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I like to use an extra long shoe horn to slip my shoes on. I keeps me from having to bend over and possibly faint. I used 2 corsage pins stuck in the noggin bumper above the door to hold my shoe horn. Priceless.

I posted this back in 2018 but was reminded of this again this morning. While disconnecting my hose I noticed my city water female hose connection fitting was loose. The picture below shows the fitting after I removed the strainer/ washer. You need to carry a 1/2 inch hex key (Allen wrench) or you’ll have to use a bolt with a head that fits a 1/2 inch wrench. Just snug this fitting up after removing the strainer/washer. Be sure to replace the strainer/washer after tightening the fitting. Here is the post that I made about this back in 2018. Just disregard the threadjacking in the middle of the original thread.

All of the solutions in this post, including the one I was poking fun at (I was just playin, it's really a good idea) are a great way to protect the door hook from tearing out in a wind gust. On my Elite, the eye for the door hook has a reinforcing plate on the inside of the door. I don't know what Oliver did with the hook side. Let's assume it is reinforced and you just can't see it because it is between the hull shells. If a nasty gust of wind came up and the door hook held, it could still severely wrack your door because it is just secured at the bottom. Something in the middle of the door like what we are discussing here is much better. Thus far, we just close the door if wind is a threat. I really like the bungee idea, but if not done right it has it's own set of problems. First and foremost, I don't want to place undue stress on the door hinges. The tension of the bungee would need to be just right, as well as the elasticity. Just enough to barely compress that rubber stopper on the outside of the door that keeps it from slamming against the hull. The other obvious issue is potential damage to the gel coat from chafing against the hull. Using both the elasticity of the bungee and the weight of my safety chain this is what I came up with...

Yes but I had the corsage pins. And if I really knew the cost of the corsages and the event that was involved they probably cost me more than Velcro. But I do like Velcro. I love the sound of Velcro. Makes me want to drink Tang.

Having spent my working years in manufacturing I am convinced competition serves to make us better and is to be embraced, not feared. Chopper gun layup as used by Oliver can produce a strong, relatively economical structure. It is however very, very heavy. Higher tech materials and technologies now make it possible to produce a far stronger, far lighter and far better insulated hull than is possible using an older technology such as the chopper guns primarily used by Oliver. The drawback is cost as newer composite technologies tend to be more labor intensive and require far more sophisticated and costly equipment to produce. Oliver deserves high credit for raising the quality bar as high as they have and I doubt that they are done yet. We will all be better off for it.

I figured out one of mine was loose because it was spraying water when I hooked the hose to it… didn’t have a 1/2” Allen wrench at the time, but I do now.. any project requiring a new tool is a good one as far as I’m concerned. 🙂

Excellent idea, you can always count on this forum to solve just about any problem...

Steve, if you put a foam noodle around your shoehorn and Velcro it above the door, you’d kill two birds with one stone. Stick a few corsage pins in the noodle and now you’ve got a place for your corsage pins. And another shoehorn.

This folding step

This is in no way original, pics have been posted here a few times over the years, but I finally got around to doing this and thought this cool and easy mod needed a “home” thread. I can’t recall who posted the original pics, but thank you! This provides protection against a strong and unexpected wind gust, which might possibly break the OEM hold open bar or pop its rivets out of the fiberglass. I have never liked that design, the marine latch works fine inside a boat to hold open an inside door, but it is not suitable at all for windy conditions. The yellow bungee is a 48” one from this assortment package: …. SmartStraps The stainless snap hook (carabiner): …. 3/16” Stainless Snap Hook 5 pack The bungee has a scratch proof plastic hook at each end, it won’t scratch anything when looped around the inside handle. The reviews are mixed, some buyers say it doesn’t last under constant UV exposure. I have never used these outside, so I can’t comment on that. I do like the big plastic hooks, they are way less dangerous than those little steel ones, which can remove an eye. The front strap is a home-built one from woven paracord, with a big loop in one end and a small one to capture the snap hook. The big loop goes around the jack body and then the other end feeds through it. It is about 24” long end to end. It touches the doghouse lightly, but any motion is linear at the bungee cord, the strap does not actually move at all. This is one reason I didn’t just use two bungees, I did not want the gelcoat to be scuffed. (You could eliminate the front strap and just connect the front bungee hook to the doghouse cover hold-down, but in that case it will chafe on the hull. This setup provides about 3” of clearance there.) If you want an off the shelf strap, with no steel parts, these would work fine: …. Race Driven Tie Down Straps. They would not look as sexy 😁 If you have just the screen door closed and want to close the outer one, you can just unhook the cord from the handle and swing the door closed. You don’t have to go outside in your pajamas to unhook the OEM hold open bar. The bungee will launch toward the ground behind the tow vehicle, but the front cord and steel hook will not go flying. John Davies Spokane WA

