Clearance from ground to bottom edge of Elite II?

[NCeagle]

Hi all, I'm trying to figure out the clearances around the body of the Elite II.  Has anyone by chance ever measured this?  I'm guessing from pictures and the size of the tires that it's about 16" but I hope someone has measured or knows this offhand.  Also assuming it's the same all around but that may not be true.  Thanks!!!

[John E Davies]

Do you mean hull clearance or frame/ suspension clearance? The hull itself is fairly level - it is dead flat across the bottom, but the frame varies. It is quite a bit lower in the back because of the sewer compartment support (cross) braces. It is the rearmost  one of those that will drag. See pic. The suspension is marginal in a few places, like the low hanging shackles and axle ubolts.
 

Why do you ask?

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited September 17, 2020 by John E Davies

[Ray and Susan Huff]

17 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Do you mean hull clearance or frame/ suspension clearance? The hull itself is fairly level - it is dead flat across the bottom, but the frame varies. It is quite a bit lower in the back because of the sewer compartment support (cross) braces. It is the rearmost  one of those that will drag. See pic. The suspension is marginal in a few places, like the low hanging shackles and axle ubolts.
 

Why do you ask?

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Is the part that scraped (above) on the underside of the Ollie bumper?  

Just thinking out loud: could a person put some kind of rubber bumper there?  Think "rubber baby buggy bumper" !

[NCeagle]

21 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Do you mean hull clearance or frame/ suspension clearance? The hull itself is fairly level - it is dead flat across the bottom, but the frame varies. It is quite a bit lower in the back because of the sewer compartment support (cross) braces. It is the rearmost  one of those that will drag. See pic. The suspension is marginal in a few places, like the low hanging shackles and axle ubolts.
 

Why do you ask?

John Davies

Spokane WA

Hi John, I'm interested in the clearance around the perimeter of the body to see if https://www.airskirts.com/ would work on the Oliver.  I spoke to the owner of the company this morning (super nice, responsive guy) and he thinks a small RV kit with a few modifications to the sizes of the tubes would work.  I'm going to ask him what the diameter of those tubes are to make sure the Oliver doesn't sit too high off the ground for them.  Thanks.

[John E Davies]

Air skirts. Hmmmmm. Feel free to investigate and buy, but this is a $1500 purchase that is totally not needed with an Oliver. For a conventional junk stick and staple trailer or an Airstream, it probably makes a bunch of sense. It is a band aid fix for horrible build quality and design and exposed plumbing. Your Ollie is engineered and constructed to keep out cold and there certainly is no problem with larger animals getting in, ants maybe through the little scupper drains. I hope I am not sounding too harsh, but if you ask for opinions about this product here, I think you will find nearly complete consensus.

Unless you are thinking about living in your Ollie full time, outdoors through an arctic winter? 

Does this new product have any consumer reviews or energy tests? I would be interested to read those. Thanks.

John Davies 

Spokane WA

 

Edited September 17, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, Susan Huff said:

Is the part that scraped (above) on the underside of the Ollie bumper?  

Just thinking out loud: could a person put some kind of rubber bumper there?  Think "rubber baby buggy bumper" !

No, that is not part of the bumper. We discussed frame rollers a while back, in a bike rack thread.....I think a rubber bumper would last approximately 0.1 second before getting peeled off. 😀 A steel skidplate would work. 
 

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited September 17, 2020 by John E Davies

[NCeagle]

20 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Air skirts. Hmmmmm. Feel free to investigate and buy, but this is a $1500 purchase that is totally not needed with an Oliver. For a conventional junk stick and staple trailer or an Airstream, it probably makes a bunch of sense. It is a band aid fix for horrible build quality and design and exposed plumbing. Your Ollie is engineered and constructed to keep out cold and there certainly is no problem with larger animals getting in, ants maybe through the little scupper drains. I hope I am not sounding too harsh, but if you ask for opinions about this product here, I think you will find nearly complete consensus.

Unless you are thinking about living in your Ollie full time, outdoors through an arctic winter? 

Does this new product have any consumer reviews or energy tests? I would be interested to read those. Thanks.

John Davies 

Spokane WA

 

I don't see anything out there yet as far as reviews, etc., as I think they may be too new.  I suspect they would work as well as any other skirt if it fits - I was interested due to it's simplicity and portability (cost aside).  Skirts can be made for free using snow if one so desires, but I'm willing to pay for something if it's innovative and works.

