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Hello everyone. My husband and I are new to the Forum. We have learned a lot from the site, reading as a guest and watching many of Buzzy's fine videos ( big Thank You for those Buzzy!), but thought it was time to join the group and introduce ourselves. We are long time fiberglass fans. We stared out in a Casita in 2005; up-sized to a 21FB Bigfoot in 2008. And now, after 9 years, it is time for a new trailer. We were planning another up-size but decided to take a look at Olivers first. We toured the factory and we were hooked ????. We hope to take delivery of our new 2017 Oliver Elite II in early May! Our decision on an Oliver was made in part because of the stories, experiences, and information that you have shared on this site. So hello everyone... and thank you!

I want to extend a BIG congratulations to Mike and Carol as our newest Moderators! You embody all the best characteristic evident in all our Forum moderators. You are helpful, understanding, resourceful, patient and best of all you love owning an Ollie! Being a moderator may not be easy, but thank you for offering to help our team! Buzzy

Just noticed this at the bottom of my screen I would like to give a warm welcome to our "newest" member - Buzzy

I prefer to get my Oliver as level as is practical by blocking under the tires. It's nice to rough it in by backing up onto a 2x6 or two, for instance, or backing the high side tires into a couple of low spots I can dig out. Then a small adjustment with the jacks gets it perfect. Frame flexing doesn't start at some particular loading, it happens with any load on the jacks. It's not really twisting because it's a three point system. It's bending. The weight is being supported farther back along the frame rail with the jack as compared to the axle subframe, so the frame rail bends up from the force applied by the jack. The force is being applied at one point instead of against a large subframe. I can hear mine creaking as soon as I start loading either of the rear jacks. Up front, the frame is seriously massive and reinforced, but out back it's a small box section. It seems the body and the frame work together to make a strong system. The whole thing reminds me of a boat sitting on a trailer. The boat is strong on it's own and the trailer is there to support it and tow it along, not to make the boat stronger. Boat trailers can be very flexible and still haul boats just fine. The Oliver hull, similarly seems to be very strong on it's own. Given the choice, I think I'd prefer changing a tire with a floor jack under the axle than lifting the tires off the ground with the leveling jacks, but it's nice to know we can do it that way when needed.

What is Galvanic Reaction? - When two dissimilar metals are in contact and exposed to an electrolyte substance it causes one of the metals to lose ions and slowly consumes that metal. - It works much like a battery. One of the metals will become and act like an Anode(Negative) and the other a Cathode(Positive). This process will slowly consume the Anode and actually strengthen the Cathode. - Galvanic reaction occurs when an electrolyte combines with water. Depending on which electrolyte is present, it will completely(strong) or partially (weak) ionize with the water to form a strong or weak electrolyte substance. What is an electrolyte substance? Strong Acids Examples: Hydrochloric Acid, Sulfuric Acid, and other Acids Strong Bases Examples: Sodium Hydroxide, Calcium Hydroxide, and other Hydroxides. Salts Sodium Chloride Winter Road Treatment: - Different cities utilize a handful of different chemicals to treat roadways for ice. Most of these are from a form of chloride which does become an electrolyte once dissolved with water. TIP: It is always a good idea to clean these chemicals from any vehicle and/or camper when possible. What type of impact does this play on Aluminum? - When oxygen is present (in water), aluminum naturally reacts to form aluminum oxide and this is the key to its ability to resist corrosion. Unless exposed to a substance or condition in which destroys the protective layer, aluminum will remain resistant to corrosion. - When aluminum contacts another metal(steel for example), it sets in place the possibility of a galvanic reaction if an electrolyte substance comes in contact with the metals. What does Oliver do to prevent this natural process? A protective layer, cavity spray, is placed between the two metals. Zinc anodes are attached to the aluminum frame The Zinc becomes the anode part of the equation and if the galvanic reaction process takes place, it will consume the Zinc anode instead of the aluminum frame. How often should I check my Anodes? - Depending on where you live or where you travel you may or may not even have a galvanic reaction but it is still a good idea to inspect your anodes at least once a year and more if you start to notice that the anode is deteriorating.

Torque Specifications WHEEL LUG NUTS: 90 - 120ft lbs. Note: Oliver has set 110ft lbs as the standard as of 2023 year models & older. BULLDOG COUPLER: 80 ft lbs AXLE/U-BOLTS: 70 ft lbs SHACKLE BOLTS: 40 ft lbs

Issue: A/C Fan runs when mode set to furnace Models Impacted: Dometic Penguin II equipped Information: The on-board thermostat communicates with the Dometic Penguin II A/C unit and the A/C unit then communicates with the Furnace. When the mode is set to Furnace the A/C fan should not run if set to AUTO. If the fan speed is set to LOW or HIGH, this will cause the A/C unit fan to run with the Furnace as a means to distribute the inside air flow. If you are experiencing this issue, please ensure that the fan speed on the A/C is set to AUTO. Resolution: Normal Operation *If the A/C fan runs when set to Auto and mode is set to Furnace, then another issue exists and the Dometic A/C unit should be inspected by a Dometic certified technician.

