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  1. We’ve tried several methods. We started using scrap 2X6 pieces for leveling and under the jacks. Here’s what we’ve settled on: We use the front jack to level front to back. The back jacks are for fine tuning left and right. We bought two sets of the yellow lego’s (12” square) at Walmart. There are 10 in each set. I also made some blocks out of 2X6 lumber, much like Bill pictured above. If we aren’t level left to right we use the legos under the tires to get near level. Then we stack legos under the back jacks so that the wood blocks are just an inch or so below the jack, same for the front jack. We usually don’t have to have more than a few inches of jack travel. It’s quick and easy. The plastic isn’t affected by water and keeps the wood up off the ground.
    4 points
  2. I agree with the above comments. Out of Dallas I saw an Air Stream with SEVERE hail damage. But its solar panels were not damaged. Also, even if they were damaged, they are very easy to order out and DYI replacement yourself. Can't say the same thing for that poor Air Stream......
    4 points
  3. Hi we're Keith & Ilene and we go by Buddha & Buffy! It's a long story and we usually tell it after a couple of adult beverages. We just got back from Hohenwald where we toured the factory with Scott Oliver and made final tweaks on our Ollie which goes into production on 19 July. We're currently living in Fredericksburg, Texas where we settled after two years of full-time RVing in our 40' Winnebago Diesel pusher. We love being more centrally located in Texas vice Nevada where we lived and worked for 20 years before retiring and selling our house and going on the road. The DP was great but we were limited on some of the places we wanted to explore and after a long search we discovered Oliver Travel Trailers. The LEII is EXACTLY what we wanted in downsizing from the DP. We had a chance to see an Ollie here locally and were impressed right away. After touring the factory and seeing all the innovations and quality we were blown away. We can't wait until September to pick up our Ollie and travel the highways and byways in the new addition to our family. We looking forward to meeting more Ollie Owners and reading about your adventures and sharing ours.
    3 points
  4. OLIVER FORUM GUIDELINES Welcome to the Oliver Forum, a great place for Oliver Travel Trailer owners and future owners to interact, share knowledge, solve problems, and most importantly, to develop friendships. Respectful and considerate responses help build this community. You’ll find a wealth of experiences here, and many owners willing to share their experiences. Have fun, but please keep others’ viewpoints in mind. Respectfully state your point, share your information, or ask your question. Keep it casual and friendly. Reread your post before you hit submit. Is it helpful? Thoughtful? Please try to stay on the original topic of the thread. Confusing the issue may cause the member’s original question to go unanswered. Start a new topic if you have a new question. It’s important for all members to have the environment and opportunity to contribute in a considerate manner, and to learn. Inflammatory and trolling comments shall be removed by a volunteer moderator. We encourage members to use the “REPORT” function (bottom right corner of each post) to help us, as we’re not reading every post, 24/7. If your post is removed, you’ll receive a PM about it. If there is a continuing problem, further action may be taken, up to and including your removal from the forum. Some inflammatory topics to avoid include religion and politics. We’re all about camping, and Oliver campers. Over the years, we’ve seen a few simple topics turn into heated debates. It’s natural to want to jump in, but honestly, it’s often better to let it go, and hit the report button, instead. We moderators are avid campers. Even as we write this, we are all out camping, some with limited bandwidth. We respond as quickly as we can, and the sooner we know, the better. Some have asked why our forum is linked to the Oliver website. Valid question. Since the beginning of our forum in 2008, Oliver Travel Trailers (OTT) has paid for our Oliver “sandbox”, including our web space and an administrator who knows way more than we do about maintaining the software, for which we are very grateful. OTT DOES NOT CENSOR OR INTERFERE with the moderators’ management of the forum content. Moderators are not employees of OTT. We are Ollie owners, and receive no remuneration. OTT does have a employee designated to read the forum for the purpose of improving the “Ollie Experience” for all, but that’s a few minutes a day in a busy job description. If you should ever have an issue or a warranty claim, call tech support. Your post might not be seen on the forum by an Oliver employee. With that