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Here is a video to help show you how to winterize your Oliver Travel Trailer. Note there are two valve configurations depending on the year model that can be seen at the 27 sec and 35 sec time frames in the video. Hope this helps!

Phillip: I have owned many travel trailers over the last 50 years and I have NEVER had a trailer where the tow vehicle negative and the onboard battery negative was NOT bonded together. Our trailer was delivered on September 2, 2015; so when did OTT start bonding the two negatives together. The trailer ball is NOT a good ground; if you are using a Anderson Weight Distribution Hitch the ball is floated in a cone that does not conduct electricity. So in your method the ground is only obtained through the safety chains, etc. I have a dozen or so travel trailers in my neighbor hood that are between 1 and 5 years old and I have checked with each of them and both tow vehicle negative and onboard battery negative are tied together. According to what you said above about the bonding of the two negatives the tow vehicle could NEVER charge the trailer battery. The trailer breaks is a major safety issue that should be corrected ASAP. Is OTT going to contact the owners of these effected trailer with the wiring issue and how to correct the problem?

we finally have our trailer! Thanks to Phil and Ritchie for getting us up and going and to the additional factory workers who jumped in to help tweak a couple of things as we were leaving. We had a family emergency arise requiring us to leave earlier and more expeditiously than expected, but Ritchie and his guys were great! Thank you! We ended up staying at the Natchez Trace RV campground. Highly recommend this place! There are about 8 spots that face the lake on the front side of the grounds. We set up there and it was great. We stayed 2 nights. Very peaceful and a great view. Full hook ups. You’ll need a 30 to 50 amp coverter for power. We opted for full hookups as this was our first RV experience. Not as scary as I was anticipating. Even the tank dumping was easy! Now will be the fun part of getting things put in their proper places and customized. Oh, and I am so pleased about how our cushions turned out. We opted for our own fabric choice (Sunbrella fabric) and feel it was totally worth it! We are THRILLED!!!

We have 20amp electrical at our facility. I keep it plugged in with the fridge on all the time. The bays are deep to accommodate big class A’s so I can back my “little” Ollie in deep to avoid sun, rain etc.

I feel very fortunate to have the situation I do. I built my house, with attached garage, long before I thought about getting an Oliver, but it turns out it fits in! How nice it is to have it there ready to go, or convenient to work on and out of the sun. I keep it plugged in and we even go out there for movie nights sometimes. When getting ready for a trip, the fridge can be on for days as needed, or left on for days after we get back. No winterizing is needed because the garage has a solar heated radiant floor. One of my neighbors has a motorhome they keep inside a metal building built just for that purpose and open where they drive it in. Dirt floor. Very effective cover that is much easier to build than a conventional garage and allows their unit to be at home. If you have room, this is a good alternative to outside storage off your property. I remember when I first went to look at our future Ollie. It was parked in a storage yard, outside in full sun in the summer. Had been for three months or so and was all closed up tight. It didn't seem hot inside and I was impressed. I was also impressed at how it stood out amongst all the other trailers there.

If you have Solar, that could be what took it up the 2/10ths, if it was charging with the TV when driving, then you should have been at full charge unless you left the fridge on DC for a while after you parked. I'm going to call Scott tomorrow to see if there's a reason for not grounding it properly. Reed Good News I towed Goldilocks home today with the temporary ground wire hooked up and after 2-1/2 hours, we are fully charged at home for the first time. Plus this was without using the tow ready LED adapter for the first time also and everything worked great. I ended up taking my Tekonsha P3 down from 5.6 to 3.8 also and it gave me perfect brakes, no ifs, ands, or buts. My suspicions were correct in that having proper ground would really change the brake setting. The brakes were strong and there was no lag, they were nice and crisp compared to before with the tow ready and improper grounding. So basically, all of the trailers need this basic fix because proper ground really affects everything in a positive way :) Reed

We store ours at a local boat and RV storage facility. It’s covered and has electricity. I give it a good wash after each trip. I’ve waxed it once in 18 months. Still looks new. Mike

