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Related to the above, many people prefer that certain features of Olivers not be mentioned in public. So fyi if someone can't resist mentioning the unmentionable in a reply, one of the moderators will likely unmention said mention. 😉

I fill my tires with a mixture of about 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen. It’s called air. Mike

Mention what?

Just mentioned this post to Duke & the fact that I've never spent any time there & his response was, "you'd love it, there are all kinds of breweries there." 🤔

Aha! Canine wanderlust. That explains why the Doods are so blue, & us too.

topgun2 & Overland ---- LOL, LOL.

Mac, we have an F150 so this may not be of any help. We have two big dogs & their comfort & safety is important to us- along with preserving the backseat upholstery. With the rear seats folded up they would need to stand to see out the window so we built a platform for them to ride on. It's designed with a good amount of storage underneath. To keep the dogs from becoming projectiles, they wear harnesses that clip to the seatbelt latch. They've logged 19k+ miles with no complaints. Baxter sleeps 90% of the time; Maddie is Duke's copilot. Happy travels! Chris

The "un-mentionable"

Nice of you to "mention" it!

Last October, we stayed at the Great Sand Dunes Oasis RV Park which is just outside entrance to the National Park. We drove our F150 to Zapata Falls & it took us (per google maps) 48 minutes to go 8.8 miles. The bulk of that time was the four mile road to the parking lot. It was brutal. Imagining what a tossed salad the inside of the camper would look like, I wouldn't take our Oliver up there. Plus once you got there, you'd dread making the trek back down that road to go to the National Park. Maybe the road is better in the summer when there is more traffic? However, the hike to the falls is easy & well worth the painful drive.

Finally found a picture that I took in the Oliver showroom where they have a little dinette setup for you to mix and match options. This is not what we eventually chose, but it shows Mont Blanc counter and and Flannel cushions together, and I believe it is the Baron floor.

We live on a Coastal River in SE GA & have traveled the US Birding since 2008 having seen almost 700 species! Since 2014 we have photographed over 460 species of butterflies in the US! We've just made a big leap changing from Airplanes, Rental cars & Hotels to an Ollie! Waiting 3 months will be the hard part.

This short video was just published. It highlights the small town of Brevard, NC which is located just southwest of Asheville, NC and is a short distance from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Perhaps it is really not so different from so many places in this great country but it is where I call home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2b8EkeQn1c&feature=youtu.be Bill

Regarding pests: Is it not necessary to remove all vulnerable onboard "stuff" when you park your Oliver for more than a few days? We have not had one unwelcome critter in our van, but I always remove, or put in overhead compartments, anything that can be eaten or used as nesting material. We live in the country and rats and mice are an annoying way of life, especially problematic in our vehicles. One reason being, we don't have a cat, but even when we did. Edit: (my computer crashed . . . fixed now) We keep Cab Fresh repellent anywhere water lines come into the cabin and in the outside bays and storage compartments. Just wanting to know if there are any precautions other take when it comes to preventing these annoying hijackers.

I've seen pics of the cutting board and shower floor. Beautiful work. However . . . . . . we have a sawmill, trees, and woodworking equipment in our family . . . . my husband and two adult sons are pretty handy with wood . . . . and my brother-in-law very talented. But first we have to get an Oliver 😄

DMc - Yes, all new Olivers come with nitrogen fill tires. Bill

All season camping is reason enough. I can say, the worse thing about leaving my LTV behind will be giving up the quality, beautiful interior and classy exterior. I watched the video walk-through of the Oliver operation and am impressed. We've had other TTs and I know how poorly made most of them are. I appreciate that Oliver is providing us with a product that is beautiful, functional, and built to last a lifetime.

