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Before we saw the Oliver, we were committed to purchasing an Airstream Globetrotter. We went so far as to visit a showroom in Fort Worth, picked it out and settled on the trade value for our old camper. The dealership turned out to be some of the biggest crooks I have ever had the displeasure of talking to. While we were still grumbling about that, we saw an Oliver for the first time. Our impression was that the build quality was exactly what we were looking for; However, it had a few negatives. First, it was small. This was good and bad. We all know the tradeoffs here. The other was that Oliver didn't take trade-ins. This last one was a hard pill to swallow. We are still trying to sell our other one. I am fairly confident that the Oliver will be the last camper we will ever buy. We are fairly young so that is a bold statement. We got almost all of the options including the full Truma upgrade and the Lithium Pro package. It was expensive but cheaper than that ridiculous Airstream would have been after it was all said and done.

Tomorrow, November 10th, is the 248th birthday of the United States Marine Corps. Founded in Tun Tavern, Philadelphia in 1775. I hope that my fellow Marines stop to remember all those with whom we served. The following Day, November 11th, is Veterans Day. Please take a moment to honor those who gave their lives in the service of our nation. Semper Fi

See 8:32 mark for mention of change to distribution

After several unsuccessful camper trailers and the nightmare that went along with the experience, we finally decided to order an Oliver. We made friends with an owner of an Oliver in a National Forest campground in Texas after seeing LE2 in person. Ours is now on order, due December 19. I have no idea what hull number it will be but we are certainly excited to get it. The wait, however, is a bit irritating since this is our time of year to camp. It will come soon enough. We hope the wait will be worth it. *Fingers crossed*

You will received training on all of the systems in the trailer the day you take delivery. Although excellent, it is like "drinking from a fire hose." To get better prepared to absorb all of that important information, review all of the videos available online in Oliver University in the meantime, until you could "teach the class." Also, plan to spend at least 3 days after pickup inspecting the trailer and testing all of the systems. We live in Idaho, so we spent 3 days at David Crockett State Park (had to do that, as my middle name is Crockett) thoroughly inspecting and testing everything we could before beginning the return trip to the West. We found a few defects, which the Oliver Service Department jumped on immediately after we arrived back in Hohenwald. We considered their response exemplary. We took delivery on our Elite II exactly one year ago today, November 10, 2022. The Oliver Service Department has honored the 1-year warranty better than any company with whom I have ever dealt. And, although after expiration of the warranty Oliver is no longer responsible to pay for parts or labor, they will still provide valuable advice in response to a service ticket. I have particularly high regard for Jason Essary, Oliver's Service Manager.

This is very true. The size of our Olivers can be a positive - it tows effortlessly and is very well behaved. If the truck fits through, so will the trailer. Smaller campsite? No problem. Tight turn to get in? No problem. Tight gas station? Less of a problem. Extended rainy weather? Now we’re talking a negative. We’ve been cooped up inside for a few days and it can be frustrating. Fortunately those times get greatly outweighed by the non-rainy days. Also, for cold weather camping we’ve been very happy with our Clam and firepit, as do others. We can sit outside in cold weather with the firepit in the Clam and enjoy some room to spread out a bit. Mike

It would be a very easy retrofit, and the parts cost would be close to zero, because the new owner can sell the used composting toilet on Craigslist for $300. The flush toilets are easily obtained from many online sources, I have no idea about pricing... All the big waste fittings are standard Home Depot stuff. The fresh water flush line is already in place, as is the outside black tank flush plumbing (unless you removed them as I did). The tank level (indicating) system was pre-installed at the factory. I suggest that you tell the buyer this, but also tell them to USE the NH unit for a while before deciding. There are SOOOOO many reasons to have the NH, and anecdotally 90% of new buyers order that toilet. If they plan to stay hooked up 100% of the time, then the water wasting unit is a no brainer. But if they plan to visit lots of National Parks and forest service campgrounds, that flusher will never work well. Tell them how much fresh water they will save. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/1978-natures-head-composting-toilet-installation-in-an-oliver-big-thread/ John Davies Spokane WA