Our trailer has been stored outside, without a cover, in Florida sun, for almost ten years. It spends six months a year on the road, or in North Carolina... No cover. The Marine gelcoat cleans up well. We wax it twice a year with 3m Marine wax, as we do for our boats. I think it helps with uv protection. Sherry

Here is the link to Sandy on tractorbynet.com http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/rural-living/238908-found-coyote-i-think.html This is a forum thread that goes on for a lot of pages and has some great pictures. When you get up to pages 25 -29, or so, I wrote some conclusions about the experience and why we could not keep her and about the trip to Southwest. I hope you read these and give me some feedback about the whole experience. What is the real difference between a wild dog and a domestic dog?

EDIT 12/10/23. Useful link: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6720-natures-head-compost-toilet-troubleshooting-user-guide/ EDIT 06/06/23. This is an Oliver factory installation, not mine. One member has assumed that I did this. There are a number of threads asking about this toilet. I hope we can gather up a lot of the talk here in one place. I think there has been one other installation in an Ollie but there have been NO published pictures of any kind, that I have been able to find, even from the factory. This is baffling to me. I really wanted to cut the dump station umbilical. We routinely dry camp and finding an open station during a busy holiday weekend or off season is not something I want to face. With the NH toilet we can get rid of our grey water with a 3/4 inch garden hose. In many western states it is legal and encouraged to run a hose out to a nearby shrub and let your water trickle into the ground. The black tank, drain plumbing and vent system are all completely retained. The factory folks are extremely reluctant to delete these parts, since they are part of their certification. If you wanted to reinstall a regular toilet, it would be a very minor job. The fresh water line is even in place, next to the wall. You could sell the used NH for $400 and that would pay for the replacement conventional RV toilet, with a lot left over. An RV toilet is less than $200.... I chose to charge the base with coconut coir rather than peat moss, since it is a renewable resource and doesn't damage the environment. https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=coconut+coir I made the mistake of just dropping a dry 2 pound brick into the bottom, adding water and then letting it hydrate. I ended up with WAY too much material. You need to do this in a bucket, outside, and then transfer the expanded stuff into the base, and the leftovers into gallon zip bags. The correct height is even with the internal agitator centerline. Any higher and it becomes difficult to turn with the handle. It takes about two gallons, I did not measure. There are many online sources with info. To summarize: Sit to pee, everybody, so there is no splashing. The trapdoor stays closed and your pee goes forward, and then down into the reservoir. Which you pre-treated with a half cup of vinegar, to kill the odor. That part is easy. To poop, open the trapdoor, finish the job, wipe and close the door. Give the agitator handle two or three turns. The poop and paper will decompose rapidly once the natural process gets going, which may take a few days. The fan keeps a steady flow of fresh air into the reservoir and out of the trailer through the existing roof vent. I never noticed any bad odors except the first days, before I figured out that Oliver had installed the wrong fuse, a 1 amp, which had blown. Once I installed the correct fuse (2 to 5 specified, I used 3 amp), the fan worked as designed. The fuse is located in the main distribution panel under the dinette table, right row, bottom position (UN-labeled!). It is best to put only the absolute minimum amount of RV toilet paper into the base. If you put a lot in, it wraps around the agitator and makes it harder to turn. Only stinky paper goes down - the rest (damp with pee) goes into the small covered waste can to be disposed of weekly. The can came from Walmart, $10 I think. Cleaning is simple: spritz the area lightly with a dilute vinegar spray and wipe down with a disposable baby wipe, toss in can. Done. The residual vinegar and wipes control any odor from the can. The pee tank is big but it will fill up faster than you can believe if you have four people using it! Empty when it gets to within an inch or two from the top: Flip the two side latches, carefully rotate the top off the base, remove the pee bottle and cap it. Dump it in any approved location - a pit toilet or a rest stop restroom. Rinse with fresh water a couple of times and recharge with half a cup of vinegar. Reinstall into the toilet and close and latch the top. The pee will eventually form crusty yellow deposits. The fix, I have read, is to add gravel and water and shake it hard, then rinse several times. In two weeks of use I never noticed any significant deposits. The longer you let the poop decompose the better. If you can leave it over the winter, dump it out in the spring and it will be totally benign. If you need to empty it mid-season, remove the pee bottle and vent hose, unscrew the two hold down knobs and lift out the entire unit. Carry it outside and put a 13 gallon or larger trash bag on top, flip it over and empty the compost. Refill with clean coir to the centerline. There is NO need to clean it out. Any residual material will just help the next batch get started. The organic waste you can double bag and put in the trash, or if fully decomposed, it can be spread out in the woods, but not near a potable water supply or garden. The way to keep the smell in control is to keep the pee out of the main reservoir. It's the urine that makes a pit toilet smell so bad.... If you throw up or have a messy poop, you can add a little more fresh coir to help absorb the extra fluids. I keep a gallon bag of the hydrated stuff in the overheard cabinet (along with a quart of vinegar) and haven't had to add any extra. The fan has a dust filter that is supposed to be checked every few weeks, by removing two Philips screws. I think that is way too often in the clean environment of a fiberglass trailer, unless you have a dog that sheds. You can put your hand over the left (inlet) opening and feel a light suction. If that isn't present, you need to clean the filter. The pee bottle sits in a sealed cavity to catch overflows, This is a problem since when you take a shower, a bunch of fresh water gets trapped there. I intend to drill a couple of small drain holes in the bottom. I don't care if the pee bottle overflows onto the floor of the head, at least that way I will notice it! unless it is dark, and I am barefooted.... that would be bad 😉 This is why you want to empty the tank before it gets too close to the top. Agitator handle: ours fell off right away, the shaft has a set screw with lock nut. It is very easy to tighten correctly. I am not sure why the factory guy couldn't do it successfully. Spares: I intend to purchase a spare pee tank ($40), spare lids, and a fan.I already have extra 3 amp fuses. ... http://store.natureshead.net I intend to wire in a small LED in the wire harness to show that the fan has power. You can probably hear it running, faintly, if you are in a very quiet area and don't have bad tinnitus, as I do. The Nature's Head is a cool device, but it is really just a fancy bucket. A solidly built, very expensive bucket. I wish the price were about $250 instead of $800. That seems about right for what you get. OTH it is very rugged, and long time users seem to love it. My wife still has some reservations about using it, and we need to get a short step stool since it sits so much higher than even a tall toilet. This one might work well, and it might fit in close to the base with a bungee cord around it for travel: .... https://www.squattypotty.com/shop/poop-better/classic-ecco I am still learning, but I have no regrets at this time. Questions? John Davies Spokane WA

