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That's a great idea! And it will reflect with headlamps or flashlights to save shins in the night. I added reflective tape to a basket I had on the back of my Outback. Coincidentally, just yesterday I ran across the remainder of the roll of that tape. Now I know where to use it! And if there's enough, on the back bumper, too. Thanks!

In the usual Oliver fashion - we have a very quick response to the question: "Oliver has stopped prewiring ALL travel trailers for solar panels" (note my emphasis on the word "ALL") The Oliver response to this statement is: "For trailers without solar, they are not being pre-wired. Just a cost saving for production. The only trailers that do not have solar are ones with the base wet cell batteries. All AGM and Lithium battery power packages include solar and inverters. We rarely sell any with just the wet cell batteries anymore." Hope this helps clarify the subject. Bill

https://www.amazon.com/Theft-Resistant-Universal-Lockable-Strap/dp/B0915Z1MTF “Expedition grade”, I have no personal comments, you should research any reviews. It probably would not slide through the battery slots. If they were tight and locked that should not matter. FYI: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/5356-how-to-fabricate-battery-hold-down-straps-and-anchors/ BtW there are different grades of nylon webbing, and additional ones should be zero stretch Mil-Spec, the regular cheaper type stretches up to 4%. My three Raingler straps are really tight, they twang when you flip them with your finger. They do not loosen, but I check them every week when traveling for peace of mind. John Davies Spokane WA

I have been reading up on all the systems and I downloaded a copy of the manuals on my phone. Watched plenty of videos, too. I plan on spend Tuesday night at the Oliver campground as well.

Spend the night on site and try out everything. If anything doesn’t look right just let them know and they will take care of you. Are you getting a solar/lithium package? There are a lot of systems to checkout. We were very happy with Oliver quality and service. Other than that just enjoy your quality purchase, Congratulations!

Congrats and have fun!!! It’s your special day and Oliver will take great care of you. Spend a few days close by checking your systems and pushing every button. If you have any issues Oliver will get you taken care of. 👍🏻 Patriot🇺🇸

1. I noticed that the rear bike receiver blocks the 2 rear red reflectors so I added a couple of red oval reflectors to the bike receiver mount. I wanted to be sure the trailer was visible when parked at night. [ALL STAR TRUCK PARTS] Oval Reflectors Red/Amber Self Adhesive Or Drill Mount Quick Mount SAE 13 DOT (Red, 2) https://a.co/d/4ormHOs 2. The electronic lock doesn't give you much to hold onto on the interior side. I can see how others lost control of the door on windy days. Didn't want to risk the same damage so I added a grab cord to the interior lock handle. On a windy day you can grab this while you open the door. I just looped it through the existing hole at the top of the handle.

Love your license plate!

Agreed, that’s why we went with lithium/solar, it was either you get the solar package or no prewiring!

Yes they do, here’s another set. We are now headed for Gros Morne National Park

@Geronimo John yes, excellent point. Don’t need any random sparks going down the road. I have the long batteries so there is considerable distance between the terminals. Anything I did would be centered away from them and likely dipped in plastic. Thank you, as always, for additional details we all need to consider. Brian

Another safety addition. There are limited reflectors on the front of the Ollie, just the two amber reflectors on the front corners of the lower body. These don't really delineate the length of the trailer since they're 6 feet back from the end of the hitch. And there are no reflectors on the front of the trailer. Occasionally, we end up putting the nose of our trailer at the front of a site, with the truck behind. We also once had a mechanical failure with a previous trailer that forced us to park it on the side of the road. In those circumstances, I prefer to have reflectors visible from the front and sides closer to the hitch. For $4 I added DOT-approved reflectors on the angles of our front basket. Since their viewing angle is greater than 45 degrees, these provide effective front and side markers much closer to the hitch. 3M 989-74-3 Circle-2 989-74-3 Reflectors, 3" Diameter in Circles, 3" Wide, 3" Length (Pack of 2) https://a.co/d/7EtKpYr

Congratulations and have a great time. It’s a fun day, and a great trailer. The folks at Oliver are awesome. Bring latex gloves for the dump station! Lol

Sounds like it would work. Just a cautionary note: Metal Bands, Hasp and Lock anywhere near the tops of the batteries could become an Arch Flash moment. Especially when bouncing down a fire road with Ollie. So take that into consideration. GJ

Yep but most of the suggestions are too late now unless you have been reading up and viewing up at the Oliver University. Past that and possibly doing a "search" here on the Forum for the countless time this topic has been discussed - relax and have fun. Bill

I was curious, I did not see any type of sealer in the end, just more black plastic. I do not recall the brand, it might be the one that came on my trailer years ago. This has been sitting on my workbench literally for years. I think it is pretty cool, but I do tend to geek out on odd things. John Davies Spokane WA

(I also had some leftover 1/4" red reflective striping. You can see that on the hitch lock and a band of it around the Bulldog collar. There's 2 more strips of it on the side edges of the bottom step - for when the steps are out at a truck stop after dark.)

