Leaderboard

Hanging out at Glacial Lakes State Park (near) Starbuck Minnesota. Our second time here as the campground hosts. Been here since the first of July and leaving the 29th. I saw a camp host at another campground that put out hummingbird feeders, so I thought I’d give it a try. This isn’t “elegant” by any means. I grabbed an old fishing rod and secured the handle end under the edge of the A/C - twist-tied it to the TV antenna to keep it from coming loose. (Extreme vibration of our love-to-hate Dometic Penguin 2) Hummers showed up less than 24 hours later. I have it rigged just outside of the rear window so we can relax in bed and watch them come and go. IMG_9854.mov

The ones on the 2027's are completely different and should not suffer this same fate.

For those owners that want to follow this story, please do so at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OllieOwners/permalink/2252240891847686/ I don't want to see this thread turn into "War and Peace" like the Alcan one did.

These windows on the 2026 models are the ones that only open 3" at the bottom. The 90 degree windows are only on the 2027 models and should not be affected as the design is completely different from the ones on the 2026 models.

Welcome and Congrats and enjoy the delivery day! There is something really special about taking delivery of a brand new Oliver, it was for us. Before you know it your day will be here!

Welp, after first talking to Anita in 2021 and putting maybe 30k miles on the microminnie we ended up with, we paid for an X23 build slot today. We live in SETX and have been scheming for an Oliver for a while now. Did the factory tour 2 years ago. We should be taking delivery during our annual trip to Tenn. to see family. Decided to skip thr solar awning -- spider sense tells me we'd break it somehow. We'll catch flack, but we'll be using our 3rd gen Tacoma as a TV for a good while. No plans for mountains, and when we do we'll get a full-size. We live in SETX, and it is _flat_ here.

Excellent point! As others and self, the best position with the three-way is having fans in the upper vent whereby the fans blow outward and thus, pull air upward and out.

Good info above. Many have found that dishwasher pods work very well, as well. They are near zero-suds and store well for a year or so. Regardless after cleaning and dumping I rinse at least once to clean off any residue from the valve seals. GJ

As JD pointed out natural convection will be low to high. Adding the fan above to move that hot air out is from an engineering perspective logical. Doing so puts the refer cabinet into a slight negative pressure condition. On the flip side, for those of us with the three-way there is another more important reason that I feel needs to be considered. The three-way units may be used on gas. Burning gas can, and does, omit some by-products that can harm. Like CO for example. If you set your fans up as a pusher (Moving air into the refer cabinet, and your seals on the cabin side are not perfect (And NONE of them are), you would be in effect giving the bad stuff a direct powered path into the cabin. You and your traveling partners may not wake up as a result........ This is why mechancal rooms are properly designed to be negative air pressure to occupied spaces. If yours is pushing air into the refer cabinet, I emplore you to change it. GJ

I found this posted by Jessica Taylor on the FB page. She does not seem to be a member here on the forum. It's not good news but it bears repeating for all the anti-FB owners. "Second camping trip since getting hull 1701 back to Alaska in May and one of our windows shattered while pulling into our campsite. Looks like the opening arms broke and may have come out of the slider bar at bottom of window and hit the glass causing it to shatter. The glass is broken, the arms are broken, and the sliding bar is on the road to the campsite never to be found again. We noticed on our trip home to Alaska and on our next camping trip that the windows work themselves loose as you drive, because of this event if you have a 2026 you may want to check window tightness often throughout your travels! Has anyone else had a window break on their 2026 Oliver? It’s the weekend so will call service Monday, but am curious if anyone else has had this happen. Have been 100% happy with our new camper except the windows. Bill is going to look at the window on the street side bed in a bit because it looks like that one’s arms are out of the slide as well and may be broken. Not happy with these windows at all. Not to mention the fact that I pray this tape doesn’t ruin the paint. Oliver Travel Trailers we will call Monday and I’m sure this will all get cleared up Adding again, all of the windows in the Oliver are broken this way except the bathroom window. We will have to tape all of the windows closed and possibly tape all of the arms down to the frame to get home without further glass shattering because the glass bounces freely and the arms move about freely. The arms seem to act as a shatter point when they poke the glass just right. I have just placed a service ticket on their website as suggested. I will also keep gaffers tape on hand from here on out as suggested. 2026 owners, be very careful when traveling. I’m not sure that constantly tightening your windows throughout your travels would have solved this. The arms are clearly not built to handle this job as evidenced by all of them breaking on a brand new camper." https://www.facebook.com/groups/OllieOwners/permalink/2252240891847686/

Yes, by the photo from FB these hinges are 2026 the awning style windows with the 3” opening at the bottom.

Back to the drawing board on awning windows.🤔 The key question is are these the new 90 degree opening awning windows Oliver has since began installing, or the previous model awning windows that only opened 3” at the bottom?

That’s kinda my next thought. With the inner/plastic “track” in place, you really can’t get too the hole where the screw holding the stopper is. Unless you’re an endodontist and used to working down inside small, wet areas. 😂 I figured I could cut off that end of the track as the stopper & screw fit down inside of it. That would give me a better look at the hole in the frame and the option of either replacing the stopper & screw and having better access to seal it and having the screw length be able to get a better grip. Or - just doing as you suggest with some waterproof sealant. And a pain? By all means. These windows are a disaster from design to operation. WHY in heaven’s name would someone design a window that is so fussy that a little dirt or some bits of tree cause it to leak? Even worse - making holes in the wet part of the frame to install things that are GOING to get bumped and dislodged. (Slide the window a bit too far open? You just compromised that weak seal. It really makes me wonder about Oliver’s selection of these windows - and some other accessories as well. The fiberglass hull is great - but not many of the things bolted onto it are equal to the hull.

