The Lukens - New Order Today!

[KarenLukens]

Hello,

 

Reed and I are excited to own our first Ollie. We currently have a 17' Casita and need a bit more room. 

 

We just finished placing our order today!  An Elite ll King, Any advice on what add on's to buy or stay away from?

 

 

 

Reed and Karen

[GaryJona]

Hello welcome to the Ollie family where many of us also came from a Casita to heaven. We loved our Casita but adore our Oliver have just come back from Alaska in the Oliver and having done it in the Casita in 2012 as your looking for the room made it so much more enjoyable. The 2 shells and insulation will make any cool to cold or Hot weather much more tolerable and easier to control.

Now to your question Solar with 2000 watt inverter to us a must we can do all microwave to coffee pot everything except the ac and have been over 3 weeks plus off grid at a time. Extra electric outlets by the bed or back to plug in phones, computer, etc. Omni directional antenna works great, have used the cel booster and wifi booster at times up to what is important to you style of camping. The surge protector is a must but I'm not sure I like theirs if you have to look under the bed to see what the fault is I would just buy one for the plug in at the site post. Didn't have it when we got ours but the access hole in front to turn propane on & off we went to New Foundland and did over 6 ferries on that trip and would make it easier when your ready to load on the boat. Don't know what you will be towing with but check the a steric area of the towing charts because most capacities are half of what is posted if no weight distribution hitch is used what I'm getting at is the Anderson Hitch which is also a great anti sway as well. I would spend the few bucks and upgrade the axils set up in their upgrades something we did not have but will be doing as well. This is just a quick few things I'm sure a few others will step in as well. Good luck and see you on the road. Thanks Gary

[Raspy]

KarenLukens,

 

You might consider the cell phone booster (I wish I had that).  I do have the 30 lb propane tanks and the T105 batteries, which I recommend.   Mine does not have the optional solar and I'm glad it doesn't, but Gary seems very happy with his.  Mine doesn't have the inverter either, but they are very nice to have and I'm planning to install one now.  The EZ Flex greaseable suspension  system, or equivalent, is a must.  Or you can get a heavy duty greaseable kit from Dexter and install it yourself, if you wish.  The standard nylon suspension bushings are barely good enough and will wear out early.  I've got my kit sitting on the bench waiting to go on.  I think all new Elite ll trailers get the 12" brakes, but you might check on that.  I wish I had the bigger brakes on mine, but the standard ones are working better as the miles add up.  Mine doesn't have the granite counter tops and I'm glad it doesn't.  They are expensive and appear to be no more wear resistant or heat resistant than the standard galley counter top, so I consider them decorator items with no real function.  I'm planning to install a stainless steel counter top in my galley and will do a writeup on that.  The removable port for the propane tank shutoff is very convenient.  I'd also have one of those installed in the bathroom sink cabinet to access the flex hose connection under the sink.  Mine has a couple of extra 120v outlets and I recommend those, as Gary mentioned.  I'm now setting up a quick disconnect propane connection so I can cook big camping meals outside.  Don't know if Oliver offers that or not.

 

Mine came with the Anderson hitch.  I've never used it or seen any need for it.  They do offer some sway resistance, but Ollies tow very well with no stability issues at all.   The hitches may interfere with the stability systems in modern tow vehicles.  There has been some discussion about that and their attachment system on the Oliver frame.  I decided it wasn't the best design for weight distribution, but I'm towing with a Ram 3500 and don't need that anyway.  My tongue weight measures 440 lbs ready to go.

 

You'll love your new Ollie.  They are well made, convenient, well insulated and easy to tow.   They are a huge upgrade from the standard stick built, rubber roof design trailers.

[marsharini]

Congratulatons Lukens'!  You're going to love the Oliver and be blown away by the quality.

 

We also have the king bed and one option was a mattress for the bed, which is actually a split king.  One suggestion I might make (as the person who makes the bed) would be to use twin bed mattress pads and fitted sheets, then use a king flat sheet and blankets/quilts.  I did trial and error with king sheets and it's easier all the way around with the twin size sheets.

