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My mission after the first few camping trips was to install a better shower head in the Oliver. I especially didn't like the fact that I had to turn the water off at the faucet handle and lose the setting. Research turned up a highly regarded brand called High Sierra. I searched for those on this forum as well and found that at least one person (Overland) has also upgraded to a High Sierra. I chose the same ugly one with a nice new faucet but an even uglier diverter. 😄 I also hope my wife doesn't notice that her washcloth holder is gone now. 😬 I decided that a permanent access hatch (DasMarine Marine Deck Access Hatch & Lid with Lock, White, 24" Length X 14" Width (606MM. Length X 353MM. Width) in it's place was a better value (at least to me!). I can get at all my new valves now.

Retired again, for last time, for real, I hope. Not going to be full-time trailer traveling, we will be taking long trips. Have stayed in Fort Wilderness twice - with a pop-up Coleman and one daughter, and a 24' 5th wheel and 3 daughters, so have towed before. And living in a 24' 5th wheel with 3 daughters, 18, 10 and 8, makes for an interesting trip. Placed an order for an Elite I that should be ready in March. Decided to splurge, and make it reasonably comfortable. Compromised between a larger trailer and a teardrop that will be towed with my 2014 Tacoma, for now anyway. Will see how the tow home to Camarillo, about 50 miles west and slightly north of Los Angeles, will be. Hope to make it a 2 week trip, making a few notes of what needs to be done. Have enjoyed the forum, learning about the Oliver.

Seeing the shower head changes reminded me that when I ordered our trailer I wasn’t real fond of the shower arrangement so had Oliver make a modification for me. I liked the idea of being able to select the shower head that I wanted and be able to replace it whenever. I used Shurflo brand “Trinidad” model shower diverter valve. Both bath/kitchen faucets are the same design for fewer parts inventory and are the Shurflo “Trinidad” type as well.

With that access hatch, you can plumb in a separate mixer and shower line. 😉

No - I was definitely worried about that so I made sure the hatch wasn't any wider than the current hole for the washcloth rack. The hatch required exactly the same width and I only had to cut 1" off the top and 2" off the bottom. The hatch is very sturdy and the fiberglass on that vanity is flexible enough that it worked out well. No big gaps to caulk around the outside and just to be safe I ran a bead of 3M 4000 along the inside edge.

That's a great hatch. I had wanted one for ours, but it was one of those wish list options that got lost in the shuffle during the build. Instead, they gave me a round port on the closet side, which wasn't as nice, but it's enough to get an arm in and undo the trap if necessary, and more extensive work if you're super patient (I'm not). Did you have trouble getting it to fit with the curved vanity front? When I replaced my caddy, I was able to scribe the top and bottom and cut it to fit, more or less, to keep the caulk joint to a minimum. When I redid my sink, part of it was installing a new vanity top, and so when I put the new one on, I used VHB velcro strips. So now, I can undo the trap from the closet port, then lift up the counter for access. I still have to cut the seal on the counter, just like with the caddy, but it gives me another option to make repairs if needed. Getting that top off was some work, though. I had to cut through the glue working from below with an oscillating saw for about two hours - did I mention that I'm not a patient person?

I missed that point. And, it's important. Even though we (original 2007/8/9) owners could have felt orphaned, we never did. The factory and family supported us til production resumed. It is indeed an important note.

John, Are you considering this for your winter project?

Make sure the stove is turned off. If that is not it, then you can start checking the other connections.

We towed our Elite II with our 2008 Tundra D cab about 5000 miles last winter. We have the tow package and needed to add a brake controller as it was not built in with the tow package in 2008. We use the Andersen hitch. We have the front basket and it is filled with our chocks, Andersen levelers, and blocks for the stabilizers and a few tools. The bed has a torneau cover and I have a tool box, clam, chairs, table, grill Artic cooler, extra 5 gallons of water, little giant ladder, dog food and a variety of other items. We also have a bedliner insert. Our truck is stock with 90,000 miles. We are generally between 59 and 68 mph on the highway. We have the 26 gallon tank (I wish we had a larger tank) We get 10-12 mpg, less on steep grades. We are close to max recommend payload with our 5.7 liter. The truck has plenty of power. No issues and the Oliver tows great. The only issue I have with the Tundra is the brakes they have always felt soft. My son has the same vintage Sequoia and has the same feedback on the brakes. I would like a 3/4 ton but my Tundra has been very reliable and owes us nothing. I feel comfortable near the max payload. I would try going with your Tundra for a while and just try to allocate your weight accordingly. Good luck and enjoy your Ollie.