So skirts....  no I don't plan to live full time or camp through and arctic winter in my Oliver.  But...  I want to insure that if I'm on a winter camping trip and it gets pretty cold (Rocky mountain cold) for a few weeks or even a few days in a row, I won't have to pack up and leave because my plumbing may freeze.  I actually prefer to chase storms in the winter as opposed to run from them. 

I'd love to hear from other owners about this if they have cold weather experience in their Ollies.  There really isn't a ton of information to go on in this forum as far as owners sharing cold weather camping experiences, but I've read the few posts I could find and there are definitely comments and common problem areas in and around the basement and/or plumbing called out.  Everyone has tried various things to move warm air around better from the living area to the basement, etc.  I'd rather use skirts if they would accomplish the same or make the best in the industry even better?  In the end, it's $$ for skirts or $ + time for electric heaters and fans and heat tape and insulation, etc.

Have any owners tried or run some tests in the cold and found skirts to be a waste of money on an Oliver?  If not, I'll be running some tests with makeshift skirts and a bunch of temperature sensors at home before I splurge on anything.  If it saves money (less propane/elec in the Winter and Summer), headaches and potential damage, then it pays for itself pretty fast.

 

[Mainiac]

Air skirts...like in a hovercraft?.. Interesting concept.  A steering wheel by the rear window?where do air keep th life jackets? Where do I hang the numbers? So many questions...

[Mcb]

The air skirts are an interesting idea...reducing the amount of cold air blowing  beneath  the camper over the course of a cold winters night can’t be a bad thing.. 

[Dean]

It’s on the site some where.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Dean

[NCeagle]

13 hours ago, Dean said:

It’s on the site some where.

I've spent well over an hour searching and can't come up with anything but guesses.  😬

If/when time allows, can a current Elite II owner measure and post the distance from the ground to the bottom of the propane cover on the tongue when the Oliver is sitting level?

Thanks in advance.

[SeaDawg]

Where are you planning to camp in the winter months that you'll want skirts?

There are certainly less expensive alternatives than the airskirts. Maybe not as "cool."

Also, important to know where you will be done spending the winter. Is this for several months? Are you planning to full time? If si, you need a solution that fits the park's rules, unless camping on your own land. 

 

 

[Dean]

8 hours ago, NCeagle said:

I've spent well over an hour searching and can't come up with anything but guesses.  😬

If/when time allows, can a current Elite II owner measure and post the distance from the ground to the bottom of the propane cover on the tongue when the Oliver is sitting level?

Thanks in advance.

According to one of the factory tour videos on you tube it is 18” from frame to surface on the EII and that’s what I recall reading some where.

[NCeagle]

7 hours ago, Dean said:

According to one of the factory tour videos on you tube it is 18” from frame to surface on the EII and that’s what I recall reading some where.

Thank you Dean!!!

[NCeagle]

12 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

Where are you planning to camp in the winter months that you'll want skirts?

There are certainly less expensive alternatives than the airskirts. Maybe not as "cool."

Also, important to know where you will be done spending the winter. Is this for several months? Are you planning to full time? If si, you need a solution that fits the park's rules, unless camping on your own land. 

 

 

Hi SeaDawg, if I were going to name my Ollie, it would probably be "Powder Hound".  I love skiing, especially in the deepest powder I can find.  🙂  For the past 3 seasons, I've been driving my truck (from NC) to CO, UT, WY, etc., and bouncing around for 3-4 weeks at various ski resorts.  I love having the mobility and flexibility to pack up quickly and go wherever the best conditions are.  I have gotten so many more quality days in the past 3 years doing this than I had in the past flying in for a week and hoping it snowed where I was staying.  Anyway, I can't live in my truck so I use expensive hotels and my dream is to try and do this in the Ollie.  I specifically picked the Oliver because I feel it's the best true 4 season TT in the industry.  Conditions in the Rockies in the winter can vary from sunny and 40 degrees to storming and below zero - not to mention high altitudes where propane and other things also don't work as well if at all.  The more prepared I am for cold, windy conditions for days at a time, the higher my chances are of not having to pack up and leave.  My ultimate winter camping trip would be to get to a ski resort and set up camp in nice, 30 degree sunny weather just before the big storm.  I would need to hunker down and ride out the storm.  These storms often include huge wind, thus I am thinking about the skirts as something that would help in those situations.  I would dig out after the storm and have several epic days of powder skiing.  I'd find out where the next storm was going to be and go do it again.  This is truly possible:  https://rvacrossamerica.net/winter-rv-camping-ski-resorts/

