New F-250 XLT Options Specific to Oliver Towing

[GregCA]

Hey all, new to forum.  Just placed deposit for a Legacy Elite II Platnum for a May delivery so now have to upgrade my Tacoma to something more capable.  Looking at custom ordering 7.3L 4x4 F-250 crewcab to build something specific to Oliver application.  Currently here what I'm looking at:

XLT Premium Package (adds 12" screen and 360 camara)

FX4 Off-Road Package 

3.73 Electronic Locking Axle Ratio

350 AMP Dual Alternator & Batteries

Anything else you seasoned towers would add? I know an F-250 may be overkill especialy here in Florida, but plan on hitting the Smokies and going out west.

Thanks

Greg

[BigTexas]

Welcome,  I remember the excitement when I put down my deposit knowing they were building MY Oliver.   Visit the forum often.  It will make owning your Oliver much more enjoyable. 

I'm not a Ford guy so I can't comment on specifics but your list looks impressive.  One comment regarding 4X4.  My last truck didn't have it and I didn't think I needed it due to more maintenance and something else to go wrong.  I bought my new (2024) truck off the lot so it was a compromise.  I've been surprised how often 4 wheel drive has been the difference between leaving a muddy camp spot and having to spend another day waiting for the ground to dry.  I'd recommend keeping that on your list.

 

[GregCA]

Thanks for the welcome.  Yes 4x4 is a must have even here in Florida. Seen plenty of full size  4x2s slip sliding at the boat ramp so figured I would need it with the Oliver even though I won't be using a boat ramp. 

[Mike and Carol]

40 minutes ago, BigTexas said:

I've been surprised how often 4 wheel drive has been the difference between leaving a muddy camp spot and having to spend another day waiting for the ground to dry.  I'd recommend keeping that on your list.

Welcome, Greg.  As you get ready for you trailer, keep tapping in to the expertise here on the forum.  We had a May pick up also, just in 2016.  It’s a good time of year weatherwise.

I agree with John on the 4X4.  Depending on how you like to camp, it can come in handy.  We’ve used ours.  Your future truck sounds pretty good to me.  There are some Ford drivers with the 7.3 gas engine towing their Elite II’s and they all seem to be happy.  Mike

[Shawna and Scott]

I remember when we placed our order and the excitement of all of it.  As Mike said the forum is full of info on about anything you can think of. The folks on here are great with their willingness to help. Don't be afraid to ask your questions.

We have an Elite ll (Hull1182) and we first used an F150 with the 3.5l Ecoboost to tow it. We towed it from Ohio to Maine and back, to Tennessee and back, to Alabama and back - you get the idea. The truck pulled just fine and we learned to live with the payload restrictions. As my truck got long in the teeth I ordered a 2026 F350 Tremor with the 7.3l gas engine. We just returned from three weeks in Maine and New Hampshire. Wow what a difference that made as far as towing. You couldn't tell it was there and made the entire travel experience much more pleasant.

I know the F350 is overkill and plenty of folks out there towing with half-tons and a few with SUVs but now we don't worry about payload and I just always wanted one - lol. The gas mileage towing was the same as our F150 on this years trip to Maine thru the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

 

 

[jd1923]

7 hours ago, GregCA said:

Just placed deposit for a Legacy Elite II Platinum for a May delivery...

Welcome Greg, very exciting! It's going to be a long wait for May to get here... 🤣

Great to be planning your tow vehicle, asking for input early!

I'm like the 1 in 1000 who lives in the mountains and tows with a 2WD truck. I'm not suggesting it but I do like the simplicity in maintenance, the weight is on the rears when towing. I enjoy the lower center-of-gravity when towing and the lower suspension does not require a painful process just to get into the driver's seat! Got out of the mud recently by lowering rear tire pressure to 30 PSI. I have gotten stuck twice (for an hour) in 3 years and 19K miles towing.

I noticed "Crew Cab" in your description. Do you need that? Maybe you have two big dogs but then fitting in the Oliver would be your issue! Meeting other Oliver owners at Quartzsite or at the Texas Rally, I noted how many Oliver Owners use that back seat for storage, some to the point of, "Oh, what a mess back there!"

