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Another great molded fiberglass rally in Hiawassee, GA with 14 Oliver trailers in attendance this year. Riverbend campground is a beautiful area right on the Hiawassee River. Great weather this year again and not too hot during the day. There was interest in the Oliver Elite that was here, which sounds like it may very well lead to a sales call.

I purchased a generator box from the KSH folks while we were in Lake Havasu this past winter. I particularly wanted a box for my Honda 2000 generator. For the past five years I’ve kept the generator in the Oliver basket (the older expanded aluminum version which weighed 35 pounds empty) and covered with truckers tarp material. This has worked great but the tarp has aged and would have had to be replaced in another year or so. The stock KHS box has three openings covered with removable aluminum plates so that the generator can be used inside the box. This setup is not at all water resistant and I’m not interested in using the generator so close to my trailer. I ended up getting them to make a box without the three cutouts. The box came with two hold down brackets welded in place which I removed because they were exactly in my way where I needed to mount the box. I was able to use the existing holes in the fiberglass cowling and the original stainless u bolts. The back part of the box is mounted to a 1/4 inch thick by 6 inch wide aluminum plate. The front is mounted to a 1/8 wall 1 inch by 3 inch rectangle aluminum tube. This allows the box to be level. I made two 1/4 inch aluminum spacers for the u bolts to clamp against for inside of the box. The u bolts can also be used to strap down the generator inside the box. I made two 3/8 thick by 1 1/2 inch wide brackets for under the frame. As you can see in the photos, the front bracket was made so that I can hang the safety chains on it as well.

Welcome! There are a few owners here on the Forum that do carry bikes on a rack with covers. At least one of those - Patriot_- is very happy with the arrangement he has put together. Many of us have owned other RV's with some being 5th wheels. And, of course we had to address those same questions you are now dealing with. In the end most of us chose the Oliver's size due to the ease of towing and its ability to easily fit in virtually all camping spaces. It appears to me that you will also have to make some hard choices when you finally decide that your long trail riding days are over. Good luck! Bill

Great site for a rally and really nice people organizing it. I attended for the first 3 or 4 years but have not been back due to over-crowding. 😒 Bill

That's assuming the power being supplied is stable. On the other hand, in a full hookup campground with marginal power, you can turn the AC element off during the heat of the day - when others' air conditioner use has driven the campground voltage down - and run your water heater on gas only. Then, in the morning when the voltage is nominal again and your wife wants a shower after you, you can flip the AC element back on for a faster reheat and shut it back down after her shower. Been there, done that many times. Well worth the inside switch.

I modified the modification. I rounded the top corners and cut slots on the bottom leg so now it can be used below the table too.

Haha…I totally get it Chris! Your point on proper torquing of the OE fasteners is critical to keep the cowling counter sunk bolt holes from cracking. I will leave well enough alone for now and not nudge the sleeping puppy. We are really enjoying our Truma and have only needed to run it on low as it turns our Ollie into a super quiet meat cooler. 🥶😄 Patriot🇺🇸

This is neither Mechanical nor Technical, but more maintenance. Not sure what other channel to place this. Hope it helps our new-comers. Someone on the Oliver Owners Facebook page saw my first video and asked me if I could video record actually how to clean the tracks under the windows. So, it was a beautiful day and I figured I'd see if I can clean and record at the same time. This is kind of new to me. https://youtu.be/-oEpon3iaPc

