Leaderboard

These were made from some scrap 6×6. Cut the length at approximately 11 inches – enough to clear the onboard jacks on level ground – and sand lightly. Take a piece of scrap rope (I used plastic/nylon rope because it does not absorb water) at about 9 inches, heated the ends to stop fraying and added a bit or heat shrink tape for good measure. Then using an electric wire staple attach it to one side, bunch it up a little so that you have enough room to side your hand under it and then attach the other side. Finally, give it a couple of coats of exterior polyurethane and you are the pride of the neighborhood. Certainly a good, simple winter project. Bill

At this time I am having SERIOUS power issues and have been on the phone with Blue Sky a bit, the red switch your reference ONLY cuts off the solar feed, so that if you are working on it and the sun comes up you won't get killed. There is no disconnect from the batteries, the red goes straight to the inverter, thru a huge fuse bar and connects to each of the thermal breakers next to the red switch. I've had to manually disconnect each of these physical connections to isolate the batteries from the system. Hope this helps and keeps you safe

Wishing you many miles of smiles, and safe travels. Almost nine years for us...seems like yesterday when we picked up our oliver.

We traveled all the way from Utah to Howenwald to pick up our Oliver on Sept 20. We were met by our friends Kathy and Gary, formerly of Utah, who now live near Asheville NC. They brought their Class B motorhome and joined us for several days of camping as well as the amazing tour of the Oliver factory. We live too far to easily travel to Howenwald, and a thanks to Randy and April who showed us their Oliver. After all of our research, one look at their Oliver and we knew this was the trailer for us. I am new to trailering, and this forum has been a great resource. Responses to my post in the Introduce Yourself part of the forum helped us decide that we wanted the twin bed layout (excellent option!!). I also posted that we wanted an SUV as a tow vehicle, and that we were considering an Audi Q7, and that the owner’s manual prohibited use of a weight distribution hitch. A big shoutout to Don Thompson who shared his experiences towing his Oliver with a VW Touareg (similar to the Audi Q7), which reassured us about our plan. Don has been awesome, sharing info on his hitch adjustments, his maintenance schedules, and other knowledge! For those considering an Oliver, but like us, not wanting a pickup, the Audi Q7 is awesome. Consumers Reports loved this car, and it is a dream to drive. It has plenty of power, and it can tow 7,700 lbs. With the Audi Q7 I had plenty of power and easily maintained 65-70 MPH on the highway. When entering a highway, I had plenty of acceleration and easily got the car and trailer up to highway speeds. I got 26 MPG on the highway without a trailer, and 14 MPG when pulling the Oliver. When we camped in Kansas, I talked to a neighbor who had pulled a 5th wheel from the west. He told me that there were severe cross winds and that it was really difficult driving. I drove that stretch of road the next day, and while I was aware of the wind, the Audi and Oliver towed like a dream, with no sway whatsoever. No WDH hitch either. I was passed by a truck pulling a big stick-built trailer, and it was frightening, with the trailer swaying and bouncing all over the road. My drive was easy. When we picked up our Oliver, I asked whether we got any of the new 2017 components. Our Ollie had the New Easy-Snap Propane Cover Latches. I don't know the old latches except from Wincrasher’s video, but these new ones are really nice. We also got the New Bathroom Faucet, and that I do not like. Wincrasher’s video showed that the bathroom faucet had an on-off valve on the shower head. Very useful when taking a navy shower. The new faucet does not have the on-off switch. One must use the valve at the sink, and you risk changing the temperature setting each time. There had been some discussions on the forum about the value of the WiFi Ranger and the Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier. We got both, and I highly recommend both. I use http://www.speedtest.net to determine WiFi speeds, and I can definitively say that the WiFi speed is better with the WiFi Ranger (at 2 of 3 campgrounds). The other advantage, is that if you have multiple devices (we have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, and one laptop), it is easier to login. You use one device to login to the campground WiFi, and all of the other devices remember their login with the WiFi Ranger. The Wilson Cell Phone Amplifier also improved reception (I know, 3 bars to 4 bars is not the best measurement). One tip from the Technomadia folks (https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/book/) is to turn on the Cell Phone Amplifier, and then put your phone into airplane mode and then turn airplane mode off. After this airplane mode cycling your phone looks for the best network, which is probably your Cell Phone Amplifier. I also like the Voyager Rearview Camera, and I posted comments on the current thread. Our trip to Howenwald was necessarily rushed. It is a long distance for us, and we had to get home to get back to work… KOAs next to the interstate are not the best, scenically, but they are efficient. So a week ago we took a long weekend and took our Ollie down to Capitol Reef National Park, about 4 hours from here. The NP campground is very nice (no hookups), and we wanted to camp there. The NP website says spaces are usually available until early afternoon. We got there at 11 AM, and they were full, full at 9.45 AM. We were meeting up with our friends Nat and Hermine from Salt Lake City for a hike, and they showed us some great BLM land for dry camping, and I think we will be doing more of that in future. Thanks to all for your advice and support. This is a great community. We can’t wait for spring, and the opportunity for more camping in our Ollie. David and Susan

That is what aluminum foil is for? Lol. For the post asking about spare fuses: a 30; a 20; 15 and 10 should suffice. Any issue should be very rare?

