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I think, personally, we all need to take a step back, and breathe. Yeah, I know, I have a 16 year old trailer. So, I can say, unequivocally, Oliver has never failed me. My belief is, they won't ever on the future, either. Right now. The amazing service staff at Oliver hq is charged with training outposts, which we have all longed for, over the years. That takes time. Obviously, I have been in for the long run, and will continue to be so. I can only think that service will continue to get better, with outposts around the country, closer to many owners, with the great support of Oliver central awesome staff.

OK - It appears that there were a few "issues" but mainly it was a combination of storage and technical data base things that were the source. It now appears that all is back to normal thanks to the great work (again) by Jason W. Bill

I don't - yet - know what the problem(s) were but we are back in business. At least as far as the main Forum goes. Regret the downtime. I will post more when I know it. Bill

Sorry for the delays! Enjoy!

Obviously- from the post above the ability to upload photos is also back with us. I missed you guys/gals! Bill

Our son's apartment is our lower level, and we ask him to be home and responsible when we travel. I'd hate to be that squatter. Can't believe what I heard on the news! A homeowner was arrested for changing locks on their own home, alleged intent to lockout squatters. This is a rule for landlords, but there was no lease agreement and no rents paid. How crazy will it get? This crazy, no, much worse? What's next?

GJ, Very well stated. I received a call from Mike Sharpe last Friday. He did say that Oliver would continue to have a technical support staff that owners could call for troubleshooting. - Patriot

Unfortunately, there isn't and never was any schematic drawings of electrical and plumbing systems for the years 2007-2009. Likewise for the twenty-one 2014 models and the thirty-seven 2015's. Somewhere during the 2015-2016 period they had a company come in and design a wiring harness for the Elite II's. They bought them from that company at first and then started making their own. I remember meeting one of their interns during this period and he was working on both a wiring and plumbing schematic. I saw them on a computer screen in the supervisor's office out on the factory floor. So at least at some point there was that. At one point they provided them when when you bought a trailer. And then they didn't. I've never been able to get a straight answer from anybody at the factory as to why they no longer share them. I do know that one member has copies of whatever is (or has been) out there. I don't know what year trailer his copies reference. I suspect that they would be of little help to the folks that have a trailer less than 3-4 years old. I won't out him but I do know that he as shared freely in the past with other owners. If he sees this he'll probably reach out.

Access to the expertise of the Service team in Hohenwald is also critically important to me. Perhaps delegating "hands on" service work to dealer techs will free up more time for the excellent Service Team in Hohenwald to provide just the kind of expert help rich.dev describes above to more Oliver owners, as the number of hulls on the road continues to increase?

👆🏻is a huge concern for me! Most of the dealerships have a bunch of brands that they have to service, and unless they will have Oliver only “certified” service people their service will never be on par with Oliver. case in point ….. 1) Had an issue with my solar panels not charging, I put a ticket in and within an hour received a call from Hannah, took her maybe 30min to diagnose the problem. Why, because she is familiar with everything a-z related to layout, ie electrical/gas/plumbing etc diagrams, components and component layout. 2) Something as simple as the 3 additional jack fuses under the street side bed, if the dealerships service people (who have to service numerous other rigs) are not familiar with this, could make for a frustrating diagnosis. I would assume (Hopefully) the dealerships will have detailed schematic drawings of all the wiring/plumbing etc.

We just returned last week from another camping trip down in the southwest. Great time, with great hikes and weather although the first few days were a bit more chilly than normal. Hit some of our past best hits, San Rafael Swell, ST George Area, and finally a new one which has been on my bucket list for a long time, Valley of Fire State Park in NV. Beautiful place but have to say we were surprised by the crowds even in mid week. Thought I might share several pix including a few taking on heaps of mud while traveling down 25-30 mile gravel roads in the outback. Thanks BLM campground at Swinging Bridge shot of mud bath mud was inches thick, started falling on its own weight. Once this stuff dries it is hard as a brick. Took over an hour of pressure washing and $20+ to get most but not all of it off swing bridge now retired swinging bridge pictographs

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

@routlaw Great photos and write up! Well done. Thank you for sharing!

File this under the "you never know category." We are currently in Catalina State Park in Arizona. Park host came by today to inform us that the wash was running and the road out and in from the park is closed until further notice. Some folks went for it and left. We took it as a sign and are waiting it out , comfy and cozy with plenty of food and water.🤓

Years ago, when owning a Class-A, I called our local RV dealership (with 3 nearby locations). After They told me they were 2-3 months out, I replied no thank-you and have never again called an RV dealer for service. And for us driving to OTT for service is not practical. Fortunately for us, I can do everything we need to service our Oliver, though understand many owners cannot. I will job out fiberglass gelcoat, with a local detailer, not having these tools or expertise. I strongly suggest that most of you acquire a good local trailer shop, or owner-operated automotive repair shop you can count on. Most "annual service" can be worked by any reputable mechanic. Except for the fiberglass shell design, the mechanical systems are the same as any other TT or RV.

