Leaderboard

We picked up our Oliver in June and planned a service call for Monday, September 10th to address some small issues (always a pleasure to see Jason and Richie.) Six days before that, it was looking very questionable if we would be traveling at all. Glued to the weather channel, watching a category 5 hurricane marching right up to our front door. Growing up in Florida in the '60s we had both been through some of the worst – Hurricanes Betsy and Andrew come to mind of the same magnitude. Boarding the house up and bring in everything that was not nailed down took two days. Not having a safe place to park our Oliver (Roamy) we hooked up with a plan to drive 5 hours north and stay a night in a state park on the Florida/Georgia border. From there we would head north to Hohenwald for our service call, standing out of harm's way. God laughs when people plan. Gas was already like hens teeth in Florida on Thursday and I decided to take 3 five gallon gas cans that I was lucky to get filled, as a back up. Thursday night and into Friday morning was anything but a 5 hour drive. The Florida Turnpike rest stops turn the roads into stop and go traffic that stretch for miles, as people needing gas backed up in 10 mile lines, effectively closing a whole lane. Fourteen hours later, with an hour to go to get to the state park, they called and said the park was closing and that we would not be able to spend the night. Looking for other options proved futile and with our only option being our second plan stop, Point Mallard Decatur, AL, we drove on. Rest areas, gas station, restaurants, hotels and any small island of comfort, looked like besieged kingdoms ready to fall. We drove on. Sometime not moving for 10 minutes, other times doing the speed limit. The governor of Florida eliminated all tolls and opened the northbound emergency left lane for travel, this helped but is would soon come to a massive standstill at the Florida/Georgia board with the governor of Georgia not allowing the emergency left lane to be used. We had burned 40 gallons of gas to go 303 miles. The 15 gallons I loaded in cans made the difference from being on the side of the road and reaching Tifton, GA where we found gas with only a 30 minute wait. We drove on. 26 hours past and we felt the miles willing us to stop but as the signs for Decatur came into view, it was like a second wind blew in to help us along. We pulled into Point Mallard RV Park Friday night 11:30 pm. Like so many people we would meet in the coming days, the camp hosts came out to greet us. They make sure there was nothing we wanted or needed. We parked under a canopy of trees and rested for two days. As Monday’s sunrise came into view we pulled out like we had woken from some bad dream that only parts of it could be recalled. We headed to Hohenwald. Roamy was scheduled to get a reading light, backup camera, water tank upgrade and to fix our door which we rubbing the top jam. I cannot say enough about the team at Oliver. We left better then we arrived and more importantly, knowing this company and people care about us. Monday afternoon, with the hurricane marching up the west coast of Florida, we were getting calls from our friends and neighbors telling us we dodged a bullet and that our house was safe. They told us there was no power and no gas, it would be a week before either returned. With our service call at Oliver completed by Wednesday, we decided to spend the next two weeks enjoying our Oliver and would travel as far north as Pawhuska, OK. We stayed in some beautiful parks like Birch Cove State Park outside of Barnsdall, OK right on the lake and Roosevelt State Park in Mississippi’s Bienville National Forest. By the time we came home to Florida we have added 4,000 miles of memories. The storm left us with a week of yard cleanup and as my wife and I turn out the light last night, we both asked “When do you want to go again?”

