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While driving east towards Hohenwald, the sign below caught my eye. It is located about 6 miles west of the center of Hohenwald at GPS coordinates (approximate) N 35.559305 W 087.654186. Once I got to the Mothership I asked about the sign and was told that it has been there for approximately two years! Such a nice tribute to such a nice person that I was very privileged to know. And, in some small way, all Oliver owners can take a measure of pride in being associated with a company and product this man helped to create. Bill

I got this idea from a social media posting, but here's a quick mod that makes the "secret compartment" below the Pantry easier to access: 1. Pulled off VELCRO from cabinet. 2. Installed a couple 8" drawer slides from Amazon: 3. Replaced the VELCRO onto the drawer slides: 4. One and done, can't even tell the difference; except for the convenience factor - time for a cold one. Cheers! A & D

It was quite painful to sell, but this was the correct move at this stage in my life. For privacy I won’t say who bought it, but he is a member and if he wants to announce it, that will be on his dime. I emptied out the RV bay for the first time in six years, washed the floor using a push broom and Dawn detergent, and lots of water, and moved my LC200 over to that spot. I now have a vast area to park a vehicle or do workshop type projects, and my wife now has a big corner dedicated to gardening, with two big workbenches, power, light and pegboard. A happy wife is a happy me… Plus I have even more room for my indoor 10 meter airgun range. We will continue to travel and explore the back country at times, but we will stay primarily in motels or B&Bs. But if we encounter a splendid isolated pull-off overlooking a great vista, we can pop the Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon and rough it for a few nights. It takes about a minute to crank up, and three minutes to put back down. It is pretty darn crude compared to an Ollie, but it is a simply stunning tent. I was really afraid that there would be a big mpg hit from the tent, like with the Yakima RocketBox Carbonite Low, but I was delighted to discover that I got 16 mpgs going to the dealer with bare round bars, and 17 coming back, and no noise at all at 72 mph. That is good mileage for a Land Cruiser with LT tires, they are gas hogs. It’s way better than the 10-12 I got towing “Mouse” at 62 mph. I may install wimpy Geolander AT G015 tires after our next big trip, they will save 52 (!) pounds of rotating mass and I expect to gain another couple of mpgs. They are great “tweener” tires for an Outback, RAV4 or LC200 that isn’t doing lots of rocky stuff. I have had two sets already on other vehicles and I am impressed. We plan to attend the Total Solar Eclipse rally in Fredericksburg next April, but we will be forced to sleep in the ground due to stupid CG rules. If anyone wants a dirt cheap big heavy Eureka! tent and fly in fine condition, come by and talk to me on Tuesday morning after the crowds have departed. After the eclipse, we will head home via the Utah parks and hopefully spend a few nights on the delightful White Rim Road in Canyonlands NP. I will continue to hang out here on the forum, but my posting will be dramatically reduced. The members here feel very much like family, I can’t just go away. John Davies Spokane WA

In a perfect world you would be correct. On dead flat slabs, fine, but if you encounter a sloping, uneven, unimproved site like in many older National Park or USFS campgrounds, there needs to be lube on the tubes, especially the front one. After chocking and then unhitching, the trailer will always shift, sometimes a fair bit. With dry tubes that have a strong sideways force on them, you will experience creaks, groans and pops, and the jack won’t operate smoothly. It won’t hurt the mechanism, but it is disconcerting and should in theory be prevented. I suggest Redline CV-2, the same grease inside the gearbox. Apply a very small amount and rub it hard into the (degreased) metal with your palms. Disposable gloves! It should look a little shiny but you shouldn’t see grease. John Davies Spokane WA

How are y’all doing? We are a couple from IL. Never owned a travel trailer. We are considering an Ollie. We want to travel the country. See National Parks, beaches, forests, deserts, etc. we are looking for input on what you did right. What you would have done differently. We are close to retiring. Couple years out. Plan on going to a factory visit next year. TIA. We appreciate all the advice. D & S

Picked up trailer last fall. Still figuring things out. Cold morning in Ennis Montana. Turned on furnace. Air coming out vent wasn’t very warm. Got out manual and started check forum for solutions. Long story short…the back of my camp chair was up against the exhaust bug screen outside. Moved chair and voila…heat. Hope this helps.

