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@John E Davies: I appreciate your comments as we decide which options to choose. One we are still going back and forth on is the cargo box: We have a HD pickup, so weight is not an issue. We are looking at the possibility of mounting our tray bike rack on the pickup. The rack extends 26" beyond the receiver; the distance from hitch to LP cover is 34" so I think this will work. However, clearance might be an issue with the cargo box installed. The only consideration to mounting the rack in this manner will be that the rack is hinged to drop down, so opening the tailgate might require the trailer to be unhitched or removing the bikes (which takes less than a minute). Once I get a schematic of the trailer tongue, I can better calculate how the rack might work. It's a trade-off between using the rack or carrying the bikes in the pickup bed, which is a hassle; we prefer the rack. My question is: You say a cargo box can easily be added later. I get this, but if the Oliver cargo box is ordered, can it easily be removed? Is it welded or bolted to the tongue? Adding one later has the advantage of customizing the box to fit our needs (our son can do this). The other option we are unsure about is the auto-drain backflow prevention: I understand the need for this, but it's another electronic element to hassle with. I have reservations, however, about the manual valve: is it in the way, particularly where feet are concerned? I can see going into the bathroom barefoot in the middle of the night and whacking an ankle bone on the handle; would be nice if it was recessed. What are your thoughts on the backflow prevention options? Exactly how does the automatic valve work? Reliability of each option . . . . . . why not just plug the drain with an expansion stopper, or perhaps to a kayak scupper plug, while towing? I agree with your other observations: Our intention is to keep our Oliver as simple as possible with fewer powered/electronic accessories; I'm thankful that Oliver gives you this choice. Our options list: Midnight decor with Ultra Fabric dinette upgrade Hypervent mat Solar Pro Pkg (4 6v AGM, solar panels, inverter) Micro-air Easy Start (we will be carrying a generator) Omni-directional Antenna - mostly for FM and resale; still somewhat undecided Manual curbside awning Black cabinet doors No microwave 30# LP tanks Standard toilet Standard 6 gal water heater 4G cell phone booster Backup camera Inside basement access door Extra fabric back cushions to convert dinette into sofa and possibly use with beds

I tow with a 2013 Land Cruiser and don’t need extra mirrors. However I think a trailer backup camera that is NOT wired into your backup lights is mandatory. I turn it on when in heavy traffic to watch for tailgaters or idiots. It is extremely helpful! When I towed with a Ram 3500 with wide mirrors it was certainly nice, but I don’t have a problem with the 200’s stock ones. I suspect your Tundra is a few inches wider, so no worries. Since you are getting an Elite II, I hope you have the 5.7 engine. If so you definitely have the needed power and those wonderful 4.30 axles. My 200 has 3.90 axles and with my Plus 2 tires it struggles a little at high altitude. I may regear them, eventually, maybe go all the way to 4.88.... so I can tow in fifth instead of forth. If you have stock tires or up to 33” ones you should have no difficulties. John Davies Spokane WA

Just looked at several reviews on YouTube and this one like many worked as described. I did want one with a 7" screen, backup camera availability if I later decided I want to add one in the future, does have a battery that does give and hour run time if needed which you could carry with you when out of the vehicle, accepts both traffic and weather if you want to add it. There are several other things that this model offers which I don't need or use because our Ram offers all these electronics in our pickup. Buying a GPS and I have purchased several over the years it can be pretty much a toss up on which one you choose as many offer so many options. I personally wanted one with a 7" screen and most 7" Garmin GPS's come with many options as standard. I have never purchased any GPS but a Garmin and have always been satisfied with my purchases. As I have read on sites the iPhone is taking over GPS and as so many phones do offer so many options today, it's hard to say the GPS is worth spending a lot of money for, but I like the screen on the GPS over the iPhone and I can read that 7" screen. trainman

