Leaderboard

John-- The photos were all taken with my iPhone 6. Hank is a Great Pyrenees mix--mixed with Blue Tick Coonhound and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. The way I know his pedigree is through genetic testing. Here is a bit of Hank's story. We had lost a beloved Border Collie-Australian Shepherd to cancer, and after a while, my wife, Liz, would periodically show me photos from the pound of different dogs needing adoption. I'd glance at them and just say, something like "I'm not ready to adopt another one now." That was, until she showed me the face of 8-week-old Hank, who was advertised by the local pound as a Border Collie mix who needed a foster home because he was too young to stay in the pound. Seeing his face, I immediately said, "Yes!" However, upon picking him up, we realized that Hank (we named him this later) was going to be a giant. We told one another that we couldn't raise such a large dog (we were pretty sure we would soon be RVing) and that we would just give him foster care until he was adopted. You can guess what happened: As soon as someone called to see if he was still available, we answered that "No," we were keeping him. We have not regretted that decision. The genetic test was well worth the $70. We can understand a lot of his behaviors by learning about those displayed by the different breeds that contributed to our Hank. He is loyal, lovable, laughable, and all ours. He is well trained but sometimes can just not seem to overcome some of his inbred impulses. While he has never bitten another person or dog, he has great guarding instincts (from the Pyrenees line), and humans and canines respect his girth, height, and deep bark. He sleeps on the floor in Ollie. (We thought at first that we would bed him in the convertible dinette section, but soon realized that that idea was not very practical.) It is a bit of a challenge living in the Ollie with him, but he does not mind our feet as they maneuver around him. So far, we have avoided injuring ourselves or Hank. We always have two conversation starters when we meet folks on the road: our unusual small trailer and unusual big dog.

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/coffee-camping-staple-larry-mountainborn-harmon/

The factory is currently churning out 10 trailers per month. Have you seen a lot of problems that might relate to the faster pace of construction, and by more mistakes being made on the construction line? My trailer has a LOT of issues; most are minor, some are normal teething pains and equipment failures. like the furnace ignitor going out and a dysfunctional light switch, but many are just screw ups that were not caught by an inspector before delivery. Some are serious safety issues that Oliver hasn't addressed yet, like self-loosening solar panel mount knobs! I give the trailer an A+ for hull and chassis design and general build quality. It tows like a dream, and looks luscious inside and out. The electrical wiring I give both a B+ (for the visible areas) and also a D (too many rats nests of unsecured wires in the "hidden" areas behind those round hatches). The interior design a B. There are some really irritating features that just don't make sense to me, like the beyond stupid fixed TV mount, the complete lack of access to the street side part of the rear storage area with the Twin Bed option, and the self opening drawers that mysteriously deposit your stuff on the floor as you drive. "Where did that spatula come from?!" The crappy RV appliances I give a D, and I am being charitable here; there are so many better choices, and I for one would be willing to pay a big premium for high quality and reliable marine appliances, both DC and diesel powered. How is your trailer doing, and have you been having many issues? FYI I am an ex-aircraft mechanic, and anal as can be, so most people would not be nearly as critical of problems found in their RV as I am. OTH, I can speak up for those who are too timid to voice their opinions ;) No harm is intended, in any way. I love the trailer... I just need to get it sorted. Working on it..... Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

Here are some photos of our trip back to Arizona after Stan (our Tundra) finally got hitched with Ollie. As RV newbies, we had much to learn along our way back home. We picked up our Ollie (Hull #222) over a month ago and have finally been able to post these pics. Looking forward to many more adventures.

Congratulations on your new Ollie! Enjoyed the seeing all of the fine camping photos and Hank! Hopefully will meet y'all camping in the future!

That is a beautiful dog :) He fits well in your Olli :)

Having lived in Sierra Vista I know what you're dealing with sun-wise. I bought an extendable pole with a microfiber blade at Lowes. I use regular car wash and a ladder with my pole to reach to top. I wash at the end of each trip. I haven't waxed yet, but just got a bottle of Rejexx off of Amazon based on recommendations from a few members of this forum. When we get back from our New Mexico trip at the end of the month I'm going to wash and wax. Will let you know how it goes. Mike

We start our day with a cup of coffee whether at home or camping. The right water is key so we bring bottled water when camping. I didn't think to fill a jug when we were at Hot Springs, I'll bet that would make great coffee! Mike

When I was still working, we got a bonus quarterly, on how clean we kept our trucks. The company provided this soap/wax in 50 gallon drums, that mixed with water. We washed our trucks every week and it really kept the paint job shinny and new looking. Since I retired and moved, I don't have access to this product, nor do I remember the name of it, but I think a like product is available in the auto parts stores. It does keep a nice shine on and it's easy to use. Just wash your trailer. Stan

Larry, Thanks for the article. Coffee is an important part of our camping, too. Our Son has been telling us about cold brewing Coffee, so we may give it a try. It's good cold or hot.