Don’t bother calling this site is gone! 😎

I will jump in here. I sold my 3 yr old Demonic Penguin aka “noise banger” for 600.00. It’s new home is on top of a food truck somewhere in NC. I did not shed a tear when the buyer drove off with it. This last trip we took the Truma Aventa performed outstanding. With the built in dehumidifier it lowers humidity really fast in our Ollie.

JD, I feel your pain from similar past loves! One of mine was a '59 Chrysler 300E that I purchased in 1994 and sold in 2010, after fully restoring her, both in appearance and rebuild of every mechanical system. We had a great club too, and this forum reminds me of it (so glad to be here)! We made many new friends over the 16 years, and twice a year we drove these old beauties, somewhere across country to get together, way too much car talk in hotel parking lots over beers. We are new here, becoming Oliver owners on June 7th (Chris' birthday, what a surprise)! The first thing I noticed on this forum was the multitude of upgrade & maintenance posts, you had worked, with engineering precision, providing full detailed explanations. I have posted a few in my short time, which you have read and commented upon. I hope to post many more, since auto restoration and repair has been my hobby for 45 years. If I work very hard at this over the next 5+ years, posting every possible detail, it will add up to a drop in the bucket, as compared to your contributions here! Yes, please visit your favorite forum, every now and then, and give us a hand! Best wishes to you and yours, in the next stages of your life. Chris and I are looking forward to meeting you and many other owners in Texas, next spring. I'll end with a picture showing our first day, with smile on my birthday girl. Thank you for your help, yes thank you very much.

RoadLotus: I have my Oliver connected to a 20 amp circuit in the bay of my workshop. According to the Progressive Industries monitor the AC is drawing between 12 and 15 amps, that is without any other loads on the system (and with the inverter battery charger function turned off). So far the AC unit has been on for about a day and a half without any issues.

Happy to report that I have installed the Dometic FreshJet air conditioner on my Oliver this week. The install was fairly easy only taking a couple hours for two of us to complete. I rigged up a 3 to 1 pulley system in my workshop to lift up and remove the old noisey Penguin model. The new FreshJet is significantly lighter than the old unit, and a friend and I were able to stand on some scaffolding and lift it up and onto the Oliver. The wiring connections were easy to complete using the existing thermostat control box. I purchased the FreshJet 3 Series from RV Parts Country; $896.00 plus $124.00 shipping. So far my wife and I are happy with the performance of the FreshJet, it quickly brought down the indoor temperature and humidity on a hot Tennessee summer day. Best of all is the difference in the sound levels between the old and new units (69db versus 52db). Many thanks to @RoadLotus for researching the FreshJet and making everyone aware of this quiet AC option for the Oliver.

We feel the same way about you.

Congratulations to you, and the new owner. They got a phenomenal trailer. Just a thought. We've airbnb'd it, and cabin camped, around Europe , Scandinavia, and South America, and some places in US and Canada. Just a thought. It will be different, but, hey, you don't have to maintain the airbnb's. (I will admit to fixing minor things, like dripping faucets and loose toilet seats in some.. lol.) Maybe time to explore other venues. Enjoy the next chapter, and the freedom afforded by your wife's retirement. I know neither of you will be just "sitting around." (Your tent is amazing.) I'm very glad you plan to hang around, even if on a limited basis.. Your posts have helped so many people.... more than you'll ever know.