When we go to purchase a new vehicle I always want the NAV system on the vehicle I buy, but after having them they are pretty much useless and you can't use them when driving to reset, etc. When we purchased our new 2019 Ram I asked the sales person why so few vehicles had the factory NAV ordered with them and the sales person said, just about everyone uses their iPhone today and the $800 option is not as updated, or work as well as the phone. For the RAM I just purchase a new Garmin with a 7" screen, it does everything and mounts on the dash with a RAM mount and work out very well a $220 purchase. At looking at new vehicles in the future I think I will look at vehicles without the NAV systems as many do add some $5000-$6000 to the price of the vehicle just to get the NAV factory system, I'm talking Acura/Lexus here, when most of the vehicles do come with all the needed electronics we would need. Just something to think about when purchasing your next vehicle and if you want to pay for a factory NAV system. trainman John, here is the unit I purchased, it does come with Backup Camera Option and a suction type windshield mount, I stick mine on the dash where it has a flat plastic part in the center about the control screen on the Ram 2019. You can use the windshield, but it's farther away and harder to reach. I have purchased several items from this company and always had good results, the price for this unit is $249.00 and it is a new unit, you can purchase Refurbished units at a lessor price, but have always bought new. As far as I know all Garmin GPS have lifetime updates, so auto manufactures should do the same. Due note here that Honda gives you a 5 years free GPS update and our Acura you get to pay $150 for your updates, go figure there both Honda owned. https://g.factoryoutletstore.com/details/719956/garmin-drivesmart-61lmt-s-north-america-w-city-navigator-nt-europe.html?category_id=18937&catalogitemid=643164

The really big deal with using a TPMS for the trailer is the great peace of mind it gives you. Like having a backup camera that can be operated when driving, it removes a whole lot of worries, making your trip more enjoyable. Which I think is pretty darned important...... John Davies Spokane WA

We've had really good luck with some camping world service departments around the country, both with our Oliver, and the rvs that we've delivered to Alaska. Notably, the Campingworld in Port Richey, Fl, who worked on our old Oliver Dometic fridge under warranty, and Campingworld of Kansas City, which is actually in Grain Valley, MO. (A few others, honestly, were not so great.) I called CW Grain Valley from 40 miles away, and they squeezed us in late on a Friday afternoon, and had us in and out in 30 minutes on a backup camera issue in one of the delivery units. Really nice staff, too, and very clean waiting room. For warranty work on an Oliver, you can take your trailer to any qualified dealer. I second Whatda's recommendation of camping near Oliver for several days, and using /testing every system on your trailer at pickup. Sherry

We tow our Oliver Legacy II with a 2018 Ford Expedition XLT with FX4 and heavy duty tow packages. It has a 3.73 rear end which I understand is important in towing. This is our first camper and our first towing experience. The Expedition/Legacy II combo is great. The Expedition has plenty of power to haul the Oliver around. My previous two vehicles were Toyota Highlanders and I was intimidated by the size of the Expedition initially, but it didn't take long to get used to it. It's very comfortable to ride in around town and on long trips. It seats 8 and honestly that third row seat is not bad to ride in. Our towing experience has been limited but it has been a lot easier than I thought it might be. We have the Ford back-up assist and the brake controller and they work wonderfully. The blind spot monitor extends back and covers the trailer when it is hooked up to the truck. I have the Ford safety suite although I haven't used the adaptive Cruise. The FX4 package got us 18 inch wheels and Michelin truck tires (no low profile tires for this truck). The backup camera in the truck is big enough to be useful (the one in the Highlander was way too small). My husband can back the truck up to the trailer and pretty much line the hitch ball up with the trailer tongue just by using the camera. We could easily take the Expedition on dirt/gravel roads. We're not doing Expedition Portal stuff--if we were we would have bought a raised teardrop-rooftop tent type thing and a 4Runner. But I'm confident that we can wander around on forest service roads, etc. One thing that I have not seen mentioned in this thread is vehicle payload. My Expedition is rated at 1600 lbs. When you are deciding which vehicle you want, you might want to consider that figure too. Think about how much stuff you'll travel with and whether your vehicle will be able to haul it. I think that being able to get your vehicle serviced anywhere is important and the Ford F150 is the largest selling vehicle in America. There are plenty of Ford dealers out there and that was important to us. I wanted an SUV for our day-to-day lives. My husband drives a regular cab Ford F150 so we have a truck for truck stuff. There will probably be a day when we're camping and towing when I'll wish I had a truck bed instead of an SUV. Dirty, wet, stinky stuff in the bed of a truck is better than that same stuff in the back of the SUV but so far that hasn't happened to us. Good luck with you choice and happy camping.

