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We would like to announce the location and dates for our 2018 Rally. The 2018 Oliver Rally will be held May 4-7, 2018 at Lake Guntersville State Park in Alabama. Lake Gunterville State Park offers many fun activities including an 18-hole golf course, fishing, hiking and biking trails, boat rentals, ziplining and more. More details to come. For now we ask to hold off on questions. We will update the webpage dedicated to the Rally as we get more information. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/rally/3 points
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I originally wanted the Camco 25563 level because Amazon had it on sale for less than $15.... The one I received had leaked badly and there was oil all over the inside of the packaging, and the cardboard was soaked through: I arranged for a refund and another level through Amazon's painless return system. The next one I received had ALSO leaked, though not quite as badly. I returned that one and decided that maybe Camco was not a very good choice for this particular device. I went by the local RV Stealer parts department and found a similar model made by Level Master. It was $34, but it was not leaking, so I brought it home. After test fitting it where I wanted it to go, I pro-actively sealed the two ends where the factory plugs go, to prevent any future loss of fluid. Parts used: https://smile.amazon.com/Wheel-Masters-6700-Level-Master/dp/B000V55NB0/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1501042191&sr=1-1&keywords=level+master+trailer+level JB Weld (or any good two part epoxy) 3M 4941 VHB Very High Bond Acrylic Foam Tape 0.5" wide (used for securing automotive trim, very tenacious!) White Marine Silicone RTV Adhesive Sealant, UV stabilized. Not regular silicone sealer. The "Adhesive" part of the description is important! Masking tape and assorted measuring stuff Carpenters level I carefully secured the level vertically in a bench vise and added a thick layer of epoxy to cover the factory "plug" in the hollow tube. I let it kick off (two hours) and then did the other end: [attachment file="IMG_2792.jpg" There is no way that is going to leak, unless it gets hit with a bird or large rock..... Here is the back, showing the small bubble leveling screw. It has a hole at the bottom where it turns, this must not be covered with sealant on the final step. Also shown is the two strips of VHB tape. Alone they are probably not quite enough, but with the adhesive/ sealant added afterwards it will be plenty strong:: I cleaned the front of Mouse with isopropyl alcohol, and also the surfaces of the level. I used masking tape to find the center of the front wall. My choice for height is based on being able to see the level over stuff piled in the rear cargo area of my Land Cruiser, so it is an inch above the belt line. [attachment file=IMG_2794.jpg] I leveled the trailer left to right using the rear bumper, double checking the inside floor ... and carefully stuck on the level. Once pushed down firmly there is no removing the VHB, but if you lightly position it, you can readjust it. Once in the correct location, push and hold each side hard for 30 seconds. Now it is stuck hard! Detail showing that there is a gap all the way along, in spite of the curvature of the wall, thanks to the thickness of the VHB tape: Mask off the perimeter, leaving gaps on the bottom at each end and at the hole for the small level adjuster screw. The gaps are for moisture drainage: Inject the adhesive/ sealant into the cracks all around: Work it in smoothly by dragging your finger along it. Do not lick your finger! I am sure it tastes really bad: Carefully peel off the tape, do not let the sealant dry first. Mistakes can be wiped up with a dry paper towel: Make sure the trailer is level fore and aft and adjust the little level: Done: If the big ball is a little off center, you can adjust the entire tube a _small_ amount by loosening the left screw (looking at the front of the unit) and then gently tapping that end down or up with a screwdriver handle. The mount is slotted for that screw and the nut is serrated, so you can retighten the screw after and the nut will not turn. DO NOT LOOSEN THE SCREW MORE THAN A TINY AMOUNT, just enough to move the tube, or the nut back there may spin around and you won't be able to tighten the screw. Then you will say very bad words, indeed.... I will post more pics when I next tow Mouse. This should make it a lot quicker to get the side to side leveling done, from the driver's seat, by simply driving along until the ball is closest to dead center. John Davies Spokane WA1 point
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Welcome to the forum and to the Ollie World community. I bought my trailer used. I bought my trailer tentatively. I bought my trailer in spite of the voice that told me I might regret such a high price for a piece of used fiberglass. Once I got out on the road, I have had no regrets and only minor issues-the voice is silenced. New or used? That is such a personal decision. Financially, I suppose the most efficient route may be used. You can likely save $10k to $20k, depending on the model you buy and when you buy it. Still, money is not everything (gasp-don't tell my kids I said that), and if you KNOW this is the trailer for you and you will likely leave it to someone in your will- who will know what you spent? Time has a way of erasing that number from memory. So many Ollie's being built now that you might find one with most of your option choices, but if you want what you want and you want the latest greatest, new is the only way to go. Updating everything on a five year old unit could get expensive. Three things I really, really, admire on the Ollie. First is the sense of family community, here on the forum and (rarely at this point) on the road. Second is the Oliver Staff. You have the ability to call, email, drop in...whatever ...and get help. Call Campting World sometime and ask for an appointment..wee what they tell you. Hard to imagine sitting for four weeks waiting for help or upgrade. Third, and sort of ashamed to admit it, but I really enjoy the envy and attention from SOB owners out there. It is fun. I am a retired CPA and handle the Ollie just fine. I had one campground manager even comment on the smooth back in procedure. Ollie is the perfect size..I am starting to ramble and could go "on and on". Either decision you make will be a good choice.1 point