My list of modifications is getting longer and some of these seem pretty important. So I thought I'd start this thread. One of the first ones was the stainless steel countertop with Corian side splash and IKEA faucet: The next is the Heavy Duty suspension kit and 3200 lb Star Wheel upgrade. This was prompted by breaking a wheel and wanting greaseable suspension links. I broke one of the Oliver wheels while it was on another trailer and discovered how thin they are: The next next was the spare tire modification. Mine came with an undersized spare and to fit the full sized tire I had to go to a soft cover:

We picked up Monday. Driving into the lot there was a whole line of finished trailers. It was wild to see so many in one place! Anyone see theirs? The ladybug is awesome ???? -Angela

Just came across this article that may be of some use: http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/get-sued-tow-trailer-with-pickups/ Don't bother with the comment section! Dave

Alison, in your severe climate a carport or enclosed garage would be really so much better. I can’t really comment beyond that about outside options, because Mouse resides inside my attached insulated RV bay. Having to continuously clear lots of snow and ice off the roof throughout the winter, without damaging the panels and antennas, was the main reason I decided on inside storage when we had our new house built a year ago, and I have no regrets whatsoever. Spokane gets 40 inches of snow on average, plus or minus 20... in the dead of winter I can go out into the Hanger Deck and lounge around inside the trailer, do maintenance or mods, show it to a potential buyer, or use it for guest housing. How neat is that? Plus fully enclosed RV storage around here is $300 to $550 monthly. Ouch. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, Bill. Clearance certainly looks good. I am going ahead with mounting mine in the location shown in the photos of my previous post. I'm hoping that I don't have any clearance issues with left-hand turns. I'll take Ollie out for spin soon and see . . .