welcome to the family. I'm sure you will be pleased with your experience with Oliver the company and the camper they are building for YOU! That's the hardest thing to realize when going through this process, that you placed and order for a camper and Oliver has your name on it from the moment you sign your agreement, and that lasts for as long as you own your Oliver. This is hard to grasp especially if you've had multiple poor experiences with campers and dealers in the past. Either unfortunately or fortunately most Oliver owners have had many of the same experiences, or know of them first hand, and that's why they are now Oliver owners. They didn't give up on camping and their dreams, they just figured out the best way to make it a rewarding experience. BTW, if you have paid your initial installment and they have you on the build schedule, you have a VIN and a Hull number. Ask your sales rep to get that information for you. We worked through Josh White and he forwarded those numbers to us as soon as we were added to the build schedule. This is useful as you can get insurance quotes and other important information if you have the VIN. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment come delivery day. Just try to stay focused, there's actually much to do now until that date arrives. And go in knowing that these are still built by people trying to keep up with a production schedule. Mistakes happen and flaws get missed during QC processes. Oliver will make anything that needs attention right, and you will be their priority when you are there to pick up your camper. Try to allow time in your schedule to go through a good shakedown while in Tennessee. And anything that is found later is still important to them. Also remember its a high quality camper but they still have to rely on the quality control of their suppliers. Things still break. Oliver will help make it right if it does. Congratulations and enjoy the experience. It's unique to the industry just as the camper is unique in every way. Make sure to sign up for the owners rally in mid May. It's a great experience and you will make a lot of friends.

Jason, congratulations and welcome to this benign cult of enthusiasm!

We added a strap to help hang onto the door on windy days.

For the exact reason you've described above, we installed Lippert "Controlled Motion" Hinges last April from eTrailer: We've logged in excess of 7,500 miles since then during much of our windy springtime season and this simple upgrade has saved the bacon on several occasions. The 2 additional hinges make the door "stiff" to open but makes it stay where you want it - we've not used the exterior door latch at the bottom of the door since installing them. For us - this was a simple fix for a condition that literally can come out of nowhere... Cheers!

I haven’t heard of any issues with the cables stretching. Sometimes it will slip at the valve if the set screw isn’t tight. I had to make that adjustment once. Also, I remove and clean/lubricate the black and gray cable every 2 or 3 years. It’s easy to do and it makes the dump process smoother. Mike

Jason - I'll add my "welcome" to this growing list. Yes, you have bought a camper. But, you have also "bought" a company that is more than likely actually different from any other company you have dealt with in the past. So many companies simply give lip service to things like quality and customer service but if your experience is like mine - that is all it is, "lip service". Yes, Oliver is not perfect. But, they will do what they say they are going to do, when they say they are going to do it. And, they will keep at it until any "problem" they created is fixed - not with a Band-Aid but actually fixed. The next couple of months is actually a very short time. You have a bunch to do. It is very helpful that you appear to be experienced campers with an RV. But, while the basic systems in an Oliver are much like those in other campers, there are nuances that are different enough that knowing about them prior to taking delivery should make your early experiences much easier. This Forum and the Oliver University are your friends and you should make yourself very familiar with them prior to delivery. We are here to help you! Just shout. Bill

Cool!! In my recent Oct visit this was not mentioned in the conversations I had with Oliver Service. That said I have not had an issue with black tank or grey tank cable stretch in over 20,000 miles. 👍🏻🤞🏻

Welcome and Congratulations !!! We had a 9 month wait to pick ours up!! As many will tell you this forum is full of information. It has been a big help to us as "discovery" visits places closer to home for now. Read, ask questions, watch the videos during your wait. Safe Travels!!

I realize that it is a little late to jump in here with this information. The title of this thread is: Battle Born Lithium Ion 12 Volt Batteries in an Oliver? The Lithium Batteries that are optional on the new Oliver's and the Battle Born replacements are Lithium Iron Phosphate not Lithium Ion. There are some big differences in the two technologies and I'll not try to explain them here. Google Lithium Iron Phosphate vs Lithium Ion for in-depth information. Just an FYI, Carry On...

