Leaderboard

I totally understand the not wanting to do the climb over to get out of bed! In our previous camper I was the one climbing over my husband (which I think he secretly enjoyed..lol) but honestly at my age my acrobatic skills consist of being happy to put my pants on without falling over, so the twin beds for me are a glorious delight and I appreciate them so so much!

Last night I heard the fridge gas ignitor kick in, which shouldn't happen because we're on shore power and the fridge was on Auto. This morning I went looking for the 120v fridge plug and didn't find it behind the kitchen drawers. It's actually under the drawers in our 2022, away from the water hose, so that's a design improvement. The fridge was plugged in. (There was even a big ziptie to hold the plug in, but nobody at the factory bothered to actually connect that.) My multimeter said the outlet was dead. Tracked the wire back to a junction box on the water heater and found this inside: Best guess from looking at it is that the fridge wire (top in photo) pulled partially out of the splice connector and overheated. There's no strain relief entering the j-box. I was lucky enough to find another splice connector lying in the bottom of the hull (dropped at factory) so I cut off the burnt wires, restripped them, and used the "spare" connector to reconnect them. Then I tied the two Romex cables together with a zip tie just outside the j-box to add some strain relief for the connectors. Seems to be OK now.

Ah, that makes sense now - the batteries must have been at a few percent when the See Level sensor was showing a short (low voltage). I've accidently run my Lithiums down to zero a few times and they are still fine. As @John E Davies mentioned, the BMS is there to protect and Oliver doesn't put lithiums without a BMS into it's trailers that I know of. Hopefully you have figured out why your batteries weren't charging? There's a physical breaker between the batteries and the inverter as well as inverter software settings, like the Charger Ignition Control not being set to "off", for example, that will also disable the charger function. Lots to learn, but it really does get easier as you gain experience. If you understand how the major systems work at a high level, you will be able to enjoy the trailer and have confidence you can resolve (most) issues that pop up when you are camping, etc. Good free videos online. I also camped next to a couple last year that made $ traveling to specific campsites to teach RV owners the ropes of owning an RV. Really lots of good options including this forum! Take your time... and enjoy the ride!

😮 That’s the connectors they use in the factory?? That can’t be to any kind of code. Yikes! Even wiring the simple AC electrical system I adde to my tiny squaredrop I used terminal blocks! Same with the DC side.

The water heater itself has an internal shutoff valve, so when you turn "off" the truma switch outside this valve cuts off gas. The only other shutoffs are the ones on the front tanks. CS Hull 505 with Truma on board.

The upper black tank hole is plugged when there is a NH installed, no worries there. ABS can be used for potable water, the main drawback is it is never to be installed in direct sunlight, not a problem in an Ollie. By RV CODE you should not use the black tank, in reality it would work fine, as long as you disconnect it from the main 3" waste pipe under the front dinette seat, and cap off the tank outlet tank. Install a PEX drain line with shutoff valve and also a BIG PEX overflow pipe from the top of the tank, exiting out the bottom hull. And be sure to go under the bath sink and disconnect and cap the 1 1/2" black tank sewer vent, otherwise the two systems are still physically connected. While you are under there, cap off the fresh water line going to the toilet, so you don't have to keep winterizing that unused section of pipe. I have been thinking about this for five years but never did it. Please go ahead and post pics, we like research and development pioneers here. 😉 Small projects tend to get big in a hurry when you figure out all the angles. https://westernrooter.com/abs-vs-pvc-pipe/ John Davies Spokane WA

On a recent trip I had the misfortune of draining my Lithionics down to the point where BMS shut them off. At a campsite without electric I was running refrigerator on propane and ran out of propane. This switched fridge to DC and depleted the batteries overnight (they were already low do to cloudy weather). That left me with the "fun" task of hand-cranking the jacks up which of course was in a torrential rain storm. As others have said, hang in there. Leverage this forum and online videos to get comfortable with trailer functionality. There's a lot of technology in these Ollies!

