Search the Community

John, You're right--he was really talking about boondocking. I think I'll leave Iowa with the camper winterized. I'll have 3 20-liter and 1 10-liter Sceptre water cans. I'll keep the 10- liter can in the Ollie and the larger ones in the cargo area of the Touareg. I'll see how adaptable I am to using the Ollie without the fresh water tank, faucets and shower. As you know, I have the composting toilet. If I am ok with this style of winter camping, I think all I'll have to do when I return the camper to my unheated storage facility is to pour 2 cups of antifreeze in the two sinks and that's it. I'll heat water on the stove for dishwashing and personal hygiene. If anyone reads this post who has camped this way, please respond and let me know what your experience has been like. Don

Rob and Vicki Johnson are planning on being there. Oliver elite ll hull 205 15 VW touareg tdi

Mike and Carol, You've received some excellent advice--especially the recommendations from John Davies. My mother's uncle was a newspaperman in Lake City during the silver mining days and my mother started visiting Lake City with her parents every summer in a Model A. My parents, sisters and I made many trips to Lake City while I was growing up and I return to that part of Colorado at least every three years or so. John's comments about the Million Dollar Highway are accurate--I've driven it with my Touareg/Ollie and the experience is not one that I'll forget! If you rent a jeep to tour the Silverton, Ouray, Lake City backcountry, make sure you have a good map and a GPS device--I got lost last year because of a poor map. My handheld Garmin device that I use for hiking helped me find my way. I've attached some photos from my Jeep adventure on June 23, 2016. I love Mesa Verde, but there are a lot of visitors there. I suggest you go to Mesa Verde to learn--participate in ranger programs, ranger-led visits to the ruins, etc., and then go to Canyon of the Ancients National Monument near Cortez. You'll find great hiking, ruins, and you won't encounter many other visitors. If you have a taste for something different, Google Crestone, Colorado. It's located north of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia: "The Crestone area, which includes the Baca Grande and Moffat, Colorado, is a spiritual center with several world religions represented, including: a Hindu temple, a Zen center, a co-ed Carmelite monastery, several Tibetan Buddhist centers, and miscellaneous New Age happenings. Crestone is easily accessible to visitors, a National Forest Service campground is about 3/4 of a mile north of town,[9] and other lodging is available, including several bed and breakfasts. Activities in the area include camping, fishing, hiking, climbing, as well as spiritual explorations." If you visit Ouray and like hot springs, consider Orvis Hot Springs just south of Ridgeway. It's about 9 miles from Ouray. It's a "clothing optional" facility (I have visited many times, kept my swimsuit on and have never been uncomfortable) with multiple outdoor pools, massage, camping, etc. The setting and grounds are beautiful and the people are very friendly and accommodating. If you are near Aspen, consider visiting Redstone and taking a 4-wheel drive to Crystal, an old mining town. I haven't been in Redstone/Crystal for many years, but have great memories from there. I haven't decided where to go this fall. I've been considering traveling from Iowa to the Canadian Maritimes, but I'm not sure I want to drive that far. I may head west instead--it's possible that I'll see you in Colorado! Visiting the Rocky Mountains in the Fall is a great experience.

I wanted to make sure I had the ability to adjust the ball height to get the Oliver as level as possible. I think this is a key factor in towing safely. I started with a ball mount that I purchased in Tennessee when I picked up my Elite II but I switched to an adjustable ball mount pretty quickly. It was expensive, but it gives me great piece of mind to know that the ball height is just right to make the Ollie level when I'm towing. Here's what I use: https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Weigh-Safe/TB6-2.html I'm towing with a 2015 VW Touareg TDI. Don

Here's an added benefit to towing with my VW Touareg TDI. I drove from Iowa City to Cleveland yesterday to attend the Tri-C Jazz Festival. I averaged just under 70 mph (lots of construction in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) and averaged over 32 mpg. Filled with diesel fuel and drove 45 miles the day before on the full tank before leaving yesterday. I've now driven about 600 miles on that tank and still have almost a 1/4 tank of fuel. Of course, towing reduces the mileage but it's nice to have such a fuel efficient tow vehicle for every-day use. Now, if VW hadn't cheated on the emissions testing. . .

