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Let the fun begin!

Within the past two years I was told that for several reasons Oliver had structured so that production actually did/does sell finished units to the Sales area who then, in turn, sells them to the final retail customer. Probably the first reason had to do with Tennessee state accounting rules/tax laws that require this form of structure. But, it was also done to allow for an additional level of quality control. Bill

Based on many recent happy owners at pickup, I think this is under control. Oliver has pushed orders out to the future (note the very long wait time), which can try the patience as you wait, but I'd rather that. Every rampup has shown training and growing pains, but systems, imo, are way better these days. And, continue to improve with customer input. My 2008 was one of the "originals." With all the newness of that day, I'd still rather have it than any of the other brands out there. That build quality is baked in. We'll just see how it goes for the next 14 seasons ... 😀

If you end up resorting to spray lube, with tapping, PB Blaster is my preferred penetrating lube. It smells awful, but gets the job done if you spray, allow to soak in, tap-tap-tap; spray, allow to soak in, tap-tap-tap, etc. Place some shop towels underneath it to catch drips, as it is stinky, oily and can make a mess. But it works. https://www.amazon.com/Blaster-PB-PENETRATING-Lubricant-OZ/dp/B00XOSYNM6/ref=sr_1_4?gclid=CjwKCAiAzrWOBhBjEiwAq85QZw2ytU7Zjy20DT2TziBOTsHn2XyJajdmoLwrNdJp8EFrT0uyOVaSoxoChKsQAvD_BwE&hvadid=177553433943&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9029558&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=16144056585949407947&hvtargid=kwd-10463478193&hydadcr=6400_9585557&keywords=pb+blaster+penetrating+oil&qid=1640879144&sr=8-4 Thanks for your original post. My wife and I take delivery of our Elite II in September. Among many other things I have learned from informed posters on this forum, I plan to take some nickel-based anti-sieze compound with me to put on the spare tire bolt threads during the initial "shake-down" period. Good luck! Looking forward to your report.

Those knobs are metal as is the "bolt" it is on. However, even metal can and will crack (particularly in colder weather) if struck either just right or too hard. Tapping is a bit more like it. Bill

If you aren’t broken down on the side of the road somewhere and have a little while to work on it I would try one of these. I also applied some dry silicone lube to the threaded stud and the knob goes on and off much easier.

We won’t be doing any winter camping… if I wanted to be where it’s really cold, why I could just stay home.. We do however seem to end up occasionally driving where it’s cold, or dealing with overnights in the low 20s. Sometimes we travel with the furnace on, but not often. We do always make sure the hot water heater has been doing it’s thing so we can run hot water through the pipes once in a while. I added insulation to the basement door, and have some in the outdoor shower compartment as well, where if needed, I can stuff a 10hr hand warmer. I cut a hatch in the basement to gain access to the check valves and pipes at the water intakes, where I can stuff hand warmers as well. I also made an insulation block for the water inlets out of 2” rigid foam insulation. It basically clamps tight on the intakes when in place. When temperatures are in the upper teens or low 20s I can keep those intake fixtures at least 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperatures, so it helps somewhat. These little things help with occasional cold spells.. but wouldn’t do much good if the temperatures didn’t moderate during the day.. Insulation block Inside the block, cut our for water intakes.. the bolts, wing nuts, and steel plates squeeze it together in place

I can't comment on the valet, but it would be something I would not be interested in. If moving my trailer was a problem and I needed something to help move it into a tight spot I would go with a front 2" receiver on my tow vehicle, or other vehicle, I put one on my Jeep Wrangler, you can park your trailer on a dime and at $150/$200 for a receiver hitch it's a bargain. trainman

I think your son was astute in recognizing what pleases you. I liked that you were humble in recognizing he now knows things you don't. Been there... 🙂 Charlie

Oliver could benefit from the aerodynamic improvements made on the model: Eliminating the vent and antenna from the frontal over the top primary flow zone, having the AC top slanted up a bit in the rear to reduce tongue weight at high speeds. And it brings to mind suggesting that the front center high roof section could be expanded in width to allow the solar panels to hide full width behind it to also improve the aerodynamic efficiency... and give us a bit more ceiling height in the bath and closet too! ..... me thinks at least one of us has too much time on our hands today! 🙂 Regardless... really cool modeling!

As a current customer in the process of finalizing my options, I can attest that my excellent sales team (that included several people) made me aware that there are "dealer options" for additional things that I can purchase "on day of pickup" from them (them -- OTT) rather than having to decide right now. These seemed to include things like: Oliver cover Clam screen room the rug and chairs (Oliver brand might be on the chairs) So I believe that it's just wording -- and yes, indeed, might be related to tax structure.

If it's frozen (due to water and temperature) and IF that knob is made of plastic, I'd be cautious about whacking it. My experience with plastics and freezing temps is that they can become more brittle....

This massive increase in production rate/capacity is one reason why they might be considering dealers in the future. If overall market demand drops off they could keep producing at full tilt to place inventory on dealer lots throughout the US. Going this direction vs slowing down production might be advantageous for both the companies bottom line and keeping the skilled workforce busy and employed.

Noticed that myself. It’s interesting wording, isn’t it? Regardless if it’s a slip or just bad wording, it could only be a bad thing if it’s poorly implemented, and there’s no reason to assume it would be. They could certainly use a west coast presence, if nothing else, perhaps a Canadian one, and any additional place to get service would be welcome. I can imagine some questions arising about pricing, dealer vs factory direct. I’d be curious, only because I’m curious about random things, if there’s some accounting advantage to Oliver treating it’s sales group as a separate entity, selling to them and then they in turn sell to the customer. If only I knew an accountant to ask.