Picked up Hull 1182 on 7/22 after almost 9 1/2 long months, but who is counting. First night at the mothership. Long hot day!! The AC didn't seem loud at first, probably just glad to be able to get out of the heat, lol. I can' t say enough about the Oliver Service folks and Oliver for putting in a campground right there for us. We moved from the delivery area to the Oliver Campground and when we went to put the front Jack down it would not come down. I walked back over to ask one of service folks what I was doing wrong, they checked it and then they immediately replaced the front jack. Camped next to a wonderful couple from Texas, the Sparks. We went from there for a night at Davey Crockett, wonderful campground and just stayed one night. Then off to a COE campground near Booneville MS called Piney Grove Recreation Area. I was able to find a spot right on the water for Shawna, Bay Springs Lake. The campground was really nice and the hosts were wonderful. The humidity took a little getting used to, we ate lunch the first day inside the Ollie. Sorry for the Picture quality but it was dusk with iphone. Just wanted you to get an idea of what we had to endure lol. On our way back home we stopped at the mothership to pick up an entry rug Shawna saw and I asked them to look at the Anderson for me, I thought something was wrong. It turns out it failed and we didn't notice it until we stopped for gas on the way back towards Hohenwald. Oliver Service quickly replaced the ball, sorry I don't have any pics of the failed piece, and we were good to go. Back in Ohio now, This is our first RV of any kind and we are new to all this. We could not be happier with our Ollie and with Oliver. We are planning our next trip in a couple weeks. Looking forward to next year's rally and a chance to meet everyone, space already reserved.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11069353/Amazing-spike-maps-change-way-Earth.html John Davies Spokane WA

Hi! I'm Steve! Deb and I currently have a 5 X 8 Hiker trailer, which is basically a box with a bed and some shelves. We are in our late '60s, and Deb is getting tired of getting up during the night to go outside to the bathroom tent; especially when it is cold (or raining, buggy, critters about, etc.) And it would be nice to have a place to stand and dress, as well as have AC for the midwest's typical 85° 85% humidity summers. Not climbing over each other in an east-west bed is high on the list, so the twin option would be great. There aren't too many twin options out there other than much larger Airstreams and the upcoming Escape 23 that's likely another year or two out. A dry bath is another desire, but the combination of that along with twin beds is like finding a unicorn. We were in an Australian extreme off-road Kimberley Kruiser E3 recently that had both, but with current prices and crazy shipping costs, those are in the $175,000 range now. I know Don Thompson used to be on here went that way last year before the prices skyrocketed. Like a few members here, we have a Toyota Land Cruiser, which has an 8100 pound tow rating. I'm not even remotely interested in changing tow vehicles (a 40+ year dream to own one became a necessity last year when they were discontinued in the US) so I'll need to find a trailer to accommodate the Cruiser. From what reading I've done here, it sounds like it is okay, but not optimal. Other than towing a 5000# boat 20 miles twice a year in the '70s with my grandfather's 500 cubic inch Cadillac, I haven't towed anything larger than a 1500# sailboat. The Hiker is 780# empty. Towing something 5-6000 pound is mildly intimidating! Building our imaginary trailer adds up fast! With the features I'd *like*, I hit $100k... We want to stay away from campgrounds, but even typically empty boondocking sites have become overwhelmed with the rise of "overlanding", #vanlife, and a zillion YouTube videos and Instastardom. A bit about us: like most trailer owners, we tent camped extensively. I backpacked in the '70s and again in the '90s, and Deb and I tented a lot from when we were married in 1981 unto the early '90s. Then kids got into other things, and we were tired of sleeping on the ground. Buying a home, and life got in the way. Then in 2015, our youngest went off to college in Seattle. We took her out in our seriously overladed Outback, and then spent the next 42 days wandering our way home. That's 42 nights of motels and restaurant meals twice a day. Then we did the same for the next two years, albeit for shorter duration. Expensive, not particularly healthy, and we were often a couple of hours from where we were staying to the sights we wanted to see. "It would be so much easier if we could camp right here!" A free roof top tent from an online giveaway lasted one trip. Nope! Not gonna work. That's when we ordered the Hiker. And here we are looking to possibly upgrade. Deb is an avid gardener (flowers and food) so that limits our away time. It seemed we were always gone when the tomatoes were in their peak. The neighbors really enjoyed them, though. We both want to get off the beaten path, and while we realize the Oliver isn't an off-road trailer, if we can find somewhere to park it as a basecamp, we can explore during the day in the Cruiser (which has an onboard fridge/freezer and stuff for causal cooking and dining while out and about.) Sounds ideal! We will be in central Kentucky sometime in the next 6-8 weeks, and might take a side trip to take the Oliver factory tour and see one in person. A couple questions I already have. I see that some have plumbed the liquids from the composting toilet to the black tank. Is the black tank installed in every trailer? Or are these people that had the regular RV toilet and swapped to a composing version? Has anyone switched to a 2-way compressor fridge instead of the propane 3-way? They are much more efficient, and with a lithium package, would never run down the batteries. Does Oliver do any custom orders, leaving the refrigerator vents uncut in the hull so the I could either supply a compressor fridge or install it myself? Along the same lines, with a lithium package, I'd prefer an induction stovetop instead of the propane 2-burner. Is this available as an option, or just have them leave out the cooktop so there's no hole? Well, that's more than enough for now. I ramble. A lot... Thanks, Steve

In a few words, don't do it. Grey water fine. Fresh water could be easily contaminated, and the black tank is not rated for potable water.