Responding to John's post: I agree with your comments on the Y-shaped rack that attaches near the front jack. I have used roof racks in the past but want to avoid this for two reasons. First, they kill gas mileage. Second, I can't lift a 52 lb. E-Cargo bike up that high. Regarding the movement of the rack in the receiver, my Saris rack has a bolt that you tighten and that removes any hint of sloppiness. I don't know if the Swagman has this feature. I plan to investigate. Responding to the posts about a front receiver, I don't think my Touareg will work for this. I'll post after I've visited my local bike shop to talk about the Swagman. Don

Are you using a WD hitch? I've got a 2014 Touareg and the Oliver seems to be a good match. Just don't like that mention in the manual about WD hitches. Would be interested to hear what tongue weight you are seeing and if you have the front basket with anything in it. The basket seems ideal for a generator, but that just gets added to the tongue weight. So I agree with you on cargo space.

Hitch weight or the weight on the tongue of the hitch will vary depending on many factors including what's in your Oliver and how the load is distributed. Like many Oliver owners, I've spent time at the CAT scales. I determined that my hitch or tongue weight was 500 lbs. when my camper weighed in at 4,920 lbs. Fully loaded for a camping trip with the black, grey and fresh water tanks partially full, I weigh in at about 5,100 lbs. I have to keep the tongue or hitch weight at 660 lbs. or less to tow it with my Touareg. One thing to pay close attention to is how level your Oliver is when it's hitched to your tow vehicle and ready for travel. You want it as level as possible!

We traveled all the way from Utah to Howenwald to pick up our Oliver on Sept 20. We were met by our friends Kathy and Gary, formerly of Utah, who now live near Asheville NC. They brought their Class B motorhome and joined us for several days of camping as well as the amazing tour of the Oliver factory. We live too far to easily travel to Howenwald, and a thanks to Randy and April who showed us their Oliver. After all of our research, one look at their Oliver and we knew this was the trailer for us. I am new to trailering, and this forum has been a great resource. Responses to my post in the Introduce Yourself part of the forum helped us decide that we wanted the twin bed layout (excellent option!!). I also posted that we wanted an SUV as a tow vehicle, and that we were considering an Audi Q7, and that the owner’s manual prohibited use of a weight distribution hitch. A big shoutout to Don Thompson who shared his experiences towing his Oliver with a VW Touareg (similar to the Audi Q7), which reassured us about our plan. Don has been awesome, sharing info on his hitch adjustments, his maintenance schedules, and other knowledge! For those considering an Oliver, but like us, not wanting a pickup, the Audi Q7 is awesome. Consumers Reports loved this car, and it is a dream to drive. It has plenty of power, and it can tow 7,700 lbs. With the Audi Q7 I had plenty of power and easily maintained 65-70 MPH on the highway. When entering a highway, I had plenty of acceleration and easily got the car and trailer up to highway speeds. I got 26 MPG on the highway without a trailer, and 14 MPG when pulling the Oliver. When we camped in Kansas, I talked to a neighbor who had pulled a 5th wheel from the west. He told me that there were severe cross winds and that it was really difficult driving. I drove that stretch of road the next day, and while I was aware of the wind, the Audi and Oliver towed like a dream, with no sway whatsoever. No WDH hitch either. I was passed by a truck pulling a big stick-built trailer, and it was frightening, with the trailer swaying and bouncing all over the road. My drive was easy. When we picked up our Oliver, I asked whether we got any of the new 2017 components. Our Ollie had the New Easy-Snap Propane Cover Latches. I don't know the old latches except from Wincrasher’s video, but these new ones are really nice. We also got the New Bathroom Faucet, and that I do not like. Wincrasher’s video showed that the bathroom faucet had an on-off valve on the shower head. Very useful when taking a navy shower. The new faucet does not have the on-off switch. One must use the valve at the sink, and you risk changing the temperature setting each time. There had been some discussions on the forum about the value of the WiFi Ranger and the Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier. We got both, and I highly recommend both. I use http://www.speedtest.net to determine WiFi speeds, and I can definitively say that the WiFi speed is better with the WiFi Ranger (at 2 of 3 campgrounds). The other advantage, is that if you have multiple devices (we have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, and one laptop), it is easier to login. You use one device to login to the campground WiFi, and all of the other devices remember their login with the WiFi Ranger. The Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier also improved reception (I know, 3 bars to 4 bars is not the best measurement). One tip from the Technomadia folks (https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/book/) is to turn on the Cell Phone Amplifier, and then put your phone into airplane mode and then turn airplane mode off. After this airplane mode cycling your phone looks for the best network, which is probably your Cell Phone Amplifier. I also like the Voyager Rearview Camera, and I posted comments on the current thread. Our trip to Howenwald was necessarily rushed. It is a long distance for us, and we had to get home to get back to work… KOAs next to the interstate are not the best, scenically, but they are efficient. So a week ago we took a long weekend and took our Ollie down to Capitol Reef National Park, about 4 hours from here. The NP campground is very nice (no hookups), and we wanted to camp there. The NP website says spaces are usually available until early afternoon. We got there at 11 AM, and they were full, full at 9.45 AM. We were meeting up with our friends Nat and Hermine from Salt Lake City for a hike, and they showed us some great BLM land for dry camping, and I think we will be doing more of that in future. Thanks to all for your advice and support. This is a great community. We can’t wait for spring, and the opportunity for more camping in our Ollie. David and Susan