We didn't make that "bold" statement in January, 2008, but we've been of that mind ever since pickup on February, 2008. Happy camping. Looking forward to seeing your photos, and reading about your adventures!

First off, let me welcome you to the forum and tell you something you probably already know. You have chosen the best fiberglass trailer that has ever been built. You should get many trouble free years of use out of it. This won't make your wait any shorter or any easier, but just a year or so ago the wait for an Oliver was over 12 months. The wait for an Escape trailer was 26 months and the only price guarantee they would make was that it would be several thousand more than it was the day you ordered it. They could not give you a final price on order day. Besides all that, when it was all said and done, you still only ended up with an Escape travel trailer. Not even a second choice for most of us. These next two months will go by so fast you won't believe it.

It was worth it for us. Lots of miles on our old Oliver at this point. Lots more to go! Congratulations…. Mike

Jason - Thanks for the hat. Bill

Try a few of the Stella cans and you probably won't care.

Happy birthday to all the Marines out there from an old Army guy. Mike

Jason: Good morning, welcome, and CONGRATS on your decision to join the Oliver Family. Not using the term, "family" lightly, you'll learn and experience that owning an OTT opens up a true "family-oriented community" to you and your spouse. IMO, Oliver Owners are a wonderful group of consumers with a long laundry list of common behaviors, attitudes, expertise, and above all - the love of seeing our country from what you refer to as a small (we call it "cozy") camper. Many enjoy that view from a commercial campground, Harvest Host site, a USFS area, or a non-designated public land boondocking location. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter, as every Oliver Owner has their own and unique style/interest in "camping mode" - but we typically all come together and make new friends, share experiences, work out challenges, fix systems, and modify our trailers through these Forums. As noted above, don't be shy, ask questions, use the Oliver University link often, and expect that "The Wait" over these next two months will fly-by at Mach speeds. We all look forward to hearing about your "pick-up day" experiences and the many "Oliver Travels" you'll log in the future. Cheers, A & D

So sad to hear Phillip is leaving Oliver. What a great asset he’s been to Oliver and all us customers. He’s helped us many times, always a pleasure to speak with. Phillip, I wish you all the best with your future endeavor. You will be missed! Happy trails and many blessings.

Would a "Stella" can work too? Got plenty of those! 😁

Rich, I do not - actually, when I had this done it was because I had a leaky black tank valve since I picked up my trailer. No matter what they did to adjust the cable, it wouldn't work. I asked the service department (Jason) if he would be willing to put an electric valve in when they were changing it out. He said they were actually looking into it and they would. Turned out, there was something stuck (plastic) in the valve gate when they took it out. Looked like a manufacturer's defect. I love the electric valve and asked about the gray tank as well. There is actually not enough room where the gray valve is to install the electric version and it is right on the other side of the handle so, there is not much chance of it stretching. So, I have one of each. Only trailer in the fleet configured like this. It has never leaked since. Cheers, Brian

Phil was our go to person. Very sad to see him leave, but happy for him with his career change. I'm sure we will be hearing from him down the road. He was the best.

Water bottle, yellow microfiber cloth, etc all work, too. Though stella or yuengling cans are more available.

Good one GJ, go Red Bull! Actually your quote credited to me, “I’ve been using this grease from Reese”, is that of Frank C. I’m advocating the Mission Automotive Hitch Ball Lubricant. The ‘soiling’ issue as subsided since picking up a trailer ball cover from Academy, works great!

