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For the sake of accuracy, since prospective owners will be reading this thread, so far only the Lukens have experienced this sort of frame flexing. There is of course a disagreement among owners about the wisdom of raising the wheels off the ground using only the jacks, for the reasons that Steve & Tali mentioned. But I've searched the forum and asked for other people to post if they've experienced the frame flexing problem to see if indeed this is 'normal' for an Oliver, but so far, it's only the Lukens who have posted about it. It's a pretty major problem that we're talking about, so if it were common, you'd expect more than one owner mentioning it over the years. There would have to be considerable evidence to convince me that there is anything 'normal' about not being able to close the door. I would consider that to be nothing short of either a structural failure due to damage or construction error, or inadequate design. And my fear if that were happening would be that constant deflection over the design limit would eventually lead to a catastrophic failure of one or more of the aluminum welds at the front of the frame near the door. It could be that one of these welds has already failed, hence the increased deflection. For that reason, I am firmly steadfast in my recommendation to the Lukens that they speak with Oliver about this. Of course every beam deflects, but every beam is designed to be within a specific deflection limit for a given weight. When you jack up the trailer, the loads on the frame will change and it will deflect a bit differently, so you'll likely hear it creak a bit as the shell shifts on the frame and that is certainly 'normal'. And since beams flex proportionally to the weight applied, if you overload the trailer or place a heavy point load near the door, it's certainly possible that the frame would then flex beyond it's designed limit, only because you've exceed the loads that the frame was designed for. How much weight? No idea, but for a uniform load, it certainly should be more than the 7000lb limit of the trailer. For point loads, you'd have to experiment. To address the danger of actually bending the jacks or frame at full extension with the wheels off the ground, another solution might be to install some adjustable diagonal braces like I see on many RV's. Though Steve and Tali's solution of just blocking up so that the jacks aren't fully extended is probably the easiest solution and a best practice anyway. Another little correction from above - if the trailer is lifted entirely onto the jacks, the frame will supported by three points, and as a result won't have any twisting forces applied to it. If you tilt it out of whack, of course, you'll introduce bending moments at all of the jack connections since gravity will be pulling at an angle to the columns and the weight of the trailer will be working against you - but you wouldn't do that unless the site is too sloped to get the trailer leveled, and I think in that situation, caution would dictate that you don't want wheels off the ground (or that you find a better spot to camp). But apart from that, when we're talking about the twisting forces on the jacks, we're talking about wind loads and the incidental side to side motions from people moving about inside, which I'd have to hope are well within the design limits of the mounts.

Since the issue of frame flexing, leveling with jacks, et al. has come up in multiple threads, I spoke with Jason yesterday as to just what info was being given out at the factory during plant tours, phone inquiries, etc. In the old days (circa 2008) we were told that the purpose of the jacks was to raise, lower, level and stabilize the trailers. When we took ownership of our 2014 model nothing was said to the contrary. In full disclosure, probably since this was our second Oliver, we weren't told really much of anything. We have always used the rear jacks to lift and level both of our Oliver's and we have never experienced any cracking of the gel-coat. I would expect that flexing of the frame is "normal." That meaning, if you lift one side of the trailer significantly greater than the other you are naturally going to put a certain amount of twisting force on the frame. Is this OK? Probably for short periods of time. I would not recommend leaving it that way over the winter. I learned from Jason that the concern is about flexing the jack attachment points on the frame and the factory position is that the jacks should only be used to stabilize the trailer. It is their opinion that, with the exception of changing a tire, they should not be used to completely lift the weight of the trailer. All three jacks are made by the same manufacturer with the rear two made especially for Oliver. They all have the same rating. Steve's opinion is that the jacks are fully capable of lifting the full weight of the trailer. If this were not true the front jack should never be use for lifting (it does, however, have a completely different mounting system from the rear jacks.) As I see it, the problem is not with the jacks but with the way they are mounted to the frame. At full extension, there could be a lot of leverage and torque on the attachment point. For this reason we have always put 11 inch blocks under the rear jacks and rarely extend them past about 4 inches. Individual owners will have to make up their own minds as to their leveling needs. As for the gel-coat cracks in a Casita, their hulls average about 3/16" thick. There are areas of the Oliver hull that are over 2 inches thick! Our hulls are much more substantial than any of the others.

