Leaderboard

Four years ago, when we had ordered our Ollie and were awaiting delivery, we had our neighbors over for a backyard bbq. We talked a lot about the trailer, and I mentioned how I really liked the CampChef stove that Buzzy had posted about on the forum. My neighbor said "I think I have one of those." He had won it as a door prize at a golf tournament, the box had never been opened, and he then gave it to me. I offered to pay him the Amazon price, but he said no, noting that for years I had fixed problems on their phones, computers, and internet routers. Cus that is what friends do!

I posted about modifying my Weber grill some time ago. The YouTube videos I found useful are HERE and HERE. I bought the Weber Q RV Quick Connect Kit from propanegear.com for $49.99. The SKU for the model I got is not currently on their web site, but they have two versions available with eight foot or twelve foot hoses. Connecting the Outland bowl is easy - just change out the hose. I bought this adapter hose. If you are going full propane quick connect, be sure to get a couple of extension hoses so that you can position your devices where you want at your campsite. A friend gave me a CampChef stove, and we love it. Sometimes I want to have the CampChef and the Weber connected simultaneously, and so I bought a Y-adapter.

You won't meet a nicer person than Chuck Stovall. He kindly showed Cary and me his Ollie this morning. Cary is concerned that it might be too small for us and our two midsize dogs. And all that keeps popping into my head is the beautiful belly of that trailer --- the craftsmanship, the welds, support structure. The clean lines and functionality. Hmmm..... We will figure this out. Thank you.

As a follow-up to a thread referenced above, the failure of our furnace to fire was repeated at home - 1300 ft. After more research, the issue seemed to be with the sail switch. I thought I had resolved the issue by removing and gently cleaning the switch, but it failed to fire earlier this week while we were in Hohenwald the night before our service appointment to find a rain leak. Jason indicated that the sail switch malfunction was known and That Dometic had developed a new mounting system for the larger furnaces, but not for the small one used in the Oliver’s. i had a new sail switch that I ordered as a spare and the service team installed it - all appears well after several tests. We’ll find out about high altitude this fall when we return to Colorado (hopefully). The symptom of fan on for 30 seconds and then off is classic air flow/sail switch problem.

Hello from Albany, NY! My wife, Mary, and I just took the plunge on an Elite II and have been sifting through the Forum to learn as much as possible before we complete the "options build worksheet".... so many decisions!? I'm sure we'll ask many questions, despite all the advice and opinions available here, before finalizing that list... thanks in advance for any help 🙂 Anyway, here's our story: we recently (March) sold our Class A diesel pusher after 6 years of ownership (and a lot of expense) and decided to downsize for a variety of reasons, mostly to start traveling the country and seeing the sights. Previously we had owned a 5th wheel trailer that sat permanently at a seasonal NH campground for 10 years (our weekend get-away); a 24' travel trailer for a couple years (used mostly locally with grand-kids); and then the motorhome when we started snow-birding in FL from Jan to Apr over the past 6 years. Also, we already have a GMC 2500HD Denali tow vehicle that I use to pull a 20' enclosed car trailer... so we're all set in that department. So, we're now ready for a new chapter and after having looked, over the last 5 months, at many Ultra-lites and Mini-lites of all Brands, happened upon the Oliver! Quality and uniqueness won out over the more traditional, roomy, and flimsy alternative 🙂 So, we look forward with anticipation to the next few weeks and months of build decisions, Ollie construction, and travel plans ... while awaiting a late August pick-up! The current Covid-19 situation has thrown a dark cloud over everything, but we are optimistic that the sun will come out again, and our decision to move forward with this purchase at this time was a good one and that the adventure that is to follow will be memorable. Stay safe, and we look forward to the open road and meeting other Ollie owners in the future. Best Regards, Roy & Mary