Being prepared for picking up your new OTT is essential. This starts with being here on the Owner's Forum. Learning all you can from the videos and other owners' suggestions on their visits. One checklist from such experience was very extensive and worth having a copy of in hand. Search the forum for any topic you can think of and likely you'll find more than a few excellent responses. Rivernerd's statements above are GOLDEN: As a senior Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer I had an advantage on pick-up day. Our acceptance process inside their Sales Building took most of the day as I generated many scores of questions in depth on how the systems worked and were interconnected. Our Ollie is a 2018, and is a simpleton compared to the electronics and systems integration of the new ones. It for sure pales in comparison. So "Drinking From A Fire Hose" today is a huge understatement. I recommend that you down load and study all the owner's manuals, equipment installation and user manuals, and watch all those videos "Until you could "teach the class" as Ralph has indicated. There is zero exaggeration in his suggestion of allocating three days for your acceptance process. In fact, I would call it three full days! One for the process, and two more camping and using ALL the systems of your OE2. While camping off site, write down every possible question you both even think about. Then go back to the Mother Ship armed with that list. If you live a far distance from the Mother Ship, I recommend that you schedule your visit on a Monday or Tuesday. This would give you the three days ending up before Friday thereby maximizing your ability to call or revisit at the factory. It also gives OTT time to for any adjustments or warranty topics to be addressed while you are in town. Since you refer to "We" in your post, I strongly recommend that both of you go to get your new Ollie. Since schedules of a couple may vary, if you are a long distance traveler to the Mother Ship, you may want to bring two vehicles just in case it is necessary to stay for any reason. If on the other hand, both of you have flexibility then traveling together is for sure best. Finally, know that between the unbelievable knowledge and experiences of the OTT camper owners, the quality of the OTT product, and their amazing staff across the board; you have made a great decision. And every purchase comes with a lifetime warranty for asking and getting answers to questions! “Laissez les bons temps rouler” Geronimo John

I have heard that some owners have been allowed to use their trailer at night at the camp spaces on OTT property. That would of course be for repairs that are suitable for relocation and occupancy. Yours would seem to fit the bill. Worth a call. If an option, a simple heavy cardboard temp door duct taped on the hinge side could suffice for an evening or two. Maybe add a string and paperweight on the counter of the microwave to hold it closed. Lots of fun places to explore in the Hohenwald area to keep you and family busy for a day or two for sure. GJ

I think that MaxBurner pegged just right for me. The Red Bull! Geronimo John

Bill, I highly recommend you stay here -https://www.natcheztracetravel.com/hohenwald-bedandbreakfasts/meriwethersretreat.html Melissa is the owner and it’s one of the nicest B&B’s we have ever stayed at. It’s fairly close to the service center, very clean and she is the best hostess. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ By the way it was nice meeting you and your bride at the Big Texan RV Resort during our return trip from CO. Rest assured, Oliver Service will surely get you taken care of. Patriot🇺🇸

Commodore Hotel, Linden just West of Hohenwald on 412

Mike - I should have said slipping instead of stretching but the two terms were used when I was dealing with service. If it wasn't for the three trips to OTT and me trying to adjust it several times I probably would have just had the valve changed. It was getting really old every time I went to get the hose out of the bumper and it was full of sewage and when the fluids drain from your black tank, it leaves a mess that can be difficult to keep clean. BL

I had the same question. Sounds like a good idea for a factory change

Same here. I ordered a complete replacement set of the touch lights. Due to some order confusion, I got a call from Ryder. He told me they were working on replacing the touch lights and that the replacements (each of which would have its own switch) would be slightly larger than the touch lights, so a retrofit might be possible without old holes needing to be patched. He also said it was not definite but likely. I canceled my order and am waiting until I go to the mother ship for my next service in April. I learned the 2024’s will not have touch lights they will have lights that use an on off switch to operate the light per OTT service. Just curious John, where you got this info.

Nicely done, well thought out. Thanks for posting!

I wish Phil all the luck and success, but I hate to see him go. It is a great loss to all of us.

One of the last ones to post their Oliver's here on the forum never got a hit. A few days ago I spoke to him on the phone about what had transpired and advised him to list it on Facebook. I heard from him yesterday and he said he'd had a half dozen inquiries already with at least three of them very interested. I think you'll do fine selling on FB. Good Luck!

I have deep respect for this man and his legacy.

I soiled my myself and clothing many times from residual grease on the hitch ball before addressing the issue. I really, REALLY like this product, mostly because it is clear and won’t stain!

