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I started finding stray hardware in my overhead cabinets, I took a closer look and found this: The holes are sized for a number 8 screw. The installed hardware is a number 4 FINE thread screw with a number 6 COARSE thead plain nut run down it. Whoever did this had his head in a very strange place indeed. The plain nuts rattle loose and the screws fall out. Then your expensive door can bang open and break out the hinge screws or worse. Simply unbelieveable! Here are the 8-32 x 3/4 stainless panhead screws and nylock (self locking) nuts that I installed. The washers are optional: For most of the latch plates I was able to get them to adjust back far enough to eliminate play. Some ran out of adjustment (probably the reason the too-small screws were installed) so for those I ground part of the head off the screws and also filed the slots in the brackets a little longer, so I could get more travel back.. I also checked and tightened as needed all the hinge screws. Please check your hardware, let us know here if you find the wrong size installed. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

In previous discussions regarding weight distribution/anti-sway hitches we have beaten the issue to death. I believe that most agree that the Oliver does NOT sway during normal and possibly even some emergency situations. I also think that most of us agree that for vehicles that do not REQUIRE weight distribution, these types of hitches are simply NOT necessary. However, many vehicles (like the Ford F-150) DO require the use of a weight distribution hitch. I have used several different brands of these types of hitches - all have had good and bad points and all have had times where the process of connecting/dis-connecting has been a "problem". I have found that the Andersen is certainly no worse than any of the others in this regard and it is, perhaps, even easier. My argument regarding these hitches is not only regarding the FACT that they are required for some (actually read that most since I believe that most of us do not tow with vehicles rated in the "HD" range), but, I believe that they add a measure of additional safety. This safety is obtained in at least two ways. First, with the weight of the combined unit (tow vehicle and Oliver) more evenly spread over the axles and therefore the things that actually touch the road, one has better use of the suspension and brakes thus making the ride and performance of the tow vehicle more stable, reliable, consistent and safe in virtually all situations. Secondly, in the event of a situation where the combined unit (this includes the tow vehicle, Oliver and driver) was placed anywhere near its maximum the fact that there is additional connection between the tow vehicle and the Oliver should help. Certainly I hope to never be in this situation. But, I also hope to never need my house insurance (nor my life insurance). The decision to buy "insurance" (or not) is a personal one (even though I hate it when some people whine about not having insurance after the fact). I too have had some "problems" with the Andersen making noise while turning. Beginning today Andersen is shipping a new design which (hopefully) will get rid of this noise once and for all. They have increased the taper of the ball shaft inside the housing and changed the "whale-tail" where it attaches to the bottom of the ball shaft. This change now allows the whale-tail to "float" or pivot up and down on the end of the ball shaft see (picture below - note that the old design had a complete circular "collar" where the two "tabs" are now located for attachment to the ball shaft ). I've been told that for any current owner of the "old style" unit, Andersen will do an exchange of the tail and ball/housing unit for $100. Finally, I can say nothing but good things about the way Andersen conducts its business. Certainly they are in the class of Oliver in this regard. They have bent over backwards to try making sure that I am a happy customer and have done all that I've asked for and more in this regard. Bill

Several have asked about costs and a parts list. I installed disc brakes on The Outlaw Oliver this past March. I posted about it in my thread "Mods of The Outlaw Oliver." I chose to use the Hydrastar/Kodiak products and a list of all parts, their costs and where I got them is listed in the included pdf.

