csevel
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Posts posted by csevel
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Does anyone feel like the value of their trailer has just been diminished? We spent a good deal of the nest egg on our used LEII, preparing for our future retirement. We have a 2017 LEII with no bells or whistles. No factory solar, no lithium, no inverter, no spiffy white shades, 3-way fridge, basic furnace, basic water heater, porcelain toilet, mirrored cabinets etc. I still love my trailer and she serves me well in how we currently camp. However, our intention was to upgrade items in Hohenwald when the time came for us to retire. We felt confident that we had invested in the service, parts and reputation Oliver provides for ourselves and any potential future owner had our circumstances changed. Service was something we could sell to a prospective buyer. I'm not sure I feel the same anymore. Feeling a little let down and lighter in the wallet. I might have to do some cost benefit analysis.
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I've towed my '17 LE2 about 12,000 miles in two years with my '20 Tundra TRD Sport and find it more than adequate. I think the Anderson WDH is an absolute must with any half ton and I personally wouldn't leave home without it. The issue I have with my TRD is that the extra bells and whistles reduce payload. I pack light but if I were to tow in the mountains out west carrying more gear, I no doubt would want a 3/4 ton pickup!
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Thank you all for your replys! I sent him screenshots of your most helpful advice! 😁
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Hello my Ollie friends!
Haven't been hanging out here much due to the lovely winter weather we get to endure here in the Northeast. My ILOVHER is tucked nicely away under her cover waiting to go somewhere maybe mid March. My son, however, is a traveling ER nurse and has taken a contract in Madera, California at a Pediatric ER. He has been traveling for three years, an ER nurse for six and has just returned from a three month stint in Guam! This Sunday he leaves again with his 25' Coachman Apex in tow.. He just purchased a '23 Ram Power Wagon and is looking forward to some boondocking adventures. Attached is a RV trip wizard map of the route he's planning. For all of you cross country travelers, do you have any must-see stops, attractions and/or campground/boondocking sites that you could recommend? Any route modifications you would suggest? I wish I could follow him in the ILOVHER but other obligations prevent it and I'd never want salt to touch her! Thank you for any help!
*As suggested here my son loves Nature, Off-Roading, Fishing Nut ~including fly, Hiking and Interesting Scenery, Photography, Rafting...the whole shebang!
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My understanding from reading the Tundra forums is that there is a bit of anger over Toyota opting out of the tranny cooler on the 20's and 21's. Many have used scan gauge tools to measure their temps while towing and have had high temperature readings. I've owned three V8 Sport 4Runners prior to my Tundra and they all had external coolers. There are a few owners who are opting for adding aftermarket. There are even kits available. I may do this down this road if I ever head west. My son even added one to his brand new Jeep Gladiator Rubicon as he tows a 19' sticky. I think it was a poor decision from Toyota to leave it off the build.
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Love this..wish I would have done this after repairing the courtesy/puddle light in the bathroom! Great work and on my list too!
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Looks like Camping World has them too!
https://www.campingworld.com/replacement-shower-head-arctic-white-79699.html
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19 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:
This interest me as well. I will be interested in how folks like it. Mike
I debated this pretty long.. came to the conclusion that I didn't want to clean another channel like the window gutters. I like the dam effect of the style I have. The rain seems to just channel to each end of the awning.
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It's apparent there are two 'camps' of opinion on removing the awning seal.
I, for one, make a living space out of the shade and invariably it will rain when I camp, so keeping that area dry is a high priority.
I really like to keep runoff to a minimum and have found the seal to be pretty darn effective!
Today, I replaced my deteriorated and flaking seal with a new 1" slide out seal. The leftover adhesive from the old was pretty easy to remove with 'Spray Nine' a cloth and a plastic razor blade. No heavy duty removers needed. It took maybe 30 minutes.
My take is that you may have to replace it every five years or so, and I'm ok with that.
Here's to DRY camping!
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51 minutes ago, John E Davies said:
Sometimes you have to be meaner than the hitch😬
That's my motto...LOL!
I do the exact thing by jiggling the truck forward and back just a hair, forward and/or reverse to knock some sense into it! Bulldog's always feisty on days hotter than Hades while unhitching; I'm sweating and the black flies are eating me alive, I've only gotten back into the truck seventeen times at this point to get that perfect set on a pristine unlevel campsite..what's one more?? I'll show you who is boss.. LOL!
However irritated I get though; unhitching is serious business to me. I try to remain calm so I don't make dumb unsafe mistakes. I certainly have had a couple in my RV life and try hard not to repeat. I've made it a habit to not release safety chains/cables either until I know I'm chocked, lifted safely and stable off the ball. I use my parking brake A LOT as I absolutely hate any bounce back after lift-off. I use it almost always with the Andersen levelers as slippage can sometimes happen.