The plan was to have most of this year to get to know the Ollie and prepare a bit for the much more difficult winter camping adventures, but having to wait 6 months for the Ollie put a damper on that.  The pandemic also may force me to try it this winter as a rookie.  I've PM'd with DonnaDuane, who has experience skiing with the Oliver and offered some very good tips.  They have not considered a skirt where they ski (Cascades), but said that if in the Rockies at higher altitudes they would.  It's rare to see a camper without skirts in a ski camp area.  I can't find any data/proof that they actually work, but common sense dictates that they most likely help and certainly don't hurt.  I don't want to be the only travel trailer to have to pack up and leave for some reason - that would be embarrassing.  If I decide to try skirting, I would want something that doesn't take up much space, is lightweight/portable, doesn't require drilling and is fast to set up and take down.  The air tubes seem to meet these criteria but I'm still researching.  I don't think they look cool (I'm laughing at the hovercraft vision 🤣) but I'm glad someone does!  

By the way, my expectations of pulling this off this winter are low - but if I don't it won't be because I didn't try.  Here's a great video about challenges RVs, TTs and MH's have in the Rocky Mt. winters: 

 

I think the weakest link in the Oliver is going to be the refrigerator.  Unless the model has changed, I don't think a heat kit can be added to the one we have in the Oliver.  I will prepare to live without a fridge on my first ski trips, but that will be one of the first things I "upgrade" (there are models that supports heat kits, etc. - very similar to the low temp lithium batteries Oliver chose)

I'm going to at least practice and test around here on some cold nights.  90% of the time my wife and I will be leaving winter gear behind and camping in tropical sunshine and fair weather and loving every minute of it!

Edited September 19, 2020 by NCeagle

[SeaDawg]

If you're moving around all ski season, I can see why the airskirt might be an attractive product. I doubt anything else would set up as quickly. 

Unfortunately,  it's so new that I  haven't been able to find a single review for it anywhere. Just a couple press releases, a fb page, and a few questions on the airstream forum, with no users there, either. Not even a YouTube from one of the rv shows they've participated in.

I did notice slightly lower pricing on their fb page on a few kits. But, the wheel wedges are yet another $300+. Ouch.

 

[connor77]

NC Eagle,  I also ordered the Oliver because I wanted to be able to do the same thing you're planning to do in terms of skiing out west.  I live in Maine not far from Sugarloaf and Sunday River but I still want to ski out west.  I've only skied Steamboat and the conditions weren't great when I was there.  I also like to fish and plan to do some of that out there too.  

I'll be following this thread and if I find anything that might be of interest regarding the skirts or other ways to keep the cold out and things working I'll post it.  

Hope everything goes well with your upcoming delivery.

[NCeagle]

12 hours ago, connor77 said:

NC Eagle,  I also ordered the Oliver because I wanted to be able to do the same thing you're planning to do in terms of skiing out west.  I live in Maine not far from Sugarloaf and Sunday River but I still want to ski out west.  I've only skied Steamboat and the conditions weren't great when I was there.  I also like to fish and plan to do some of that out there too.  

I'll be following this thread and if I find anything that might be of interest regarding the skirts or other ways to keep the cold out and things working I'll post it.  

Hope everything goes well with your upcoming delivery.

Thanks connor77.  Good to know there will be someone else with an Oliver trying some really cold weather camping.  We'll have to share things we learn.  I've skied Sugarloaf and Sunday River in the past...  love it when the conditions are right.  I've started buying some things for winter camping just in case although this winter I'm unlikely to try and pull anything off before I learn more.  No skirts yet - that's going to require some testing first.  btw, there's another Oliver owner / skier on this forum that I've met virtually called DonnaDuane who skis the west coast mts. in his Ollie.  Cheers!

[connor77]

Sounds like a plan John....I had found the RV America site when searching for ski resorts that might allow RV's and found the information interesting but I didn't watch Alan's video until you posted it here.  Good info for sure.  It's almost too bad that Oliver doesn't make a "cold weather" package especially considering they tout a four season trailer.  Although I'm not sure there'd be much demand...but there are at least 3 of us that would have been interested!

When you spoke with the owner of airskirts did the owner mention where the product is actually made?  Their website says "Designed and engineered" in the USA which usually means it's not actually made in the states.  That's sort of a big deal for me considering the price.  I may have some other questions for you and I'll PM you if I do.  Let's keep in touch.  Thanks...

[NCeagle]

On 10/16/2020 at 1:35 PM, connor77 said:

Sounds like a plan John....I had found the RV America site when searching for ski resorts that might allow RV's and found the information interesting but I didn't watch Alan's video until you posted it here.  Good info for sure.  It's almost too bad that Oliver doesn't make a "cold weather" package especially considering they tout a four season trailer.  Although I'm not sure there'd be much demand...but there are at least 3 of us that would have been interested!