2015 Oliver Elite II 12 VDC “NEGATIVE” Connection Issue After replacing the battery tray and the stiff wiring going to the batteries in our 2015 Oliver Elite II trailer; I checked out the trailer electrical system. I discover that the trailers on board battery negative was never bonded to the negative coming from the tow vehicle. Because the two negatives were never connected together it created two problems. First the tow vehicle would never charge the trailers on board batteries. Second the trailer brakes negative lead was connected to the trailers on board battery negative buss bar. Second the trailer brakes were obtaining the negative connection only through the trailer ball when connected to the tow vehicle. The tow vehicle’s negative lead was only connected to the exterior lights on the trailer (marker lights, turn signals and back up lights). Up until the past two months our trips have been a max of a day or two travels. During July and August we travel throughout the west, after the first couple of weeks I started logging the start of the days battery voltage and then logging the end of the travel days battery voltage and all of the time it was about ½ a volt lower at the end of the day (we don’t have solar); for all of the other travel trailers we have owned the tow vehicle would keep the trailers on board batteries charged. I have bonded the two negative systems together, which has corrected both issues. I located several pictures of wiring diagrams that Robert Partee – Oliver TT Sales Manager at the time we purchased our trailer gave us. The pictures were so bad you could not read anything. After blowing up the pictures, there was one of the tow vehicle cable and how it routed throughout the trailer and it did not show any connection between the two 12 VDC negative systems. Also it did show that the brakes negative lead was connected to the trailers on board battery negative buss bar; as I described above. I have discussed this issue with Richie Carroll at Oliver Travel Trailers. There is a simple test you can perform to see if your trailers tow vehicle 12 VDC negative lead is connected to the trailers on board battery negative buss. Using a multiple meter at the tongue of your trailer and the cable that connects to your tow vehicle; connect one lead from the multiple meter to a metal point on the trailer and the other multiple meter lead on the ground terminal of the trailer cable. If the two systems are connected together you will read a shorted connection; if not your meter will show an open connection. If you obtain an open connection, I suggest you correct the issue.

This weekend my daughter and I boondocked in Kennewick (Tri Cities) WA. She is a member of a jousting club that performs at medieval faires. She does not ride, thankfully, she is a "squire" who assists on the ground, handing up new lances and picking up broken shards after the knights impact each other with a splintering crash. This is the spot I picked at Columbia Park, where the hydro races are held each summer: Here is the view out the back window, most unusual for a boondocking site! The List was about 200 feet away. Here is her group, they will be performing in Spokane in two weeks. https://www.facebook.com/joustalliance/ If anybody is in the area Oct 7 or 8, consider stopping by for a visit. It's a little silly but lots of fun. Look for my Ollie in the Actors camping area, near the horse paddocks and field. https://www.spokanerenfaire.com She also participates in another group called Combat Corps. She does sword fighting displays, Hollywood style. https://www.facebook.com/combatcorpsspokane/?ref=py_c Mouse is a wonderful help to her. Previously she was sleeping in the back of my Ram pickup or her Outback. John Davies Spokane WA

Hello, I've been shopping for a small 4Runner tow-able trailer for a very long time. I'm a widower and travel solo, so I think a single axle Oliver would pretty easily meet my travel needs. I'll be using my trailer for longer, three-four month rambles hauling my recumbent bike and/or trike for trail rides wherever I stop. Oh and my fishing rod would get tucked in there too. Hello to all y'all, Bill

Tongue weight was 448 with nothing in the truck bed. The composite Propane tanks did shave off some weight. Also, I did not have my Honda EU2000 generator or alternatively my Yeti cooler on the front cargo rack either. I'll work on the Dune Jump video for you :)

The blind are not secure and you may find one lying on the bed or floor, and it is due to improper installation of the steel brackets. On my trailer, in many cases the bracket did not sit flush and parallel with the others. This is due to the hole in the hard spacer being drilled too small. The hole must be bigger than the screw diameter, so that the screw will pull everything into position. You need to remove all the brackets and open up the spacer holes. Removing the blind frame is simple, grab at the top and bottom and pull hard toward you. When reinstalling, center the frame in the window (left to right), align the bottom brackets with the slot in the plastic, and smack the area at each bracket with your fist. Then do the top side. When the brackets are parallel and aligned, the frame will go on easily and it should stay in place. You can tweek a bracket by bending the two ears, if you find a loose one. Before: After: SAFETY NOTE: when removing a bracket with a power driver, keep your fingers away from the part since it will spin and might slice your fingers! If you want to make your blinds more functional, flip them 180 degrees, so that the dark section is on the bottom. As postioned by the factory: Rotated, now you can tow with the blinds down and the lighter shades will let lots of light into the interior: And you can raise the lower section a few inches for privacy when camping: It's easy to try this configuration and switch back if you don't like it. Now we can talk about the ugly frame color..... John Davies Spokane WA

HMD1056, While the Oliver Elite could be loaded to a GVW of 5,000#, I can't imagine such a scenario. Look at the promo shots of the Oliver Legacy Elite. You'll se they're shown as being towed with an FJ Cruiser. My 4Runner has a longer wheelbase, so I'm going to give it a try. If not, I have a Lexus RX470 located. I like Toyota reliability and don't care so much how fast I can climb hills. Mountain Born on this forum towed an old model 18' Oliver with his Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. I know it's anecdotal but I'm sure someone with experience will chime in.