More great info just keeps dribbling out. Thrilled for your sharing this key info. Thanks

Sherry: Thankyou for your response. I would like to tie together the discussions about the changes being undertaken by OTT and the feelings of many owners. Concerning documentation, June and I are lucky as our 2018 Owner’s Manual has a pretty good set of schematic drawings. The difficult part of technical record keeping and document production is the frequency of change. For OTT, each year more than a few individual components change and new features are added. So, the schematics and their supporting documentation have to be updated just about every year. This takes time and resources. Cumulatively over the years the changes creates a lot of data points that Service has to keep up with. Jason and his team do this exceptionally well. But at the dealership level it would be impossible to do so at the same level. So, in addition to the owners needing the info, the dealerships certainly will need it even more. So long as Jason and his team are employed by OTT with the mission to support the technical and diagnostic questions of BOTH the new dealerships and the DYI owners, we will ALL be fine. However, their departmental name likely would need to be changed from Service Department to maybe “Technical Services” to better reflect what OTT management is trying to do. I can think of no individual at OTT that would be more qualified than Jason to also supervise the individual that will be necessary to produce the technical documentation that is needed by both the dealerships and OTT trailer owners. Now if only OTT would come forward and state that they will continue to support this changed mission of the existing Service Department, and also the continued existence of this wonderful forum, I think the situation would be greatly defused. For me, that would erase all my concerns. Hoping and praying for the best outcome for OTT and all their customers. GJ

Sherry: In the military, and civilian life as well, when leadership does not keep their troops in the know; They begin to wander ever increasingly from the line of march. Ultimately the team will spiral down the drain tube of mission failure. From my perspective, that in the past has not ever been the OTT path. Training of tech teams who will be "Authorized" to maintain OTT's is certainly something that must be done for the whole dealership concept to work. And there is no one better than the OTT Service Department to do so. Is OTT obligated to tell us what their plans are. Of course not. But not doing so with respect to the changes being made is not logical. Why? Good will is built over years and many thousands of encounters. It can be destroyed 1,000 times quicker than it can be re-built. It is the Service Department that IMO is primarily responsible for the huge Good Will that is demonstrated to the world many dozens of times a day. Hence, having the Technical Resources at the Mother Ship and this forum to help filter out the work load they see is imperative to the continued success and growth of OTT and their dealerships as well. In some eyes, the Technical Advisory Role and Forum future are concerns by the owners that could continue to fester, or be put to rest in an excellent manner....It just takes communication. GJ

I don't believe that is a true statement. Though Jason may be training, I believe other qualified team members will step up.

I think that's unlikely. There's a big shortage of techs. Most dealers are having trouble just keeping up with warranty service and emergency repairs to RVs sold by their dealership. They probably won't have time for elective work. You might have better luck with an independent RV tech.

All I can tell you is that Jason W has been working on the problem. If I had to guess - Jason can only do so much with our interface to the part of the servers that he has access to while the people that are at the server site are (probably) not there due to the Easter holiday. Please bare with us as we try to get the problem(s) sorted out. Bill

But will the new independent service locations offer the same annual maiintenance program that OTT offered? Or put another way, will the independents even be told and trained of what OTT offered for the annual maintenance?

WHAT IS HAPPENING?! I was uploading pictures of the "Sasquatch' that we saw the other day, and not only did they NOT UPLOAD or APPEAR, but my original pics seemed to have disappeared too!!! How in the world are ppl going to believe in my sighting if I cannot post my pic's on the Oliver forum??? What is this Oliver World coming too?? Just Kidding... A Happy Easter to ALL-IVER Friends & Family. Bryan, Maggie, Willis (aka Kamper-Kat) as we prep for 'AK 2024'

FYI: We're leaving on Tuesday and plan on visiting our newly minted grandson in Dallas - then arriving mid-day Friday at BellaRose from Dallas.... Looking forward to meeting y'all!

How could Oliver think that anyone is going to spend $100,00.00 for a trailer without a service center in place? How could Oliver think that any Dealer could provide timely, efficient service without a minimal parts inventory, and trained mechanics, in place? When the manufacturing plant, and the service facility are arms length apart, there is never a parts, or technical know how issue. This is the type of transformation that should have been phased in over time, in sections of the country.

