topgun2

Patriot - Pardon him for what? The poor thing spends all of his time showing off for the ladies and never seems to eat! To make it worse - the ladies really don't seem to care. Bill

GAP - What Mountainoliver said. There are situations where the Andersens can be fairly tight between the tires, but, I've never had a situation where I could not get the one between the tires out by hand (i.e. I've not had to use a hammer, rock or even my foot). Bill

This fellow from under our rear deck wishes all of you a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving! Bill

I second Commanche's comments - I'm also 6' tall and I've never hit my head. Even if I did there is a "bumper" there covered in the same fabric as the cushions. Bill

Certainly there are more qualified people here than I am regarding electricity, but, I don't see why you couldn't use two surge protectors. Indeed, the first one in line simply passes whatever "good" current it finds on to the second one. Seems a bit redundant but then I'm one of those guys that does testing before the surge protector gets a chance to do its testing. Bill

Cool Ghouls' original question got me to thinking. As many others have reported here, I too have never had a "bad" human interaction while camping. Even my wildlife interactions have not been "bad" even though my heart rate and/or adrenalin levels at the time were probably somewhat elevated. However, I recently installed a new window in the Oliver's door so that I could see what was happening out there without having to open that door. As I do in even in my non-RVing life I virtually always have personal protection of some sort close at hand. Why? Perhaps the answer to that "why" question is seeded in my early Boy Scout training - be prepared? Perhaps the answer can be traced back to my parents that taught me to be able to take care of myself and those that depend on me? Perhaps it was from my military training? I like to believe that while all of those are probably true, I also believe that law enforcement is usually not immediately available to assist me in the event something were to happen. I try to not live my life being paranoid and I do believe that most people (and animals) do not mean me any harm. But, for many of the same reasons I wear a seatbelt (even though I've never been in a serious accident) or get a flu shot (even though I've never had the flu - that I know of) or, or, or ... I chose to prepare myself (within reason) to either prevent or to handle situations as they arise. Of course, this includes leaving any area I don't feel comfortable in and locking my door (my home and camper and tow vehicle), locking or putting away camping stuff - just like I do at home. Just as you have (hopefully) done in the city and elsewhere all your life, trust your instincts. At least your Oliver will have wheels which allow you to "get out of Dodge" - if necessary. Bill

GAP- Not a "silly question" at all. Perhaps I should have been a bit more clear - my surge protector is not portable - it is the one sold by Oliver and permanently installed in my Oliver. The quick and simple answer to your question is that basically you are correct. I too wonder, sometimes, why I take those extra steps even though it really doesn't take very long to perform them. Bottom line is that JD is not the only member of this Forum that could be considered to have "anal" tendencies. Yes, the onboard unit should be all that is necessary to protect all that expensive stuff inside the Oliver from damage. But, what if it fails for some reason? I have the tools, I have the time, and I simply hate to shell out money for something that I could have prevented by taking an extra 30 seconds. Bill

With regards to the time it takes to complete jobs - I like to think that after all those years when I simply didn't have the time to do things the way I knew they should be done, I now have the time to really do it "right". So what if it takes me a day (or two or three) to do it? So what if I have to wait until I have the chance to get that exact correct part or shrink tubing or glue or varnish or sandpaper or .... ? My days of doing things in a hurry are over - unless I'm preparing to get on the road with my Ollie. And even then I start planning just as soon as I can for the next trip so I don't have to rush when the time comes. To me, this is one of the real joys of retirement. Bill

Really? I've been here for well over 5 years and I'm still learning things - maybe I should say, re-learning things. Anyway, congratulations on that new Oliver. Yes, most of us here probably belong to that choir but we got there much the same way you did. You now have the winter to read, plan trips, buy "stuff" for that new Oliver and (perhaps) ask a question or two. Look forward to seeing you out on the road! Bill

Trainman - Your situation sounds a bit strange to me. My "normal" routine when plugging into a pedestal is to use a circuit tester first, if all is good I turn the pedestal circuit breakers back off and then plug is the Furrion cord and check its led's, if all is still good I (once again) turn off the circuit breakers and plug the Furrion cord into my Oliver and turn the circuit breakers back on. This is the point where the surge protector comes into play and unlike yours, usually by the time I get around the camper, in the door, and look at the read-out, my microwave will "beep" and I will see an "E-0" on the read-out. No other noises other than a fairly small "klunk" which is the automatic transfer switch doing its thing. I don't know if that means your is faulty, going through a "reset process" or if something else is going on. However, a quick phone call to the company should give you the answer you desire. Bill

