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He is risen!

I concur! CGI is currently in Texas and yesterday they applied 2 ceramic coatings to The Wonder Egg after a very impressive prep. I've maintained #14 rather well over the last 15 years, with a semiannual wash and wax / polish. It stays in its protective barn when not out traveling. Seeing the CGI 4 man crew work over the exterior for 5 hours with their professional detailing tools was a sight to behold. And all of that was simply to prepare The Wonder Egg for meticulously applying 2 complete coatings of Glidecoat Marine Ceramic Coating specifically formulated for gelcoat surfaces. CGI members have a passion for creating a perfect mirror finish and the results are phenomenal. A high quality work and product for a high quality trailer is a great way to go. CGI Detailing will be at the 2023 Oliver rally. I recommend you stop by and check them out and take a look at all attending Olivers which have received their services. My 15 year old "Wonder Egg" looks better than its first day out of the factory and into the wild. Thanks, guys!

Thank you, Happy Easter to you as well! "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Cor. 15: 19-20

Happy Easter to all! A special day! Mike

Happy Easter/Resurrection Day, Grace, mercy and blessings to all. 🙏🙏🙏

Back on January 17th of 2020, we had an appointment to meet @topgun2 to show us his Oliver LEll aka “Twist”. We throughly enjoyed the 4 hr visit and all the extremely helpful information shared by Bill. And after a factory tour on Jan 21st, and we ordered our Oliver on January 31st!! I mention Bill; as we are not taking any credit for the below checklist. I know we all have checklists for our Oliver, however this is one that you need to have but hopefully will never have to use. We actually carry this checklist with us every time we travel whether pulling the Oliver or not. We don’t have a blank checklist to share in a word doc as ours has our personal info already on it. You should find it fairly easy to personalize your own from the info on the attached pics. So consider taking a few minutes and create a medical checklist that hopefully you will never need. In the event you do it’s invaluable. A special thank you to Bill aka @topgun2for suggesting one of the most important checklists we will always carry and hope we never need. Safe Travels Oliver Family! Patriot🇺🇸

My compartment was a mess. Oliver used gaffers tape everywhere on my hull and it just doesn't hold. None of the wires were bundled or tied. A large boa constrictor. There was no insulation above the hull join line, I fully insulated the front wall with silver bubble stuff and Dow Corning pink R5 (1"). I cut off the snake and added an adjustable 3" elbow. I cut off the unused toilet flush line and secured it out of the way. No more antifreeze in the face! I wanted the cubby piece to act as an air return for the furnace, to suck air OUT of the bath area when the door was closed. My hull had an (optional) 5" inspection port in the closet do I can look at he plumbing, I turned it into an air return. I took the round heating grill under the toilet paper roll out years ago, now the airflow is greatly increased! John Davies Spokane WA

That's a really good list. When we traveled to Antarctica and Patagonia last fall, my physician suggested something similar, plus carrying a cd with my recent scans and x-rays, and recent medical history, "just in case." Thanfully, never used them, but helpful for comparison for a physician if I'd taken a(nother) tumble or had an other emergency, in his opinion. In addition, it can be important to understand your insurance coverage away from home. Emergency services in the US are usually covered, depending on your policy, but it can be an unpleasant financial surprise to get sick or injured outside the US, even in Canada. Travel health insurance is relatively cheap, and often covers flight evacuation to the USA for you and your spouse, if necessary. This is especially true if you are covered only by traditional Medicare and spend a lot of time camping in the Yukon, as we have. Not a pleasant topic, but a sometimes a necessary one to explore.

This is pretty self explanatory, my panel is under the dinette with the door hinge on the WRONG side, so access requires contortions and lots of swear words. Turn OFF the battery and shore power, remove the front cover with a small square tip bit. The manufacturer used an oddball screw to keep owners out, I suppose. I could not see or reach the top fuse, so I cut the panel opening to allow better access. You must insulate the hot terminal and the copper bus strip! One benefit is that it helps to prevent mangling the little ears that grip the fuses. Make sure all of yours fit snugly, squeeze with pliers if needed. John Davies Spokane WA

Indeed HE HAS RISEN! Happy Easter!