This is a topic of great interest to me as well- we will be picking up our Ollie in June 2018. We plan to store it on our property, but we live at 8500 feet, and we regularly see temps in the teens during the winter, with the occasional couple days here and there down to the -10 degree range. We can plug it in for storage, but given our cold temps, should we still pull the batteries out (we're getting the Trojan 6v AGMs)? Does the fact we see a fair amount of snow affect whether we should buy a cover or not? Can't wait to pick up the Ollie in June- I spend WAY too much time on this forum! Don't tell my husband. Alison

Spike, Tested a Drawtite #40330 forged ball mount today, I'm going to use this ball mount with the Tundra/Ollie/Swaymaster rig in the future:

We also store ours in a boat and RV storage facility that does have a cover but no electricity. I do not disconnect the batteries, no need to, but do turn off the two breaker switches next to the solar control unit as well as turning off the large red switch to the solar control unit. After several months of Montana winter storage our batteries have always been at 12.8+ volts at the end of the winter indicating a full charge even after 5 or so months in cold storage. Its my understanding a fully charged lead acid battery will withstand temperatures down to about -90º F. However I wish we had a garage unit at our house instead. Its a bit of a pain to fetch and return the Ollie when time to use it, which has been not at all this year. Effectively we spend some $1300 per year to store something we rarely have time to use. From my observations we are not alone.

That photo always cracks me up.

Flying Snowball - I like that. Actually, I was thinking last night that I could take the one with just the big snowflake and extend one end out to make a "tail" and then I could use it on the side as a stripe.

Very nice to meet y'all! Here's to many memories made. - Phil

Free2 - So happy for you guys and for the excitement you are feeling. Know that there is more to come! Enjoy the heck out of it! Bill

WDW - I store "Twist" in a fenced, video protected commercial storage yard which is otherwise nothing but an open field with no electric available. I use a CalMark cover which indeed does cover the solar panels. Given that we do not get severe cold temps here in Western North Carolina, I do not remove the batteries but I do totally disconnect them from the camper. Once or twice during the winter I will go over to the storage facility, peel back the cover just enough to expose the solar panels and re-connect the batteries for two or three days at a time. This more than allows the batteries to re-charge and then I roll the cover back into position after again disconnecting the batteries. Bill

Outside is my most likely viable solution and it’s good to know that it can work.