I use the same level on my trailer but I placed it on the front of my storage basket. It shows up very clearly in my rearview backup camera and I didn't have to mess with trying to attach it to the trailer hull.

FINALLY, I finished this project. I have been using it by hot wiring the camera every time I tow, which is probably not a prudent long term solution. Heres most of the electrical stuff, reposted: The inside look at the camera wire coming through the rear outer wall. I reglued the two white plastic harness supports that fell off...: The wires for the Oliver Sign, about 5 feet (!) too long: The unsecured and un-capped wire for the factory Backup Camera: Wiring secured: The Garmin video extension cable is 50 feet long, about 30 feet too much, so the excess is coiled and secured in back. It is not good to secure coax in anything but a loop, you can damage the inside, so I have heard: I ran the cable along the outside of the street side overhead cabinets. Access is very easy when the rubber mats are removed. The only problem was the pantry, which blocks a few feet, so I used a piece of stiff 14/3 house wire to act as a snake. I fed it through from the cabinet over the dinette, and taped the Garmin cable to it to pull it back forward: More to come. John Davies Spokane WA

Saw this on the Ford Site. It gives details on the backup camera and the TPMS requirements.

I am still in limbo over a switch, but I did end up ordering a complete backup camera placard, LED and switch from Oliver, I just haven't received it yet. I plan to post part two of this thread when I get it installed. I hot wire the system for each tow.... Here are some screen shots. Resolution is barely adequate and response time is laggy, but it is entirely usable in decent light. At night it is going to be pretty much useless. I wish Garmin had spent more development on a better camera. My 6 inch RV660 LMT display is plenty sharp.... the camera resolution is poor. All pics are in full sunny daylight. This is my garage door about two feet away: The side lines are the lane lines, showing where the tires will go, and the horizontal lines are distance markers, the nearest is 2 ft and the furthest is 6 ft from the back of the rear bumper. More to come later. John Davies Spokane WA

I wish you the best of luck figuring this out .... I wish there were standards so that factory truck monitors could easily accept outside video feeds. I do think you will need to find an aftermarket wifi dongle to connect to your nav head. My Land Cruiser has perimeter cameras as well as front and back cameras. I hoped to tie my trailer one into that system. No luck. I am now using a Garmin BC30 backup camera connected to my RV660 gps. It works fine, and having the second screen helps in certain unusual circumstances, such as going down a steep twisty dirt road in first gear, 4 Low. I have a view of what is in front of the truck bumper AND what is behind the trailer. I would lose that ability if I had the rear signal integrated into my factory display.... Sorry to hijack your thread. I actually believe having the monitor up high in your direct line of sight is WAY more useful, especially when you leave it turned on in heavy traffic. You don’t have to look away from the road to see it. Note that my high mounted camera, about 8 inches below the Oliver sign, allows me to actually the rear tire; plus the two furthest guidelines are adjustable. I have mine set at six feet and four feet. I think this is important! I don’t know if the factory unit has that capability.... John Davies Spokane WA

No real concern. You can buy most spare parts off their website - gear assemblies, wheels, handles, etc. The jack weighs 41lbs, and I don't see why you can't use it on its own. It's just that if you have two, then you may as well take advantage of the ability to use both. I haven't tried using it to hold the tongue while camped, so I can't say for sure if it would feel more or less squirrelly, but I don't think it would. If anything, maybe less, because it's much sturdier. I think the problem you might run into is that the XO has less travel than the power jack. You can buy them separately here, or when you order the hitch, just specify the WD model. I have a hard wired backup camera.

