Hello From Portland, Oregon

[DonnaDuane]

We take possession of our Oliver November 20th. To do so, we'll be driving 3 days from Portland to Tennessee, something we've never done before, and not looking forward to. We imagine 10 hours a day of driving for 6 days total will be excruciating. However, we are clear there is no other trailer on the market we would own, so here we go on this grand adventure. We are in our mid 60's, and have never owned an RV. We decided to do this because we saw it might be more convenient when traveling to ski resorts (I compete in Masters ski races throughout the Winter), National Parks and friends around the country. We imagined it might save us some time and hassle with booking accommodations, renting cars, schlepping gear, and packing and unpacking so much. We don't know this, but we love new adventures/challenges, so here we go. Donna is an exceptional artist specializing in calligraphy, water colors and creating beautiful art books, silver jewelry that includes her work with paper, and cards for any occasion. Together, we ride a tandem bicycle and enjoy attending tandem rallies in the Summer. We've taken our bike to Europe three times for 2 week tours of the Loire, Lot, Dordogne, Rhine and Moselle river valleys. We enjoy meeting and befriending new people where ever we go. We're looking forward to meeting some of you in the near future.  Donna and Duane

[topgun2]

Now that's what I call an intro!

 

Welcome - less than a month to go.

 

Perhaps driving 10 hours a day is a bit too much - particularly on the way back with your brand new Ollie.  I once thought that driving across the Midwest was boring.  But, there are just so many things to see and places to visit and history to investigate that now there is simply not enough time to get to it all.  The weather is still not too bad in the second half of November.  I'd recommend that you slow down a little bit (particularly since it is your first time).  Pick a few places along your route that you've read about or have always wondered about and take a visit.  Each and every town along your route was founded for a reason - stop and find out what that reason was/is.  The wheat, corn and sun flower fields that go on for as far as one can see make for stunning pictures/cards.

 

What an adventure - enjoy every minute of it.

 

Bill

[Geronimo John]

Welcome to the Oliver Family!    Some thoughts from a first year OTT owner:

 

First the comments by Top Gun are spot on.   When time permits, slowing down and enjoying the ride is THE way to go.  But, at times that approach is not in the game plan.

 

During summers, I am generally "On a mission" to get to paragliding competitions and fly-in's that are scattered across the continental USA.  When  possible , I love to stop at National Parks (using a Senior Pass of course) and to explore small towns.  However, at this point in life, such is not my norm.  Generally I have not enough time between distant events and covering those miles requires me to roll.  Below are some thoughts and trip planning parameters:

 

A. Are you team driving or solo driving with a navigator?    Even with all the electronic maps and tools, having a navigator and partner is really nice.  Having a partner that also is good with driving with a 5,000 + trailer is fantastic.

 

B.  What is your tow vehicle rating?  What motor are your running?  What is the size of the fuel tank?  These are considerations that can help or hinder your goal of covering a lot of ground.  My Toyota Sequoia with the 4.7L rolls great on the flat lands, easily running at the posted speed limit or above.  Our Elite II tracks exceptionally well and due to its weight and shape behaves very well with faster truck and cross winds.  But on mountain climbs, my small motor requires  use of the 4 way flashers and generally relegates us to the right lane.

 

C.  The Sequoia fuel tank does wonderful solo (18 MPG), but with Ollie in tow we are running about 11 MPG or so.  Seems like a lot of extra fuel stops that requires more time than they should.

 

D.  Especially out west, the distance between fuel stops can easily exceed the range of my vehicle towing Ollie.  I carry a 2.5 gallon fuel can in the front tray of Ollie.  Have not actually needed it, but I sure have been worried on more than one occasion.

 

E.  Regardless if your tow vehicle is on the wimpy side, as mine is, or a diesel monster, you'll likely not cover the ground as you are used to towing a trailer of this size.  For planning purposes, I recommend an average speed of just 50 MPH.  At ten hours it is 500 miles.  With a partner it is feasible to do so for three or four days.  After that, rest is strongly recommended.