Hi. Have you considered renting a trailer or RV and trying the lifestyle before you commit to a purchase? There are commercial rental companies, campgrounds with trailers set up on site, and AirBNB type RV rentals from owners. There's a lot to be said for the lifestyle, but it's not always as easy, fun, and carefree as some YouTubers would have you believe. Expect to be fixing things yourself and having to be flexible with your planned destinations. Once you've decided to press forward, make sure your tow vehicle is up to the job. Lots of posts about that here. Finally, and admittedly conversely, make the jump when you are ready. We were also a couple years shy of retirement when we put the deposit our Ollie. The week we brought it home my wife got a cancer diagnosis, so we're glad we moved when we did. (She's doing well on treatment now.) In the end you have to do what feels right for you. This forum is certainly a great place to start.

Hello, We were in your position a couple years ago. Never owned a travel trailer, we wanted to travel the country and Discover all the various places. We landed on the Oliver after looking at several other types and manufacturers. We are very happy with our purchase of Hull 1182 a 2022 model. My suggestion on what I would do differently is "Don't wait". We were going to wait until closer to retirement but then just pulled the trigger and have not looked back. We went to the Rally this year and met several really great folks. We are planning some longer trips we want to take with lots of great input from the forum. Right now we take shorter trips to some state parks in Ohio/West Virginia and enjoy getting away and learning more about our Oliver.

I'd put a block or two under those jacks. Just saying... Spread the load, decrease your chance of an accidental "drive-off" bending a jack, decrease the throw of the jack... Stretching everything to the limit isn't ever best protocol, imo, and, if a jack or jack switch fails, it's easier to bring the jack back up, if it's not fully extended. Lube or don't lube. Your choice, but most folks find lubing moving parts (with appropriate lube) to be beneficial (someday.)

To be quite frank, the video is very educational, for those who don't read the manuals. And, as noted, they pushed the issue, on purpose. The last thing you'd want to do, with any ev, or any lithium batteries (phone, rv, you name it) is to run to absolute zero, intentionally.) Most evs still have a 12v agm, that will be destroyed in the process, as was this one. There are, however, alternative uses for evs that are far better. For the near future, until battery life (storage) and performance is increased , the best use of ev is local, imo. Local buses, Amazon vans, Ups trucks, post office delivery vehicles, maybe school buses, taxis, local contractors-- plumbers, electricians, builders, etc. Local commuters, like my daughter, who droves 30 miles round trip, to work, daily, and can even slow charge at work. And, folks like me, who when home, just drive to dinner, my mom's condo, and/ or the grocery store, and can charge on solar. My nephew, a general contractor, drives maybe 100 miles a day, sometimes towing a utility trailer. It could work for him. With today's tech, and charging networks, and limited fast charge capabilities, long range towing is only practical for a select few. This will probably change. If not, we'll be looking more to advanced hydrogen fuel cell tech. The cities are where ev works best, imo. And, in many cities, that's where the smog concentration is most important. I see multiple Rivians almost every day in my community. Abundant Teslas, and other brand commuter vehicles, including ford lightning, as well as ev suvs and cars. I don't see them often on I95, and I've yet to see one towing. There is a reason, currently.

@Gliddenwoods I wanted to reach out and say thank you for posting site G-15’s availability. The park staff just called us back and we just confirmed we now have G15 from the 12th to the 20th. Sorry to hear we won’t see you at the Rally. G6 our former site is now available if anyone is needing a res. Patriot🇺🇸

@topgun2, I think I lied. The photo of the box was on wanderthewest.com, not here. BTW, WTW is another great family friendly place to hang out on the web. It’s focused mostly around popup campers, but includes most types of small RVs and trailers. @MAX Burner The rear trailer lights are visible, but 50% blocked by the box, hence the lights on top. The previous owner had two trays for mtn bikes that he retained, but I believe my round bar style Yakima trays will work well.

I think pictures would be appreciated! Maybe we could have a 6th choice for blue ice: https://www.newsweek.com/passing-plane-drops-frozen-block-poo-over-town-shocking-residents-1600510 BTW this does indeed occur occasionally, but it is fortunately rare… John Davies Spokane WA

Here’s a genius way to store your tote, don’t think we have the clearance though!

