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What's your tow vehicle, it's tow weight rating & what are you towing?


StoicJim

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There appears to be many different kinds of vehicles out there towing Ollies.  I'm curious about what you're using and what did you upgrade from and why?

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Looking at an Oliver Legacy Elite or Elite II


Looking for a Toyota Tacoma that can pull it (maybe)

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Towing: 2016 Elite II, 5100lbs factory weight at pick up (full 30 lb propane tanks but no water, no cargo)

 

Current Tow Vehicle: 2016 Ram 1500, 5.7L V8 with tow package, rated for 10,300 lbs.

 

Past Tow Vehicle: 2012 Tacoma 4.0L, rated for 6,500 lbs.

 

Mike

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

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Towing @016 Oliver Elite II weighing in at 5,100 pounds - no fluid in tanks but 20 pound propane tanks full.

 

Towing this with 2017 Ford F150 FX4 Max towing package rated at about 12,000 pounds with weight distribution hitch.

 

Upgraded from a Tacoma primarily due to small gas tank and limits on towing were too close to maximum for my comfort in case of emergencies.

 

Bill

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2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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2015 Elite II, axles travel weight 6100lbs, 750lb tongue weight, Andersen WDH (hooked up on scales)

 

2013 GMC Sierra 1500 max tow, 9600lbs rating (6200lbs hooked up on scales) GCVW 12,300lbs

 

Upgraded from Fiat 500. (okay first truck and first trailer.)

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Randy


One Life Live It Enjoyably


2017 F350 6.7L SRW CC LB


2015 Oliver Elite II Hull #69

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Towing: 2014 Elite II, 5320 lbs factory weight at pick up (2 x 30lb empty propane tanks, no water, no cargo.)

 

Weighed 01/27/2017 at Eloy, AZ on the Pilot Truck Stop Certified Cat Scale. Truck and Trailer together weighed 14,820 lbs.  Two adults, 120 lb of dogs, Full tank of gas, full fresh water tank, some in black and gray tank, full propane tank and 1/2 full propane tank, Yamaha 3000 watt generator on tongue. Trailer alone weighed 7100 lb. about 800 lb tongue weight. Because of oversize axles my trailer has a GVWR of 10,400 lbs.

 

 

 

Current Tow Vehicle: 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT w/6.2L (420 HP/460 lb torque) and NHT Max Tow package, Trailer Tow capacity 11,800 lbs (based on SAE J2807). Hitch platform rated at 1200 lb.

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Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

             801469912_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-I.jpg.26814499292ab76ee55b889b69ad3ef0.jpg1226003278_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-H.jpg.dc46129cb4967a7fd2531b16699e9e45.jpg

 

 

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We tow the original Ollie, 17, usually with our 2008 ram 5.7 Hemi 4x4.

 

Without the trailer, we're somewhere around 17 mpg. With it. We're happy of we hit 12 to 14.  It's all about road surface and elevation.

 

Either way, the truck is great. And with a lifetime warranty, it'll be around awhile....

 

Sherry

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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By comparison, when we deliver class b motorhomes to Alaska, we are lucky to average 10 mpg with the Ford Triton.  I think the real mpg, if we could drive US speeds, would be 8 or so. But most of the drive is at slow speed, so better mileage.

 

And better views, too..  ...

 

One more year on the Alaska highway. Then I'm off to another continent. Unless, I am overruled....Lol.

 

My ideal is next spring in Iceland. We'll see.

 

Sherry

 

 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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We're pulling the Elite II always full of water and sometimes half full of waste water with a Mercedes ML350 Bluetec Diesel 4matic or awd. The milage really varies with the speeds in different states. From Hohenwald across the USA to Virginia Beach and then back across Arizona to the California State line at 70 to75mph we averaged 15.8 mpg. Now we're back in California with 600 miles on it and we're averaging 19.4mpg at 60mph. So the tow speed really makes a difference with the Mercedes. Not towing it averages 27mpg. The Mercedes pulled like a champ even in 65mph cross winds in New Mexico and Arizona last week. No hills are too steep, and with push button posi, it does well in desert terrain with stock Firestone AT's. It has a 7200/600lb tow rating and has around 10,000+ miles of towing, so far...

