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New To Us


jhow

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We will be picking up our Ollie in the next few weeks. It will be new to us, an Ollie Elite II 2016. This is very exciting to us, yet we have never camped in our lives together. My husband is a former Army Ranger so his form of camping will be nothing similar to our new adventure.

 

Prior to picking up our new to us trailer we are trying to decide what to have added. Any thoughts would be great. Currently we are thinking about upgraded suspension, tankless water heater and micro air easy start. Are these worth the money? Should we just live with it for a while and see what we need?

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Hi, and welcome to the Oliver family!

Congratulations on finding your 2016.

So much depends on how you want to camp, and where you camp.

Some people love the tankless. Others are quite happy with the standard 6 gallon, which runs on either gas or electric. I almost think the standard 6 can be good for limiting water use boondocking. The call is easier after you have camped awhile. We've had both. And, I'm fine with either one, honestly.

I think the microair easy start is most attractive to those who camp in hot areas, without hookups. We tend to follow the cooler weather, almost never have power, don't like to use the generator, don't use ac.

Does your 2016 have solar? That's my alltime favorite upgrade.

You'll find lots of answers to your questions here. Ask away.

Are you going to the rally in May? Great opportunity to meet other owners, and see a lot of ideas.

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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Unless there's something you absolutely know you want, I wouldn't jump into upgrades until you've lived in it for a bit.  We've had ours for about a year and a half now, five trips and 15,000 miles, and we're still making changes and settling in.

 

I agree with Sherry - the best thing you can do is go to the rally, scope out everyone else's trailers and ask tons of questions.

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Wish we could attend and pick the brains of others there, but as teachers we can't take time off with only a few weeks until summer break. Most likely we will just give it time and make changes at a future date. Thanks for the advice!

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Do you have any idea of how many miles your 2016 has traveled?  If it is much over 12,000 miles and nothing has been done to the suspension it is likely that the original bushings are close to being shot.  I would have this inspected and if they are gone or close to being gone I would have the EZ Flex upgrade suspension done.

 

Other than that I agree with both Overland and SeaDawg - live in it for at least a couple of trips prior to making any other decisions.

 

Bill

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

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Welcome and congrats on the new/2016 Ollie!  We also have a 2016 and have put about 40K miles on it in the last three years.  We have the standard hot water tank and are happy with it.  It works and is simple.  It provides enough hot water for a couple of showers (we do navy style - on when rinsing, off when soaping).  We did upgrade to the Dexter suspension and the easy start on the AC.  When we upgraded the suspension the old bushings and parts were totally worn out.

 

I spent almost 30 years in the Army so I understand the Ranger idea of camping.  The Oliver camping experience is at the other end of the scale!  Mike

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

ALAZARCACOFLGAIDILKSKYLAMDMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKSCSDTNTXUTVAWVWYsm.jpgALAZARCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMS

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