Leaderboard

Not a Truma problem but the issue did manifest itself as very low HOT water flow at all faucets. Problem of low hot water flow was the same whether on city water or using pump & fresh tank. COLD water flow was good at all faucets. And I’ve done the decalcification/cleaning process annually. Did some troubleshooting and was initially thinking it was a Truma problem because flow to the hot side of all the faucets was good if I bypassed the Truma at the bypass valve on the Truma cold water inlet. Fearing a very expensive Truma repair, I dug a little further. Opening the Truma drain lever and removing the Truma screen filter, and turning the bypass valve back to normal operating position, and I saw very little flow emptying out of the Truma drain. There really isn’t much inside the Truma on the inlet at that point to even get clogged up, it’s just a direct port into the screen filter, so low flow draining out pointed back to a problem at the plumbing going into the Truma. I removed the bypass valve and found the rubber seal inside had degraded and swollen (see photo), restricting the flow in the normal position. Found a CAMCO replacement on Amazon that’ll be here tomorrow. Hopefully the seal on this CAMCO one holds up better than the original one (different valve manufacturer). I really think a lot of these plumbing components aren’t tested with the chemicals using for RV maintenance like the anti-freeze winterizing solution, or vinegar/water or bleach/water sanitizing solutions, leading to issues with degradation of the seals. A pretty easy replacement of the valve but I’m also going to use this opportunity to redo the cold inlet and hot outlet plumbing connections on the back of the Truma to change to stainless braided flexible supply lines. Not a fan of the rigid plastic connections used by Oliver initially in those locations. Some owners have had the plastic hot water PEX fitting break at the brass TEE on the Truma outlet. With all the bouncing down the road, and thermal expansion and contraction when using the Truma, I want flexible connections there like some of those other owners have upgraded to. Camco bypass valve link to Amazon: https://a.co/d/eGqkhrA

Final Update: Upon factory inspection by Truma of the failed unit. They reported back to Oliver that the issue was with some improperly torqued connections inside the water heater, caused by improperly calibrated production tools at Truma. So they have fully refunded the cost of my repair. I don't know if NHTSA is taking any action, but I'll report back the results I heard from Oliver and Truma. CS

You might also consider securing the backof the water heater to the frame with a strap or L brackets. My water heater had an issue which included a fire, and one of the requested steps upon repair from Truma was to firmly attach the back of the water heater down to the frame it's sitting on. (The back of the Truma is sitting on a frame member for the trailer.) After about 3 months, I heard back that the water heater I had was found to have an improperly torqued internal gas connection from the Truma factory. They told Oliver Service that upon tear down they found the torque issue was linked to a manufacturing line situation where their Torque tool wasn't properly calibrated. Not sure what batch of units that impacted but they eventually fully refunded my replacement unit.

Hello and welcome to the forum! I agree with the others to see a Elite II before your final decision. We previously had an Airstream Nest but found it was way too small for any extended trips and the climb over bed situation got old real fast! We love the twin beds and so much more storage in the E2. Towing with the dual axle is so nice and what a difference from our Nest in backing it up (smaller definitely wasn’t easier)! We too fell in love with fiberglass campers and considered an Escape but the Oliver quality and customer service just can’t be beat! Whichever you decide you will love your Oliver!❤️

That is the standard 2023 furnace. Also, only in Europe (right now), there is an option for supplemental electric heat. I got really excited about it and and learned they have two levels of electric heat (like a hair dryer) that you can use either or both with or without propane. Oh well, maybe one day it will come here and can be added later. It would be nice if we were at a campground with hookups and didn't want to use propane. Brian

If the new foam is too stiff to squish/sort of fold at the sides a bit and stuff it in, use thin plastic, like a piece of dry cleaning bag, to make the foam slide easier. After inserting the foam, slide the plastic out. I wash the covers on my patio furniture once or twice a year. No issue. Do treat the zippers with a zipper lubricant/protector, especially of you live in a hot/humid climate. Makes them last longer/not stick. Oliver's upholster uses high quality thread and zippers. Really makes a difference in longevity. After fifteen seasons, trailer stored or used outside 24/7/365, I've only seen one tiny thread pop. I think that's pretty remarkable. (As you may have guessed, I've done a bit of upholstery in my life.)

