Leaderboard

Well stated David! $25K in suspension upgrades OMG, on that Thing?! 🤣 Where we live, 8 out of 10 trucks have lifts, and why do they extend wheels past the fenders?! Not a thought given to suspension geometry which keeps the Jeep shops in business. I’d bet Lew was correct, in that this couple did something wrong! Did they follow the torquing instructions? The shackles on our Olivers are cut double-thick steel, with no welds, so no worries! 😎

There have been a few, but they were resolved. In the case of the Overlander and the shackles, it appears that vanity got mixed up in the design with physics. On the surface, it appears that the shackle design with the "A" cutout was a weak point. Alcon's actions to change the design is proof that they thought so as well and commend them for doing so. On the other hand their welding inspector's statements were believeable. My heart goes out to those owners. But who pays is still up in the air. Not knowing the weight of their load on those shackles is not normal for someone who has built the truck. Odd actually. Also not being clear as to how and where they used the truck is not useful. Were they heavy on the springs. Were they abusing their suspension by doing "jumping jacks" with their Overlander. Both could damage the suspension but not yet break it. In time it came apart "for no apparent cause" on the highway. Were there other trucks with the same issue? Bottom line, we need the "Paul Harvy" on this story. ("The Rest Of The Story") GJ PS: I just sent Alcon $$$ for a couple of 5200 Nev-r-Lube's to go with my 2400 Dexter springs. They were $400 less than a great firm in Tulsa. And have the experience on this upgrade for sure. A no worries upgrade. .

Had to get out the old level today…

Will Prowse update.

Current forecast for here in western North Carolina is for the mountain peaks (i.e. elevations above 3500 feet) to get 12 + inches. For the rest of us 4 to 8 inches. And, THIS is the south! Those who live on the coast all the way up through New England will also get hit. Two weekends in a row - we are on a real "roll". Bill

Here in the subtropics, even the Alligators think it's cold... a juvenile out of the water, sunning.

Bill, You won’t regret moving forward on installing the Alcan running gear, and as you pointed out, its not the same HD shackle installed on our Oliver. (Apples to Oranges). The rig in the vid appears to be a “custom home built” I question the engineering even at a glance. I could not be happier with our Alcan running gear. Lew and his team are product knowledge experts in shackles and springs in my experience dealing with Lew and his techs. Alcan has manufactured and sold thousands of springs and shackles to very happy customers. Zero reported issues with Oliver’s using Alcan products that I have heard or read about. Just an observation. 😊

I just read Mountainoliver's thread "Check your leveling jack feet" and was reminded about the story a friend of mine told me last week. He lives in Colorado and was cross country skiing to a high altitude lake to ice fish when he noticed that his Garmin Mini was missing. Even though he skied back the same way he didn't find his Garmin and considered it lost. About a week later he received a call from a fellow that found it and he got it back. The reason he lost it was that the screw/bolt that goes into the rear of the Garmin and attaches a carabiner strap to it had backed out. Upon learning this I checked mine and found that while not tight it was a bit loose. Out comes the blue Loctite and now all is nice and snug. If you have one of these devices - now just might be a good time to check that screw/bolt. Bill

Looks like this second storm will mostly miss us here in CT. Good luck to those still in the path.

We live in North Idaho, where we experience snow and ice. We use a Clamark cover for our Oliver, and it has been excellent. Our Oliver is parked on the side of the house next to the garage and fence, so it doesn't get much direct wind. To protect against any potential damage, we place padding on the sharp corners, such as the bumper and solar panels, ensuring that nothing gets scuffed. I haven't noticed any signs of the fiberglass being scratched since we have a ceramic coating. If it were exposed to more wind, however, that could be a concern. Putting the cover on can be a challenge, but we've developed a great system that makes it relatively easy. When we take the cover off, we roll it up so that it fits in a plastic tote. We roll it in a way that allows us to simply lift it out at the end of the season and place it on top of the Oliver. Then we roll it forward and let it drop off the sides. This method is much easier than the first time we rolled it on on the ground and tried to lift it up and over.

