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I see that many owners think that Oliver Travel Trailers is a big money maker or at least a profitable venture. OTT is only a small slice of the parent company, Oliver Technologies Inc. There are at least nine more divisions besides OTT. They also make the Safe-Step walk-in tubs. They make a whole line of items for the mobile home industry. These are the parts that most people see in Hohenwald and know about. They also have other manufacturing facilities around the country making a multitude of other products. Some of these are owned by the company and some are ventures fully owned by individual family members. As far as houses go, the family has different residences all across the US and I'm sure if any of them want a house in Bermuda they can get it. I knew Jim Oliver personally and he was proud of the Oliver name and everything he put it on. He instilled in his family that same desire to produce a quality product that could last longer than a lifetime. I'm going to say that the company is going to be fine and they are not planning to sell.

Ok everyone, Thank you for all the replies. It is much appreciated. I know that anyone else that has this problem is not pleased but, I am at least glad we are not the only ones experiencing this. At someone's suggestion, I did open a Service Ticket. I heard from Mike in less than 24 hours. He said the door would need to be replaced. I responded by stating, "$$$$". Mike responded by stating that some people have covered the cracks with state park stickers. I think we'll go with white duck tape until we cannot stand it anymore or it gets much worse. We are the original owners of #224. Our window did not have clips. We changed our window in 2018. [the cracks have only recently appeared] In early 2018, there had been many Forum posts about alternate windows. One was the one that togun2 referenced & another is the one we used. I really like it. Again, ty Gwenne - of Steve & Gwenne

Was just thinking... Maybe a textured fabric-backed vinyl wallpaper would work even better than formica would? Much easier to fit to the door and might even look original if you could find a similar texture.

I bought my first Hitchrider for a Toyota Highlander and a utility trailer and I was very pleased with the product. When we decided to buy an OTT, we sold the Highlander and bought a used Toyota Landcruiser. To my dismay, the Hitchrider would not fit the LC. A call to Hitchrider and with some requested measurements, they produced one that fit the LC. Great product and company. I am using the original model with my new truck. Mossey

Our 2021 OEII came with a 2" hitch mount rack receiver but the installation was (in my view and with respect to a lot of other good work done by the prior owner of our trailer) not quite up to 'factory standard'. In fact the U-bolt-based attachment method distorted the receiver shape just enough to make installation, and especially removal, of our 1Up hitch rack next to impossible. So I sought to improve upon it. After some research I settled on a receiver ostensibly designed for use on certain Lexus GX460 models: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRKR1Q4X Drilling and attachment was straightforward given a drill press, a decent 1/2" bit, appropriate measuring tools, and a center punch. The aluminum is relatively soft and drilling oil was not used. I have not been able to get all the chips out of the interior, but did not try too hard to remove an end cap and access the box section beam interior that way. The hardware is 3 1/2" x 1/2" stainless with stainless and yellow zinc washers. We have not tested the setup on the road yet, but static fitment went fine. The receiver and backing plate are fairly heavy; according to the retailer, about 10 pounds. This item is designed for towing, when attached to a GX460; it is likely overkill for this application, but that's OK by me. A side benefit is the receiver has safety chain mounts through which a cable lock could be passed. I discussed this with Jason and he indicated the factory were considering offering a 2" receiver option moving forward. Our bike rack is 2", our cars and TV have 2" receivers, and use of an adapter was not appealing to me. In hindsight I might have painted it white, or silver 😀 Enjoy! Tim

Wicking Loctite (Green). You can put a drop on the bolt threads and it will wick into the threaded connection. https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-29031-Green-Wicking-Threadlockers/dp/B004FCH82C

...somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 NP stickers. Probably enough to cover both sides of the main hatch, closet door, and head door! 😜

I wonder just how many National Park stickers I can buy for that?😉

I understand that OTT uses Lippert doors and hinges. Here's one on Amazon to give an price point reference: https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-Components-Right-Screen-Radius/dp/B00S2ID4H8/ref=asc_df_B00S2ID4H8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=485521586392&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4574139842054065784&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030428&hvtargid=pla-949288852508&mcid=67aafcf731843af38f9f55e2c814e88f&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzZmwBhD8ARIsAH4v1gXbBPIsLzMY-EEUdIMooWn_KGCnwFiQaKFBKVe7RHlSVs6YFIB6Hl8aAjACEALw_wcB&th=1 The Lippert door from Amazon is $675.99... FYI

The big RV manufacturers are closing plants right now. Tiffin abandoned their new 5th wheel line. Sales are down across the industry. I can't see anyone wanting to buy a small boutique trailer manufacturer at this time.