We made the trip to the factory at the end of November and placed our order and deposit for our new LE2, and though we won’t pick it up until late 2021, we’re excited and hope the year goes quickly. Already following the forums and learning a lot. Really appreciate you sharing your experiences with the new Ollie as it will help us when it’s time to pick ours up. Being newbies, we’re finding the willingness of Ollie owners to share, teach and problem solve with each other, displays the greatest feature of owning an Ollie ... support from this unique family of owners. Looking forward to being part of this wonderful group! Bob & Deb

Connor77, I’ll throw my 2cents in here. I have been pulling our LE2 for the past 20 months over about 19,000 mi without any problems. We live in TX but have pulled it up and down mountains of CO, WY & MT without any problems. I don’t use an Anderson hitch and drive between 60-70. We have the 20lb propane tanks, don’t have a front basket and I generally travel with a full fresh water tank. In the truck bed we carry a Honda 2000, gas can, full cooler, small Webber grill and a couple lawn chairs. We don’t have a topper, only a trifold backflip cover. Sure a diesel would pull better but I use the truck as my daily driver and really like the reliability of the Tundra. Mine is a 16 and has 87k on it. It even has the original brakes. I am considering replacing it with a new Tundra just because I have read somewhere that Toyota is going to stop producing the 5.7 v8. I do like the F250 gas trucks but it is 2” too long to fit in our garage.

Mike, Sounds like winter camping will be possible and comfortable. Just need to be prepared. Good to know that fresh water holding tank is adequate. We are camping this weekend in Lebanon Tn and the water hydrant froze one am. My hoses were heated and worked fine. I had to torch the hydrant to thaw it. I’ll let you know if we order an Oliver and look forward to meeting you and your wife Carol. take care, paul

It may seem like a long wait 'till Spring, but now that you have a bit of experience with your Oliver you are in a good position to get those things that you want to make it even better for you. In addition, you can think about the mods you want to make and the places you can take it. Have fun over the Winter while your baby sleeps. Bill

Hi! We are Benjamin & Alexandra from Chicago Illinois, and we just picked up our Legacy Elite about a month ago. So far we've enjoyed just all the nights in our Ollie before we put it to bed for the cold & snowy winter! We've both been hiking, canoeing, cycling and camping since forever under tarps, in tents and in a pop-up trailer. This is our first foray into a hard-sided camper with creature comforts so that's something of a new experience. Most of our camping has been in the Sunset Lakes Resort, Chillicothe and several other places in southern Illinois. We are expecting to revisit some old favorites and also to begin ranging further afield once spring arrives.

GAP, just run your fridge on propane, I have never used mine on DC, ever. If I have to shut it off for a ferry, I leave the door closed until the crossing is over. There are other things you must consider when trying this wiring mod, like limiting the current flow so you do not fry your truck alternator. Your TV won’t charge your lithiums over about 70% anyway, it cannot provide the required 14.5 volts, even at the alternator. I would not try this without also installing a DC to DC charger in the rear of the truck, to boost the voltage. In Australia they have a Land Cruiser 200 alternator (booster diode) hack, that raises the charging voltage to 14.5 volts, but I would not do that to mine, it never gets over 14 volts, and it usually is around 13.7.... so I have a Redarc trailer charger on order, but I won’t get it for another month. I started a thread about it. It will give a steady 11 amps even with less than ideal wires in the truck and Ollie. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4759-redarc-trailer-charger-mounted-inside-the-ollie-for-100-lithium-charge/ Even for the Redarc unit, you would still have to do some wiring changes inside the Ollie, maybe. My black charge wire was an acceptable size (12 AWG) but the white ground wire was only 14 AWG, too small for sure, since it also has to carry the brake current and that for the lights. Even if you do not have to alter yours, you must physically inspect to make sure the correct gauge wires go all the way to the battery area. I broke into the splices under the front dinette seat, where the tongue wires connect to the trailer, and ran new 10AWG wires from there back. I do not know what gauge wires are in my truck, but they are protected by a 40 amp fuse, so I am very sure they are OK. I will post a thread about that mod.... John Davies Spokane WA.