 

F.  Hopefully you will have the time to really explore the OTT Forums and also the Oliver University.  There is a huge amount of good information in both.  Highly recommend you download all you can from these sources.

 

G.  Finally, if you run into a problem, try to figure it out from the Owner's Manual before calling OTT.  If it is not covered therein, search the Forums.  There are thousands of topics covered in the OTT Forums.  If you strike out and still don't have the information you need.... post a note to the forum.  There is a herd of OTT owners listening every day,  and several of them likely solved the same problem in years past.  When I made the decision to buy an Oliver, it was the welcoming and positive responses I got from the owners and the OTT team that made me confident in my purchase.  So bring your laptop and use these tools to help you through the learning curve.

 

Good luck!

 

Geronimo John

[DonnaDuane]

Thank you both for the suggestion. It's possible for me to return in 5 rather than 3 days, but I have two compelling things I want to get back to. One, Donna is participating in a high performance driving class on Saturday the 24th (I really want to see her do that), and I have a very busy hearing healthcare practice that I need to be at on Monday the 26th.

 

I'm guessing that towing our little Ollie with our Audi Q5 3.0 TDI will be easier than the Elite II behind a truck. The engine has amazing torque (0 to 60 in 5 sec, fuel economy 33mpg highway), and it's simply a very comfortable ride. We just got the OEM tow package installed which has the engine, suspension and such adjust when towing. We'll also have some new Nokian Haakapeliitta R3 tires on it for bomb proof traction on any snow or ice we might encounter.

 

But, we will definitely stretch it out as much as possible given our schedule.

[John E Davies]

My personal feeling, having driven directly to Hohenwald from Spokane and back over three weeks in late April, is that you will wear yourselves out trying to do the entire trip so fast. Having two important deadlines will worry you, and you will not have time to deal with any minor emergencies that might happen enroute in early winter.

 

I personally would never recommend what you are doing, especially for first time RV owners. Instead, have them shrink wrap and ship your Ollie to a dealer near you in Portland for final delivery.....

 

The trailer is definitely able to handle frigid temperatures. However, towing it safely over snow, ice and corrosive deicing chemicals will be a real challenge. You need to bring chains for both your tow vehicle and the trailer, and be prepared to wait out storms and only drive over the high passes after they have been cleared. Make sure you have excellent mudflaps on your TV, Rock Tamers would be a good investment. You will be driving fast through a lot of abrasive grit on the passes and you need to deflect as much as possible off the trailer. Maybe tape sheets of high density foam to the front of the hull, as if you were headed to Alaska....

 

Are you planning on using the southern route, then up through california? That would be better but a far longer drive.

 

Welcome to the forum, but I am not afraid to comment that you really need to reconsider your strategy. IMHO having it shipped to your home town makes so much sense this time of year...

 

https://www.uship.com/cost-to-ship/vehicles/recreational-vehicles-rvs/

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[DonnaDuane]

Thank you John. Although it’s difficult for me to imagine being worn out from 6 days of driving, I actually did look into having it shipped. I decided not to because I couldn’t justify the $3-4K I was told it would cost. However, after going to the website you posted, it looks like they’ll do it for about $1500. Have you used them? I am checking them out as a possible alternative to driving.

[bugeyedriver]

 

I personally would never recommend what you are doing, especially for first time RV owners. Instead, have them shrink wrap and ship your Ollie to a dealer near you in Portland for final delivery…..

. . .

Welcome to the forum, but I am not afraid to comment that you really need to reconsider your strategy. IMHO having it shipped to your home town makes so much sense this time of year…

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

I second what John says.  I realize you are both competitive speed junkies, but honestly, towing your first travel trailer, a $65,000+  23.5 ft rolling palace, 3670 miles in 5 days, in potential winter conditions from Hohenwald, TN to Portland, OR is not wise . . . the reasons not to do this are too numerous to mention.