There are a few of us out there who still own and enjoy our original 2008 and 2009 Elite shorties. So, 15th season for us, (and several others I know) something like 150k miles, couldn't tell you how many days used, but over 150 last year, and 100+ (so far) this year. Then again, I know a couple people who sold their shorties, and bought the bigger trailer later. Whether it suits you as a trailer or not really depends. If you're over 6'1", you may find it problematic, especially if both people are tall. The full size bed is cozy, and warmer in the cooler months, but, sure, I'd love to have the few inches extra space of a queen. The crawl-over hasn't been a big deal for us, yet. Maybe when we get older. We'll see. I'm the short one, so I get the inside post, and I don't find it to be a big deal, yet. If you have big dogs, or multiple dogs, you may find the space gets very small, especially in bad weather. We've had two small dogs, usually just one. We leave the big dinette set up as a bed, and use three big bins under the bed for extra storage. The dog(s) sleep(s) on the small dinette seat(s), on their own bed(?s). Otherwise, we have everything we need, in miniature, and then some, to enjoy our time camping. Life in miniature suits us. We don't carry a lot of "extra" stuff. Actually, we carry less every year. If an item isn't part of safety or first aid gear, or essential spares, and hasn't been used in the season, it gets culled at the end of season. Poof-- disappears to the garage archives, or goes to the Salvation Army. Disadvantages of the Elite are few, imo, as I think it's a great boondocking unit, and it tracks exactly behind the truck on narrow mountain roads. A 1500 pickup tows it like it isn't back there, and no Andersen required. Disadvantages-- for its size, it's rather heavy, and of course, it's pricey. A bit less rooftop space for solar, and less space for batteries in the smaller compartment. On the other hand, it's two less tires to replace every five years, and a bit less surface to wax and clean, and with the underbed bins, probably as much or more storage than the elite 2 with twins. Fits into spots designed for tenters, and too small for even an elite 2. As far as backing, couldn't say compared to a 2, but we've not had issues. The distance between ball and axle make it much easier than my squirrely old sunfish and trailer, which had a very short tongue. I've watched my husband, and also one of our friends, back our little trailers between trees with barely 6" on each side to spare. (We do this routinely at home!) Yes, they're experienced. But, you will be someday, too. You get the same marine quality fiberglass and gelcoat, same fixtures, etc. with the shorty. I have no desire to move to the bigger trailer, but that's a personal choice. Every trailer lives big on the outside.

Steve, We did not like the southern mattresses with spring coils that we purchased prior to picking up our Ollie. Way too many pressure points for our comfort level. We sold them to another Ollie owner with full disclosure of our intentions to replace with memory foam. We purchased a Casper 10” Element and now enjoy deep sleep on what we call our “my cloud” 😴😅. There are other much less expensive mattress options out there if you choose to get creative.

Bryan: When I was in the market for a RV, I looked first at the Elite. I thought that would be what I would buy until I saw the Elite II. I would suggest that you look at a Elite II prior to Oliver starting production. You may change your mind. Even though you have your order into Oliver, that is just a place holder in production. You could change to the Elite II if you decide to. The Elite II is obviously a little longer, but has a lot more inside storage space for both food (with the pantry) but also for your belongings. I find it better fit for extended camping trips. You could use John's idea of a front trailer hitch to move the Elite II into you yard. I also find that the Elite II with the double axle is easier to back up then my single axle trailers. Either way, you have an order into one of the best RV's manufactured and the best customer service company.

Congratulations! I went so far as to place a deposit on an Escape before finally deciding to purchase the Oliver. I also considered Bigfoot for a short time, but did not want to buy through a dealer. Hopefully we'll both be happy with our decision.