 

We upgraded from a Hummer H2 that we still use as a 4x4 tow vehicle because of comfort, age, and milage. The old 2005 H2 gets 11.5mpg when towing and 13.5 normally with 35" Nitro Trail Grappler Tires for serious off-road (35/70/R20). So we still use both vehicles, but for different terrains.

 

I upgraded to the H2 from a 76 Chevy Silverado with the stock 350 engine that averages 6 to 8mpg towing...

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Happy Camping,


null


Reed & Karen Lukens with Riffles our Miniature Poodle


2017 Oliver Legacy Elite II  Standard, Hull #200 / 2017 Silverado High Country 1500 Short Bed 4x4


Past TV - 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 4Matic BlueTEC Diesel


Click on our avatar pic above to find the videos on our Oliver Legacy Elite II


 

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I'm towing our Elite ll with a 2014 Ram 4X4 Cummins 3500 SRW. It's rated for a 17,420 lb trailer. This seems like overkill on paper, but it's a wonderful towing machine. Extremely stable, never seems to be working hard and never runs out of power on grades, so I'm comfortable passing slower vehicles on the steepest hills when towing. It also has a very relaxed engine sound because it doesn't have to rev way up to work. It has excellent brakes and a very powerful engine brake that does all of the holding back on downgrades. This saves the truck and the trailer brakes. The engine brake also works good in city towing or on secondary roads with a lot of speeding up and slowing down. So, the whole towing experience is without any drama and always with complete composure. It's impossible to overheat the tranny, either on steep dirt roads at low speeds, or pulling long highway grades.

 

I think we're averaging overall, about 14 MPG towing, tank after tank. More if we slow down a bit or get out of the mountains. I like to cruise at about 65 where legal.

John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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I'm towing our Elite ll with a 2014 Ram 4X4 Cummins 3500 SRW. It's rated for a 17,420 lb trailer. This seems like overkill on paper, but it's a wonderful towing machine. Extremely stable, never seems to be working hard and never runs out of power on grades, so I'm comfortable passing slower vehicles on the steepest hills when towing. It also has a very relaxed engine sound because it doesn't have to rev way up to work. It has excellent brakes and a very powerful engine brake that does all of the holding back on downgrades. This saves the truck and the trailer brakes. The engine brake also works good in city towing or on secondary roads with a lot of speeding up and slowing down. So, the whole towing experience is without any drama and always with complete composure. It's impossible to overheat the tranny, either on steep dirt roads at low speeds, or pulling long highway grades.

 

I think we're averaging, tank after tank, about 14 MPG towing and I like to cruise at about 65 where legal. The mileage gets better if I slow down a bit or if we get out of the mountains.

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John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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I don't have my Ollie yet, but I will also be towing it with a Ram 3500, at least initially. Mine is a 2006 5.9l, 4wd, and it rides rougher than the newest models. It really beats you up on choppy or broken roads, even with the Corbeau racing suspension seats I installed.

 

Towing a 6500 pound car hauler/ car combination is without fault. As the other John mentioned, climbing mountain passes is effortless and low stress. My truck will stay in high gear, torque converter locked, down to 45 mph. This means climbing moderate freeway grades at 1300 to 1800 rpm. On really steep grades it does kick down but the engine never races.

 

I do not have an exhaust brake but it isn't needed for a trailer of this weight IMHO. The truck has massive disc brakes.

 

MPG towing that trailer was about 15 at 65 mph (at 3000 ft to sea level). I normally get 19.5 cruising empty at 70 mph, and 22 to 23 at 60mph. I do have a cab height Leer canopy installed, which improves the aerodynamics measurably! With a 36 gallon tank, cruising range is stellar.

 

We are hoping to downsize to a used Land Cruiser 200 to get a better ride and to be able to explore rough mountain passes without rupturing our internal organs, but I will really miss the economy and easy towing nature of the turbo diesel with 600 ft lbs of torque.

 

BTW, the newest Ram 2500 model with rear coil springs rides MUCH softer than my leaf sprung truck. A Power Wagon would be a great choice, if you could live with the lower mileage of the big Hemi gas engine. It has even softer springs, for offroad use. You lose a lot of bed payload but gain wonderful articulation, travel and a super plush ride. If I didn't want a Land Cruiser so badly, I would look for a nice used PW 6.4 liter, without the Boy Racer graphics.

 

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a30282/the-dodge-power-wagon-is-an-irrationally-wonderful-tow-vehicle/

 

John Davies,

Spokane WA

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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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John,

Your'e right about the coil springs on the newer 2500 model. Very nice and the way I would go if doing it over.