Hi, They DO show up from time to time. There may be one used Ollie remaining for sale now in MI. Look a bit further down in the forum. Otherwise, patience will get you one. Mine was bought used in September.

Buzzy, You should visit Utah! Don

P.S. I purchased mine from Redneck Trailer Supplies (877) 973-3632. These are the same folks that Oliver uses. Bill

Grayson, Try "BK2-100" bearing kit from "Trailer Parts Pro" by "Redline". Kit consists of - 1.719" seal I.D. Bearings: L44649 and L68149 and seal 10-19. I have a 2016 Oliver Elite II. I bought two sets of these when I purchased my Oliver in the event I had a breakdown on the road in the middle of nowhere. I figured that it would be easier to find someone to replace the bearings than to find BOTH the bearings and someone to replace them. Or, I could do most of it myself on the side of the road if absolutely necessary. Hope this helps! Bill

Steve, Welcome! Can't help you with cover information, we're preparing to build a hangar for the Ollie. See your avatar, I used to fly fixed wing out of New Philadelphia several years ago. There is a wealth of information here and very nice folks, too!

John, I remember your post about the dangers of towing in the West with a German SUV. As I indicated earlier, there's no perfect solution. I've driven my 2015 VW Touareg diesel over 32,000 miles since purchasing it about 1 1/2 years ago and it's been a solid, dependable vehicle. Other than an old Porsche that I only drive around 2,000 miles per year, the Touareg is my only vehicle. It fits in my garage and while larger than any other vehicle I've ever owned, it's a great vehicle when not towing. I strongly considered a pickup, but after test driving 3 different models, I decided that I didn't want to drive a pickup every day. The Touareg has proven to be a very capable tow vehicle. I've towed my Oliver Elite II around 8,000 miles this year, mostly in the intermountain west. The only time I had an issue with engine temperature was in Utah while towing up an interstate mountain pass when the outside temp was 110 degrees. I was pulling up a grade, traveling in a pretty straight line, running the A/C, and traveling at 75 mph. My temperature gauge started to creep up and I slowed to 65 mph and it returned to normal temp almost immediately. I decided towing at 75 mph was pretty silly--who needs to hurry that much, and I've never had another issue. The Touareg is also a pretty capable off-road vehicle, but it won't go where a Jeep Renegade will go. I've driven on 4-wheel drive roads in Canyonland NP but I'm very selective about where I go. I also find someone to follow or lead, typically someone in a Jeep! I may have a mechanical issue in the future in the West that will create complications I wouldn't have had if I had chosen a Ford, Chevy or Ram pickup, but I'm retired and willing to be inconvenienced if that occurs. The advantages of the Touareg as a daily driver and as a comfortable, secure, safe and competent tow vehicle outweigh my fears of mechanical trouble in a sparsely populated area in the West. Ultimately, it's a matter of personal choice. For people whose lifestyles match up well with owning a full-size pickup, a pickup is a great choice as a tow vehicle. For me, the Toaureg or Q7 is a better choice.

David, Your Ollie looks great behind the Audi! You've already been a valued contributor to the forum and I expect more great information from you now that you have your Ollie. Utah may be the best place in the world to own a camper like ours! Don

Hi David, congrats on your new baby. Picking up a new Oliver trailer after all the planning and waiting is just about as good as it gets. I know you and yours will make many new memories. Your area of the country is one of our very favorite places to visit. We will probably be coming out that way again this spring.

Thanks for the great comments. Nice pics, but please add some from that remote BLM campsite! Your Audi seems like a good match, but I hope you will continue to keep us updated with it's good and bad points. You are stressing that 3.0 liter engine pretty hard... Is yours a diesel? How are the power and engine/ transmission temperatures at 12,000 feet and 6% grade, with your Ollie in back? As I pointed out in an earlier post, doing any kind of remote travel with a German car in many parts of the West is a very risky business, if you have a check engine light come on, or worse. If you plan to drive on ANY rough unpaved roads, you should install better (higher profile) non-runflat tires and wheels, and carry a matching full sized spare tire and the tools to change it. Getting a tow while stranded by a slashed sidewall on some remote road, with zero cell coverage, will really ruin your day.... Been there, done that! But only once! Please post pics, I love the Utah scenery, especially the places that are a little less visited. John Davies Spokane WA

David and Susan, And now - let the real fun begin! Between making it your own, the where did I store that thing and the joy of getting friendly with your new "baby", this is a really enjoyable time. Whole worlds that one never knew existed open up. Have fun and be safe out there. Bill

It does look nice. I also appreciate the effort you guys are putting in. Along the same lines as above, it would be nice if you can add a 'View recent posts' menu item or something similar. Right now, you have to drill down into each topic in succession to see what's been posted, which is...annoying. It's made worse by the new server being a bit pokey at the moment. 'View Activity" is limited in what it shows, as is the web notifications button, so the forum really needs something that includes all the recent posts. Thanks!