This may be helpful in Timbrens experience but not F150. I have a Silverado 1500 4x4 Z-71 and towed our Elite II across country with stock suspension. After putting on the Timbrens, a very easy process, I was very pleased with the improvement in hitch height change and overall performance. The vertical movement of the trailer hitch when under way is greatly reduced and ride quality in the truck is significantly improved. I do not feel the ride is harsh just much more stabile than with stock suspension. With the trailer disconnected there is about 3/4" clearance between the Timbrens and the frame cushion stops and you don't have any change to stock suspension until putting the big load on the hitch. I am glad that I chose them for the loaded suspension improvement, the simplicity of installation, and being able to just use them with no required maintaining or adjusting. George

Mike and Carol - You mentioned Pikes Peak. I'd recommend that you take the cog railway ( http://cograilway.com/ ) instead of driving. That way, both of you can look around during the trip up and down. Bill

Beautiful

Recently finished a 7,000 mile trip over three-plus weeks, and we were well taken care of by Ollie. No issues whatsoever, running the gamut from boondocking to overnights at KOA in all kinds of weather. Started in NW Florida, up to Utah through TX & NM, over to Yellowstone, Tetons, explored Wyoming, headed east through Montana, ND, and across to Canada at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, Quebec and ended in Downeast Maine. Will explore some of the Canadian Maritimes as best we can this summer. As a heads-up, the only thing that went unnoticed the whole trip- the nut that holds the spare tire cover on loosened up about 1/3 of the way over 7,000 miles. Worth checking now and then to make sure it's tight. (TV averaged 18.9 mpg for the trip)

Some quick comments on the Alpine Loop and the established "tourist trails". Other than a few of the ones rated "Difficult" (Black Bear, one-way down into Telluride in particular, has killed some careless visitors) these routes are really not as hard or scary as the warnings indicate. If you have a little experience driving secondary forest roads and are not accrophobic, you will have no problems driving a Wrangler all over the place. If you have doubts then you can take a guided tour. Bring winter clothes because they are open topped and this is a place that is best experienced with unobstructed views. If you drive the Alpine Loop, your halfway break stop is Lake City. As I mentioned, it is a wonderful spot. It has some very cool shops, a good city park, and lots of nicely maintained Victorian buildings, so you can stretch your legs with a small walking tour. I really want to revisit this area and spend at least a week exploring. One reason we traded our truck in on a Land Cruiser is so we can park Mouse at a secure, centrally located RV park, in Ouray for example, and cruise the high passes easily and in comfort. John Davies Spokane WA

Mike and Carol, You've received some excellent advice--especially the recommendations from John Davies. My mother's uncle was a newspaperman in Lake City during the silver mining days and my mother started visiting Lake City with her parents every summer in a Model A. My parents, sisters and I made many trips to Lake City while I was growing up and I return to that part of Colorado at least every three years or so. John's comments about the Million Dollar Highway are accurate--I've driven it with my Touareg/Ollie and the experience is not one that I'll forget! If you rent a jeep to tour the Silverton, Ouray, Lake City backcountry, make sure you have a good map and a GPS device--I got lost last year because of a poor map. My handheld Garmin device that I use for hiking helped me find my way. I've attached some photos from my Jeep adventure on June 23, 2016. I love Mesa Verde, but there are a lot of visitors there. I suggest you go to Mesa Verde to learn--participate in ranger programs, ranger-led visits to the ruins, etc., and then go to Canyon of the Ancients National Monument near Cortez. You'll find great hiking, ruins, and you won't encounter many other visitors. If you have a taste for something different, Google Crestone, Colorado. It's located north of the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia: "The Crestone area, which includes the Baca Grande and Moffat, Colorado, is a spiritual center with several world religions represented, including: a Hindu temple, a Zen center, a co-ed Carmelite monastery, several Tibetan Buddhist centers, and miscellaneous New Age happenings. Crestone is easily accessible to visitors, a National Forest Service campground is about 3/4 of a mile north of town,[9] and other lodging is available, including several bed and breakfasts. Activities in the area include camping, fishing, hiking, climbing, as well as spiritual explorations." If you visit Ouray and like hot springs, consider Orvis Hot Springs just south of Ridgeway. It's about 9 miles from Ouray. It's a "clothing optional" facility (I have visited many times, kept my swimsuit on and have never been uncomfortable) with multiple outdoor pools, massage, camping, etc. The setting and grounds are beautiful and the people are very friendly and accommodating. If you are near Aspen, consider visiting Redstone and taking a 4-wheel drive to Crystal, an old mining town. I haven't been in Redstone/Crystal for many years, but have great memories from there. I haven't decided where to go this fall. I've been considering traveling from Iowa to the Canadian Maritimes, but I'm not sure I want to drive that far. I may head west instead--it's possible that I'll see you in Colorado! Visiting the Rocky Mountains in the Fall is a great experience.

