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We purchased a used trailer in 2019 that has two awnings. We spend a lot of time in the remote high deserts boon-docking in the western states. Over the last six years we have yet to use the awning on the back side of the trailer. The good news: we have been able to use the second awning for spare parts on a couple of occations to keep our front awning operational. Based on our experience, we would not recommend investing in a secound awning.

We purchased a used trailer in 2019 that has two awnings. We spend a lot of time in the remote high deserts boon-docking in the western states. Over the last six years we have yet to use the awning on the back side of the trailer. The good news: we have been able to use the second awning for spare parts on a couple of occations to keep our front awning operational. Based on our experience, we would not recommend investing in a secound awning.

We love our second awning and use it all the time when camping in Connecticut. We do a lot of dry camping at the beach, where there's plenty of sun for our solar. I often park the trailer oriented north/south and we put one awning out in the morning, then the other out in the afternoon when the sun crosses over the trailer. Gives us shade to sit in all day and keeps the trailer cooler inside. If you plan dry camping frequently in sunny, open spaces, even up north, it might be worth it for you.

I would take this new hitch from Morryde over the Bulldog hitch hands down. Not sure this guy provides the best demonstration but it gets the point across.

YES.

I'm a bit like Bill, but certainly camp much more in the SW. With almost 3 years of ownership, 2 full years of travel, 17K miles and 150+ nights out, we've only used our entry awning 4 times. Mainly to check it out. I only remember one summer day in SD on the Missouri where it made a difference in temp camping on grass in high humidity. It felt like a 20 degree drop! We do not have a streetside awning. Though if we had dual power awnings, I would likely use them often. But we would not spend $,$$$ on them! 🤣 We live in the SW and still rarely use our entry awning. Though we do not summer camp and prefer to camp at elevation. The Oliver dual-hulls and dual-pain windows (are they still?) are very well insulated, so keeping sun off the body doesn't help much. You likely not sitting on that side. If you plan to summer camp often, that could make a difference. Also, some Oliver owners I know park at the same campsite for 1-2 months (I would have to shoot myself after a week!). We move every few days and erecting the manual awning is a bit of a pain. Dual power awnings? If money is easy for you, then why not! Trying to trim total cost, this should be the first to go IMO, The symmetry must look cool! 😎

Please let us know what you did to resolve your issue when it's corrected. Thanks. 😎

We also have just 1 awning. True we don't use it very often but are happy we have it. We probably would use it a little more if the fabric was not black. BTW...I recently (2 weeks ago) got a quote from Mike at Oliver and at $4600 for adding another, we will be happy with just the 1 we have. Congrats on your future new Oliver John

We did not get the second awning either and have not regretted it - in fact happy we didn't. We travel out of Wisconsin so shading the "other side" of the trailer is rarely important to us where if you are always in full sun in hotter climates then maybe it is worth it. We use the curbside awning about half the time and often extended only about halfway. I am glad we have the curbside awning but also glad we don't have the streetside awning.

Are "blockchains" similar to "flat spotted tires"? 😇

In my 11th year of Ollie ownership I doubt that I've used the single awning more than 10 times TOTAL. Yes, there was one time when I could have used both awnings - if I actually had them, but, certainly that one time is not worth the cost. For what its worth - I generally camp high in the mountains. Good news is that at elevation (usually above 7500 feet) it always cools way down when the sun goes over the mountains. Bad news is that the wind is very unpredictable in the mountains and I don't want to have that wind damage a fairly expensive "sail" If there is a fairly good chance that you will spend a fair amount of time in the southwest - think about a lack of trees and a reasonably fierce sun - then I'd suggest giving that second awning serious thought. Or, if you are the type to set up camp and then sit under the awning for considerable periods of time, you might want to consider that second awning. Other than that - spend the money on something that you will use more ofter. Bill p.s. welcome to the Forum and soon to the Family.

We are also Michiganders (trolls 😁). We opted not to get the second awning and do not regret the decision at all. We have spent a lot of time in sounthwest US and find the trailer stays cool up even in 80+ temps. In fact we don't use the primary awning that much when wind is high due to damage concerns. I know some owners have developed anchoring options to help with this.

Steve Landrum shared his sanitizing several years ago. Instead of changing the valves, add a 1/4 cup of bleach into the hose, connect your quick connect to the hose end and to the fresh water intake. Fill your fresh tank. Run all of the faucets to bring water/bleach through the lines. Empty the fresh tank. Refill and you are ready to go.

We are finalizing our order for a 2027 OE II. The benefits of the second awning keeps gnawing at us------don't want to miss out on getting something we might really wish we had . On the other hand, don't want to shell out a big chunk of change for something we may rarely use..... So, for those of you with a second awning, how often do you actually use it? Is it something you couldn't/wouldn't want to live without? As far as our own circumstances go, we are located in the UP of MI and don't plan to do a lot of camping in extreme heat, if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance and we're really looking forward to becoming a part of this community! Chris and Sharon

Well played, sir!

My understanding is that it uses Blockchains.

We used AC heat trace and just turn on the inverter..we have the premium solar package. Used about 3 percent SOC to run 45 feet of tracing overnite at 20 degrees outside temps. We split the tracing into four runs for max flexibility. Using AC was less expensive and less amps.

It's possible that you have an air-lock situation. Please see my procedure here: no pump pressure . It's worth a try.

Sometimes you get a wild hair and make impulsive travel changes. We were at Lost Dutchman one January and decided to visit our son/family in Durango. Once we got past Payson the temps started dropping. By the time we hit Farmington, NM we were in the 20’s. The week we were there overnight lows were teens and highs near 30. No trailer issues. Another January we were at Dead Horse Ranch and checked temperatures at Zion, highs in the low 60s. The campground there was empty and we stayed a week in an empty Zion National Park. On the drive back to AZ we had temps in the 20s, ran the furnace and got back to AZ with no issues. Travel flexibility! Mike

Back to the subject re the articulating hitch. Don't think we need one, even though I likely tow up and down more steep, angled and rutted dirt roads than many of you would dare! I feel safe with our upgraded 2 5/16" ball and Bulldog receiver. For those of you who want to learn more about hitches, check this out. Love this guy Tom Morton! He's the one who reviewed and installed both Turbro and Chill Cube A/C units in their RV. Quite a studied and capable young engineer. I searched for keyword 'hitch' on their website and got 6 hitch related articles. At bottom is one re the articulating hitch. 😎 https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/?s=hitch

My headphones keeping dropping the Bluetooth connection. This could be worse. I think I'd install Token Ring safety chains, just in case.

As posted on the Scamp facebook page, but I see no reason why this would not work just as well when towing an Ollie. Available one day only (today, April 1). This bluetooth connectivity capability answers so many issues faced by the typical Oliver owner like tongue weight, having to use Andersen hitch with 1/2 ton pickups, tow chains, and the 2” vs. 2 5/16” ball dilemma. If anyone was successful in getting ahold of one of these during the tight window of availability today, please post your experience with this seemingly too good to be true answer to all issues related to having to physically connect our trailers to our tow vehicles.

We’ve never towed in freezing temps and don’t plan to! 🤣 We use the furnace when it freezes overnight when home and haven’t winterized since we’re often leaving again soon.

Welcome to Club Oliver. You paid for your ticket, now ride. Celebrate with us when we see our Oliver brothers and sisters. Tell us when you see your first Oliver out and about in the wild. Most importantly, enjoy.

Works well for us!