Hello from Pineville. MO. We have been riding horses the last 25 years on the innumerable trails of the four state area where we live, in SW Missouri. We’re thinking it’s time to give it up for something we can better handle, as hips & knees (etc. etc.) make it harder to get on and off, and the 5-6 hour rides become more like 2, on a good day. We recently did a 4 week no horses trip to the Alabama Gulf Coast, using our very nice 34’ gooseneck horse trailer with full RV living quarters. We got lots of looks, questions about “did we bring our horses …??!!”, stealth photos to show all their RV purist friends, and outright rejection at some parks. On the plus side, without the horses, we had an amazing toy hauler for e-bikes. Klepper folding kayak, BlackStone griddle, etc., with room left over for all the extra kitchen sinks we’d ever want to carry. Not really caring about the snobby RV purists, or at least telling myself that, the biggest frustration is parking in medium to small sites. A pad that would work well for a 35-38’ Fifth Wheel can be quite a challenge for us because of the axles being all the way aft vs amidships on the Fivers and Travel Trailers. We need way more space to maneuver than many camps are designed for. We recently discovered Ollies, as a spin off from investigating a Casita we ran across. We’re fascinated about the possibilities they open up, but also concerned about losing all our toy hauler space. I especially hate the thought of e-bikes on a rack, exposed to weather. (I question if there are covers that really work in a downpour or blizzard.) On the plus side, we love the freedom an Ollie would afford for getting into virtually any park or site, 4 season capability and great generator-free boondocking. All this is just to introduce ourselves, hoping to share thoughts and experiences with others who have wrestled with the considerations associated with a similar downsizing lifestyle. Thanks in advance for any input you might have. Larry and Linda

The last year I was there they had no room in the main open air shelter for at least half of the attendees while eating the potluck dinner. There were no "regular" camp sites left so they had campers in the "overflow" area (i.e. a field with no facilities). Please do not take my comments in the wrong manner. The campground is very nice as are the people that own it. The attendees are all friendly and as I mentioned above, the couple that organized the rally are really nice folks. The regular camping sites are relatively nice for a commercial campground too. Simply way too many people for my taste. Bill

So Patriot, would that be a flocking violation? Too many eggs in one place.

I was having sticker shock, until I checked the price of a new Airstream 23FB Twin. It makes Oliver look like a real bargain! I’m moving forward, no longer thinking I’m crazy to consider spending this much on a travel trailer.

Thanks Max, 😊 Indeed this quick and easy mod along with proper torquing of the cowl fasteners will remove the concerns of ever having to think about water intrusion. 👍🏻 Patriot🇺🇸

ELGR: I had my RAM dealer install a soft bed cover. I like it as I can roll it up toward the cab and put stuff in the bed that is tall. The cover is not 100% water tight and sometimes get a little damp at the rear of the bed.

Good anti-water intrusion fix...

I totally agree, and for our OE2 it would be the same. But OTT has to take a higher road and consider that not all owners are as swift in the power management regime, and don't have silly folks or kiddo's switching on stuff that don't fully understand what we have learned in more than six (or more) decades. So the safer path is to put the switch outside where only a few of us know how to play the power management game. That said, if you really want the ability, it is easy to add a switch under the curb side bed rail. You doing so fully absolves OT of the negligence should "an event" occur. In today's world, i think their decision was pretty obvious.

Ya won't even know that the Ollie is behind you with that beast!.

So, we bought the Pioneer 520. Got lucky that one popped up with our sales rep in Florida. (Original guy ordered it, decided too small, bought a bigger CanAm) We lucked out. Towed it up to WNC. This weekend, we added winch, bumper, windshield, mirrors, and roof over the rollover cage. Swapped wheels and tires from the Axis, bigger and badder, but same bolt pattern, just to check the ride with bigger tires.. (Slightly different offset.). 🤣 Fun little machine. We'll put it to work.

Yes, we’ll need to learn about making better use of truck bed storage with an Oliver. With our gooseneck hitch trailer it went mostly unused. Time to explore bed covers, slide out trays, camper tops, etc. We have a 2019 RAM 1-ton dually diesel for the horse trailer, so lots of room and payload capacity.

Welcome to the forum. Prior to buyng my Elite II, I had 3 different types of pop-up campers over the years (Apache & Colemans), I was going from small to big. So I found there was a lot more storage in the Oliver than in the pop-ups. Your horse trailer must have had more space then you knew what to do with, when traveling with no horses. I think you will find when you buy an Oliver there is sufficent storage for things you really need and anything else you probably really to not need to take with you. Plus there is more storage in your truck.

