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I completed our new Nova Kool R5810 AC/DC refrigerator installation before our trip to the 2025 OTTO's Rally and the 3 week shakedown was everything we hoped for! I want to thank all of the early adopters, Try2Relax, MountainOliver, Geronimo John, Ty J and rideadeuce, who preceded my installation and shared there experiences. I have attached a few pictures that are similar to those that have already been posted. I would also like to shout out to David & Kristine Hess, Cooper Jenkins and the rest of the folks at Sea Biscuit Metal Designs for their help and creation of the upper and lower vents for my refrigerator installation. If you need something custom made from metal, they are my goto team! Mossey

We recently returned from a week-and-a-half-long trip through Glacier and Banff for my 50th Birthday. Farily last minute all 3 of my girls decided to join us on this trip. This created some logistical challenges we had to figure out. We got it all worked out but it left us with one night where no one had a place to stay except in the Ollie. That meant all 5 of us sleeping in the trailer! Who says it is just a couple's trailer, bring on the family camping 🙂 Not a great picture but had to share. The girls were great sports about it and we had a fun night hanging out and watching a movie. We ended up having a wonderful birthday trip through Glacier and Banff. It was our first time in Banff and it did not disappoint. An amazing hike up Avalanche Lake in Glacier. And then we got an amazing site in Banff Tunnel Mountain II Lake Louise did not disappoint either. We also had a great time talking with our neighbor, who was headed to Alaska in their EarthRoamer (pricey little machine)! Overall, an incredible way to celebrate a 50th birthday!

To all those that served our great nation - THANK YOU To all those that served our great nation and didn't make it back - WE REMEMBER AND HONOR YOU

Yesterday morning we left Hull #634 XPLOR, with Collin and Gavin owners of CGi who gave it the CGI 3 step Ceramic coating process. We really like that they kept our Oliver overnight which allowed the ceramic coating to cure for at least 4 hours inside their shop. All we could say this morning when they opened their shop door was WOW! WOW! WOW! 🤩 Our Oliver looked better than the day we took delivery June 16th of 2020. Their work is excellent and the attention to detail is truly amazing. With over 130 Oliver Travel Trailers under their belt they truly are masters at their craft. The CGI team knows exactly how to take care of ALL things Oliver gelcoat. We also had our windows and wheels ceramic coated along with everything white on our Oliver. This was an excellent seamless experience and a valuable investment in our Oliver. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Patriot 🇺🇸 One of several of their YouTube videos-

This is a duplicate of a post I made on the Facebook Oliver owner’s page. I’m sharing here for those not on Facebook that may be interested in a dehumidifier option for their Oliver. We were experiencing rainy and cool weather at the rally and conditions in the Olivers were getting steamy. Facebook post: Temperature and humidity outside at Lake Guntersville state park are 62deg and 94% humidity this morning. Inside OllieHaus it’s a perfect 73 deg and thanks to our counter top dehumidifier, it’s a very comfortable 46% humidity with all windows closed. No heat or AC needed. Loving life in our Oliver!! Edit: Here’s a link on Amazon for the dehumidifier if interested: Dehumidifier

I really appreciate the duplicate post in that I'm one of those that does not "do" Facebook. Bill

There was an earlier question about removing the old fridge. I had quite a bit of trouble with the original fridge (as many on the forums can testify to) so was extremely happy to get rid of it but still was very careful about it’s removal. 🤪

Here’s my adaptation in mounting the two Sirocco ll fans back in 2020 shortly after our OLEll purchase. By chance, my setup has worked really well, thus far! Rather than a permanent mount and hardwiring, I used Velcro for attachment and installed ports in the fan base for a detachable power cable. The fans and cables are stowed in the attic when not in use and can be deployed, as needed. The two primary locations are above each bed and an alternate in the galley to direct air flow toward the dinette. I like that the fans are multi-directional both forward and downward facing. The white Velcro is not very noticeable at the three attachment points and excess cable is simply wrapped around the base for a clean appearance.

