Tony and Lena Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Hi. My husband and I are looking in to getting our first camper and have fallen in love with the Oliver Elite II. We have only seen it on YouTube and would like some reviews from you guys. We currently live in Sweden but are hoping to retire in a few years and then spend 6 months on the road in the States and 6 months in Sweden. Have you got any advice for what we should think about when it comes to full time even living in an Oliver? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SeaDawg Posted May 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2021 Hi, Tony and Lena, and welcome. We don't full time, but we've spent several months at a time on the road in our 2008 Elite. The larger Elite II gives you more interior space, and more storage, and a bigger battery tray. And requires a larger tow vehicle. I'd probably recommend the twin bed Elite II for full timing, as it gives a bigger interior space feeling in inclement weather. By "new to this," do you mean new to camping, or new to the forum? One of my best friends from high school lives in a smaller city outside Stockholm. You have a beautiful country, I hear. We have cabin camped in Norway and Denmark, and hope to visit Sweden one day soon. Lots of folks to help with questions here. Ask away. Välkommen! 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Davies Posted May 16, 2021 Share Posted May 16, 2021 Welcome, I wish I could find an older thread, but maybe a moderator can help. We had a new member from Germany (I think) who wanted to buy a new Ollie here, use it a while and then import it back home. There were several issues that concerned him, one was the very inefficient and poor quality propane appliances which are used in almost all American RVs. He was talking about removing them completely and installing better ones such as diesel furnace/ water heater, diesel cook top, and a DC compressor refrigerator, types more suitable for Europe. It would be a very expensive conversion, especially if done by a shop rather than the owner! I think he finally decided against the whole thing, he seems to have vanished from the forums. Sweden has the highest LPG (propane) prices in the world. ….. LPG prices by country https://wheelingit.us/2018/09/16/10-ways-european-motorhomes-differ-from-us-rvs/ If you have never towed a large trailer (the Elite 2 is heavy by European standards), then a travel trailer would be a poor choice for a visitor to the States. A used Class B Motorhome (campervan) would make a whole lot more sense, and there would be a very minimal learning curve. It would be sold after your visit, since it too would have those propane appliances and it would not be suitable for taking back home. The LE2 requires a substantial tow vehicle, which may be an issue in Europe, where all the vehicles are “down sized” compared to ours. You would definitely need to upgrade your drivers license since a loaded LE2 is almost 3200 kgs. …https://camperguru.com/caravan-what-you-need-to-know/ For the length of time you are proposing, the smaller Ollie is not very suitable for most full timing couples, IMHO. On the other hand, it would be much better for towing in Europe, as it is a little narrower and much shorter. But it too is heavy, significantly more than a Casita 17. John Davies Spokane WA SOLD 07/23 "Mouse": 2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SeaDawg Posted May 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2021 Perhaps I misunderstood, but are you looking at 6 months here/ six months Sweden for a number of years after retirement? Store the trailer and vehicle here, not take it back to Sweden, right? One if my friends spent six months each year in Norway on the family homestead, and six months here after retirement, for over 25 years. Now he's here pretty much permanently. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Mike and Carol Posted May 16, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 16, 2021 Hi Lena, welcome to you and Tony. Are you Americans living in Sweden? I spent a winter up in northern Sweden in Boden way back in the 1900s! Beautiful country and very friendly people. We don’t full time, but go out for a month or two at a time. We’ve found our Elite II very comfortable doing that. We like the size because we can get into campgrounds and boondock sites that larger RVs can’t. We’re going on 6 years and we’ve found with regular maintenance our Oliver has been very reliable. That’s after 60,000 miles! Mike Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony and Lena Posted May 17, 2021 Author Share Posted May 17, 2021 Thank you for your answers! Our dream is to have one Oliver Elite II with a truck in the States for 6+ months a year after retirement and another (european camper) and truck in Sweden. Does anyone have a composting toilet? In that case how do you like it? What are some of the things my husband and I should think about for our first RV? Lena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SeaDawg Posted May 17, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 17, 2021 That really sounds like fun, to me. Camping is such a great way to travel and explore. We've rented campers in other countries, and once did some research on shipping our camper to Europe for a six month trip. Never looked into buying one there, which would actually make more sense, especially for your idea. If you are totally new to camping, you might want to rent a few different European campers before you commit to a brand, and the camping lifestyle. Will you have a home base, somewhere? With a relative, or a home or apartment? Full-time camping in a small camper is quite possible. Many people do it. But it requires paring down possessions, and being able to get along with your partner in tight quarters in foul weather. I'm friends with several couples who full-timed in the smaller Elite I trailer, with pets, even. All of them loved the lifestyle, but eventually moved up to larger campers after several years of traveling and working from the small trailers. The Elite II offers more space and storage than the original Elite, but it's still more compact like a European camper. There are a large number of people who have the composting toilet in their trailers. The one Oliver installs is the Nature's Head. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John E Davies Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1978-nature039s-head-composting-toilet-installation-in-an-oliver-big-thread/ There are a few other ones, but that one seems to be hanging on as the main one, as was my intention when I named it. 😬 John Davies Spokane WA SOLD 07/23 "Mouse": 2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators SeaDawg Posted May 17, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 17, 2021 On 5/16/2021 at 10:47 AM, John E Davies said: For the length of time you are proposing, the smaller Ollie is not very suitable for most full timing couples, IMHO. On the other hand, it would be much better for towing in Europe, as it is a little narrower and much shorter. But it too is heavy, significantly more than a Casita 17. One thing to watch for when shopping for trailers is the options. Both the price and weight go up with every option over base dry weight. Olivers are sold with a lot if equipment that are options with other manufacturers. (Awning, microwave, furnace, ac, electric jacks all around, sturdy double step, day/night shades etc.) One of the reasons Casitas appear to weigh less is that not much is included in the base model. As in, pretty much everything I listed above is an option, and it only has one battery. Real world Casita weights are less than an Oliver Elite I, by six or seven hundred pounds, but they have a very heavy tongue weight, on average, the same as my smaller Elite. So, as you are exploring campers, make sure you look for the true weight stickers, after options. This will make a big difference in the tow vehicle you buy, and the license and taxes in Europe. I attached a screenshot of a post from fiberglass rv. A member there used to weigh campers at rallies, and post spreadsheets of "real world" in-use, loaded campers. I think most people on here would agree that in the United States, molded fiberglass trailers are the best for longevity and maintenance. Of course, most of us also think Oliver is the best, since we bought one.😃 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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