I would repair before having any PPF installed, just me.

The glides are soft-close style with a detent in the retracted position, just like the Oliver kitchen drawers... We ordered the slides yesterday, they arrived here this morning, it's an easy/quick DIY mod for less than $12: Cheers!

Congrats on the sale. You’ve been HUGE resource here and I’m glad you will continue to look at the messages. See you at the Eclipse - believe we are just 2 spots down from you there.

Congratulations on the sale, and best wishes on your future camping plans with the new rooftop tent setup. That looks pretty cool. Glad you’ll be sticking around on the forum.

John, I'm glad you sold your trailer and I hope that your future plans work out. It's good to know you plan to hang out here and help to answer technical questions. Hasta la vista!

Congrats on your sale! Enjoy and best wishes on all your future endeavors.

Best wishes, John, enjoy your future adventures!! Thank you for all you've done for this forum and we look forward to hearing from you again!

Congrats on the sale! Best of luck with your future travels, please keep us up to date here…. Mike

Congrats on your sale, I sure it must have been tough. I hope you have stay on the forums, your advice and mods instructions has helped many of us save a lot of frustrating hours. I mentioned to someone interested in Olivers the other day that is feels like a real big family!!

www.Livelymachine.com custom fabricated “Rock Stoppers” and www.XPEL.com 10 mil paint protection has worked excellent protecting the front of our Ollie. Patriot🇺🇸 2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka- “Beauty & the Beast” - 2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor

Hi everyone, I just got the fresh jet installed at an RV place. Total cost was $1600. It is indeed very quiet and uses the existing ADC and thermostat and they are going to sell the old penguin for me. They take 10% which is totally reasonable and means I don’t have to haul it back home. It was 108 here and I’ve been outside all afternoon so I won’t do a decibel check just yet but I will at some point. But it works fine and it is indeed very quiet.

Let’s see, 20 gallons of fresh shite at about 10 pounds each. That tote could easily weigh in at 200 pounds or so. Don’t drop it on your foot or you will be loudly proclaiming to everyone within earshot what the contents are. 🤬😵‍💫

Here's what we ordered: - 2023 Oliver Legacy Elite II Twin Bed - Standard Mattresses (KTT mattresses after receipt) - Standard Fabric - Midnight - Hypervent - Omnidirectional Antenna (local weather etc. if we don't have cell service) - Street Side Awning - Frosted Cabinet Doors - Convection Microwave - 20 Gallon Propane (to keep tongue weight down) - Front/Rear Propane Quick-Connects - Standard Toilet (with possible AirHead composting replacement) - Full Truma Package AC, Furnace, Water Heater and Antifreeze kit - Lithium Platinum Package - Backup Camera - Rear Bumper Receiver (to be converted to 2" after receipt) - Anderson Hitch - Aluminum Storage Basket - Basement Door - No Graphics Delivery Date: Wednesday, March 29, 2023 Status: Thrilled beyond belief!! A huge thank you to everyone here who has helped us through the entire process over the past ten months! Your support cannot be understate. I can't wait meet all of you! Steve and @DebM Mock-up of the graphics that are on order from Robin at Banana Banners (using one of the images from this forum for a background - thanks to whomever I stole it from) "curiosity" logo used with the kind permission and encouragement of Curiosity Software Ireland