 

Google maps gave me that distance.  You would need to average 734 miles a day to cover that even in 5 days.  All I can say to that is AAUUgghh!!  It won't be like your trip from Portland to Hohenwald, zipping down the highway on cruise control, 5 mph over the speed limit to fit in with the rest of traffic in your cool Audi Q5 3.0 TDI.  No, your average mph will be significantly reduced as you (hopefully) have a lower mph and make more stops for gas and food.  Even if you averaged 65 mph, which would be highly unlikely, you'd be pulling your trailer 11 hr 15 min every day.  Oh, and then there is set-up and tear-down activities from the campsites to take up more time.

 

Have you looked at the availability of RV parks along the route near the distances you must travel daily?  You may find many are closed for the season do to potential freezing of their water lines.  Or, are you planning to utilize the capabilities of the Ollie and boondock along the way, on this, your maiden voyage in your first ever travel trailer?

 

Remember when you first started skiing?  Did you start on the Black slopes or did you warm up your legs a few seasons on the Greens and Blues?  Taking the trip you have in mind would be like starting on the Black slopes.

 

Seeing as you both must be home by a certain time, it would be much wiser and safer to have your Ollie delivered safely to your door.  I can't second John's recommendation strongly enough.

 

Pete

[KountryKamper]

Welcome to the Oliver family.

 

We are known by our friends as being marathon drivers sometimes when we want to get somewhere. When pulling a trailer about the best you can average over the course of a day with fuel and food stops is 50 MPH. Thats hitting a drive though after gasing up and eating while driving down the road. About the max you could possibly do in a day is 700 miles and you will be exhausted, especially if you try to do that for consecutive days. We just drove 732 miles the last day returning from Nova Scotia because we were 250 miles from home when we reach our campsite and I decided to just come on home. That was a 15 hour day.

 

500 miles a day is a long day towing, 700 is just exhausting. Your sure not going to feel like working or going to a driving school when you get home.

 

Figure out a way to take more time and enjoy yourself even if you don't stop to sight see along the way. I came up with 2500 miles one way. You will need to plan a full day for your pick up day. You might be able to do it in 9 days weather permitting if you don't have any problems. Also having never pulled a RV before your going to have a learning curve too. You can't safely just hook up and go down the road at 75+MPH. We try to say around 68-70 MPH and that's faster then most people drive towing.

 

 

[John E Davies]

Thank you John. Although it’s difficult for me to imagine being worn out from 6 days of driving, I actually did look into having it shipped. I decided not to because I couldn’t justify the $3-4K I was told it would cost. However, after going to the website you posted, it looks like they’ll do it for about $1500. Have you used them? I am checking them out as a possible alternative to driving.

 

Hey, I have never shipped a trailer or a car. In thinking about absolute shipping cost, you also need to think about your saved time and aggravation, the impact of weather delays and the cost of missing your deadline (lost driving class fees), and unfortunately, the incredible hassle of fixing your equipment if you should slide off a slick highway or worse yet, jackknife. The latter will trash  both your vehicles... How much are your insurance deductibles?

 

Have  you totaled up your planned trip costs? Diesel, fast food, lodging, campground fees, wear and tear on your expensive TV? I don’t have a clue what your towing mpgs will be, it varies enormously with your road speed and the environment. I think 20mpg towing would be a realistic figure for the return trip, to account for steep climbs, headwinds etc.

 

Add up the costs, then subtract them off the cost to ship. I don’t think the difference will be that hard to accept, considering how much simpler and safer shipping would be. If I were in your shoes, delivering a trailer here to Spokane in late November, I would not hesitate to ship.

 

An option for you to consider.... have it shipped to Los Angeles or San Francisco, and have a nice warm safe drive up the west coast to PDX, hitting all those glorious ocean parks.. That would give you some nice easy learning miles, so you can spend some time with your new toy in a much more benign environment.

 

I shudder to think what an early season white-out snow storm with 50mph crosswinds in the high plains of WY or northeast UT would be like while towing.