Question for those who know: Is the Elite @ 5000# towable by a 4Runner @ max tow capability of 5000#? I would love to tow with an affordable SUV, but had ruled out the 4Runner. Thanks!

Hi PopcornBilly. I am so sorry for your loss. I too am a lurker while I wait for my home to sell. My dream is to have an Oliver and live in our great country for a few years. Good luck!

Welcome Popcorn-Billy! I was a long time lurker here too. As you already know, you can find almost everything you will need to know about the Oliver TTs here. If you have any special questions/concerns please let us know. Smiles...Kathy

Bill, As you know, there's plenty of knowledgeable folks here to answer questions. I was interested in building a RANS experimental aircraft and showed an Aeronautical Engineer their website. Turned out they build recumbent bikes, too. He purchased a recumbent from them, but I did not buy the airplane kit. Welcome!

Great write up, thanks. Talk about lemonade out of lemons... thanks for adding another bullet point on the list of why to own one.

Honestly, I would pull gently from one corner to remove the blinds and feel them come out. Even going slow, we found that some of the screws had been stripped at the factory and left dangling... Like many other screws in our trailer... If we would have just pulled from the middle, half of the mounts would have finished ripping out after being stripped forward when installed... Reed

When your having fridge cooling problems, always switch to propane, it is the only stable and reliable cooling platform. Electric AC and DC will only maintain the fridge at best when it's in the 80°s or lower where propane will do a good job at keeping it cool where you want it even over 100°. You will need to set it on 5 for sure in those temps, but we usually run it on 4 the rest of the time or 3 in cold weather :) Reed

Eat Well Sushi and Grill in Memphis, TN had a great Sushi buffet, we ate there both going and coming home. Then in Franklin, TN there was Yats, a Cajon Creole restraunt that expanded from Louisiana that was to die for :) We stayed at the Comodore and the staff was excellent. It's an old historic hotel where you walk upstairs to your room. It's about 30 easy minutes away and it makes for an easy relaxed morning drive. You park right in front of the hotel and it's totally quiet and safe :)

I have traveled with my vent open, fan not on. Didn't know I wasn't supposed too. I haven't noticed any adverse effects that I am aware of. Also have left the bath room vent open at the same time. Guess we were living on the edge...

Not bad at all. Do you know what your tongue weight is and did you have any extra weight in the truck? Now that you've got it hooked up, we'll need a shot of you jumping the Ollie over a dune.

Mike and Carol: I installed an accumulator tank after taking delivery of my trailer because the pump pulsation was making a "water hammer" noise and I wanted to quiet it down. Had put accumulator tanks on boats in the past and found them a nice addition to on board water systems. Since the water pump on my Oliver was a Shurflo, I used a Shurflo accumulator tank to keep the fittings the same, Shurflo Model 182-200. When I ordered the accumulator tank I also got what Shurflo calls a "silencer kit', mainly for the extra length hoses with fittings installed to facilitate the installation. I think my installation may have been the basis for adoption of the accumulator tank in the newer models. Putting the tank in provides a pressure buffer, quiets the system, and takes the shock out of the pump cycling on and off. Pictures of my installation are set out below. If you elect to do a tank installation, you might want to get pictures of the accumulator tank installation from Oliver to see how they are doing it. As an additional thought, do you have the old style water tank connection coming off the back of the water tank, or the new style coming off the top. If it is the old style you might want to read the posts of those who had trouble drawing water from the water tank when the tank was partially empty or the trailer was nose down. In any event, good luck in finding a solution. John Shkor SailorsAshore