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Routlaw... your choice in an Oliver and use, may be the best choice you could have made. Trailers are very complex to build. If Oliver insists that their product continues to high standards of manufacturing, and not motivated by the production numbers and bottom line... wonderful new Oliver Trailers will become more accessible for 'trailer tourism' comparisons. The Oliver may be among a large number of comparable trailers, but it is the Oliver employees who assemble this maze of components, wires, plumbing and quality control that make or break a company. Our 'Other Brand of 25 foot Trailer' is a 2014. We had a refrigerator exhaust fan and snap switch that were faulty, which I replaced at my cost. I upgraded our 15" wheels and tires to 16" wheels and E Rated Michelin tires. A few interior rivets popped and replaced with a non rivet screws. Some securing of cabinet doors and drawers the first year and today are satisfied. Aluminum gets dings from errant gravel thrown that the gravel guards protect 90% of impacts. The top front catches small gravel that other vehicles toss up and leave dings. Hail would also be a hazard for aluminum, as would be larger hail impacts to fiberglass. Fiber glass is much more economical to make repairs. As any Corvette owner knows... The 'star' impact and the 'crunch' are much easier to repair than aluminum. Oliver's and the SOB trailer I currently possess will have great resale value as a used trailer. Oliver was not even on my radar. Now it is. Trust me... when I can look closely at our SOB and an Oliver... it will be through the eyes of someone who makes use of a trailer. Quality is more than superficial. It is a spirit among employees and the company backing up anything that goes wrong during the warranty period. If this fails... the nostalgia of owning diminishes quickly. Oliver is a fresh, clean and stout looking trailer. Growing pains put pressure onto any manufacturer. The SOB has already found this out by some trailers not meeting expectations... and perfectly so that the buyer expects nothing less than perfection. We have had SOB's since 2006. The 23 foot and now a 25 foot. IF there is to be a change in our choice of trailer... the Oliver will be the first to be picked 'to death' for anything not meeting our expectations. Two fine trailers that can easily share the same space in time and place. Oliver owners... you are the best adverting for the company. Time will tell. Owners cut no slack in their opinions when things are going wrong and the company neglects to follow through. This is the fate to some trailers. Oliver has the highest marks and no doubt, will keep it that way.1 point
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Many of the forum members will remember my frequent rants about the Andersen hitch while I owned Oliver #64. I almost lost my religion over the hitch and finally just removed it and towed with nothing other than Firestone airbags for leveling. When I bought my Airstream I did not even consider an Andersen because of my prior experience plus I did not know they offered anything with the capacity to handle the 1200 pound tongue weight of my loaded AS. I did some research and settled on a Blue Ox Sway control WDH with 2000 pound bars. This turned out to be a $500 mistake. On a 4,000 mile round trip to the Grand Canyon we encountered extremely rough roads on I-10 in Louisiana and East Texas. The jarring bounces and lurching of the trailer were very problematic and resulted in a reduced speed down to 30 MPH on an Interstate highway. As we made our way westward the roads improved but the large truck traffic increased. Each time a truck would pass the whole rig would lurch to the side. Even small vans had an impact on our rig. We did encounter some serious crosswinds and surprisingly the Blue Ox handled them well. When we returned I started searching for another solution and came across another Airstream owner who was talking about using the Andersen with his 34 foot classic and a Ford excursion...and very pleased with the result. After consulting with him via the Airforum I decided to give Andersen another try. First let me say that the hitch was easy to install. This in part because the A frame of the Airstream is open...not hidden by a nose cone such as the Oliver. Form over function what what. The brackets are visible, plus they are super easy to access for fine tuning adjustments. We set off for our annual trip to Asheville July 15 and what a difference in the towing performance. Instead of a jarring bounce when we crossed bridges with uneven expansion joints there was just a smooth springing sensation. The trailer did not move at all when trucks passed, or even when I sped up to 75 MPH to avoid a vehicle on an entrance ramp. Hitching up was easy because I watched some videos about raising the trailer to add some slack to the chains. Even when I had to back up and unhitch at a severe angle I was able to straighten the tension plate using the technique on the Andersen web site. So Andersen, my apologies for past sins. I love your hitch. O and the levelers are terrific.1 point
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