Leaderboard

With the potential collapse of large sectors of the economy lots of big companies look to cut their R&D expenses. An electric SUV (in addition to the Mustang) is high risk. Maybe the Mach-E Mustang isn't doing so hot vs Tesla and they need to rethink their strategy? Except for those that want electric for the environment or driving characteristics, the savings for electric have nearly evaporated with the oil crash. Our Prius Prime gets ~20 miles on 7kWh of electricity. Supercharger costs 0.25$/kWh so that's $1.75 if I charged up up there (and could), or $0.70 if I fuel up at my outlet at 0.10$/kWh. So anywhere from 0.0875 to 0.035$/Mile. Fuel at $2.30/gallon and 60 MPG on "gas only" costs 0.038$/Mile. Only reason to plug in is just to avoid going to the pump. Even the 2500 at 20MPG with cheapo diesel at $1.40/gallon is 7 cents a mile - so it'd be cheaper for me to hit the truck stop in a 3/4 diesel than supercharge something like a Prius - so not sure an electric would stand a chance until prices go north of $3/gallon again.

It looks like Jason (Oliver Service Manager) and the video crew are back at it again with two new YouTube vids on De-Winterizing and Sanitizing the plumbing. They can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTKw-WOxFqs and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZlm5Mfvodo Bill

Another pro for the standard hot water heater is the extra 6 gallons of fresh water you get while its full. That is why we stuck with it and saved our money.

Thanks for your solid review John. I ordered this Werner ladder and it will travel in the bed of our Tundra. I could not find a telescopic ladder that I felt like could trust and be comfortable on. Werner it is.

Just a note the 2019-2020 Awnings are the same whether powered or not, with no vertical supports/ground supports (ie "Case Awning"). The only difference is the area you would stick the hand crank into has a motor, and the forward lip has a vibration sensor to detect wind and bring the awning in automatically for a save. So you are in the same boat whether powered or not as far as stability. If there were a greater difference, I could have been swayed to the crank options for stability or screen room compatibility. Like most things, I do wish the awnings were able to tie into some sort of home automation, so my actual weather station could bring them in before the wind starts blowing them enough that the sensors bring them in (added level of safety without having to set the sensitivity on the sensors so low that making the bed without the jacks down sets them off).

We did not get the power awning and regret it. The awning comes out very easy but it takes some effort and is very slow to retract. I always think twice before putting it out, as I know I will have to retract it. Keep in mind, neither the manual nor the powered awning have support arms on new Olivers. We did get the Truma and love it! Heats up super fast (in a few minutes) and is a breeze to drain. Andrew

We got the traditional hot water tank because apparently the Truma wasn’t invented yet 🙄 and we’ve been happy with it. Works well on propane and on electric when we have hookups. I clean it out every year or so and have replaced the anode just once. I did have to replace the on/off switch this year. It was a $5 item on Amazon that took 5 minutes to replace. I like the idea of automatic awnings but I think without the support poles they can’t be used when the weather gets breezy. We use a sun screen that slides into the awning frame and then gets staked down with bungees. It is able to withstand quite a bit of wind and is easy and quick to drop if it gets too windy. The hand crank isn’t as exotic as a motor but it has proven to be reliable and durable.

Great work. I was thinking similar, but to lazy to do the math.

Sometimes a little humor is good. Not every post will be serious and on topic. We have a number of members who like to inject some sarcasm or humor. Not a problem. As long as we don’t get mean, personal or too political we can read, smile and move on. Mike