Count me as a fan of the Andersen hitch. Even though the Oliver Elite II has a good reputation for well mannered towing, I have a bit more peace of mind knowing I have the benefit of its anti-sway function. Having now towed a few thousand miles I have come to believe its greatest value to us, however, is in weight distribution. We tow with a softly sprung GMC Yukon. Getting 300 lbs or so off the hitch enables the back end of the Yukon to feel more solid, and that share of the weight shifted forward keeps the front wheels from going light when towing over the bumps. I was initially concerned about wear on the ball, but have come to accept the wear as inescapable, to be expected given the loading imposed by the tension chains, and not really a problem. I think that once the wear pattern is established the bulldog coupler and hitch ball have become somewhat "mated" and the rate of wear slows down. In any event I believe the hitch ball is covered by Andersen's lifetime warranty. (Sage--Please correct me if I am wrong on this.) Hitching and unhitching has become easy and quick with practice. In addition, having the chain brackets mounted on the center box shaft, I get the benefit of having them within easy reach for adjustment. This helps in making hitching and unhitching go quick. John Shkor SailorsAshore

AKA, how to keep your kitchen gadgets inside the drawers when traveling, where they belong. And to keep from busting the latches away from the wood. The standard Soft Close system is cool but totally hopeless in terms of keeping the drawers closed if there is any weight at all in them. Especially on twisty roads where there are repetitive G loads to the left.... Oliver offers some additional latches that mount behind the drawers but they are flimsy plastic, problematic to install and you lose that lovely Soft Close feature. I chose to install 1 inch nylon webbing and stainless footman loops. I chose black since I knew they would be hard to keep clean, and I preferred high contrast so I could see at a quick glance that they were installed and tight... You may prefer white webbing. All the parts are very high quality and came from Raingler Nets. Qty 2: Footman loop 1 inch PAIR. https://raingler.com/products/footman-mount-set Qty 2: Tie down strap 1 inch x 72 inch, with pvc coated flat hook. https://raingler.com/products/tie-down-strap-with-hook Qty 1: Steel flat hook PAIR, pvc coated. https://raingler.com/collections/hardware-accessories/products/flat-hook-set?variant=23658618433 I did swap the plated screws for stainless, and I waited until I was finished to trim the excess webbing. I ended up removing 20 inches from each. That leaves a short length for grabbing and lets you loosen it up enough to unhook and remove each strap, without having to completely unthread the webbing from the buckle. This also keeps the loose hooks from getting lost. When not towing, I store the two straps in the bottom left drawer, which is my electrical/ junk drawer. They work great, and provide good peace of mind when the roads get interesting. John Davies Spokane WA

Hello, We are Darrell and Kathy Waters and are currently on a western states trip (from Atlanta area) and on our way out we made our first stop in Hohenwald to tour the Ollie plant. I had done a fair amount of reading on the web so I was pretty interested/curious but had never seen one close up before then. Actually the first we'd heard of an Ollie was when we went to Alaska last year and we saw a couple on the road during that trip. Needless to say we were pretty impressed with what we saw in Hohenwald and have decided to put our current rig (Forest River 5th wheel) on the market when we return and hopefully we will be getting in the production line before long. We are spending time now reading and researching some options but at some point I may begin lobbing questions to some current owners for their input/suggestions. The Ollie is a considerable downsize from our current camper (30ft with 3 slides) but all of the maintenance issues I have dealt with on this rig have been engineered out of the Ollie.....slides, bad tires, and roof challenges. I am prepared to sacrifice some living space for less maintenance! We hope to be joining the ranks soon :-)

Just returned home from camping at Bandit's Roost ACE Campground NC. We enjoy Kayaking and hiking while camping there.

John - there are no inserts on the whale-tail. The whole whale-tail is powder coated steel. I too feel that this new design will be easier to attach/detach as compared to the old design in that one will not have to "fit" the entire "collar" around the base of the hitch. Also, this design should make it easier to disconnect because you will not have to raise both the Oliver AND the tow vehicle in order to get slack in the chains since the whale-tail pivots. What other "details" are you seeking? The "new" more tapered hitch ball and housing basically looks exactly the same as the old one except that the base of the hitch ball shaft is smaller due to the higher degree of taper inside the housing. I did find it interesting that the come material is red on the new one. This was the color used on my first one 17 months ago before Andersen changed to white which was on the last two that I tried. Does this help you? Bill