We have decided to get rid of our LTV . . . . love the twin layout and the quality . . . . . yes, there are trade-offs: we had to trade our kayaks for inflatables and we don't want to tow (one reason we chose the van) so exploring must be done in the RV. Easy to get around town and park and fuel economy can't be beat (in most cases). Our biggest reason is maintenance. Most of the chassis is still under warranty, so we haven't paid out except for A&B service and oil changes. But those darn wheel sensors! Twice we've had one fail. Days wasted, for sure. Yes, we could do our own repairs, but still under warranty so not an option. Besides, being retired with an RV and places to go isn't about fixing complex motor chassis components on the $35K Sprinter. Yes, we are going to give up the LTV and get an Oliver we can tow with our tried and true F350 Super Duty. Should still get 15 MPG. I'm going to miss the van (not sure my husband will), but will always have the memories we made traveling around the Western half of the US. What we won't miss is the uncertainty of when the dash will give us that ABS/ESP "visit workshop" message, knowing it won't be long before the engine goes into Limp Mode.

JD this is a heads up, My negative 4/0 cable gland had failed somewhere along the line and when I rewired my battery box I took it completely out. My cable glands are a plastic/nylon material and the clamping nut threads would no longer hold up under the strain of the 90° turn into the battery box. This is the cable gland I used for a replacement and it was large enough for the 4/0 cable and the temperature sensor wires. So it is just a idea if you run into trouble. I solve the issue of loose screw holes in the PVC board by relocating the equipment an 1/8 to a 1/4" and not reusing the same holes. Good luck, Mossey

Some of you have seen this mod I did on the microwave cabinet, but i thought I'd post it again in this thread. It was prompted by the microwave trying to escape from the cabinet several times. And the need for more function. I was able to keep a smaller microwave, and include a wine rack and utensil storage tubes. A pantry latch holds the door closed and the door also serves as a stainless work counter. We had an extra set of wood trim pieces that made a matching door.

For the sake of privacy on what might be a personal issue regarding whether you do or do not have a safe on board, you might want to send a PM to ScubaRX in this regard. Bill

1. I agree with Mike and Carol that you only get a boost close to the antenna above the dinette. 2. The company that makes the cellular booster also makes products for cellular boosting in a vehicle. A little pricey. 3. One option that would work is to have the cellular booster and the WiFi ranger in the trailer operating while you are towing. You would need to have a JetPack or a MiFi placed on the dinette, in good proximity to the booster antenna, and connected to the WiFi Ranger. Finally when in the tow vehicle you would also need to have your phone connected to the WiFi Ranger rooftop antenna, and have the Calling Over WiFi option turned on. More info on this at this post.

No worries, we live for questions.... The bumper drops down for access to the sewer compartment, so no, it cannot be solidly integrated with the frame. The bumper is a chunky 1/4" thick rectangular beam with huge pivot bolt at each end. The part that actually drags the ground is the rear cross support for the floor in that sewer compartment. Here are a couple of pics. Show them to your son and he could advise you. And this is what is in front of the bumper: If I were to do this, I would make a steel bracket that wraps around both sides of the frame (a flat bottomed U shape) and install it where it says "Main Frame Member" in the second pic. That cross channel is 1" high, so the roller would extend down about 2 inches below it and offer decent protection and also be very strong, being attached directly to that massive frame member. The compartment cover must be able to be removed for access to the water tanks, so it must be trimmed away to clear any roller brackets If you get an Oille and install rollers, please post a thread about it with pics and dimensions. Maybe your son could offer these for sale as an owner installed kit. A welder for a son, I wish I had one 😉 John Davies Spokane WA

It might be two different colors of cushions or as you said the lighting could be different. The dinette photo to me looks darker than Mont Blanc did in person. So I'm not much help here. The floor in the dinette picture looks lie Baron to me,

I start out using two cheap bubble levels that I have near the front jack. To fine tune, I just use the bathroom door as a guide. If it doesn’t swing open or shut, then the trailer is level enough for me.

