Steve Morris

Woohoo! These are all things that I was going to ask about. Especially eliminating the fridge vent so that I could switch to a Danfoss compressor unit after the fact. This will save me money right out the door! The Danfoss compressor powered fridge/freezer in my truck has run 24/7 nine months of the year since 2015, so I know that they are reliable. Great news! The fridge vent to table is just a bonus! Victron vs Zamp will be great, with better interoperability with other brands, and a lot of options. More efficient solar will also be a bonus, as we plan to go with the lithium package and better Trim AC. @Steph and Dud BDid you happen to ask about the Elite I redesign? Specifically a twin version? Thanks for the update

My case is likely one of those posts you refer to. January 2021, I picked up a new Toyota Land Cruiser Heritage Edition that I'd ordered in September; the one and only aspirational vehicle I've ever had. Yes it is crazy expensive for a model with the last major upgrade in 2008, and has practically no bells and whistle that are standard on vehicles 1/3 this price. It doesn't stand out, doesn't say "Look at me!!", and pretty much flies under the radar. It is often mistaken for an older Sequoia or Highlander. But I absolutely love it! It is my only car (other than a non-running 1958 MG in the garage), and the last vehicle I will ever buy. All of the oft quoted detractors are exactly what I want in a vehicle. It'll last 30,000 miles easily on routine maintenance. And I spent way more than I ever should have to get one when it was announced that Toyota would discontinue the Land Cruiser line in North America. And the new Land Cruiser available in the rest of the world now is a technology loaded turbo V6 with questionable reliability. Due to the timing, I bought mine at $9000 under sticker price. I could now easily sell it for $30-40,000 more than that. But I won't, because there's nothing else out there like it. So, yes, I'm looking for a trailer *after* already having a tow vehicle. That's not going to change. And being in our late '60s, I'm not going to get a cheap starter trailer before eventually getting one of the best available. Both of my brothers have gone through umpteen larger trucks and larger trailers; now both with dually diesels and 37' and 41' unwieldy monsters. That's not me. I've been warned. Both @John E Daviesand @mossemi have similar Land Cruisers (albeit both with the 6-speed transmission with a better gear ratio than my 8-speed) and have mentioned the limitations of pulling an Elite II with one. I'm willing to live within those limitations. Will it be a choice that I regret down the road? Maybe. But I'd rather regret it later than not having had the experience of finding out. We will be visiting the Oliver factory and show room sometime during the week of July 10-15. Unless something completely unexpected rears its head (and if I get an all clear on a medical concern), we'll be ordering one.

Don’t do it!! 😂 Signed, your friendly end-of -an-era LC200 owner. 😜

Anita at Oliver called yesterday to make sure we got the printed brochure in the mail, and to answer any questions we had. We had a nice chat, but the old saying of "you don't know what you don't know" definitely applies here. Since we are currently in a 5X8 squaredrop (a boxy teardrop) without plumbing, gas, or any appliances built in, and basic electrical, everything about a potential purchase is unknown. We've done a *lot* of reading and YouTubing over the last couple of years, but I know there will be tons of questions down the road if we go this route. That said, Deb received her "golden ticket" from Maker's Mark as an ambassador, and her bottle is ready for pickup in Loretta, Kentucky. (Side note; she doesn't even like whiskey, but signed up for the free stuff they send at Christmas every year. 🤣 ) Meanwhile, Choice Privileges emailed me and let me know that I need to use my points on a stay before August 1, else lose them. So after Maker's Mark, we're headed to Hohenwald for a factory visit and to tour the Elite II. Who knows whether we'll leave with one less check in the checkbook...

The NL fridge is remarkable efficient. The 90 uses less energy than most discount 35-50L units, averaging .32Ah in fridge/fridge mode and 1.7Ah in freezer/freezer mode harsh conditions. And that's unloaded. We lucked into ours! We were visiting the aforementioned David Bates in Bellefontaine in 2015 when he was still carrying Conqurer trailers, and they were swapping all of the National Luna 90s to the new darling, the Snowmaster. It was a $2800 fridge at the time, and he was disposing of them for $1000. This is when an ARB 50 was $850 plus shipping. I couldn't pass it up. It has been running, loaded with water jugs, 24 hours a day from March to after Christmas, either plugged in here at home or running on the Bluetti solar generator in the Cruiser ever since. I love it and would buy another if this one ever croaks!

We grew up in Bellefontaine, Ohio, which is now the home of the sole importer of Kimberley Kampers. We stoped in to see David Bates in early 2021 to see an KK E2, which is about the same size as the EII. That was before prices and container costs went through the roof. At $120k, it was a possibility. At $175, nope! That, and it can't use an equalizing hitch, which would be way too much for my Cruiser. We'll stop in again on our way to Kentucky (and possibly Oliver HQ) to see a Kimberley Kruiser E3, which is about the size of the Elite. Sadly, it is nearly $140k now, where it was under $100k when we last visited. He didn't have one to see since, though. I have expensive tastes!

I slept in the bunk of a tiny trailer in the '60s. I'd rather not do that again. I didn't mention in the original post, but the first requirement we came up with in any trailer back when we first started going to RV shows in 2016 was it had to have a permanent bed. No back and for between dining and sleeping.

