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Since Oliver no longer recommends using the "stabilizer" jacks to jack up their trailers for tire changes, I invested in a bottle jack for that purpose. At John Davies' suggestion, I purchased an RV Safe Jack. My hope was that the Safe Jack would come with the components necessary to safely jack up an Oliver Elite II in a variety of situations, because you never know where you will need to change a tire. This post describes how I have chosen to use the RV Safe Jack on our Elite II, and includes a warning about using the u-shaped saddle that comes with the RV Safe Jack to jack up an Oliver at the specified jack point. The 6-ton RV Safe Jack includes three jack extensions: one 6" and two 3" extensions. Also included is a clever Extension Screw Collar, which can be placed on the extension screw on top of the bottle jack when it is extended. The Extension Screw Collar helps stabilize the interface between the extension and the screw. Only the 6” extension fits under the Oliver when jacking from a smooth surface (like a concrete floor). See first photo below. If you are changing a tire by the side of the road, and wind up with a hole right below the specified jack point, the other two 3" extensions may come in handy. Do not use the included u-shaped saddle on the steel frame at the specified jack point. It could crush the propane line (which is inside wire loom). See the second photo below. The saddle is designed for use when jacking under an axle, but Oliver recommends jacking from the steel-reinforced part of the frame, not under an axle. I had hoped the u-shaped saddle in the Safe Jack RV kit would fit around the steel reinforcement frame, securing the jack to the frame. But, alas, the copper propane line (protected by wire loom) is installed right next to the steel reinforcement frame, so using the u-shaped saddle to jack in that location is a definite "no go." Instead of the u-shaped saddle, I chose to use a 6” length of 2x6 lumber, with a 1-1/4” x ½” deep hole drilled with a spade bit. The block fits nicely between the two welded angle iron pieces of the steel reinforcement frame. The block also cushions the interface between the top of the extension and the steel frame. The 1-1/4" x 1/2" deep hole in the 2x6 block holds the jack extension in place, as shown in the first photo below. The third photo below shows my 6" length of scrap 2x6 with an extension inserted, and next to it, the 1-1/4" spade bit I used to drill the 1/2" deep hole. Hope this is helpful to anyone choosing to invest in the RV Safe Jack system for use on an Oliver.

A few years ago, generators were all over our forum. Nearly all portable generators were of standard Motor/Generator design. I refer to them and my Dometic Penguin AC as "Hammer Mills". Then Honda came out with their inverter line. Super quiet, fuel efficient, and their EU 2000 watt unit with an EzStart would run our A/C units. The vast majority of us purchased the Honda inverter 2000 or 2200 units. But they were, and are pricy. Time has passed and most of us still have the Hondas that you could not pry out of our dead hands. But much less costly Champion, Yamaha and Predator inverters (to name a few) have come into play. With the OTT production rate acceleration, I suspect we have many new owners that likely would likely benefit from a revival of the topic. This thread is intended to hear from our owners their thoughts about their generator. Please touch upon the below as well as your experiences: Generator Name and Model Cost of Purchase Power Output (Rated Full Load) Ability to handle our A/C cycling while switched to "Eco-Mode". Please specify if you have an 11K BTU or 13.5K BTU A/C. Decibels idle and full power Ease of use Maintainability Reliability Durability Number of seasons used Thank you! GJ

Champion inverter generators are pretty quiet. I’ve had two. Quiet on propane or gas.

I am editing this post to include two notes associated with the less expensive Houghton: Please be aware that this less expensive Houghton: Is significantly higher (13 11/16" vs 9") than the low profile one ($1500). Is also significantly lighter at 73 pounds than the low profile unit at pounds. As a result I changed my order to the Low Profile unit. GJ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ On Black Friday, and maybe still, for $917 we got one without heat (Us Hawaiian Residents are allergic to snow and cold) we got our Houghton, two remotes, tax, and shipping. Granted we will need to install. Looks like it requires a new T-stat, butyl tape, caulk and hopefully only four hours. And if it turns out as good as Katanapilot's did, we will be super happy! From talking, reading, and videos, the install is really straight forward with two exceptions: Lifting the units down and up. For that we have a stout oak tree with plenty of clearance, rope, pulley and cargo net. Understanding the heater re-connect as posted. (Tough being 4000 miles from our Ollie and planning projects.) GJ

Mine are rated at 53db from 23 feet. I confirmed this with a basic db meter on my phone. The db level reads the same when running both as when running only one. I can live with that level for the couple of hours it takes to recharge batteries. Although hauling two inverter/generators takes more space in the bed of our Tundra, it is also easier for this old guy to lift and carry just one at a time. As a comparison, the new Honda eu3200i is rated at "54 to 58 db(A)".

