Steve Morris

Original post edited to include our thoughts on the change of upgraded mattress supplier. Short version: KTT and Takata are both available, but the buyer doesn’t get a choice in what’s supplied.

Thanks John. I’ve read and bookmarked that thread when I first joined here. Similar posts on MUD, too. Definitely two separate lines instead of two combined. Seems common sense. :shrug: I appreciate the input!

No trailer yet, but for jobs like this here in the rust belt, I use Eastwood’s original chassis paint. I see that there’s now an extreme and ceramic, but I’ve never tried them. https://www.eastwood.com/search/?q=Chassis Before: After: 14 Years later:

Thanks John. I’ve already had the Firestone link as well as Redarc’s brake controller bookmarked for months. 😉 As noted on MUD ( I’m Slow paddler), the HE model has very slightly larger wire diameter for the coils, but I think one fewer turns. Consensus is a barely stiffer spring. My fridge is mid-ship, so the only weight aft is just junk. No rear seats, and the 60% second row seat is out. So no stiffer springs unless I get a 24 gallon tank down the road At least two more outings planned for the Hiker this year. We may keep it and let our daughter and her fiancé use of if they store it for us. Else sell it to them. I could sell online for about 30% more than we paid for it, but theyretent camping now and would appreciate the enclosed box.

Storm:

Desert

@AZ Wonderer Yep. Here are photos of 2023 samples. Midnight:

Thoughts and discoveries from yesterday's tour and purchase in no particular order. I'll add more if I think of anything. Anita was very helpful and knowledgable. When she didn't know an answer, she said so instead of faking her way through. I appreciate that. When we scheduled our tour, I selected the 1:00 slot. Anita countered that the plant gets unbearable in the afternoons, and suggested we schedule the 9:00 tour instead. As it was 91 out, I really appreciated that! The plant works four 10 hour days, so Friday was mostly inactive. This is good because you can hold a conversation and get closer to the assembly line, but you can't watch employees at work. Seeing the final inspection area where any errors were noted by employee name was interesting. Making the offender responsible has to be beneficial. We toured with another couple. We knew that was going to be the case beforehand, but by their response, I'm not sure they did. This might be offputting if you're not comfortable discussing questions in a group. Having spent 40 plus years in manufacturing, I had a lot of questions. This might have taken away some of the time the other couple could have been asking questions. We weren't rushed, and they said they were okay with the time given, but if I were them, I might have preferred to not have me along. 😉 I was taking photos of the wiring and plumbing between hull halves, and Anita stopped me. It seems an email was sent out just the day before that photos are no longer permitted during plant tours. This was somewhat irksome, as I want to know what's behind the walls. Especially with no wiring diagrams available. Several surreptitious photos may have been taken anyway... The 2023 fabric is different than the previous offered material. It seems softer, but maybe thinner and not as rugged or course feeling. Deb has samples of both and I'll try to post a photo later. The Midnight fabric is also darker. No Truma furnace or AC were on the line, as they are still building 2022 models. No Victron components were on the demo unit, but the Truma AC was. It's as quiet as reported! They resumed Elite I orders and builds due to an overwhelming number of orders placed when it was announced they would stop for a redesign. That's now on hold. The rumored larger model is still being considered with no timeline discussed. Forgot a huge point as far as I’m concerned, and caused us to change what we were going to order. When Sue and Matt offered to let us visit them to see their Elite II Twin, we found that they had the upgraded KTT mattresses. Deb and I didn’t see the value of that $1750 option until we laid on their bed. Thick, comfy, and much more firm than I expected. We were sold on the upgrade. Fast forward to this past Friday and our visit to Hohenwald. We sat in the demo trailer, and I asked Anita if they had one with the upgraded KTT mattress. She said that I was sitting on the upgraded mattress!! Go look at the option list. It no longer says KTT. They can’t get enough mattresses from KTT, so they are also getting them from Takata. And the buyer does not get to choose which they get! Deb and I both thought that the Takata that we were sitting and later laying on felt cheap, soft, offered no support, and definitely not worth the upgrade! Deb was sitting on it, and not just on the edge, and the mattress compressed enough that her thigh was resting on the edge of the mattress tray. Very uncomfortable! I said it felt like an old worn out mattress in a cheap motel. By comparison, the standard free cushion felt luxurious! Not as great as Sue and Matt’s KTT, but much better than the Takata. Anita said the difference in support was because Sue and Matt had Hypervent and the Takata didn’t. Can’t be that much difference! So, we saved $1750 and $850 by ordering the standard cushions and no Ultra fabric upgrade, and Oliver lost whatever profit they make on both. 👎👎👎👎👎 We both found the Nature's Head toilet very uncomfortable. As someone who takes a while for things to happen, I don't think it would work for me. We ordered the standard toilet with the intention of likely replacing it with an AirHead composting toilet instead. Placing our order was painless, and picking the delivery date to fit our schedule was nice. There were earlier days available that didn't work for us. Here's where we're at right now: - Elite II Twin Bed - Standard Mattresses - Standard Fabric - Midnight - Hypervent - Omnidirectional Antenna (local weather etc. if we don't have cell service) - Street Side Awning - Frosted Doors - Convection Microwave - 20 Gallon Propane (to keep tongue weight down) - Front/Rear Propane Quick-Connects - Standard Toilet with possible AirHead composting replacement - Full Truma Package AC, Furnace, Water Heater and Antifreeze kit - Largest Lithium Package - No Backup Camera: Probably add our own later - Anderson Hitch - Aluminum Storage Basket - Basement Door - No Graphics