When you spoke with the owner of airskirts did the owner mention where the product is actually made?  Their website says "Designed and engineered" in the USA which usually means it's not actually made in the states.  That's sort of a big deal for me considering the price.  I may have some other questions for you and I'll PM you if I do.  Let's keep in touch.  Thanks...

I did not ask where the Airskirts were made.  I do have some concerns about how they would fit around the steps of the Ollie.  There would be large gaps without a custom set of smaller air bags.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I'll be running lots of tests this winter in my driveway to see if skirts (and other things) make a big difference in various temps, winds, etc.  I'll post anything I discover.  I'm a data freak.  Might be the first time ever I actually hope NC gets some frigid temps for my tests.  🙂  In the end, my preference will be to try and give the Ollie a customized "cold weather package" and not worry about skirts.  I've got a lot of good ideas on where to start from reading this forum.  Will definitely keep in touch!

[topgun2]

Back in the day at the request of an owner cold weather enhancements were made during the construction of his camper.  I know that at least two of these enhancements were additional insulation and tank heaters.  The reason for the request was the customer did oil shale work in northern Pa. in the winter.  As it turned out the tank heaters were not necessary.  Unfortunately there wasn't an easy way to test the effectiveness of the extra insulation.

Eventually that owner sold the Oliver because he felt he needed more room during those cold winter days and nights.

Bill

Edited October 18, 2020 by topgun2

[Overland]

I’ve noticed in the latest rounds of factory photos that Oliver has switched to Reflectix style insulation, which is sort of like a foil bubble wrap, rather than the thinner foil backed foam that they were using before. I’d think that it should be more effective. 

I’ve been adding a layer or two of reflectix in the lower hull myself, over time as I do other things.  Unfortunately, there’s no way to get into the upper hull, but with some work you can access much of the lower hull. We’ll see if it makes any difference. One place I’m glad to get the extra insulation is around the beds beneath the windows. It’s actually quite easy to stuff two layers of reflectix in there from below, and I’m hoping that it will keep those walls warm at night and eliminate the condensation if you happen to sleep up against them. 

So far, I’ve added extra insulation behind the bath vanity, extending somewhat into the closet and bath floor, all of the curb side from the fridge back, then all along the back and forward on the street side to the pantry. The insulation goes from about the belly band down to the floor and underneath the plumbing in all those areas. 

Edited October 18, 2020 by Overland

[GAP]

On 9/19/2020 at 6:10 AM, NCeagle said:

Hi SeaDawg, if I were going to name my Ollie, it would probably be "Powder Hound".  I love skiing, especially in the deepest powder I can find.  🙂  For the past 3 seasons, I've been driving my truck (from NC) to CO, UT, WY, etc., and bouncing around for 3-4 weeks at various ski resorts.  I love having the mobility and flexibility to pack up quickly and go wherever the best conditions are.  I have gotten so many more quality days in the past 3 years doing this than I had in the past flying in for a week and hoping it snowed where I was staying.  Anyway, I can't live in my truck so I use expensive hotels and my dream is to try and do this in the Ollie.  I specifically picked the Oliver because I feel it's the best true 4 season TT in the industry.  Conditions in the Rockies in the winter can vary from sunny and 40 degrees to storming and below zero - not to mention high altitudes where propane and other things also don't work as well if at all.  The more prepared I am for cold, windy conditions for days at a time, the higher my chances are of not having to pack up and leave.  My ultimate winter camping trip would be to get to a ski resort and set up camp in nice, 30 degree sunny weather just before the big storm.  I would need to hunker down and ride out the storm.  These storms often include huge wind, thus I am thinking about the skirts as something that would help in those situations.  I would dig out after the storm and have several epic days of powder skiing.  I'd find out where the next storm was going to be and go do it again.  This is truly possible:  https://rvacrossamerica.net/winter-rv-camping-ski-resorts/

The plan was to have most of this year to get to know the Ollie and prepare a bit for the much more difficult winter camping adventures, but having to wait 6 months for the Ollie put a damper on that.  The pandemic also may force me to try it this winter as a rookie.  I've PM'd with DonnaDuane, who has experience skiing with the Oliver and offered some very good tips.  They have not considered a skirt where they ski (Cascades), but said that if in the Rockies at higher altitudes they would.  It's rare to see a camper without skirts in a ski camp area.  I can't find any data/proof that they actually work, but common sense dictates that they most likely help and certainly don't hurt.  I don't want to be the only travel trailer to have to pack up and leave for some reason - that would be embarrassing.  If I decide to try skirting, I would want something that doesn't take up much space, is lightweight/portable, doesn't require drilling and is fast to set up and take down.  The air tubes seem to meet these criteria but I'm still researching.  I don't think they look cool (I'm laughing at the hovercraft vision 🤣) but I'm glad someone does!  