 

Please don’t think we are being harsh or unfriendly. I personally have close to 50 years of towing experience, and many others on the forum are very high mileage if not high time towers. I think Pete (and Bosker) “bugeyedriver” has almost 130,000 miles now pulling his 10 year old Elite after his latest loop through Alaska! If we don’t think your original plan is advisable, we are only looking out for your well being. Don’t we look at least a little trustworthy? ... Well, maybe Bosker does.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[DonnaDuane]

I'm loving this conversation. I do appreciate everyone's concern for us. I am looking into the service John pointed me to for having it brought to Oregon that may make that option more appealing then the $4K price I was quoted originally. However, if that doesn't pan out, I realize it will not be a walk in the park driving possibly 12 hours a day. So as to ease some minds, despite never having had an RV, I do have experience hauling boats and hay in my younger years. 7 years ago I hauled a flat bed uhaul to SLC and back with my VW Jetta TDI to pick up a 2000lbs sound booth. We brought it over the Wallowa's during a snow storm, so I'm hardly a green pea at this.  I also am kind of an odd bird in these trying times. I drive the speed limit and certainly have taken into account driving slower as needed with the new trailer. Also, this is the small, single axle, 3400# version we're talking about. I'm sure the II is another ball game when towing.  Also, we've never intended to find and set up camp along the route back, rather simply park somewhere, sleep and eat. We'll keep you all posted as the tow for hire possibility is sorted out. If that is more reasonably priced, I'd easily opt for that.

[Geronimo John]

I’m guessing that towing our little Ollie with our Audi Q5 3.0 TDI will be easier than the Elite II behind a truck. The engine has amazing torque (0 to 60 in 5 sec, fuel economy 33mpg highway), and it’s simply a very comfortable ride. We just got the OEM tow package installed which has the engine, suspension and such adjust when towing.

 

Donna and Duane:

 

In your response you indicate you have purchased the Elite, not the Elite II.  The OTT Elite dry weight is listed at 3,400 pounds with 340 pounds of tongue weight.  I do not know what year your TV (Tow Vehicle) is, but guessed it as a 2017.   The 2017 Guide to Towing lists all Audi Q5's as having a 4,000 maximum tow weight.  That's the "all in" weight of your trailer, its added loads, plus the additional loads you have in the Audi.  So to the 3400 pounds you must add water, fuel, passengers, luggage, stores and additional equipment (Generator, chalks, BBQ etc.).   So even if you are traveling with a "Dry Trailer", if I am reading the tea leaver properly, you will have plenty of horsepower, but you are pushing the envelope of the Q5 when all other weights are considered.  An additional concern is the short wheel base of the A5.

 

My point is that you need to be cautious on your 500 miles or so while the brakes on the trailer "burn in" and you get to really understand how your controller work as that process changes braking results of your vehicle and the trailer.  If the roads are wet, hilly snow or iced, this process can be "hair raising" if your are pushing the envelope speed wise.

 

But my biggest concern is that I see no time for the delays that you likely will encounter .  Some of them are:

 

A. TRAILER TRANSFER AND BRIEFING:  The OTT new owner briefing will take most of Thursday.  As you are STRONGLY encouraged to spend the night at the OTT provided camp ground, that process will likely not be completed until Thursday evening..  You need to do this to verify you really do understand how your Ollie works.  Bring a steno pad to write down questions as your evening likely will result in your having questions that you will want to get answered at the factory on Friday morning.  This in one of the reasons that OTT does not do trailer turn-overs on Fridays.  They are not available on Saturdays for your follow-up questions.

 

B.  FACTORY TECHNICAL ISSUES:  Despite a great QC program, the Oliver is a complex system of systems.  Invariably new owners will run into an issue or two that needs to be corrected.  In my case, the Oliver brakes were not seating properly and in fact were not working well at all.  Without them I could not depart the factory on Thursday as I had hoped.  We worked much of Thursday afternoon, and I ended up staying in my trailer at the OTT office so we could jump back on it early Friday morning.  We worked all day on Friday and the results were perfect.  So basically I left OTT Friday evening, a full day after my plans would allow.  Another example of why OTT does not do trailer turn overs on Friday......