Crew-Cab trucks often are matched to short beds and have less available GVWR (there's a lot of weight in 4WD and a crew cab truck). I prefer to keep our storage in the bed of our 8' long bed and keep our truck cab clean. There's only one dog, an induction cooktop and a pickleball bag in the rear of our cab, some shoes under the seats. We can take 4 out for dinner without too much trouble. We have the extended-cab with rear half door. I couldn't travel without the long bed. But I'm also in the minority here as you will find most have 4-door TVs with the short bed (except for some F350s)!

Edited 21 hours ago by jd1923

[GregCA]

10 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Welcome Greg, very exciting! It's going to be a long wait for May to get here... 🤣

Great to be planning your tow vehicle, asking for input early!

I'm like the 1 in 1000 who lives in the mountains and tows with a 2WD truck. I'm not suggesting it but I do like the simplicity in maintenance, the weight is on the rears when towing. I enjoy the lower center-of-gravity when towing and the lower seat height does not require a painful process just to get into the driver's seat! Got out of the mud recently by lowering rear tire pressure to 30 PSI. I have gotten stuck twice (for an hour) in 3 years and 19K miles towing.

I noticed "Crew Cab" in your description. Do you need that? Maybe you have two big dogs but then fitting in the Oliver would be your issue! Meeting other Oliver owners at Quartzsite or at the Texas Rally, I noted how many Oliver Owners use that back seat for storage, some to the point of, "Oh, what a mess back there!"

Crew-Cab trucks often are matched to short beds and have less available GVWR (there's a lot of weight in 4WD and a crew cab truck). I prefer to keep our storage in the bed of our 8' long bed and keep our truck cab clean. There's only one dog, an induction cooktop and a pickleball bag in the rear of our cab, some shoes under the seats. We can take 4 out for dinner without too much trouble. We have the extended-cab with rear half door. I couldn't travel without the long bed. But I'm also in the minority here as you will find most have 4-door TVs with the short bed (except for those F350 types).7

Thanks for the tips.  Have two small dogs and a small parrot in a cage. If it wasn't for the small zoo I'm transporting, I may be able to get away with a smaller cab.  LoL. 4x2 would be nice for ease of MX, but also need it for some of the crappy sand filled boat ramps around here

[GregCA]

22 minutes ago, Shawna and Scott said:

I remember when we placed our order and the excitement of all of it.  As Mike said the forum is full of info on about anything you can think of. The folks on here are great with their willingness to help. Don't be afraid to ask your questions.

We have an Elite ll (Hull1182) and we first used an F150 with the 3.5l Ecoboost to tow it. We towed it from Ohio to Maine and back, to Tennessee and back, to Alabama and back - you get the idea. The truck pulled just fine and we learned to live with the payload restrictions. As my truck got long in the teeth I ordered a 2026 F350 Tremor with the 7.3l gas engine. We just returned from three weeks in Maine and New Hampshire. Wow what a difference that made as far as towing. You couldn't tell it was there and made the entire travel experience much more pleasant.

I know the F350 is overkill and plenty of folks out there towing with half-tons and a few with SUVs but now we don't worry about payload and I just always wanted one - lol. The gas mileage towing was the same as our F150 on this years trip to Maine thru the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

 

 

This will be fourth truck.  Had a Ranger, Ridgeline and Tacoma. Towed a Casita with the Rideline. I'm ready for some overkill at this point

[Rolind]

We also moved from a 2nd gen Tacoma to a F250 and have been very pleased. As you know there are a million threads about diesel vs gas, but we really like our diesel.  I think your driving style is important, we like to drive long distances per day and long segments between fuel stops and the extra range from the diesel is very important to us. Obviously diesel has some downsides as well, but we love ours.
The only other suggestion would be to take a long look at a F350. We occasionally pack heavy and I would like the extra payload cushion. I dismissed a 350 without even thinking about it but might consider one now.  The move up to a 350 isn’t that expensive, however depending on where you live licensing may be more expensive.

[jd1923]

7 hours ago, GregCA said:

350 AMP Dual Alternator & Batteries

This is an exceptional option! You could easily add the Victron Orion 50A or even the new 70A DC-DC charger with this 350A dual alternator!

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Rolind said:

As you know there are a million threads about diesel vs gas, but we really like our diesel.

Me too! I would never want to descend a mountain road without an exhaust brake, never again.

But, if I could trade ours for a gasser, just for the month of October, we could afford the trip to The Rally! I’d have to trade it back upon return. Love our old TV!

[GregCA]

23 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

This is an exceptional option! You could easily add the Victron Orion 50A or even the new 70A DC-DC charger with this 350A dual alternator!