Annie, I tow my Elite II with a VW Touareg TDI. I've towed it almost 8,000 miles this year, all solo. Easy towing, easy to get settled at a campsite and easy to break camp to leave. I hadn't towed a travel trailer since I was 20 years old and I started towing the Oliver at age 66. No issues/no problems!

Don, Enjoyed the photo trip report!!!!! Looks like the Touareg is very capable TV for the Elite II! Hope to camp in this this area during the fall of 2017 or 2018! So many places to camp in the lower 48! Thanks for posting!

Don, did you take the Touareg down below the rims in Canyonlands? We have always loved the whole Utah experience. How was the weather during your trip, we've always traveled in that area in the fall. We are glad you enjoyed the trip.

Thanks for all of your comments! Don's experience pulling an Oliver with a VW Touareg is very reassuring! This had been my major concern. After I posted this, Susan and I talked again about the Truma AquaGo, and we decided to get that option. Buzzy's comments here reinforce that decision. I had read the reviews on Amazon for the WiFi Ranger, and they were decidedly bi-modal. Some people absolutely loved it. Many of the 1-star reviews said it works intermittently, well in one location and poorly or not at all at a different place. I have dealt previously with WiFi repeaters and routers, and sometimes there can be signal interference, and this can sometimes be fixed by changing what wireless channel it is using. So I will take my chances. Besides, the WiFi Ranger does give my trailer its own local network, and this is useful for us to be able to connect between our devices. In terms of the propane quick connect, I have a Weber Q1000 Grill and a Primus 200 stove. From my research, I think I can get adapters that will allow connection. I do like the look of Buzzy's Camp Chef Professional stove, which has a stand! David

Thanks, Don! Looked up the 2015 VW Touareg TDI online, and it looks like strong TV!!!!!! All I need now is some Gold Bullion?

I have a 2015 VW Touareg TDI and I don’t want to drill holes and attach a controller like the Prodigy P2 or P3. My research led me to this unusual brake controller. I've worked with Oliver and Jason Essary (who replaced Robert Partee) is ordering one and a technician at Oliver will install it on my Oliver Elite II which is nearing completion. The RF has a trailer-mount power module unit. There’s a hand-held remote that plugs into the 12v receptacle in the vehicle. For those of us who tow with vehicles that don't have factory installed brake controllers, this is a nice option. It also has the advantage of allowing you to tow with more than one vehicle utilizing the trailer-mounted brake controller. As with everything else, the people at Oliver have been very accommodating and quoted a very fair price for ordering and installing this unit. My Oliver should be ready soon, but I'm delaying my trip from Iowa to pick it up until late March when I hope the weather will be better!

I plan to pick up my Legacy Elite II on Tuesday, March 15. A few months ago, I talked to Anita about having the single bed mattresses shipped to me so I could have them covered with fabric to make the single beds seem more like seating areas. One thing led to another. I decided that I wanted to choose my own foam for the dinette cushions, and Anita cooperated fully with me. I had the cushions made here in Iowa. I picked up the mattresses, cushions, and pillows today and I was surprised to find that my VW Touareg is filled to capacity with the "interior" of my Oliver! I still have room to drive, but that's about it. I think I'll mount my towing mirrors and put everything else in a Yakima box on top of the Toureg. I've attached some photos of the loaded Toureg Can't wait to get all of this stuff unloaded and installed in the Oliver!

Picked up a new 2015 VW Touareg TDI on Saturday. Tons of torque and plenty of heft (about 5,000 lbs curb weight).