@Geronimo John There is no longer a For Sale or Classifieds section allowing an owner to sell an Oliver on this forum. It was recently shut down by Oliver Admin on Oct 20. Here - https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/19-classifieds/ Patriot🇺🇸

We can run our Dometic A/C with our 2000W Honda generator but it's my understanding that a 3000W generator is needed to run the Truma A/C because it doesn't have the soft-start feature.

I hope they are close to the same size as the touch lights. As our touch lights fail, I would love to replace them with switch-operated lights.

ugh. I’ll try again when I have more signal than I can get while, literally, driving down the road. 😉

Time to add a few from our most recent month-long trip to Moab (mountain biking), Valley of the Gods (annular eclipse), North Rim of the Grand Canyon (supposed to be more mountain biking, but we got smoked out by a nearby prescribed burn), Valley of Fire, and a Paso Robles HipCamp (wine tasting, of course!). The rest of the trip was staying with friends, and we’re currently high-tailing it home! As always, the Ollie performed above and beyond — we never once plugged in, but still used the convection microwave and a/c whenever needed. And even though we spent several nights in sub-freezing temps, we had no issues with frozen lines. I love VellOllie!

Very helpful. If you see water coming out of one of these scuppers be sure to investigate as you surely have a water system leak. We have have had two instances where water poured out of one of these scuppers. The line attaching the water pump to the water line popped off when the trailer was new and on another occasion water poured out of a scupper forward of the steps when the overflow hose on top of the freshwater tank split due to faulty installation. We opened interior hatches and ran fans in the bilge for a couple weeks in order to dry things out. Without the scuppers water would have been trapped between the hulls and would likely cause damage over time.