Remove the fridge annually? 😳. Nope. Going on 7 years and never removed. I don’t think it is part of the factory annual service either. Mike

5 gallon gas cans are not only inappropriate, but probably more expensive than bpa free 5 gallon water containers.(containers are color coded so people don't make a mistake.) If you can find them locally, less shipping. We bought containers like these, locally. https://www.legacyfoodstorage.com/products/5-gallon-blue-water-tank-stackable-container?variant=19404273418307?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=base&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=1781302546&utm_term=&utm_content=343723866691&gclid=CjwKCAjwlqOXBhBqEiwA-hhitJS9I8x-oVcYtLJw8tSD5NdLh895qJVnQsvASzJTkLizXBe7SFRwdxoCVOUQAvD_BwE

Assuming a composting toilet… There is a backflow valve in the line for the black tank flush and the flush line enters the black tank near the top, so that won’t work. The only other way is through the black/gray sewer hose that exits at the rear of the trailer. Not very sanitary. Finally, I’m sure the plastic used in the black tank is not drinking water safe. I would say no. Mike

That is a fun story in retrospect, the rain especially, one you will remember vividly forever. If you carry a generator you can boost the system in an hour and be on your way. Or add a DC to DC charger in the truck or trailer. As delivered there is no charging available that way. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5270-how-to-redarc-dc-to-dc-11-amp-output-trailer-charger-installation/ It is a fairly painless mod, but if your TV has a smart alternator you would have to run a small voltage sense wire up to it, which turns the charger on and off. Also consider a Mopeka propane detector - I have mixed feelings about mine, it tends to eat batteries but when working it is very handy. John Davies Spokane WA

Twelvemile Beach at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a favorite of mine. No hookups and generators only allowed in part of campground but you are right on the the lake for amazing star-gazing and potentially northern lights. Early August is meteor time too. The Chapel rock hike at the lakeshore is really cool. You used to be able to take guided kayak tours of water caves out of Munising. Not sure if that is still a thing. Twelvemile Beach Campground, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore - Recreation.gov Marquette is a great town and you'll find plenty of good beer there. You can even cliff jump into Lake Superior. Tahquamenon Falls is a must see. The shipwreck museum at Whitefish Point is pretty interesting too (Edmund Fitzgerald) Tahquamenon Falls State Park Detail Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum | Edmund Fitzgerald | Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Heading west Porcupine Mountains Lake of the Clouds is well worth visiting and Keweenaw Peninsula is stunning. There is a ton of National and State Forest land all over the UP. On Canadian side I've only visited Lake Superior Provincial Park near Wawa. It is a very nice park right on Superior with electrical hookups. I have not ventured west to Pukaskwa but that park is most definitely on my bucket list. https://www.ontarioparks.com/park/lakesuperior Pukaskwa National Park (pc.gc.ca) I once asked a friend who has camped extensively all over the southwest how much time to spend at Arches NP and Canyonlands. He said a day or two at Arches and a lifetime at Canyonlands. I feel that way about the UP. So much to see.

Sounds like an opportunity for Oliver to set you up for a demonstration at next year’s rally.

I second the recommendation to contact a Truma authorized service provider. One such provider was key to resolving the problem I encountered with Truma WH not starting up. I would pursue phone and/or email contact w/Truma service provider before traveling to wherever the closest provider is located. Given your relatively remote location in NE Maine, the nearest service provider may be far away. I do not know of anything specific to check on the Truma WH accessible via under bed hatches. I assume you have verified it has power. Good Luck Don

As many of you know I am raising my prices as my costs have increased significantly over the last 3 months. If you ordered before today you are grandfathered in at the old pricing. Link to PDF Catalog: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17XFL_5ine1WusHVKYguUBRmkj2KnJUN_/view?usp=sharing

I had both my rear jacks out recently for some maintenance. I just used some regular house caulking because that’s what I had on hand. All you’re doing is preventing water from the road being able to get into the hull.