Wow! I am impressed! Do you have a website with your butterfly photos? Is there a website that provides info on butterfly migration and locations for viewing? I have seen the monarch butterfly overwintering site at Natural Bridges State Park near Santa Cruz, CA, and it was amazing. I saw this butterfly in my garden week before last, and I took this with "the best camera I had with me," my phone. Any idea what kind it is? I am certain you will enjoy the upgrade from Airplanes, Rental Cars & Hotels to an Ollie!

I wanted to especially thank all the moderators who handle the increasing amount of traffic here in the Forums. More Ollie owners and more members equals more potential friction, and sometimes things get said that shouldn't be said. Everyone makes mistakes, that is expected. I do greatly appreciate it when intentionally harsh or overly aggressive posts are removed promptly. Bravo. The same for spam posts with links to other websites - they are usually taken out very quickly if flagged right away. Sometimes I post in the wee hours of the night if I can't sleep, or I am in a hurry and my words do not come out exactly as I intended. I hope that anybody who might take offense understands that no harm is ever meant. Once written, words are hard to take back. John Davies Spokane WA

In the short span of time we have been members here we really appreciate the volunteer efforts of all the moderators in keeping the riff raff out and content sailing smoothly. A great job, thank you all. Thank you to all the long time members here for your patient responses with questions you have seen over and over from us new folks. Passing forward your knowledge and experiences is invaluable and is so greatly appreciated. We look forward to meeting Oliver TT family members at a Rally someday! Stay Safe, David & Kathy

Thanks, John. We enjoy being here so volunteering to moderate isn’t a hardship! Traffic has increased a lot, both new owners and those interested in becoming owners. This is a nice community to belong to. Mike

Well to make a long story longer, a friend who full times in a Class C was scheduled to work on the peninsula this summer. Her vague assignment was in the Hoh Rainforest area so we made a reservation at a campground nearby and Bogachiel was the closest I found that didn't have a 21' limitation. We made a single night reservation and would move somewhere with her guidance. It turned out she was actually was going to work at Fairholme, but that’s all on hold at the present time with the park still closed. As far as Bogachiel is concerned, the map placed it right on US 101, so I didn’t think I could get into too much trouble finding my camping spot. And it only cost $8 for an online reservation and another $8 to cancel as the state waived the % based fee on how long you held the reservation which would have been another $11 dollars. So all of you Washington State forum members should contact your representatives and let them know where you would like the remainder of my $16 spent in your great state. Maybe they can repair one of those washed out bridges you mentioned.🙂 Mossey

Yes, thanks for the kind comments. We Moderators are Oliver owners and Forum members just like everyone else on the Forum. In addition to our "moderator" duties we too have opinions, emotions and overall views of our world that may or may not coincide with virtually any particular topic out there. However, we try our best to be guided by the "Oliver Forum Guidelines". If anyone hasn't read these Guidelines in awhile, now might be a good time to do so. They can be found under "General Discussion" - "Read First: Oliver Forum Guidelines". Bill

Yep, if our plans had not been interrupted, we would be drinking coffee in Bogachiel State Park on the Olympic Peninsula this morning. Oh well, shed happens, brush it off! That’s what we do in "the dog house", Mossey

I was wondering why I had a craving for "milk bones" 😃! Seriously - I'm trying to get all my around the house chores done prior to a planned departure for Wyoming just after July 4th. Hopefully NFS campgrounds will be back open by then or I'll have to cancel and be stuck with chasing North Carolina trout all summer- could be a lot worse I guess. Bill

This is Livvy, in her element. Shes tiny, bit had been camping since 10 weeks old.

At least that’s]what it feels like. Last weekend, replaced bearings, races and seals with Temkin/National, lubed and cleaned suspension and washed Gracie. This weekend buffed and polished - thanks to Foy for the product information She’s sure pretty when she’s clean!