in mind, we moderators ask you to communicate directly with the company and afford them an opportunity to satisfy any serious needs before flaming OTT on the forum. We are not asking that anything to be swept under the rug. Just, please, let Oliver Travel Trailers have the first shot to meet and exceed your expectations. Sometimes, communications here may be misinterpreted, because the written word just doesn’t carry the visual clues of face to face conversations. Should you believe a post is a little ill-mannered, consider the poster might be trying to be helpful, but isn’t able to put his or her words together the way you might. Forums work best when our skin tends to be a bit on the thicker side. Remember as well, whatever you post will likely be permanent, and picked up by automated internet software programs. Though this is our forum, it’s still on the world wide web. Our words may very well outlive us. Please, be especially patient with newbies. Our search feature is still being tweaked, and they may not have found an answer by simply using “Search”. You may remember your own newbie questions . . . of many years ago. If you have already answered the same newbie question as many times as you care to, relax and allow someone else to step up and reply. Help foster a community of teachers. We recommend all phone numbers and email addresses be sent in private messages and NOT posted. If you must post personal data, we suggest you post in a manner so trolling automated internet programs will not grab your personal information and use it nefariously. For instance, a phone number might be “8ThreeZero, 5one5, 9 2 eight seven”, or for an email address, something like “Bill DOT Fisher at flyboy DOT com”. Please reread this, and help us continue to make our forum a great place for everyone. We hope you enjoy our forum. Thank you, bugeyedriver, SeaDawg, ScubaRx, Mike and Carol, topgun2 , Mossemi Oliver Owner Moderator Team
    2 points
  5. Attached you will find some of the documents from the Rally last month. You can download the following PowerPoint Presentations from Google Drive. Camping for Dummies: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rxnkwYLQUtrpQ58Ikc-kfI1aRTCrEK8G/view?usp=sharing History of Molded Fiberglass by Ian Giles: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LvezYWimCBAZIQDAFEIT7_dOqr-9flV7/view?usp=sharing 2019-OTTOR-Anodes-Workshop-Handout.pdf Truma-Cheat-Sheet.pdf Truma_Decalcification_Full-100-color.pdf Truma_Maintenance-and-Winterization-100-color.pdf Truma-AquaGo-Comfort-and-Comfort-Plus-Control-Panel.pdf Medical-History-Forms.pdf End-of-Life-Workshops.pdf
    2 points
  6. Welcome to the Oliver family, we have stayed in your town and had a great German dinner down town after visiting Mammoth NP and President Johnson's home on our way back from Quartzite. We really enjoyed the Hill country and will return again so enjoy, the time will fly and you'll be showing pic's of your destinations. Be safe Gary
    2 points
  7. Welcome to the OTT world! We tell people all the time about the factory tour and they look at you as if you just stepped off some other planet! And your tour guide was Scott? I know big shots when I see them. Have fun reading through all the posts here on the Oliver Owner's Forum. Try to not spend too much before you get delivery in September. Let us know if you have any questions too. Bill
    2 points
  8. Buddha & Buffy, Welcome to the forum and the Ollie family! Also, welcome to the Texas Hill Country . . . Fredericksburg is a wonderful place to settle. I'm about 40 miles down the road, in Fair Oaks Ranch. You'll love the Fall, Winter, and Spring climates here. Summer, not so much. But with your LEII, you'll be able to seek whatever climate your hearts desire. This is a great place to ask questions about the LEII and get ideas on how you wish to personalize your own Ollie. Now all you have to do is anticipate your trailer's delivery . . . it may feel like forever but it will be here before you know it. Pete
    2 points
  9. [postquote quote=176265][/postquote] That’s a great question, I should have explained why my tires aren’t chocked - at this site we were just overnighting and I did not have to unhitch from the truck. You can see in the picture my Andersen chains are still tight. Before I unhitch at a site we always chock the tires. Both sides. Also, if I have to drive up on legos, the standard wedge type chocks aren’t as effective so I have one of those “between the tires” or x-chock devices. Some are quite expensive. I got the inexpensive Camco plastic one that works fine. Another Walmart item. You can see them in this photo:
    2 points