 

C.  YOUR TECHNICAL ISSUES:  Once you get on the road, you will ultimately find holes in your knowledge, even of things that you thought you understood.  Those issues will slow you down as you have to figure out how things actually work.  My first night away from OTT resulted in an additional four hours at the Navy Family Camping ground in Memphis because I could not figure out an issue. I finally called Phil and he talked me through it and I was rolling again.  But it took time and put me further behind the eight ball schedule.

 

D.  FACTORY PICKUP:   I strongly suggest that you BOTH be involved in picking up your trailer at the factory, and to doing so together in person is really important.  My wife could not make the trip from Hawaii so I did it solo.  Even with a list of topics to discuss at turn over, and pages and pages of notes, I still ran into topics that I was unclear on.  I wish that I had her second opinion at those times as it would have been very helpful.  I often refer back to my pages of notes from the trailer training and marvel at the great job that Phil did in teaching this new owner.

 

Faced with what I know now and your schedule, you realistically can either ship your Ollie, or delay pickup until your joint schedules can allow you both to pick up  your Ollie it in a more relaxed and safe manner.  I recommend the latter.

 

 

[DonnaDuane]

Thanks John. I actually did extensive research on the towing capacity and capabilities of our 2016 Q5 3.0 TDI. The actual towing capacity is listed as 4400#s in the US, and 5000 in Europe for the very same vehicle, so I'm not concerned. I've consulted Audi and Audi owners who pull trailers. They all rave about it's capability for the Oliver.  You bring up my thinking on the benefits of picking up vs. paid delivery - Oliver Orientation and inspection.  I realize I risk delays. One thing I have going for me is purchasing a demo rather than brand new.  I will be ensuring with the folks at Oliver that everything has been tested and works prior to my arrival.

[John E Davies]

What figure did Oliver Sales quote you for shipping by truck?

 

I don’t recall ever reading a post about this, but probably it has been done at least a few times, not everybody is comfortable with or wants a 6000 mile round trip. Especially in winter...

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

I looked at this AudiWorld thread .... https://www.audiworld.com/forums/q5-sq5-mki-8r-discussion-129/ok-tow-close-max-q5-tdi-2887118/

 

... and I think the Q5 will be perfectly fine for a delivery trip, even in mountains, but I bet it will need the Anderson, and towing light with empty tanks makes great sense. For local trips medium load, probably fine, but for really long trips with full-timing gear, I think it will prove to be very inadequate in terms of payload. Maybe then will be the time to trade up to the Q7 or a big Merc diesel... https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/a10159528/the-mercedes-benz-gls450-is-a-shockingly-capable-tow-vehicle/

 

If you read the story, the writer towed the decrepid rental car hauler, a loaded weight of 5000 lbs, and which had a blown and inoperative brake system, from NC to NJ. And back again. In heavy traffic. After two sleepless nights working on the race car. This is beyond stupid, it is borderline criminal. The Merc did just fine in spite of this lunacy.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[DavePhelps]

Donna and Duane,

 

I live in Portland and made the trip you are talking about when we picked up our Elite1.

 

Let me tell you, it is a long way out there to Hohenwald TN!! Just a quick look on Google Maps will tell you that from Portland it's 2370 miles out there and another 2370 miles back. In the winter, your average speed towing, if you're lucky, will be around 50 MPH. And those are not going to be easy miles. At 50 MPH average, that is 47.4 hours of driving, and I think that is very optimistic. Potential snow/ice, rain and wind, backups, crazy drivers.... Days will also be short and you will be driving in darkness for several hours each day. I've towed in these conditions (thankfully for not very long!) and it is quite exhausting. To attempt this trip in just 3 days would be most unwise IMHO.

