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The factory is currently churning out 10 trailers per month. Have you seen a lot of problems that might relate to the faster pace of construction, and by more mistakes being made on the construction line? My trailer has a LOT of issues; most are minor, some are normal teething pains and equipment failures. like the furnace ignitor going out and a dysfunctional light switch, but many are just screw ups that were not caught by an inspector before delivery. Some are serious safety issues that Oliver hasn't addressed yet, like self-loosening solar panel mount knobs! I give the trailer an A+ for hull and chassis design and general build quality. It tows like a dream, and looks luscious inside and out. The electrical wiring I give both a B+ (for the visible areas) and also a D (too many rats nests of unsecured wires in the "hidden" areas behind those round hatches). The interior design a B. There are some really irritating features that just don't make sense to me, like the beyond stupid fixed TV mount, the complete lack of access to the street side part of the rear storage area with the Twin Bed option, and the self opening drawers that mysteriously deposit your stuff on the floor as you drive. "Where did that spatula come from?!" The crappy RV appliances I give a D, and I am being charitable here; there are so many better choices, and I for one would be willing to pay a big premium for high quality and reliable marine appliances, both DC and diesel powered. How is your trailer doing, and have you been having many issues? FYI I am an ex-aircraft mechanic, and anal as can be, so most people would not be nearly as critical of problems found in their RV as I am. OTH, I can speak up for those who are too timid to voice their opinions ;) No harm is intended, in any way. I love the trailer... I just need to get it sorted. Working on it..... Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

If they came out with one of these for an RV application, that would seriously interest me, if the fridge can run on propane why can't the Loo too. Seems like the next evolution..

Yes, that was me. You should have seen the faces on the four people inside when that puppy let go. The "L" bracket that holds the jack to the frame was very easy to replace with the possible exception of the caulk where the jack goes through the outside hull. It gets a bit tight in one spot. Really no problem though. Bill

Just be careful with your quality inspections to make sure you understand what you are looking at. Deciding that something is not the way you might do it, or not how it's done on an airplane, or at a factory you used to work at, etc, is not finding a problem. A problem is if it doesn't work, or there are clear signs of poor workmanship, as Reed has found with stripped screws and cross threaded bolts. Those are real problems, and maddening ones. I have found wiring issues with mine and even posted about them here. My exterior lights quit working and when I investigated, I found a rats nest of Scotchlok connectors crimped onto a single power wire that was unsecured and had failed. Very poor workmanship indeed, but it is not a shop floor shortcut so much as a poor design. I'm sure it wasn't some unskilled workers, but an Oliver design. My batteries are wired very poorly too, but I'm working on that. Regular #8 or #6 house wire that is likely to either pinch, or wear and short out, supplying all the power from four T105 batteries. We may tend to think that Oliver is doing everything to some higher standard, but there are areas where they are sort of winging it and some design demands are leading them into some quality issues. Fortunately, they seem to be responding to feedback and standing behind their trailers, but some of the stuff seems like it's just common sense and should never happen, like overhead doors that don't latch well enough to stay closed and the television interfering with the blinds and damaging them. Another thing I noticed right away was the suspension. Oliver uses the cheapest suspension design offered in the industry. It has simple plastic bushings that are not serviceable and known for failure. I've had these on other trailers and they are not designed for high mileage. In a "Legacy" design, I wish they would install greasable links with heavy duty parts instead of charging more if you want them as an option. I have already upgraded mine. The initial reaction when stepping into an Oliver is that "this is amazing", and it is in many ways, but it's still a travel trailer and it's still in the development stages. As far as the overall shape, fiberglass construction, frame, and towing manners; excellent. I'm very pleased with mine in so many ways. It's so good in some ways that I tend to think it's some kind of a magic thing that has no faults. Not quite. I'm still scratching my head as to why they went with a small spare tire and eliminated the ability to go with a tire that matched the others, that is until everyone noticed and began to worry about it, then they fixed it. Mine is an earlier one and I have to run without the fiberglass cover to mount a standard size spare. Then I look around and cannot believe humans can make a complicated fiberglass structure this beautifully smooth.

I'm currently a Building Official but from the time I was in High School, for the next 30 years I was in manufacturing. I ran a plant that made flight control systems for military and civilian aircraft. This equipment was mostly actuators that controlled flight surfaces like flaps, tail rudder, pitch and yaw, for Black Hawk helicopters, F-16 Falcon, YF-22, F-14, Boeing and Airbus. Most of the components were manufactured in house, but we also had a substantial vendor list. In that high volume and high precision environment I learned one thing: You cannot INSPECT quality into your finished product. On paper, a thorough inspection process at intervals of manufacturing a product looks good. In reality however, the inspection process becomes the proverbial 'Chinese fire drill'...feedback from units in service in the field identifies problems, engineering isolates cause, manufacturing may (or may not) change methods or materials. That fire gets extinguished, but in the months of tunnel vision type focus, other fires ignite. This is inevitable as the production must continue to meet customer demand. Minor problems related to the manufacturing process appear in different settings or sub systems, and the chasing of the tail continues. Granted, a huge issue like axles failing or something catching fire may 'stop the presses' until the issue is resolved. That does not seem to be the case here with Oliver Trailers. From what I can glean, the 'problems' are related to the manufacturing process and vendor issues. In the type of environment where the product is a travel trailer, the standard of each task is very difficult to illustrate much less define. This is because it is imprecise work done mostly by hand. The main issue here would be the training of the operator or performer of that task. Let's look at a totally hypothetical 'problem'...rats nest type unsecured wiring behind the round hatches. In a plant like Oliver's one or two personnel may be the key components of this operation. Joe and Bill are meticulous in their wiring methods, everything tied, secured, shrink wrapped, etc. Bill took a position in the whirlpool manufacturing line, Joe is on leave as his wife just delivered their second baby. Does the wiring process stop because these two experts are not available? No. The foreman assigns the next 2 capable people but they aren't nearly as fluent in electrical workmanship as Bill and Joe. But the job gets done albeit with the possibility of future failure. And this potential human fault is at every step, from molding to chassis welding, to systems installation. The key to quality in an environment like this is to develop standards, high standards, and provide training and cross training to employees to ensure these standards are met. It does not eliminate inspection but instead shifts the concept of quality from inspection into the manufacturing process itself. Focus on the process. This began with Demmings and ended up with ISO-9000 and beyond. This I believe, is where Oliver should put forth great effort. Oliver has an opportunity here. The RV industry as a whole is experiencing a surge in demand that it hasn't seen in 25 years. Oliver makes a unique product. They are also by industry measures, the most expensive/ sq.ft. of anything out there. They must step up as the innovative producer they are and garnish that innovation with a reputation of unparalleled quality. I don't believe they are far off from it. What they do or fail to do within the next 2-3 years will affect the future of their trailer business.

Thanks. We appreciate the explanation, and regaining the sidebar menu. I normally use the padlock icon to log in/ log out. Traveling through the entire left-hand side menu for everything, was a huge pain. I also understood from Matt's pm that this was a step toward a more phone/ tablet friendly interface. That will be welcomed by many of us. Again, thanks. Sherry

We did not intentionally remove the sidebar, however it is now back and working again! That was my fault. Sorry about the confusion for the last few days!