It’s crossed my mind. We have our alarm system on and good neighbors (plus mom next door), so we would react quickly. I like what Florida has done with their new law. Mike

@JEssary I think this is a terrible decision by Oliver, and a disappointment to us. We took delivery of Curiosity one year ago tomorrow, and have had zero problems during the 7700 miles since. However, there was always that security of Oliver's famed customer service in mind in case something did occur. And that service was a large part of our buying decision. Oliver's reputation was built on the care after the sale, and that set it apart from any other manufacturer. Now, with no factory sales or service, it would appear the same as any other builder to a prospective buyer. Look at every YouTube review of Oliver, with clickbait headlines of "Is It Worth It", or any RV blog review of Oliver. The praise of Oliver's service is always highlighted and almost as legendary as the quality. Any time a prospective buyer comes to this forum or the two Facebook groups and asks about Oliver, Oliver's quality AND service department are, without exception, heralded as what makes Oliver better than any other trailer. I think that this decision will have a sizable impact on future sales, and on resale value of current owners' trailers, and trust from those owners. From my reading, many owners look forward to their annual service trip; almost like a pilgrimage. I can't imagine looking forward to a trip to a giant RV store. Here in northern Ohio, my closest authorized service center is 433 miles away, and has stellar sales reviews on Google. However, the service reviews are fair at best, with typical complaints of long waits and shoddy work. More concerning are a couple claiming no service on trailers not purchased there, or even parts sales. The next closest is 461 miles, only 100 miles less than going to Hohewald. Color me disillusioned...

I was content thinking it was unique! Now that I know it isn’t, I agree. Mossey

It would take a little work to make a precise template, and you would need a router, but I bet a white piece of Formica would work well to cover up the damage.

Your window has "clips" versus the screws that the older Ollies enjoy. Bill

We first experienced cracks in the fiberglass interior of the door about four years ago. Initially, there were only a few. Over time, the cracks spread spider-web like over most of the door, widening as they spread. When the cracks first appeared, I had contacted the Oliver Service Dept. for guidance. Service did not know what would cause the cracks. The only option was to replace the door (Mike Sharpe also checked with a tech who had tried to replace the cracked fiberglass in another door, but had determined that was not feasible.). I also contacted Lippert, the door's manufacturer, for its take on the possible cause, but Lippert had nothing to offer on what might have caused it. We lived with the spreading and widening cracks for four years, but bit the bullet earlier this year and replaced the door while in Hohenwald for other work on the Ollie. The new door is still manufactured by Lippert, and still features the same pebbled fiberglass on its interior. A major difference, however, is that the door closes much more easily. Now, a nudge will close it whereas the old door had to be firmly closed (a light slam?.). I have to wonder if that continuous hard closing caused the cracking? The other feature that I don't remember from the first door is the new door appears to have first installed within a frame, which would have then been attached to the Ollie's frame. I never noticed if the first door was built into its own frame, or not.

If you see water dripping from this bolt under the front center of your trailer look for a leak under the bathroom sink In my case it was a split in the sink tailpiece. The split was on the side not visible so I didn’t find it until I removed the tailpiece. I couldn’t find this style of tailpiece at any of my local hardware places including Lowe’s because most tailpieces are made for sinks with built in overflows. I finally found a tailpiece that would work at a place that had an old supply of mobile home parts. It was plastic instead of metal but it worked great. I will order another tailpiece, either this one or a metal one, to put in my parts box. Installed pictures. The stopper is better than the rubber plug used before I cannot understand why the factory puts that fixed caddy under the bathroom sink. Sure, it’s no problem to remove and replace, but the fiberglass won’t stand the removal and reinsertion of the screws many more times. And when you remove, replace, and recaulk the caddy you have to wait until the caulk cures enough before you can use the shower. I will be installing a marine deck hatch in its place.

