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Hi everyone, I just joined the forum and wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been interested in travel trailers and RV systems for a while and recently started learning more about the technical side of things, especially electrical setups, batteries, and solar systems. I don’t own an Oliver yet, but I’ve been researching different trailer options and the Oliver models caught my attention because of their fiberglass construction and overall build quality. I’m also really interested in how people are setting up lithium batteries, solar charging, and energy management for off-grid camping. There seems to be a lot of great knowledge in this community, so I’m looking forward to learning from everyone here. Thanks for having me and I’m excited to be part of the forum.

When I replaced my factory D35 axles with D52's last year, the brake wiring was an option. Based on other OTTO experience’s repairing the brake wiring inside the axles, I chose pigtails for each hub and used hose clamps to attach PVC conduit to the axle and ran the wiring through the conduit. Was that the right thing to do? Time will tell! Mossey

I haven't examined these shades in this regard. However, I believe this would be a good job for a 3-D printer. A glued or snap-on shade could be drawn in free CAD software, such as Tinkercad. The drawing can be saved as an STL file (for 3D printer) and shared in any of the free design sites such as Thingiverse where anyone can download it. If you don't know someone with a 3D printer, there are plenty of local and on-line services that would print them for a small fee. Shades could be printed in any of the numerous available colors and materials. Basic PLA (plant based plastic) or ABS would be perfect. You could make it more stylish than a pipe fitting, and refine the shade thickness to diffuse the light without glare. This would require experimentation to get it right. I'm not overly keen on the idea, but if you want to sketch something up to get started, I'd be willing to collaborate with you to design a decent shade. I have plenty of white PLA and white ABS on hand for prototypes. Cheers! Geoff

You could try Gorilla Clear Grip. It’s a clear, flexible, fast drying adhesive, nothing like original Gorilla Glue, or RTV silicone. It works like a contact cement. You put a thin layer on both surfaces, let dry for a few minutes, then stick it on. No need to clamp or hold it for more than a few seconds. I buy it at Home Depot, use it around the house for special projects. .https://gorillatough.com/product/gorilla-clear-grip

I will second the compost toilet choice. Never wait in line at a dump station, never waist a single gallon of fresh water flushing the toilet. With only 32 gallons of fresh water you can extend your dry camping significantly by economizing your fresh water. In the same line of thinking, getting the big lithium package empowers you to dry camp in complete silence for extended periods, and even use your AC for short periods before bedtime and replenish the batteries with the solar if you have good sun exposure. At the annual rally every year, there’s always a few people that ask the question, “ how hard/expensive is it to upgrade from AGM to the Lithium package”, and every year Jason has to explain it’s much more expensive then ordering it up front and quite involved. The entire electrical system, excluding the house wiring, has to be changed out. It can be done, and it can be DIY’d later for less, but the integrated system from the factory functions very well, and the components are premium quality. Second awning? I don’t think it’s worth the price for what it’ll get used for. Good luck with your decision, I think you’ll be very happy own an Oliver for your traveling future. Take the factory tour for sure!👍

Molin - Welcome to the Forum! Besides reading through the posts by fellow members, you can also go to the Oliver University (left click on "Home" at the top of this page, then left click on "resources" and the left click on "Oliver University". As you read, if there is something that doesn't make sense drop a question here. Also, at some point you may wish to call the Oliver Sales Staff. Unlike most other companies that you have probably dealt with, the Oliver Staff will not pressure or "bug" you. Finally, you might also want to ask the Oliver Sales Staff to put you in touch with a current Oliver owner who is willing to give you a tour of their Ollie. While Olivers are not suited for everyone, they are certainly a great canvas that can be tailored to many different styles of camping/RVing. Bill

The female side is 1/4 tapered. This allows reusing the straight adapter that was originally on the regulator. These adapter fittings have a check valve built in which needs to be included in the assembly. 👍

Nice mod. A question about the elbows: You indicate they are 'street', are these 1/4" female NPT or 1/4" inverted flare on the input (pigtail) side? Thanks Tim

We enjoyed our stay at Clear Spring, but we like to stay clear of I-30 and I-40. We usually head to Texas down through TN, MS, LA, into Texas, spending some time on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

You might want to take a look here too. I have seen some really good deals on preowned late model Olivers that could save you a substantial amount of money. This link may or may not work depending on whether or not you have a FB account. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OliverforSale

We arrived in Hohenwald this evening for our appointment to get our battery box fixed. We’re the only ones here in the campground, so I hope that means our trailer will get their full attention tomorrow! We stayed at Clear Springs COE campground on Wright Patman Lake just outside of Texarkana on the Texas side last night. We’ve stayed there many times, it’s about a days drive from San Antonio, a good stop over when heading east. Here we are at the Oliver campground. We have it all to ourselves.

Either get the factory rearview camera or plan on installing one soon after purchase. The second shore power inlet and second propane outlet can be very useful if you plan on doing a bunch of cooking outside, camping at places that have electric hookups and/or plan on a generator. There is an old saying - "always give the man a chance to say no". In the case of the Oliver, that would mean that you should negotiate your best price and then ask for a little help (discount) off that price. In any case I would not expect anything more than 1 or 2 grand discount. Or, perhaps you could ask for them to sweeten the deal with something that caught your eye on the sales floor - camping rug, grill, chairs, fire pit, etc.. Perhaps Oliver has a floor model that comes close to what you are looking for and they might be interested in making you a "deal" on that one. It never hurts to ask. Good luck! Bill

I don't even use tire minders, but I still installed metal valve stems on all 8 wheels of our rig! And when you replace your valve stems, have them balance your wheels with the tire-minders installed (understood the don't weigh much, but why not?). 😎

I had to take one of my pins off the ring, put it on the workbench, and I used WD-40 over and over again to work it into the pin, standing up on end (locking-balls) facing down, and worked the button until it would stay freed up. I kept flushing it until about 40 gallons of rust came out of the pin and I saw clear WD-40 flowing. I then used to dry lube and worked it into the pin, constantly pushing the button to work it through. That was 2 or 3 years ago and that stubborn button pin has been fine since. Might be one of those annual things-to-do to put on the list, that I don't have yet. LOL

Jolli Olli is hiding in the coastal fog at Galveston Island SP. 4'+/- Male Western Diamondback along the boardwalk to the beach. A bit too close for comfort.

I just had that happen yesterday.