@John E Davies good plan to stay hitched if wildfires are around. The idea of a quick getaway never dawned on me when you mentioned wildfires in your post about the window air filter.

Get a longer cord, hook it onto one of the links further forward, that will give you a lot of adjustment capability. If the loose end hangs down, it won’t be an issue. My long cord stretches about 18” and the load on the door is very minimal. I considered your method, but I normally try to stay hitched all the time, so my safety chains and Andersen chains are busy elsewhere. Living in an area of extreme drought and possible wildfires, I like to reduce the time it would take to evacuate. I also avoid any campground with only one way out at the end of a long slow bumpy road. 😳 John Davies Spokane WA

I have to use a step stool to get to the contents in the truck bed. We carry something similar. MIke

Looks like a nice unit. Dometic better up their game….

This is how we handled this, thanks for your awesome idea!

Welcome, we also considered airstream before discovering Oliver. Zero regrets with going Oliver! Welcome from Tennessee - hope to see you on the road!

@ScubaRx I can send you corsage pins. Probably a couple thousand dollars worth. But that might only be 4.

Very clever. I’ve often wondered where I could store our extra shoehorn. We don’t have a noggin bumper so that’s out. Nor any corsage pins at that.

A stepstool is so handy. We have carried this one for many years

Slick. Could you just use a little velcro? I use velcro a lot.

Possibly, where would you hook it? There is not much exposed structure there. You could use one link of the right side Andersen chain, if you use that hitch. It needs to be quick and easy to hook up or you won’t use it, especially if you have to squat down and fumble around under the frame…. and it can’t get dirty or you will not want to handle it. It would probably work OK around the straight part, but I think it would chafe the gelcoat because of the angle. In that case, just hook onto the rubber strap thingee that holds down the doghouse cover. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree. Our 40 plus year old sailboat is heavy, by today's standards. But the layup has stood the test of time, and of our voyages. I, too, watch new manufacturers with interest. I'm very skeptical about this group,however, from what they've shown, and subsequently taken down, over the last few months on their website . They also "build" offshore (their billing) boats, but I've not seen even a prototype, of anything bigger than15 ft. That's not an offshore boat. It's a good day lake or intracoastal boat, imo. Even that is likely a prototype. We'll see. It's an interesting process, one used in some boats. Also, very expensive. Like I said, We'll see. There is much refinement left to be done, to make it a good trailer, imo.

The ac in the photo is dometic. The fridge is way too big. This trailer is about the size of my Elite. 48" bed, if you want a small dinette, and full time bed. I watched their videos in February, before they took them down. Interesting manufacturing , but I wouldn't be putting any money down. Pretty sure the blue trailer is their first, and only. They were making a mold in February. From a Casita.

We’ve got a runner we bought at Walmart and one that we bought at Target. Both are 22” wide. I’d like to find a 24” wide runner that overlaps the fiberglass on either side. Either way, these were cheap and can be replaced with no guilt. Mike

The frame looks really low, like a boat trailer, with a bumper attached.

We used a washable, but heavy, runner the first few years. I still have it, and use it occasionally in the winter as a second layer. My most favorite, but kind of ugly rugs, are the ones I'm using now. They're carpet with a heavy foam back that I bought at a discount store. Low nap. Sweep or vacuum easily, inside the trailer, or out. Did I mention that they're rather ugly? I'll take that for the ease of use, especially in the fall, when everything gets tracked in-- mud , leaves, detritus.