I (finally) found blank copies of the forms Patriot shows above. These details plus copies of your driver's license, medical insurance cards, and any health directives that you may have (medical power of attorney, living will, DNR instructions, etc.) should be together. Hopefully these things will never be needed. Bill Medical-History-Forms (2).pdf

Thanks Patriot for the kind words and I'm glad that you have found this list helpful. However, I don't deserve credit (other than passing it along) in that it came from a presentation that was done by a former Oliver owner and his wife (both medical professionals) at an Oliver Owner's Rally a few years ago. This list of medical details and relevant information is to be used in the event that you can't speak for yourself and/or when a medical emergency happens and people are running around in the confusion that many times happens during situations like that, there is one place where all necessary medical information can be easily found. I keep a copy of this in both my tow vehicle and in the Oliver. Both copies have a medical alert drawing (like the one below) on the front of a bright yellow folder. Bill

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!🐰

No commentary, pics for your enjoyment. Please look as these related threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8865-fridge-fires-if-you-have-an-older-hull-you-really-need-to-pull-out-that-fridge-now/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8832-removed-my-dometic-3-way-fridge-without-removing-the-cabin-door-assembly/ https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8827-thread-for-isotherm-cruise-130-elegance-2-way-compressor-fridge-the-unit-used-in-2023-models/ John Davies Spokane WA

Don't forget to plug those "scupper holes"!🥰

Once upon a time, in our F150, I was pulling our Ollie solo downhill in the rain & needed to brake, hard. That's all it took. When I got home we ordered an F250. Chris

James some question for understanding: When you look at the rolled up canopy, is it cleanly stacked or is it "barber poling". (I.E. not cleanly stacked by walking up/down the roller as it retracts?) When rolled up, is the canopy evenly rolled on the roll? I.E. the roller is longer than the width of the canopy. There should be some unused roller space as a result and it should be equally split on each end of the roller. Do you have a way to check the amp draw and voltage at the Motor? How does this compare with the O&M specifications? About how many times have you used the canopy? Did it work well each of those times? Are each of the arm bolts secure and not slipping? One end will have adjustment and if that bolt on one of the arms is slipping, it could prevent the canopy from keeping "Square" and bind the effort to extend. This would not be a problem on retract though. GJ

On a 3 lane I generally stay in the right lane unless it’s an urban area with frequent on ramps, then I’ll go to the middle lane. Mike

Jason Essary asked me to please poll the group here to see if there are any particular topics we might want him to specifically focus on for his presentation at the rally. Please name a topic such as "Bearing Care and Lubrication" or "leveling the trailer in quicksand", anything that you're curious about and might be of general interest to the group attending. Be specific, I will send him the link to this thread and he can pick from your suggestions.

JD: Did you remove the Mechanical/Electrical/Gas section from the box inside or outside of your Ollie Cabin? Great pictures. Thank you. GJ

Haha..you were reading my mind and saw were I could have gone with this lol! 😄

Fortunately our carrier Blue Cross Blue Shield (Federal Employee Program) provides coverage during overseas travel with Geo Blue. It’s still a really good idea to call and understand exactly what is covered while traveling. 👍🏻 https://www.bcbs.com/articles/coverage-goes-where-you-go-travel-worry-free-blue-cross-blue-shield Patriot🇺🇸