Modern lithium batteries have internal protection, part of their BMS (Battery Management System), that turns them off before they get so low that damage can occur. Running them to the absolute zero point could damage them, but it should not happen. So unless one is faulty, they should be fine. SOME lithium batteries, like Victron, do not have a BMS - they are not a wise investment for an RV. I hope you figure out how they got turned off. I am sure it won’t happen again. Have you stepped into a puddle of water in the bathroom yet? Every Ollie owner does that, one time, after forgetting to open the gray tank vent valve (aka travel valve). If you are unlucky, you will do it while wearing socks, so you have to go change them. A new RV has a steep learning curve. Hang in there. John Davies Spokane WA

Kirk, I recommend that you take an IPad or something similar and video alot of the delivery day. They go over so much that day. Ours took 3 hours and we were able to go back that first evening and get some answers to questions that came up from the video. As others on here will tell you watch all the videos and read all you can on the oliver university site and I agree 100%. We got a hard copy of the manuals on delivery day also. Congrats on a really nice Christmas present !!!

My example was probably not the best due to the age of my trailer. My inverter is off 99% of the time (Xantrex 2000) and I don’t have an on board surge protection unit (I use the dangly one at the power pole). I was just trying to show that sometimes what seems major issue might only be a flip of a switch or breaker. Mike

The Ayers were on the spit Friday and posted this photo on fb. Olivers all over Alaska this summer!

The Internet is full of images of wrecked trucks with this caption, here is just one: Hmmm, looks like the rear suspension might be damaged too. John Davies Spokane WA

Back on topic for an update. 😉 After several delays due to some health concerns (all okay) we finally saw our first Oliver trailer yesterday. Sue and Matt, hull #944, invited us for a visit to see their 2021 Elite II that they picked up last fall. We spent over three hours with them, both exploring the trailer, and sitting beside their lake talking about actual use and travel in general. it was everything we were hoping for, and then some! 😍 Much roomier than we expected in the twin configuration. No concern about the 30” bed width. So bright and airy feeling inside, and quality that’s on par with very expensive boats we’ve been in before. Absolutely nothing that we didn’t like, and so much we loved. So, we’re still heading to Hohenwald mid-August, and have a pretty good idea of what options we’d select. The only thing that will keep us from placing an order is indecision on actually making the commitment. No other trailer will do, so it’s either the Oliver or continue with the tiny squaredrop and motel travel. Thank you so much Sue and Matt, and to everyone else here sharing their knowledge and experiences!

In our 2008, (and in yours) a shower curtain makes the shower area smaller. Just something to think about. And, shower curtains are something else to clean. We designed our home for zero shower curtains, no curbs, no glass doors. The shower actually helps clean the bathroom. Squeegee and microfiber, just like home. We have the traditional toilet. If we had the nature's head, I'd probably drop a yard lawn bag over it, and call it done. Keep the bag . Dry it outside.

Some people love their shower curtain, some people don’t have one and are happy. We are in the second group. It’s personal preference. We like the extra space that not having a curtain affords. We don’t mind doing the squeegee thing after a shower. Some folks like keeping the toilet area dry. Are you getting a regular toilet or composting? Mike

John and Wendy, Thank you so much for the pix! I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with the original type stripping. It's taller and rain seems to flow along it and out at the ends without much overflow. Other than the deterioration, I've been pretty happy with the way it works despite the collection of debris behind the brackets. If I was physically unable to get up there to clean, I would probably go with the J-channel style. As far as the window vents go, I've consulted with a patent attorney (who's a dear friend) to see what's involved with stepping forward with my design. The consensus is to make and sell a few (10-15) to see what the interest is and go from there. I have been busy camping so I've sort of put it on the back burner. I saw one member here make one and I was thrilled to see their attempt! Stay tuned.. 🙂

Hi Claudia, Here are some pictures I took of an Oliver at the mother ship back in May. They were experimenting with this arrangement. Jason said water flows over them in moderate to heavy rains. Wendy and I haven't gotten around to making those window vents you showed us at the rally. We're waiting for you to mass produce and sell them on line..lol! John

That's not really the point. The concern isn't that the receiver will fail. The issue is that there are no 1.25" bike racks certified by their mfg for mounting on the back of a towed RV. The actual concern is that a 1.25" rack itself would fail from the bouncing around it gets on the back of the trailer. (And Oliver would wash their hands of that since they didn't supply the bike rack.)

I freeze meals such as chili in the flat Chinese take-out containers. They stack up well in the Ollie freezer.

Kids shoebox!