While it was in my pre trailer days, I have been to CO many times, though in the working world, I was limited to quick visits. Estes Park is beautiful any time of year! Perched on the edge of the RMNP, it is loaded with charm. The Stanley Hotel is there, assuming it remains open. This is reportedly the hotel where Steven King was inspired to write The Shining, while not actually used in filming the movie. It was used in filming the tv version as well as Jim Carrey's Dumb and Dumber movie. Reportedly, Steven King stayed at the hotel as it closed and into the off season (by himself) and experienced a haunting in his room (#217-he drank a lot), thus inspiring his famous novel. A tour of the hotel revealed two haunted rooms, one on the second floor and one on the 4th. During the tour I noticed the second floor room (#217-famous from the movie) was vacant. I went down to the desk and booked a night in it. Can't say whether it was truly haunted or not, but each time that evening that we left the room, we returned to find The Shining playing on a tv we had never turned on. The Elk passed through town twice daily. Once early, once late. Can't remember which direction each time, but the town was right in their path and they had learned to ignore herds of human gawkers. Leadville, mentioned above, besides having interesting old buildings, is the highest city in the US (and that was before pot became legal there!). Elevation is just over 10K. You will enjoy CO, where ever you wind up. Obviously, be prepared for changingn climate conditions at the higher altitudes, especially later in Sept. I have some great camera shots of snow storms up there, both fall and spring. Perhaps my favorite town is Frisco. You might remember that I am into cycling, and Frisco is truly a hub to paved bike trails running xx miles (more than I can ride) near but seperate from auto traffic. It is the most scenic riding I ever do, though challanging from an Oxygen standpoint, requiriing frequent breaks by a MS sea level boy. My favorite ride out of Frisco is around Dillion Lake including what is called Swan Mountain. The climbs are difficult but doable. Another is the ride from Frisco to Vail Pass. That ride is a 20 mile (or so) long, slow climb. Again, doable with breaks. The ride down on both of those routes is fantastic! Enjoy your trip.

My favorite area by far in CO is the Durango/ Silverton/ Ouray area, including Lake City, but that last town is hard to get to, being on the "wrong" side of the mountain, so to speak. If you like offroading, rent a Wrangler and do the Alpine Loop or one of the many other stunning back country trips in the high country. If you like trains, the Silverton Railroad is unbeatable, but it's a long loooong trip up and then back to Durango. One way would be better if somebody can shuttle you back. Do not attempt the Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray unless you are _very_ confident in your rig and your driving skills. If you have any interest in classic Brit bikes, you can make a detour north of Mesa Verde to Colorado Norton Works in Delores. Yummm! St Elmo ghost town and nearby Leadville are wonderful if you like old buildings. https://roadtrippers.com/stories/st-elmos-fire-the-tragic-story-of-americas-most-enchanting-ghost-town Have fun! I love the Colorado high country. It is way too busy for my liking in summer, but September should be perfect. Watch the weather reports. John Davies Spokane WA

Sounds like a great trip - the Aspens will be turning then. On your way from Mesa Verde to the Sand Dunes, you will pass through Pagosa Springs. You should stop there for lunch at least - there are some interesting things to see. Also, when you get to South Fork, you might want to take a side trip up to Creede, which is an old mining town that's pretty lively, at least in the summer. The headwaters of the Rio Grand is just west of Creede, at the Rio Grand Reservoir. I know there are many National Forest campgrounds there but they may be closed by then. However, there are lots of RV parks in South Fork because it is a very popular summer destination for part-timers. We spend many weeks every year in Colorado dry camping and riding our Polaris RZR.