Yes and I think reasonably priced.

Our new 2020 OLE2 came with a hard copy owners manual. I do believe Oliver still provides hard copies. Patriot🇺🇸

We absolutely hate "Arc-Flash moments" anywhere in the OTT...

For resale value alone. At this price point, add-ons are not overly significant in the price increase and makes it easier to sell.

I can’t imagine solar not being ordered on a new Oliver especially now that they are no longer prewired. Just me. Patriot🇺🇸

In the immortal words of Artie Johnson - "Very interesting". p.s. PM sent asking for clarification from Oliver on changes to the wiring harness.

Congratulations! Your wait is almost over. Get a really good night's sleep, the night before, so that you are rested and aware. Delivery day is long. Test each and every system, in each mode, and hang close to Oliver for a few days. You'll probably have more questions after spending a night and a day in your shiny new Ollie.

Yup that’s what I was told from my my rep (Josh) at Oliver last year September…..his words “we stopped prewiring for solar panels around a year or so ago”!

Our first 3 nights were at Grand Codroy campground, 30 minutes north of the Channel-Port aux Basques ferry terminal. The campground overlooks a large meandering river. We found it to be very peaceful and well maintained. A short drive from the campground is the most westerly point on the island. The next 3 nights we are at Sandbanks Provincial Park on the southern shore of Newfoundland. It’s a four hour drive from our previous campsite, where you perfect your pothole avoidance techniques. There are beautiful sandy beaches a fairly short walk from the campground. We are heading north from here, to Blow Me Down Provincial Park.

I do have the solar/lithium package. Still a few things I'm looking forward to getting cleared up, but otherwise I've ton a fair amount of reading... Which I'm sure I'll forget until I have to actually do it, that's the way that usually goes. Frankly, I'm most worried about the towing and backing! After a night at Oliver, I'm going to the Meriwether Lewis campground to boondock for one night, then on to Tim's Ford State Park where I'll spend a couple of nights before heading home.

Now this discussion has me thinking! I have the "Lithium Platinum Package" and never thought about how easy it would be for someone to break-in and steal these high value batteries. As I think about this the 640 amp hour batteries are the most expensive "portable" items of my Oliver. I am not overly concern about but this, but I look forward to additional thoughts and recommendations on methods to secure the batteries to make thief much less likely. Some secure straps might make sense.

Sully: Did you need reservations at the CG you have and will stay at? How busy were the campgrounds? Do the campgrounds have electricty and/or water at each camp site? Thanks and have a wonderful time.

Well, that makes us the odd duck. Agm and lots of solar. (400+ watts bifacial fixed, 200 watts portable. My husband and I have discussed a lithium upgrade for a few years now. If we go that way when the current agms die, it will likely be a single battleborn. Maybe two. We'll see. Times have definitely changed, but so has technology. The heavy gauge wire and labor is a significant $$$ number, but I'm still a bit disappointed at no announcement. Our 2008 was not "pre-wired", but it's a heck of a lot easier to work with a 2008. No foam insulation, no cabinet liners.

Snow Foxes

Congrats! We did lots of pre-study - the delivery team is EXCELLENT and was very patient with us. They will answer all your questions - including the ones that come up overnight if you stay your first night on-site. We did receive a hard copy of the manuals. I had a long...long list of questions and points to go over. In honesty, I didn't need to cover them as the delivery team covered almost every thing I had on my list. The recommendation given above to relax and enjoy was given to us and was great advice. Have fun!!!

Had they offered Lithium/solar in 2020 we would have been all in. It’s a nice option!

The best suggestion!

Instead of moving a 42 pound machine in and out of the trailer, why not just use it sitting in the outside front generator basket. It would be very simple to run a water line out through the front of the trailer to the washer or if you're in a campground simply run a hose to it from the campground tap.