MaxBurner and I were looking for a way to gain some storage in our OE2’s. Both of us were not making effective use of the space at the front end of our wardrobe. We looked at Chiwald’s expansive closet shelving post, but needed to simplify and modify for our primary use of hanging cloths. So, the idea morphed to two shelves as pictured below. For scaling the two toilet paper rolls are “Max Size” rolls. The time-consuming part is making the two templates for the shelf shapes. The shapes of the shelf curves are not the same. After more than a few hours in the closet, we had the templates needed. We used synthetic wood 1” X 2” to support the shelves along the front surface. We chose this material as it easily can be bent and secured with a lot of short screws and MaxBond carpenters glue to the hull curve. It is also the right color (white). The shelves were cut from white laminated wall shelving from Home Depot. The front edge is 1/16” thick aluminum flat stock. For “G” loading purposes, we installed stiff legs on the left side as shown. All fasteners are Stainless Steel. When completed, the shelves are amazingly strong. In GJ’s “Ollie”, I mounted a 13’ telescoping ladder with an EPDM Rubber Tie Down Strap to secure the ladder top. To keep the ladder feet flush to the wall, I cut out a piece of lumber and attached it to the floor. The ladder leg sits into a hole in this “foot plate. The folded towel on top prevents noise and damage to the wardrobe wall. For Art’s “Casablanca” they have their “Pleasure Plank” (AKA Snuggle Shelf) mounted in a similar manner. GJ & MaxBurner

The Legacy II is a two-person rig which is realistically limited to one child sized visitor. There is good and bad news there. Bad news is that you really cannot realistically sleep more than 2 adults comfortably. Good news is that you really cannot realistically be expected to sleep more than two adults comfortably.

Carl, IMO, you're spot-on, brother! Modifications, upgrades, and otherwise enhancements outlined in various levels of detail in this forum are for information purposes and general "better" understanding of what the OTT can do during our collective travels. That said, our "collective travels" are widely different across the spectrum of owners. Everyone has their own "style" of camping with their Ollie - some fancy established RV parks with full connections for the majority of their travels, others prefer full-on off-grid boondocking for most of their trips. The rest of the owners likely fall in between these extremes. So, depending on what "style" of camping you prefer, would dictate which mods suit your purpose of camping. But that's what's so phenomenal about this forum, there's such a wide spectrum of experience and expertise here, one can choose the mods fitting their camping style the best. The discussion about DC2DC chargers are such an example. It's not a "one size fits all" issue, if you catch my drift....

While on our way west for three months we’re volunteering at Stratford Ecological farm outside of Columbus Ohio. This is our campsite for the next week.

Yesterday I left home, driving North out of Southwest Florida (aka The Swamp) and to my great surprise, only 90 minutes out, I spied an Oliver heading South on Rte 17 into Nocatee! Thanks for the smiles! A decent day’s drive, in spite of the weather and traffic. Only one pit stop. Northwest Georgia today, and the OTT Mothership tomorrow. I love my Oliver.

Continuing our drive from south Texas to Kentucky we stopped just outside of Texarkana for the night. There are several COE campgrounds 15 minutes to the south and west of Texarkana on the Texas side. We’ve stayed at a couple but usually come back to Clear Springs COE campground. There are a bunch of FHU sites but the ones we like by the lake are just W/E. This is our site for the night, a little rainy but nice.

We found a great area up in the White Mountains of Arizona with the help of a couple retired cops. They were out turkey hunting and happened by us when we were deep in the woods and came to a crossroads. In both directions the signs read, "Not Suitable for RVs or Trailers." They said the road to the right was a bit rocky and the warnings are for when it rains or snows. We liked that the signs would keep most RVers away. Then they said, "Follow us and we'll take you to our marked campsite." Check the Campendium Map and compare our blue dot to the known campsites! Miles and hours of dirt between and dozens of campsites along the way. We'll keep our high country spot a secret for now and should be meeting some Oliver friends up there in July when the weather is perfect. However, when we left on Monday it was snowing and the daytime high was to be 42F. The campsite was at 8,920 ft and on the drive home we climbed a bit more and I snapped this compass shot at exactly 9,400 on AZ Hwy 273. It's amazing you can drive down a highway at this elevation in Arizona (common in CO of course) and see mountains above and lush meadows everywhere with streams and lakes.

I’m not a Facebook user either, so thanks for this.

Unfortunately we will not be showing our trailer today. Just too much rain and mud. So the next best thing is a video tour. We will miss seeing all of you. Enjoy. IMG_2245.mov

Problem Solved: Bad Crimps on New 3 way crimp connectors I had bought new brake and hubs for the trailer and had the installation done at the same place doing our Truma Recall. I looked more closely and used a check light to trace power to the new 3way crimp connectors (for the new brake assemblies.) They didn't look fully seated on the fronts the same as the rear. Squeezed them with a pair of channel locks and voila, now the front brakes on both sides are engaging. Since I was under the trailer I went around and manually adjusted all 4 brakes to the same resistance. Next I'll be burnishing in the brakes as we begin our next trip. Craig - Hull 505 - Galway Girl

Heck - some of us are scary enough even without getting dressed up! However, a mask just might do me some good.😁 Bill

