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15th season, and still feel the Ollie is a great purchase. Pros: 15 seasons, still looks new. (We do take care of it, but its outside, 24/7/365. It has everything we need, and nothing more. Life in miniature suits us, as we spend a lot if time outside. No wood. No wood. No wood. So, no rot. No rubber roof to rot. (See above.) You do need to recaulk at openings periodically. Tows like a dream, tracks with the truck tires. Very comfortable in shoulder season camping. (We're not winter campers, so can't speak to that. Teens and 20s is it for us.) Great marine gelcoat, fit and finish, and quality marine components. Oliver support, and the forum community. Cons: It's double hull construction makes it heavy for its size. Not an ultralight. For the most enjoyable tow experience, you'll need a 250, or an andersen hitch with a 150. Unless, you have the shorty like us. Dometic ac is noisy (but you probably know that. Your trailer likely has one, too.) Price. It's not cheap, by any means. But, longevity is there. Do spend some time exploring here. Ask good questions, and you'll get good answers. Good luck with your decision.

Ridgway State Park, CO just a couple of weeks ago. Warm days but overnight lows around 50, good sleeping weather. Visited Ouray (30 minutes away) and Telluride (50 minutes away). There are several campgrounds in the park, FHU to no HU, depends on what you want. Ouray Main Street. Telluride.

I agree with all the comments above. I will only add that the Oliver trailers are very good at holding their value and used Oliver's are selling for near their new cost.

My husband enjoys a campfire cigar occasionally. I have no idea what kind. My beloved fil enjoyed them on our sailing trips, back in the day. I just tried to stay upwind. I don't think his choices were very "aromatic." If we ever share a campfire, I'll tell you a long story about a tropical storm, a small airport, innumerable flies, and almost landing on a coral reef that didn't show on the (hand drawn) charts. Plus, hunting down cigars on a very primitive village off the coast of Honduras. And, bread. It's a very long , but funny story. Years after Tommy (my fil) passed, we'd still find little cigar stubs hidden on fence post joints, corners of the garage, etc. Thank you for the memories. He was my pal, and a great guy.

My experience with the Oliver sales team was that they took the role of “facilitator” as opposed to “salesperson”….this is not semantics. The buying experience, from my order through delivery, never left me feeling wanting, or pressured. My questions and concerns were addressed with patience and honesty. I also sold an Airstream, with which I was blissfully happy…until I set foot in an Elite II. Since pick up of hull 997 in January, I have had a problem with my Norcold fridge and the Furrion rear view monitor, both of which Mike Sharpe at Oliver helped to resolve with zero drama. Of course, the items of concern are items Oliver supplied, but did not manufacture.

Dusk in the San Juan National Forest in Colorado last week. The string of lights are Jackery Camping Lights on low. They are 2.5 watts. Charlie.

The Ollie bracket is structural aluminum, probably 6061T6 or similar, the same stuff used in the frame and steps. You can tell by how very thick the plates are and by the welds, they are big and sloppy looking compared to steel welds. Those particular welds are a little nasty, but they are fine in terms of strength. I suspect your Starlink mount is powder coated aluminum. You could email SL to ask. But since you didn’t have to disturb the coating (drill new holes) it should be fine. The shipping weight is 1.4 pounds, it can’t be a steel part: From your pics it appears that you live in a dry climate. If you lived in a wet one, I would recommend sealing the bracket really well. Corrosion can occur even when the materials are similar. I can’t tell from the images, it appears that the tube is wide open at the bottom. If not you need to drill a drain hole. Nice mod, I quite like it. It is clean and highly professional looking. John Davies Spokane WA

Sounds Like Cigars and Cognac at the Next Oliver Rally! Can't wait.

Cigars. I’m a non-smoker. However, I have smoked a cigar on special occasions. I worked with a guy a few decades ago that was much older than me and very old school. When invited to dinner at his house (we lived in Belgium at the time, mid 1990s) after desert it was cognac and cigars. We both retired to San Antonio and we’ve had dinner a couple of times years ago while his health was good and the evening ended with cognac and cigars. Good memories. Mike

Ditto what everyone else said above. Get ahold of the Oliver Sales office. You will not get a hard sell or pressure from any of them and they will have the latest pricing, options list and can connect you with a Oliver to see near you. Welcome to the Group!

If possible set up a tour of the Oliver factory if not check out the many YouTube videos, lots of Oliver insight there. You can also call Oliver and they will see if there is an Oliver in your area to go look at. We sold our Airstream and bought a 2021 Elite II twin bed model and absolutely love it! The quality and Oliver’s fantastic customer service can’t be beat!