Just received from OTT in email (partial text): "As our service team will be working with the dealer's service departments on location, we feel it is prudent to discontinue most service work here at our location in Tennessee. However, we will continue doing major repairs, including fiberglass and aluminum, at our Plant Facility." Having needed to have a Forest River trailer serviced at the their factory once because of the inability/unwillingness of the selling dealer to address the issue, and knowing the willingness of other top brands like Grand Design and Airstream to do factory service on a wide range of issues, this makes me uncomfortable. Yes, we would probably go to the local service center anyway, but it was nice to have the factory service as a backup.

Apparently we are having "issues" with the ability to upload photos at the moment. Jason W. (the person at Oliver who helps us with Forum platform issues and other stuff) has been notified. But given the holiday weekend this just might take a bit of time to correct. Sorry for the problem! Bill

Anyone concerned about squatters moving into their home while traveling for several weeks/months?

You're welcome. JD1923 was also having issues with uploading. I'll let everyone know when the issue(s) get resolved. Bill

Do you really know that, or simply intuit that? People thought I was off base when I thought Oliver would move service to dealers.

Thanks appreciate the heads up.

Off topic, but… While traveling earlier this month, I met a couple in a beautiful Tiffin Allegro RED. While chatting, they mentioned that Bob Tiffin sold the company to Thor 🤬 last year, and that the Tiffin culture was rapidly changing.

Forest River and DQ were already large, well established operations when he bought them. When Thor bought Airstream and Tiffin both were well known brand names among RVers. Most RV consumers, even experienced RVers, have never heard of Oliver Trailers, the exception being the small subset of molded fiberglass RVers. I don't think a company that turns out 150 units a year, no matter how good they are, is going to attract a mega corporation at any price. But a smaller competitor, or another company looking to break into the RV business? Maybe. Best case, the Oliver family keeps the brand going successfully.

A bit over a year ago I visited a vacant lot I own on the Deschutes River south of Sunriver, OR. The lot is river front and undeveloped and we have used it occasionally over the years for camping and messing around. Arrived to see a "For Sale" sign stuck in the ground advertising the lot for a local real estate firm. Made a quick visit to the realtors office and was told there was a lot of interest in the lot but, sadly for me, it had sold a couple days previously and the sale was due to close shortly. Jaws dropped when I mentioned I owned the lot and that I had not listed it ... they had taken the listing over the phone and, apparantly, were a bit slack on their due diligence. County sheriff put some effort into identifying the scammer, who by this time had gone underground, but nothing came of it. I avoided being involved in an uncomfortable situation, the buyer got his down payment back, which was being held in escrow and no one was badly hurt (aside from the agent who lost a significant commission). Vacant lots and homes are apparantly considered fair game by the ethically challenged.

As mounted the rear compartment / bumper clears the back of the receiver by about 1". 😀 The receiver has a raised surround about 3/16" high, so I positioned the receiver far enough aft so that the raised portion is not atop the beam. It would be possible to move the receiver forward, but not by much, in which case it might or might not interfere with the rear compartment / bumper swing. Thanks! Tim

It’s been a few years and I may not be remembering the specifics exactly but, when we were looking for a camper I took an entire week of vacation and spent the week in Elkhart, Indiana. We toured just about all of the manufacturers. It seems like they all had service facilities and several free campsites available. All of these manufacturers have multiple dealerships as well. I’m hoping that once the dust settles, Oliver will be able to justify reopening their service center. I’m sure that they are scrambling right now trying to figure it all out. We’ve only owned our LEII for seven years and known the Olivers for seven years as well. We have also spent time with the service team early on. In my experience the Olivers and every team member that I have ever had the opportunity to meet have always had the highest integrity and I’m sure that they will get it all sorted.

The day after we accepted an offer on our house a couple years ago, the neighbor was sitting in his car on his phone when he arrived home about 2 am. A car pulled into our driveway that was parallel to theirs about 20 feet away with a hedge in between. He could hear a couple arguing in our driveway about moving into the house since it was empty. We wouldn't be closing for two weeks and were still moving items out when this happened. I suspect the perps were able to tell the status of the house via Zillo information on line. The people in the driveway that night had foreign accents. Between the neighbors and myself we had to maintain a vigil and I slept in the house until the buyers could take possession at closing. This has been very much on the rise in the Indianapolis area.

