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We started our 4 1/2 road trip to the South and Southwest on November 30. It was 19 degrees when we left New Harbor, Maine at 4 AM. The first chilly night was designed to make mileage and crash for an overnight. We stayed in the Cracker Barrel in Frackville, PA. We have stayed here before. It is not busy and easy on and off. This day included 2 plus hours for driving in snow on route 84 and 81. First time pulling Beacon in the snow. It was cold down to 23 at night. The next evening we stayed at a Harvest Host in Wytheville, VA. Right off rout 81. The last half mile to the farm was a little challenging and included crossing a 12 ft wide wooden bridge. This was our first harvest host experience and it was very positive. We got some honey, eggs and an alpaca stuffed animal for our new grandson. I would highly recommend this host. Tom was really nice and other Oliver's have stayed there. We went in the pens with Tom and petted the alpacas. We learned a lot here. On to Pigeon Forge, TN and Pine Mountain RV Park. Great location if you like being near all the attractions but just off the parkway. Nice and very well kept full service r.v. Park. I would also recommend it. Very well kept and very clean with great showers. We spent 2 days in the Smoky Mountains. Then to Oliver for annual maintenance on Beacon. We stayed right at Oliver in their new campground. Service went great. There weren't any deliveries or others camped for service while we were there. There were new units brought over from the factory to be prepared for delivery. They also have a dump station. Very handy. Tonight we are at McKinney COE campground just north of Atlanta off route 75. Really nice spot. First time for us at a COE campground. Really nice and with d with my geezer pass hard to beat for $14. We got a pull through site right on the lake! Off to Aiken State Park in SC to see some family tomorrow. Sunday we start out trip to Naples FL. Here are some pictures.

We have had our sewer hose permanently connected for over 14 years on two different Oliver's with no problems. I can't see any reason to do it any other way. It's way too hard to get down and hook up every time for me.

We don't have a backsplash in our smaller Elite. Instead, I added some storage bins, and picked up some color from my melmac dinnerware.

I love the white interiors of the Oliver -- it's the first thing that struck me when I stepped foot inside last year. It's a modern style, fitting with the entire design, but in addition to that it adds a great deal of reflected light, one of the things that makes the Oliver so special. Most trailers feel constricted inside; the Oliver's white interior FEELS much bigger in large part due to the reflected light. Bright colors introduced through bedspreads, pillows and small items will be plenty to keep me happy. I'm considering using a piece of Marimekko fabric that I've had since college, for one of my bedspreads. Something like this: https://www.marimekko.com/com_en/kotiin/kankaat/puuvillakankaat/siirtolapuutarha-cotton-fabricwhite-green-black-063267-160 Here is the US storefront: https://www.marimekko.com/us_en/home/fabric/all-fabric

We love the shiny, white interior. So much so that we ordered ours with white counters. The shiny, white interior provides a wonderful, contrasting backdrop for whatever pictures, etc you place on the walls. Just to be clear, we are coming from a vintage camper with lots of windows with rich, oak veneer ceiling, walls and fixtures. Worried we would miss the warmth of wood, this has been deemed unfounded. We love our Ollie!

Over the years there have been multiple discussions about the white interior of the Oliver Travel Trailer - some like it, some don't. In this morning's newspaper there was the article below concerning how to get creative with whites. I don't think there is anything really "new" here but our recent discussions concerning stick on tiles seems to indicate that there are those that are very interested in this decorating. Bill p.s. personally, I really like the last suggestion.

I’m with Steve…. We leave our hose connected all the time. No issues. Mike

In addition to the suggestions above, you might think about something to break up the ceiling. We added these acoustical panels, which provide a bit of relief to the endless fiberglass and of course deaden the sound a little as well -

Ditto.

I have a thing for classic sci fi design, so for me the Ollie’s white moulded fiberglass interior was like a childhood fantasy come true. In fact I almost named the trailer Alpha Moonbase at one point, and I would have put a red Enterprise stripe down the side except it looked too much like the Scamp graphics. (I did keep a subtle Star Trek reference in the final graphics, but I doubt anyone would ever catch it.) The great thing about the white interior is that it’s a blank canvas, and so easily changed if you ever get tired of your decor. Maybe one day I’ll redo everything like this -

Ollie's white interior sold us on the Oliver first time we stepped in one! You mentioned the 1794 Tundra in another thread, I still like the white interior of the 1794 Tundra, even though we're buying a SR5!

