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That's because your subconscious is trying its best to shield you from its absurdity.

This is why I preach always use blocks under all three jacks. The service team should alway place a six inch block under the front jack foot when readying a trailer for pick-up.

IMO… It’s so ugly a person would need to shave its behind and teach it to always drive backwards.

There are pros and cons for each system, but the hot water tank has served us well for a long time. Simple and reliable. Mike

My thoughts when I see a cyber truck - the design was hijacked, looted, swiped, plundered or made off with from the inventor of the dumpster. 😄 Just not a fan.

I recently replaced our Truma aquago with a Suburban DEL hot water heater in our 2017 OE2. It wasn't that difficult of a project, but took a little time. A few things required: Spliced into fridge 110 line under sink w weatherproof box. John Davies created a very detailed post on this. The DEL model has both gas and electric switch inside the trailer...Installed switch where Truma switch was...had to run some wires to switch, then to HWH. Move gas line over as suburban is on opposite side of Truma. Overall, not a bad project and wife is happy to have hot water again!!!

We were at the factory for our yearly service last week with over 4 years and 50k miles towed! The team did a great job doing the full yearly service and all was well, the trailer was parked and ready for pickup. I got hull 505 hooked up and ready to roll then headed back in to say final goodbyes to Jason , Mike and the team. When I came back to the truck I forgot I hadn’t completely retracted the tongue jack. Ashamed of my dumb move I walked back in to ask for help. Jason said it happens all the time and made me feel a bit better then walked back in parts and found a replacement lower leg unit. The team used a sawsall to cutoff the bent leg, unbolting the leg above and removed the power head. Bolted on the new leg with new star washers to make a clean electrical ground to the chassis. They attached the power head and checked function. I hooked up and made sure to fully retract the leg. I went in and paid my bill feeling lucky to have done the damage in the parking lot of Oliver. I didn’t believe that it happened that often…but…The next person picking up their trailer did exactly the same thing, so the service team really does see it all the time. Sometimes more than once a day. I’ll post a part number for the lower/leg part and update this post later. Wife Rose suggested I carry a spare leg and a sawsall for our travels! Craig

I too use blocks but they were not put back during pick up.

Makes me glad I use 6x6 wood blocks underneath all three jacks. Saved me once too!

Maybe I’ve just had bad luck, but I would delete a water heater entirely before going back to a tank style water heater. We had issues with the water reacting with the sacrificial anode that created h2s, so in the truck camper and the Airstream, we left the tanks drained and bypassed. For us, the Truma is a godsend.

It is nothing short of chilling how ancient, how outdated and how insecure our national grid is. After 3 1/2 decades serving in the government I wish I could elaborate more. Upon retiring I signed nondisclosures. If only the general public really knew the truth. Our national grid needs to be upgraded in so many ways.

I think I said the same thing about AMC's Gremlin and Pacer! Looking back, they still look weird! Mossey

I suppose other parts of the country must have grid problems much more often than our neck of the woods. I've lived within 20 miles of where I live currently for greater than the last 7 decades. Our power comes from TVA and has for almost 100 years. Tupelo was the first TVA city starting in the early 1930's. At least in my lifetime that grid has never failed. I've lived in this house for over 40 years and I can remember only twice the power went out. Once during a severe ice storm in 1994 and again in 2014 after an EF3 tornado that we missed because we were traveling.

Well, most of us do. We've already racked up over 6K miles since the middle of January with our yearly trip to Quartzsite and then back to Texas for the Eclipse. Next are two Oliver rally's back to back and then out to Colorado and back. Probably another 12-15K miles over the next 3-4 months. We've seen two car haulers full of those cyber trucks in the last few months. I still think they are butt ugly.

It looks a bit like a dumpster.

One would almost need a Star Wars stormtrooper outfit to be seen driving that truck around town.

I absolutely agree - but - they have never done that when I've been there.☹️ Bill

I forgot the front jack once some time ago. It was on a couple of legos and an 8” wood block so it slid off with no damage. Glad to hear the Oliver team was so responsive (and compassionate!). Mike

Geoff, this is what I was advised by Oliver….. Always leave the inverter off on the inverter, and control the inverter from the silver button on the remote. My remote is mounted about eye height just forward of the pantry on the street side. Also , Oliver recommended turning the inverter off on the remote when connected to shore power. They say that if your inverter is on, and you lose shore power, your batteries might be depleted without you knowing it is happening. ** the draw of the inverter is not the concern here, but more so the 120V appliances you might leave on that would draw your battery down. So, in a nutshell, use/push the silver button on the remote in (on position) to turn on the inverter to supply 120V power to appliances. Leave the silver button on the remote out (off position) unless you are not connected to show power and wish to run 120V appliance on inverter power. Turning the inverter off when you don’t need it will conserve 12V battery power.

WE ARE NOT ALONE!

Forum is alive and kicking @ 0243 on 04-27-2024.