Strangest looking rabbit I've ever seen! AKA - the Easter buck. 🐰 Our uploading "issues" continue this morning but I know that Jason W. has been working on it. Bill

Apologies for the test image, but I figured out how to link to photos hosted on sites like Smugmug and Flickr. You need to get the “address” of the photo on the host site, usually done by selecting the photo, right clicking on it, then selecting from the drop down menu something that reads like copy image address. At the bottom right corner of the Oliver post dialog box, you’ll see “other media”. Click on it, select Insert “Image From URL”, then paste the photo address into the box. The photo below is one of my yard pets that I posted on Flickr and linked to from here.

No worries, it’s all good. First world problems anyway. But thanks for info

Approximately 40 minutes ago I received a message from Jason W. requesting more information on the problem we are having uploading photos to the Forum. Even though I told Jason to enjoy his Easter weekend, I know from past experience that he will be working on this issue. I'll keep everyone updated on the progress if and when it occurs. Thanks for your patience and understanding. Bill

I just checked and we are still having the issues with uploading pictures this morning. I'm sure that Jason W. will work on the problem as soon as he is able and I will let everyone know when its fixed. Sorry for the delay. Bill p.s. Apparently Rideandfly found a way around the uploading problem by using a program called "Smugmug".

I was initially very interested in the ford wired backup camera, but was very hesitant bc I had to be hardwired to the trailer. Seemed like a lot of hassle for very little benefit. I currently have an after market tpms and the Oliver factory installed backup trailer camera. The monitor is a little small and it sure would be nice to have the backup camera on the trailer display on the truck head unit, but I am very happy with what I have. I find I only really use the backup camera for a few minutes when I back into a campsite or storage for our Oliver. The wired ford backup camera and tpms seems like a long run for a short slide! Just my humble opinion.

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

Thanks appreciate the heads up.

I like Art's (MaxBurner) dual roving security systems. ARF! ARF! 🙂 GJ

That was exactly how Oliver handled most of the warranty repairs on our 2022. I hope they don't insist that future owners go to the nearest dealer.

Same here, interior and exterior motion sensing video/audio - although in a low-density living area, we've got real good/"appropriately trained" neighbors...

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

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.

https://www.bestmaterials.com/detail.aspx?ID=20596&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(ROI) PMax Shopping - Low/No AOV&utm_id=18030280001&utm_content=&utm_term=&gad_source=4 https://www.chemical-concepts.com/product/american-sealants-0240-cleaner-remover-14-oz-net-weight-can/?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=cse&srsltid=AfmBOop8hPEz53xgukj9M1jJ5fHGXYcHM-KH_hwxWI5aSBtTGkVdMxnFYds (states on back order)

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.

Thanks Steve. I believe Oliver did much research when selecting the new centers and for now I'll have to trust them. (fingers crossed)

Jason Essary will be calling any customer scheduled out past July to explain canceling the appointment. They currently have just a few appointments scattered from August to November.

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.

We feel the same. We would never go back to a traditional rv toilet.👍🏼

When it was time to place my order, I didn’t know anything about composting toilets. I watched a 20 minute YouTube video and then checked the block. I’ve had it for a year and love it. I don’t know how I ever lived before without it. It really is a must for living the unplugged life. I’ll never empty another black tank in my life.

Pennie If you did want to go through a trailer before pick up and come through DFW area on way to TN there are several owners in this area. I am a new owner and would be happy to show you trailer and share my steep newbie learning curve, lol. I have had a couple issues and worked with Oliver to get in with a repair place here in DFW. Good luck.

I appreciate your post, information and offer Steve, Oliver Saleswoman Anita called me back after doing some research on her end. Her explanations about Steve's specifics were reasonable and reassuring. She knows I am new at this and as much as I read and watch on Oliver University, I will be learning on the curve, as I go. She also knows I will be living with them in Tennessee until everything is shipshape for a maiden voyage, with as complete an understanding of systems as one can derive from afar accentuated with some hands-on trials. Thank you for your invitation. Unfortunately, I do not live close--actually live near the hottest places in the USA this week--the great Southwest. I will be heading east in late September for delivery on October 4--great news for one who was given an original approximate day in June next year. If time permits and I can stop by, with pre or post delivery, that would be wonderful. At Oliver, there have been a few order cancellations of late. Some may be due to health reasons, some to individual situations, and some to the huge numbers of people who have hit the road crowding both public and private campgrounds, trashing some of these places. Who knows? They let me and others come in earlier than originally thought. I am plunging ahead with plans. I do not expect perfection. Life doesn't work that way--certainly not my own--lol! I am expecting a well-built, high quality TT with a fine customer service team behind it as well as some guidance (much given already) from the terrific community here on this forum. I will need much more, I'm sure. Thanks again Steve, Pennie

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.