 

Another option that hasn't been talked about, which is what we did, is to delay your pickup until early Spring. Our Ollie was completed about the same time yours will be, but we had them hold it for us until April, when we made the trip out to pick it up.  Much better this way! And gives you time to enjoy and learn about your new trailer while taking in the wondrous early Spring throughout our beautiful country.

 

I wish you the best of luck on your trip whenever you decide to go. Be safe!

 

Dave

[DonnaDuane]

Thanks Dave.  I've considered waiting till Spring, but have it that it would be great for accommodations at several ski races I'll be attending this Winter.  Getting there is relatively easy and comfortable in my Audi. What I won't like is not exercising as much as usual for a week.  I've been looking at how I can modify my program to maintain my current level. I actually have 5 days to get back, so can always go slower if needed.  I've looked at hiring a tow company to bring it out, but the cost $2500 and the absence of the Orientation have got me thinking I'll make the drive, at least at this point.  By the way, did you get the Anderson Sway system?

[DavidS]

By the way, did you get the Anderson Sway system?

I would check the Owner's Manual for your Q5. I tow with an Audi Q7, and in the section on Driving with a trailer it says "Never install a "weight distributing" or "load equalizing" trailer hitch on your vehicle. The vehicle was not designed for these kinds of trailer hitches. The hitch attachment can fail, causing the trailer to tear loose from the vehicle." 

 

From reading other forums I think this warning is true for quite a number of European and Japanese cars.

[DonnaDuane]

David, I just spoke with my Audi dealer. The manual is saying that because the Audi performs best with an OEM hitch and wiring system installed. It is not referring to something like an Anderson which is mostly attached to the trailer with a couple cables attached to the hitch. I will re-read my manual though in case you're right.  My research is telling me the towing will be a breeze without the Anderson for that light and well balanced trailer behind a vehicle that handles like my Q5.

[DonnaDuane]

Dave, Thank you. I knew the distance is 2370, but hadn't calculated the return drive time at 50mph. I'd been going off of Google Maps estimated drive time. Using 50mpg as my estimated speed, I can see 3 days would be crazy (15+ hours/day), but 4-5 days is easily doable for me (8-12 hours/day).  And, although the for hire cost has come down to around $2500, I'm still seeing myself driving out for the benefit of the Orientation. I want to use it this Winter.

[SeaDawg]

Welcome to the forum.

 

You won't likely have much trouble til you get west of Kansas city. Other than Thanksgiving travel... heaviest traffic of the year.

 

The plains can be easy, or brutal, depending on wind, and of course, snow. It snowed two weeks ago in Nebraska, by the way. Once you get to Nebraska , it's a crapshoot.  I personally hate to have a deadline.  We've found that deadlines always make camping and sailing trips less enjoyable,  and sometimes just downright untenable,  in foul weather.

 

We picked up our 2008 in February, 2008,  with our 2004 Volvo xc90, but headed south. No mountains,  just hills. Similar wheelbase, but much heavier vehicle, probably by 50 per cent. On the flats, the xc90 is admirable.  The t5 all wheel is fine.  For the mountains, we've always used one of our trucks. Never wanted to try.... didn't feel it would be up to our preferred travel speed.

 

If you try to do the trip with such a short turnaround,  I'd really pack super light,  keep the trailer winterized, and use a porta potty and a few gallons of water in the tow vehicle for drinking and coffee when you're  overnighting. Sleeping bags. Pillows. A few clothes.  Tea kettle,  pourover cone, coffee mugs. Not much else. Keep the trailer light. There's not even 1000 pounds difference in your TV and trailer. When you hit the mountains,  you don't want to be overwhelmed, especially downhill.

 

Finding open campgrounds,  even dry camping, will be tough, in late November. You're probably looking at Walmart and crackerbarrel and truckstops, which,  of course,  isn't camping.  It's a place to sleep... and not always great sleep, at that. You may he tempted to just pull into a holiday inn Express, for a better rest. I might.  The travel days are going to be long and  daylight hours short.