We just did just that. We picked up our Ollie in Hohenwald and brought it home to Arizona via Rocky Mountain NP and the Gunnison area. We must have crossed the Great Divide three times. No problem towing with our 2012 Tundra. Camped at Timber Creek campground in the RM park. Interesting that only small RVs could be allowed in this beautiful area at the headwaters of the Colorado River where elk were wandering through the camp. Highly recommend this play. We boondocked along the Arkansas River north of the town of Buena Vista--a lovely area were kayakers told us it was the primo spot for kayaking in CO. (Look for camping icons along the highway in this area. There is a narrow dirt road winding along the east side of the river north of Buena Vista where you might find some good places to boondock if you are interested. We parked for three nights at the Cedar Creek RV Park in Montrose, where we took side trips to Telluride and Ouray. (We recommend this nice park. If you stay there, mention us as the EarthPicks. We played some music for the managers, who are very cool folks.) We also stayed one night in a nice RV park in Cortez called the Sundance. We wish we had spent more time in CO but were mostly just making our maiden voyage home with our Ollie. One thing I can say is that just about every turn in the road in CO brings new charming if not stunningly gorgeous vistas into view. Have a great trip!

We were to Rocky Mountain National Park, 2 years ago in mid September, and that's a great time with the Elk in rut. We made some notes on the good camp sites, but don't know where they are. There are some that look out over the valley, but probably hard to get. We did get to see 2 bull elk having a heated discussion, with some violent head butting, over who had first dibs on the cows. Great time to visit Colorado. Stan

Carbon, If you go to my profile, Buzzy, and click on the videos section you will find all the other videos. By the way, I have a Fiamma Privacy Room on order which is due to arrive this month. After I learn how to assemble it, I will create a video for those who might have an interest. Buzzy

You get tv and fm radio through the Winegard. If you don't have one, you get the funky self adhesive bar antenna that came with the entertainment system, glued to the inside of the left rear window. Radio reception is adequate and tv reception is pretty much nil with the little one. Sorry for the dark, it is hard to show a black antenna on a tinted glass surface... We chose not to have the outside tv antenna since like you, we watch dvds or maybe downloaded Amazon Prime stuff on my iPad. We watch network tv for the news, but haven't watched any broadcast primetime show in way over a decade. Nor do we miss them. Unless you really need the capability of the outside antenna, skip it. The less things poking up out of the roof, the better. The wires are there inside the roof, if a future owner wanted to install one. John Davies Spokane WA

I know TG the folks interested in the Ollies are as unique as the product. We are not 100% sold on AS yet. We did some analysis using the current pricing I got from Anita vs a 2017 25 FC FB Twin. We configured both as we would want them as you know AS doesn't offer a plethora of options as Oliver does. An Oliver equipped as we would like it comes in at a tad under 67k. And this is with a Dexter EZ flex not the good HD suspension some talk about here. By the time we're done with NJ transfer registration etc we are at about 70. The AS as equipped (solar, AGM, convection micro, awning pkg) has MSRP of 87,350. I've broken the ice on pricing off MSRP and realistically with taxes and tags we are about 75/76. They don't know it yet but I'm not financing I may be able to do a little better. It's not an even money comparison, but not by much. So it comes down to 1: Camping style/Intended use. We are not avid boondockers, or should I say my wife isn't. A day and overnite in a remote outpost is about her limit. Most of the time we will be fully or at least partially hooked up. We do not need the obvious biggest talent of the Ollie, full 4 season capabilities. Our winter time use will consist of waiting for a couple of clear days, hooking up our winterized TT and hauling ass south...like the Keys. We would activate our TT at the first stop in Dixie. Reverse the order when returning. 2. The advantage of having a very good dealership/service center within an hours travel has weight. 3. Just some personal observances, 1 being room. While visiting owners Stan and Linda, all 4 of us inside the trailer, 2 standing 2 sitting. Felt kind of snug. In the AS 4 adults sitting at the dinette with room for 2 more. Makes a difference especially in periods of crappy weather. There are other pros/cons to weigh and time will tell. Which is why I will most likely be on this forum for a while. We would make a decision very soon but for the time being we have to stick around. Care of my elderly father in law prohibits us from travelling much right now anyway and we are still working f/t. All things in time. I like not being in a rush