Some may recall my plans to add an Anderson Powerpole 12V DC outlet to the front of Curiosity. My plan was to drill through the front of the propane housing, low, behind the front basket. I started that project today. The plan was to tie into the front jack wiring to supply power. But then I thought it might be easier to run the positive wire down from the jack switch terminal, avoiding cutting into the jack’s feed wire. When I pulled off the jack cover, I discovered the is a lot of extra room inside the cover. So, instead of drilling through fiberglass, I drilled through an inexpensive replaceable part. Easy peasey! All that’s left is the wiring (along with wiring the two outlets I added under the flip-up table next to the door.) EDIT: Yes, I will add an inline fuse, and not rely on the jack’s 30A slo-blow fuse. 😉

16MAY25 -- 0634, Casablanca settled in at Pancho Villa SP near La Paloma, Old Mexico.... Magnus pulling the first watch:

I will be the first to admit that I lean toward the lazy side of the street! This is my method for storing the Gorilla Marine and RV hose. Mossey

Yes, it does. They can sit in brackets on the side of the trailer or you can drop them straight down to the ground. You can also stake them to the ground which I have done. With our sunshade attached the awning can withstand some pretty windy conditions. It’s not as easy to deploy as the electrics, but is not really a hassle either. Mike

On the way to Tennessee, I’m spending the night at R Shaefer Heard COE campground, in NW Georgia. It’s very nice here. Some sites have steep drives to access, and WiFi is spotty, but the lake front sites are great. My view from here.

They are like fire hoses, they don’t shrink up just flatten out. Very easy to handle and use. We’ve been using these type hoses for years. I don’t have much patience for traditional hoses, especially in cold weather.

Thanks, Rideadeuce, for the tip on the Bulldogs. Installed 4 of them today, along with new tires (originals going on 8 years old). Tomorrow, repack the bearings. (note decal facing outward!)

We enjoyed the beautiful drive up from Albuquerque, and had a great hike the next day to the edge of the park and then some into the Cibola NF. You can only see edges of the mountain range from the campground. Most of the campsites are difficult. We backed in first and found our entrance would be on the wrong side and steep downhill. Then I drove in head first, unhitched and lifted the tongue a foot high to get level. We didn’t want to drive the truck anyway. Tonight we’re at Hannagan Meadows south of Alpine AZ at 9130 ft. it’s cold up here, will be high if 42F by Monday! Stopped to visit with these bull elks on the way. Wow!

We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Oliver Rally will be held at the stunning Lake Guntersville State Park in Alabama from October 21 to October 25, 2026! Get ready for another unforgettable gathering of Oliver Travel Trailer owners and enthusiasts as we come together to celebrate community, adventure, and the great outdoors. This annual event is your opportunity to connect with fellow Ollie owners, exchange travel stories, learn helpful tips, and enjoy the camaraderie that makes the Oliver family so special. Location: Lake Guntersville State Park, Alabama Breathtaking lake views, hiking trails, wildlife, and top-notch camping facilities await! Dates: Wednesday, October 28 – Sunday, November 1, 2026 Wednesday, October 21 - Sunday, October 25, 2026 What to Expect: Welcome Reception & Meet-and-Greet Educational Workshops Vendor Exhibits & Product Demonstrations Group Activities, Games & Outdoor Adventures Evening Campfires & Entertainment Raffle Prizes, Giveaways & More! Whether you're a seasoned rally-goer or attending for the first time, there's something for everyone at the 2026 Oliver Rally. We can’t wait to make new memories and celebrate our shared love of travel, craftsmanship, and community. Registration details and event schedule coming soon – stay tuned! Until then, mark your calendars and start planning your route to Lake Guntersville — we’ll see you there!

This is not a matter of talking sense into anyone, but only a matter of knowing a bit of the history of these older plaques. Anyone that has an older Ollie without a hull # plaque should contact me. Bill

We've had the same issues with our blackwater valve cable. Impossible to pull out and when closing the valve, it never closed completely so I always had to go back into the trailer to push on the metal stop to ensure it was well-seated. In the last few days, we installed a Barker AutoDrain. The switch is located along the upper edge just inside the basement. We placed it there because the switch is too large for the space created when we removed the black tank handle. We also located it where we felt the risk of damage would be reduced, but we still need to be careful when stowing supplies in the basement. As long as we are talking black tanks, I have been perpetually annoyed when, after dumping the black tank, having to go back into the trailer to turn on the water pump so I can wash my hands. To address this minor annoyance, I added a marine-grade, water-pump switch that is mounted where the black tank valve handle was previously located, and I can now turn the water pump on and off from outside next to the shower. No more going in and out of the trailer at the dump station to wash my hands.