Show me a better solution that does not cost me any $$$ and I will gladly buy you a nice steak dinner. 😁 Any way, this one was not my idea, I am recycling it. John Davies Spokane WA

Yes, it will. I used the collar lock (with Abus disk lock) on two different trucks (half ton) with the Andersen. Still using it without the Andersen. Keep the questions coming! Mike

YES to this: I am glad to see an OEM manufacturer using this cool system. I wish it would be an Ollie option. You can tell that is a rushed prototype trailer, they did not even spray a little gloss black paint on that square reinforcing tube. And there does not appear to be any bedding compound or at least some sealer around the outside where the steel contacts the aluminum frame…..😳Bad. John Davies Spokane WA

Who can find the cryptic hyperlink to Oliver's website hidden in their webpage?

Totally different than the Oliver 😆 The dinette is on the curbside and the kitchen area is on the street side on the Cortes. Not like the Oliver at all! 😆. Seriously though, as the old saying goes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The fiberglass composite material looks interesting, and if the entire inner and outer hull are layed up with the woven fiberglass composite fabric instead of chopped/sprayed fiberglass, it would be very strong.

It's been a much debated subject over the years. Originally, Oliver called them jacks and they were fine with owners lifting the tires off the ground if needed. (I've done that many times.). But there was a bit of a design issue with the earlier trailers in that the bracket to carry the jack was made of welded aluminum plates. A few brackets failed at the welds, which is obviously potentially pretty dangerous. They changed the bracket design to a steel angle, but also changed their tune on using the jacks as jacks. They became stabilizers and the tires stay on the ground. Except for a dwindling number of us rebels who throw caution to the wind. For me, I'm good with one set of tires off the ground, provided the slope of the site isn't crazy. But never both sets, since the jacks aren't really designed for lateral loads.

Thanks to you all for the warm welcome, information, and some humor (unless Mainiac really meant it about correct answers :). It just makes us that much more excited about being part of the Oliver family. Looking forward to seeing all of you in our travels!

Welcome to the "family". As you have already gathered, there are really no strangers here. You can ask questions, and you can expect many different answers, some may actually be correct. Welcome from Maine, and hull #211...

You bet. I've got my finger on Amazon's buy now button just in case anyone wants to take up the challenge. I won't be more than three feet from a screwdriver at any moment.

This is the second version of the our Storage Box. I find it interesting that when we were considering an Oliver, we ruled out the Storage Basket Option, because we thought it would add to much weight to the Tongue. The used 2019 Oliver we bought already had it so we took advantage of it, after we measured the Tongue Weight to make sure it was within our TV's Specs, Loaded 580 LBS. The Box is simply 1/2 Plywood inserted inside the Aluminum Basket. Note, the Piano Hinge Top and it's Drain Tube underneath the Hinge to keep water out. The Marine Cleat is part of out "Land Yacht" theme, We lock out E Bikes to them. Note we hook the Safety Chains to the eyelet on the front when not in use. Also a Trailer Level Gauge and Electrical Cord is stored in it's holder mounted to the front. The third pic, show inside the Box. I mounted the Tools/Items we use again and again! Also on the Back panel are Stainless Steel Vents to reduce condensation build up, which they do. Finally, note the Lock/Key which are Color Coded (Yellow) to the 2 locks on the Storage Box/Tailer Hitch/E Bikes/and everything else I can think of. The Latches are from the Marine Industry, again a Nautical Theme. Note we hook the Safety Chains to the eyelet on the front when not in use. Also a Trailer

You have to discount the $8500 by the cost of upgrade from lead-acid to AGM, less the price difference between 2000w and 3000w inverter. I don't know the current costs; yes, I'm a retired bean counter 😁

I just stumbled onto this post while searching for another topic. When we returned from our maiden voyage after delivery on May 17 in Hohenwald, we arrived at home at 1 a.m. To facilitate the unloading process, I decided to back R-Villa into our driveway. While maneuvering I needed to jackknife at a somewhat sharp angle, but I did not think to check. My wife said, "Did you hear that?" I hadn't heard anything; however, upon "de-trucking" I saw what I hadn't heard. The next day the body shop gave me the bad news--$600 to straighten and paint the rear bumper on our new truck. I have since removed the Oliver aluminum box and will probably sell it. The box was unscathed!