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Well I finally bit the bullet and installed disc brakes on the Outlaw Oliver. It was not a particularly hard task, not nearly so much as installing the Dexter EZ-Flex system. The cost was just under $1300. See the Oliver-Disc-Brakes-Chart.pdf for a complete break down of what I bought and where.

The early Ollies will not accommodate a 16" tire under the tire cover. My spare is a 15". Yeah, I know it is not optimum but it will get me to a repair shop. (BTW, my mother-in-law says that she likes the way the trailer rides with the Michelin LTX tires best)

It does seem ironic that all of a sudden Oliver would be willing to install disc brakes instead of the supplied drum brakes. It could be that I was at the factory this past Wednesday where John Oliver and Jason Essary took a close look at my installation. They must have really gotten on the stick about sourcing parts and deciding on labor. I chose the Kodiak brand of calipers and rotors because that seems to be the industry standard. I suspect that Oliver would prefer to buy their Dexter axles already outfitted with disc rotors. I don't think that is a problem. I would, however insist on the Carlisle Hydrastar HBA-16 actuator and the accompanying HBA-CAM. This last piece of equipment is only necessary if you have a late-model General Motors, Ford or Dodge pick up. It allows the in cab controller to work with the Hydrastar actuator. The reason I recommend installing it no matter what is that it will allow your trailer to be protected against the future should you change brands of tow vehicle. It would be, however easy to add in the future if you so chose to wait. I went with the Dacromet coating because I determined from my research that it apparently represents the best value for dollar spent. Of course, stainless steel would be much better but the price was more than twice as much. Plus, as you pointed out, your tow vehicle will not be equipped with nearly as nice of equipment. I mounted the actuator in the front propane compartment just forward of the propane tanks. It fits nicely in this area. It allows easy access for adding brake fluid. If there is a drawback to mounting in this location it would be the distance from the brakes themselves. From what I read the closer it is to the brakes the faster the response time. My entire usage so far is a trip to the factory and back. For me that is about 250 miles round-trip. I found them to be much more sensitive than the drums. For anyone who would like to address specific questions you may feel free to call me anytime at 662-255-0181.

GrayGhost, We currently have (installed new at Oliver) LT BFG Commercial TA 225/75R/16 Load Range E installed on 5200 pound capacity axles on our 2015 Ollie. Our Ollie weighs in around 4950 pounds ready to camp with empty water tanks. Here's Tire Rack information on a LT BFG tire: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Commercial+T%2FA+Traction&partnum=275QR6COMMTAT&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes Here's Michelin's LT load and inflation tables for their 16" LT tires, have not found BFG load/pressure tables yet. Michelin recommends different pressures according to load. http://www.michelinrvtires.com/reference-materials/load-and-inflation-tables/#/ When we replace the LT BFG tires, plan to go to Michelin LT tires next.

Steve, Excellent installation and photos. Like the parts list breakdown, too.

When our Oliver was built in early 2014, there were no "standard" tires or anything else, for that matter. I discussed tire selection with Jim Oliver and he suggested the Michelin® XPS® Rib™ LT225/75R16/E 115/112Q LRE. That is what we went with. I have been extremely satisfied with them.

One of the things that really is interesting to me is that in the first 10 years they built 200 trailers with ours #200 being finished February 9th. And now 2 months later they're up in the 240's. This is really ramping up the line this year, and it really showed while we were there. The Sales Office workers had been brought back into the factory, so they felt out of place for the time being until their office is remodeled, Tommy had quit a couple weeks before, so we never met him. Jason had been thrown into the Service Managers position, before the new gal, is her name Tracy?, was hired. Anita was filling in for Jason as Salesman... And they were building a new custom trailer for Jim Oliver also and he picked his up at the same time we picked up ours. So we went from Jason to Anita as our salesman 3/4 of the way thru, and then after the paperwork was done and they had finally finished our trailer at the end of the day, Jason walked us thru the trailer partially and then took us over to Fall Hollow and he helped me set up quickly just before dark. We didn't hook up the sewer and we just filled the water tank to check the pump because it had already been a long day for everyone. Basically because they hadn't finished buffing out the rough spots when we got there and hadn't put in our extra outlets where we wanted them so there were 4 guys still working on our trailer when we got there. Plus Jason didn't need to go thru everything with me because this is our 5th trailer and I told him not to bother because of other things he had going on at the same time also. But every time we've called since we picked up the trailer, Jason has been right there to help in any way he can and that's the kind of service that keeps people coming back :)