Hi John, The advertised price was what I paid, plus a very generous trade allowance. Dealers that were asking for $10k more on the truck were offering $3k less on the trade. They matched what someone local was going to pay, which saved me ~4k in WA taxes for the trade reduction. I filled out their form, my salesman (Cesar) was very responsive over the phone and got everything worked out for me. Since we live in East King County (high COVID prevelence) and I have vulnerable family members, I didn't want any contact so it would be safe to them and safe to me. I hit the road at first dawn, and drove out to Boise. They had all the paperwork ready and in the new truck, so I pulled up next to my new truck, put my keys to my trade on the dash board, and transferred my stuff. Paperwork was waiting for me in the new truck, I filled it out and they processed it. Zero contact. There was a bit of a wait but nothing unreasonable compared to elsewhere. I was home at dusk and just completed my break in miles as I crossed the Cascades. To get their advertised price, they do require you to take their financing and not pay it off for 6 months. I'll accrue about 600$ of interest in that time if I don't do any extra payments. The lender they paired me with allows early paydowns (not all of them do), so I can pay off 90%+ as soon as I get an account number and then I'll see hardly any interest accruals (like $70). Their rate is about 1% higher than my credit union is advertising - so even if you don't have the cash to pay down the 90%, it's still not a bad deal. The delta in price between them and Smith was ~$6k. $12k from the local dealer with old stock and not the options we want. Both local and Smith had similar MSRP. For Chevrolet, Peterson had the best price - close to DD - we like the multipro, fender lights, and interior color scheme better on the GMC so went with DD. So the interest I would accrue if I didn't pay down the loan, is still an order of magnitude less than the savings, which I think are still incumbent on their finance or GM's financing which could have been a worse deal. I could always refinance in 6 months as well. I'll probably pay down as I'm not expecting investments to turn amazing returns for a little bit. Would do business with them again for sure. It does seem that most the trucks they order come with the CARB emissions.

That fitting looks like what I used. It screws on after you remove the regulator. Here’s a picture of mine.

DavidS - If your friend is looking for someone else to give a CampChef to - I'm available! 😁 Bill

I found the conversion parts for my Q1000 on Amazon. It doesn’t take long. I left my Outland fire bowl as is and use a separate 20lb tank for it since sometimes we use it in the Clam is can be a ways away from the trailer.

If you go to You Tube and do a search, you will find three or four tutorials on removing the regulator on the Weber. Note is does not have to be a 1200 the majority of Weber Grills are the same set up. Most are made by sellers of adapter kits to hook a Weber to quick connect low pressure set ups. Good luck. After watching them, I sold my Weber and bought a Coleman Road Trip because the regulator is not build in to the grill itself. Makes the conversion a lot easier for someone as unhandy as me. You just need an adapter for the grill and don't install the regulator.

Our retractable awning needs support poles on the corners. Any suggestions on what to buy? Thanks.

Hi all -- hope you are all safe and as gainfully employed as you want to be. I'd been toying with adding some stick-on tiles as a backsplash to both kitchen and bathroom areas. Finally saw a couple of different applications in an Oliver and decided I'd give it a go. Ordered these: https://smile.amazon.com/LONGKING-Backsplash-Stickers-Talavera-Mexican/dp/B07DR8F44K/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Peel+and+Stick+Backsplash+Tile+Stickers%2C+Gray+Talavera+Mexican+Tiles&qid=1588613058&s=home-garden&sr=1-1 --- then $30 and since I can't be out camping, decided to at least work in the Oliver. One package of 10 tiles was more than enough, even with one square (3x3 tiles; about 1 square foot) bunged up and pulled off. The tiles are pretty sticky, but can come off if needed but I suspect will stay stuck pretty well.

I actually bought that fitting for my Coleman Suitcase grill I have had for about 20 years. It didn’t fit, so I bought the Blackstone 17" griddle that it does fit. That’s putting the cart before the horse. And now you know the rest of the story. I do believe there are multiple regulator fitting sizes for 1 lb. gas bottles. But of course I was trying to retrofit something I bought before Amazon. Mossey

That is a very interesting story, can you please elaborate about your Dillon experience? I have never dealt with them but they do have the most aggressive advertised pricing in the country, from what I have been able to determine. They sure beat the pants off many of the big volume “super dealers” like Dave Smith in north Idaho. And 90% of Dillon’s sales are Internet and fly in/ drive home. How was your transaction? John Davies Spokane WA

Mike, I just found this, per one review this is all I need for the conversion on the Q1200.

https://www.carefreeofcolorado.com/products/hd-awning-stabilizr.html I bought these. They work well. I have the manual awning. For use with the automatic retracting I think you have to turn the sensor off.