I've commented in a few different threads about my experience towing with my 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 3.0L diesel. In 2.5 years, it now has 32K miles and about 5k towing my LEII. I thought I would post a follow-up that may be helpful for anyone considering the GM half-ton diesel as a tow vehicle. After owning Toyotas for almost 20 years, I have to say I was hesitant about the reliability of a GM product -- but it's been great so far. PROS: Power/torque more than adequate for towing an LEII. I just returned from a trip that took me over Loveland Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass and Berthoud Pass in Colorado. The diesel engine has absolutely no problem and no stress getting up and over. No noticable loss of power at high altitude and no high-RPM downshift that can happen with a gasoline engine. Fuel economy has been very good. I average 17 mpg while towing and the truck gets around 30 mpg in highway driving when not towing. In Colorado, diesel is now a little less expensive than regular again (yay!) but a year ago it was more per gallon so that wiped out any significant savings. 10 speed transmission is super smooth Automatic engine brake is fantastic on the long downhill runs. It's very reassuring to have it kick-in automatically and only touch the brakes a few times. I've always felt stable and in-control - even rolling all the way down Loveland pass at speed with traffic! GM trailer tow package and 360 degree camera package is excellent. It recognizes and remembers my trailer. It checks and notifies me of a wiring fault (I still check my lights/brakes manually). I purchased and self-installed the GM accessory trailer rear-view camera and it works extremely well. The live-motion back-up guidelines are super helpful (see photos). The truck monitors the TPMS sensors in my Oliver tires (had the GM sensors installed) and it displays on the dashboard screen. Comfortable and quiet ride both while towing and when being used as my daily-driver. You can barely tell its a diesel engine as there is almost no "clack" sound No problems in 32k miles so far CONS: Payload is around 1500 lbs (like all half-ton trucks) and that could be limiting for longer trips and taking more "stuff" Have to use the WD hitch (like all half-ton trucks). I find the Anderson WD hitch to be a hassle - but one that I can live with to be safe and legal. Squat from trailer tounge weight was not bad but a little more than I liked. I added Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) and this reduced squat by about an inch without any noticible effect on ride quality. Have to mess with adding DEF fluid. When towing, it uses a lot of DEF and the guage is not very accurate. Best to top off before leaving and/or put an extra 2.5g of DEF in the bed to minimize anxiety about it. Maintenance may be a little more expensive. I only trust the dealer to do the work as independent shops may not be familiar with the 3.0L Duramax. Oil changes cost $120 every 6K to 7K miles. Overall, I'm very pleased with my decision to buy the truck as my TV and as my daily-driver. I would buy this truck again and defintely get the 3.0 diesel over the 5.3 or 6.2 gas engines. If I were more of a full-timer in towing, I would consider spending the extra for a 3/4-ton. This would be primarily so that I had more payload and to avoid the WD hitch. Hope this may be helpful for anyone considering the GM half-ton diesel truck.

Hi, and welcome! You'll see lots of info if you just poke around. If you have the means, and some decent vacation time accrued, getting to know travel trailers in general, and Oliver in particular, can be a learning experience. It's not hard, but best learned before you launch off on "the trip of a lifetime, " unfamiliar with your gear. I'd recommend several short trips, before a long travel, if you're inexperienced. If you're not ready to buy yet, at least rent a trailer (some other brand.. I doubt you'll ever see an Oliver on rvshare.net) and check out the lifestyle. Some of the owners on rvshare (or outdoorsy) will even deliver to a campsite, so you get some experience camping, without learning to tow. At the very least, see an oliver, if you haven't. Go to the rally next spring for a day or two. Visit the factory, and take a tour. It's impressive, for sure. What would I do differently? Pretty obviously, nothing. We've been happy campers in a 2008, now in our 16th season. Best of luck to you in your quest for "best for you."

Good question. I see three (3) water inlets; the city water, the fresh water, and the rear winterization inlets, which is also used to draw additional potable water while camping. The standard procedure will sanitize the freshwater tank and internal water lines, and per the OTT procedure will also sanitize the winterization inlet as that is where you would intake a bleach solution. This procedure will not sanitize the fresh and city water inlets. After working the given OTT procedure (per the OTT video), you could attach a short section of hose to the city, then freshwater inlets, funnel attached top of short hose, and pour a small amount of the specified bleach-water solution. I may try this next time to be 100% complete. I could not figure out how to post the link. Go to Oliver University, click on videos and search or look down the list for "Sanitizing Your Plumbing System."