  10. Putting a swing arm suspension under an Ollie is not gonna happen. And it's not needed, to significantly improve what Oliver is doing now. As John has pointed out, and I agree, the very limited suspension on the Oliver needs help. I designed an identical upgrade to a similar trailer years ago, to fix the same problem. A spring over design with drop axles. This gives the clearance for twice as much travel, stops the metal to metal limit, and adds a Timbren rubber stop to change the last half of the travel to a rising rate system that acts as a soft stop. The riding height would be less than a simple spring over design, but more than now, and would be designed to make sure the wheels don't bottom out in the wheel wells. In other words, it could be designed to be the best overall compromise and end up with twice the suspension travel. Probably about a 2" lift with much higher quality travel. No more metal to metal suspension stop. And no changes to the body structure or the suspension truck would be needed. I suggested this design here, some time back, in our quest for better suspension, and so far, it seems like the best compromise we have come up with. John seems to like it too. Plus it is easy and cheap. The typical tandem axle leaf spring system, with equalizers, is a good system. It allows the forward and then the rearward wheels to step over bumps, or go through dips, without compressing the springs, so it rides well. It also allows the tongue of the trailer to be above or below level without affecting the weight distribution between the two axles. This must also increase stability as the point of effort against the ground remains centered between the axles. These features are not part of the design with tandem swing arms, or with tandem torsion axles. I don't know of any manufacturer's that are doing it. But in Oliver's case, the travel is severely limited and the stop is metal to metal. The system bottoms out a lot and leaves small dents in the suspension truck frame from the U bolts hitting the frame. This is crude and damaging. It adds a lot of stress to the whole system and jars the trailer and it's contents. It's just too crude to be under an Oliver. Oliver stepped up and got rid of the nylon bushings in the system, that are the same ones used in utility trailers, and went to the EZ Flex system with bronze greaseable bushings. A nice upgrade, but mainly for it's improved service life and not for quality of suspension travel. EZ Flex does nothing to increase the travel or to help with metal to metal bottoming. And it is designed for trailers with much stiffer springs that are experiencing shock loads caused by those stiff springs. Olivers have soft springs and it's not the initial shock from inflexible springs that is the problem, it's the limited travel and metal to metal stops that need to be addressed. Now it's time to go to the next level, with a cheap further upgrade of doubling the travel, reducing damage and improving the ride. This could lead to less interior chaos and less stress on everything. It would only require a change to drop axles, instead of straight ones, and the addition of Timbren rubber stops, as well as possibly different shocks. Overall, a very small investment for a significantly improved suspension that would put Oliver another step ahead of the competition. This improvement would retain the benefits of the equalizer tandem axle system, while adding good quality travel and reduced damage. It would continue to use off-the-shelf parts, and not require a major redesign. Oliver could advertise it as their new, "industry leading", "Soft Ride" system. Or their "rough road" upgrade. And just like with the EZ Flex upgrade, everybody will want it. It could be another option offered at the time of order, or just adopted as the new system, across the board. I would certainly opt for it if offered at the time of order. Come on Oliver! Check it out and try one for research! Or, maybe someone will talk them into doing it on a new order. Or maybe someone will retrofit their own trailer an show it to Oliver, where they will like it so much that they'll adopt it. A simple spring over change was already tried and they decided against it because the lift was too much and likely unstable, but this mod only raises the trailer about 2" instead of 5". I was getting ready to order new drop axles for mine, and do this for proof of concept, as well as the improved performance, but decided to go in another direction, with a different trailer. I've had a long term business relationship with a trailer equipment supplier and built, or modified, a number of trailers in the past. It would have been interesting to show up at the next rally with this mod on and working. And I would have, as I see no reason it can't be easily done. Another change that was going to happen during the build, was a change to 12" brakes. That isn't really important, but while in there, a good idea. Oliver did the 12" brakes for a sort time and touted it in their literature as an "upgrade". After three years with mine, I agree.
