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OK... Been thinking of this for a while and with some encouragement from @Geronimo John - it's probably a good a time as ever to post this. So, last month the traveling Knuckleheads and I visited the "first come - first served" Oliver Campground for some maintenance activities. We pull in around mid-afternoon knowing there's likely to be some serious WX coming in our direction. Having never been to the much touted-about showroom and maintenance facility located in an industrial area "across the tracks" in Hohenwald, the puppies and I met all the fantastic people in the showroom and general workshop area. Josh showed us all the new upgrades to the 2024 models and Magnus and Oscar approvingly inspected every square inch of them. We were adorned with swag like one couldn't believe (albeit the coveted "Ravel Cups" were no where to be seen)... Retiring to the Casablanca as the only Oliver in the campground, we threw on some Chris Stapelton and settled in to chill for a bit. A few minutes later, a rap at the main entry hatch... "Sir, since you're still coupled, it would be advisable to bring your rig through the main gate and under the protective metal roof by the shop". Assuming he (I'm thinking it was Mike) knows the WX patterns a ton better than us - I "rogered-up" and by the time I managed to snuggle the Tundra under the awning, the hail went from pea size to "no SH!T" golfball size. Never experience hail balls like that. The noise was louder than sitting behind the JBD waiting to launch with an F-8 in full burner on the CAT! IMG_1665.MOV It lasted about 20 minutes or so... The Oliver folks literally save our Tundra from being destroyed by the storm's hail - our metal panels aren't like the thickness of trucks back in the day - they're very thin. Jason Essary came up during the deluge, explaining that they get this type of storm often and I asked about the 6 or 7 brand new OTTs in the parking lot totally exposed to the hurling ice balls like ours was... He said, "No worries, until those hail balls get to the size of frozen chickens, they'll be good as gold!" WOW! Our's was completely being pelted by the hail as Jason explained this and sure enough - no issues! We'd just like to take this moment to thank ALL of the OTT employees that were there that day, helping us save the mighty TV, our Tundra... Cheers, ALL!

A great story and another testament of how decent ALL the folks at Oliver really are. Thanks for sharing Art!

Art, Thanks for sharing the story and video! We have never had Ollie in a hail storm, good to know how tough an Oliver is!!!!!!!!!!

What? They didn't usher you onto the Sales floor? They didn't include a complimentary polish (of course the Toyota AND Oliver should be included in this)?😇 Seriously - People that I've spoken with have no personal reference from which to compare the folks at Oliver against virtually any other business. So, when I start extolling the virtues of this company I'm met with disbelief and/or that look that says since I own an Oliver, of course, I would believe that the RV and the company are the best ever. Art's video will help me get the point across - THANKS Art! Now I have ammo. Bill

I have the black seals. I take them out every year, and clean them with the same soap I'm washing the trailer with. After they're dry I give them a good wipe down with 303 Protectant. https://www.amazon.com/303-30313-CSR-Protectant-Plastic-Fiberglass/dp/B00KN0UOEE This has worked well and has kept the rubber supple, although they have shrunk a bit and don't fit completely around the perimeter of the windows. Maybe an inch short, the gap I place at the top. Can't remember if it came this way. I May replace them just for the tighter fit, but the 303 has otherwise kept them in good shape 8 years later. Dave

The machine shop slotted each mounting hole on the aluminum spare tire mount lower by 7/16" retaining original hole width. This allowed raising and centering the new Goodyear Endurance ST225/75R/15 spare tire fitting easily in the original rear fiberglass spare tire cover. 🙂 Keeping 16" LT tires on our LE2, just wanted a higher capacity spare tire that fits in the original fiberglass spare tire cover. Understand 2015 and 2016 LE2 Ollies had this 15" spare tire cover with later years having larger spare tire covers to accommodate 16" LT tires. Another way to modify this aluminum spare tire mount would be to relocate the round tube in the center by moving it up by 7/16" leaving the mounting plate in the original location. I normally keep Ollie's spare tire in the pickup bed, but when I started this project wanted a Load Range E spare trailer tire that would still fit in the original fiberglass spare tire cover. Before modification: After modification:

It was just the last test stage for the new trailers...after the leak test.

Airstreams get totaled out by insurance companies every year due to hail storms (too costly to repair) especially here in the southeast. One of the many reasons I love the fiberglass hulls, more durable and cheaper to repair! Not to mention the custom made aluminum frame, handmade wiring looms, made in TN, etc, etc, etc. 🙂

I'm thinking the black option actually looks a bit better than even new white ones...

OK... that's just too cool for school! Just say'n... However, I'm thinking like @jd1923 - and might think about disconnecting the 7-pin hot wire (the black one) and seeing if the Girard still behaves that way.