Rivernerd, This past summer I installed the Hutch Mountain trifuel conversion kit - LP, LNG, gasoline.https://www.hutchmountain.com The Honda eu3000is runs whisper quiet off LP. We ran our gen in our initial shake down after the LP conversion and were pleased with how quiet it runs even while sitting in the gen basket. You are right about tradeoffs. The trade off with the Honda is it’s a bit heavy. The upside is no gasoline storage to be concerned with. Due to its size and weight it’s not so portable that a thief can just pick it up and walk away with it. Lifting it in and out of the gen tray takes two people with strong backs. We look forward to seeing how well the Honda runs the Aventa post install in May. I think it will be plenty of clean inverter gen power and run our Ollie fine.

The Girard Awnings will not hold up in any measureable wind speed over 5mph - even with the auto motion sensor to close during a wind event. When fully deployed they are just too heavy for the structural support system if there is a slight breeze. Using the Elephant Poles as Trainman has suggested is an excellent idea whenever the awnings are deployed - just make sure to disable the motion sensor(s) if you secure the ends with the poles and a tie down.

I agree. I didn't know about the Truma Varioheat furnace until almost delivery date. It's a great furnace that worked well in sub freezing temperatures. We both got lucky with the Truma package being available for the last few trailers in the 2022 production run. I believe it was money well spent. John

Yes, in addition to the Truma Aventa AC, we have the Truma Varioheat furnace and the Truma Aquago water heater. They comprise the Truma upgrade package now offered by Oliver on 2023 models. Since the Truma Varioheat furnace is now standard on all Olivers, the "upgrade" part, for which a premium is charged, includes the Aventa AC and Aquago water heater components. We learned about the potential for the Truma AC upgrade from posts on this forum many months ago, so we asked our Oliver salesperson about it. We were advised that the AC upgrade came as part of a package, which required the Truma Aquago water heater as well. When we received our updated Deposit Receipt from Oliver which included the additional premium for the Truma upgrade, we learned that the $3800 upgrade also included the Truma Varioheat furnace. When we took delivery of the trailer, we saw that the packaging of those three Truma upgrades made sense: they are all centrally controlled by the Truma CP Plus wall control.

The Truma Varioheat Furnace is the Standard furnace on the 2023 models. Look in the 2023 Owners Manuals standard components section to learn all the details.

The "Bean" .... before she was the bean. These were taken in June of 2016 on our factory tour after picking up #145. Oliver was doing some kind of work on the trailer. Probably getting her ready for sale before the Shaffers found her. Oliver may have gotten the restoration ball rolling but they did the rest, including the pinstriping etc. Very unusual Oliver to see.

When I read the email announcement about the upgrade I thought: "FINALLY!" I have found it very hard to get restful sleep with the Penguin A/C roaring in my trailer. The Truma Aventa Eco sounds like the solution... OK, the price is <!!!> but heck, some of the things we do with our trailers is financially nuts anyway. (My heating system upgrade probably cost me a thousand bucks in parts and tools, not even counting the hours of labor.) I have called Truma, and they confirm that the CP Plus control panel "will/can" control either heat + hot water, or A/C + hot water. They promise to update their website to show that capability. We will still get a remote, but with the CP Plus panel the remote can go into a drawer with all the other ones I don't use. Before I jump on this and schedule a 5,000 mile trip to Hohenwald, does anyone see a downside that I may have missed? Thanks, Bill

Champion inverter generators are pretty quiet. I’ve had two. Quiet on propane or gas. Rivernerd/Mike& Carrol: That's great news. I had not heard their inverter line. Guess that's the point! This RoF (Retired Ole Fart) needs to get up to date! Glad to hear, or in this case, not hear their hammer mill non-inverter line. BTW, the Predator inverter line works quite well also. At about half the price of a Honda. Last I heard, the Yamaha one had issues for our AC's.