Spraying a little lubrication to the underside of the hitch, latch and ball can be helpful albeit debatable and of course..first loosen the WDH chains or remove the whale tail altogether.
Good Luck!
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John and Wendy,
Thank you so much for the pix! I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with the original type stripping. It's taller and rain seems to flow along it and out at the ends without much overflow. Other than the deterioration, I've been pretty happy with the way it works despite the collection of debris behind the brackets. If I was physically unable to get up there to clean, I would probably go with the J-channel style.
As far as the window vents go, I've consulted with a patent attorney (who's a dear friend) to see what's involved with stepping forward with my design. The consensus is to make and sell a few (10-15) to see what the interest is and go from there. I have been busy camping so I've sort of put it on the back burner. I saw one member here make one and I was thrilled to see their attempt! Stay tuned.. 🙂
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I know some of you have either removed or considered removing the weather strip along the awning. I for one, love sitting under a short-set awning in the rain. I usually have stuff on a table outside the door and I don't like the idea of having water streaming down between the awning and the side of the camper. With that said, my '17 ILOVHER has needed a replacement weather strip as it's starting to deteriorate. (btw, I have the manual Fiamma)
This last rain storm had water coming down in the middle and the brackets were not blocked with debris....had just cleaned and waxed. I reached out to Oliver to see if I could obtain a new strip and was told they offer a new 'J' channel style in addition to the old.
I'd like opinions on whether the J style is worthwhile as compared to the old. It seems to me it would collect more pine needles and need frequent cleaning of dirt/mold. I also read the strip is now placed lower than they were on the '17s. If you have the J style strip..how do you like it? Can any of you provide photos?
Thanks in Advance!
Claudia
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I purchased this light from Menards for my entryway and the pantry:
This is the light for the fridge. I have the Dometic 3-way and the magnetic strip fits perfect on the front of the drip tray.
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Nice addition! I purchased a round motion sensor light for the pantry that is battery operated and has worked well and stayed put. I love the light coming on automatically when I open that cupboard! I have one on the ceiling by the entry door as I always have my arms loaded with things to carry in or out. I think these areas should have had lights to begin with..but I'm happy with the mod. The only issue with the entryway is the dog activates it in the middle of the night!
Your light bar would work awesome in the fridge too! I have that style in there as well!
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Coming from a Casita, I can tell you that you in no way will be dissapointed. My ILOVHER has been a joy to own and so far, I'm extremely pleased! Congratulations and Welcome to the Familty 🙂
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2 hours ago, Boonter Jeff said:
Since Tundras are being discussed, I thought I’d put my two centavos in. We have a 2008 with the 5.7l engine and tow package. I got it to pull a boat which probably weighed 8000 pounds or so including trailer. The boat was wider and longer then the Ollie II. The truck never cracked a sweat though I didn’t enjoy pulling something that big, hopping curbs in filling stations, etc. With our current trailer - Casita 17, I can almost forget its back there. We have hull 1227 coming in August and I intend to start out with the Tundra. I’ve owned Fords, Chevies, and Dodge pickup/service trucks. The Tundra has been, hands down, the most reliable and comfortable truck that I’ve owned. We do spend a lot of time out here in the West with mountain passes, etc. and we are getting the Anderson sway hitch. I am a cautious driver and go slow. That being said if the truck doesn’t seem to be a good fit, we’ll do something different but I hope to get a few more years out of it 🙂. After all I’m 68 and the boss hasn’t traded me in, yet.
I absolutely love my '20 Tundra (The Beast) and I've long been a Toyota fan owning three V8 4Runners since 2003 and the hubby drives a '16 Avalon. His 2006 Avalon is still on the road driven by his mother~ 235,000 miles! My Casita towed fantastic behind the Tundra while traveling out west but I can totally see the need for a larger truck if we decide to do trips out west with the ILOVHER. We primarily camp here in the east so I'll travel light until the time arises. The omission of an exterior tranny cooler on the '20 has me a bit concerned and larger brakes are definitely in the future.
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2 hours ago, Trainman said:
I would think your Tundra could handle an Oliver just fine, is it a V6, or V8. I think the new Tundra's are only offering a V6 now, not sure about that, but the new V6 is probably a Turbo and has plenty of torque just like the F-150 Ford pickup. We also had a Casita before our Oliver and we towed it with a Honda Ridgeline and it did just find, wish I could have used it with the Oliver.
trainman
My 2020 is a V8 and is ok for the ILOVHER but has a few bells and whistles (including a 36 gallon fuel tank) which lowers its payload to a paltry 1300# and that makes it a bit difficult when going on extended trips.