Pics ... John Davies Spokane WA

A couple of days ago Jason did a walkthrough of a 2023 trailer on YouTube, he did it live, and I happen to catch it Live. I only watched the beginning of it, because I was busy and was going to watch it later. It, however, never got posted. Since I am in the market for both a Tow Vehicle and a LEII, I am doing some sizing analysis. I did see enough of the trailer, to basically conclude it is loaded with all the Oliver options, this includes the Platinum Lithium package. During the video he showed the tire and loading information sticker on the side of the trailer. I screen grabbed it, because I want to use that information for my vehicle sizing. Hence this post, these trailers are gaining significant weight from the factory. I attached the screen grab, but since it contained the VIN number, for the future owner privacy, I decided to blank the VIN number out. On the website the LEII trailer weight (Dry) is listed as 4,900 lbs and 490 tongue weight (10%) This trailer is coming in at 7,000 lbs - 1,530 lbs = 5,470 lbs If we go with full tanks for sizing purposes: 32 gallons fresh water + 32 gallon gray + 15 gallon black = 79 gallons, 79 gallons * 8.34lbs/gal (fresh water weight) = 659 lbs Therefore with tanks full and the trailer completely empty the "loaded options" full wet trailer is sitting at 6,129 lbs. At 10% tongue weight that is 613 lbs, 12% 735 lbs. Realistically I think it would be easy to add 500 lbs of "things" into the trailer. That fattens things up to about 6,629 lbs, 10% tongue weight 663, 12% tongue 795 lbs. Add a generator and some gas in the aluminum basket at 75 lbs and with12% tongue weight you could be sitting at 870 lbs tongue weight. I wanted to post this because I've read many posts from experienced Oliver owners that talk about Oliver trailer weight gain. It really hits you, however, when you actually see the 2023 tire and loading information first hand.

You'll be very pleased with the outcome. The Wonder Egg's owner isn't nearly as old as Twist's owner, and he looks much better. 🙂

The Highlander is VERY marginal in stressful country - high, hot, or headwinds. For local travel in the East it would be OK. You would have to buy the non-Hybrid, which is a shame, because the Hybrid Highlander and RAV-4 get superb fuel economy…. https://tractionlife.com/toyota-highlander-towing-capacity-specs-up-close/ John Davies Spokane WA

It's also interesting that Thor's Airstream brand is installing Battleborn Gamechanger 3.0 and Victron products in some of their offerings. The RV/Boat energy market is getting more and more competitive. Charlie.

We've found Florida mosquitoes to be small , slower, and annoying, but nothing like the larger and faster Minnesota state bird... (I'm from Minnesota. )

Bravo, some people don’t like looking at nasty messes. I do caution that it will mess up a driveway, so it should be done over gravel. And always relube immediately after! High pressure water directed at the joints will drive out the grease and replace it with water….. AKA the “universal solvent”. I clean mine by hand with lots of old rags, brake cleaner, goggles and gloves. Yuck. John Davies Spokane WA

Short term, Lithionics' stellar level of customer service will be unchanged. During my 35 years of law practice, I represented many senior execs when their smaller company was acquired by a "big fish." Long term, expect Winnebago management to impose their corporate culture on Lithionics, which usually results in senior management turnover at Lithionics. And, relevant to those of us who own Lithionics batteries, one usual, eventual, casualty of acquisition is reduction of customer service staff to cut costs and improve the bottom line for the parent company. Do not be surprised if, in a year or two, when you call Lithionics instead of a real person answering the phone, you get one of those hold messages stating: " We are experiencing an extremely high call volume. Thank you for your patience."

Several friends and acquaintances here in Indiana have been effected by the tornadoes of the last week. We've heard the sirens go off numerous times already this spring. Prior to Friday's event no serious injuries. A friend of my wife was camping at McCormick's Creek State Park when this happened last weekend. The park rangers were driving through blaring their horns to warn campers to take shelter. Stacie's friend and here family survived by sheltering in the bath house, but lost their camper. The couple that died were in the same campground but apparently chose to ride it out in their camper. It's heartbreaking to hear this kind of news. We used to live near the town of Rossville where they were from. We didn't know the Kincaids, but in that farm community, everybody was considered your neighbor. Prayers for comfort and strength for the surviving family and friends. We have several forms of weather radio we will have along on trips. It's available over Sirius/XM in our truck, and we also have handheld GMRS radios with weather band. Plus if cellular service is available we have several weather apps on the phones to follow. We've survived two occasions while camping when tornadoes came within a mile of our locations. If you hear a warning, head for shelter.