Yes, when I was researching I figured the single battery and standard 190 amp alternator would have strugled when connected to the trailer

Edited 21 hours ago by GregCA

[jd1923]

53 minutes ago, GregCA said:

Yes, when I was researching I figured the single battery and standard 190 amp alternator would have strugled when connected to the trailer

There shouldn't be any real struggle unless adding DC-DC charging. The trailer only pulls up to 12A when braking. Taillights etc. are negligible given LED lighting. There is the black wire on the 7-blade coupler which should be disconnected. Otherwise truck and trailer have mostly independent electrical systems. 

Given the standard alternator is 190A, the 350A dual on the same truck has net 160A free! The dual-battery HD alt upgrade option was first established for northern trucks to have enough battery power to operate a snowplow.

DC-DC charging is one of our favorite upgrades, hands-down! Say you install the new Victron 70A Orion (with your new setup I would for sure go 70A) and you net +60A actual. That means for every hour you're towing you're adding a 60 Ah charge back to your house batteries. Tow a 4-hour half-day and that's +240 Ah, wow! The Orion 70A will need some heavy gauge wiring and should get +40 Ah even at idle!

I posted this in another thread about electrical options earlier today. Also relevant here, something you may want to consider after getting your Oliver. OTT can do the trailer-side installation, but they don't work the truck side. Any auto accessory installer, a good truck shop, could work the full install, or DIY as many of us have! 

 

[GregCA]

12 hours ago, jd1923 said:

There shouldn't be any real struggle unless adding DC-DC charging. The trailer only pulls up to 12A when braking. Taillights etc. are negligible given LED lighting. There is the black wire on the 7-blade coupler which should be disconnected. Otherwise truck and trailer have mostly independent electrical systems. 

Given the standard alternator is 190A, the 350A dual on the same truck has net 160A free! The dual-battery HD alt upgrade option was first established for northern trucks to have enough battery power to operate a snowplow.

DC-DC charging is one of our favorite upgrades, hands-down! Say you install the new Victron 70A Orion (with your new setup I would for sure go 70A) and you net +60A actual. That means for every hour you're towing you're adding a 60 Ah charge back to your house batteries. Tow a 4-hour half-day and that's +240 Ah, wow! The Orion 70A will need some heavy gauge wiring and should get +40 Ah even at idle!

I posted this in another thread about electrical options earlier today. Also relevant here, something you may want to consider after getting your Oliver. OTT can do the trailer-side installation, but they don't work the truck side. Any auto accessory installer, a good truck shop, could work the full install, or DIY as many of us have! 

 

My trailer already has DC-DC available through the truck 7 pin connector, and that is why I thought it would be smart to upgrade the trucks' power output.  However, I have not looked into any detiails on this yet and I am new to solar/lithium world.  I was aircraft electrician in the Air Force back in the day so I think what you're getting at is upgrading the OEM DC-DC charger and installing larger gauge wiring in the TT & TV to handle more current to charge faster on the road?  

Edited 7 hours ago by GregCA

[jd1923]

7 hours ago, GregCA said:

My trailer already has DC-DC available through the truck 7 pin connector, and that is why I thought it would be smart to upgrade the trucks' power output.

Charging on the "7-pin connector" has come up now twice in two days! (see "Rich Solar" post).

Not sure why OTT would think to install a 20A DC-DC charger on the 12 AWG black (aux) wire of the 7-blade coupler. For years, they had been disconnecting that wire on lithium installations. I'm pretty sure 20A is too much current for 12 AWG wire over the roundtrip distance, truck alternator back to the trailer house batteries!

7 hours ago, GregCA said:

upgrading the OEM DC-DC charger and installing larger gauge wiring in the TT & TV to handle more current to charge faster on the road?

Yes, you are correct! 10A can run on 12 AWG, I believe for 20A charging 10 AWG is required (so the OTT DC-DC charger installation is truly unsafe)! Your delivery is next year. If it was me, I'd ask them to skip this "DC-DC charger" installation. Or have them do the trailer side of a proper DC-DC installation with dedicated wiring.

IMHO, the black/aux wire should be disconnected in all travel trailer installations, given the trailer has house batteries.

Most DC-DC installations run dedicated 4 AWG wire (or heavier) for a 50A charger. We have been averaging +40A on the road. And yes, I upgraded our truck alternator to handle the extra amperage. 