Hello everyone! I have been searching through the forum over the past week. Really enjoy reading peoples experiences and opinions on topics that interest me. Thanks for sharing all the knowledge. Well I'm headed down from the Northeast soon to pick up my LE2. Should be fun, deciding what to bring, what not to bring! Where to stay, what questions to ask, making sure all the systems are working properly while I'm there. Expecting my paperwork to show up in the mail today, so I can get all registered and insured before I leave. I really expected it yesterday. I'm new to forum use, but I just wanted to say hi and thanks for all the great info! Best, Peter

Papabiker - Do you rent yourself out for that exterior polishing? Sure must be nice to have a relatively level driveway. If I set up that scaffold in my driveway I'd be in the next county by the time it stopped rolling! Bill

Peter - I'll also add my welcome to you. Don't worry about lack of Forum use - you'll get better the more you interact here. The most important thing about picking up your Oliver is to enjoy yourself. All the other stuff can be learned - which is half the fun. Review as much as you can here on the Forum before you go and specifically take a look at the Oliver University for your model of Ollie - https://olivertraveltrailers.com/oliver-university/ AND, if you have not viewed it certainly take a look at the what to expect video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TES5Qhr7DQc Finally, let all of us know how it went for you and if there is anything we can do. Bill

I hate myself for saying this but - Time Files! Seriously, it really does. During the three months of waiting you have a bunch to do (besides dreaming of all the great places you can take that Ollie). The Oliver University is a great place to start and since you are already here, there is a bunch of information contained on this Forum that will help ease you into the Oliver world. Welcome and please do not hesitate to ask questions along the way. Bill

Made a whirlwind trip to Hohenwald and back this week and now have a deposit on an Elite 2 for delivery in mid-October. Started out our marriage as backpackers, then tent campers when our children were small, now embarking on new adventures in retirement. We are near Raleigh, NC.

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

Although we haven’t been to Western North Carolina in many years and loved the waterfalls, creeks, and trees, I always thought the best thing about the area was the BBQ. Mossey

Welding aluminum correctly by hand is very much an art. Your average trailer hitch shop cannot do it, a specialty company is usually the best place to have something like a personal project welded. Robotic machines are taking over in the larger factories like Aluma. In a shift they do the work of ten men, and with very repeatable high quality. I don’t know if Olivers will ever be machine welded, it would not be a bad thing, but their human welders do beautiful work, and as owners we should appreciate it and thank them. John Davies Spokane WA

Those pesky Asian beetles...the ones that look like Lady Bugs! Last Fall, we were getting ready to winterize, as we had an early winter event coming in. It was warm, sunny, and a beautiful day. I gathered antifreeze and other supplies. As I came around the stern of the trailer, in the warm sun, it must have been covered with at least 500 of those little pests. We were careful coming in and out as we changed anti freeze bottles, and pumped lines, and so forth. We didn't want those things in there. We probably only had to remove 3 or 4. This Spring "wake-up", I only found 2 "hulls". That tells me the Oliver is essentially tight, and pest free and resistant. We have had SOBs (some other brand) in the past and they used to get invaded. Nice not to have that cleanup...

On a more serious note, the double hull prevents them from getting up into the undercarriage, where most other trailers have some flimsy laminate or worse that they can get up into. Our terrier is kind of upset with the lack of vermin - she's usually pretty good at getting pet fees and our fees refunded at hotels by pointing out their critter problem.

Honey Badger crystals. They are sprinkled around the interior, between the shells , as a preventative measure. Any mention of a honey Badger sends critters into a virtual frenzy of self destruction. Mice, rats, and other rodents , do not congregate anywhere a honey badger has staked a claim. Rest easy, no critters in an Oliver, some owners, excepted. RB

Great to see yet another "shorty." I don't know of a single Elite owner with a wdh, or sway bar, but I could have missed one. I hope you love yours as much as we've loved ours for eleven years. Sherry

We also have the king bed model. We have found that we really like to have the large table available during the day, so we do set it up and break it down daily. We use a memory foam mattress topper in a duvet on top of the cushions. That gets rolled up with all rhe bedding still on it and serves as the back cushion during the day. At night, it rolls back out and we have an instant made up bed. Working pretty well for us so far:) Twist