Hey Everyone, Just wanted to share some info on the Sirocco Fan install that I did recently to #145. We've had posts on this type of install before... John Davies I believe was the most robust with a metal backplate between the ceiling over the bunk and the fan base itself. This install is a bit simpler. I used a plastic sheet to act as an interior backing plate AND a drilling template. Lots of measuring and fretting were involved before actually drilling the holes. The result was better than expected. The mounting is rock solid! I used 6-32 x 2 inch machine screws with washers to mount the interior plate that the fan installs onto. The supplied backing tape is very sticky so make sure the plate is exactly where you want it before peeling the backing off that stuff. When you drill... there is an air gap above the ceiling so be prepared for that (I wasn't for the first hole) and make sure the drill is as perfectly straight as you can hold it. One thing worth mentioning is.... You will be forced to place the fan so that the stowed position is tilted FORWARD. If you try to mount it so there is enough room that the fan can fold toward the rear You will most likely have some plate mounting holes that hit the aluminum L bracket that holds the side wall of the attic. Again... lots of measuring and noodling about the placement. For power I just tapped into the cigarette lighter plug in the wall, very simple. The fan moves a lot of air even on low power. I believe it will be very nice for those hotter boondocking nights that require a LOT of fan power. I have purchased a second fan and will mount it to a small cutting board with a Cig lighter plug wired on so we can move it around as needed. I thought some folks might be in the same boat as I was in wanting to mount this fan above the bunk but worried that it might not be sturdy enough. Seems very solid. Will let you know if the next series of bumpy roads changes that. Happy Camping, Scotty

I've noticed some comments/concerns that the 5 spring Alcan pack may be a bit too stiff for the EII with 3.5K axles. There apparently are Oliver Factory design concerns about how STIFF folks make their suspension when upgrading. Some flex is desirable for limiting shock to the frame and the trailer body. But if you're a true off grid person with tough terrain then that 5 pack may be perfect. I've been emailing Lew (owner of Alcan) to discuss options. For the same basic price Alcan will build the Oliver Springs as a 4 spring set with 2000 lb rating. They do this by leaving off the shortest (bottom) spring and adjusting other parts. This 4 pack still leaves in place the longer springs that cover all the way out to the last spring eye. Lew says they always recommend and provide wet bolts with brass inserts and the right size Ubolts etc. Lew also said they've had 4 Oliver's in this last week alone getting new spring packs. Craig Hull 505

Our 2018 Dometic frig is a ditto to yours. We were having the same issues out west in the heat. I found that by parking the curb side to the north direction, and deploying the awning a few feet to also keep the sun off of it together helped. But the dual condenser fans in the top vent helped it a LOT. On the other hand, I'm in full agreement that John Davies had about these ammonia absorption. He was worried in his posts about the fire hazard. But to me the real hazard is the potential for it to let CO into our trailers. The refer cabinet was initially well sealed. But with each mile and years, we see that the foil tape seals are being degraded. Any crack in those seals could lead to a CO fatality. I earnestly suggest that all owners of the three way absorption refers ensure that their CO detector is fully serviceable. Also that even if it appears to be OK, that you replace it every fourth year. Not five or ten as some have suggested. If any full time Oliver owner of an older trailer is financially not able to do so, PM me and I'll send you a replacement for free. That's how serious I take the CO hazard in our older trailers. GJ

Very nice with the vents in the fridge basically matching those in the microwave. Like the additional insulation in the compartment too. Nice job! Bill

Unfortunately, this is normal for the Truma units and any other rv ac unit where the blower runs continuously as the compressor cycles on and off. This is particularly a problem when the ambient humidity is high and the outside temp is close to the temp the ac is set to. These conditions result in short compressor run times with long blower run times wo the compressor running. You can use the dehumidify setting on the Truma, accessed only with the remove control. This setting runs the compressor continuously and does a great job decreasing humidity at the cost of making the trailer very cold. We usually just set the temp to much lower than we normally would to compensate for the increase humidity in the trailer, ie 65º at night. You can also purchase a small counter top dehumidifier as recently suggested in this great thread.

With my juvenile mindset, it was really difficult not to say something inappropriate here. But I refrained. 😁

Not Scotty, but in our experience with two fans, each mounted either side of the television, it is indeed whisper quiet. Even with both on the highest speed, I'd say it isn't as loud as the Truma A/C on low. And the fan that you linked is the one we ordered. Ours were $88 in December 2022. We had them even before taking delivery of Curiosity! We pivot one fan toward the other, with the second posted forward, in an effort to help with circulation. The advantage of having two is that either of us can have the fan blowing directly on us in the twin beds as desired. Deb sleeps hot, so frequently has hers on medium blowing directly on her, while I might not have mine on at all. Much better than her having the ceiling fan on medium at home while I have the blanket up to my chin! 🤣 @ScottyGS Do you travel with yours stowed in the up position? I had considered doing that, but was concerned that the bouncing might wear the catches on the locking mechanism. So we make sure ours are locked in the down position before travelling.