A belated response to your query: In his 2021 delivery video, Jason explains that the second fuse for the front jack under the rear street side access panel is installed to satisfy a requirement that the circuit be fused within "x" distance from the power source. The power source, of course, is the battery bank. Jason does not specify what the "x" distance is in the video.

You guys are, indeed, a "beacon" of delight during this winter season. I've stopped for breakfast at that Cracker Barrel and its nice to know of the Harvest Host location in Wytheville since we go through there a couple of times each year. Hopefully getting through or around Atlanta will not give you too many troubles and after that you should be fairly good to go. Safe travels! Bill

I need to know your secret to keeping your trailer so clean even after driving in snow! Great pictures and it sounds like a great trip so far. We have enjoyed all of our HH stays, it’s a great option for an overnight while traveling to get somewhere. Thanks for posting and let us know about the rest of the trip! Mike

I gathered a few photos of backsplashes for you. You can see all the posts by doing a search on "backsplash."

Not difficult at all, at least for the kitchen, and yes they stick well. Several owners have added them and I definitely wasn’t the first. The bathroom is a bit harder since the wall has a double curve and you have to find a happy medium as to what you want to be straight. I think the brand I bought was Smart Tiles, but there seem to be a lot of new options out there now.

EDIT 04/14/22: ... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6781-how-to-service-your-rear-electric-jacks/ I have never opened up a jack, they are all starting to get a little loud so I decided to service the front one. I don't remember them being this loud when new: .... Oliver Tongue Jack Operating Sound Here is the manufacturer page: ... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/wp-content/uploads/oliver-university/Component_Manuals/Stabilizing_Jacks/vip3000_Electric_Jack_Manual.pdf The rear jacks are similar to the tongue jack, except they do not have the plastic cover with light and switches. For the tongue jack only, can open up the gearbox area without removing the head, but you are supposed to lube the drive pin where it connects to the vertical tube, so you might as well unbolt the top and take it to a workbench. Unplug the 30 amp slo-blow fuse inside the waterproof holder. Cut any tie wraps. This is the 12 volt power wire, the ground happens through the jack body and trailer frame. NOTE: there is another fuse in back under the street side bed, I am not sure why there are two fuses. Can anyone comment? Use an Allen wrench and unscrew the three countersunk set screws a couple of turns - they are spaced along the base of the head unit. Lift the head off and set it aside. Here is the drive coupling down inside the tube, with the factory lube. It looks fine. Here is the head socket, showing the pin that fits down into that coupling: FYI it is possible to drive the pin out. There is a 1/4" access hole in the side of the cavity. I did not want to disturb it, for fear of damaging the plastic bearing support behind to it. You need to get some slack in the wires so you can slide the cover assembly out of the way. Remove the rubber boot/ nut that holds the Up/ Down switch into the cover, pull it in and let it dangle: Remove the yellow ground wire and pry out the rubber grommet that contains the three wires. Slide it up toward the switches. This will allow the gearbox cover to slide upwards. Remove the other three bolts. CAREFULLY wiggle the lid and pull it off. John Davies Spokane WA

In case anyone missed it - It has been announced that starting in 2022 a permit will be needed to hike the famous trail up to Angel's Landing in Zion. Apparently the permits will be issued via a lottery system on Recreation.gov. A fee of $6.00 will be required to apply to the lottery and then if the applicant is successful there will be an additional $3.00 fee. The idea is that this lottery system will reduce traffic on the trail and crowding at the top (Angel's Landing). If heights don't bother you (too much) and you are in fairly good shape - it is a reasonable climb along most of the trail - then it is something that you should try to fit into your plans. However, now you will have to plan a bit earlier in order to get one of those permits. Bill

Squared.

I used the Oliver provided hose for a year or so. It’s now back up. I got a Valterra hose that scrunches up to about 5’ and stays there when not using it. That was 4 or 5 years ago. I might have removed it once but it’s been attached for years. Mike

You're a true trekkie. For some reason that little tic has always stuck in my mind.