FYI if you camp in many parts of the West, where fluky, strong and unexpected wind gusts happen - downbursts, williwas, dust devils, whatever you want to call them - do not leave your awnings out when you away from the trailer. Better yet, leave them retracted all the time. That sort of makes awnings completely unusable, doesn’t it? If not for the future resale value I would take my single Fianma off completely. I very rarely open it. And tie down your CLAM, low and angled sharply downwards, not sideways, so it can collapse without harm. I experienced one while tent camping on the White Rim Road, Canyonlands NP, in late May. It was about 90 degrees, sunny, NO breeze, then suddenly a very violent gust ripped through the site, blowing my loose gear toward the Colorado River, but thankfully not into it. A minute later the air was calm. Lesson learned... https://www.weather.gov/fgz/DustDevil https://www.rvtravel.com/southwest-snowbirds-beware-wind-many-names/ I think Oliver should make the awnings optional, on both sides. John Davies Spokane WA

Everything oxidizes when left outside and in the sun, so not doing anything will defiantly speed up the oxidation process. On ours I buffed in once a year with a good marine fiberglass compound and our trailer after four years looks just like new, yes it does require getting up on some scuffling (ladder not recommended) with a buffer and buffing it, not a fun job. Like I have said many times, being a retired body shop manger for some 30 plus years there is no miracle product that will stop oxidation, but removing it is possible and that's buff it off. The ceramic coatings my be the best way to go for some, but for myself, it's just a coverup and in time your will still have to have it buffed to get down to the original gel coat finish to get the original luster of the trailer back to where it all started. I realize this process may not be able to be done by many, so I would do what works for you, a nice metal building would also work, plus it does bring value to your property. trainman

Good price. I bet the next Ollie they do will be higher. 😂🤣. I wrote back and forth to CGI and I thought since our trailer is #1290 that the prep would be very minimal. They said that they still have to prep new trailers so the cost wasn't decreased. I did put Rock Tamer mup flaps on and towing back to Oregon, it looked good. John

Hi John, No, I had a local detailer here in Bakersfield, CA do it for us. I googled "ceramic auto coating" and received about 5 detailers in our area that professed to do it. After checking all the reviews, especially companies with lots of reviews, I choose my company. FYI: I paid $500 per coat (which I think was a very good deal - and the detailer confirmed it was far more work than he had anticipated). With the PPF film I paid $1300 for the entire job.

There is actually a white LEII out there with red spots called Lady Bug.

We use our Clam a lot in the winter along with our propane fire pit. Keeps it toasty warm inside no matter the outside temperature. There are plenty of wineries in Fredericksburg, we’re club members at Becker Vineyards and go there often. You can spend a few days just visiting wineries! Mike

On the other hand: "German engineering quality" and "German reliability" are questionable. Over engineering and high build quality don't ensure reliability. I've owned a few..... Common control integration, is aka potential single point of failure. Truma protectionist service and parts distribution ensures extended down times and higher repair costs, when the time comes. No Aventa heating capability is potential deal breaker to complete showstopper. What's going on with this no soft starter policy? Don't they understand their target market? Recouping higher initial costs depends on the lifecycle of the equipment and the purchaser's perceived value. These could turn into negatives. I'm not trying to be argumentative, just offering a different perspective (opinion). All things considered, for some RVers, the Truma solutions may be a better choice when compared to the alternatives. Their appliance performance may be notable, but be aware of the negatives.

Although it was hard to swallow the $3800 Truma upgrade cost (versus the $1500 cost of a RecPro, since we believed we would be o.k. with the Suburban water heater and furnace), we are now glad we have the Truma Varioheat furnace, the Truma Aquago water heater and the CP Plus wall control. The benefits of the Varioheat furnace, which we did not know were part of the package until we took delivery, include more robust ducting and a return air vent in the bathroom. Since we had to drive home to Idaho in sub-freezing temps, we were also glad we had the Truma antifreeze kit as part of that package. In hindsight, we feel we made the right choice for us, and received good value for the upgrade cost.