If you have a pancake line, don't melt the base! LOL

Hoosier: Especially if you down the road you may do the bathroom cabinet hatch, cutting the existing towell fixture caulk and removing the unit for your unique situtation would be advisable. You could temp reinstall eacy week, and next spring permenantly reinstall or do the hatch DIY. Don't forget to keep the the bathroom door open. Use of mag catches has been done by many. But for now, take a cloths hanger (Don't cut it) and just bend it into a long triangle with the hook at the top. Slip the body under the dinette cushion with the coat hanger hook holding the door open. When you get pack, unhook the door and push the coat hanger under the cushion. Easy. As Max Burner's spouse was, mine is loving having the sink storage area all to herself. Happy wife, happy life. GJ

YES. Here is Art's (MaxBurner) approach to adding space under the sink. I don't know if he was the first to do so, but I captured his post and used it. it DOES require mod and does provides significant additional storage space. When I did mine, lowered the floor to well below the bottom of the hatch, and extended it as far left and right to gain even more space. Not an easy project, but is one that is not all that hard to do if you are handy. GJ DIY - Art's Bathroom Under Sink Storage Mod.docx

Our Oliver has outside rear jack switches located on the port and starboard sides as well as duplicate switches for each jack located on the inside of the cabin.

This just doesn't pass the smell test🙃

I also store my Oliver remotely outdoors through the winter but do not winterize. All above advice is solid. I use remote temperature sensors and have found that the coldest spot in the basement is in the lower rear of the trailer (storage area) where the water lines run. If that location stays above freezing, I am confident that nothing will freeze. The one additional thing I did was change out my thermostat to one with remote monitoring and control. I chose a Micro-air Easy Touch RV thermostat. It has both remote wifi monitoring and blutooth. https://www.micro-air.com/products_easytouch_rv_thermostat_touchscreen.cfm When temperatures are forecast to stay well above freezing, I can either turn the furnace off (remotely) or set it low (42-45 degrees). When the forecast is for below freezing temps, I turn it up to around 50. My remote sensor will send an alert to my phone if the rear basement approaches freezing temps and I can then turn the thermostat up even more from home. When daytime temps rise above freezing again, I turn the thermostat down to save propane.

Lot's of questions. Did Alcan install or did they? Did they tighten things as specified? Not sure on what bases Alcan claims the mistake is the overland couples. Lot's of unanswered questions.

A neat advertisement for the 2026 OLE2 Platinum Edition. Saw this and thought I would share it. https://www.rvtravel.com/2026-oliver-legacy-elite-2-platinum-fiberglass-travel-trailer-2828/

I think they look really nice as well Bill, I wish they provided more fresh air circulation. The new awning style windows only open 3” when fully extended. We really enjoy the cross breeze our present sliders allow for. I am not a fan of the old time retro look of interior roller privacy shades. Air Screams and SOB’s use this same shade design. Just wonky looking IMHO. It will be interesting to hear the field experience of those with the new window design. 👍🏻 I noticed when watching the video it appears Oliver eliminated the reading light (behind the blue tooth speaker) at the foot of the bed on both sides or maybe my eyes just missed it and its still there. 🤷‍♂️

My 3 Battle Born batteries were installed in December 2020. No issues after lots of use. I’m sticking with them while keeping an eye on any heat or discoloration issues. Mike

We have one BB 100AH 5 years old and two BB 100AH less than 1 year old, We have not experienced any issues with BB batteries so far. We recently installed two Epoch 105AH Smart batteries in Ollie and moved two newer BB batteries to a stationary non RV application.

This is a good video! After seeing this video and the new Alcan springs/shackles installed on Olivers, I'm still going with Alcan springs and shackles on Ollie later this year. This couple's Alcan shackles are not the same design Alcan shackles installed on Ollies.