VIDEO: Burro trailer walk around Interesting article. Their history shows that most of the battle in building these over a long period of time is financial stability. ”In the early ’70s someone in St. Cloud MN manufactured a trailer called the “Cloud”. The Cloud looked very much like the Burro. In the late ’70s the first Burros were produced in Plymouth MN, less than a hundred miles from St. Cloud. Interestingly, the Burro was double-wall construction while the Cloud was apparently single walled. Burro was manufactured in Plymouth MN until the early 80s. Burro re-appeared in Sac City IA and began production in the mid 80s and had a production run until about 1990. Sac City saw the introduction of the 17′ wide body along with the 13′ standard Burros. Apparently the business was poorly managed and investors seized the molds and production equipment. Burro resurfaced in Escondido CA with new molds that were fabricated in Mexico in 1998 or thereabouts. Again because of a variety of factors, Burro went out of business. According to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, the owners ran into significant legal difficulties and seem to have disappeared, along with the molds and equipment.” https://tincantourists.com/wiki/burro-rv/ I think one great thing about the Oliver company is that their bathtub manufacturing and mobile home divisions can stabilize the finances in times of “RV drought”. Stand-alone trailer manufacturers do not have that safety net to fall back on, when people stop buying their trailers. A 17 ft Burro popped up on my local Craigslist, that is what got me started with this topic. https://spokane.craigslist.org/rvs/d/athol-burro-travel-trailer/7250882363.html John Davies Spokane WA

In our older trailers, the shower and faucet were one unit. Scandvik marine hardware. You lift the faucet out of the sink, and put it up on a hook. No diverter necessary. Pretty common in boats, especially older ones like ours . This will obviously work. But, you lose that precious bit of counterspace to the right of the faucet . I do like the idea of the access panel. Now wondering if I could modify the abs insert on ours. Probably not. It's not that strong. Not like your hatch. I do agree, high Sierra is highly rated.

Bobfirst - Prying off the cover is un-necessary. Simply lift the dinette seat and you should be able to see the rear of the propane alarm. Follow the wires from the back of the unit about a foot or so and you should see a black cylinder that holds the fuse. Push the two ends of this fuse holder together and twist them in opposite directions about a 1/4 turn and they should separate. The fuse will simply fall out of the holder at that point. Bill inline fuse holder - cylinder style inline fuse holder - blade fuse style

I have not accessed the stove top and the documentation from Dometic is not helpful. There is an 8mm compression fitting on the bottom of the unit.

The Truma gas line is also accessible from outside. See image below.

The refrigerator should be accessible from the outside lower vent. The propane inlet and manual shut off valve are shown below.

My wife and I met with a great guy, Josh White who spent a good amount of time showing us the different layouts and features. I had already researched the Elite 2 and seen one at a campground but was concerned if my wife would like the small size compared to a large fifth wheel. But she really liked it and we think it could work for us in downsizing. Plant tour was very informative about the manufacturing process. So now it’s a matter of decision as to buy or not. Just want to say thanks to Josh for his patience today and his knowledge of the product.

Josh is our salesman as well. He did our factory tour back in August. He has answered tons of questions that we have had. You will love the tour.

I had this alarm go off once recently when I was using a spray hand sanitizer (alcohol). Is it possible there was alternative source?

Lori, Here is a picture of regular and metal flake black. If we had it to do again, we wouldn’t pay extra for the metal flake, as it is very difficult to see any difference between the two. Andrew

I ordered the Andersen. Thought that I could carry it with me for the first few thousand miles - the trip home. I will have it for resale if I ever do. thanks for the info, and my comfort with the Tacoma. I like the truck. Many people on the forum have been saying that the Tacoma is not enough truck. It is the heavy duty, tow package model, longer bed, four door. John

#707 logo Mock-up... what you say when you are about to take a different tack...

To be fair - I do not know about the agreement between Oliver Service and QuestionMark regarding his particular situation. QuestionMark has been very nice in both reporting his difficulties and in letting us all know how things developed/were resolved by Oliver. However, in all of the cases that I'm aware of Oliver Service has given the owner the option of taking the camper to a RV repair facility for needed warranty repairs or (if they feel comfortable/qualified) to do the repairs if the owner can do the repair themselves. This is not to suggest I accept nor condone quality control issues such as those reported by QuestionMark. But, Oliver has a long history of "making things right" when things do not go according to the way they should. Yes, things of this sort should never happen and, yes, it is a real pain in the tail for all concerned when they do happen. But, contrary to virtually every other company I've ever dealt with, Oliver does whatever is necessary to make things right and to correct production QC issues if that was the culprit. Bill