    2 points
  11. CJM, since you may go further north, I can’t recommend highly enough both Colorado National Monument and Dinosaur NM. They are at low elevation so they may be stinkin’ hot..... They both offer “no services except water and toilets”camping but the scenery is spectacular and they don’t get many visitors. You haven’t mentioned your tow vehicle.... if you have high clearance 4wd there are some really cool rough tracks to explore. My favorite is Echo Park Rd, a steep winding rough track that takes you through slot canyons, stream crossings, old ranch structures and all the way down the a primitive camping/ fishing spot on the Green River, where outlaws use to ford. It is spectacular and lightly travelled, and very remote. You have to leave your trailer at one of the Monument campgrounds, no trailers allowed on that road. It can be impassible due to water over the road after a thunderstorm. https://made-all-the-difference.com/echo-park-dinosaur-national-monument/ John Davies Spokane WA
    2 points
  12. Lots of things to do in Nashville and around! Moved to TN escaping Lost Angeles in 1993. ❤️??
    2 points
  13. I saw a Tube video today reviewing the new GM 3.0L Duramax Diesel inline 6 in the upcoming 2020 Silverado 1/2 ton looks pretty impressive. Performance, Power and Price. Might be worth looking at.
    2 points
  14. We also use wood blocks for reducing travel on the jacks. But, just chunks of 2 x 6 or 2 x 8 cutoffs, stacked as needed. Have a little envy of those nice blocks others carry. We don't varnish, glue up or laminate. When they get old, we chuck pthem or burn them, and replace with new project cutoffs. ??
    2 points
  15. MarkC - Absolutely nothing wrong with Spike's suggestions. The Andersen levelers are really easy even when you are alone. However, be prepared for a bit of sticker shock as they are not inexpensive. I think that one or two other companies are now making what are basically knock-offs of the Andersens, but, I have not seen them in person and therefore could not judge the quality - the Andersens are guaranteed. I also carry the "lego" type blocks that Spike mentions. But, I've found that I tend to use the wood blocks in the picture below more often than the legos. These do not have to be "stacked" since they are one piece. If you cut these right at 11 inches tall, they will fit nicely under your rear jacks while on a level or stern (rear of the Ollie) elevated surface. If the stern is lower than the front then I just lay the block on its side for what is about 5 1/2 inches of height. And, if you keep your eyes open around construction sites, you can pick up scrap pieces of 6 x 6 lumber free. Bill
    2 points
  16. People do store and run the generator from the basket, which is why Oliver offers the additional 120v connection in the front. Some people will in fact run their generator while traveling to cool the trailer down before getting into camp.
    2 points
  17. Here is a list of acronyms and abbreviations that are often used on the forum. Suggestions for additional terms are welcome, and can be posted in this thread. Popular and relevant suggestions will be added to main list periodically. 4X2 or 2WD – 2 Wheel Drive 4X4 or 4WD – 4 Wheel Drive 5er or Fiver – Fifth wheel trailer, also abbreviated FW A/C – Air Conditioning AC – Alternating Current ACE or CE - Army Corps of Engineers, more commonly abbreviated COE; often operate campgrounds near their projects. A – Amp or Ampere AGM – Absorbent Glass Mat, referring to a type of batteries many of us use. Ah – Amp Hours Al – Aluminum AS – Airstream ATF – Automatic Transmission Fluid ATS – Automatic Transfer Switch, often shortened to TS Attic - The overhead interior storage area located at the rear of an Oliver AWG – American Wire Gauge, sometimes abbreviated Ga Basement - The exterior storage area located at the rear street side of an Oliver BC – Brake Controller BLM – Bureau Of Land Management, overseer of public lands and operator of many campgrounds, typically in more remote areas of the country. BTU – British Thermal Unit CAT Scale – Certified Automated Truck scales located throughout the US. Many RVers use these scales to weigh their trailers if they don’t have access to another private or public scales. CCC – Cargo Carrying Capacity (payload capacity), sometimes abbreviated NCC CG – Camp Ground COE – Corp of Engineers, also