I suspect that OTT felt that the the "pain and suffering" of having such a switch inside far outweighed the inconvenience of going outside and flipping the switch on the hot water heater. Specifically: Activating this high current element is mostly concerned with your setup location. Do you have a 30 amp connection to power up Ollie's systems, or just 20, or just solar, or just a generator (Etc.). The power available generally determines if I'll even be using the hot water electrically driven. However, having a switch inside would allow a whole lot of others to just flip it on. The impact could instantly trip the breaker. That could have a lot worse impacts. Benefit/Cost Analysis Summary: Fail. GJ

Hannah in Oliver service says the touch lights are not dimmable. Amazon has some similar lights that appear to be dimmable (https://www.amazon.com/Interior-Surface-Ceiling-Overhead-Lighting/dp/B09W2DMQSS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=2JZT85UWBYI75&keywords=12v%2Btouch%2Blight&qid=1685739764&sprefix=12v%2Btouch%2Blight%2Caps%2C193&sr=8-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyRkdSRklLUFZON1A4JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDQ2NTI1MVpQQlkxOUhJR1JTSiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNTc1MzQ2WDFKWkY1MkVYS0g1JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1). However, one review mentions a buzzing noise when dimmed.

Maybe do a search for dimmable touch lights puck. I came up with this. I'm sure there are more. We have certain essential lights on our boat, both dimmable and color changing (red doesn't interfere as much with night vision when sailing). Replace a few, turn the rest off, is what I'd do.

Hi John, yes there are quite a few devices available with regard to changing engine / operating parameters but unfortunately most require both a hardware purchase and a software subscription these days. The subscription business marketing model seems to be proliferating through everything these days including access to service manuals; remember the days when you could buy a OEM service manual outright and hold it in your hands??? Luckily I'm pretty happy with the way the truck is setup, except for the fact that I'll have to pay a subscription fee for a few of the 'extras' when the grace period ends which I likely won't do. ~Tom~

I have experienced 80 MPH winds there while setting still. I have experienced hundreds of times 40 MPH wind gusts. So if you don't want to see 80 MPH winds on the AC, you are now limited to running 40 mph or below. Just saying there are hugly strong wind gusts out west, and if the fasteners have cracked the cover, making those connections more sturdy by adding the SS fender washers would be a smart idea. Just saying.....

Yep I'm sure it's fine, I've always been one of those kids that took his toys apart when I got them to understand the insides a little better. Still have that problem. I'll wait a year and then when I take the cover off for cleaning I'll just have to reseal, and not over torque. 👍

One of these is not like the other. John Davies Spokane WA

Fully restored Oliver Tractor in front of a local RV dealer in TN.

My brother bought a similar Oliver. He keeps it on his back porch.

We used a standard metal cutting drill bit, measured (3 or 4 times) and predrilled holes in box, positioned it exactly in place, "Sharpie-marked" through the predrilled holes to the fiberglass pre-fixed with 3M Blue Painters tape. Spring-punched the marks, pre-drilled through fiberglass on a rather slow speed and light pressure on the drill motor, then drilled through the aluminum frame. Final-drilled all holes - filled holes with clear silicon caulk; mounted box and applied a final bead of clear caulk around all edges. It feels like a very solid fit...FYI.

My rear window is as described by Chris and was pretty straight forward as he shows in the video. My side windows are not. The slotted rubber piece on each side have a felt rubbing strip on either side of the channel and prevent the rubber piece from being extracted, unless you use quite a bit of force. The felt strips are an H shape and fit over the edge of the rubber strip. I'm not sure if the pictures are of any help. I quit as RoadKingsofGa did and am unable to fit the H shape of the felt strip back over it edges. So I quit at that point and finished cleaning as best I could. I don't think it matters much if I don't get the felt strip back perfectly as the window still slides smoothly and none of the weep holes are blocked. I'll search out the window experts at the rally. BTW, there are 2 of those felt strips, 1either side of the rubber strip. I did not attempt removal of the outboard strip. John

Thanks for taking the time to make this video and then making it public. That rubber inner track is easy to remove and replace. It will also allow you to remove the slider window from the frame and clean it well. Will you be at the rally in May?