That is a valid concern, but easily fixed for very little cash: Driving any trailer into tight spots is super easy from the front, as long as there is physical room for the bigger one at the parking area. However the Elite does have a number of other advantages over the larger trailer, especially for boondocking and those small National Park and forest service campgrounds. Watling Engineers Front Towbar Demonstration John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks John. I’ve already had the Firestone link as well as Redarc’s brake controller bookmarked for months. 😉 As noted on MUD ( I’m Slow paddler), the HE model has very slightly larger wire diameter for the coils, but I think one fewer turns. Consensus is a barely stiffer spring. My fridge is mid-ship, so the only weight aft is just junk. No rear seats, and the 60% second row seat is out. So no stiffer springs unless I get a 24 gallon tank down the road At least two more outings planned for the Hiker this year. We may keep it and let our daughter and her fiancé use of if they store it for us. Else sell it to them. I could sell online for about 30% more than we paid for it, but theyretent camping now and would appreciate the enclosed box.

Congrats! We are also getting a 2023 LE II but it won't be ready until 3/8. We are about 2 hours from Hoenwald so if you need a place to overnight on your way back, let us know. We have 30 and 50 amp connections. Also, my wife if from Rexburg! Safe Travels! B&B

Thanks!

Congrats NC neighbors!! Your delivery day will be here before you know it! Patriot 🇺🇸

I hear ya Mike! They probably put the bolts on a little better, back in the day. Ours is only 6 months old. John

I guess I need to take the cover off and inspect to see if there are any loose bolts or screws. We did lose one of the four screws that hold the shroud on. I’d sure like to replace my Dometic with a new Truma or Houghton! Mike

Congratulations on placing your order. We placed our order for an Elite II last Oct, we are picking up hull 1213 on Tuesday. Woohoo!

Thank you for the heads-up!

Yer welcome. Two separate lines with enough extra to leave them looped over or beside your cargo… if that matters to you. I hope you will add any appropriate LC200 pics or tips to that thread as you get yours fixed up. John Davies Spokane WA

Thank you for sharing your experience at the Oliver plant and all the photo samples.😃

Yep, that’s the one Philip Andrews said came on the 2023 Truma option; the Truma VarioHeat and the Truma AquaGo. Not the Truma Combi. Before I bought the Land Cruiser, I was looking at flatbed truck campers. I found a few mentions that the separate units was a better more reliable and efficient option then the Combi. The Combi’s obviously advantage is size.

I asked Oliver sales about what Truma AC unit they are installing. I was told it was a 13,500 btu unit. I went on the Truma web page and the only unit I found that is 13,500 btu is the Truma eco. There is no heat pump capability on this Truma eco AC unit. I would be interested to know if anyone else has better or other information from Oliver. A AC unit that is a heat pump would be beneficial.

I can't find it now, but I asked this question on the Oliver Facebook group. Oliver sales employee Philip Andrews said that the water heater and furnace were Truma separates, not the Combi unit.

John Davis: FYI, Looking at the 2023 Build (rate) sheet under "Water Heater & AC Packages" it states the following options: Ssuburban Water Heater & Dometic AC - $0.00 increase or Suburban Water Heater & Dometic AC with Micro-Air Easy Start - $450.00 or Truma AquaGo On-Demand Water Heater & Truma Aventa AC - $3500.00 or Truma AquaGo On-Demand Water Heater & Truma Aventa AC & Electric Antifreeeze Kit - $3800.00 No Furnace combo model is listed. In the catalogue, it only lists LP Ducted Furnace, no brand is given. Maybe the web site gives more information

Are you positive that it is the water heater/ furnace combo model? Have you spoken to Oliver Sales about that? I sure hope so, I would be interested in a factory installed retrofit, because the old furnace is a true PITA to service, especially if there is a board failure. I am sure propane consumption will be stellar with the combo unit. And hopefully stellar maintenance access too, depending on where they choose to position it. And way way quieter. Any details will be very welcome! I agree with your decision to wait! Your drive home may be challenging, don’t rush if the weather turns bad. John Davies Spokane WA

