familiarity with the onboard system if you don’t boondock much. We have a filter just in case we need to pull from a stream, but don’t use it regularly. We carry bottled water, as many do, so don’t see the need to filter water from a tap. The screens on the inlet and the pump are enough to catch any debris that might harm the pump. In general, we don’t worry too much about water pressure spikes either, though we carry a regulator from RV Water Filter Store. We carry a spare pump, which IMO is cheap insurance.

Most people will tell you to get the Weber Q grill and I agree that's probably the best all around model. I'm used to using an infrared grill at home, so we opted instead for the Charbroil Grill2Go. I've been happy with it, but I could have gone either way. With either one, you'll have to swap out/convert the regulator to work with the low pressure system on the Ollie. With the Weber, you can buy a kit, but I had to make my own for the Charbroil.

Yep, a lot of overland types don't think about that. When my wife an I were first getting back into camping and trying to figure out the best route to go, we payed a lot of attention to how others were doing it. I remember being camped at Bryce and a guy with the standard decked out Tacoma with a roof top tent camped across from us. He spent about 30 minutes setting up his camp and I was thinking that was pretty cool. The next morning, he spent the better part of an hour packing up, in the rain, and I thought, well that's not as easy at it first seems. Then that night he came back to the exact same spot and repeated the process. And the next. That was when we decided that a trailer was probably a better route. On the other hand, if you're forced to break camp every day, then that does encourage you to explore and camp in different spots. And vehicles like the EC really do cut down on setup and takedown times vs a truck with a roof top tent.

Officially, per the manual, you can't. They used to tell everyone that you could, and everyone did, but then I'm guessing a lawyer showed up. Whatever the reason, the manual now says don't. Anita has been with Oliver for forever, so maybe she missed the memo, or maybe she's a member of a secret organization of rebellious pirates, the existence of which I cannot confirm, who still use their jacks however they d.w. please.

I think it's really weird that Oliver decided to use a 1.5" receiver on the new rack. I would guess though that you could probably modify a standard Curt receiver so that it could be bolted into the same holes.

Yes, I talked to the owners of that rig for a good while. They're interesting people - if I remember right, they said they went from a big Airstream to an EarthRoamer, to a standard EarthCruiser and now to that. If that trend is any indication, then they'll join the Ollie camp shortly. The only comment I'd say about that model is that it felt the same as their other two models, just slightly smaller. They essentially went to EC and said can you build this, and EC said let's try.

It doesn't seem like any of the vent kits they offer are meant to be direct replacements for an RV stack vent. The only one that looks like it might work, seems to be designed for houses and so I doubt it's designed with high speed winds in mind. Might be worth calling them to see. I think Oliver should probably screen the vent at the factory just as a precaution, even though it's a fairly easy mod for an owner.

I've said before, and still believe, that Oliver needs to add a customization department; or spin off a group as a separate company. That way, they could handle special requests like they used to, without interrupting their production line. It would be an extra amenity that would set them apart even further from the crowd. Then if people wanted higher end packages, they could be easily accommodated, and Oliver could continue to learn from owners requests how to improve what they offer on the line. Old timers know that much of what makes Oliver's trailers what they are today came directly from owner modifications and requests.

I think that the EC's have risen in price substantially over the past few years. At the time we were debating our Ollie, I think EC's were in the $160k-$$240k range. They were just on the edge of us thinking that they weren't that much more than a top of the line truck and Ollie combined. But now it seems like they start around $240k or more. That Unimog thing was a one-off custom deal I'm sure. You can imagine that they're a pretty small company and like Oliver of old, are willing to customize about anything. At those prices, they should. We ran across a pair of EC's in Big Bend a while back, and I have to say that they looked like they were having a blast. They could definitely go further into the park than I'd be willing to take our Snowball. I've talked with owners and the company owners and have had the opportunity to really check out the EC's in person. I think what would surprise you, Steve, is how similar everything is to Oliver. Same concept, similar detailing, and they share a lot of hardware. The owners seem cut from the same cloth, albeit wealthier, lol. I'd say that they are to an Oliver exactly what an Oliver is to a Casita. Apart from that Unimog, they're also reasonably sized. Their wheelbase isn't much more than a long bed truck. Interior space is a bit more cramped than an Elite II, but I think their layout is more efficient so it's probably a wash. Interior storage is probably close, but the Ollie's storage is much more convenient. EC's really lack in counter space, so I think you'd notice the size difference the most when cooking. I'd love to see what they could do with a trailer, but I think they're all in on integrated vehicles. I'm just glad they exist so when people talk about how expensive an Ollie is, I can say, "Yeah, expensive but worth it. But those Earthcruisers - now that's a questionable purchase."

Ours are marked on the inside of the door, though a few are labelled incorrectly; and the attic switches are labeled individually (that was when they were using a Blue Sea breaker panel there which I don't think they do anymore). Maybe Oliver has started putting that list in the manual? Could be that they just forgot to stick the label on yours.

We added two bubbles to the front, one on the tow bar and one on the propane box. That gets us 90% level in both axes. I just mounted them with VHB tape - no screws. After I do the initial leveling, I check the bathroom door swing and fine tune the jacks so that the door doesn't budge. That's actually a bit off-level for us, side to side, but not enough to notice so having the door stay put is the better trade off. To get the last two gallons of fresh water, I'd have to tilt the trailer back and to the curb side.

Agree with the above. I had planned to swap out tow mirrors on our Raptor, since they're not available from the factory, but found the stock mirrors to be perfectly fine. Tow mirrors are really only necessary when what you're towing is wider than your truck. Having said that, bigger mirrors are always nicer. I also agree with John D. An always-on rear view camera (I use a wired system from RVS) is a big asset, for backing up as well as keeping an eye on what's coming up behind you.

One option might be to ask Oliver for an access door into the basement under the nightstand. Actually, I'm not sure if that's an option or standard these days. Anyway, keep the litter box in the basement and access it from the exterior hatch for cleaning. Either remove the interior access door entirely, or open it when camped. The only problem with leaving it open is that it sits on the floor and is likely to get stepped on. Maybe Oliver could be talked into hinging it from the side somehow.

Several of us have them and they've definitely been discussed - the search function here is useless. Short story = highly recommended.

I went through the pantry to minimize the length of runs and for ease of access. I tied the wires in the corner by the door so you don't see them. I tried going straight down between the hulls from that space, but something was blocking the way. There's got to be a free path somewhere around there though, possibly behind the pantry, since that's where the solar cables go down.