Ditto to the welcoming back of Buzzy. I too have been avoiding the forum like the plague. It was just too much. We take possession of our Ollie one month from today and look forward to all experienced Ollie's owners input and education staying on subject. Best to all, Malcolm M.

Got that right! I avoided the forums for a few weeks, but seems things are more tranquil now.

Welcome home Buzzy :) Things are back to normal here once again, it's been nice and quiet here for a couple of weeks and the pressures have been removed :) Karen and I are really glad to welcome you back into our family, Our home :) Reed

Our newest old member! Good to see....

The more I read, the less I like this system. A regular TPMS has four transmitters that send information directly to the receiver/ display. That is four individual data streams. If one is interrupted (low battery, or a water damaged circuit board, for a non-sealed type) then you still see the other three readings, and you immediately know that you need to replace the faulty sensor. This system has two EXTRA full data streams - Bluetooth booster to receiver, and receiver to phone. If the first one is lost, you lose everything. If the second is lost, you lose your phone connection but the receiver should still alert you, you just won't be able to determine which tire is low. Bluetooth implementation (software) is much better now than in the past but it is still not reliable enough for a safety system like a TPMS, that you want to work always and reliably. https://www.quora.com/Why-isnt-Bluetooth-reliable-more-robust-100-of-the-time https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11991167 I believe that the Minder Research system is too new to have any kind of track record. I think I will stick with this Dorian unit, which has sealed long life sensors and a solid record in the Australian Outback. http://www.doranmfgstore.com/ItemForm.aspx?Item=%23360RV4&ReturnURL=/Categories.aspx?Id=fd3d6e4a-17b0-4a1b-87cc-751f8bf6d38f&Category=fd3d6e4a-17b0-4a1b-87cc-751f8bf6d38f 200,000 km of dirt road testing: John Davies Spokane WA

We made it from Georgia, thru Alabama, and into Mississippi yesterday and met up with ScubaRx and his wife. We all went out and had a great dinner last night and then today, out came my grinder from under the seat and Steve and I made a mount for our rear view camera. It works great and now Karen has her cup holder back all to herself :) I know some of you guys were laughing when I said that I had brought my grinder, but today was the 3rd time that we've used it on a simple mod. The first was to smooth a rough edge on the step, the second was to round the edge all the way down the sewer slinky hideaway and open the sides up a bit more, and then again today :) I've only used the drill once so far and that was to drill out the hole in the latch on the bulldog hitch because it was made to small for a standard sized hitch lock. So... To me, these simple tools are really important being I'm on a 4600 mile round trip from our house to the Oliver factory. Our Lil' Nugget is really becoming a home :)

That could be, but another 3" would have been nice to a point but not really needed I guess... Either way, it's not bottomed out as hibeam suggested... 2" is acceptable. I haven't been to any scales yet to get the actual tongue weight, it looked the same when towing our Casita. Over all both trailers have their differences, both tow fine, but the Oliver does tow smoother with the dual axles and I do like that it sits 3" higher at the tongue. The steps on the Casita were it's one main problem because they were so low to the ground. Every other time that we would go out, they would get bent. It was an easy fix with my porta-power, but still that extra 3" of heigth and the way that the Oliver has the steps tucked up inside, made buying this trailer my #1 choice.

Dave I've been told that it's better to have the metal stems but having said that I've used them with the rubber valves for many, many miles with no problem. I think that I remember someone at OTT telling me that I could have ordered the trailer with metal instead of the rubber valves but I'm not sure if I've remembered correctly. If I were ordering a new OTT I would ask. The next time that I have the tires balanced I will have them changed to metal. I've also been told not to get the flow through type. Thanks for the good advice. Hap Edit - We are having our OTT serviced in about a month while on the road. I've called and added balance tires and have rubber stems replaced with metal stems to the work order. Thanks for the reminder.

Issue: Black streaks running down side of camper due to porch light gaskets. Models Impacted: 2016 - 2017 Models Information: At this time the manufacturer of the porch lights has no intentions of replacing and/or designing a different gasket to resolve this issue. Oliver is researching and testing some different gasket materials to find a long term solution for our customers. We are aware of some different methods being used by our customers to resolve this issue, ie: Murphy's Oil and DAP silicone. Resolution: Currently in Research & Testing *This thread will be updated as new information becomes available.