Rent a large U-Haul box tandem axle trailer for a weekend and tow it all over - first on secondary highways and country roads until you get used to it, then on city streets. Find an empty parking lot on a Sunday, set up markers (paper cups filled with water) and practice maneuvers and backing. Buy the full U-Haul towing insurance! Use cell phones and hand signals to communicate with your helper. Buy a cheap set of walkie talkies for when you are out of coverage.,... This will be easier than finding somebody to teach you, and if you have issues you can ask here. Did you buy the backup camera for your Ollie? That is a huge help. John Davies Spokane WA

[postquote quote=177369][/postquote] I use the same leveler as John but I attached it to the front of my basket on the tongue. I can see it clearly in my TVs backup camera and it's magnified. Beyond that, it keeps me from having to attach it to the trailer itself up above the "waterline" which I don't like the looks of (if avoidable). I installed mine in the delivery room at Oliver before we ever pulled out. The service person who watched me do this said it was the first time he'd ever seen that done but he liked it. It's worked well for me in my particular application. BTW: I did take John's advise and epoxy the ends of the level to ensure no leakage.

Does anyone know where I can get either a vinyl applique or a laser printed aluminum switch placard like this? Have added a Garmin backup camera and would like the switch to match the others in appearance. Jason in Service told me that they get all theirs from: .... http://www.seton.com ... but I emailed them and got a frustrating canned response telling me to buzz off. So now I need to figure out a local source or another online place. Any suggestions? I can make an aluminum plate, drill it and paint it black, I just need the label and the perimeter line. So it looks pretty and professional. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Darrell, I second John's comments. You do not need a WDH with a 3/4 ton truck. It will settle about 2-2 1/2" or so with the approximate 450-480 lb tongue weight, ready to go. Plus maybe more if you load stuff in the bed. End up with about 23-24" top of ball when loaded. There may be some variation on the ball height as the tongues were re-designed at some point in, maybe 2016. You could get about three to four people to stand in the rear of your bed and see what you'll need as far as a drop hitch. My Ram has a factory backup camera that allows me to drive right up to the ball in one try. Excellent. You could add an aftermarket camera.

That is a good trick with the marker rock. But since I have more money than skill at his point, I'm still going for a camera system with probably at least 3 cameras for driving and backing. The Tandi Brothers site is proving very helpful for figuring that out. For hitching up, I think I might be able to rig something up with my GoPro camera. I can mount it near the ball and watch it on my iPhone or iPad. I'm going to test that theory out on my utility trailer. I might also add a backup camera to help with backing the truck. That thing sorely needs one anyway. So I'll do all that AND use the marker rock trick. I like that, thanks. Jaque Ollie Elite II of the Future A 2017?) with a Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax diesel, Allison six speed with tow package

Overland, thanks for the comments. I may add a strip up on the back of the AC shroud. If the yellow strips up front are too bright and wash out the truck’s backup camera, I may try smaller pieces. I already have a silver paint stripe on my coupler which helps when the light is decent. As far as the back getting covered, I am hardly ever in mud since I usually am in a dry climate and if the roads get sloppy from a shower I just wait for them to dry. Dust however is a real problem, I carry a gas leaf blower that takes care of that in seconds when I get to the end of the dirt road.... BTW the 3M tape reflects from straight on to almost 90 degrees to the side, so it does not necessarily have to be perfectly aligned. John Davies Spokane WA

Most owners will run into a situation where they need to repair a broken wire or faulty circuit, or want to add a completely new one, for a pantry light, a backup camera or perhaps a charging port. Being able to make electrical connections in a safe and secure way is critical. If you understand the fundamentals, it is easy to select the correct tools and supplies to do the job the right way. This is a fine reference for low voltage automotive wiring ..... It is NOT AT ALL appropriate for 120 volt ac residential type wiring. I selected Reader View on my iPad, which neatens up the formatting and removes ads, then saved it as a pdf. http://www.musclecardiy.com/automotive-wiring/fundamentals-of-automotive-electrical-connections-and-connectors/ This applies to homebuilt aircraft, but it does provide some good insight into what works and what doesn't I hope this proves useful. John Davies Spokane WA