I'm not experienced with "shrink wrap" - particularly on a fiberglass RV. CalMark covers are relatively expensive but are used by many of us. I've used a CalMark cover for the past ten years and have had zero issues with mold, mildew, scratching, etc.. There are a number of threads and posts here on the Forum in this regard. Good luck. Bill p.s. Perhaps additional information might help in any advice you might receive here - is your storage near the water (salt water)? Is it protected in any way from the wind, is the storage in a "dry" area , on pavement or on gravel or grass? Is there electric available - for heat and/or dehumidifying?

And, this.

I still watch all the new pop-up and hardside truck campers. The new technology amazes me. I do the same with the fiberglass trailers. The grass is always greener. I'm happy with our Oliver and hope we can stay healthy and enjoy another 4-5 years. As far as Morning Star, my issues are no pantry, their using Battleborn Batteries, television placement, lack of storage compared to our LE2, rear side entry, front bed, small closet limited to 4-5 hanging items and zero room for shelves, 650 lbs. +/- heavier than a loaded LE2, leaving little room for everything else. We like to travel with a full tank of water. Also the rear manual jacks are very "Cheesey" compared the the Oliver jacks. Also, the low clearance and their suspension maybe suspect.

John, I think there’s a little more to it than that. I’m happy with my truck and car but I enjoy reading about other brands and recent changes and innovations. Same with my tech (phone, tablet, watch, ring), happy with all but interested in trends. I like my banjos and guitars but read and watch reviews on other manufacturers and luthiers. Etc., Etc. So, I’m interested in the RV industry because I like to keep up on recent innovations, new technology, etc. No reflection on Oliver one way or the other. Just curiosity! Mike

We definitely like the rubber backed woven vinyl floor cover. We use a runner in the main aisle plus an inside door mat that work okay, but they don't stay in place. I've thought about having a custom cut one-piece carpet with bound edges similar to what's shown in the video to cover the entire floor. It would be easy to remove & replace for deep cleaning. Has anyone done this for their Oliver?

This looks like a nice trailer and a good first model for them in the fiberglass space. It’s good that they offer an off-road suspension upgrade. I like the dry bath, big fridge and flooring. The tanks are slightly larger but not enough to make me change. It does look nice on the outside but that’s an individual taste. Competition and innovation is good. We’ll see how they do. Mike

My likes and not likes: LIKES: Removeable floor for outside cleaning. Big size refrigerator 6'8" ceilings Ducted AC/Heat Shower (Dry Bath) NOT LIKES: Rubber torsion axles. This is a deal breaker for us. Had one on a Jayco, will NEVER have another) Low sewer connection Hose storage (Where would you put the 90 degree connection and all the other little things we carry in ours?) Front window (Rock Magnet) Front upper window (Heat Load and future leak potential) Upper cabinet doors (Prefer OTT's options) Convection/Micro at knee height Pantry (As where is it?) TV (Placement on side of trailer. Not viewable from anywhere as displayed in video Dry Shower (Takes up too much space needed for storage) For us prefer OTT's design Black mold looking accents in cabinet tops Several storage areas should have a means for installing shelving Overall, for a first production model, I think their design decisions will appeal to many first time owners. But their design needs some adjustments, just as what The Olliver's did with their first OE... make some and put them out for review and upgrade suggestions. In a few years they would have a trailer that could compete head to head. But with plans of smaller and larger versions, frankly it does not appear that such a slow rollout and improvement of this model is their game plan. In a nut shell: I would not swap my 2018 OTT OE2 for a brand new one of theirs. GJ

I know many Oliver owners have switched to the Alcan 2750 lbs 5 leaf pack springs and are very happy with the switch. So this is just and FYI....a video of a couple that documents their overlanding suspension failure involving Alcan Springs and their Alcan shackles.

I keep it simple and fast: 6" torpedo level, slap it on the entry door threashold for fore/aft. For starboard/port move the level 12" into the entrance. 1/4 bubble is close enough for us. If the refer decides not to work at 1/4 bubble, then it will be my excuse to get an inverter one. Gizmology is great, but can be a PITA too. My torpedo has yet to sink our Ollie! GJ