When we built our home we chose a quality custom builder with a great reputation. Before we took possession we did a walk through with him and found a number of things that needed to be addressed. After we moved in, there were other issues that we found. In all cases he took care of the deficiencies. He lived up to his reputation. When we picked up our trailer we found a few issues during our orientation with Tommy. Once we had a few weeks and months of camping we found some more issues. In all cases Oliver has taken care of the deficiencies. One last item is scheduled to be addressed while we're at the Rally. To me, Oliver has lived up to their reputation of building the best fiberglass trailer on the market and standing behind their product. I think it is unrealistic to expect every trailer to be perfect. I do think it is realistic to trust Oliver to correct deficiencies. In our case, they paid for our extra night at Fall Hollow B&B, mailed replacement parts to our home and paid a local RV repair facility to work on our trailer. Never any disputes. I don't know the inner workings of the Oliver factory, but I do think a dedicated QC person with authority and clout could prevent some of the issues we're seeing. But, considering that they've only built a couple hundred trailers I think they're doing pretty well. Mike

Reed and Karen, I applaud your enthusiasm! I agree we have purchased a great fiberglass trailer! Sometimes it can be a challenge to maintain a positive mental attitude and you do that better than most. I would like to take a moment to add an observation. Last summer when I took delivery of my Ollie, Tommy served as the OTT Customer Services Manager. He understood the value of tracking customer concerns and identified issues related to the factory assembly, the component quality or the customer training. He participated in the delivery day training, was an active member of our Forum and the key interface between the customer and the factory. I remember vividly how Tommy added value to me and future owners as he understood two key issues that surrounded me and other owners last summer. At the time, we were being challenged by the complexity of the Blue Sky controller/monitor as well as the Andersen weight distribution hitch. We resolved our Blue Sky issues, but our efforts highlighted the need for gear which would help owners feel more successful. Although I love my Blue Sky gear, I believe the transition to Zamp gear is best for improved customer service. On the Andersen WDH issues, it was clear we needed guidance from the Andersen company, so Tommy brought Sage to our Forum. As an Andersen technician, Sage brought great insights. I understand key personnel can come and go within any organization, but the function of a Customer Services Manager transcends individuals and helps existing and future owners. Now this is not the first time I have stated this observation. In the interest of attempting to emulate the superb positive mental attitude demonstrated by Reed and Karen, I will reflect on a saying my mother taught me as a young man. She said, “Buzzy, you cannot give an organization something it does not want”. Perhaps our collective knowledge is something OTT does not want. Like yourself, I will use 2017 to simply help owners as well as prospective owners and go camping! Sounds like worthy goals indeed! ???? Buzzy

Plus, I think doubling their line has really put a lot more stress on the guys building them. Businesses are always looking for ways to cut costs and make things faster and that all reflects on the quality overall after a certain point. We've been really happy with our trailer and everything checked out great at the factory. The drawer problem that we had was an easy fix. And now after using the Zamp controller, I'm ok with it even though the Blue Sky controller is better overall being that an mppt controller and is the best and newest controller on the market. The Zamp is dependable and runs itself more or less and that's why they switched to it and so far, it has charged up the batteries every day, though we don't use much ourselves anyway. Lots of things go wrong in new RV's all of the time, but here with Oliver, that didn't happen and everything worked from day one. I did have to set the Zamp controller to our "Wet battery" system but that was a quick and simple fix. It had come set on the AGM factory default setting. In Jasons Technical Sevices Bulletin, he says that they set it there, but that just didn't happen with ours and I don't see how it really could have been missed when it was installed. Still it was another quick and simple fix. Overall, I expected to find more problems and being that they also supplied everything needed to operate our new trailer from day one... That says a lot :)

Yvonne, when I was looking to convert my Weber Q1000 I found how-to threads over on FiberglassRV and several how-to videos (with parts required) on YouTube. I was able to use the YouTube video as my guide in the conversion, which was very easy. I bet there is something there for Coleman stoves. Mike

Yvonne, I can't say that I know specifically what adapter you need for your coleman, but it should be a fairly easy thing to do. If you have a liquid fuel coleman, you'll have to buy a conversion kit, which is easy to find on Amazon. Otherwise, it's just a question of finding the specific adapter for whichever propane coleman you have or buy. Someone more knowledgeable can correct me, but I believe that all of the colemans use an external pressure regulator, so all you do is toss that, plug the adapter in where that would have gone, and then plug your propane hose to the adapter. It should work just as well as it does normally.

We use military Scepter fuel and water containers that we carry in the back of the truck. They are hard to find (not "available" in the USA), expensive but totally safe. They are made to military specifications and subjected to UN transport code classification tests. These canisters have proven themselves for their ruggedness and durability offering options for fitting with various accessories. They are the only containers certified safe to carry on board aircraft while filled with fuel. The plastic construction prevents fatal explosion risk when the canisters are hit with shrapnel or projectiles; in fires they may eventually burn with the fuel, but no instantaneous explosions caused by pressure build-up as is the case with metal fuel cans. Water Canisters Like fuel, a potable water supply to the soldier in the field is an essential link in the supply chain. Scepter's Military Water Canisters (MWC) are made to military standards with dimensions similar to the MFC.