Ravenper - I've not done as much pure Winter camping as compared to a number of other Forum members, but, I have camped at altitude during the summers where the overnight temps routinely get down to mid 20's to mid 30's. As Mike has said, a nice little electric heater is great for these temps and does not add any moisture to the interior, but, unfortunately, I'm rarely at a campground that has electric. Indeed, the Oliver furnace does a good job of heating the interior space but it uses a fair amount of propane and it uses electricity to run the blower motor. It also does not add much moisture to the interior because the combustion gases are vented directly to the exterior by the furnace itself. Fairly often I use a "Mr. Heater Little Buddy" propane heater : Mr. Heater Little Buddy Even though these heaters have a "tip over switch" and an automatic low O2 shut off, I never leave one of these running either overnight or when I'm not in the Oliver. The only downside to these heaters is that as a by product of combustion, they do add to the moisture level inside. So, a cracked window and/or a open MaxAir fan is reasonably mandatory. In addition, while I've never had a "problem" with moisture beneath my sleeping area, I did install 1/2 inch foam board beneath and along the sides of my mattress as a prophylactic measure. Bill

To answer the first part of your question, we don't carry any caulk or sealants with us, on a regular basis. Many of the better ones are fairly expensive and only have a year or two shelf life, even unopened. Open, some need to be used as soon as opened, or maybe get a month or two with resealing and cool storage. Storing them in a hot truck would accelerate the decline, and I'm not giving up fridge space for something we can buy at any marine store, or in some cases, a building supply, if we actually have a need. We do carry a roll or two of duct tape, which can be used in an emergency to seal a leak, or seal off a suspected leak. Clear is nice for that. Doesn't stand out so much.

Mike, we like you are not in the snow sports but do enjoy the winter season if you can find a campground open. We use some portable electric heaters that work real well. At the tour it felt like furnace works well in the small area but in super cold weather as you mentioned the electric healers help. I need to find out more about the condensation issue. We went through list of options and kind of know what we need. Thanks for sharing your experience. Paul

We routinely go camping in January and February. We’re not really winter sports people so we try to avoid big snow and real cold weather. We have camped in northern NM/southern CO, northern AZ and north central CA (Pinnacles NP/Yosemite NP) during those trips. Weather at times in the teens and frequently 20s at night. No issues. When it’s real cold we like to have shore power since our little electric heater does a better job of keeping the trailer at a consistent temperature than the furnace, plus we don’t blow through as much propane. Just keep a window cracked and a vent open a little and condensation isn’t much of a problem. Mike

Appreciate all your responses and helpful suggestions. I was impressed with the structural build and my wife loves the clean smooth interior finish. I definitely like the fact that the maintenance will be much easier than the typical RV which flexes so much. We are still happy with our DRV MS 5th wheel and might be able to park it at a permanent location in Tn. Then we would enjoy the Ellite 2 for our travels. We spent a good amount of time inside twin bed layout and it was comfortable. We will be going to the Tampa RV show just to see what else is out there that might suit us. I doubt any of them will be built like the Oliver as far as materials and options. One question to you guys who have owned an Oliver I was wondering if any have done winter camping? If so, how well did it feel as far as the insulation factor? Again, thanks for your input and we will keep you informed as to our decision. Paul & Linda , Maryville Tn

Welcome from Maine. You so will enjoy the "hard side". Come in from a hike, soaked and chilled due to a sudden snow squall or thunder monsoon, turn on the heat. Take a hot shower, cook a hot meal, get into a warm bed; no fluttering canvas or water dripping on your nose. Just be prepared, as you are sitting outside, enjoying a fire, to have folks stop by and ask about your camper. (It happens at rest areas too). It is kind of amazing where it will fit, being narrow as your tow vehicle. It is shorter than most pop ups. The sights you will see, as you travel further a field. Take pictures and a log book...

Welcome! I think you’re going to like your transition to an Oliver. Keep us posted on your adventures! Mike

Glad to see they have their sign up. It wasn't there when we took delivery December 7. . . . Great folks, the Oliver team!

Congratulations!

It comes down to exactly what kind of camping do you wish to do (on average). As you probably already know - there simply isn't a better built RV out on the market today whose price is anywhere near that of the Oliver. The durability, quality, resale value, fit and finish are all above the rest. But, if your planned style of camping is to stay in established RV parks and you "need" more sleeping/interior room than the Oliver has then you will probably not be happy with the Oliver purchase. On the other hand - if you want to explore with a freedom and ease of movement combined with generally lower maintenance, the Oliver will fit the bill nicely. Good luck and please let us know what you decide. Bill

Good luck with your decision. The factory tour sealed the deal for us! Mike

Best wishes in making your decision. Nice photo of Oliver's new sign!

No barrel rolls in #707...

Welcome Tom and Shari. We are also in shopping mode (June 21 delivery) and came across a couple of pillows that you might like that are most definitely applicable for my wife and me...Separately, you may have seen this already but we found this thread particularly helpful. Looking forward to seeing your pics!