An Open letter from Oliver Travel Trailers Dear Members of The Oliver Travel Trailer Online Forum Community, Over the last two weeks we have seen an increase in people addressing quality and build concerns on our online forum. First off, we want you to know that when we fall short of your expectations, then we fall short of ours. We are dedicated to producing a quality product that can be passed down from generation to generation. Oliver Travel Trailers is different in many ways from other manufacturers. One of these ways is our transparency with our customers and potential customers. This is why we have our own forum. We would like to thank you all for your feedback. New and potential customers may not be aware that we monitor the forum and listen in an attempt to learn from the members. We are always striving to make improvements and take care of any and all issues that arise. We are far from perfect but will continue to get better, always working to build the highest quality travel trailer available. With that being said we want all of you to know we have heard your concerns and recently implemented a new 3 stage quality control inspection to our build process. This is just one of the ways we are aiming to be the best in the industry. Tanks have been a recent hot topic on the forum and we want all of you to know we are currently working with an expert in the industry to see what we can do to improve current designs. We will update you as we learn more. Wiring appearance has been another topic that we are addressing by working with component manufacturers to improve quality of appearance and function on all wiring harnesses. As we improve and implement changes we will share these improvements from time to time with our customers and on this forum. We have always gone above and beyond to fix any issues our customers are having with their trailers and will continue with your help to make Oliver Travel Trailers the very best. Again, we would like to thank you for your feedback. In the future, we kindly ask that if you have a problem or concern with your Ollie, please call us directly so we can help you. This will provide us the details we need in a timely fashion and expedite our course of action. Of course, if you ever feel we have not done enough to fix or improve your issues once you have brought them to our attention then by all means feel free to address it on the forum. We are confident you will find that given the opportunity Oliver will take care of you and improve our product at the same time. We will never be too big or too busy to do the right thing. Sincerely, The Oliver Family

The stock suspension has an equalizer to balance the load between the front and rear tire on each side by allowing the springs to change angle instead of flexing. This allows the system to "step over" bumps without flexing the springs much or jarring the trailer. It's good trick on tandem axles and it works well on uneven surfaces. Then there are the shackle pins that deliver the load to the shackles and from the shackles to the frame. The shackle pins and the equalizer pins are all working bearings that are constantly under load and completely exposed to the elements. Dexter supplies this system in different configurations. What Oliver uses is the dry nylon, non serviceable bearings. Just nylon bushings. These wear out before very long and allow metal to metal contact of the pins to the spring eyes and iron equalizer. Then the wear begins to elongate the shackle pin holes. After a while the whole system has lots of play in it and it gets weaker and weaker. All of this takes a while, but I had a set on a utility trailer wear to an alarming degree and I began to look at other utility trailers, the same system as on our Ollies, to see how they were doing. I've seen some that have worn to the point of being dangerous. Dexter also has a system called E Z Flex. It has heavy duty shackles, greasable bronze bushings and a different equalizer than our stock setup. I've looked closely at it and it is nice, but in my estimation, isn't doing much or anything in this application to improve the ride. It works where trailers are very heavily loaded with much stiffer and more massive springs. In that situation it will compress a rubber donut to take some of the initial shock of a sharp bump. In our trailers, the load is relatively constant and the springs are set up to be fairly soft. Plus the overall load is not too much at only about 4,500- 5,000 lbs max without including the unsprung tongue weight. I decided to get the kit for mine to upgrade the bushings and shackles. So I went to a friend in the trailer business I've dealt with for many years. He was very hesitant to order me the kit and said some of them have had the rubber fail. But, he said, we can get you the heavy duty kit instead. Dexter also supplies the Heavy Duty Kit, part number K71-449-00. This has a heavy duty equalizer (with bronze bushings and zerk fittings installed for greasing) instead of the rubber cushioned equalizer. It has bronze bushings, new pins (drilled with zerk fittings installed for greasing) and heavy duty shackles. This is the best option of the three as far as I'm concerned. It is what Oliver should order their axles with from Dexter to minimize the additional cost. There is no doubt this setup will hold up better than the dry plastic bushings. The kit sells for about $100. less than the EZ Flex too.