At the risk of going off the rails here with a story unrelated to Oliver trailers, I will tell you that I met a woman whose father, as a boy, had a coyote. I anxiously asked her to get more information and get back to me about his experiences. After a few weeks, I saw her again and asked her about it. Her disappointing response was that she couldn't get anything from him as he didn't want to talk about it. Why? I asked. What's up? After a bit of probing, the answer became clear. He was in his 90s then and his mind was clear. It had been about 80 years since his experiences with that dog and he remembered it well. The problem was that it was so painful for him that he refused to revisit it. I was silenced and will never forget that response, mainly because I understand it completely and it's the same for me in the intensity. I'll openly talk about it, but for at least two years I could not do so without my voice breaking and having to stop to regain my composure. Even writing this I feel that emotional, physical grip. An unsatisfiable dilemma. The outcome I want, to live, learn and play with her as I would and do with my other dogs, can never be realized. She did no harm, but must be locked away. She is the most interesting and fun dog ever, but can't come home. She could do immeasurable good for her species, but precious few will ever know she lived. And finally, as my years slip by and someday someone asks me about a coyote I used to knew, what will I say that really conveys the story in a way that is worthy of telling? This is where I'm stumped: The combination of an independent and highly intelligent friend from the wild, that completely accepted us as her family, while being playful, inventive and responsive, and while living a very tenuous life, is incredibly powerful. She was and is, all in, full of life, emotional, loyal, fun loving, independent and completely oblivious to the dangers that could cost her her life at any moment. Dangers that domestic dogs don't face. She lives in the moment and yet plays games and has habits that reveal a much deeper understanding than I ever expected. My fear of losing her in a stupid way was a strong driver in my efforts to secure her future and protect her. I, at once, played openly and joyously with her and watched very carefully for ways to help her. All while studying her, learning from her, writing about her and sharing my experiences of living with her. Sharing in a way, hopefully, that would never jeopardized her, but would reveal her goodness and value. We've settled on an difficult compromise. She is safe. She is emotionally and physically cared for. Has medical care when needed. She has been given the opportunity to select a mate and found the perfect one amongst the offerings. She has chances to interact with her keepers and volunteers who are also amazed by her and spend time with her. But she will never run free, singing her song into the night as she prances with her siblings and pals. She will never have pups. She will never live the life of a wild coyote. She is physically perfect, but she is generally understood to be disabled in that she has never demonstrated affective hunting and she is not afraid of people, only cautious with them at first. So therefore, she cannot be released and will live her life in a sanctuary. As an ambassador, she is amazing. The folks that care for her have never seen anything like it. First, she is incredibly healthy because we figured out what she needed for nourishment and supplied it in abundance. Wild rabbit is her favorite. Second, she has never been under stress, so she is mentally stable. Third, she is used to people and after a short standoff, will climb right up into your lap. Imagine being able to sit and pet a coyote, or have one in your lap, or have one challenge you to a game, or walk with you, or come and get you in the morning to begin another fun filled day. While reading the story, listen to the firsthand experiences of some of the caring writers about their love of their dogs. Notice the knee-jerk hate of coyotes that drives some of the posters who are unable to learn from what is right in front of them. And the real experiences that have lead to others hating them for good reason. Understand why Sandy could have been taken at any moment by a bullet or a county official. Sandy's story was never meant to convince the reader that all coyotes are harmless or friendly, but it is intended to show there is a lot more to these dogs than is generally understood. To show the good that is never seen. To reveal some of the intelligence that underlies their famous "trickster" behavior. To report on the development of a tiny pup from a couple of days old and nearly frozen, to a mature dog. She has eyes so powerful that they see intention in those around her because she sees subtlety and studies it. I've been breaking new ground, trying to show how much more there is to these fascinating song dogs than what is commonly perceived. During it all, and over the last 5 1/2 years, she has never been dangerous. A lot of eyes have been opened. Nobody who has ever met her, has forgotten the experience. Here is one of my favorite questions: "what is the difference between a coyote and a domestic dog?"

No. My husband set it. He’s used them many times before. Only had to use it briefly on one of the back roads in TN after missing our turn when I lost cell service and google maps locked up! Before our next trip, we will make sure we have an old school paper map as a backup! -Angela

Hull #268 looks great :) Did Oliver set the brake controller for you?

Definitely like 1&2 the best. If you didn't need to go round, you could just add a tail to #2 to make the logo a flying snowball...

We store ours at a neighborhood storage center in a 12’ x 25’ storage unit.

Raspy, I'm to page 13 & only stopped to switch to my laptop. Your story about Sandy is wonderfully written, captivating, refreshing, heart-warming & I'm going to cry, aren't I?