What is your tow vehicle? If it is a light duty pickup or big SUV, consider NOT getting the tongue cargo tray. Keeping extra weight off the front of the trailer really helps in terms of adding payload inside the TV, and in reducing stress on the rear suspension of the TV. The smaller propane bottles also will help, but only a little. If you have a HD truck, never mind, it will be a non-issue. FYI the cargo tray can easily be added in the future in less than an hour. If you have a HD TV, then forget the Andersen hitch. It is not at all needed. Get the solar and associated equipment, once you experience the joy of being independent of hookups you will never look back. Get the Natures Head toilet, there is a learning curve but once past that, enjoy not having to deal with the black tank. You can possibly dump your grey water at your home (depending on codes and your neighbors) but many places prohibit installation of a official RV dump at a residence. I routinely drain my grey tank in the gravel. Some remote camping areas allow watering of shrubs with your grey water. The pee tank is simple to empty just about anywhere, in a toilet or sink. The cell booster is very important to us, it sometimes means being able to make calls or send emails when otherwise we would be completely cut off. HIGHLY recommended for travel anywhere west of the Mississppi. Wifi booster - a complete waste, especially in campgrounds where the bandwidth gets overwhelmed by all the users. For pirating a signal at a McDonalds, you can get a little closer and just use your phone. Microwave - I have mixed feelings, it is really nice sometimes but it is the Killer Of Batteries. It sucks up vast amounts of juice when running off the inverter. My microwave draws 70 amps DC....I would love to pull ours out and throw it very far away, but the wife would not be pleased.... Truma water heater - some folks love it, to me it is a needlessly complicated, expensive, hard to fix nightmare. A standard heater is cheap to fix or replace and doesn’t require any expert technical knowledge. Options that are not important to you (now) will be important when you sell, so buying the more labor intensive options makes sense, even if you think you won’t use them. Where do you live and where do you plan to travel? That will have a big effect on what equipment you might find useful. John Davies Spokane WA

The composting toilet wasn’t available for us. I can see that it would allow us to stay put longer while off the grid and would be an option I would also seriously consider. We are happy with our traditional set up. The only thing we add to the black tank is a detergent pod and a splash of Calgon water softener. No odor at all. When not in use I add Happy Camper. Mike

After pulling the shades off and mounting ring to check for foam tape and possibility of using butyl tape to seal windows as someone suggested under another topic, I don’t think replacing foam tape with butyl is the solution. That appears to be where the window is mounted from the outside. The window flange is caulked around the entire perimeter so I don’t believe there is a path for water egress there. I still believe it is pretty much solely a window track issue. The outer removable rubber strips won’t completely seal the sliding window and the “trough” and weep holes are there for a reason. I do think that the issue is more than just the weep holes and getting them “started” with pipe cleaners etc to provide wicking and overcome the surface tension. When I was cleaning the rubber strips I noticed the the “trough” at the bottom of the sliding window has regularly spaced square openings that allow drainage into the trough then ultimate outlet via the weep holes. My openings and trough had tiny leaves and bits and obvious accumulation of dirt/stuff. So I think the trough that empties to the weep holes as well as the entrances to the trough can get partially clogged and can impede the drainage. I just ordered ez gutters and hope between keeping the tracks/ trough and weep holes clean and adding the gutters the water entrance problem will be mostly solved. It is the really the only issue we have had with our Oliver. Keeping those expensive mattresses dry is important.

As Oliver strives to be know as a premier RV manufacturer, they have some room for improvement - mainly in the manufacturing process. They make up for it in the service department. I have nothing but good to say about those folks. However, Oliver needs to do some rethinking on its manufacturing processes. Their quality systems are in need of updating - where built in quality, using the latest processes are in order - checklists - are old school - a little TPS would go a long way - I know from experience. I would like to see some corrective action follow-ups, but then that's a little more than Oliver owes its customers on an open forum. But I'm not bashing. In time they will get better, or not. They are moving from what was basically a custom process to one of mass production. Its a choice - increasing production rates - but it also demands changes in the support processes. The saving grace is that the RV industry is terrible in this arena. I believe, if your going to air your complaints on the forum, you have a responsibility to be as transparent as possible and detail the issues - and the fixes if known. I think it gives everyone a chance to evaluate the issues, and make their own judgements. In my opinion, water leaks are completely unacceptable - and there is really no excuse for a unit to leave the factory untested and verified. Water is cheap - as are sprinklers, and a solid inspection process - dedicated to water leaks. ahattar is certainly justified in his complaints - I've seen sales cancelled on much less. 2+ years and 13k miles I'm happy with my Oliver, its not perfect, but then not much is.... rb

John, Great review with photos! Werner makes very nice high quality ladders. Looks like Home Depot carries it locally. David

On our last trip to SE Oregon, we encountered terrific thunderstorms with incredible downpours. As I watched our window wells fill up with water, I remembered this post. But had no pipe cleaners. But I did have 1/8" paracord! I cut off a bunch of 3" pieces and worked them in the weep slot of our windows. They worked beautifully with steady drips coming off the end of the cord and dry window wells! Another good use for paracord. Thanks for the idea. Dave Edit: I see now that the original post was started by Mossemi, thanks again!