Midnight, with standard fabric and standard mattresses.

Elite II twin configuration. With Truma, lithium, two awnings, convection microwave, and a few other goodies.

It’s a boy! Due March 28, 2023. There was really no indecision. I knew what we were going to do before we arrived. Deb pretty much was set to order, too. It was more about taking the hour to sit there relaxed and make the final decision. I’ll be half a year shy of 70 at delivery, with Deb two years behind. We deserve to enjoy ourselves while we can. A big thanks to everyone who has offered advice and encouragement! We really do appreciate the input.

At lunch, deciding yes, no, or decide later…

Today’s the day!!! To say we are excited would be an understatement. 🤪 2-1/2 hours left until we meet Anita for our plant tour. Then time to examine the floor models and get down to business! I’m feeling positive as to whether we leave with one less check than when we arrived. 😉

Thanks, John. They didn’t work quite as well as expected. I was going to use them right side up, but figured with their crowned shape and knobs, the A/C might slip off. So, we flipped them over, which created another problem. The A/C unit has screw adjustable feet, which didn’t coincide with the hollow spacing on the back of the MaxTrax, so it slipped one way or the other. So we used four leveling blocks for a stable footprint. Now we’ll know for the next time. It also filled with water, as you might expect. (Writing this from a motel in Lexington Kentucky. Makers Mark tour tomorrow, Mammoth Cave Thursday, Oliver Travel Trailers on Fridayyyyyy!!! 🤗 )

What great timing! We camped at Geneva State Park, on Lake Erie east of Cleveland from Thursday through Sunday. No wind, temps in the mid to high 80s, and humidity to match. Walking to the bathroom resulted in a soaked shirt! We had the external A/C running in dehumidify mode each night, and it pumped out gallons of water. Why great timing? Because we leave tomorrow, heading to Kentucky to use Deb's Golden Ticket at Makers Mark, and then further south to visit a little shop in Hohenwald, Tennessee. After four days of sultry, stuffy, stifling, suffocating, oppressive, muggy, sticky, sweltering, tropical, torrid, steamy conditions, writing a deposit check before leaving might be all that much easier! 😁 (That Thesaurus sure comes in handy sometimes.) A few photos of the weekend for anyone interested. You can see the 5000 BTU A/C on sawhorses straddling the trailer's tongue. The new kitchen setup was used for the first time, and is really nice! Versatile and modular make cooking options endless.