I apologize in advance for the wordiness of this post. This has a chance of being my swan song here on this forum so I'll just let it go. This is a good thread and I'm glad John, a new owner started it. It seems Reed and Karen do have a serious problem that seems related to their build, but also from reading through this forum a good chance exists that Oliver will figure it out and help them correct it. I don't believe this thread or ones similar should "scare" a prospective buyer even a newbie to the scene such as myself. What should scare anyone is the thought of of purchasing any RV and believing (or being told) like most modern automobiles or trucks, they are pretty much trouble free and require little to no maintenance or repair. Nonsense. I have been diligently researching this lifestyle for the last 2 years. Reading, going to shows, renting Cruise Americas and talking to owners in campgrounds and at events. They ALL have issues. Every bleepin one of them. It is common in the industry. Cars and trucks don't have complex electrical, plumbing, water heaters, inverters, solar controllers. Neither do most smaller boats (under 26') Has anyone priced new boats as of late? 20' Boston Whaler over 100K! As toys go, and these things are toys although some folks want them to perform like homes, there is a lot of stuff crammed into them. That plus the fact that they are hand built, are pulled or driven all over creation lends itself to problems that all brands experience, albeit some more than others. My brother paid almost $2 million for a custom Prevost Luxury Coach conversion. It had problems/issues, 1 of them 12 grand worth on a major component just out of warranty. My neighbors 2 doors down downsized from an older Tiffany MH to a new Jayco TT that they paid under 15k for. Guess what? It has issues and has been to the dealer 3x and most is worked out with some other things fixed by him. Oliver is no different. What sets them apart from the consumer grade pack is cabin/body/frame design, and their commitment to customer satisfaction. But even they can lay the occasional bad egg. It is a chance any of us take buying any RV. Being connected to a company and/or dealership that takes into course of their business warranty work and a strong willingness to satisfy the costumer goes a lot longer in this RV world that waiting for the perfect unit to hit the streets. We are leaning towards the Airstream FC 25FB Twin over the Oliver not because we think one is better built than the other but for our needs, camping plans and style, and preference. Also right in our backyard, 40 minutes up the GSP (although they plan to relocate to a new facility 20 minutes further west within 2 years) is one of the largest AS dealerships in North America. This is a family owned and operated dealership for over 15 years maintaining very large selections of AS trailers. We have visited them twice, have researched their reputation 6 ways to Sunday, and almost everyone who has done business with them, raves about their commitment to customer satisfaction. I know personally 4 owners who have bought and service their trailers there 2 of them second time buyers 1 of them 3 times! Our last trip there we met a couple from VA. that were originally from NJ. They are on their 2nd AS in almost 12 years and have traversed the continent. They were getting tires changed and we spoke for a good time and they have nothing but great things to say about this dealership, Airsrteams they have owned, and the problems that come up. Their experience taught them that it takes a full season of good use, to get the bugs worked out. They are glad to be only 5 hrs away and always have there rig serviced here bypassing several closer dealerships. I like the idea of having a responsive dealership close to where I live. Although Oliver has a record of getting repair work done for customers at general RV dealerships nationwide, what happens if you encounter an issue unique to Oliver's design that a general facility cannot or will not handle? A trip to TN to get it fixed is what I can see. In summation I believe that one first finds something that truly fits their own style and preference. Out of the 2 or more 'brands' for lack of a better word, make the decision based on economics and other less tangible but very important aspects like service/repair availability and manufacturer/dealer reputation. Because all TT's, Fivers, and MH's will need it now and then. Familiarize yourself with your specific unit, be attentive to maintenance especially PM, and go forth and have fun.

If you are at a campground with full hookups, and simply raising the nose of the trailer to completely drain the gray water tank before leaving for a new destination, that may be ok, not too inconvenient. If you are hooked up to your tow vehicle at a dump station, and you have to unhitch to raise the nose to completely drain the gray water tank, then rehitch to the tow vehicle, how is that an acceptable solution? When we are boondocking I can draw the fresh water tank down to 10-15 percent( 3-4 gallons left in tank) without having to raise the nose of the trl, it's a simple matter to raise the nose of the trl. The front jack is robust enough to raise the trl with your tow vehicle hooked up when dumping your tanks, it has a 3,500 lb capacity, you don't have to lift it very high, just above level works fine.

Wow Karen. I am so sorry. I would be so pissed off and disappointed if this was happening to me. Hmm. I am going to do more homework. Oliver does not deserve my business when so much is wrong with their expensive luxury travel trailers. Thank you. Hope you get everything worked out. I will be following your progress.