Thank you for the comments. I'm listening as far as what you all are saying about the size. As far as the freezer in a compressor fridge, I've got that covered. I have a National Luna 90 Twin fridge/freezer in the Cruiser that can be set with one or both bins as freezer or fridge. That's a lot of food (and weight!)

Thank you, and I will definitely be doing that! The size fits our needs better if only there was a bed situation that met our desires.And interesting that there's possibly a factory compressor fridge option and potential drop in third party induction stove. For both, I'd prefer factory installed, or al least the option not to cut openings for vents in the hull. The fewer holes the better! Thanks

Thank you, John! I think I've read every post you've contributed to that contained Land Cruiser (as well as on MUG)! As well as at least two other members whom I can't recall right now due to my horrible memory with names and general information overload. 🙂 And I hear and understand your comments on boondocking and saw your admonitions about going 1/4 mile, 5 miles, or 40 (?) miles off road in another post. I guess my imagined trailer (somewhat off road capable, light enough for the LC200, not climbing over each other to get out of bed, somewhere south of $175k), doesn't exist. Thank you!

Thank you! All very helpful replies that are greatly appreciated. As for questions and answers, Absolutely yes on the search!! I've been admin and moderator on forums for 25 years now, and know the frustration they can sometimes cause. ("What mattress should I get?" has been asked probably 200 times on the Hiker Facebook group in its six years of existence!) Oddly, searching for "refrigerator" in title only resulted in nothing relevant. Again, thank you!

Hi! I'm Steve! Deb and I currently have a 5 X 8 Hiker trailer, which is basically a box with a bed and some shelves. We are in our late '60s, and Deb is getting tired of getting up during the night to go outside to the bathroom tent; especially when it is cold (or raining, buggy, critters about, etc.) And it would be nice to have a place to stand and dress, as well as have AC for the midwest's typical 85° 85% humidity summers. Not climbing over each other in an east-west bed is high on the list, so the twin option would be great. There aren't too many twin options out there other than much larger Airstreams and the upcoming Escape 23 that's likely another year or two out. A dry bath is another desire, but the combination of that along with twin beds is like finding a unicorn. We were in an Australian extreme off-road Kimberley Kruiser E3 recently that had both, but with current prices and crazy shipping costs, those are in the $175,000 range now. I know Don Thompson used to be on here went that way last year before the prices skyrocketed. Like a few members here, we have a Toyota Land Cruiser, which has an 8100 pound tow rating. I'm not even remotely interested in changing tow vehicles (a 40+ year dream to own one became a necessity last year when they were discontinued in the US) so I'll need to find a trailer to accommodate the Cruiser. From what reading I've done here, it sounds like it is okay, but not optimal. Other than towing a 5000# boat 20 miles twice a year in the '70s with my grandfather's 500 cubic inch Cadillac, I haven't towed anything larger than a 1500# sailboat. The Hiker is 780# empty. Towing something 5-6000 pound is mildly intimidating! Building our imaginary trailer adds up fast! With the features I'd *like*, I hit $100k... We want to stay away from campgrounds, but even typically empty boondocking sites have become overwhelmed with the rise of "overlanding", #vanlife, and a zillion YouTube videos and Instastardom. A bit about us: like most trailer owners, we tent camped extensively. I backpacked in the '70s and again in the '90s, and Deb and I tented a lot from when we were married in 1981 unto the early '90s. Then kids got into other things, and we were tired of sleeping on the ground. Buying a home, and life got in the way. Then in 2015, our youngest went off to college in Seattle. We took her out in our seriously overladed Outback, and then spent the next 42 days wandering our way home. That's 42 nights of motels and restaurant meals twice a day. Then we did the same for the next two years, albeit for shorter duration. Expensive, not particularly healthy, and we were often a couple of hours from where we were staying to the sights we wanted to see. "It would be so much easier if we could camp right here!" A free roof top tent from an online giveaway lasted one trip. Nope! Not gonna work. That's when we ordered the Hiker. And here we are looking to possibly upgrade. Deb is an avid gardener (flowers and food) so that limits our away time. It seemed we were always gone when the tomatoes were in their peak. The neighbors really enjoyed them, though. We both want to get off the beaten path, and while we realize the Oliver isn't an off-road trailer, if we can find somewhere to park it as a basecamp, we can explore during the day in the Cruiser (which has an onboard fridge/freezer and stuff for causal cooking and dining while out and about.) Sounds ideal! We will be in central Kentucky sometime in the next 6-8 weeks, and might take a side trip to take the Oliver factory tour and see one in person. A couple questions I already have. I see that some have plumbed the liquids from the composting toilet to the black tank. Is the black tank installed in every trailer? Or are these people that had the regular RV toilet and swapped to a composing version? Has anyone switched to a 2-way compressor fridge instead of the propane 3-way? They are much more efficient, and with a lithium package, would never run down the batteries. Does Oliver do any custom orders, leaving the refrigerator vents uncut in the hull so the I could either supply a compressor fridge or install it myself? Along the same lines, with a lithium package, I'd prefer an induction stovetop instead of the propane 2-burner. Is this available as an option, or just have them leave out the cooktop so there's no hole? Well, that's more than enough for now. I ramble. A lot... Thanks, Steve