My monitor for the backup camera quit working. I've taken one long trip without the monitor and I'm leaving on another on Saturday. I miss it when backing into a tight camping spot. But, I just jump out of the Touareg and look to see where the trees and obstacles are. (I'm a solo traveler) Today I backed up into our narrow, ice-covered driveway with snow drifts on both sides of the entrance to the driveway in Iowa to get the Ollie packed and ready to leave on Saturday morning for Big Bend National Park. While I've backed trailers for over 50 years, I've learned to be more proficient owning and towing the Ollie. It's really simple if you follow a few basic rules: 1) Place your hands on the bottom of your steering wheel. If you want the rear of the camper to go to the left, move your hands to the left. If you want the camper to go right, move your hands to the right; 2) Drive very, very slowly; 3) Use small and gradual steering inputs to avoid having to overcorrect.

Thank you Pete. Will definitely post more pics of our new baby in our various locales. BTW how do you get 110ac when boondocking? I thought the inverter provided that automatically. Is there a switch? Are the outside running lights supposed to stay on dimly all night? First beginner mistake: sprayed water at frig vent while at the car wash. Mop up job wasn’t too difficult thankfully. First big accomplishment: backed it into storage area and parking spot all by my lonesome. It was great practice backing into a camping slot. Love the backup camera.

Long before I picked up my Ollie, Buzzy had posted about painting the hitch orange to increase visibility in a car's backup camera system. I added this project to my ToDo list. My idea was to use tape to mask the area and paint a cross on the coupler, with the vertical and horizontal lines at the center of where the hitch ball should align. I then found an easier solution. I simply used tape to make the cross marks. It works great, especially when I am hitching up alone. The tape is still in decent condition after two years, but I may need to replace it next year.

I would be really interested to see if this works, but I have doubts that you will ever be able to maneuver past a couple of bikes secured to the floor, to the back of the cabin. Pedals and other hard points will scrape, tear and soil the interior, plus the mount will be a real toe knocker when the bikes are gone. I just can't imaging it working very well in such a narrow isle. In a full sized van, it can be great.... Good luck and please post pics of the experiment! Any competent welder who is comfortable with aluminum (not all are!) can build a custom bolt-on bumper bike/ storage rack like the Oliver one, to your specifications. Don't even think about welding it to the frame! Consider the high shipping cost if ordering from the factory. If I made one I would be sure to include red LED turn and running lights and an expanded metal floor. plus tie down loops. Be aware that the rear of the trailer is its most dirty/ wet location when moving fast. Nice bikes or equipment need to be covered. If you don't have a backup camera, you will definitely want to install one to keep an eye on the bikes as you travel on bumpy roads! "HEY, didn't there used to be two bikes back there?!" John Davies Spokane WA

Ok here is the least expensive backup camera system I have come across. For $140 you get a small round camera, seperate wireless transmitter, 20 foot cable extension(purchased seperately) and wireless monitor/reciever with mounts. The unit is intened to be used as a backup camera, but I have wired it so I can leave it on during towing and see what's going on behind the trailer. I will let you now in April how well the setup works and longer term road test will prove if this can be used as a perminent rearview camera. Here is were I purchased the unit. http://www.4ucam.com/index.html Mounted the weather resistant camera on the rear bumper, should say double stuck for now. Put the wireless transmitter on the front of the trailer in the propane compartment. Not sure of the weather resistance of this unit, so I will have to see how it goes. Took power from inside and have a switch so the camera and transmitter can be turned off when not in use. Ran the cable to the camer under the trailer, you can follow the proprane line or frame. Here is the monitor with the image being recieved. Not bad with the transmitter being inside a closed area. I'll post an update in April about the units performance.