Karen here. I have TWO huge issues that make me regret paying $62,000+ and over $5000 in CA DMV taxes for my 2017 Lecacy Elite ll. OUR WATER TANK RUNS OUT AT 44% EVERY SINGLE TIME.@#$!×%&*!$# What I mean by that is at 44% the water from the faucets start sputtering, the water line starts shuttering and making a racket, the pressure drops drastically, the toilet water flushing is drastically reduced and if I am in the shower, hair full of shampoo and the water hits 44% I no longer have enough water and pressure to get the shampoo out and finish my shower. Reed has to go outside everytime at 44% to raise the front end so we can utilize the last 44% of the water. This also means the trailer is no longer level and the Dometic Refrigerator is now at risk of being damaged. It also means that when we are boondocking it drastically limits how long we can stay out or Reed has to take several trips in the car to fill up our water jugs to refill the Ollie above 44%. TO ME THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND I THINK OLIVER SHOULD CORRECT THIS IN MY RIG. Our $13,000 used 2010 Casita never did this. My second big gripe is that our kitchen drawers continue to open while traveling. This occurs on any road that has curves or bumps. And NO, Reed is not speeding when this occurs as someone implied on another thread. The first time it happed the drawers literally were on the floor when we stopped. Everything dumped out and broken drawers and hardware. Some drawers just had towels, others had cooking utensils, silverware and a frying pan. Oliver sent us new drawers but they still come open even after Reed has adjusted them all. We now have to take the seat cushions, put them on the floor and stack them against the drawers to keep them from opening while we are moving. THESE TWO ISSUES MAKE ME EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED AND WISHING WE HAD BOUGHT THE BIGFOOT. Bigfoot was my second choice becsuse I thought Oliver was better. The 3rd issue I have is that the igniter push button on my stove no longer works. So now I have to use a lighter to use my stove. I don't blame Oliver for this, they didn't make it. However, I need to now buy a better stove for Reed to replace. The 4th issue is I had to recaulk the bathroom around the shower pan because it was not done properly and water and dirt kept getting in the gaps creating a hassle to keep clean. My 5th issue is that one of the 12v ports only works intermittently, I pointed this out on day two to Oliver and they stuck a plug in it and said it works just fine. To me if you put the key in your car ignition and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't that is not fine. I use this port for my cpap because its at my head and it's frustrating as all get out when I put my mask on and it doesn't turn on and I have to keep pulling the plug out, reinsert it, wiggle it around over and over till it finally gets power again. No, it's not my cord, I know this because this doesn't occur when I use any other 12v port. I WAS THRILLED WE BOUGHT AN OLIVER. NOW I AM QUITE DISAPPOINTED.

You all are scaring me. I am a talented carpenter who can build most anything. But I am not a trailer repair person, a plumber or electrician, I am not a mechanic. I don't do floors. I am however wiling to pay a higher price for a trailer that has been checked over appropriately and trails behind me like a good burro. It is my hope that Oliver addresses these quality control issues at their plant and also publicly here on the forum. It would make my decision to buy more comfortable and confident. I do realize there will always be a few issues to deal with and I agree when picking up a new trailer the new owner should stay in a campground nearby so everything can be worked over and out if need be. Airstream has a lot of problems now too because of quality control. Get too big and busy and things tend to go to hell. Anyway, I appreciate all the help I get on this forum and a couple others I frequent. Planning on placing an order for a standard Ollie Elite no later than this fall but no earlier than July of 2017.

Just be careful with your quality inspections to make sure you understand what you are looking at. Deciding that something is not the way you might do it, or not how it's done on an airplane, or at a factory you used to work at, etc, is not finding a problem. A problem is if it doesn't work, or there are clear signs of poor workmanship, as Reed has found with stripped screws and cross threaded bolts. Those are real problems, and maddening ones. I have found wiring issues with mine and even posted about them here. My exterior lights quit working and when I investigated, I found a rats nest of Scotchlok connectors crimped onto a single power wire that was unsecured and had failed. Very poor workmanship indeed, but it is not a shop floor shortcut so much as a poor design. I'm sure it wasn't some unskilled workers, but an Oliver design. My batteries are wired very poorly too, but I'm working on that. Regular #8 or #6 house wire that is likely to either pinch, or wear and short out, supplying all the power from four T105 batteries. We may tend to think that Oliver is doing everything to some higher standard, but there are areas where they are sort of winging it and some design demands are leading them into some quality issues. Fortunately, they seem to be responding to feedback and standing behind their trailers, but some of the stuff seems like it's just common sense and should never happen, like overhead doors that don't latch well enough to stay closed and the television interfering with the blinds and damaging them. Another thing I noticed right away was the suspension. Oliver uses the cheapest suspension design offered in the industry. It has simple plastic bushings that are not serviceable and known for failure. I've had these on other trailers and they are not designed for high mileage. In a "Legacy" design, I wish they would install greasable links with heavy duty parts instead of charging more if you want them as an option. I have already upgraded mine. The initial reaction when stepping into an Oliver is that "this is amazing", and it is in many ways, but it's still a travel trailer and it's still in the development stages. As far as the overall shape, fiberglass construction, frame, and towing manners; excellent. I'm very pleased with mine in so many ways. It's so good in some ways that I tend to think it's some kind of a magic thing that has no faults. Not quite. I'm still scratching my head as to why they went with a small spare tire and eliminated the ability to go with a tire that matched the others, that is until everyone noticed and began to worry about it, then they fixed it. Mine is an earlier one and I have to run without the fiberglass cover to mount a standard size spare. Then I look around and cannot believe humans can make a complicated fiberglass structure this beautifully smooth.