Gap - I've had no problem with the 6 inch footprint in that the diameter of the Oliver's jacks is basically 6 inches - see Mike's picture above. This includes fairly extensive boondocking. I'm not sure that the 8x8's would really give you very much and would be just that much more difficult to store. Both the Camco and Andersen style "buckets" are nice but as I mentioned earlier - they can not be laid on their sides when a shorter length is desired and I would guess that they are a bit more difficult to store - round things (difficult) versus square things (easier). Bill

Susan - No problem at all. I think that you will find this leveling process somewhat more simplified with the trailer versus the van. You simply level from side to side first while still attached to your tow vehicle. Then you level from front to back. If you need the front of the trailer to be just a little higher then you can simply use that front jack to raise the trailer even while still attached to the tow vehicle. If you need the front of the trailer to be lower you either must raise the rear of the trailer - put more levelers of some sort under the wheels on BOTH sides - or un-hitch to be able to use the front jack to lower the front of the camper. There are other variations on the theme here but you probably get the idea - side to side first and then front to back. Bill

I was starting to go through all of the "stuff" I emptied out of the Oliver when I put it to bed for the winter and I came across two things that may be of interest - particularly if you are in a situation where you really need them: 1. a four way sillcock key. If someone has "borrowed" the handle on that faucet you need to use in order to fill your tanks or connect to city water then this comes in handy. It has also been used to turn on the water at a gas station or other retail establishment where they have removed the handle due to vandals. However - be warned - sometimes these handles have been removed because the owner simply doesn't want you to be taking their water. Its always best to ask first. Four way sillcock key. 2. a water bandit. Most often these are used in a National Forest Campground where the spigot does not have threads at the outlet. Again - be warned - there are occasions when either the campground or person owning that spigot doesn't want you to fill your fresh water tank from that spigot. Its always best to ask first. Water bandit Bill

No - someone out there wants you to simply change the way YOU think 😜 to match the way THEY think.

Yes - given that the maximum weight of an Elite II is (supposed) to be 7,000 pounds, a tow rating of 9,600 pounds gives you enough "safety" margin and it should certainly be enough for virtually and hills you encounter. Bill

Yes, Trainman, I too originally thought that they were installed upside down. But, then, it was explained to me that I should think about it in terms of the direction I want the front of the trailer to go (i.e. not think in terms of which direction I wanted the jack foot to go). So - what Mike said! Bill

Gap - 6x6 blocks work fine under both the rear and front jacks and have the added ability to be laid on their sides versus the plastic supports similar to those you mention in the event you can not use or want the additional height of the block standing on end. Also, If you measure the distance from the bottom of the rear jacks to level ground I think you will find that a 12 inch length is a bit too much - I cut mine at 11 inches for this reason. I do carry several 2x6 boards for several reasons to include your proposed use. However, I believe that you will need longer ones than 12 inches if your intent is to span the distance between the tires on the double axle Elite II. Unfortunately I do not have direct access to my Oliver or I would measure that for you. Bill

By the look of that smile on the truck's grill it would appear that you have already told it that an Oliver is in its future 😄. Have a good time but at first be a little careful of when and where you put your foot to the floor - a nice lonely road with no police is a good thing 😁. Bill

Yes - all of these "things" that are put under the tires are for the purpose of leveling from side to side (note for newbies - do not confuse this with chocks which prevent the camper from rolling away when not connected to your tow vehicle). The tongue jack is used for leveling front to back. Bill

Yes, Clam actually started off manufacturing ice fishing huts. I have the small square one and it is great for up to two people. Four can fit but you better know each other fairly well since your knees will be touching - not great for social distancing. However, the small four sided one can fit inside the Elite II closet. Bill

Be careful on that drive south. Try to relax a bit the day before your delivery in that there will simply be a bunch to do, to see and to absorb on that big day. Let us know all the great details! Bill

