Got our build slot today.

[larcat]

Welp, after first talking to Anita in 2021 and putting maybe 30k miles on the microminnie we ended up with, we paid for an X23 build slot today. We live in SETX and have been scheming for an Oliver for a while now. Did the factory tour 2 years ago.

We should be taking delivery during our annual trip to Tenn. to see family. Decided to skip thr solar awning -- spider sense tells me we'd break it somehow.

We'll catch flack, but we'll be using our 3rd gen Tacoma as a TV for a good while. No plans for mountains, and when we do we'll get a full-size. We live in SETX, and it is _flat_ here.

 

[FloraFauna]

Congratulations and welcome to the Oliver world!!  Many good times ahead, I am sure.  

[Mike and Carol]

Welcome!  I initially towed with at Tacoma as well.  It didn’t take long to upgrade to a half ton.  Will be interested in how it goes for you.  Mike

[Patriot]

Welcome and Congrats and enjoy the delivery day! There is something really special about taking delivery of a brand new Oliver, it was for us.

Before you know it your day will be here! 

[Todd B]

Hey, our's was not brand new and it was still really special 😉

Welcome to the clan! 

[Boudicca908]

On 7/8/2026 at 5:47 PM, larcat said:

We should be taking delivery

Congratulations and welcome to the family. It's exciting! 

[larcat]

Thanks for the welcome all. We're really excited 🙂

Mike & Carol --- any tips vis a vis the Tacoma?

[Mike and Carol]

11 hours ago, larcat said:

Thanks for the welcome all. We're really excited 🙂

Mike & Carol --- any tips vis a vis the Tacoma?

My Tacoma was a 2012 and I had installed the TRD Supercharger, so plenty of power.  The limitation was weight and range.  Be careful not to overload - tongue weight, your body weight and cargo add up fast.  I was stopping every 200 miles or less to fill the gas tank.  Also, be aware that the overall weight of the Tacoma makes it easier for the trailer to push around in certain circumstances. I was always cautious on downhills and downhill curves.  We’ve always liked the Tacoma’s we’ve owned, they just aren’t optimal for towing a 6,000 pound paperweight!

After upgrading to a couple of half tons we’ve now been towing with a 2500 diesel for the past 5 years and the difference is night and day.  A Tacoma will do the job, just be wary of its limitations!

Mike

 

Edited Saturday at 02:14 PM by Mike and Carol

[John Dorrer]

Congrats from Hull #1045, Jolli Olli.

 

Happy Camping.

[larcat]

If anyone's got any thoughts here I'd appreciate it.

Right now we haven't optioned either the solar awning nor a second awning. We don't boondocks un our current trailer, so we don't have a lot of context there.

My thinking is that:

1) We'll park when boondocking where the awning is going to be much more useful on one side than the other.

2) The solar awning sounds great but just sounds like something that would wear prematurely, and obviously isn't flexible.

3) A 400w foldable + the roof solar should be sufficient if there's good sun.

We've got some time to nail this down and would love people's thoughts.

[larcat]

On 7/11/2026 at 9:11 AM, Mike and Carol said:

My Tacoma was a 2012 and I had installed the TRD Supercharger, so plenty of power.  The limitation was weight and range.  Be careful not to overload - tongue weight, your body weight and cargo add up fast.  I was stopping every 200 miles or less to fill the gas tank.  Also, be aware that the overall weight of the Tacoma makes it easier for the trailer to push around in certain circumstances. I was always cautious on downhills and downhill curves.  We’ve always liked the Tacoma’s we’ve owned, they just aren’t optimal for towing a 6,000 pound paperweight!

After upgrading to a couple of half tons we’ve now been towing with a 2500 diesel for the past 5 years and the difference is night and day.  A Tacoma will do the job, just be wary of its limitations!

Mike

 

Thanks for the context and pictures, it's appreciated!

[johnwen]

Congrats!

[jd1923]

On 7/8/2026 at 5:47 PM, larcat said:

We'll catch flack, but we'll be using our 3rd gen Tacoma as a TV for a good while.

Not near enough yet. I towed ours one hour with a Lexus GX470, around town on flat highways, got home and would never do that again. The GX is closer to a half ton truck than a Tacoma. After that, I would only tow with a 3/4 ton truck. Trade in your Tacoma for Tundra 5.7 at least! 🤣

13 hours ago, larcat said:

If anyone's got any thoughts here I'd appreciate it.

Right now we haven't optioned either the solar awning nor a second awning. We don't boondocks un our current trailer, so we don't have a lot of context there.

Not enough information here to help you. Haven't boondocked before but is it something you really want to do. Not much boondocking it Texas at 98% private lands. Boondocking opportunities west, but then there's mountains!

There are Oliver owners that say they boondock, but they also book 1-2 months at campground/RV Parks, so they really don't camp much without plugging in.

How much money is the solar awning upgrade option? Cost is always a criteria for consideration.

We have 320W rooftop solar and a 400W suitcase which we rarely use. The awning PV would be of very little use to us since we have only used our awning 4 times. With solar up there, maybe I would use it more, or would have to for solar. And when camping a campground site might be the wrong direction for the awning. I park when boondocking to find level ground and for wind considerations which might not afford sun on the awning side.

We have a 50A DC-DC charger that we use much more since we don't stay at one campsite more than a few days. In 180 Oliver overnights, a week is the longest we've stayed in one spot. Solar is better for sitting in the BLM for the 14 day limit. DC-D charging is better for those who break camp every few days. The Victron Orion XS 50A is our favorite electrical upgrade.

Explain more about your future use plans so we could better advise.

[larcat]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

Not near enough yet. I towed ours one hour with a Lexus GX470, around town on flat highways, got home and would never do that again. The GX is closer to a half ton truck than a Tacoma. After that, I would only tow with a 3/4 ton truck. Trade in your Tacoma for Tundra 5.7 at least! 🤣

Yeah, 100% on our short term radar, just not today 🙂

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

Not enough information here to help you. Haven't boondocked before but is it something you really want to do. Not much boondocking it Texas at 98% private lands. Boondocking opportunities west, but then there's mountains!

There's more than you would think, between National Parks (Big Bend for instance, you can't "boondock" but there are a number of park-interior primitive campsites you can bring a trailer to), state parks on the gulf shore, and National Wildlide Refuges! The difference in public lands was definelty something that took getting used to, moving down here though.

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

There are Oliver owners that say they boondock, but they also book 1-2 months at campground/RV Parks, so they really don't camp much without plugging in.

How much money is the solar awning upgrade option? Cost is always a criteria for consideration.

We have 320W rooftop solar and a 400W suitcase which we rarely use. The awning PV would be of very little use to us since we have only used our awning 4 times. With solar up there, maybe I would use it more, or would have to for solar. And when camping a campground site might be the wrong direction for the awning. I park when boondocking to find level ground and for wind considerations which might not afford sun on the awning side.

We have a 50A DC-DC charger that we use much more since we don't stay at one campsite more than a few days. In 180 Oliver overnights, a week is the longest we've stayed in one spot. Solar is better for sitting in the BLM for the 14 day limit. DC-D charging is better for those who break camp every few days. The Victron Orion XS 50A is our favorite electrical upgrade.

Explain more about your future use plans so we could better advise.

Our primary immediate use is going to be gulf shore off grid camping. The awning is pretty mind-bogglingly expensive at 5k though, and the x23 has 400 on the roof. Back of napkin says a 400w folder + the roof solar should be sufficient. Per dc to dc, that's good to hear --- I like that it's off the shelf with the new trim (it's not really a new model, imho.)

Long way of saying I think we're going to opt out of the awning for our build.

Thank you for the info and thoughts!