Ya got the clearance for the tote but then you would not have clearance for virtually anything else - like the road.😁 Seriously - we have better clearance as compared to most RV's but it really wouldn't be pretty if you had a partially filled tote and hit something while going down the road. I'm guessing that the guy behind you would not be too happy either. Bill

Thanks John for all your input and help. Good luck on all your future endeavors, hope to see you on the road sometime. albert & terri

We sold our RV spot to MAX burner, because the management would not accept our new Autohome roof top tent in that spot. We will be in the big grassy tent area close by, in a Some Other Brand family sized ground tent. But we will be wandering around the entire area to meet and greet Ollies. My brother in law will be getting re-married on Saturday, April 6, all day at nearby Enchanted Rock. Otherwise we are free to wander. John Davies Spokane WA

Don't go away. You ARE family.

PLEASE! Do not do that, JD.... See you at the eclipse!

Doesn't she look pretty! It did not look like this when I pulled the head! It's hard to do this work without getting the wheel bearing grease here and there. So, take advantage of that. I pushed and rubbed the grease in every nook-n-cranny, every piece of plastic and metal and the grease removes the dirt and corrosion. Kept rubbing with clean paper towels and this is the end result. When I started this, there was a full 1/4" up-n-down play in the main shaft. By packing grease under the drive gear, there is now no play at all - hope this lasts! I need to mount the head and clean the main jack post. I'll get back in a day or two to show that. When the head is mounted, I'll spray a little Super Clean on the head, brush it some, and hose it off to remove any remaining grease.

Since we have a Nature Head compost toilet we only dump grey, we have a 28 (which is way too big) and a 15 gallon tote which we love. We haven’t found a good place to put it so it just goes in the back bed of the truck. There are some great suggestions in this feed, thanks for sharing them.

We did do that, but later in the season we put the tote on top of our Diamondback tonneau cover and used the space in the rear cargo carrier for a ground bike rack (for parking bikes at the campsite).

I now carry a small waste tote (empty) in the bed of my truck. But, with an RV I owned prior to seeing the light and getting my Ollie I constructed a storage rack for this tote which I attached to the rear bumper via two slightly larger square steel tubes such that the rack could be inserted into those two tubes and secured with four pins. I think that a similar system could be used with the Oliver but I've never had enough interest to work on it.

If you look back a few posts for my July 16 comments, you will see pics of how a I use that same Camco Rhino tote rack to carry my 21 gallon Rhino tote. I assume your comment refers to rear bumper mounting. You can look up the mounting instructions online, It’s designed to be mounted with long U-bolts on a standard SOB steel bumpers. That mounting system won’t work with our trailers. You’d have to make some significant modifications to get it to work. Might as well start from scratch and make a custom rack back there. Which is why I did it the easy way and mounted it in the basket. No, it’s not elegant, but it’s functional, which is more my camping style.

Liana, til you get it all sorted out, and your trailer tanks are approaching full, you could line the Ollie toilet with a wag bag, and use the camper toilet like you do the one outside. Certainly safer if there's a mountain lion prowling your property.

My trailer is in storage about 500 miles from home, so I can’t provide any detail pics until I get back to it in a few months. I did find a few pics that might help. I installed this while enroute on a camping trip, it was easy. Initially I got common plated steel bolts at the nearest Home Depot, they didn’t have them in s/s in the correct lengths. I ordered the s/s locknuts, bolts and washers and replaced later.

I don't think I've ever torqued a wheel on any vehicle that I've owned. Yes, I do own a torque wrench, but I've just get the wheel good and tight and then one more bump for good safety. I do use my torque wrench for torqueing nuts that are of smaller size and ones that I could be twisted off with too much pressure. I feel I have the mechanical knowledge and know when something is tight, it's that feeling you have when all is right, I know many don't have it, so you best use a torque wrench. trainman