Duane - Assuming that you do not mean that it is "frozen" due to below freezing temps and water then you can always used the spray can form of Liquid Wrench - heck even WD-40 would probably be enough if that is all you can find. If you go this route then some light taps with a hammer, wrench, ratchet extension, etc. would help to loosen it up once sprayed. Obviously, if its a water issue with freezing temps then a simple hair dryer used to warm it up is probably enough. Good luck! Bill

Meander, of course! If you don’t need to be back home for some reason I would explore some Tennessee state parks and Arkansas state parks. Drive up to KY and visit some distilleries. Drive south to the coast in Mississippi and Alabama. See you at the rally! Mike

Plus you can stand under hot water a little longer!

Try putting a adjustable wrench on the knob and then putting a open end wrench on the adjustable wrench (near the knob) to be able to twist the adjustable wrench/knob. Good luck

This knob? Maybe the socket end of a ratchet extension would stay put on the end of the one of the arms so that you can whack it with a hammer, if you can get enough angle to make it work. Thinking of tools you're sure to have on hand - how about the tire iron that Oliver supplies? You could place that against an arm and then hit it with whatever you can find. Maybe too see if there's any play in the tire cover - if so you could try wiggling it around to see if the nut will loosen up any.

I'll insulate the door at the same time, too. The thermostat description says that it will do both a heat and cool mode, but doesn't give more info than that. I suspect that I'll have to do some guesswork to find out if that's something I'd have to manually switch, or if I can set it so that the thermostat will kick on automatically either above or below a set range. I suspect it will be something I'd have to switch over. That's not a priority for me since the trailer is in storage in the shade during summer.

Hey Fritz, I used 2 different controllers because they are two different brands of fans. The brand that I had already installed for my basement bilge fan had a 4" diameter fan, but it wouldn't fit in the space under the bed (on top of the wheel well), so I ended up getting the other brand of smart fan that fit very snugly in that space. Had I started with the battery compartment first, I likely would have gotten the 6" diameter version of the one I ended up using under the bed.

This is venturing off topic but since it’s come up, I give my spiel; and if that spurs more discussion, we can break it off into a new topic. The charging issue has been discussed in some of the battery threads more thoroughly, but both types of batteries will be charged, a little bit, when your truck feels like it. It isn’t about the batteries themselves, but rather the wiring size and length going from the engine bay all the way back to the trailer, and the electronically controlled alternators in today’s trucks. It started with GM vehicles a number of years ago, but they’re all like that now. Essentially your truck won’t recognize the load and so won’t keep the alternator going at a high enough voltage to do you much good. And even if it did, the wiring is too small to get a full charge anyway. Good thing, with lithiums, since with decent wiring they’d burn out your alternator in nothing flat. I suspect that with lead acid batteries, most people have never had reason to become aware of the issue - the adoption of solar panels preceded the new electronics, and driving all day out in the sun will usually charge a small bank just from solar alone. You naturally assume that the truck had something to do with it. But it becomes obvious with large lithium banks since if they’re considerably discharged, they may not charge all the way through solar alone while driving. The solution for both battery types is a battery to battery charger, but most people are perfectly fine without, even with lithiums. It would be pretty far down my modification list unless you’ve found that your solar isn’t keeping up, or like the peace of mind of having an additional charge source, or just enjoy modifying things, etc.

Correct

A few reasons not to buy one. Small tires go flat easy, low to the ground you’ll be bending over a lot. Handle moves easy which constantly applies brake. The brake doesn’t work well on the slightest incline. The ball always loosen up no matter how tight you get it on the coupler. And unless you work out all the time. You’ll get the work out of your life. Cranking the handle. The optional drill adapter moves the trailer easier but now your fighting another obstacle. Holding the drill bending over and trying to keep the handle from locking the brake. Mine sits in the corner of the garage. I’d say I’ll make you a great deal on it. But I would feel bad selling it to anyone. Hope this helps.

Yes, no tools needed.

I think this is probably one of the best , most helpful posts ever about preparing for pickup. You can't learn everything without being in your trailer, but you can certainly prepare to learn what you don't know. I'd add, study all the videos in Oliver University. Thanks, @Mainiac

This morning I got a new Land Cruiser 200 to go with “Mouse”. Thank you Ian! I hope everybody has a very satisfactory holiday season. John Davies Spokane WA

WA State ferries also require the gas to be shut off and tagged, at least the larger ones do. The tiny open topped ferries like in the middle of the state never check, I guess because there are no enclosed decks to trap the fumes. John Davies Spokane WA

If you are thinking of adding a shower curtain as seen above, I just installed the rod like described by Overland but used 3M VHB tape to secure to the wall. I cut the threads off the screws and glued them in place to make it appear to be screwed to the wall. Came out real nice and the wife is pleased, so I'm happy.

We asked for the one in front of the toilet but Oliver gave us the one over the door by mistake. So I ordered the parts and installed it myself, and now we have both, lol, though the one over the door just get used as an occasional towel rod. It wasn't hard, but I did have to do a lot of eyeball work to get it lined up just so against the curved front wall. I put mine higher and in front of the cabinet to give more headroom over the toilet and I lined it up with the bottom of the cabinet door so that when open the door sits on the rod at 90° and acts as a shelf. Very convenient. The curtain keeps the toilet area very dry, with just a little splash around the sides.