Welcome to the forum. I would recommend you spend some time reading areas that interest you. You’ll find a lot of information and get an idea of owner feelings. You’ll find mostly good, some not so good. As JD says above, ask questions, especially if you find anything that piques your interest. We’ve had our Oliver over 6 years and are happy campers. Most are. Good luck! Mike

paddlebum52, welcome to the forum! There is a metric ton on info on here, lots to read.😊 The search function/window is a great way to explore and answer many of your questions. If you contact Oliver directly they will also help you set up a visit with a local Oliver owner in the area you live in. Many owners are very willing to show you their Olivers and give you real world experience and feedback. I would also suggest you watch the Oliver maintenance videos and check out Oliver University. Another suggestion is to schedule a factory tour so you can see all that goes into building an Oliver and enjoy the wow factor! I feel sure you will find lots interesting thoughts, ideas, mods, and many “opinions” regarding Oliver TT ownership experiences on this fourm. If you use Facebook there is an Oliver TT owners group there as well where a lot of info is also posted. We purchased our Oliver Legacy Elite ll in June of 2020 and are very happy with it! Let the reading and research begin and enjoy the fourm and ask away!😊 -Patriot 🇺🇸 Hull #634

Here’s our experience. We visited Oliver last week and they had a new side window sitting out assuming ready for installation with grey tape around the window perimeter where the window frame flange contacts the outer hull. It looked like butyl tape. We have had leakage issues with the rear Oliver sign and a porch light above the windows with water traveling between the hulls leaking out of the the windows on our #75 LE2. These leaks were not window issues. Once we resealed the Oliver sign and porch light, that fixed the leaks. I would discuss this with Jason.

Ouray CO is now on our must visit list, too.

Ouray is such a cool little town. (Except for the cottonwood, and the stickers attaching to the dogs' paws. We found hand sanitizer and facial wipes helped to soften them.) As I recall, the ridgeway park cg was closed still, when we were there, so we stayed in town at the 4j+1+1 cg. We had deer on the hill behind us every night. Walkable to a lot of stuff, but still very quiet. (And, a good laundry center in the park.) Are the swings still there at the brewery? First place I was ever served a can of wine. It was surprisingly decent. Not us on the swings... I don't have a photo of that.

Just released my video montage of Lakeport State Park, Mi.😃

Thank you John. I am not too far from you in Ellensburg. You're right. The tube is wide open at the bottom. There is a plastic cover plate for cable management but I don't use it. I think it's mostly for permanent mounting option.

I finished the roof mount over the weekend. Luckily, it was super easy than I thought. The 2 holes of the Starlink short wall mount fit perfectly into the existing awning screws on my Girard. I am not very tall, 5'4", and need a ladder or climb the rear bumper to connect/disconnect the dish. I always take the dish downs when towing. Question: should I be worried about galvanic corrosion. I don't know what kind of metal the mount is but the awning bracket looks like a stainless steel? The installation manual, Short_Wall_Mount_Guide_Rectangular.pdf.pdf, doesn't say much about the mount itself.

The cost to clean our rig, going only to the arctic circle and back, was more like 30 bucks. Still, priceless . The mosquitoes were awful. As was the drive. No kidding.

I'll have to admit, I smoked a few "puros" in Spain, as a college kid. After dinner, pretty much as a challenge. Glad I didn't turn green....though I felt my stomach revolting. The memories are great. Thanks, guys, for the thread and responses .

@Kirk Peterson, I hope we get to share that campfire. And, you and Paul can enjoy those cigars. 😃

I don’t like to cook in my Ollie and usually cook with a Wok when not grilling. When there is electric (like many of you) I use my portable induction cooktop. When there is no electric, I have been using a small, single burner high pressure burner. It is not very hot and does not like wind. The search for a high output, single burner propane burner that I can use with the Ollies low pressure quick connects yielded several units, all bulky or heavy. Plus most were North of $150. I am a fan of .50 cal ammo cans as they are durable and compact and a clean-stow in the pickup bed. Also simple to label with a sharpie since I had already built a self-contained, low pressure firepit from a ammo can, I decided to look for components to build a high output single burner version for cooking The 50,000 btu burner came from a local home goods store (Menards), the propane orifice and valve from the local propane supplier, the burner grate from salvage and the ammo can from JAX outdoor store. All-in the unit cost $40. Haven’t tested it yet but I dont see why it wont work well Here is the final product.

the burner was what I found locally and it was cheap. Figured I would try it and see how it works. If it is too much of a afterburner I can always downgrade later.

Today, getting to Alaska is a snap as the roads are pretty good. I have made the trip eight times from the West Coast and, while it was a bit of a challenge many years back when most of the route was gravel, today the entire route is paved with the exception of short sections on the Cassiar and even that is not a problem if your tow vehicle is up to the task. On the last trip I did not even lose a windshield, which was a first for me! By all means take your Oliver to Alaska. Think ahead, make sure you are prepared and then enjoy yourself ... the trip is spectacular.