Thank you, Jim! Even more good information to absorb. When visiting our daughter at Seattle Pacific University, we’d stay out in Bothell. So we were in your neighborhood when we had our first ever MOD Pizza, and went to the Molback Garden Center. Plus another restaurant that I can’t recall. One really shocking surprise in Bothell was pulling up at a drive through coffee shop and seeing a mostly naked barista!! 😳 we don’t have those in the Cleveland area. 🤷‍♂️

Thank you! All I really see needing is an Oliver hat, and then only if it isn't mesh. I was mostly curious what else they offer. We'll see for ourselves in eight days!

Thanks! Yep, the external propane connections are on the list. And, having played with various option combinations, it definitely adds up fast. Sue and Matt's trailer that wee looked at on Saturday had a lot of the options, yet their 2021 price was not much more than the base price today!! Here's where we're at right now: Elite II Twin Bed Upgraded Mattresses Fabric Upgrade - Undecided until we see the standard in person Hypervent Omnidirectional Antenna (local weather etc. if we don't have cell service) Street Side Awning Frosted Doors Convection Microwave - Undecided - More research needed 20 Gallon Propane (to keep tongue weight down) Front/Rear Propane Quick-Connects Toilet - Undecided Full Truma Package - AC, Furnace, Water Heater - Antifreeze kit undecided Lithium Backup Camera - Probably have Oliver install system of our cloosing Anderson Hitch - I see no reason to spend $350 more for the 2-5/16 version Aluminum Storage Basket - Undecided - I see using it the last miles for firewood or wet gear after a rainy night. Not for a generator or water storage Basement Door No Graphics Thanks for everyone's input!! We are heading out today for four days camping in our 5X8 squaredrop and it is in the high 80s with 80-90% humidity with some rain forecast each day. Right after we get home, we'll have one day to catch up, and then head south (motels) to go to Makers Mark and then Oliver on Friday. The recent memory of those conditions might have a lot to do with placing an order. 🙂

Thank you! Good information to help us understand.

Thank you!

Great info. Thanks!

Thank you, Craig! That's exactly the sort of info I was after.

We are going to call Anita today and arrange a plant tour next Friday. Before the tour, we plan to see all of the trailers in the showroom and hopefully decide place an order when we're done! I'm sure the ordering process is documented somewhere, but for my clarification, a couple of questions: IF we decide to order, we put down a deposit. Is our order locked in then, or will there be a period of time where we can change the options? Are there the equivalent of accessories available, such as branded clothing (I'm bald, so never without a hat), bedding, camp furniture, etc? I know a fire pit and gas grill are available in a package option, so I'm guessing other items are also available. Tank size understanding: We currently use a Cleanwaste Portable Toilet beside our Hiker, inside a separate shower/changing room, as well as campground bathrooms. We do our business in a bag with anti-stink powder in them, and then take them to a dumpster. Anything will be an improvement on that! So we have no experience whatsoever with traditional trailer toilets and showers or composting toilets. For two people with well functioning digestive system, about how many days does the 15 gallon black tank last without using other bathrooms (campground, rest area while travelling, etc.) or without going to extremes like watering the flowers or not flushing TP? I think people with 5 gallon cassette toilets say about two days, so does six days for 15 gallons sound typical? Ignoring which toilet we would chose, how many days does the gray tank typically last, again assuming not using other washing/showering options? Figure a shower for each of us on two out of three days, with Deb washing her hair every third day. I'm just guessing at ballpark numbers here, as we use body wipes and public showers with the Hiker. The hotter and more humid, the more we shower. And I'm guessing that the shower is the major water user, with dishes, washing hands, and flushing the toilet being lesser use? Maybe I'm completely wrong... Those questions come back to the ordering question. If we order now, but have until November to finalize the build, we might rent a trailer locally to help answer some of these questions ourselves. Thanks for any input!

Thanks, @Rivernerd I'd never heard of those before. Learn something every day! I avoid wire nuts whenever possible, too. And I can't think of any time I've used them with stranded wire, which is what should have been used in the trailer. That's why I used crimped terminals with heat shrink insulation in all of the above connections, and anchored them to fixed terminals. I'll look into the Wago lever nuts for possible home use. Thank you.

😮 That’s the connectors they use in the factory?? That can’t be to any kind of code. Yikes! Even wiring the simple AC electrical system I adde to my tiny squaredrop I used terminal blocks! Same with the DC side.