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I worked for a few years in a NF campground and yes, it's true, many people have no idea how unsafe and unmatched their tow vehicle is to their trailer. The inhibiting factor for most people including myself is that people usually have the tow vehicle BEFORE they buy a trailer and end up having eyes bigger than their stomachs! My Tundra would have worked fabulous for my Casita but is right on the hairy edge for my ILOVHER. I can't afford to upgrade at this time, nor are there any trucks available...so I will settle for packing light and ALWAYS using the Andersen...AND of course steering clear of the swaying train wreck trailer combo doing 80mph in front of me!!
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1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:
Or, you can buy a nice faucet for far less than $250. .
I also think dura has a long warranty. Check that. I've gotten warranty replacement on delta, pfister, and others. I'd try that, first. Imo. Many plumbing companies offer lifetime warranty.
Your choice.
I would, except Oliver had to fix my bath interior courtesy light and took the towel bar insert out to do it. They did such a professional job on the caulking (such I could never duplicate) that I would just like to fix the faucet myself. 😀
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19 minutes ago, Rivernerd said:
Have you tried to twist off the brushed chrome cap that sits on top of and around the cartridge? It may be threaded onto the housing below it. On some faucets, that cap holds the cartridge in place. Try twisting the cap counterclockwise to remove it. You may need a gripper to give your hand traction, like this:
DF-NMK852 looks like the correct model number for the faucet you have. If you download that owners manual, the brushed chrome cap is depicted on the parts list on Page 5, with the cartridge shown right underneath it. This suggests that the cap must be removed before you can access the cartridge to replace it.
Good luck!
I'm aware that the surrounding ring must come off but it will not budge even with a rubber glove..! I sprayed some PB blaster around the lower edge of it and will leave it sit and try again tomorrow.
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Trying to replace a ceramic cartridge on a Dura bathroom faucet in the ILOVHER ('17)
I was told by Oliver that it was leaking. I haven't found water but I can see the corrosion. They wanted $250 for a new faucet and by then I was tapped out. I've gotten as far as popping off the hot/cold emblem and removing the set screw to get the handle off.
How do I proceed from here to get the cartridge out? Seems in there pretty good!
I imagine I need a special plumbing wrench/socket?
Any help appreciated!
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I have a '20 Tundra TRD Sport which was purchased before I knew I'd own an Oliver and right after Covid began and dealers were desperate.
I have done no suspension modifications but added taller Michelin Defender tires. I do have the TRD sway bars and Bilstein shocks which I think are helpful features. I have no squat at all with the WDH. Outside of payload, which is low..around 1300# .. I find it to be a perfectly acceptable tow vehicle for the ILOVHER. It has plenty of power with the V8 and when using the Tow/Haul mode, the transmission comes to life. RPMs at times can tip up to 3k+ if you're a lead foot but doesn't stay there. I like the integrated brake controller and the plug and play seven pin.
I am certain when its time to do brakes, I'm going big ProComp slotted. I would just feel safer with bigger braking power. The other thing I will add at a later date is an external transmission cooler. Somehow Toyota slipped that out of the builds starting in 2019 and uses some kind of heat exchanger. All three of my pre 2009 V8 4Runners had external coolers. There is a big stink on the Tundra forums about this as people are scan gauging pretty high ATF temps while towing.
I pack light and distribute weight inside the camper if necessary (like the cooler of ice and beer) I don't do much mountain driving and if I did, the Tundra would do the job but certainly not as safely as a 3/4 ton or 1 ton diesel. I also think it's crucial with a half ton truck to have the Andersen WDH; no doubt there!
With all of the above said, if money were no object, I certainly would love a larger truck but it's not in the cards as of now. The Beast is my daily driver and gas just shot to 5.29 here so I'm going to stick with her for now. With my travel primarily on the east coast, and not full time as of yet, I think its a good dependable truck for towing my baby ILOVHER.
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I think the results will vary with the EZ Flex as we DID in fact try it with the Rapid Jack which is 7" tall on an asphalt driveway and it did NOT lift the other tire off the ground at all. Just saying.
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I may just have to tackle this one! Nice Work!
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Important Update about Oliver Service
in General Announcements
Posted
I owned a Casita for ten years and have been a fiberglass enthusiast for longer than that. I don't doubt the build quality of the Oliver, as that's why I upgraded..but also at a significant cost. Part of my choice was certainly factory service and for me, it WAS in the equation!