Fredericksburg is the home of the Pacific War Naval Museum also. I thought it was well worth seeing.

Dave - No antlers on THAT reindeer! Nice looking pup though. Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. Bill

We just scheduled with Mike Sharpe at Oliver Service for a May 8th install of the Truma Aventa Eco. May 8th was the next available opening in Service to have the install done. We already have reservations for the 2023 Oliver Rally at LGSP so we took the early May date for install. Mike said they will need our Ollie for 2-3 days to complete the install. He also said the Truma Aventa Eco also uses the existing internal condensate drain line incase anyone was wondering. We are really looking forward to a clean fit and factory finish. Oliver Service has always truly exceeded our expectations for any work performed in the past. If you’re interested you may want to give Mike at Oliver Service a call and get an install quote and hopefully get on the service install calendar. Patriot 🇺🇸 https://www.truma.net/air-conditioning-systems/truma-aventa-eco

Indeed, a lot, but I knew it was coming. I had it built into the financing and Oliver cut me the check back. I'm in CA and mine was over $6k. They (DMV) almost dinged me for another $600 late fee on the registration, but I explained my purchase was in Tennessee and I didn't ENTER Calif. until a week later. That extra day saved me $600!

It was. I encountered the same issue when winterizing our new Elite II a couple of weeks ago. I learned I had skipped a step. Try opening the cold external faucet valve, with the external faucet head button depressed and locked into the "on" position. Then pump. Once you see antifreeze coming out of the external faucet, stop pumping. There is no need to repeat with the hot water valve open. See the below video at 3:41.

I went with a 12ft high x 14ft wide and it is 30 ft long. I really like the 14 ft wide, for being able to work on the Oli and it gives me extra width for getting backed into place (still working on the backing skills). The extra height is also nice to get up on top. I had enough room I could have gone 36ft long, and I wish I had. When I was going over things with the contractor he told me that for resale I should do a 14ft high opening, and max the length out. We had set a financial limit on what we could spend on Oli, truck, RV port/garage, and accessories to get going. When it comes down to it, we hope this house will be our last, and we will never go with bigger RV/Trailer. I had a GMC greyhound bus conversion many years ago which was fun, and it had lots of room and storage. Although it was to big to get in placing that I can get the Oli into. We really like the Oli trailer setup better, and I no longer have to take care of a towed vehicle. So my decision for the RV garage was right for me. My Children will have to worry about resale in the future, I hope to be to darn old to worry about it. What I do regret is that 10 years ago I built a 10ft high x 24ft wide x 36ft deep garage with 2 stalls . I wish I would have be more forward thinking and built a 40ft wide x 36ft deep with 12-14ft height with 3 stalls. I would have saved 1/2 of the cost of the RV garage doing it all at once, and had more room. Good luck with your decisions.

And, that is an amazing restoration. Great job!!!

Perhaps its in the eye of the beholder - but (pun intended) - the new owner has done a very nice job of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.

Indeed, I'm really glad the red one, jellybean, was adopted, and named,, by such great owners, @Bshafferalong the way. The very few of us who are still original owners (15 years later) have mostly kept up, and added mods. I'd say refreshed, as opposed to restored, as the frame and hull as are as good today, as they were on 2008/9. Brandi and her husband have had to catch up, but they've done such a beautiful job. Jellybean is not only adorable, but a great little piece of Ollie history . (And, so very cute.) (Ps A good number of the original owners of 2008/9 are still friends. It's an amazing kind of thing. Just got off the phone with Ollie friends in Minnesota. They are hull #30something. We sail and/or camp together, every year. The original lower 48, like me, Pete, Scubarx, are still hanging in there.) You never know what life brings, but it's often really great, if you are open to opportunities. I could write a much longer post on how my life has been enriched by camping, especially camping with our Ollie, and the friends we've made along the way, but I'll save it for another day, and another thread....

Nope - its just the lighting - all black, all red. I don't know all the details on the restoration of the red one - but - I do know that there was sun induced fading on a fair amount of the Oliver - not the fiberglass though. Things like the air conditioner, roof fan, etc. were sun faded but now look great. You can see them all in the photos above - with the exception of the white ones! Bill