abbreviated ACE or CE; often operate campgrounds near their projects. CONUS - Contenental United States CW – Camping World, a chain of RV supply stores DC – Direct Current DEF – Diesel Exhaust Fluid DS – Dump Station Egg – Fiberglass Trailer FG – Fiberglass, also abbreviated MFG FHU – Full Hook Ups, often abbreviated WES, for Water/Electric/Sewer FT – Full Time FW – Fifth wheel trailer, also abbreviated 5er or Fiver Ga - Gauge (wiring), more commonly abbreviated AWG GAW – Gross Axle Weight GAWR – Gross Axle Weight Rating GCVW or GCW – Gross Combined Vehicle Weight GCWR – Gross Combined Weight Rating Geezer Pass - Lifetime Senior Pass from the National Park Service. Currently, for age 60 and above, $80. Free entance to many National Parks and sights, and often camping discounts in the park campgrounds, and some other participating state and national campgrounds. Gen – Generator GPM - Gallons per Minute, a measurement of water usage and mountain pass fuel consumption GTW – Gross Trailer Weight GTWR – Gross Trailer Weight Rating GVW – Gross Vehicle Weight GVWR – Gross Vehicle Weight Rating HP – Horsepower ICE - Internal Combustion Engine or a conventional ICE vehicle (as opposed to electric) Inch WC - Inches of water column, a measurement of gas pressure often used instead of PSI. LA - Lead acid batteries, typically referring to non-AGM batteries LE – Legacy Elite, Oliver's single axle trailer LEII or LE2 – Legacy Elite II, Oliver's tandem axle trailer LED – Light Emitting Diode LFP or LiFePo – Lithium Iron Phosphate, an alternative to LA or AGM batteries LP – Liquid Propane LT – Light Truck (tires) MFG - Molded Fiberglass, often shortened to FG MVU or MVUM - Motor Vehicle Use Map from the USFS; shows which national forest roads are open for dispersed camping NCC – Net Carrying Capacity (payload capacity), often abbreviated CCC NPS – National Park Service Ollie - short for Oliver. Olly will also be accepted by the judges. OP – Original Poster, the person who started a topic OTT – Oliver Travel Trailers OTTO or Otter – Oliver Travel Trailer Owner OTTOR – Oliver Travel Trailer Owners Rally PM - Private Message; a forum function allowing members to send messages privately to each other, without needing email addresses or phone numbers. PU – Pop Up tent trailer PSI – Pounds per Square Inch Romp - A gathering of OTTers RTV - A silicone sealant of a variety of types RV – Recreational Vehicle SOB - Some other brand; in our forum, any type of trailer other than an Oliver. SP – State Park Stick Built - A travel trailer constructed from wood and panels, unlike an Oliver and other eggs Sticky - a) Stick Built trailer; b) On the forum, a topic of some importance, pinned to the top, so that it "sticks around" and doesn't get lost. TPMS – Tire Pressure Monitoring System TS – Transfer Switch, also abbreviated ATS TT – Travel Trailer TV – Tow Vehicle TW – Tongue Weight V – Volts VA – Volt Amps (Watts) VIN – Vehicle Identification Number USFS – US Forest Service W – Watts Wally World – WalMart Wh – Watt Hours WDH – Weight Distribution Hitch WES – Water/Electric/Sewer, also abbreviated FHU, for Full Hook Ups
    2 points
  18. We scrape dishes clean and have a strainer. I agree with Overland that something in our plumbing is defying the laws of physics, or at least gravity. There is a long horizontal traverse in the under sink plumbing that I think is the culprit. I don't think this is a "clog" in the usual sense, but an air or vacuum bubble in the pipe, maybe where it connects to the vertical vent pipe. I hope someone with more knowledge will chime in.
    2 points
  19. I have had this happen several times, where the kitchen sink is clogged, but the bathroom sink and shower are both able to drain. The first time I figured something was clogged in the trap, so I pulled out the galley drawers and disassembled the under sink plumbing. I put it all back together and that solved the problem, but what a mess! So I bought a mini plunger to carry with us. I have had to use it twice since then when the kitchen sink clogged, and each time it worked quickly and easily in clearing the kitchen sink! I store the plunger in the curbside front under bed compartment, where the water pump lives. I also store my pex / sharkbite repair supplies in that compartment. An ounce of prevention.... BTW, I bought the mini plunger from a hardware store, but the photo is from Amazon.