Yep, that key code # is really common on the Southco latch/lock. It’s available on Amazon too (link below). Mine are the same key code # as the other Ollie owners have posted. And if you search Amazon for Southco key, that M1-545-4 code is the only code that shows up for that style key for our hatch locks. I bought spares, along with spare entry door keys, to keep on my backup keychains. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074KXP4HV?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Hats off to your blog for the great information and maps. Also for your list of things to buy for the Oliver on Amazon, also helpful.

Nope that would be incorrect. All four rear lights can be seen. Yes, this bike cover works great.😉

Yup that was also our plan, I was going to install lithium and solar panels until I found out they stopped prewiring for solar panels in 2021. Didn’t want to go through the hassle of snaking wires through the inside of the hulls so we went with the lithium package.

Our Honda 2000i starts/runs the Dometic A/C with Micro Start installed. You need to make sure the fridge is on gas because the fridge will default to AC if it is set to Auto. The generator can't run both. I thought I had a bad genset until I figured this out.

We decided against solar when we purchased our 2022 Elite II. The technology is moving so fast we were concerned newer and better stuff would be evolving rapidly and decided to save the $$$. I have 2 great generators (Honda) that serve us well.

Asking in advance for forgiveness of the thread drift... Just couldn't help myself. One of my faves from the 70s.

CV-2 - a very light coating. I wear a disposable glove, and rub a small amount all over and into the metal, after degreasing of course. Brake cleaner works well, with the jack fully extended. John Davies Spokane WA

I don’t see how you would get CV-2 to penetrate properly. Daubing it on the outside wouldn’t work, I suggest this product. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wurth-HHS-K-HHS-Plus-High-Pressure-Lubricant-Aerospray-Can-500ml-16-9-fl-oz/181460891693?pageci=b47ef188-0d0e-40d3-8ef3-c8f45fe1838f&redirect=mobile https://www.wurthusa.com/Chemical-Product/Lubricants/Multipurpose/HHS-Plus-500-ml-(aerosol)/p/0893106026 It goes on runny, penetrates well, then changes to a tenacious solid film. It is pretty amazing, I once has a Trek with a nightmare Nexus 8 speed internal geared hub, I tried the factory lube, all the Internet forum recipes, and none worked worth a flip until I completely degreased it, soaked it in the Wurth lube, and put it back together. It worked like magic with precise lovely “snick snick” gear changes. Thank goodness that bike is gone!! - but I also use it for car door hinges, etc. Really good stuff. I think it would be great on the fan parts. John Davies Spokane WA

John: Thanks for the information. I will do the checks you indicate the next time the Oliver comes out of storage. Hull 141. Jeff.

Thanks for the great instructions! I'm hoping that the price will come down....

Since your springs have the heavy duty hardware, they should last indefinitely with regular servicing, a warning sign that you need to relube is creaks or pops when making tight turns. They should be dead silent otherwise. Keep an eye on the rubber cushions in the equalizers and the shocks, they can deteriorate from sun exposure. (Clean the grease residue off so you can see what’s underneath.) Check all the hardware for correct torque, look for sagging or unusual tire wear. Check for blown shocks, they occur when running too much air in the tires, the LT tires should be set to 50 psi max. Shocks are not expensive and have a lifetime warranty, you should consider just installing new ones, the trailer will ride better. A good degreasing followed by a pressure wash will make them look much better, obviously you must lube them afterwards. While you are underneath with your tools, check the mount bolts for all three jacks, you will definitely find them loose. I have Hull 218, almost as old as yours, here is the belly and suspension after a very intense detail session,on my back, which wore me out 😉 prepping it for sale. Old doesn’t mean bad, on a trailer. The owner is a different story entirely… FYI the equalizer shackles are flipped, that happens after taking off the wheels, they should flip back right away when towing. What hull number? Please add that to your signature. And pictures are always welcome here. John Davies Spokane WA

We’ve got a 2016 and have close to 100K miles. No axle issues. I’m not aware of any other older trailers with axle issues either. I will be replacing our brakes in the spring. As soon as I decide on which quiet AC to get I’ll replace our jet-engine Dometic, although is still cools fine. I’ve replaced the inverter, batteries, 7pin connector, power inlet on the side of the trailer and a few other small items that simply wore out. Are there other areas you are concerned with? I feel like I’ve got ours broken in pretty well as we start our 8th year. Mike

You might want to try Wanderinglabs.com. Their "basic" program doesn't cost anything. Bill