By the way, my expectations of pulling this off this winter are low - but if I don't it won't be because I didn't try.  Here's a great video about challenges RVs, TTs and MH's have in the Rocky Mt. winters: 

 

I think the weakest link in the Oliver is going to be the refrigerator.  Unless the model has changed, I don't think a heat kit can be added to the one we have in the Oliver.  I will prepare to live without a fridge on my first ski trips, but that will be one of the first things I "upgrade" (there are models that supports heat kits, etc. - very similar to the low temp lithium batteries Oliver chose)

I'm going to at least practice and test around here on some cold nights.  90% of the time my wife and I will be leaving winter gear behind and camping in tropical sunshine and fair weather and loving every minute of it!

I've camped quite a bit in winter conditions with temps down to single digits.  Have been posting recently on tweaks that were necessary for the trailer to function in those temps but have not had any problem with our Dometic fridge _ that were related to cold weather use.  I assumed but should double check to see if the cold weather kit is a standard feature on the current units.

I too looked at skirts and do agree that they would be efficient for cutting Lp usage but think they would be quite the task to set up and tear down.  My thoughts after spending a chunk of time starting up at the belly of the trailer is that the belly is already constructed in a way where it would be fairly easy to add a layer of insulation to the exterior.  Not sure what the best solution is but seems that closed cell foam or even the blue/pink exterior home insulation would be tough enough and easily adhered with spray adhesive or contact cement.  Would have to cut away holes for drainage in a few spots.  Would also have to be super careful to make sure to pick the right material and glue it in place right as having chunks of material coming loose on the highway would be less than ideal.  

I think this would make a massive difference.  Really, should have bought some 2'x2' squares of different materials to play with during the summer to see what the best option is.  As cold is just around the bend, will need to be a project for next summer.  As it stands now, on days where it is consistently in low teens to single digits, we burn through a 30lb LP tank every other day.  To get through this winter, we picked up an extra tank which will travel in the bed of our truck.

Gerry 

[Coastal Aggie]

I'd like to revive this old thread to ask if anyone has had further experience with trying skirts. 

This winter I spent 30 days in fairplay colorado starting just after the new year. Within that 30 days there were 3 non consecutive weeks that did not rise above 32* during the day and those weeks I'd say averaged about 10 degrees at night with some down to only 2* or 3* 

Despite some issues with maintaining stable temperatures inside due to what I suspect to be a poorly placed temp sensor the inside Temps never got below about 50* and I tried to keep it around 70 inside according to the temp reading from my weather station I have stuck to the aft wall just above the chrome seam.

All that being said the trailer performed extremely well. I was on shore power the whole time but no city water or sewage since the park was winterized. I filled my tanks before i headed there and I did not bother to winterize because I really wanted to push its limits to see how it would do. Below about 40 ish the walls do start getting pretty cold I was burning through my 40lbs of propane roughly every 5 days though I think that would be dramatically improved if you remember to turn the electric heater on the water heater, I forgot about that feature so I had left the propane heating on for it the whole time. The only time I had any pipe freezing issues was when it was single digits at night, as long as it got above roughly 15-20* during the day it would thaw back out and that was the water lines to the bathroom sink. The hot water line was usually the first to freeze but very little extra drop I'm temp would get both lines. No lines ever burst so I suspect it was only within a section of the pex itself which is plenty flexible to withstand some light freezing. 

Which brings me to the question of a skirt. I have strong reason to believe that the only place it could have frozen was somewhere on bottom of the trailer between the bathroom and kitchen sink, the heater kept the bathroom itself hot enough that I seriously doubt it froze under the bathroom sink and since the kitchen sink never froze up it obviouslyhad to be further down than that. And there were 2 nights that were particularly windy when those same pipes froze when it was somewhere around 15 degrees much warmer than they were usually freezing at. With my eventually goal of making it through an alaskan winter in this trailer I definitely believe that a skirt would go a long way to keeping the wind out from under the trailer and keeping it livable in single digit Temps and below.

The current idea I have been mulling over is to use billboard material to make a skirt that will snap into buttons around the base of the hull and be secured to the ground with tent stakes. This would be heavy duty enough to keep out the wind but thin enough to roll up and not take up much space in the truck. I "full time" so my truck bed acts as my garage for bulky gear/storage and space is at a premium.