I've seen a number of miner issues that really shouldn't be happening in a $60,000.00+ trailer. They changed the drawer slides out last year from the side mount to the bottom mount, and we brought that problem to the table and it really still needs to be addressed because the drawers still open even after I readjusted all of their magnets that were doing nothing from the factory and replaced all of the screws with 1" grabbers, then added short screws in the second slot. One of the smallest, yet most annoying problems that we have has has been stripped forward screws. Someone used a screw gun, not set correctly and stripped the heads out on a lot of the screws all over the trailer. This includes some of the drawer screws and 2 of the dinette access pannel screws... Then one of the bolts on the bumper was stripped all the way in from the beginning... So someone took an impact wrench, and instead of stopping and replacing the bolt when he obviously saw it was stripped from the beginning, and he went ahead and hammered that nut all the way down with his impact instead... And these little problems are flat out poor employee workmanship... I ended up having to cut off the bumper bolt and buy a new one, so I could remove the bumper to bend the punch plate down into place because it had been bent up at the factory, which was keeping our gray tank 25% full after dumping on level... I had to remove the dinette access pannel bolts with a pair of pliers because they were so hashed and I don't want to show a trailer with stupidity screws stripped out all over the place. Another big problem is the water tank running dry and starting to gurgle at 44%... Then at 38%, it's empty unless we go out and tilt the trailer back to get the water to drain back to the corner... I actually paid $63,000.00 for what I thought was a usable as advertised trailer with a 32 gallon water tank... But now I have a 19 gallon tank because the other 13 gallons aren't useable unless I tilt the trailer way back... The water tank could be set up to work a lot better, with more tilt and a 90° pick up tube in the newly added low corner... This one is Karen's biggest issue and it gets past on to me because I have to add the water and keep it above the 44% to keep her happy, so I'm transporting water every other day instead of every 4 days give or take. I usually add about 16 gallons each time or 2 - 8gallon wheeled tanks, when I should be able to add 4... Plus, you can't just leave the trailer tilted back for any reason because having the trailer out of level when sitting still will fry the fridge because the freon will start bubbling in the lines when not level instead of flowing freely as per the Dometic Instruction Manual... I ended up adding about a gallon of distilled water to the batteries a couple weeks after we picked up the trailer and this has happened to others also. They should have water on hand and add it with you, when you pick up the trailer, that was way too much water to need to add after just a couple weeks. I saw the problem with the TV stand from the get go and talked with them about it, but we ordered ours with out the TV because their stand was right in the way. Then there's the bathroom mirrored door that broke out of nowhere, the replacement door is really strong and it works great and does not wiggle at all. So we have a better door then normal. Then Karen regrouted the bathroom shower pan because it was holding water in bad spots, the igniter on the stove quit working, one of the 12vdc outlets that we had installed has had issues from day 1, some of the windows are really hard to open, one of the plastic window sliders was put in wrong, two of the window shades had to be adjusted and the screws tightened, the chrome plating is coming off on the bathroom faucet, but... Our green light on the fantastic fan does always stay off :) But even with the few problems that we've had, we love our trailer and have been living full time in it since February 13th. We have put over 9000 miles on it since then and we've put our feet in both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean's with our new Oliver in less then 3 months. The problems that we've had, have been all quickly taken care of by Oliver and their performance as a sales and service team have done us right. I mention the things above because they can all be fixed or worked around easily. As far as options go, I think that we hit it perfectly, and we do love our little Goldilocks :)

I have a late model 2015, has some 2016 features. Just drove over 2300 miles, without a single issue. No open drawers, no open storage cabinets, all systems working fine. Might be worthwhile for Oliver to evaluate the changes that have taken place since the 2016-2017 model years, especially production staffing and training since they have increased output.