@Geronimo John - That's a Phase-3 upgrade for us down the road, amigo. The electric over hydraulic disk brake conversion kit's price point has skyrocketed over the years - a decent setup using the preferred Dexter K71-651-00 1600PSI brake actuator runs north of $1,100/wheel; can you spell, OUCH ? We're thinking the larger 12" drums on the new running gear will meet our braking needs and RV camping style for quite awhile. That said, the disk conversion will still stay on our radar, for sure. OBTW: We never come close to the 7k# max GVWR for our camping style, even in the winter months when carrying more gear. We encourage others to do the same, no matter what suspension upgrades are present. "Roll-On" and have fun out there, All! Cheers!

That's exactly our thought process too, Mike. We, like many owners have done, mounted our external 12vDC receptacle on the battery compartment hatch and wired it to the Victron SmartShunt (NEG) and batteries (POS) directly with an inline fuse. Serves both as a solar input from the Renogy 200W module "suitcase" kit and an accessory 12vDC output plug. On cloudy days when the BBs need a bit of a bump in solar, it's a snap to connect the suitcase array to the questionably "weatherproof" receptacle on the battery hatch.

Certainly. Pull forward on light housing: Ignore bulb and remove electrical connection at back:

Well, my Lippert 5200# axles are doing well enough. Probably repack the bearings sometime this summer. I think I might be the only one with Lippert axles, whatever that means. Ha.

Agree, tow vehicle and trailer GVWR should never be exceeded.

Nothing mixed here - I simply don't care for it! ☹️

I was only responding to the section of your post where you said "For those owners that either already have or have switched to the 5200 pound Nev-R-Lube axles you would now effectively have a GVWR of 10,400 pounds upon the installation of these heavier springs." And I responded- "In this scenario, I think the wheels and/or tires would limit most of us below that effective GVWR. Mine wheels are stamped with a 1950# rating." People should make sure that they check their wheel and tire combo if they plan on loading over the factory limits with the the upgraded springs and 5200# axles. Legally, it shouldn't be done anyway, but that's a whole other can of worms!

I will chime in. The Dexter 5200# never lube axles that Oliver retro fit on our Ollie last Oct, are only the larger 12” drums. To my knowledge I don’t believe they are installing disc brakes. Service just grabs a set of Never Lubes from the plant and installs them at the service center.

While EVs may be coming and ICE engines going, it cannot be accomplished on an arbitrary date. Population density and relatively shorter distances in the northeastern corridor of the nation are not the same conditions as west of the Mississippi. A reliable and well spaced charging station infrastructure must exist before mandating the end of ICE vehicles. And then, we will need a reliable 24hr energy infrastructure, capable of supplying the enormous amount of energy to replace all of the BTUs found in the gasoline and diesel in all the vehicles plying our nations's roads. We do not live in ' Fifteen Minute Cities'. We hit the roads and explore . . .

Concur. That’s about all I can say…. Mike

That goes without saying! Mossey

That actually sounds like a great trip, a month going, a month there and a month back. Now if I just could convince Krunch of that! Mossey

FWIW: We like the Suburban water heater. We're used to it, having had one on a couple previous rigs. For our style of camping, it's a nice benefit having that extra 6gal of water along for the ride. Easy enough to winterize, too - if that's in one's storage procedures. Occasionally, we've had to replace the AC and/or DC thermocouples - no biggie, cheap to do. We keep extras in the spares compartment. That said, since we've got no experience with the Truma system, we can't comment - but it would be nice for hot water on demand... @Going Coastal - Very glad you're in the "Happy Wife - Happy Life" mode, brother! It's the preferable mode to stay in, IMO. Thanks so much for posting your project, well done! Cheers!

I sure like your weather proof Anderson port way better than my plastic one. Can you share a cut sheet or purchase info for it? Is it weather proof on the back side as well? Thanks GJ

From a risk management perspective, the three way eventually will cause issues with an OOPS plug in. Why not just use one Zamp port labeled solar input, and a second one next to it labeled Power Port? No confusion that the switch may cause AND you could for the same cost have a solar input and load attached at the same time. Also "Wired straight to the batteries" is something to ponder upon. Suggest having an inline fuse on all inputs/outputs. Just for safety grins. GJ

Were you not happy with the Truma? Just wondering. GJ

Exactly, right on! HA!

And that's if you are only a flatlander. If you go up into real mountains, then I would suggest saying "Should never even come anywhere close to maxing out the capabilities of their rig.". It's always about having a significant margin of safety for your gear, loved ones, and others that may need to get involved.