Any more details on this new improved more-better version? I expect that it is easier to connect. Are those plain steel bushings or are there urethane inserts? I suspect one reason for the extreme cost of a brand new Anderson hitch is that they have to figure in the cost of a LOT of warranty parts exchanges. That isn't bad, it is just an observation. I am glad that they are standing behind the product. John Davies Spokane WA

It is harder to install a conventional weight distribution hitch on an Oliver. But if someone just wanted anti-sway, I wonder how hard it would be to simply install a friction type telescoping sway control unit? It might still need some "surgery" on the fiberglass around the tongue area, but it is a well proven design that is fully adjustable. It seems like it would be nice to be able to separate weight distribution from sway control. With the Anderson there is no way to adjust the sway control, just the weight distribution.

I guess the bright side John is that if it wears enough, you'll have an extra element of sway control as the hitch settles into the groove. You won't be able to turn of course, but if you keep it straight it should at least be stable.

One of my straps tore free because there was no washer under the little screw head to spread the load. They were all like this: Fixed: John Davies Spokane WA

Some more pics! This is the floor under the toilet, after cleaning the area. It gets a little dirty under there since it isn't sealed in any way. You can see the black tank, which has no hole or flange for the regular toilet. I am surprised at that, all it has is a small hole to one side, capped with a translucent pvc plug...???? You can also clearly see the unused fresh water tap that needs to bypassed by blocking the hose to it, for winterizing. The toilet emptied of its, uhmmm, contents and stuff, ready to be refilled. The old stuff was very benign and did not smell at all, I just secured it in a heavy leaf bag and added it to the trash. You are NOT supposed to clean out this area, leave the remnants behind to help kick start the new batch of good bacteria.: A fresh batch of coconut coir hydrated for about 45 minutes. The toilet is filled just to the agitator center line (no higher or it gets hard to turn!), and there is enough left for another fill. I bagged and labelled that extra material and set it on a garage shelf with my other RV supplies, so my wife would not pot a plant with it: Not shown is the pee tank receptacle. I drilled three 1/4 inch holes right at the bottom facing the center of the bathroom, so any accumulated shower water would naturally drain out instead of getting trapped there. We are both liking the toilet. It does take a little regular maintenance but it's in no way hard, just different from a black tank system. We like being free from dump stations, tho we still have to deal with the gray water. But that is not a big deal out West. John Davies Spokane WA

Dean - its great to have you back and I certainly look forward to meeting you and Laura. Bill

It may not matter to some, but I personally would never choose a vehicle that nauseated me every time I looked at it. The NV is one strange truck. My neighbor has a large brood of young kids and uses one of the passenger versions. The six year old was walking around up on top of the roof when I drove by the other day...LOL The weird nose compromises interior volume, so in addition to being butt ugly, it isn't actually a very efficient design for hauling cargo compared to a real van. That 5.6 l gas engine is very nice, but it is RWD only, a real handicap. On a very long list of possible tow vehicles, mine at least, the NV ranks dead last. Especially with a nightmare interior conversion like in Post 21 of that link. ... what were they thinking? John Davies Spokane WA

Now that's funny there, John :) We reversed all of ours the other day so the dark slides up from the bottom for privacy at night. Now we can slide them up at night and leave them open about 6" and see out just fine, but nobody can see what your wearing from the outside anymore. When we removed them, 2 of them had the screws stripped... as usual... and the screws came out with the blinds... then after putting them back on with only 4 hold downs until I fix them... one came down on the road from hell :) but they just land on the bed or on the couch and quickly go back up. I had to realign the hold downs on one when we bought the trailer. Having them all mounted flush and horizontal is the key, and then having them not stripped out helps... It is one nasty road but it cuts off 20 minutes :) The bigger the screw... Lol. Reed

Maybe we should start a "wagon train" of Ollies. Circle the Nation, in a counter clockwise direction, picking up 'strays'. Should we start at the Spring Oliver Rally 2018? What would the parks think when 50 to 100 Oliver's showed up? Maybe Trailer Life, Outdoor Life, Good Sam's, Oliver, and state camping associations would sponsor? We have 8 months to plan?