@Chuck and Beth, who already has the new DC-DC charger installed by OTT, has set theirs down to 10A to be safe. For us +10A charging is nowhere near enough. Say you have OTT's best Lithionics 640 Ah batteries installed. A 10A charge will give you +1.5% SOC for every hour towing. So 40A provides +6% SOC per hour. Wish we had the new 70A Orion but boy-oh-boy copper wire is about as expensive as diesel fuel is these days. 🤣

[Todd B]

We have had our F250 7.3 for a few years now. It has been great for towing. We are in the PNW area so are going up and down mountains all the time. I will not claim it is as good as a diesel, because it is not, but it has handled 8% grades well with downshifting of the 10 speed transmission. The extra payload has also been great as our bed is full and I try to not let our second row become an example of "Oh, what a mess back there!"  🙂 I would also recommend the 4x4. I like the extra alternator for DC-DC. We don't have either, and have not needed that level of quick charging. We are coming off 9 days off grid running inverter for starlink and laptops working all day and batteries are at 75% still (we have had good sun as well). After 9 days we need to hit FHU to reset tanks, do laundry, and top off batteries anyway. 

[GregCA]

3 minutes ago, Todd B said:

We have had our F250 7.3 for a few years now. It has been great for towing. We are in the PNW area so are going up and down mountains all the time. I will not claim it is as good as a diesel, because it is not, but it has handled 8% grades well with downshifting of the 10 speed transmission. The extra payload has also been great as our bed is full and I try to not let our second row become an example of "Oh, what a mess back there!"  🙂 I would also recommend the 4x4. I like the extra alternator for DC-DC. We don't have either, and have not needed that level of quick charging. We are coming off 9 days off grid running inverter for starlink and laptops working all day and batteries are at 75% still (we have had good sun as well). After 9 days we need to hit FHU to reset tanks, do laundry, and top off batteries anyway. 

Thanks for the input.  And yes diesel would be nice, but I can't justify the cost of ownership when towing a trailer this size

[GregCA]

1 hour ago, jd1923 said:

Charging on the "7-pin connector" has come up now twice in two days! (see "Rich Solar" post).

Not sure why OTT would think to install a 20A DC-DC charger on the 12 AWG black (aux) wire of the 7-blade coupler. For years, they had been disconnecting that wire on lithium installations. I'm pretty sure 20A is too much current for 12 AWG wire over the roundtrip distance, truck alternator back to the trailer house batteries!

Yes, you are correct! 10A can run on 12 AWG, I believe for 20A charging 10 AWG is required (so the OTT DC-DC charger installation is truly unsafe)! Your delivery is next year. If it was me, I'd ask them to skip this "DC-DC charger" installation. Or have them do the trailer side of a proper DC-DC installation with dedicated wiring.

IMHO, the black/aux wire should be disconnected in all travel trailer installations, given the trailer has house batteries.

Most DC-DC installations run dedicated 4 AWG wire (or heavier) for a 50A charger. We have been averaging +40A on the road. And yes, I upgraded our truck alternator to handle the extra amperage. 

@Chuck and Beth, who already has the new DC-DC charger installed by OTT, has set theirs down to 10A to be safe. For us +10A charging is nowhere near enough. Say you have OTT's best Lithionics 640 Ah batteries installed. A 10A charge will give you +1.5% SOC for every hour towing. So 40A provides +6% SOC per hour. Wish we had the new 70A Orion but boy-oh-boy copper wire is about as expensive as diesel fuel is these days. 🤣

Thanks for the info! Seems odd they would design an unsafe system, and they must have some margin.  At the very least the fuse would blow hopefully before any smoke. But this would lead to a bunch of service calls they would have to deal with.

 

Don't even own the trailer yet and thinking about mods already and I always wanted an excuse to get pair of hydraulic crimpers. But, before I get mod crazy, I'll wait to see how we camp first. How hard was it to run wires in the TT?  Is there a bulkhead where the trailer wiring goes into the TT to fish the wires or do you have to drill holes? 

Edited 22 minutes ago by GregCA

[jd1923]

30 minutes ago, Todd B said:

I like the extra alternator for DC-DC. We don't have either, and have not needed that level of quick charging.

I fully agree until you want to run an efficient variable-speed A/C on inverter/batteries.

Not required most of the time in the PNW but most often in the SW.

With DC-DC charging, we can run the Chill Cube A/C while towing and SOC% will be the same as when we started our drive!