My 2020 LEII also measure within a couple thousands of 3", and I have the same brake assembly as @mountainoliver.

Bummer! One of the reasons I sold our Escape and bought an E2 (pickup April) was for the service. I hope that our new E2 doesn't require any warranty work which I have to VISIT a dealer! I'm not too fond of Auto or RV Dealers. I was very happy with the warranty service we received from our 21' Escape. Every issue was addressed and resolved quickly. Since Escape is located in Canada, there are no US service centers. You call, they give u an authorization, u get it repaired, they reimburse. A few times I had parts sent to my house and I replaced. Plus, they even paid for a Mobile Tech to fix an issue while traveling.

John, our local repair shop is just a guy and his wife and one or two guys he has to help. Not affiliated with Oliver in any way, but he has spent time on the phone with Jason in the past. We don’t do an annual inspection. I have had him fix a warranty plumbing issue, troubleshoot and install a new inverter, some electrical work, a couple of appointments for our recent brake issue (frayed wires in the axle). Other than that I’ve had them repack bearings, lube the Dexter, and check brakes annually. It usually takes a few weeks to get an appointment, but he’s been pretty prompt with his work. I think @Ralph Mawyer and @bugeyedriver use him as well (Boerne RV). Our closest authorized dealer is up near Austin about 2 hours away (Princess Craft). We’ve been there several times the past few years to look at what they have and I watch most of their YouTube videos. They are small and family owned, I would think they will be an excellent dealer and service facility for Oliver. Mike

When I met with Operations Manager Rodney Lomax on November 14, 2022 (while the few issues we found with our Hull #1291 after delivery were being promptly addressed by the Service Department), I told him: "Whatever you pay Jason Essary, it's not enough." One year+ later, my view has not changed.

In 2023, there were 152 trailers produced.

Yeah, same here. Apparently Dexter manufactured 3,500lb axles with 2-3/8" diameter tubes (newer model) and older ones with 3" tubes. You'll need to let them know which ones you've got so they send the correct U-bolts. Mike at Alcan knows about this information and he'll be sure you're sent the right ones.

I'll start off with... Oliver sold us a trailer that we couldn't be more proud of owning. It's been a little embarrassing for us to reveal to others what we paid back in 2022 (not even fully decked out... just couldn't pull the trigger on the lithium prices). We would most likely not be in an Oliver at todays prices. It's unfortunate the individual dealers didn't offer up a service rep to go train at Oliver instead of breaking up the Oliver team to go train them. IMO, at the price of an Oliver, a tarnished service experience at one of the new dealers, that Oliver has no way of controlling, is going to have an extremely negative impact on any future buyers. In my case, the service team at Oliver was the deciding factor that pushed us over the finish line with our purchase. No possible way for us to go forward if not for that. I'm hoping for the best but I was really counting on Oliver for service the next several years...I don't care how far away they are. Their service is unparalleled as far as I'm concerned and I'm almost certain that another company with other interests will not measure up. It's a reassurance that Jason can still answer questions and help over the phone but I'm going to have to rely on a business that didn't sell us our trailer, to do the work I can't do. It was indeed a big surprise, for me, to learn of the recent news that Oliver was going to be available at several dealers across the country. I initially took a somewhat negative view but moderated after thinking it might help the sales that Oliver was seeking and you don't have to travel thousands of miles as a perspective buyer. But to hear of the end of Oliver's service team is a tough pill, so to speak. My position is from an annual maintenance perspective with the option of other work, ie Truma A/C swap out (which was done), possible axle change in the future, install additional awning, etc. I'm not worried...just disappointed. Here ends my rant. John

So happy I had AC replacement and Lithium upgrade done last year. I think losing Q&A voice and email service support will be the biggest impact. No way local dealer is going to match that, though the allude to that still continuing.

Ditto.

This could be a concern. Stories about SOB poor dealer service experiences are legion. No sale/no service, wait times measured in months, etc. For now, I'll hope that the dealers that OTT chose (or the other way around) will be better. On the larger picture, Oliver trailers are arguably one of the most expensive per square foot on the market. To us, direct factory sales and available factory service were part of the justification for the pricing.

I am out in the shop and realize that my window does not have screws on either interior or exterior trim, but it looks like I do have some of that parallax that was recently discussed. No that’s not bird poop on the exterior photo, it’s shop light reflection.