A very sad, and sobering, reminder to pay attention to weather conditions, and have a plan. Especially camping in tornado season. I remember the first time camping that my husband and I heard tornado sirens in the Midwest. He didn't know what they meant. I said, "grab the dog, keys, your wallet, and we're off to the bath house," a few hundred feet away. I'd scoped it out, earlier, as it was early tornado season. We were fine, but buildings and billboards flattened not far away. We had the "joy" of spending a good while with several dozen strangers and their pets in the small block structure. (I chose a shower stalls, extra stability) I sure wish these folks in the Indiana state park had heard, or heeded, the warnings. As a survivor of several direct tornafo hits, I'm extremely saddened by this loss. My condolences to their family. Please, be careful, and aware. https://www.indystar.com/story/news/local/2023/04/02/indiana-storms-rossville-couple-dead-at-mccormicks-creek-state-park/70072924007/

Winnebago, as I remember, was the first to use Lithionics, so a friendly partnership makes perfect sense. I'd relax on the hand-wringing, at least for now. Aquisitions happen all the time in rv component world. Me? I'm super happy lithionics was acquired by a friendly and supportive, smaller company, vs dometic or lippert.

Spot on. Impact during difficult times will be that OTT and other OEM's will be scouting for batteries and the price for their product will be higher than Winnebago's making the Winnebago travel trailers/campers less expensive by comparison. Would behoove OTT to set up a preferred supplier with companies like Battleborn and Victron. GJ

Very nice summation of the acquisition process. Strategic sourcing is a valuable part of this decision. Many lithium batteries are coming from overseas and this will help them as an on-shore source as well as the valuation of the company. That being said, just because Lithionics will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, doesn’t mean Winnebago won’t have priority in terms of delivery commitments. These M&A’s (mergers and acquisitions) are happening all across the RV segment. Even some of the suppliers, like Dometic, are acquiring any company that shows promise in their particular line of business. All very interesting to watch from the sidelines. Regards and again, thank you for the insight your provided. Brian

Scary? We previously owned an Airstream 24' Sprinter - that was much more scary when it was windy or when passing/passed/meeting semi trucks. JMO. Charlie.

@Dwain Kitchens I don’t know what TV you are going to be using if you purchase an Oliver or any TT for that matter. I can say that having really large electronically adjustable defrosting featured tow mirrors is one of the nicest visual tools to have when towing. The wonderful feature we enjoy when towing the Oliver is it’s only the width our TV and we do not have to extend our Ford Super Duty mirrors at all. The lower blind spot mirrors are an invaluable tool as well. In my experience larger mirrors are very critical to a safer towing experience. You will find they are a really invaluable and you will come to really appreciate larger tow mirrors when backing into a campsite especially in low light conditions. If you’re open to suggestions, consider going to a truck dealer of your choosing and sit it a truck with large tow mirrors and then compare it to a truck with standard mirrors. It’s a 💯 game changer. Just another thing to consider about when you decide on a TV. Patriot🇺🇸

Lots here to digest. I will reiterate the most important thing is never hurry to do anything when towing unless its a true emergency. If you miss your exit, it's ok, you will figure out how to get back on track. In three lane traffic, flow with traffic in the middle lane. You can own your space in the middle lane if you flow with traffic. Never feel the pressured to move over unless you are the bottleneck from not flowing with traffic. From the middle lane you are in the position to be the courteous driver to let people in your lane. Make sure you manage a safe distance in front of your rig. Aggressive drivers will tend to fill this space ahead of you but just back off a little to create new space ahead so you are never tailgating then continue flowing with traffic. If someone is pushing you from behind, it is up to them to go around if you are flowing with your lane of traffic. In heavy traffic, actively track all traffic beside and behind in your mirrors so you know where you can safely move if you need to change lanes. I think of alert/active defensive driving in traffic as hard work to eliminate truly stressful situations and emergencies. Your LEll is only 7 feet wide, it's easy to see and track everything alongside and behind with even modest towing mirrors. Towing is an acquired skill that is not difficult learn. Get clear in your head the task at hand, get out there and practice. If you are a good alert driver, you can be great at towing a modest sized trailer. If you are not a good driver, it's time to get your head in the game. And least of all, don't let a backset driver stress you out. If they think they are such a great driver, let them drive.