Looks great. Love your choices. Wishing you many miles of smiles, and awesome camping memories. Sherry

Raspy, Started reading your story on tractorsbynet, very interesting. I used to be on tractorsbynet a number of years ago, but not lately, even forgot my user name and password, plus I sold the tractor when we moved to VA. Stan

The first camper that we purchased in 2013 was an expensive 40-foot diesel pusher that was destroyed when it was about 7 months old when a tractor-trailer rear-ended us at a high rate of speed. Not to mention the name of the manufacturer, but I still think it was made by one of the best motorhome manufacturers with a reputation for great service to its customers. When we took it to the factory for our six-month service work and to have a few items repaired under warranty, we literally had to sit in the first-come-first serve line at their factory for 28 days waiting on service. They did have hookups in a bare bones RV park at their factory. We understood this when we purchased the motorhome, but 28 days sitting at the factory waiting for warranty work is still a long time. One of our good neighbors and close friends purchased a large and very expensive fifth wheel from a manufacturer located in Indiana about one year ago. It is our understanding that they have reportedly had a huge number of issues with no resolution in sight and damned little communication. We have had to have some issues repaired on our OTT when it was under warranty and at times the response was not immediate, but compared to what we have experienced elsewhere and what we have been told by friends and people we have met while traveling, we know that we are spoiled by the service that we've received at OTT. I will add that when we were in need of quick service while traveling, the Oliver people have gone all out to help us. No, we don't own stock in the OTT company or any vested interest and, although we really like the people in Hohenwald, we are not some of their best friends. We're just thankful customers. Hap

I had a very hard time finding fuses for the jacks. I went to a bunch of auto parts stores, looked online at Amazon and others, but was unsuccessful. I finally found them here: https://www.ryderfleetproducts.com/bussmann-mdl-30/slow-blow-fuse-30-amp-p-bus-mdl30 The price says $1.62, but they sell then in lots of five, so it is $8.10 for five. And they tacked on shipping charges...

John Sandy reminds me so much of our white Timber Wolf we had back in the late 80's and early 90's. Her name was Marabou and she was an amazing animal to own. She rarely barked but did she ever love to howl. We would often have a "group" howl. It got to the point that all it took to get her started was to pucker my lips, close my eyes and throw my head back. Seeing Sandy has brought back many fond memories.

Kathy, The jack stands stack, so they take up less space than the previous set of random blocks. Thanks for the comment on "Sandy". She is the most interesting and smartest dog I have ever known. Pure coyote from the wild and extremely healthy. We raised her from two days old and she blossomed into the most amazing friend, teacher, ambassador from the wild and trickster I could ever imagine! Just incredible. Her story was documented as she grew and now has an international following with about 100,000 views and many comments. This has lead to an ongoing discussion about them and some very interesting input. I'm always looking for more information about coyotes from those with personal experience and I share the link to her story with anyone interested. Her and I played for many many hours. Chasing and rolling around on the ground. Snarling and play biting, playing keep away, going on mock hunts to train her and see if she could support herself. We traveled thousands of miles in the pickup, visited friends, camped out, went into supermarkets and restaurants, and generally developed her into an ambassador. I'm slowly writing the book about her and I can hardly express how powerful the experience was. A once in a lifetime chance to have a very intimate relationship with a wild animal. Not just any wild animal, but one extremely intelligent that interacted with us and could outsmart us, while at the same time accepted us as her pack and actually lived with us. She is a normal dog, with a twist, that makes her extremely interesting. She fit in to our world and retained her identity at the same time. I could go on and on. If you'd like the link, I'll send it to you. Meanwhile, where we live, here in Northern Nevada, the coyotes (probably Sandy's siblings), travel around at night and we often hear their songs. They all have different voices and they bring life to the quiet high desert nights. When I hear them I often go out at night, in the dark, and sit still to listen.

John, Your coyote logo is perfect! I can’t wait to show Clair your jack stands. Do you have an problem finding space to stow them?

Love the logo.

Next is the jack stand modification. I started with three jack stands. I threw away the adjustable center pieces and cut off the ratchets. Two of them got modified to flat on the top with a piece of 3" channel. These are the rear jacks . The other one got modified to accept the front jack, with a piece of 2" diameter tube. This works out very well where the ground is nearly level, or they can be set on blocks, if needed, on slopes. They are very strong and stable. Much better than stacking a pile of blocks.[attachment file=73096] [attachment file=73099]