 

A better introduction to camping would surely be a different season. When I was young,  My dad and I  did a bunch of east to west and vice versa in the winters. I  really learned to hate driving and towing  in crappy weather, especially snowstorms, as a teenager. Hence, I now live in the south... And thoroughly enjoy shoulder season camping up north. And palm trees in December at home.

 

Best of luck. Expand your timeline as MUCH as you possibly can. Can you back up your departure and pickup date?

 

We've towed our Oliver  "shorty" about 85000 miles, but we also travel  two to three months a year in deliveries in the us and Canada, and rentals on other continents.  Wouldn't trade our almost  11 year old ollie for anything else in the trailer world.  Hope you love yours as much as we love  ours.

 

Sherry

[DonnaDuane]

Thank you SeaDog for some very valuable tips and suggestions. I've seen the wisdom of your strategy. This is not a camping trip and was never intended to be. I'll likely sleep in the Ollie when a quiet enough place can be found, or just get a motel for convenience.  Having driven up and down nearly every mountain pass West of the Mississippi in the worst storms imaginable, every Winter weekend to go skiing since I was 16 leaves me unfazed by Winter weather/road conditions. What I am afraid of are Tornadoes, having no experience with them. I'm thinking I'm missing that season though. Yes? I will not be carrying much of anything other than clothing, sleeping bag, some travel food and my coffee maker. I don't understand what you were saying about vehicle weight vs. trailer weight. Please explain again.  My Audi weighs in at 4500#s with a 4400# max tow weight and the Ollie is 3400#s

[BackofBeyond]

Welcome to the Oliver family!

 

As you have found, Oliver owners are ready and willing to provide unabashed feedback, suggestions, and support. As to your upcoming trek, I wish you well, however, from experience, you cannot over plan. (especially on this maiden long distance trip) Lets just say, I have earned a "PHD" in long distance travel, mostly without a trailer behind me, but the first several trips with my EII left me feeling like I didn't pay attention during the delivery walkthrough. I'm just cautioning, with the  aggressive mileage you have on tap, you don't need any complications to muck it up.

 

Although the trip itself is not my cautionary comment, rather, get as comfortable with your unit as possible.  Take avantage of the delivery walk through, prove to yourself you know how to turn on, turn off, everything. Best practices for each system, and at least for the first several stop/starts,  use one of the checklists from the forum to ensure you haven't missed anything before you take off each morning.  Differing from others, the longer mileages you are planning are not unrealistic, heck,  I've done similar - probably too many times, but try to plan for every possible situation. Long days/nights are doable but -   Tornadoes - funny, the last thing I worry about.

 

Your tow vehicle, however, I fear, will not leave you satisfied. As has been stated in prior posts, the numbers are important, factual, and you will be near the limits with a semi loaded Elite. Skiing at your limits is fun, travel and towing at the limits may not be so.  I wonder what is the tongue weight ratings for your Audi? Seems to me you can't do to much research here.

 

In any case  - have a good experience, may the wind be at your back.

 

RB

 

 

[RnA]

Thinking out of the box a bit...  If you can be without your car for a few days you may consider having it shipped to Nashville.  You could fly to Nashville, pick up the car there and drive  to Oliver.  Leave a couple of days for orientation and fixing anything on the trailer that needs it. That should allow 5 days to return home.  You would have to consider logistics of where you can ship your car from and to, getting to departure airport, then getting from Nashville A/P to pickup car.  I’ve done it before to and from Hawaii and it was pretty painless.  Just takes some planning on the timing for everything.  Good luck.  - Randy

[Overland]

I'll be the contrarian and say I think you'll be perfectly fine.

 

But I have to ask - how does an avid skier from Oregon not arrange delivery mid-december so that you can plan a weeklong layover in Park City?  Both directions.  :)

[DonnaDuane]

RNA, We loved our visit to Nashville. That is a possibility we'll take a look at. Thank you for the idea.