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Jason is back in as Service Manager permanently, Richie got hurt out on the floor but will also be returning to the floor as of last week when Jason called me. Hull #200 has had a bunch of small problems, but we haven't had a reason to go back to Howenwald to fix anything. I think a lot of it stems from me finding issues that existed but were never brought to the surface like the water tank issue. Jason and I sat in the trailer until about 7pm at Fall Hollow the night we picked it up... It was raining cats and dogs, we had needed to use a pair of pliers to take a couple stripped screws out to reset the Suburban heater and it had been a long day for the guys who had to finish putting our trailer together. Goldilocks is my 5th trailer, so I have experience and have fixed and maintained my travel trailers for years, so doing a complete walkthrough wasn't needed and we didn't have the time to go thru everything anyway... Jason's dog got hit by a car that night and I told him to head out and he still stuck around, it had been a long day because the trailer wasn't finished when we got there and it was after 5 when we got out of there right before dark. I don't remember exactly when they doubled the production line, but #200 was right there being built during that change over. I mean people were doubling up or using boxes for desks, the office had just started being remodeled, and everyone was crowded into every corner of the warehouse trying to make a space for themselves and their growing pains were gaining speed.. We have had a bunch of minor problems, most of which have been caused by the guy who was either pissed or on a double shift and stripped the screws out all over the place. Even the drawer magnets weren't lined up with their strike plates... So yea, we have had more then our share, but look at how Oliver has gone through and fixed every trailer since. There's no more drawer problem, no more water problem, no more sewer drain problem, no more ground problem, they've added a bladder tank now and their trailers just keep getting better and better as they come off of the line. I will be tweaking things on this trailer until the day I die because I enjoy doing the work. I guess one of the other problems is that I do look, find the problems, then fix them while videoing the important ones... Lol... A lot of owners before me just didn't know that there even was a water tank problem, Dave had brought it to light last year but it went nowhere. Jason and some of the guys on the floor had asked me what I would do to fix the tank when we picked ours up, being that's my background and I told them that day but I could see that they weren't journeymen plumbers, so we ended up fixing it ourselves and videoing it for everyone. Raspy John came up with the spin weld and the guys at Oliver flew with it, saw the video and now that problem is a thing of the past. So yea, they had some growing pains and ended up sailing thru them because they really do care about their trailers. Things are really looking up at Oliver after a rough winter last year and you guys ordering trailers now are truly getting the best of the best, with every known problem taken care of and a thing of the past. So remember, when your reading thru what we went thru this last year, it's all in the past, long gone now and we're are back on top and looking good! Reed

I am at the Mothership today and waiting to pick up the FST. So...... I thought I would share a photo of some Ollies waiting to met their new owners. It's nice to see the company doing so well and the family of owners growing. It should be a heck of a rally in May 2018.

I was told by Oliver yesterday that due to the tragedy at Fiamma and subsequent interruption/shutdown of their US operations that they're switching to Carefree Awnings. I've asked Jason exactly which model they're using, but it looks to me that their Freedom model is the closest match to the Fiamma. I've only briefly glanced at their website, and have no idea what their reputation is like. They look decent enough to me, but there aren't many closeup photos to go by. They do offer much more in the way of fabric choices, including sunbrella acrylic in pretty much any color you could want. The housings can be ordered in white, black and silver. They also have a number of accessories and have a screened room kit similar to Fiamma's. I assume that the accessories will be much easier to source than Fiamma's since they're based in Colorado rather than having to special order from Italy. I hate that Oliver had to switch, especially given the circumstances, but of course it's necessary and perfectly understandable, at least until Fiamma are able to get their operation back up and running.