My 3500 was too stiff at first and I discovered the dealer had put over 80 PSI in the tires. I set them down to 60 front and 50 rear (not towing) and installed a set of Bilstein shocks on the rear. It made a HUGE difference. The '13 and later, 4th gen trucks, take the same rear shocks as your '06. I had a new set left over from my 3rd gen and they went right on. I'm assuming yours is a SRW.

 

John


"I only exaggerate enough to compensate for being taken with a grain of salt."


LE2 #92 (sold),   Black Series HQ19   

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  • 4 weeks later...

We’re pulling the Elite II always full of water and sometimes half full of waste water with a Mercedes ML350 Bluetec Diesel 4matic or awd.

Uh oh.. Mercedes

Diesel motors are being made extinct in the US. With diesel being heavier then air, where do smog emissions really fit in? Only in their pocket books. Every company has been targeted by the environazi's and that's why Mercedes only sells diesels overseas now. I can't buy a new one and that really pisses me off.

 

With false statements like these, you can see who the environazi's are targeting today, and unfortunately they seem to be running our country right into the ground... -

 

Environmentalists praised regulators for investigating FCA’s diesels.

 

“No profit margin is worth poisoning our neighborhoods with toxic smog,” Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune in a statement, noting recent accusations against Volkswagen, Mercedes and Mitsubishi in Japan, and Chevrolet in Europe.

 

“This deceit is as dangerous as the sickening smog these vehicles leave behind,” he continued. “Consumers deserve corporate accountability and clean cars that don’t make our families sick.”

 

We will all be forced to buy electric cars if they get their way. The above statement is a  blatant lie but it fools the unknowing...

 

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/chrysler/2017/01/12/fiat-chrysler-diesel-emissions/96485778/

 

 

Happy Camping,


null


Reed & Karen Lukens with Riffles our Miniature Poodle


2017 Oliver Legacy Elite II  Standard, Hull #200 / 2017 Silverado High Country 1500 Short Bed 4x4


Past TV - 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 4Matic BlueTEC Diesel


Click on our avatar pic above to find the videos on our Oliver Legacy Elite II


 

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Sorry, but if you’re suggesting that diesel engines don’t produce NOx and other smog producing gasses and particles, then you’re deep into the well of alternative facts.

Thanks for chiming in... How are our new generation diesel cars and trucks with the Ad Blue or DEF system killing your family? We take up a mere 3% of the cars on the road, so how do we compare to your 1,200,000,000 gasoline vehicles as far as making people sick and/or killing them? Stick with your 13mpg or less while towing style of gasoline vehicle, while I pass you up with my Olli in my Diesel powered Mercedes averaging 19.8mpg at 60mph.

 

Thanks :)

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_exhaust_fluid

Happy Camping,


null


Reed & Karen Lukens with Riffles our Miniature Poodle


2017 Oliver Legacy Elite II  Standard, Hull #200 / 2017 Silverado High Country 1500 Short Bed 4x4


Past TV - 2012 Mercedes-Benz ML350 4Matic BlueTEC Diesel


Click on our avatar pic above to find the videos on our Oliver Legacy Elite II


 

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Hi folks, it might be time to reach across the forum, join hands, and raise our voices in a nice round of Kumbaya before things get out of hand . . .

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Pete & "Bosker".    TV -  '18 F150 Super-cab Fx4; RV  - "The Wonder Egg";   '08 Elite, Hull Number 014.

 

Travel blog of 1st 10 years' wanderings - http://www.peteandthewonderegg.blogspot.com

 

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Reed, like you say, there are good arguments to be made for diesels. I just didn't think that your first post was one of those.

 

I'm actually reconsidering my TV choice because of the real world mileage figures I'm seeing. I suspect that the EcoBoosts aren't giving Ford the numbers they wanted, the high output version especially.  I saw an early sticker where they put the Raptor's highway mileage at 21, but the EPA ended up setting it at 18, and real world towing some say is around 10.  We'll see. My wife is getting a Tesla 3 for her commute so my questionable defense for the truck has been that she'll provide my carbon offset, but if it really only gets 10 mpg while towing, that becomes a bit much for me to argue.