Shuttlecraft!

As a lifelong Trekkie it's killing me that I don't see it! Now that I think about it, Tribble would be a cute name for an Ollie. Cute little round funball.

I like the idea of leaving the hose connected. I wonder, those of you that are doing that, are you using the stock drain hose that Oliver provides? That whole getting down on your hands and knees isn’t particularly appealing. I’m thinking about bikes in the back of the truck instead of the rear of the trailer. However my wife thinks that the receiver hitch is a good idea and if 46 years of marriage has taught me anything…..

Nah. But I see it, and now I'll have to change the logo. 😂

That was very subtle! I never made the connection before. Mossey

Steph & Dud, It is but the Cabin envelopes the battery box except on one side and any heat within the cabin will warm the battery box. This is not total protection but does give you a buffer. Outside temp here in Port Townsend, WA is now 40 degrees (at noon) but the batterys are showing at 54 degrees - this with a small space heater set on it's lowest fan / heat setting. Blocking off air flow from the outside of the battery box and insulating the exterior door will offer additional protection for Lithiums. I would not block off outside air from a wet cell. If one were to mount a permanent heater with ducts into the space between the hulls as well as the interior of the cabin, this would give you a great deal of protection. Just thinking out loud here.

I tried that, and the hose split wide open eventually at the sharp bend because the bumper was pushing on it too hard. lesson learned. Do not leave the hose connected while traveling John Davies Spokane WA

I would say here that your tow vehicle is probably the most important choice here, if your thinking about towing with anything less than a 1/2 ton fully size pickup, you might give loading your trailer some good thought, but from what I see at camping grounds 90% pull there trailers with a 1/2 / 3/4 ton full size pickup and all types of loads without problems. You can overthink this and carry a calculator with you all the time and as you eat your load level will change, then what. Remember Walmart is just around the corner so you can re-load.

We are into White, all our vehicles are white with gray interiors. The Oliver was ordered with the standard White countertops and Gray trim cloth seat covers, (a savings of $1800). The White interior is pretty classy and has a look of a luxury interior, or that's what visitors say who go inside and see it. At delivery from Oliver, Phil told us that Mr. Oliver said, it's too nice and good looking to give it away and not charge for it. Since Oliver packages there interiors in packages today I'm not sure how White interiors are done today, but a call to Oliver should give you your answer. trainman

Well I definitely understand. When we went up several years ago, we left camp when it was still dark to try to beat the heat and crowds. We did beat the heat, but I was surprised at the number of people that early - we often have places like that to ourselves if we're early birds. I hate that they have to do it, but it is what it is, and a lottery is definitely more fair than just opening up slots since those seem to get taken suspiciously fast. It sucks for our type of travel, since we rarely plan out much more than our first few stops. I think they could cut down the crowds significantly by just having a ranger posted at the trailhead, stopping people who don't have proper shoes, carrying their dogs, etc. We saw it all. One woman in heels, believe it or not.

We have been cautioned by Oliver and forum contributors to periodically check the grease in the stabilizer head on all of our stabilizer jacks. I have done the tongue jack many times and was able to due the appropriate maintenance on the street side stabilizer under our LEII twin bed. I tried to do the curbside last year when I was winterizing and struggling with an AGM battery issue, so I gave up prematurely on that one. The problem I had was that the cover would allow itself to be removed. I opted not to force and had a very brief discussion with Oliver Service that got tossed due to our AGM issue. After our spring trip I began suspecting that I needed to really looking into that curbside stabilizer based on the different noise it made compared to the street side stabilizer. I finally set aside time to do them all. The tongue and street side were completed with out issue. When I went to de-install the curbside, it would not budge, but I very carefully pried it up with a flat bladed screw driver run around the gap created at the seam after gently moving the cover a modest amount with a small rubber coated mallet. As I worked my way around the entire body, I felt it was still quite tight, but proceeded very slowly. When I got the cover high enough it suddenly came free and to my surprise the middle gear was still in the cover. I was able to turn it and remove it, but it was tight. Clean up became my priority and as it turns out there was plenty of grease although it was pretty dark compared to the lithium grease I would install. Having this gear out gave me an opportunity to inspect the other gears. I found a SS bushing out of position for the middle gear and repositioned it after cleaning and the put some grease in and reinstalled the middle gear. There is a serpentine gear on the motor shaft that marries with the middle gear and a smaller gear on the bottom of the middle gear that marries with the stabilizer lifter which must act like a screw jack. After I put it back together and repositioned the gasket, I gently put the cover on and after a couple of wiggles and an additional inspection re-installed it. I tightened down bolts loosely using an alternating diagonal pattern and then finished tightening before testing. I used the hand crank to pretest before activating the electric motor and all was fine. I would like to say the noise is now the same for both rear stabilizers, but in our case it is not. Seems to be noisier on raising the pad than on dropping it.

