topgun2

I try to tow longer distances (i.e. over 400 miles) with empty tanks in order to help improve fuel economy. But, if I know that I will be without access to fresh water at my next stop and there are few if any places to get it on the trip, I'll tow with a full tank. I dump grey and black whenever I can - more for peace of mind than anything else. Like Mike, I really do not notice any difference in towing regardless of the state of the various tanks. Bill

Certainly, there is no question when one wishes to compare towing without a weight distribution hitch or towing with one, towing without will almost always win. Why would one wish to add ANY work to what they already have to do without some reason. For many, that reason is that they wish to have the added security and/or functionality of a WDH or they are required to use one for "legal" or warranty issues. Indeed, I too rarely have problems with porpoising. Mostly this occurs on Interstates with construction or those wonderful bridge abutments. But, when things really start to bounce, the Andersen dampens this while other WDH (that I'm familiar with like the Equalizer) actually amplify it. Would this alone be sufficient reason to purchase and use the Andersen WDH? - I think not. But, I suspect that this is not the reason most of us use the Andersen to start with. Bill

And, for a price, Oliver will even install the custom top for you.

Certainly the Andersen WDH is no worse, and, in my experience with other WDH, it is actually better than anything else on the market. This applies to both how it functions and how it is to use. Yes, there are those times - less than 5% - where it always seems to be raining or dark or I'm in a rush - where the entire process of hitching up is a "pain". But as an every day "chore" the Andersen is no big deal. And, it does help reduce porpoiseing while other WDH actually increase it. Bill

FINALLY! - a place to land that helicopter. Looks good too. Bill

How about another pic?

HERE is the measurement for the twin bed area.  I'm not aware of an actual "template" that you could use and virtually all mattresses will be different due to the thickness. Bill p.s. scroll up a couple of posts from where this link takes you to see the measurements.

Note that the 90 degree hoses are also 10% off when using the Flash10 promo code.

I'm no help on the adjustment since mine are of the vintage variety. However, they and your rig do look good! Bill

Great news for you. You've got plenty of time to plan trips for the first year and plenty of time to read everything that the Oliver University has to offer. Let us know if anything doesn't make sense to you. Welcome to the Family! Bill

Use the code Flash10 at checkout for 10% off.

Mine is a 2017 F-150. Answers to your questions - 1: no 2: no I've never had a hint of sway with my Elite II regardless of Andersen, no Andersen, Ford's anti-sway or no Ford anti-sway or any combination of these. Bill

If anyone is interested in the "GasStop" product - automatically shuts off propane in the event of a large amount escaping, TechnoRV has a sale on them until the end of October. Bill

A sad day in that I had to put my Elite II to sleep for the next couple of months (at least). Fall is in full swing, the leaves are changing and falling and the temps have been above normal. However, next week has at least a couple of days of rain forecast plus the temps are going to finally take a dip. Added to the changing weather is a full schedule of appointments for the next two weeks. Is there some medical name for feeling sad because the camping season has come to an early end? ☹️

As promised - here are a couple of pics of the foam board installation. Bill

OK - pics coming later today. However, don't mix apples and oranges. MY purpose of using foam board is/was to reduce the temperature differences so that there would not be a surface that was cold enough for moisture to condense versus what JD is basically talking about in improving air circulation so that moisture can evaporate. Ideally, both of these approaches can be used to combat condensation. However, as I pointed out, I decided to see if the relatively low cost method would work before taking additional measures involving airflow. JD's "soak test" in his post above is a bit of a waste of time in that at least both sides of most construction foam board that I've seen is covered with a thin sheet of plastic which would , obviously, prevent virtually any water from penetrating into the foam - let alone the density of the foam itself. In this regard and to certainly prevent the intrusion of water of any kind, I even went further and sealed all of the cut edges with clear tape. This also has the added benefit of keeping things a bit cleaner and helps satisfy that OCD nature that is not the private domain of virtually anyone. Bill

As you probably already know - our trailers are reasonably prone to condensation, particularly in areas near moisture producers such as "humans". This topic in various forms is fairly common. A few years ago there were owners experiencing moisture buildup beneath and to the sides of their beds. The "solution" for this was to purchase what I though was a very expensive "breathable matt" similar to the one that Oliver currently sells as an option. Since I happened to have some "foam board" like THIS I decided to give it a try in order to reduce the temperature variation between the bed and the other surfaces. Now, six years later, I can say that I've never had a single moisture problem either under or on the sides of the bed. I cut one piece of the board to fit the area under the mattress and cut two more such that they would run along the straight sides of the mattress and come to the top of the mattress. Finally I cut three relatively short pieces the same height as the last two and taped them together such that they would conform to the radius of the curved section of the wall. If anyone is interested in a picture of this I can post one tomorrow. Bill p.s. If you decide to do this mod then don't forget to cut a small place in the edge of the foam board where you can get your fingers/hand under it so that you can easily grab it to get access to the hatches.

Darn it! I wish someone would STOP this lady 'cause she's ruining my diet! 🥰

Nice to watch that video and take in all the differences between the Elite II of then versus how it is now. Bill

AND - the East is where the Oliver is made.😁

Welcome and glad that you "found" Oliver. Besides visiting an Oliver in your local area (a great first step 'cause seeing is believing), if you live anywhere close to the Oliver factory, be sure to take the tour. Also, for both the tour and your visit - take your camera. It will help you remember what you saw and help with questions that you may have in the future. Good luck and let us know if there is any question we can help you answer. Bill

Brian Z - Forgive me if I'm wrong, but, having just re-read the last couple of entries in this thread, I believe that there just might be some mixing of apples and oranges going on here. All your solar panels do is put a charge/current into your batteries. In turn, your batteries are then used directly for power for 12 volts things like your lights, TV, radio, fridge, etc. Anything that requires 110/120 volts takes current from your 12 volt batteries (whether lead acid, AGM's or lithiums), runs the 12 volts through your inverter/converter to change from the 12 volts to 110/120 volts and then powers your device. So, there are two things then that come into play - your battery capacity and the capacity of your inverter/converter. Besides having a big enough battery bank with enough amp hours to run/operate whatever it is you're trying to use for the amount of time you'd like to use it, you must have an inverter/converter that will be big enough to supply the converted voltage. This is one of the reasons that the Oliver lithium package has a 3,000 watt inverter/converter as part of the package versus the "standard" 2,000 inverter/converter that is in most other Ollies. And, even with that inverter/converter size of 3,000 watts, the fairly large battery of lithium batteries will only run the air conditioner for about 4 hours. Hopefully I have not confused the issue for you. Bill

My twin bed Ollie is set up as a one bed with the other side being a couch (i.e. it uses the standard cushion on the bottom along with cushions along the wall). On those occasions when either my wife or my fishing buddy join me - they sleep on the "couch" with the back cushions removed for the night. All six people that have done this have told me that they slept very well and this was surprisingly comfortable. Bill

At the Florida mini-rally I hosted a couple for a tour of my twin bed Ollie. The male is 6'4" and he laid down on the bed flat on his back and had a bit of room to spare - his head did not touch nor did his feet touch unless he flexed his feet (pointed his toes) towards the wall. At 6' tall, I can flex my feet and touch the wall with my toes but my head is not touching the wall. Patriot is in the "tall" range and has the twin bed model. Perhaps he will chime in here and/or you can always send him a private message (PM) on this Forum to get his input. Bill

JD - I believe that it (the color) is being caused by the lighting in the photo. Note the color of the aluminum where the "1up" sticker is located - much the same color as you are referring to on the sleeve. Bill