SherMica - Relax! Chocks - For the Elite I you will need a minimum of 2 chocks - one chock for each tire. The ones you have noted on Amazon will do for most situations. However, for added safety you should consider 4 chocks. The reason for this is that normally you only place one chock on the "downhill" side of each wheel. However, in situations where it is not apparent which is the "downhill" side of a tire and/or you are parked on level ground it is prudent to place a chock on both sides of the tire. Remember, chocks are the only things that prevent your Oliver from rolling when you are not attached to your tow vehicle. While the plastic chocks you have noted on Amazon will do the job in most situations, there are situations where these chocks will slip/slide on the surface - think smooth concrete or asphalt. And these plastic chocks will turn brittle, crack and fracture after a relatively short period of time (couple of years in most situations). While rubber chocks cost more up front and are much heavier than the plastic ones, they tend to last much longer and a generally much more stable on surfaces where the plastic ones slip. https://www.amazon.com/SECURITYMAN-Rubber-Wheel-Chocks-Trailer-RV-Heavy-Duty-/dp/B07VMTLFD1/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=21K8CV0QXC3U8&dchild=1&keywords=rubber+chocks+for+travel+trailer&qid=1605917334&sprefix=rubber+chocks%2Caps%2C172&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFUTkRRTU1CVDIzWjAmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA0MjkzMjkxSVRYWDdUMFJXVkU3JmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2MTI5NzQxTk5aR1BJMDJaWDJKJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ== Leveling blocks - The leveling blocks you show are "double long" as compared to those that most people carry (and they are more than double the price of the regular ones). Even thought I generally use my Andersen leveling system which is by far the most simple for a solo traveler ( https://www.amazon.com/Andersen-Hitches-3604-Camper-Leveler/dp/B001GC2LVM/ref=sr_1_25?crid=2NFIJAG9AR9V6&dchild=1&keywords=andersen+levelers&qid=1605917607&sprefix=Andersen+%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-25 ), I also carry the "regular lego leveling blocks like these: https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Lynx-00015-Lynx-Levelers-Pack/dp/B0028PJ10K/ref=sr_1_11?crid=2NFIJAG9AR9V6&dchild=1&keywords=andersen+levelers&qid=1605917775&sprefix=Andersen+%2Caps%2C182&sr=8-11. Of course, if you are short of funds and/or care to be really simple with this whole thing of raising a wheel off the ground for the purposes of leveling the camper, you can always simply get a number of 12 to18 inch lengths of 2x6 that will serve much of the same purpose. Receiver hitch - This one is slightly more complicated. For your trailer to correctly tow behind you in a level orientation with your tow vehicle, the top of the 2 inch ball will need to be a certain number of inches off level ground. Your Oliver sales rep can give you this figure. Then, measuring the distance from level ground to the top of you receiver on your truck you will get an idea of what the "drop" or "rise" should be (note that it is most likely you will need a "drop" given the truck that you purchased). All you need to do is to get in the "ballpark" - you do not have to be exact on this measurement because fine tuning can be completed with washers under that "ball thingy". Certainly there is nothing "wrong" with the receiver hitch that you have shown on Amazon but you will need to either do the measurements as per the above or take the advice of someone (perhaps like Seadawg) that tows with a similar tow vehicle and tows an Elite I. Finally - The answers to your final questions virtually all fall into the "how prepared do you wish to be" category. Yes, for your stay at the State Park you will probably not "need" a longer sewer hose or extension cord or any adaptors, etc.. However, once you leave there you just might stay at a place where you are not near the electric outlets and thus will need an extension cord or you are not near the sewer dump and you need another length of sewer hose or the place you are staying only has a "regular 15 amp" outlet (think of the wall sockets in your house or apartment) and you need a 30 amp to 15 amp converter plug/adaptor/dogbone or conversely, the campground only has a site with 50 amp and you need to convert that to 30 amp via a 50 to 30 amp conversion plug or dogbone as they are sometimes called). Do not stress over these things. For the most part you will be fairly near civilization at least until you are more comfortable with your Oliver. Therefore, you will be able to either borrow what you need - you'll find that your fellow campers can be very helpful in this regard - or you will be able to get it from the campground store or host or a town will be near enough that you can purchase what you need at that time. OR, you will find out that you really do not need many of these things because your Oliver can be a very comfortable place to live without hooking up to electricity or even water for short periods of time. Bill edit: BackofBeyond is correct above - if you are getting the Andersen weight distribution hitch then the folks at Oliver will set it all up for you at delivery and you do NOT need to purchase a receiver hitch.

Flipping up only one panel of the Bakflip only gives you an opening of 15 1/2 to 16 inches (I have the standard 6 foot bed). Your top tube would have to be terribly short and you would have to take the saddle off in order to make that work. Bill

I'll bet that is really classy 😁. Slightly off-topic but still regarding bath exhaust fans: There is a foam gasket on the exterior cover that helps seal the stock fan when it is closed. This summer, that seal basically fell apart (my Oliver is a 2016). When talking to Jason E. and the Service guys they said that they would replace that seal (with a better one) under warranty. Certainly I couldn't argue with the price and it saved me a trip onto the roof. Bill

OK - for those that have never either heard of or had the chance to "enjoy" this road, here's a map for when you are in the area. Bill