A big thanks to @Ollie-Haus for passing along this RV water hose upgrade while at the rally. It’s hard to imagine not having to wrestle with our fresh water white Camco hoses any more when storing them in the milk crate in our Oliver basement. So based on Chris’s recommendation, I scooped up (3) of these Gorilla collapsible 25’ hoses while at Home Depot this morning. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-1-2-in-x-25-ft-Marine-and-RV-Hose-GMAR0025/325990305 “Two is one and one is none”.🇺🇸🫡😊

Reading through all the entire posts, it is quite evident that @DanielBoondock has really done a lot of research about which RV fits his needs. (It is what us engineers do). I think, Daniel, that you need to do similiar research on your tow vehicle as the EV's will have a lot less mileage range then advertised when towing the Ollie. You may not have the mileage range you need for your camping adventures. You will find some helpful information on this web site about EV towing an Ollie. I just wanted to draw your attention to this matter.

An example of disc brakes on an Oliver D52 NevRLube axles, 5000lb springs 12 in discs with 4 piston calipers Electric over hydraulic actuation

Use some acetone, it won't hurt the gelcoat and I'll wager the stain will come right off. I use it all the time. Will also remove mildew stains from caulk.

On our way back from the rally we had to stop at one of our favorite pull offs on the Smoky Mountain Expressway. So glad this scenic highway is in our backyard. Loving all things in the Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge! Mountains as far as you can see.

The hose is soft and pliable even in cold temps. It rebounds to its original flat shape, self draining in the process. I roll mine up in a flat coil for storage. It’s specifically for potable water. When pressurized, if it gets a kink, just give the hose a flip and the kink pops out. We’re a year into this hose and won’t be going back to a “ regular” hose ever again. It comes with a very good warranty on top of all that. Home Depot is the source.

We just worked on completing the last 3 of our lower 48 states with a trip to the South East Central US. Stopped at some cool Harvest Hosts along the way and got a nice riverfront site at Maumelle Park in Little Rock. (Only one lower 48 left, our neighbor, RI.)

This post is just an FYI. On the way back home to TX from the rally, we looked for a convenient overnight stop along IH-20 and made an uninformed selection of Roosevelt State Park just east of Jackson MS. It turned out to be a lucky guess. It's just 5 minutes off the interstate and has some of the best campsite parking pads that we've run across anywhere. The premium sites are better than what most private RV parks have to offer; they're large, level and deep. Only one of the premium sites isn't on the waterfront, #37, which is the only pull-through. We picked it without seeing it or any of the other sites because we didn't want to unhitch for our quick overnight stop. It turned out that all of the premium sites are deep and level enough that we wouldn't have had to unhitch our trailer. Our luck was even better because through the 22nd this month the sites are half price. The park staff told us that they had been closed for renovations for about a year and recently reopened. The special pricing is to encourage people to rediscover the park. Regular daily prices are $47 weekdays & $57 weekends for premium, or $37 or $47 respectively for regular sites on weekdays or weekends. The regular sites are also nice, but they consist of smaller asphalt strips that aren't as large as the premium sites and may require you to unhitch to level the trailer. The state park prices are less than what many less desirable private RV parks charge and was especially a bargain at $23.50 for our one-night stay. We plan to go back before or after next year's rally, expecting to pay the regular daily price. In the picture you can see the size of the site. We didn't take a picture of a waterfront site because it was raining most of the time we were there, but all the premium sites have similar sized concrete pads, easily big enough for 4 LE2s (though only enough hookups for one). Steve

We’re heading east to Kentucky and stopped for our first night at Fort Parker State Park in Mexia, Texas. Like most Texas state parks it’s well maintained but the sites are old and not very level. It took some effort and we made it work. Bulldog is almost on the ground! Very quiet with a good view of the lake.

I’m pretty selective on window stickers. CGI made the cut.

I found a good welder!

Another really good friend we will all miss at future rallies. It was great getting caught up with Rodney Lomax.

Right now there are numerous Ollie Owners hitting the road towards the 2025 Rally. Please be safe out there and have fun while at the Rally. For the first time, I will not be attending this year but hope to se everyone in 2026. Bill