Thanks All! Just saw these replies. This gives us some peace of mind. It doesn't sound like service and repair for the Oliver will be an issue, even out West. Thanks, Moots

The Alarm that comes with the Oliver is a combination Smoke and CO detector. If you switch it out to a Smoke only you give up that detector's ability to detect CO. There is a CO detection capability on the LP detector though. Two downsides I see for CO detection with the LP detector are: 1.) the location is optimized for propane detection (heavier than air) and 2.) the power is from the 12 volt of the trailer without battery backup. I think it is best to keep both CO detection capabilities. If you switch to a Smoke detector only, you should add another CO detector that has a separate battery from the trailer and is in a better location than the LP/CO detector. Another thought to keep in mind. The Smoke detector sensor for the Smoke and CO detector is for Smoke (smoldering type fires). That detector is a photo optic detector that determines when large smoke particles block the light passing through the sensor. Another type of Fire sensor is the Ionization detector which detects particles from fast burning fires much quicker than a the sensor of a smoke detector will. I think it is best to use both types in your trailer and your house. For those with older units, the maximum life of a detector is 10years. In some cases it is less. I've seen CO detectors with shorter lives as recommended by the manufacturer. With the environment our units live in it would probably be better to change out more often. - Randy

My BF Goodrich tires have been stellar these last 4 years/50K+ miles. But, being able to check both pressure and temperature before we start and while underway does provide peace of mind. If I have a leak due to puncture or any other reason I should know before we’re at a crisis situation. I’ll know about a blowout almost instantaneously. Mike

I replaced our smoke detector with one of these First Alert Atoms. Looks a lot nicer and they come with a 10 year battery. I give it a test before each trip just to make sure.

My wife was unsure until our factory tour. After the tour she was ready to buy the same day.

Hi Moots, I don't think you are really limited by who can service your Oliver so long as it isn't just some fly by night outfit- they are very flexible and were willing to have a mobile shop come out for some work on mine. The list is more of a "who has taken care of a customers well and we will recommend" list. I'd talk to your sales person to see who they have experience with in the area. When buying new, it's definitely worth camping in the area (they provided one free night at a local park, or you can camp in their lot). We paid for an extra night at the campground and would recommend the same. We did full hookups, played boondocking on Solar+Internal tank+pump/etc... to test everything before leaving. Didn't run into any issues, but the peace of mind was great.

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.

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

I didn't get the cell phone booster because I rarely use a cell phone. I did get the WiFi booster thinking that I'd use it in commercial campgrounds but their signals are so variable that I really don't rely on it for that purpose. However, unexpectedly I do use it while on the road in that I can pull into a WalMart or McDonald's or virtually any fast food place and tap into their WiFi without even going into the store. I didn't get the 30 pound propane tanks because I do not do a bunch of winter camping and the 20 pounders are mush easier to get refilled or swapped/exchanged. I did get the solar package, inverter, etc. and they are wonderful giving me so many additional camping possibilities and choices. Finally, I did get the surge protector (now standard?) to protect all that electronic stuff inside. Bill p.s. Didn't get the electric switch for opening the shower backflow slide valve - I'm not so lazy or physically challenged that I can't bend over to open that valve. Didn't get the external propane quick connects since I do not use a propane stove outside - I prefer old fashion charcoal. Also didn't get the front basket - I probably regret that one - nor the front electrical connections since I don't use a generator. Note that the basket can be used for other things and that I why I miss it upon occasion.

Yes, you will be using the regulator on board. Put the Blackstone hose and regulator in storage. Just install the fitting on the grill and leave it there. It’s your call whether you leave it installed or remove it each time you use the grill. It sticks out a bit but should not inhibit storage. Mine points to the back of the grill. I also have the carry bag which also offers some protection. When it's time to use the grill, just connect the male quick connection to the trailer and the female quick connection to the grill. Then turn on both of the shut off handles to the open position and you are ready to light the grill. I can post some pictures if my instructions are not clear. Mossey