    2 points
  20. I know I have told this story before, but here goes. Years ago, we had hail the size of steely marbles at our camping property in North Carolina. We were at a friend's house having dinner, an hour away, and no hail there. The Ollie, and its solar panels, were undamaged when we returned, though the ground was still covered with hail and shredded leaves. I imagine the truck would have had some dimples if we'd been there. Sherry
    2 points
  21. JD - Hopefully you are kidding? That shop is at the rear of the Oliver Sales office - it is indoor/outdoor carpet, there is water and electric in there but no sewer. Santa - Good looking rig to include the color matching Chevy and, not a bad number either. Hopefully you will be at the Owner's Rally given it is a fairly short drive for you guys. Bill
    2 points
  22. We had a major plumbing problem on our trip to Olympic National Park. We were setting up camp in the Hoh Rainforest campground, where we were boondocking without a water supply. I turned on the water pump and I heard a gushing sound. I checked the faucets, but they were off. I turned off the water pump and the sound went away. Not good! I looked in the curb side under bed compartment where the water pump lives. When I turned the water pump on I could see water gushing out of a pipe. One of the plastic elbows had broken. I have tried to assemble a good tool kit for the Oliver; I even have spares for all of the fuses. I had seen this post from Mountainborn about PEX repair, and getting these PEX repair parts was on my ToDo list. In retrospect, I think I did not get the parts and tools before this trip because I needed to do some research to figure out what parts and tools I needed to get. I remembered this post while in the campground, and I pulled it up on my phone and read about Sharkbite and PEX. I then drove one hour (each way) from the campground to Forks, WA. Fortunately there are two hardware stores in Forks (one was useless in regards to Sharkbite and PEX), and both were open late in the day. The second hardware store also had a very knowledgeable salesperson. John Davies may be correct that PEX parts and crimp pliers are not that expensive, but the hardware store did not have them. But they did have a Sharkbite crimping tool, but ONLY ONE, for the outrageous price of $68.99. I also bought a bag of Sharkbite clamps ($5.79) and a bag of brass 90° elbows ($16.99). Fortunately, I have a hacksaw in my tool kit. I used the saw to cut off the brass PEX crimps, inserted the brass elbows, and crimped the Sharkbite clamps. Fortunately there was enough play in the existing pipes to make the connection. I spent $99.48 on the crimping tool, the clamps, and the brass elbows, but the camping trip was saved!! When I got home, I looked at what I could have saved if I had bought them in advance. I suggest you buy a crimping tool with clamps ($29.88) and some brass elbows ($7.65) from Amazon. (Please correct me if I have the wrong items listed!) I would have saved money if I had bought these items from Amazon in advance; more importantly I would have saved time. The job itself took five minutes, but the time spent driving and researching made it a three hour job. Also, if you don't have one, get a hacksaw for your tool kit. BTW, my brother in law, who is much more mechanically experienced than I am, was surprised that Oliver uses plastic elbows instead of brass ones.
    2 points
  23. We haven't finished adding everything, but you can find owner's manuals, component manuals and videos on the Oliver University page. You can find the Oliver University under the "Travel Trailers" tab in the main menu. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/oliver-university/ We will be adding some other "how-to" videos as we get them from the videographer. If there is something you don't see, let us know and we will add it.
    1 point
  24. Wow, the Texas branch of the family just gets bigger and bigger! Congratulations, and welcome to the group. Sherry
    1 point
  25. Buddha and Buffy, welcome! Like Pete and Bosker we’re just down the road in Fair Oaks Ranch, too. We were in Fredericksburg last week picking up wine from Becker Vineyards. If you have questions we’d be happy to help. Mike
    1 point
  26. Nothing on mine, but, I have a relatively dark color to start with. I'd contact Jason in the Service department - their toll-free number is listed at the top of this page. Good luck! Bill
    1 point
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