If they've had enough beverages they might forget the chair!

Thank you kindly. I wanted to do a different backsplash that had a bit of color, but my wife wanted to keep it all grey tones. I just sent Foy an email, though, so perhaps I'll be able to warm up the interior a bit next year. And then I can say that we need to change the backsplash to tie together the wood and the grey. I'm sneaky like that.

As do your lovely backsplashes and wood top for the lagun.

Yes indeed - And you might also take a look as some of what Foy Sperring offers, since he can do extended versions of the microwave and pantry countertops, as well as a larger dinette table - Finally, a Lagun table will give you a great deal of extra space, and can be raised to counter height. The top shown here is difficult/impossible to find anymore, but I understand that Foy may be able to make something similar for you -

The factory weight of our hull 770 was 5020# as it left the factory last May. We went with the Anderson, Lithium package and 30# tanks ... the only things in your build that will really effect weight - the propane tanks and Anderson add weight and the Lithiums will lose you quite a bit of weight over a wet-cell battery setup. Your composting toilet will probably prove out lighter as the "loaded" weight will be less than a full black tank. I suspect the weight of the head itself will be a wash or perhaps a bit lighter than the standard head. I am also guessing the Truma may be a few pounds lighter than the standard water heater / tank combo but do not know this for a fact.

I purchased the Oliver bumper, pulled their receiver off and replaced with a modified 2" for the reason mentioned above. The stresses on a hitch bobbing around on a travel trailer was concerning enough that I felt a "travel trailer" approved hitch was prudent. Oliver supplying a 1.25" hitch receiver is crazy making. If I was ordering the trailer again, I'd ask that the supply the bumper without a receiver and no holes drilled. It would be super easy to buy a 2" receiver plate and bolt it down myself.

Thanks so much! That looks perfect! I didn't want to lose out on the basement door or the bedside drawer. Great idea!

Thanks, John. I went out of got some PB Blaster. I also dropped Jason from OTT a note to see if had any tips. In case anyone comes to this tread having the same issue as I did, I wanted to add Jason's comments for information. Im not sure which tip worked more (John or Jason) but eventually one helped to loosen it. Thought it was still very difficult (it took two hours to do the two back jacks!!) Anyway, Jason said that some of the guys use Red Loctite when closing those Allen screws. So the only thing that will loosen the loctite is heat. He said put a flame around it for a short time. I did that, I also heated the allen key and left it in the screw to help things along. But I got there eventually by using both the PB Blaster and the flame. Thanks again to Jason and John!

Penetrating oil. I love PB Blaster, it has worked great for me for a looooog time. https://www.amazon.com/Blaster-16-PB-Penetrating-Catalyst-11-Ounces/dp/B000I2079E Any auto parts store will have it. Let it soak half an hour and I bet they will come out. If not, insert the Allen wrench and tap on it with a small hammer to shock the threads. Some silver (aluminum based) anti-seize on the threads will prevent future problems. John Davies Spokane WA

John, I took all three of my jacks apart about six months after I purchased our 2017 LEII. I took mine apart because one jack was (is) very loud running in either direction. The grease used in the gearboxes in mine is a white lithium type. I didn’t think there was quite enough used so, I ordered a can of white lithium and added much more. What was factory installed was soft but just skimpy IMHO. The extra grease sadly didn’t change the sound so I’m no longer concerned that the gears may be running dry.