If you are looking to buy a new Oliver Travel Trailer here are some things to consider. With the implementation of the new dealer network you now have several new options available to you that previously did not exist when you could only go to Hohenwald to buy a trailer. There are two ways to approach the first step. If you live a long way from Hohenwald and don’t want to have to drive that far to see the trailers you should check the Link on the Oliver page that will show you where all the current dealers that will be selling Oliver’s are located. There are currently 18 different locations spread across the United States. There are future plans to add new dealers here and in Canada. With the information on the locations of the dealers, if one is close to you and you want to do business with them that is perfectly fine. If one is no closer to you than Hohenwald you may choose to contact the sales team there. When contacting Hohenwald a member of the sales team will take your personal information and work with you to get you the exact trailer you want in the shortest time possible. They can take an order from you and get you into a queue to have the trailer of your dreams built for you. The current wait time after ordering is around four months. If you live in a state that does not have any dealers, they will see if there is a trailer already built and available at one of their dealers. If so, you could have your new trailer in a matter of days rather than months. Even if there is not one that is just like you desire, if a dealer has a trailer on order that is still early in its build, Oliver will work with that dealer to attempt to have the build altered to be what you want. Doing it this way will still get you a trailer much quicker than starting your build from scratch. If you live in a state that has dealers, Oliver’s agreement with those dealers is that you will be referred to them. Another option that was not previously available to you is that if you already own an RV of some sort and want to trade it in, many of the dealers might be able to do that whereas in Hohenwald, that was not and will not ever be an option. You can also buy a trailer through a dealer, do all the paperwork there and still pick it up in Hohenwald if you want to. And, as always, you are free to buy a trailer and take delivery in Hohenwald if you so choose. Both of these options are a good choice if you want to do a plant tour prior to pickup. At some relatively near future point (certainly this year) their plan is to have all sales conducted through the dealer network. The rumor that they will stop working on trailers older than two years or out of warranty is patently false. Service will continue to be done in Hohenwald. The rumor was started by a fired service employee. He and his wife propagated this rumor as well as other false information about the Oliver TT after he was terminated. It was posted both here and on the various FB pages. He has been terminated there as well and the false statements have been removed. As always, the Oliver sales staff will still be available to assist you and the dealers with any questions and issues. If none of this works for you, my suggestion is to take the list of dealers from the website and call each of them and tell them what you are looking for to see if they have one is stock that would suit your needs.

We leave on Wednesday the 8th. We’ll probably leave late morning.

The DC/DC connection is the primary purpose of my bumper-mount install, but great for a convenient 12v power source. 💥KAPOW!!💥

My new springs should be here next week. That will make The Outlaw Oliver the oldest trailer to have them retrofitted to. I am excited to get them and although I've never had a problem with my original 5-leaf springs that came with the 5200 pound axles, I'm super confident that the new stronger Alcan springs will be much better.

The rod and washer on our Hull #1291 are not rusted either, even though they have been wet many times. They appear to be galvanized steel. Makes we wonder if Oliver recently received a batch of poorly galvanized rods and washers. I concur with Topgun's recommendation: send the photos to Oliver Service via a service ticket, and request a replacement rod, washer and cotter pin.

Had to go back and re-read the initial posting by @FloraFauna to re-frame the issue and get my pea-sized brain box around it. Seems to me that these forums can communicate with local OTT owners to share reputable RV service centers in their region and connect offline by starting a dedicated thread designed to do just that. What am I missing here?

One of the benefits of having owned a BMW motorcycle was that it allowed membership in a club known as the BMW Owners of America. In addition to a monthly magazine, available merch, regional and national rallies, there was a paperback booklet published annually that (on a voluntary basis) contained contact information for any member. This also included additional information as to the "services" that a member might provide to other members - such as - camping space, towing, coffee and conversation, tools to borrow, etc.. And, all BMW motorcycle dealers plus repair shops were listed. It sure would be nice to have something like this for our use, but, given the number of Olivers presently on the road I would think that the cost of compiling, printing and distributing such a thing would be fairly heavy. And, this doesn't include the time and effort to put it together in the first place. Bill

My inverter automatically turns off when not in use but because of old habits, I just turn it on when I need it and shut it off as soon as I am done.

Thanks for your replies, Mike & Carol, and Sea Dawg! Sorry for the response delay, we were packing for our 7 month RV trip to Nova Scotia from Michigan. Day 6 now, Boston! I will have a base + no pets. It might be mostly parked. Tow vehicle: I'll have to get a bigger one. We have a dually for the 43' 5th wheel + Toyota Sierra for my A-Liner Scout for now. I like the Oliver floorplan: rear bathroom makes it much more spacious. Olivers seem to be the best. Why get something else only to move up later? Better to start right at the top!

This is the simple reason an EV truck is not a good TV, and likely will not be in our lifetimes (thinking those of us now at retirement age). But what if solar technology gets to the point that the TT can carry enough capacity to feed the TV? You would need a DC-to-DC charger is reverse! Then I'm in for an EV TV! Technology for technology's sake? I like to see application. But could I afford one? That's like political/government types thinking that everybody who drives an older car today can just buy an EV. They are not cheap. A $16 Range Extender means $16K in batteries and yes, they take space and GVW. "Can the charge cord reach you with TT attached?" Another good point. I only see charge stations at some hotels. Perhaps they're more prevalent along the Pacific coast. I wonder, who is paying for the electricity? RV parks would need dual hook-ups. Commuters will charge overnight without concern. Having a commuter EV that doesn't create emissions, need oil changes, and other maintenance of the internal combustion engine is where the EV will shine.