Sorry for the delay. Traveling myself. Short answer is: No. They have one with a long tail and without the male end. This one is like an extension with a male and female ends. Save the $$ and but it with just the female plug for the TV and a long cord to get well into your Ollie. GJ

I replaced a broken screen clip yesterday. $8.50 plus shipping for a one inch piece of plastic that must cost $0.02 to manufacture. Since I had it open, I took a picture of my wiring. Love the new switch. We can just leave the fan door open, rain or shine, for ventilation and push the button once for fan ON and push it later for fan OFF. 😎

Congrats from Hull #1045, Jolli Olli. Happy Camping.

My Tacoma was a 2012 and I had installed the TRD Supercharger, so plenty of power. The limitation was weight and range. Be careful not to overload - tongue weight, your body weight and cargo add up fast. I was stopping every 200 miles or less to fill the gas tank. Also, be aware that the overall weight of the Tacoma makes it easier for the trailer to push around in certain circumstances. I was always cautious on downhills and downhill curves. We’ve always liked the Tacoma’s we’ve owned, they just aren’t optimal for towing a 6,000 pound paperweight! After upgrading to a couple of half tons we’ve now been towing with a 2500 diesel for the past 5 years and the difference is night and day. A Tacoma will do the job, just be wary of its limitations! Mike

Congratulations and welcome to the family. It's exciting!

Sometimes Mother Nature has a very kind way of saying "Good morning".

We all have our priorities. There is a definite advantage to not adopting the latest and greatest technology. If I tore the P2 out when the -first- “so much better” Air Conditioner (which I think was the Truma) - I’d be kicking myself now wishing I’d waited fir the Houghton. Oh wait, the flavor of the month is now “Chill Cube”. Who knows, maybe by the time I get around to replacing our original A/C - the ChillCube with be a couplea hundred bucks cheaper. More likely - something even better will be on the market by 1Q27 - which is the first opportunity I’ll have to rework anything. Same with my “obsolete” flooded cell lead acid batteries. Lithium is cheaper NOW that it was when we first purchased our trailer - and there’s more options. My original batteries still have some life left in them. But - WHEN it’s time to retire them, I’ll consider the options and likely have a bigger selection and the lower prices that come with not buying when everybody’s rabid about the latest and greatest. We did replace the OEM television - but only with another same size television that’s a bit less flaky. But come to think of it, we didn’t buy a travel Trailer to sit inside and watch television. Word is - that people go to different places to go outside and look around. We’ve even “hiked”! (Can you believe it?!) OMG! I never realized you were so addicted! Don't people go “camping” to disconnect? Maybe even commune with nature?! Put aside the “devices”? (BTW - the folks who accused us of “glamping” consider “camping” to be that thing that people do with tents and sleeping on the ground in “sleeping bags”. Camping apparently isn’t a black or white proposition.)

Hey, our's was not brand new and it was still really special 😉 Welcome to the clan!

Welcome! I initially towed with at Tacoma as well. It didn’t take long to upgrade to a half ton. Will be interested in how it goes for you. Mike

Congratulations and welcome to the Oliver world!! Many good times ahead, I am sure.

Jd, thanks for the complimentary words as always! I mentioned the Auto Electric Specialist option because many folks may not know it’s a thing. It’s an ASE recognized field and most areas have them. We actually have three exclusive Auto Electric businesses here in small town Eureka. I also remember at least a couple of them when I lived in the Phoenix area near you. I don’t rule out that the truck has a problem, but I believe it’s the trailer because the dealer cleared the truck, and there were no other trouble codes. Wiring issues were found in the trailer and the repairs made the issue go away temporarily, so odds are that’s the source. Electrical problems can be very elusive, and often beyond DYI electric testing skills. My mention of a possible brake controller problem, or PWM digital interfaces, was merely meant to show that the problem could be almost anywhere, and one must consider that in their repair decisions. After several mechanics failed to find the problem, it’s reasonable to assume it’s not a simple problem to find. That’s why it would be “lucky” to find it with simple tests. My suggested test might find a ground problem, which would explain both the brakes and the flickering lights. However, intermittent problems, high resistance connections and shorts, degraded brake controllers, etc., could all cause similar symptoms, and they can be very hard to find. You'r right about the black wire, I must of had a brain embolism on that one. And I should clarify that the junction box is a likely place for problems to occur, but I’d probably start testing from the main ground bus under the dinette, and work backwards to the truck — only if there was high resistance or an open… keeping in mind that the brake circuit probably branches out separately from the junction box which further complicates testing. Also I didn’t mean to shut-down your emergency brake breakaway switch amperage test idea. However, it’s fed directly from the battery and a completely separate circuit from the TV. In fact, your low amperage readings didn’t compute with expected amperage for 4 brakes, so perhaps the switch only controls the brakes for one axle. Regardless, it’s doubtful that a problem in that circuit would show-up as a TV brake issue. Also, the hot side of the TV brake wire could create similar symptoms if there was a short to ground. That could be even more tricky to find. Some might use a Megger to test the wire insulation… which is over kill for 12v circuits. A jiggle test with a multimeter is the way to go, but it’s hit and miss. Anyway, see how quickly it gets complicated. I don’t like to throw out too much detailed information to confuse people, but I re-iterate that there’s more to it than folks might realize, and that’s why there are so many auto electric specialist’s. Hope that clarifies things! Cheers! Geoff

The Obey and Obed are two separate rivers. The Obey river where rideandfly stayed is on the Dale Hollow Lake near the KY and TN state line. The Obed River is a NPS Wild and Scenic River located a little further south in Morgan and Cumberland counties of TN.