While we were having our Ollie serviced this past June a salesman in the Oliver showroom mentioned to my wife and I that a new 2023 OLEll fully optioned is $107,000. Wowza!! It sure made us glad we purchased our 2020 when we did. -Patriot🇺🇸

Nice to see you going with the 2023, I would imagine there will be a sufficient price increase with those new items, but a less noisy A/C is worth it. trainman

The plaques were started sometime in 2019 because there was a problem that arose using the last 4 digits of the VIN as your hull number. Oliver had been assigning hull numbers in that manner since the first trailers were built in 2007. Each year's production just started with the VIN that was one number higher than the last years final VIN. Then in 2019 the state of TN told them they could no longer do it that way and each year's VIN's had to start back over at 0001. Rodney Lomax asked me just how important the "Hull Number" was to the owners. I replied that in 2008 Larry Harmon (Hull #003) and I had discovered the way the trailers were numbered and we started keeping up with who had which number way back then. We owned a 2008 Elite (Hull # 026). I told Rodney that most current owners would feel they were important enough to keep the system going. Thus the numbered plaques. At the annual Oliver Owner's rally in 2019 at Guntersville, AL, the appropriate plaques were given out to each of the owners of older trailers that were in attendance to be mounted in their trailer. Since then, the plaques are installed at the factory upon completion of each unit.

It’s factory installed in the newer trailers. Just inside the door on left side wall, above the switches as @SeaDawgmounted hers. I regret I don’t have a pic of mine to show.

I mounted ours on the sidewall of the microwave cabinet, inside the door, under the switches. We were really happy to receive ours. The early hulls, like ours, didn't get one originally.

I must say that this incident combined with the Truma maker's response leaves me with some degree of regret at having opted for the Truma in my trailer, and thinking I'm likely to avoid their products in general in the future, unless you happen to report back that they have had a change of mind after seeing the unit you send back to them. Thanks for taking the time to write this up for us.

I’m kind of surprised by this response. Not the path I would have taken if I was at all interested in offering other new products to the RV industry. Please keep us updated!

Update: PSA - Truma Water Heater Situation: On our Hull 505 -Elite II the Truma water heater failed with fire coming outside the box and starting to melt wiring etc. (Pix attached) Symptoms: When the Truma was igniting we heard unusually loud huffing noises followed by a loud whoosh. Every so often there would be a loud whoosh and a pop. (Blowing itself out.) On one incident I went outside, opened the door and saw flames outside the burner assembly engulfing controls. I turned off unit and flames stopped. Cause? It appears the burner and the copper flue box may have gotten out of alignment after 13k miles on chassis. Given the plastic smell I decided to replace the whole unit. Truma response: 1) stated it’s past warranty, so no $ for replacement, but they asked I ship the unit back to them for post mortem. 2) Cost $110 to ship back. 3)They said they will cover shipping. Replacement: A new replacement unit was sold and shipped to us by Oliver Service. (Great response). Removal and replacement was a 3 hour job with a mobile tech from our adjoining campsite helping where we are staying at Desert Hotsprings CA. Checked gas pressure at unit before installing and all was correct. New unit working well. After removal and visual check I couldn’t see any obvious defects in the old unit, other than the lower edges of the copper burner box were slightly folded inward. Maybe Truma can see something when they tear into the unit. As soon as I hear any resolution from Truma, I’ll provide an update. I plan to file with NHTSA after the Truma update.

As a relative newbie, I'm not sure how this works, but perhaps Oliver could upload videos on the Tech Bulletin section? It's certainly something everyone (including future owners with Truma) should be aware of and able to inspect.

Hmmm... similar vintage here (#409, late 2018) so also wondering how to inspect. Would like to see more pictures or video if possible to understand what I'm looking for. Will take the "mirror on a stick" and a flashlight next time I visit the storage unit to try and see the burner area deep inside.