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I’m actually reconsidering my TV choice because of the real world mileage figures I’m seeing. I suspect that the EcoBoosts aren’t giving Ford the numbers they wanted, the high output version especially. I saw an early sticker where they put the Raptor’s highway mileage at 21, but the EPA ended up setting it at 18, and real world towing some say is around 10.

 

Aftermarket engine tuners are very common for diesels, but in the case of the Raptor EcoBoost, maybe there is a market for an Economy Towing mode that optimizes fuel consumption by lowering boost and fueling. You don't (usually) need 500+ ft lbs for towing an Ollie. 350 is plenty. Keep the boost down and the fuel consumption drops dramatically. Are there multi-program tuners for the Raptor?

 

I am sure that you know that fat tires, lots of lift and truck aerodynamics are the killer of fuel economy. You need to decide how important those features are for you.

 

Seen this review? ... http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-2017-ford-raptor-is-a-gas-sucking-one-trick-pony-bu-1794548282

 

Adding a lightweight canopy will improve highway mileage measurably, but it will subtract from the already dismal payload numbers.

 

I want to trade my 2006 3500 Ram diesel in on a used Land Cruiser 200, and I will probably leave it mostly stock to avoid the deadly spiral of adding off-road mods that kill fuel economy. Considering where a stock cruiser will go, I can live with a set of meatier tires and sliders.

 

I think the fact that you are reconsidering your choice is a good thing.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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There are tunes, but at least for the HO engines, they're all performance based.  Perhaps when the new Navigator comes out with the same engine, someone will make an economy tune.

 

I had seen the article you linked to, but mostly dismissed it.  In the videos they posted of their trip, that kid obviously wasn't concerned about mileage at any point.  I think if you're hauling it at 85 while towing, then that figure is probably accurate.  Some people on the Raptor forums are reporting 22 and others 12, so I think with those big turbos that the engine is very sensitive to how it's driven.  If I got 14 towing, I'd be O.K.; 12 I would begrudgingly accept.  It's more the range than the cost that I think would bother me.

 

The diesel option, at least for trucks, doesn't seem to make sense to me.  With the extra you pay for fuel and the big up front cost, you've got to go a ton of miles before you break even.  Maybe with SUVs it's different.  You get the range, though.

 

 

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Seems more than capable, a nice alternative. I like a vehicle that provides wading depth info (33.4"), it will be interesting to see what they end up with for fuel economy.

Randy


One Life Live It Enjoyably


2017 F350 6.7L SRW CC LB


2015 Oliver Elite II Hull #69

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I've seen 16/21 for the gas and 21/26 for diesel.  From what I've read, it's the same diesel that's going into the F150 next year.

 

Jalopnik quoted a LR engineer saying that the wading depth was closer to a meter, but at that point the rear end starts to float.

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Stoic Jim,

 

We will be receiving our 2017 Legacy Elite in June and towing it with a 2017 Toyota Tacoma, Double Cab, Manual trans, 4x4 w/Tow package. It will tow 6400 lbs with a GVWR of 11330 lbs. Although it would be fine as is,  we added the Anderson Hitch for added confidence. From everything I have read and heard, the Ollie is very well mannered.

 

I will let you know after I have some miles with her.

 

Thanks,

 

Terry

Legacy Elite I

#240

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We picked up our trailer nine years ago with one of our two vehicles rated to tow it... Our Volvo XC90. Rating, 4900 lb.

 

We towed about 20 or 25000 miles with my stepside 1500 Chevy Silverado. I think it's rated around 7500. Great look, very nimble, not great on supersteep gravel hills..

 

Later on, we decided we wanted 4x4, five seats , and the truck bed to carry the ATV and gear. We watched for, and got a great deal on the Dodge ram 1500 hemi that 8 years later is our primary tow.

 

We'd love to have better fuel economy, especially would love one of the small powerful diesels we've seen in Australia and Europe, but at 160k, and a lifetime warranty, the ram will be around a long time.in town, about 16 mpg. Not great, not awful. Paul's daily driver. And, we can haul an amazing amount of stuff, and four people, without much of a change in mpg.

 

Guess I'm saying, if you have a vehicle already with a sufficient tow rating, use it, and see what you would like to have later. You'll figure it out.

 

I love pickups, because I learned to drive in trucks, I'm short, and I see better up higher. Plus, truck bed gives a lot of storage. But other people like the better ride of an SUV...

 

Good luck in your choices.

 

Sherry

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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