Even though it appears as though the "major" crack that comes from the window could have been (at least in part) from over tightening the lower left screws in the window mount, the rest of the cracks/delamination appears to be caused by either the glue that holds the outside material to the foam underneath or a failure of this plastic material itself. Either way - it ain't pretty. Bill

In Feburary I was in Columbia flying paragliders. At our hotel they had one of these setups on the counter for about 20 guests to use. Daily we each used about 1.5 liters. Frankly I could not believe the amount of water it put out every day. This little pump works like a charm. GJ

And - for those that live in hot/humid climates (i.e. Florida, Georgia, etc.) during as much as 3/4 of the year. Bill

I can agree that litho's and solar have SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the need for generators for the vast majority of OTT owners. But for true boondockers, especially winter boondocking camping, not so. GJ

Coming from a background of over the road trucking (40 yrs) I’ve experienced several spring failures, to all the people upgrading to heavier rated springs just be aware your axle assembly is rated as a complete unit,if you change one thing you need to make sure the other components, spring perch, shackles, axle tube,wet bolts etc.. can handle the extra stress. It’s been my experience most spring breaks happen from a sharp impact ie: deep pothole, curbing the trl, etc.. and to the shop that has never had a spring failure I call b.s. Steve

It looks like the wire ties are keeping it from being able to come all the way out.

I insert the lid into the hatch housing turn it and it clicks and it’s secured. Not sure if you call that a hinged? I really like the ease of use vs the threading version.

Probably not much new to add to this conversation other than to say we have had our Elite II for just over 6 years now with well over 20K miles of towing and in all sorts of weather from howling winds (side and headwinds), to torrential downpours for days and do not have the WDH. FWIW I was the one who started the initial conversation some 6 or so years ago back in the day when Robert Partee was still with us. At that time Oliver did not use or suggest any WDH and no one who owned an Oliver used them either. I only brought up the issue having looked into the the specs on all towing vehicles and thought it curious Oliver did not recommend them and wanted a better understanding. The result of that thread led to Oliver adopting the Anderson. There are two specs for all tow vehicles, one with and one without a WDH and this includes not only the towing capacity but the load limits on the hitch itself. Typically a decal or equivalent is applied to the underside of the hitch stating its load and tow limit and typically those values are cut in half by approximately 50% + o - when towing without a WDH. Given my tow vehicle (an F150) my values were just under or right at the limits, so with much cogitation on the subject I chose NOT to use the Anderson. Keep in mind most all newer trucks have electronic anti-sway devices built into the system and at least on my truck this seems to work admirably. I say this because on more than one occasion I have been subjected to some harrowing emergency maneuvers on the highway while towing, or extreme wind conditions while the Oliver stayed where it should, right behind me. None of this is to suggest others do not adopt the WDH, each individual has to figure out what they are or are not comfortable with. Perhaps I am being a penny wise and pound foolish but thus far I have not seen, with my tow vehicle, the need for a WDH. Worth mentioning in the initial thread some 6 or so years ago a few comments suggested outside of the RV industry these towing specs are either completely ignored or completely unknown to the towing public, ie horse trailers, construction trailers and so on and so forth. Sure enough not sure I've ever seen anyone outside the RV industry hooked up to a heavy trailer of any sort with anti-sway or WDH hitches. Oh well. As others have suggested, tow safely and sensibly at all times with a light foot on the gas pedal. As a rule I tend to stay around 65 on the major highways a bit slower 55-60 on two lanes and will rarely get to 70 unless under idea conditions with virtually no traffic near me. My own general rule is to travel at least 5-10 mph slower than the given flow of traffic. YMMV of course. Hope this helps.

I pulled The Wonder Egg (2008 single axle Elite I) 111,000 miles with my 2008 4.0L V6 Tacoma. After the Taco surpassed 225,000 miles, it retired from towing duties in 2018 and is now a runabout town vehicle. I purchased a 5.0L V8 F150 as a new to vehicle and it does a very, very fine job. Bosker enjoys the extra room. With full water and a loaded trailer, the tongue weight is 460lbs, as measured on a scale. I've never used a WDH and even during the most adverse weather and road conditions. Now, with 138,000 miles on The Wonder Egg, it still tracks true, with excellent road manners.