QuestionMark, Thanks for the updates. As an Oliver owner, I apologize for the poor initial quality issues you have experienced, Us Oliver owners are more accustomed to promoting them, not defending. As for your items - Many of them are just unacceptable - period. We pay a premium price for these units - and although Oliver quality is above industry average, your experience is not. I could guess at what caused this poor performance, but that's Oliver's problem to solve. When you have a 6-8 month backlog, with customers clamoring for product, quality too often takes a back seat. Clearly, Oliver has some work to do, with 700 units - and growing - Jason and crew will need - yet, another building to repair the quality back in. Good luck RB

I have a huge level mounted on the front, I try to position the trailer so it is dead level left to right, by moving forward or backward a few feet, then adjust the other way if needed. You can see the level from the drivers seat, it is much easier than that teeny bubble on top of the tongue jack. Ideally you don’t need to do anything else, if the tongue is a few inches low you can raise it and the TV up without unhitching. If the back is low, use the rears. I really prefer not using any jacks at all, and leaving everything fully hooked up. It saves lots of time, and in an emergency you can hightail it out with minimal delay. If you do this, flag the gear shift with something bright, to remind you to raise any jacks before leaving. You really don’t want to drive with them near the ground...l John Davies Spokane WA

Yes - all of these "things" that are put under the tires are for the purpose of leveling from side to side (note for newbies - do not confuse this with chocks which prevent the camper from rolling away when not connected to your tow vehicle). The tongue jack is used for leveling front to back. Bill

Lumber is always free at our place . . . . . many acres of trees (there's always one dead or dying, thanks to the Grey Squirrels!), and two sawmills . . . .

I’ve been using the yellow Camco lego levelers for years with very little wear showing. I’ve got two sets, both from Walmart. I use them under wheels to level and also use them under my wood blocks at each jack.

Great advice above. I don't know about the lego style leveling blocks you've shown or that others have shown, but I was given an orange set of some that looked quite similar with my custom camper van when picking it up from the conversion shop near Portland OR (long a hotspot for van conversion work). They quickly proceeded to shatter into little bits one after the other on our first few camping outings. Any uneven pavement or worse yet dirt/gravel was just a no-go with the ones I had. I cut some pieces of 2x8 pressure treated lumber (this would have been around late 2004) which I've recently replaced because old pressure treated wood tends to want to split as it ages. A little heavy but cheap. Sometimes they slide around on the ground is the biggest issue - on most surfaces a sheet of rubber helps (there are various ones sold for this purpose on Amazon etc. such as this but I managed to make due before finally repurposing an old rubber doormat that has helped with this). For my coming Elite II I've bought two those nifty Anderson curved wedge plus plastic chock thingies mentioned and linked above (two for the two axles on the Elite II that need to be raised to get level) plus a pair of rubber mats made by I forget who similar to the ones I linked. I'll be interested to see if I like these Anderson levelers better than my lumber bits. I bet I will. I also bought some of those rubber Harbor Freight chocks John shows above. Nifty idea with the rope btw. They seem like they'll work well and I won't be worried about them sliding down a hill as the rolling tires push them at will as I would with the plastic chocks often sold in Anderson leveling combo packages along with those curved levelers. I also got a lock for the bulldog hitch on the Oliver (I hope this one fits!!). Plus a padlock. I'd like to be able to ensure no one can just ease their ball under my hitch and lower my toy and drive off. I imagine there may be better locking solutions and perhaps existing owners can chime in on that front. I also have a receiver lock to ensure that it's not super easy to remove the ball mount from my van's hitch (in my case I'll have the Anderson ball mount as I'll need their weight distribution hitch). I'm told by some horse friends who trailer around a LOT that people with fast fingers tend to surf for towing accessories at places like truck stops at least in our region (including dash mount brake controllers - these are apparently a particularly hot item!).

Whether we are heading out for a 3 day weekend or a 3 week trip, Krunch packs about 10 pairs of shoes and boots and another 10 pairs of sandals and flip flops. Then she adds about 20 outfits, you know top and shorts or pants. Add in 20 pairs of socks and unmentionables. Then she packs the refrigerator, freezer, pantry and bathroom. Then she mentions that if I took the ladder out of the closet, she could put some jackets and rain coats in there. And then she what’s to know why I need the OTT manuals and other information a Boy Scout would deem necessities. This usually leaves me with the attic as my closet! And this is how I have survived 45 years of wedded bliss! Yes dear, you are probably right. And notice I did slip a "probably" in there, as I am still the man of the trailer. Mossey