Whoever parked their Oliver Legacy Elite II next to Atalaya in Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina this past week created a huge problem! We happened to be camping in the park with our little R-Pod 178 when we saw your Oliver. You weren't home, but we walked all around it. You cost us $15.00 in extra data charges while camping researching your incredibly beautiful TT! You created an obsession by both of us to learn everything we can about Olivers! Upon our return home, you have cost us hours of "productive" house work time while we try to figure out how to get one! So...whoever you are...know that when we get one...it's your fault!! Thanks a lot, fred

I moved our website to a new web host early this week. Has anyone noticed any issues? Is the load time better?

There will be new models of the Elite and the Elite II Also, there will be frames available to see the underside. Oliver will have an Open House to showcase the manufacturing process

I'm not sure if there will be new models there, but there will be lots of owner trailers you can see. Mike

Also putting refrigerator on propane while running ac helps..

I don't have a cargo door on my Elite, but on my battery box door there is a cable. One side is riveted to the trailer body and the other has a small aluminum plate that has been tapped for two screws to hold the steel 'catch' to which the cable attaches to. The aluminum plate is then glued to the door. Sounds like your door has insulation on it? That could be a complication but if you have an aluminum plate like I do and it has come off the fiberglass door, then I would use this adhesive to glue it back on: http://www.westsystem.com/ss/convenient-repair-packs-provide-a-quick-fix/ All this may or may not apply to your situation, but just in case.... Prep the area well. Get all the old adhesive off, sand the area well including the back of the plate, and wipe down with MEK. I would also drill a few extra holes in that plate to act as keys for the epoxy when you glue it back on. You could even countersink the holes just a bit (on the unglued side) for a dovetail effect. Use the adhesive filler that comes with the kit when you mix up your epoxy. West System epoxies are great products and are available at West Marine if you have any in your area, or probably even on Amazon. It is kind of a difficult design problem having the door drop down like that. What Oliver need to do is glass that aluminum plate right into the door when they make it. Relying on adhesives after the fact is not so great a long term solution. Good luck. Dave

I can't see how that cable attachment is done without ripping the insulation off the door on mine, but it has a metal ring that protrudes through the insulation, and the cable hooks onto that. If yours is the same, you might try opening the door and propping it up so it is perpendicular to Ollie, leaving the cable off. Put a big dab of 3m 5200 behind the attachment piece, and secure it with a slightly larger screw. Once the 5200 dries, it will probably never come off.

Robert, I had the same problem with my door, I tried gluing it twice with different kinds of glue with not much luck. Last Nov we dropped the trailer off at the factory for some other mods, while we went on to GA for Thanksgiving. They glued it back and had no problem since. You might give Tommy a call and see if he has any better glue to use. It would be a better design if the door opened in the other direction with a rod to hold it open. Stan

Stan, if you are talking about the shower drain in the floor, we leave it open when we drain. No odor issues. If it is the handle on the lower wall, we keep it open too, with no odor issues. We tried draining once with it closed and it seriously slowed the draining process. As soon as I pulled it out, whoosh, gray tank drained! What I remember from our orientation was that it should be closed for travel, but open the rest of the time.

I have had a problem with my chains falling down in the campsite at night and getting dirty or even worse, my TV electrical plug falling and getting sand in the connections ! I have found this "gadget" from GR Innovations LLC, that solves this problem. This is a metal plate that attaches to the front Jack and has 3 holes and a slot. The slot is to place your TV plug and the holes are to put your chains in. (One extra hole!) The black Towing Organizer (I think it may be hard plastic) sells for $19.95 and the aluminum unit sells for $29.95. Both come with the blue 7 way plug cover or it can be puchased separately. It includes everything you need for installation which takes 2 minutes to install the two bolts and tighten. I did not buy the plug saver tether, I prefer to make my own. The chain saver organizer is well built and easily installed coy The address is grinnovationsllc.net

Turn the ac off if you want to use the microwave. The ac draws a lot on startup. Less after, when running, but no reason to push it. Lights don't draw much. Any of us who have had two teenage girls running two hair dryers and two curling irons at the same time on a household 15 amp circuit know how well that works..... Results would likely be the same on a 20 amp circuit with the high-powered hair dryers of today... We rarely plug in, but a friend of ours who does carries a meter and checks each outlet. Not a bad idea. Even a cheap plug in device to make sure the outlet isn't wired backwards is helpful. It's surprising, even in the US, how many outlets are not wired correctly. Happy travels, Sherry