Welcome PB52, We picked ours up in Jan this year. We have had a few issues, but Oliver's legendary service team has been wonderful and we haven't thought twice about buying our "Bessie". The Dometic A/C is very noisy but you will have the option of upgrading to a Truma A/C...make sure to get the Truma! It is much, much quieter. Very easy to tow with my 1/2 ton Silverado. Best of luck with your decision John

Welcome to the forum. You need to ask very specific questions, because the general ownership pros and cons are discussed constantly. After you use the See an Ollie link to connect with an owner near you, you can inspect that entire trailer in great detail. Then you can ask here for info about your specific needs and wants. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/see-an-ollie/field-visit-request/ You should also request a buyer’s packet which describes everything about the purchase process and has prices and options. Download the brochure if you can’t wait. Add a Signature to your posts, in the Account Settings section, with your tow vehicle information and your location, that helps when you ask the inevitable “Do I have enough truck” or “Can I transport my 20 foot sea kayak inside the trailer?” kind of questions. 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

DandD, Enjoy your awesome trip and stay in touch, it was great talking with you last evening. After our phone call I believe you have this “wrestling with the cranky bulldog” issue well taken care of. 😄 Enjoy that beautiful new Ollie!! Safe travels friends, - David

This is very common, like others said, leave the wheel chocks in place on the trailer and let the tow vehicle adjust to a free spot, that is no tension on the hitch ball. Then make sure there is either someone in the vehicle, or put in park for the obvious reasons. I sometimes have to give the coupler a kick with the foot, or tap with a hammer, just the way things work when tension is present. trainman

I’ve been to the Gaspe Peninsula! I was there about 30 years ago, though, so I imagine things have indeed changed. Yes, it was indeed magnificent. An ex bf and I drove the entire peninsula, but we stayed in youth hostels, as this was before I had ever owned any tents or campers. We went to Percé Rock, and also to a National park, name fails me. We went up to the mountains and saw permafrost (still there???) and saw caribou, It was cold, for summer!

If the campsite has a major slope to it, always chock the downhill sides of the all the tires and consider pulling the emergency breakaway switch. That will completely lock up the trailer brakes until you get everything figured out, leveled and safely chocked. Do not leave them this way for more than say ten minutes, it eats up battery power and maybe the brake magnets could overheat. And as csevel said, leave the safety chains/ cables attached until you know you are finished. Three tons of trailer can be hard to control… I hate sites like that, but some day that may be the only available one. They can be dangerous. If you don’t feel capable of unhitching safely in one, go to another campground. This was at my very limit for tolerance, sloping steeply back AND away from the street side. Great Basin NP, Lower Shafer CG (a very gorgeous park, one of my favorites, but with really crappy campgrounds!) The far side tires are way off the pavement on blocks. We paid for two nights, but bailed out early the next day and found a better site in a different CG, after scouting without the trailer attached. John Davies Spokane WA

That's my motto...LOL! I do the exact thing by jiggling the truck forward and back just a hair, forward and/or reverse to knock some sense into it! Bulldog's always feisty on days hotter than Hades while unhitching; I'm sweating and the black flies are eating me alive, I've only gotten back into the truck seventeen times at this point to get that perfect set on a pristine unlevel campsite..what's one more?? I'll show you who is boss.. LOL! However irritated I get though; unhitching is serious business to me. I try to remain calm so I don't make dumb unsafe mistakes. I certainly have had a couple in my RV life and try hard not to repeat. I've made it a habit to not release safety chains/cables either until I know I'm chocked, lifted safely and stable off the ball. I use my parking brake A LOT as I absolutely hate any bounce back after lift-off. I use it almost always with the Andersen levelers as slippage can sometimes happen. Spraying a little lubrication to the underside of the hitch, latch and ball can be helpful albeit debatable and of course..first loosen the WDH chains or remove the whale tail altogether. Good Luck!

Be sure to set the parking brake while holding the brake pedal in the TV. Just putting the transmission in P doesn’t keep the TV from rolling a little until the parking pawl in the transmission catches. Get out and kick the ball mount. If it doesn’t rattle, let the TV roll up or back then kick the ball mount again. The coupler will release if the ball is loose in the socket.

Don’t be afraid of getting a little rough with it, using your foot, while standing back. Give the coupler or the tongue a sideways kick. There is a fair bit of left to right play where the Andersen plugs into your receiver, and the tongue jack leg itself has a little also, depending on how far it is extended….If that doesn't do it, try moving the truck a little front to back. Sometimes you have to be meaner than the hitch😬 John Davies Spokane WA

A bit more info or a picture would help to troubleshoot the issue. As Mossemi mentioned, does the sliding collar on the Bulldog coupler slide freely all the way back when you lift the latch lever? And does the Bulldog coupler pop open? is it still stuck on the ball even with the coupler open? Do you still have the Andersen chains attached/tight between the trailer and the Andersen hitch on your tow vehicle when you are trying to get the Bulldog coupler off of the ball? The chains should be loose, or better yet, remove the whale tail bracket holding the chains to take any loading off of the ball.

https://www.eleyhosereels.com - delivered nice quality this morning.

I use plain old foam board - 1/2 inch thick - and have never had a problem. Given the cost comparison it certainly is worth a try. If the foam board does not work for you then you can always go with the high priced spread. 1/2 inch foam board

Our Arizona to Colorado trip found us paying in the area of $4.50 for 85/87 last weekend. 🤑

Chock the wheels, uncouple hitch, then level. Don’t try to level while still on the ball. Leveling the trailer while still on the ball will cause the earth to spin backwards. Nevermind. It just occurred to me that you’re using those curved wedges.