Yes, its a three way. I have not experienced the same "problems" as Overland has - no pulsing of the lights at any time and I do not find the dimmer to be "super slow". With this dimmer one can press the "minus" button in order to get the lights to dim a single time and they will dim slightly. If you want to dim the light as far as they will go (about 20% of available light capacity) you simply hold down the "minus" button for several seconds and then the lights will go to that level. This dimmer also has an on/off switch - if you have the dimmer "off" then the other regular switches that everyone has will not work to turn the lights on. Also, when the dimmer switch is "off" it has one of those darn led lights that seem to be everywhere. Yes, it is a nice pleasing blue that tends to match the radio's blue lights, but, I simply do not like lights in general. I'm glad that I got a dimmer and this one certainly looks nice and matches the rest of the interior. However, at the end of the day it is simply a dimmer switch. I could have been happy with a simple dial/rotary switch that I'm sure would have cost a bunch less money. Certainly the hardest part to putting one of these in is found in drilling a hole big enough. With a simple rotary switch one could accomplish this with a drill bit versus the approximate 2"x 3" hole that had to be made for this dimmer. Bill

Sorry to hear about Richie’s injury. While I have nothing negative to say about Richie and his short tenure in service, I’m very happy to hear that Jason has returned to the service manager position. My experiences with Jason since picking up my Oliver in March, 2016 have been very positive. He’s a very valuable part of the Oliver ownership experience.

Yeah, I was surprised a the burn marks too but I'm not a welder and can't really comment (other than to say that the whole bracket was completely unnecessary and the location of the actuator is unsafe and that had they used the components I asked for it would be safer and far easier to install.) I can also comment that though the photo was taken while the trailer was on the assembly line, it was delivered pretty much as shown, with three hand tightened nuts and one missing one.

That reminds me of another useful add on we asked for, which is a 'panic' switch for the outdoor lighting. It's a single switch over the bed connected to both sets of outdoor lights. It came in handy when we got a late night knock on the door while camped in middle of nowhere Arizona. It was Manny.

We found that the legs on the new Carefree awnings aren't strong enough to tie them down like you did. The clamps on the legs aren't strong enough to keep them extended and so they slowly start to collapse back down. I tried with limited success to rig up something using my REI poles, but there isn't a good attachment point on the awning so the poles kept popping out at the top no matter how much I tightened the tie downs. I'm going to try to work out a better attachment and also get some stronger tie straps that won't stretch like the paracord I had on hand. Hopefully that will do the trick since we weren't able to get much use from the awnings on this trip. Carefree also has a shade extender the slides into the main rail, same as the Fiamma, and that might help as well.

We’ve been in heavy rain before and didn’t have any leaks. My only suggestion is to keep the weep holes clear so the water can drain. If you’re living in a forest they probably get blocked pretty fast. I found that in heavy rain the awning doesn’t do too much, water runs down behind it. I installed rain gutters on my windows last year but pulled them off when the ends came lose. It was my fault, I did all the right cleaning, did the install in warm weather, etc. the problem was that temperatures went from mid 80s to mid 30s overnight before they had set. So, then ends popped lose and flipped up. I will probably do it again, but will ensure there will be hot weather for a few days after! I think they would help in your situation. Mike

I moved the remote display to a spot under the dinette between the LP detector and the USB/12 Volt outlets. It faces away from the bed, so it is not noticeable. It was any easy move to do and beats having to dig down under the dinette seat every time we hook up. I removed the forbidden screws to that compartment right after we picked our Ollie up, but this location is much more convenient. I too am not sure about the weather resistant properties of this LED type display.

I choose the pantry because I was not sure about the weather resistant properties of the display unit, it was easy to run the wires into the pantry, and with the pantry door closed one never sees the lights of the readout. Yet, the readout is easily seen by simply opening the pantry door. Given I mounted it as high as I could above the top shelf, there is no interference with any of the items stored there including cereal boxes. I think that mounting it anywhere on the interior of the camper where one is not able to close it behind a door or panel of some sort will make living/sleeping something akin to being in a cheap hotel with a neon sign right outside your room. Bill

I would caution against taking the comments of one owner and and assuming those problems apply to everyone. Hull 200 has had an unusual number of issues. As far as stripped screws, I had one on my bathroom window. I found the head on the bathroom floor, clearly over tightened. My understanding is that these windows are received by OTT already assembled so the issue would be with the window manufacturer. I’ve had no other stripped screw issues. Bill makes a good suggestion on a factory tour. Many of your concerns could be addressed directly. Mike