We received the recall notice today, and inspected our 7000# bulldog hitch/coupler. Then completed and mailed the enclosed coupler recall short form to Oliver stating that our bulldog coupler is stamped 7000# and Hull #634 XPLOR is in compliance. Done! ✅ Onward!

In early 2017 I was a year from retiring. My goal was to purchase an RV. I knew exactly what I wanted as a result of an experience with my Father. I was 5 or 6 years old and we were up in the Big Bear area of CA. A truck pulling a large silver thing pulled into the parking lot. I said "Daddy is that a Space Ship?". He replied with great pride, "No Son, that's an Airstream Trailer, made in America. The best in the world. So during the ensuing 60 years, that was the trailer I was going to buy. But which one? For months in 2017 I studied, wrote, and rewrote 20 times my "Desired Trailer Attributes" document. During the 2017 Christmas break, my brother and I were down in Matagorda and an Airstream 26 footer was pulled into the parking lot. About every square foot of it It had been beaten to hell the day before. I spoke to the owner and asked what happened. It was a Thunder Boomer with pea sized to 1/2" hail that totaled his rig. I asked what he was going to do. He indicated that for $48K the factory will reskin it. That's when I decided that my AS dream was a non-starter. In January I had completed my Desired Trailer Attributes, and my summary of the various MFG's RV's. Here is what I wrote for the AS: AIRSTREAM TRAILERS: Sport 22 FB, 21.6’ x 7’3”, 6’3 interior height, GVW 4500, Dry weight 3600#, Single torsion axle. HAIL DAMAGE CONCERN. TILT. That pretty much launched me to a Factory Tour at OTT where I met Jason and the Team. That made my decision to get an Oliver. Art: Your story about the concern of our OTT family and your truck, and the lack of concern for the Ollie's in the damaging hail storm is legendary. Thanks for sharing it! GJ DESIRED Trailer Attributes.docx

Actually, someone with an E-2 and 2 awnings pulled out of a campsite with an awning out and ripped it nearly off. They had to completely remove the awning to be able to leave. This was maybe 2 years ago. So then why didn't it retract.g guess it was already out, so did that prevent the retraction? I will look for the post. B Being an engineering nerd, gives people reasons to dive deeper into an issue. Not all bad

That will be hard to top, more like impossible to top😎

Huh? NOW you're talk'n! HA!

We don't use our AC very often, but when we do it would be nice if it didn't scare the dog and stess-out the cat. I didn't want to buy one of the newer (quieter) models just yet, so I looked into how I could insulate the stock Dometic unit better and achieve a noticeable reduction in noise. It took a 3-step approach, but I got it down to 65dB which is a significant reduction from the 75+dB level before. I took the attached dB reading in the center of our LE2 right under the front of the AC unit. I have attached photos of the 3 items that I added; (1) dense foam insulation to fill the hollow area to the rear of the return air intake vents between the roof-top unit and the ceiling panel, (2) I added a .4" layer of stick-on foam insulation over the very thin layer that came on the inside of the ceiling panel along with another piece of dense foam between the the center sliding vent cover (which is right below the fan motor) and the added layer of foam insulation (I did this so the cool air would be directed out the 2 side vents, and the front and rear vents instead), and (3) I installed an AC compressor noise reduction blanket. We are very happy with results!!! Joe/769

This may apply to you if you have to replace one of the original 'Bright Way' AGM batteries supplied on earlier OTT's. Ours is a 2020, LE II. I am not familiar with other batteries physical attributes which OTT may have used over the years, so it may/may not apply. The carry handle for the Bright Way's sits imbedded in the top of the battery and can be lifted up to carry. If a Briteway is replaced with SoB that has the carry handle that extends over the side that hooks into a collar, it will be a tighter fit for that battery to 'play' alongside the Bright Way's. Worse yet, that side carry battery will cause those batteries post/terminal to be just a little bit further away from the post/terminal it needs connect to. For me it was LIKE 1/2 INCH further, rendering that old cable to be too short. For reference this is one of the longer 2-0 cables that connects the Curb-side terminal to the Street-side terminal. I did think for about a nano-second about using a cutoff tool to remove the offending side carry on the new battery, BUT NO. And there are probably some Electrical/Mechanical engineer types on the forum, that have a simple work around which does not require a new longer cable. I am not one of those blessed individuals, but I do try to keep my wiring mods simple, especially in and around the battery compartment. I am also not one of those that have the hydraulic cable crimpers or a supply of the heavier cables or connectors to just make one up. So, not to drag this out any longer... I had a new cable made (I went with 1" longer) and all is well, it now has a slight arch to the cable, in case I end up replacing another Bright Way with SoB. A bonus is, my used and maybe needed in the future cable, now resides in my used and maybe needed in the future parts box, in the dark regions of the basement. B~Out