The seed was planted for this furnace mod when we grabbed a canceled reservation three weeks out at a Minnesota State Park. This reservation was mid October and when the date arrived the weather forecast had changed for the worse. We stayed for only two of the three days and we received our first snow of the season, 6 inches of wet snow. We had a non electric site and my batteries were having trouble making it through the night and I was concerned about the water freezing in the Oliver. I have already addressed switching to lithium batteries and posted about it on Oliver Forum. Now I want to share with you what I have done to relieve my worries about water freeze ups in the Oliver, provided that I have a functioning furnace. I first tried to identify the weak spots and came up with the following. Boondocking Inlet Outside Wash Station Fresh Tank Fill Inlet City Water Inlet Black Tank Flush Port Toilet Water Supply Line Hot & Cold Lines Crossing Back Of Oliver The Oliver has all of it's heat ducts run on the curbside which protect the kitchen and the bathroom faucets from freezing. My plan is to run a 2" ducting along the back to the street side and terminating in to the trough that the water lines run in for the city water inlet, fresh tank fill inlet and outside faucet. This trough also has the check valves for those two inlets and has the floor of the exterior storage compartment covering over the top of it. To get at the trough you will have to remove the back wall of the storage compartment and flip the mat back that covers the floor. This exposes the water lines that come across the back of the trailer and drop into that trough. There is a wall that separates the furnace compartment from storage and extends past the wall you just removed. It has a opening for the water lines and it is large enough to run the 2" duct through it and on top of the water lines across the back and into the trough. Now you can flip the mat back down and they are long enough to cover the water lines and the newly installed 2" duct, then the wall is put back in place. On the connection to the furnace I removed the back of the heat exchanger. There is one hard to get at screw on the bottom but the rest are easily accessible. I made two holes, a 2" and a 4" in that back plate. I could not find a 2" starter collar locally so I bought two 4" and removed the rivets on one of them and formed a two inch collar, cut to length and re-rivet. I then installed the 2" and 4" starter collars to the heat exchanger back panel and then the panel to the furnace. I then hooked up the 2" duct to the furnace. Looking in to the access hole under the street side bed you are able to see where the water lines come up and out of the trough and to the valve of the out side wash station. When the furnace fan is running it will blow out a lit Bic Lighter held in that area. So we're protecting water lines, the check valves and dumping warm air underneath the outside wash station valve. Now back at the furnace I attach a 4" heavy duty aluminum foil duct to the newly installed starter collar. It is routed forward a short distance until it can be routed across the basement to the street side and then fed between the hot and cold water lines that go to the outside wash station valve. At this point I need to use a 4" coupler that is 6" long to attach the next 8' piece of 4" duct. I use the 6" long coupler so I can add holes if I need to flood a area with heat, this particular coupler did not need to. I then routed the duct from the wash station valve along the outer wall and over the wheel well, make the corner by the battery compartment and then once getting past the wheel well go down and under battery compartment. Up in that corner I attach a adhesive base 3/4" cable anchor so I can loop a 20" releasable tie strap through it and around the 4" duct holding it up and out of the way. A second 20" tie strap is used were the duct heads down under the battery compartment, it utilizes the loop that anchors the 4/0 cable coming out of the battery compartment. Next I prep another 6" long 4" coupler by adding a metal mounting bracket. It is bolted to the coupler using two 10-24 machine screws that go through the bracket the coupler wall and then a backing plate that has tapped holes. This coupler I will add a1" hole that will be pointed up to flood heat at the battery compartment. The mounting bracket will be utilizing the upper bolt of the support leg for the battery compartment. This keeps the duct up and away from the inverter and electrical components and positions it to flood heat up against the bottom of the battery compartment. The next length of 4" duct is clamped to that coupler and routed up from under the battery compartment over to and along the wheel well. It is held by two 20" tie straps similar to the other side. Because I want to run the heat duct under the foot space of the dinette I need to transition to 2" duct. There is access via the same trough that I utilized in the back of the trailer, but at the front there is more room and I am able to pull the 2" ducting through. From there it continues toward the front until it reaches the black tank flush inlet where it then follows that pipe back along the black tank and terminates by the water supply line for the toilet. At the transition point I add two more short pieces of 2" duct and route them down to where the main black tank drain pipe goes under the dinette foot space, they are terminated on either side of that pipe. There was not enough room to run the 2" duct but enough to force air along either side. At the transition from 4" to the three 2" ducts I simply inserted the three 2" into the end of the 4" and used aluminum foil duct tape to seal the transition. I also want to mention that I used the aluminum foil duct tape to reinforce the ends of every 4" duct by wrapping outside and inside before clamping. That should cover the install, now lets talk about the results of the test in subzero weather. I rounded up seven digital thermometers and put them in the areas I was concerned about. Was placed just inside the empty rear storage compartment. Was placed on top of the batteries and a piece of acoustical insulation that was for large generator enclosure, it was 1-1/2" thick and 19" square. This was squeezed in the opening before the door was closed. Was placed in the rear basement curbside next to boondocking inlet. Was placed in the rear basement street side below the outside wash station valve. Was placed on the floor of the closet with the door left closed. Was placed on the lower shelf in the vanity in the bathroom with the door left closed. Was placed in front basement street side next to the black tank flush port line. I moved it out of the heated shed at 1:00 pm on Sunday 2-7-21. I moved it back in at 3:00 pm on Tuesday 2-9-21. The furnace was cycling off and on at -4 ' but I noticed at -8' and colder it ran continuous. I have the Truma water heater and that was also turned on. I checked propane consumption by putting on two 20 pound tanks that I had weighed and left them in place for 12 hours. It was -12' when I put them on and -2' when I took them off. Because of the subzero temperature the propane was not gasifying very well and the regulator automatically changed from the primary to the reserve after only consuming 2.353 gallons. The total consumed out of both tanks in 12 hours was 3.294 gallons, so that would be .274 gallons in one hour. My Victron BMV-712 was telling me that I had depleted my 400 Ah Battle Born batteries to 47% and at rate of use I had two days and nine hours left. I thought I would comment on a couple of things I like about the outcome of the project. The bathroom was comfy warm and the wall next to the bed was not icy cold. I am not planing to take up subzero camping but it does gives me a benchmark to go off of for any situation that I might run in to. If you have any suggestions or see something that is of concern please let me know. Paul

After the last two winters-I'm just going to stay where it DOESNT freeze! Problem solved. RB