Two things come to mind about this. One, I really wish that people would post about failures like you did. I realize that not every owner is on the forum (of course, they should be); but if someone who had this failure is on the forum, shame on them for not posting about it. Two - more importantly, if this has happened more than once and Oliver knows about it, then every owner with a Truma should know about it.

I haven't seen that here before, and didn't find that failure on a quick Google search. Truma is known for long tests before market introduction. Glad you are ok. Let us know the results.

Yikes I can't get your videos to load but the photo looks pretty scary. Glad you noticed quickly and got it shut off. Did just turning off the unit close the valve or did you have to turn off the gas? It would have been reassuring if the unit had detected the problem and shut itself down on it's own. Maybe with a little more time it would have? It does look like the flame was contained within the box so that's something I suppose. I may have to remount my little Atom smoke detector back in that compartment. To answer your question, I don't think anyone here has posted about mechanical failures on the Truma - could be wrong, just don't remember. But nothing like this for sure. They had a software issue a few years back on some units that required swapping out the control board. And mine I managed to break on our first outing, but that was almost certainly an installation issue and Oliver dealt with it. And there was another plumbing error that made me think the Truma wasn't working right (again not really a Truma issue) but once I fixed that, I've had nothing bad to say about it. That's a pretty serious failure, and I definitely want to hear Truma's response. I'd let Oliver know also - not that I think it's any of their fault, but I think they'd want to know and maybe they can help you with Truma. On the videos, I don't know if others can see them, but the most reliable way to post them I've found is to upload them to YouTube and then just paste the YouTube link into the post.

Yes - I believe that it is TN State law that requires proof of insurance prior to delivery. Good luck! Bill

We have the Ollie insured with Good Sam Insurance, tow vehicle is insured by another company. Colorado Good Sam quote was something like $700/yr. Full Replacement coverage. They tried to sell me insurance for tow vehicle and other vehicles in household but I declined. Something is not adding up with the quote they gave you. I hope you get it sorted. If you live in CO and will register the trailer there, wait til you find out how much the State wants for annual registration. That'll flip your other sock.

Thanks @LongStride and @SeaDawg I will call again on Friday. interesting data point, this quote is also quite a bit lower than that from my current insurance…though not a direct apples to apples comparison (agreed value on the TV vs actual cash value). this will teach me to wait until 4 days before camper pick-up to remember I needed to get insurance quotes. Made even more tight by the holiday.

I agree with @SeaDawg, something does not sound right. The rate seems excessive to me but as @John E Daviespoints out there are many factors that affect that. The thing that really gives me pause is that they refused to insure your trailer unless you insured your tow vehicle with them as well. Give Good Sam another call and share your experience with them. You may have just connected with a bad agent who was trying to take advantage of you.

That would be something new. Our vehicle insurance is with a different company. Unless this is something because if your home state rules, I'd try another call, and see if a different rep has a different answer.

The rate can vary wildly, depending on your own data (driving record, claims, towing experience) and where and how the trailer is stored. My Progressive RV policy is $465 per year, stored in a secure indoor location at my home. Sometimes they will try to bundle roadside assistance, you can decline that if you have that already. John Davies Spokane WA

We purchased Ollie used, I'm going to have to increase insured hull value for the second time due to Ollie's increasing value!!!!!!!!!

We have state farm for our insurance needs. $345 a year with $1000 deductible and 5 years coverage for replacement cost. Rates vary depending your state and area you live in.

We have USAA and they use Progressive for customer RV insurance. Mike

I got a mailer from good Sam's today, so checked their website. They have some great cyber week specials on towing insurance. We've only had to use them locally with our daily drivers, but I've known others who had to have both tug and trailer towed with good Sam's.... You may want to check their website for the holiday special pricing. We carry the platinum rv coverage, as it covers us in rentals, too, in Canada..... just in case.... The standard rv plan is only $79.95 right now, covers all your owned vehicles in your family, for all the household drivers. Goodsamroadside.com Sherry