We received our recall notice yesterday. Thankfully, we have the correct hitch. 😊

David, Appreciate that. Thanks, Bill

Bill, A very clean retro fit! Nice job! David

We escaped the storm leaving the day you arrived! Had lots of rain and small hail in East Tennessee but nothing like what you went through. Mike

I wonder if the safety override still works for those of us with lithium batteries? The 12V feed from the truck isn't connected to the batteries. Is it still connected to the awning? Will have to try it sometime.

The compressor does make a little extra noise that the blanket helped to dampen a bit. However, it made the least amount of difference of the three things that I did, but every little bit helps! The attached blanket is the one that I used. It was a challenge to get it wrapped around the compressor. Joe/769

I think you are correct. The thing I really wondered was what the E-1 got before they started building E-2's. That wouldn't affect this.

Thanks @John Dorrer, it’s got to be that the sensor reads voltage on the black wire from the 7-pin connector. Sorry for being an engineering-nerd! The other wires are all open, no voltage when the TV is parked, wires for lights, turn signals, brakes are all open (off) when parked. Kind of a crazy precaution. Can you see driving away with an awning open? Check your mirrors is first rule of driver’s ed. Much more likely and damaging is driving away with a stabilizer Jack down. Like you, we very often camp with TV connected. It’s safer when boondocking in the mountains, as I want to stay connected on lose ground far up a dirt road. I don’t want to disconnect just the coupler EVER, since if you forget to recouple, you have bigger issues in having no trailer brakes and lights. If you want to negate that feature, you could disconnect the black wire at the coupler (or at the awning, which may be harder to locate). I have already disconnected the black at the busbar, since I don’t want to be camped and have house batteries going low on SOC, sucking power from my starter battery (OTT does this only on LI installs). The awning would be connected either way. I’ll bet that will do it for anybody who would prefer to use this model awning with the TV towing coupler connected.

That person didn't clarify whether they had an Elite 1 or 2. Not sure if Oliver was installing 7,000 on Elite 1's also

Not sure other than he said there was some form of sensor that triggered the awning to close

Same here - indicated inspection was completed by "SELF".... Mailed, one and done for Hull #226.

We're north of 35k miles with zero issues - if we make it to 75k we might be good. The spread sheet showed very few failures in the higher mileage range. The engine/drivetrain warranty is 100k, it would be nice to get a new motor at about 99k! HA!

@NomadLife Hey KJ, Here you go. We have had this installed 4 years and are very happy with it. It has a manual key lock for both the handle and dead bolt. Absolutely no issues and very handy if you just want to use the key pad while camped. Naturally you will need to change batteries out once a year. It will let you know that through a lower beeping tone that your bats are getting low. We have never had a problem with our RV lock and the install took about 15 minutes tops taking my time. Pro tip - We also replaced our key pad with the silicone pad. They run sales often. https://www.rvlock.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=1748190371&utm_content=69572607838&utm_term=rvlock compact&gadid=392517272318&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9vqyBhCKARIsAIIcLMGRkbWSRFcRLVHYMe9o6_qj19LLEKcw6kNk9rEErXwBIBWwKcBZSOAaAuDZEALw_wcB We purchased this one - I would still double check with RV lock to ensure your ordering the correct lock for fitment. https://www.rvlock.com/products/rvlock-v4-0-w-integrated-keypad-for-rvs

If you stay at the campground in Grand Marais drive to the end of the Gunflint Trail and back.

@Just Joe - Great move, Joe! Will do something similar to our "After-burner Penguin" before our next trip. Thanks for posting your optimum results....

I've watched a number of YouTube vids on how to lessen the A/C noise of RV A/C units. Your approach looks similar to many - a combination of sound deadening materials plus smoothing the airflow inside the unit. Nice job with nice results. Thanks for posting this. Bil

@Just Joe We chose not to continue with the noise level of the Demonic Penguin and moved on the Truma Aventa Retro fit professionally installed by Oliver. We could not be happier. With your handy work, hopefully now you can listen to music, talk on the phone and even watch a movie. Necessity is the mother of invention, nice work! 👍🏻

Just saw that someone on the Oliver Trailers Owners FB group said their 2019 has a 5k coupler on it.

We don't have an Elite II but I went out to check on the unit that we have on our 2023 #1403 Elite and found that our trailer is equipped with a 2" ball 7000# coupler.