This is a little different approach to adding additional solar panels. Mossey

Once you do venture onto a three lane interstate I find that staying in the center lane with the cruise control set at the speed limit or just below, you will rarely have to touch the gas pedal, the brake, or change lanes. Easy cruising, you’ll almost forget Ollie is behind you. The crazies will zoom past you on the left (mostly) and you won’t be in the way of the people that want to exit. UNLESS…. You are in a state that doesn’t allow large trucks, buses or trailers in the left lane…then you will need to pay special attention to your mirrors… on occasion you will need to pull into the right lane and let them by…

I would say that for me, towing is a skill that was easily learned. When I first started towing, I was anxious, but quickly learned that if my TV “fit through” the trailer would generally follow. My anxiety quickly dissipated with practice, and of course the more you practice towing, the more camping you get to do! Most other drivers I find to be respectful and courteous on the road. There is no shame in going at a speed you are comfortable with in the lane that fits you best. Happy trails!

Another Oliver owner taught me this. You're about to merge or change lanes, activate your blinker, assume the attitude that you're not asking for permission but rather you're indicating your intentions, don't try this with anything bigger than you.

I've only been towing an Ollie for 5 years so more experienced owners may want to chime in, but in my opinion the answer seems to be "it depends". I'll explain... The Oliver is a smooth, nicely rounded trailer and is *generally* very well behaved on the highway... *assuming* a bunch of things like: properly sized & inflated tires, no excessive speeds, properly sized and equipped tow vehicle, load-leveling Anderson hitch (if indicated by your tow vehicle/trailer combination), neither trailer or tow vehicle are overloaded or excessively top-heavy, etc. That said, heavy traffic, bad weather, rough or slippery road conditions or cross-winds require more caution. Heavy cross-winds or extremely gusty winds can be dangerous on their own, and even more so if a large truck passing from either direction either adds to the "gust velocity" that the tow vehicle or trailer are exposed to, or temporarily shields you from the gusty winds and then you become rapidly "exposed" again after they pass. Slow down, stay focused on your surroundings and maintain a good grip on the wheel. If it gets too bad, find a safe spot to pull over until its safe to continue.

Camping season in Michigan is coming soon and so are the mosquitos. Off spray, keeps mosquitos off! Not. 😂 I’ll stick to Thermacell.

Thanks for the info. I ended up needing 3/4" bolts 1/4 x 20 along with the shoulder and lock washers. Project completed in about 4 hours thanks to all the previous excellent write ups. They fit perfectly just behind the red Andersen tubs we use for the stabilizers.

I'm glad you are using this method to buy your outfit. You will be glad of it and will get the most for your money. Most people decide they want a trailer, pick one out and "hope" their intended tow vehicle will be sufficient. Hope is not a strategy. Study and understand the numbers. If you don't understand them ask questions. Oliver's are not lightweight trailers. They never were. Most of the trailering world believes fiberglass trailers are light. They are incorrect. You can't have a tow vehicle that is too big. You may have more than you need but, in my opinion, that's perfectly acceptable. It took me 5 different tow vehicles to finally get there but now I can tow any trailer currently made and haul everything that either of us may ever need. Towing an Oliver Elite II Travel Trailer can be an excellent experience. Any vehicle other than a 3/4 ton or a 1 ton truck (or larger) will require an Andersen hitch to tow an Oliver Elite II to be safe and legal. Any vehicle requiring an Andersen hitch is not as good as a 2500 or 3500 truck for towing or hauling cargo. Using the Andersen is just subtracting 66 pounds from your Cargo Carrying Capacity in an attempt to adapt the wrong truck to the right trailer. Don’t buy the wrong truck.

We had our 2022 coated (with two coats - supposed to give 5 yrs of protection). It isn't necessary, but WOW what a shine and no more factory swirls! Also, VERY easy to clean. You can do it anytime, but it shouldn't just be coated. There needs to be a good polishing in prep. I am VERY happy with the result. Also had PPF put ont the bottom 1/2 of the front to protect feom gravel, rocks, etc. Waxing is ok, but every 6 months is too much work and not as much protection - in my opinion.

Camp pillows that tickled my funny bone...