I carry a countertop induction burner. Works great, when we have 110. Which, we rarely have.. Propane stove is great.

The induction stove, if it was a two coil stove, would likely require 3000 watts and up to 3500 watts. That would be like adding another AC unit or another convection microwave. I doubt the electric system could support that very well without major design changes. I know they make smaller ones but this is the typical RV induction stove. We like induction as well so we have already purchased a 1500 watt counter top model we can use both inside or outside with the 110 plug on the curb side.

I changed our Oliver window seals from white to black a couple years ago. Here are the before and after photos. I haven’t had any streaking from the black seals.

Some observations regarding the window seals on our Elite: The exposed top width of the seals on the rear emergency / escape window is about 3/4", while the exposed top width of all the other window seals is about 1" (0.960" according to Pellandent). I haven't pulled the rear seal out, so I don't know if the ID is the same 1/2" that it is for all of the other windows, or not. I also didn't see any 3/4" (top exposure) window seal on the Pellandent website... so... do folks trim the 0.96" top exposure down to 3/4" with a razor knife before installing, or what? After measuring the length of the window seals on my 2018 Elite, noticing the varying lengths of window seal to purchase being recommended above, looking at photos of the Elite and Elite II, and taking into account the option of replacing the emergency/escape rear window (or not), I can only conclude that the windows on either side of the rear dinette/bed area are larger on the Elite II than they are on the Elite. Approximate window seal length measurements for my 2018 Elite are as follows: Rear Emergency/escape window: 3/4" wide top exposure, 47" long Curbside bed window: 1" wide top exposure, 39" long Streetside bed window: 1" wide top exposure, 39" long Streetside dinette window: 1" wide top exposure, 57" long Bathroom window: 1" wide top exposure, 24" long Total 2018 Elite window seal length (not including rear emergency/escape window): 159" = 13'3" Total 2018 Elite window seal length (including rear emergency/escape window): 206" = 17'2" So for all windows on a 2018 Elite, *assuming* we can use the same size seals for the rear emergency/escape window, 17'2" (plus a little bit of spare... rounding up to 18' as recommended above) should be enough. The Elite II *appears* to have larger rear dinette/bed windows, likely with 57" seal lengths, so the 21' measurement referenced above *should* be sufficient for the Elite II. I don't have an Elite II handy to personally measure, so if someone with an Elite II can confirm this window measurement assumption, that would be helpful for the sake of clarity. Echoing what many others have already said... thank you so much for documenting and sharing "everything Ollie" 🙂

Yes the Pellandent gasket is pricey but you will only hopefully be doing it once. Install is quick. After all the Ollie is pricey. Why compromise?

MandD, I would not worry a second about the wheel bearing grease, just take care of it next Fall. Even when grease separates (the oil seeps out of the wax-like carrier) it does not simply vanish, it pools at the low spots and will get mixed up again as the wheel rotates and the bearings warm up. No big deal. If it actually leaks out past a bad seal, contaminating your brakes, that becomes a very big deal. I do strongly suggest that you use a premium synthetic grease that hardly separates, like Redline CV2 Grease. The cost differential is minimal and it really is a much better product. Use it in the suspension too, it doesn’t make such a visual oily mess there. John Davies Spokane WA

And now with the same shower mixer as Mountainoliver... Wow, that looks great! What a difference you made with the addition of the mixer. Congratulations on a job so very well done. Sherry

And now with the same shower mixer as Mountainoliver... Mountainoliver, the check's in the mail! But... I don't know how to get anything delivered by the post office these days. 😉 So glad I didn't have to rip the caddy out again - sure made this addition easy!