 

Other options we have and are glad we got are the inverter, cell booster, four T105 batteries.  We also got the Winegard antenna, but generally don't camp in areas where we can pick up reception since we're more national park/national forest campers.

 

One thing we didn't get and wish we did is the solar option.  We have a folding solar panel that we had with the Casita and while it works well, it would be so much more convenient to have the solar integrated with the entire unit.

 

We also went with the Fibergranite, which is a nice option, but not necessary.

 

We're all looking forward to your delivery day, and welcome to the Oliver family.

 

Marsha

[topgun2]

Welcome aboard (almost).  As Anita will tell you - consider the "hatch" on the front of the propane tank cover so that you can access that area without taking off the top of the cover.  Also, think about where you might want extra hooks.  Unless they have changed it for the 2017 model, the hook on the outside of the bathroom door is located on the left side as you look into the bath.  This is OK, but this does not allow you to hang your cloths in an easily accessible spot while you take a shower.  So, an additional hook on the right side of the bath door is a great idea.  If you get the surge protector (given all the sensitive stuff in the Oliver it is a great idea and could save you a bunch of money in the long run) ask that the readout panel be placed inside the pantry instead of under the bed.  It is easier to get to it and yet the red display lights will not "bother" you at night (this readout constantly rotates its display to show amps, error codes, voltage and cycles).

 

Good luck and, hopefully, your time to delivery will pass by at a quicker pace than mine did.

 

Bill

[topgun2]

I just thought of another thing that you can order if you wish - The standard Maxx-Air vent cover is translucent white, but, if you want to reduce the amount of light and be a little different, you can ask that the cover be in "smoke grey" at no additional charge.  But, do this relatively early in the ordering process so that you allow Oliver enough time to order it prior to the start of production.

 

Bill

[KarenLukens]

Thanks Mike & Geri for todays pics of our new Olli in the making :)

 

 

[topgun2]

I always just love to see these campers being built and remembering the shear excitement of seeing Twist in the process.  More, more, more!  That great day of delivery is not too far off now.  Enjoy the whole process.

 

Bill

[Mike and Carol]

Another good looking Oliver in progress.  You are getting close!  Mike

[KarenLukens]

Anita just called and told us that our "Little Nugget" has hatched and we are officially the proud parents of Hull #200 :) We can't wait to head East in a couple weeks when she is ready and we can pick her up :)

[Overland]

Congratulations!

 

200 is a good number.  I wonder if that means I'll get 202 - I like symmetry.  Actually, yours is probably much further along.  Maybe I can shoot for 212 - what week did yours start?

[KarenLukens]

Congratulations! 200 is a good number. I wonder if that means I’ll get 202 – I like symmetry. Actually, yours is probably much further along. Maybe I can shoot for 212 – what week did yours start?

We had ours start November 28th. My wife will make the 200 into a smiley face or something :) It is a great number.

 

Reed

[topgun2]

200 sounds like a reason to PARTY!  I remember hoping that I would NOT get number 113.

 

Bill

[Raspy]

I wonder how many man hours go into producing an Elite ll?  Lots of labor.   I'm so happy they are producing as many as they are.  It seems they really are making improvements all the time and that is really nice.   Mine is hull number 92 and it had some improvements over the previous ones.

 

When I look at the fiberglass fit on the interior I just can't imagine how they do it!  I worked on boats for years and can really appreciate what they produce.

 

My Ollie is the first trailer I've had that I really wanted to improve on and keep forever.  It has some shortcomings, and possibly some quality issues, but overall, it is way ahead of anything else I've had.  I never get the feeling that I've been fooled again.

 

Now, as we sit here in winter with lots of snow on the ground, I'm daydreaming about summer trips.  I don't even want to work on Ollie right now, but lots of simple modifications are accumulating on the list.

 

Thank goodness the toy hauler is gone!  No roof issues or falling apart interiors.  And!!!!!!!, we can still have movie nights in Ollie in the garage! Cool.  Some giggling might even be heard!