No "custom orders". But, you can always ask. The 2023 that Oliver brought to this year's Owner's Rally had a compressor fridge in it. So, that now just might be an option That's great news, @topgun2. Did the demo 2023 still have the fridge vents cut out? We replaced our 3way with a compressor fridge a few years ago. At the same time, we took out the microwave and built a big storage cabinet in its place. I'm very happy with both improvements. (We sealed the fridge vents with heavy plastic sheeting, insulation, and duct tape. ) we still have a gas cooktop, which I like, but carry an induction burner. Please do ask when you go on your tour. While you're there, see if there's a twin bed model in the offing for the Elite, with the redesign. We've had ours since 2008, so we're in our 15th season. Though smaller than the II, it has (almost) all the same features, and I consider the smaller size to be a bonus, for many of the reasons @John E Davies already outlined.

Welcome to the forum, I'll let others answer your questions. I would like to comment that I think you will miss the ease of maneuvering and finding a campsite if you buy the bigger trailer. Since you want to stay "primitive" it really does make things harder. We just spent two weeks in the Basin and Range area of NV and there were MANY times I wished for a smaller footprint! We also had to pass up a lot of great spots, because we just couldn't fit. Including in Great Basin National Park. This one at Steens Mountain OR (BLM) worked: You are correct, your LC200 will tow the LE2, but it will definitely work much harder, especially on long grades, and you must use the Andersen hitch. The LC200 has a short 120 inch wheelbase, and IMHO it really is better matched with a lighter trailer and perhaps an off-road coupler. Plus the towing mpgs are horrendous, especially if you add tougher LT tires and some accessories. The smaller trailer will not require so much wasted fuel and it will extend your cruising range a little. My truck with mud tires, snorkel, roof rack and cargo carrier rarely gets 10 mpg in the West, towing 6000 pounds. We paid an enormous amount for gas on this short trip.Fortunately, free stays in public lands and Harvest Host/ Boondockers Welcome sites helped to offset that. I can't imagine how costly it would be to tow with a Land Cruiser and stay at resorts ;( Oliver has suspended production of the LE for a major redesign, it will be interesting to see if they do some really cool stuff like independent suspension and disk brakes. We can only hope. We need more Land Cruisers! John Davies Spokane WA

A bunch of talk but as of yet I'm not aware that anyone has actually made this mod. Yes. Nope - black tank is in every Ollie and the standard is for a regular toilet to be installed on top of that black tank. The Nature's Head toilet is an option and it sits on top of the already installed black tank but, obviously, doesn't empty anything into that black tank. Yes - SeaDawg for one. No "custom orders". But, you can always ask. The 2023 that Oliver brought to this year's Owner's Rally had a compressor fridge in it. So, that now just might be an option. Again, you can always ask. Keep those questions coming and keep reading here on the Forum. All of the questions above have been discussed here. Finally - a big welcome to the Forum - we are happy that you have found us! Bill

Thank you for starting this thread Trainman. The first and only time we used the AC was a couple of nights on our first outing with the Ollie last October. During that trip there was a popping noise which interrupted my sleep a lot. Initially thought it might be the refrigerator cycling, but did not try to track it down until now. After reading this thread I wondered if the source of the popping was the AC. So I started testing the AC first. After starting my AC it popped in less than ten minutes, then continued to pop about every ten minutes for a couple of hours. It also popped in a couple of minutes after shutting down the AC. As others suggested the simplest explanation appeared to be the diffuser was not able to expand or contract smoothly with changes in temperature. Flexing the edges of the diffuser by pressing different areas produced a lot of popping and crackling and if felt like the edge was grabbing the hull. The diffuser is held in place by eight wood screws and two sheet metal screws. I started backing out each screw a little at a time to see if it would change anything. The pops and crackles were reduced with each iteration. I stopped when a sheet of letter paper could easily slide under all edges. The diffuser is forced to follow the contour of the ceiling so the corners were the last to separate. Immediately after backing out the screws I ran the AC for two hours without popping. Although encouraging I ran the AC a few more hours over a couple of days and still no popping. Now I'm looking at ways the screws can be snugged down without forcing the edges against the ceiling, leaving a thin gap all the way around. The largest gaps occur in the front and back at the center. The back gap is the largest at 2.7mm (measured using two dimes) at the center. I don't think these gaps will cause any issues but maybe a soft gasket could be used to seal these areas. Hopefully others will help confirm whether or not these observations help resolve this issue in their trailers. Suggestions for a permanent fix would also be appreciated. This diagram is from Dometic AC 64767 instructions.

I guess I’m going to have to stop following Trainman around and tossing acorns at his trailer.