3 Month Trial on a new Legacy II

[foxcook]

Three months in our new Legacy II

 

We’re Paul and Pat Cook and picked up our new Oliver in late April. We live in Southeast Missouri, so the trip form the factory home was only a 5 or 6 hour drive. With lots of commitments and obligations, the Oliver was parked in the barn while we cleared our calendar for our summer trip. With an offer of being a camp host at Lamoine State Park in Maine for July and August, we wanted to leave Missouri no later than June 1. We are experienced RV’ers, having owned two new 17 ft. Casitas, a 21 ft. Bigfoot, and a 25 ft. Airstream.

 

Little preparation went into the trip as we don’t spend much time thinking about what we might need and we try and travel lite. I did build a couple light weight blocks for the rear jack to sit on, loaded up some wheel chocks, and had to modify my bbq grill so I could use it off my Oliver’s propane tanks as I have the propane outlet option near the tongue of the trailer. I quickly learned the Weber Grills have a regulator that can be removed so they work fine. I’m partial to the little Q grills anyway. I also added overload springs to my Tacoma truck and quickly built a lightweight camper shell. We made our deadline of June 1, heading northeast taking less traveled roads, avoiding Interstates and large metropolitan areas if at all possible. We never make reservations for campsites ahead of time, but make plans, and frequently change them, as we go.

 

I’m pulling our Legacy II with a 2013 Tacoma (V-6 w/4 liter engine), using no sway bar or equalizer hitch, another reason to travel as light as practical.

About the 1st realization was that when I put 25 percent of full water in my fresh water tank, I had no water to use with the demand pump. With my other trailers, I would put 5 to 7 gallons of water on board which is plenty for my wife and I for a single night, but with the flat tanks you’ll be sucking air and not much water if you don’t add more water. And yes, you can jack up the tongue a few extra inches above level and find water. Next I learned that dumping the grey water was a bit slow, and again, raising the tongue will speed up the process. Having street side lower will even help more. Every camper is different. After a few days of travel we get caught in a couple days of rain. Yes, water built up in the window drains and we couldn’t leave the windows open. Having owned 2 Casitas and a Bigfoot, I of all RV’ers, should have known better. I’m waiting until I get back to Missouri to order and install EZE RV Gutters.

 

About this point in our travels, I noticed upon leaving a campground that my grey water was running out of the back drain of the Oliver. I capped the outlet (as we’re supposed to do when traveling) then went to work on finding the problem. The gate valve for the grey water tank was not working as the cable housing had come out of its clamps. Not a difficult fix if you done it before, but it took me a few tries as I learned there are 4 bolts to loosen instead of just two, and had to peel off a little of the wire shield, re-adjust travel, etc. Fixed, and no more problems with it and can’t get mad at the Oliver people because of it. It was working properly when I picked up the unit, but I suppose using the valve a few times caused it to come loose.

 

We continued on north east seeing some beautiful country but sometimes getting on some very rough roads. Don’t you hate the serious dips that you can’t see in time to slow down far? Those are the one that re-arrange your stuff in a camper. That’s when you find the bananas you laid on the bed in back up by the entrance door. Well, there were some serious dips in Canada. One evening when getting the lawn chairs out of the rear storage, I found the bulkhead separating the storage area from the furnace compartment leaning into the storage area about 45 degrees. I made a temporary fix which has kept it properly dividing the 2 areas and will work on it more when I get back in Missouri. While in Canada, I changed location where I had been hauling my lap top too. One evening after driving some rough roads we stopped for the day and entering the Oliver I seen the large back overhead cabinet door open. I had never hauled anything really heavy in this location, but had hauled my lap top, but always in its case. I keep all our electronic stuff in this location, i.e., the Verizon Hot Spot, phone receiver, cordless phone, and other electronic gadgetry. A perfect place for it as both AC and DC connections are there for the use. Fortunately, nothing was broke or thrown out. I readjusted the latch, but no longer carry the lap top there, and when traveling, a pillow to hold all the electronics in place seems to help.

 

After 2700 or so miles on the Oliver we landed at the Maine State Park were our home stayed put in one spot for 2 months. We’ve found it quite comfortable, we like the twin bed arrangements. We do get a radio station or two, but don’t find the Radio antenna very sensitive as don’t get many stations. After reading the directions we learned how to play cd’s! Haven’t had the TV on yet as haven’t been able to pick up a station with the small antenna we purchased with the trailer, but we haven’t camped in big towns either, and I know the new digital tv signals must be strong for reception. But we’re a couple who have no TV in our house and haven’t for years! We did play one DVD and the TV worked then! But the reading lights we bought as an option has illuminated many books.

 

I read on the Oliver forum some thought their AC’s were too loud. I don’t find it much different than in the other trailers we’ve owned. I suspect all the smooth fiberglass which we love about the inside of this trailer doesn’t dampen the sound, but haven’t found it offensive. We have a Dometic AC with a heat pump, not the Coleman, but doubt the noise level is much different.

 

So, there you have our thoughts on the new Oliver Legacy II after a 3 plus month break-in. No buyer’s remorse.

[Mike and Carol]

Great review! I'm interested in your towing experience with your Tacoma. I have the same model Tacoma and we are looking at the same trailer. I was planning on getting the Anderson hitch.

[SeaDawg]

Glad to hear that you are enjoying your new Oliver.

We've camped in Lamoine, and loved it... So much nicer than the crowds at Acadia. Lovely scenery, shoreline, and pretty tranquil when we were there.

Happy travels.

Sherry