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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/20/2019 in all areas

  1. In the spirit of keeping this thread going, here are a couple more random ideas I've found useful. We had remotes everywhere until I put this wasted horizontal surface to use! Velcro dots keep them in place when the tv is down. We're on the move quite a bit and at each new location I pick up as much info as I can to plan our time there. All that paper ended up stacked on the table. This simple little file holder mounted out of the way under the dinette table keeps the current info handy without clutter. It can also hold a charging laptop, again freeing up the table surface. When you're living in a small space little things like this can make a big difference?
    4 points
  2. We returned from our maiden voyage in our Oliver Elite 2 on March 18. It was a 3500 mile trip and 39 nights in the Oliver. On this trip, I spoke with numerous Airstream owners. One of owners, who had recently purchased a 25' Airstream was very interested in how our Oliver towed. I told him that it pulls like a dream. He said I see you do not have Sway Control Hitch. I told him that my 2500 Duramax did not need it to pull the Oliver. He could not believe what I was telling him. He said so your Oliver doesn't sway when a truck passes you? I said not yet. He then explained to me the motion that his Airstream produces when being passed by big semi trucks is not good. He was towing his Airstream with a Tundra and a sway control hitch. He mentioned that he had visited Oliver but made the decision to go with Airstream because of the interior layout. He almost sounded disappointed with his purchase of the Airstream . I am so thankful that Oliver tows nicely behind my truck. If I had to worry about sway control whenever a Semi Truck passed me, it would not be fun. We did not purchase many upgrades except Solar, AGM Batteries, large propane tanks and television antenna, I am now looking to upgrade the mattresses for the twin beds and dinette cushions. Those are my only two downers thus far. I have had a couple of warranty issues but I have full faith in them getting repaired this week so we can get on the road again.
    3 points
  3. When I had our Oliver built I instructed the guys to put in a second drain for the hot water system. Mike, being as yours is one of the early trailers that is most likely what the second drain is for. They quit putting the second drain in soon afterwards.
    2 points
  4. For sometime, my wife and I have been unhappy with sleeping on the cushions that come standard with Elite Travel Trailers, not to be confused with the larger Elite II, standard with mattresses. I purchased a single sized foam mattress but this too was unwieldy, not fitting either bed well. I had talked to other Oliver owners and was referred to Southern Mattress located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. I contacted them and they indeed confirmed they would custom make a mattress for my Oliver Elite. My conundrum was how I could configure the mattress to access the components and storage areas under the seats. A full sized mattress would be just too much to lift and hold in place as I pulled out storage items, much less to try to work on a component (electrical, hydraulics, water, etc.). As I explained this to my wife telling her I wanted to split the mattress in half, she pointed out it would be very uncomfortable, sliding down in the crack. She said " split it where the bench ends, 1/3 and 2/3s. The crack will be at your knees and you will not feel it". I contacted Southern Mattress and they agreed to cut it where ever I wanted it cut. I traveled to Rocky Mount, North Carolina and found this to be a family owned company. I arrived in late afternoon and the owner took me to his home. There, we hooked up my trailer with electrical and water on a pad next to his home. The next morning I pulled my trailer to the factory and they began to make my mattress. With each step, they asked me to approve the work, include changes I wanted made, etc. they measured the trailer, made the pattern and asked if I wanted extra room to be able to put bed linens on the mattress. The pattern was a good fit for the 2/3 - 1/3 combination. In short, I was very pleased with the mattress. I selected a 5" firm foam with another layer of soft memory foam. That night, I had the best sleep ever in my Oliver Elite. I also had a mattress made for the smaller dinette/bed. I used the single sized foam mattress that I had purchased earlier in the year. Southern Mattress did not object to this. Again, they cut the foam to the 1/3-2/3 combination. Each matress was covered in a premium quality quilted cover, fire retardant and straps sewn in to make moving easy. The mattress was double sewn all the way around to reinforce the straps. By noon, I was on the road, headed home. That night, I slept for the first time very comfortably on my new custom-made mattress. It now slides over easily and stores on top of the other matress while I access the storage and component areas. If you are interested in a quality mattress, custom made, they now have patterns for both the Elite and the Elite II. They can custom make you a mattress and ship to you. They do not press the mattress in a roll. Rather they box the mattress and ship it to you. Southern Matress Company 1812 Cokey Road Rocky Mount , North Carolina. 800-227-8701 Below are pictures of my mattresses in my Oliver Elite. Coy
    1 point
  5. Well folks, here is a story that i hope you all learn.... I watched the winterization video on the Oliver University probably 5 times to make sure that i understood the instructions. I proceeded to follow them to the T. But there was a very small step that the video didn't mention; that is that on the Truma Instant water heater when you pull down the yellow tab to drain the water completely and inspect the water filter, YOU MUST NOT PUT THE FILTER BACK IN... you need to keep it out for the winter. By the way the Truma manual which you must access on the Oliver University website, step 5 on winterizing the water heater does mention that. But who reads all the manuals on every component in the rig... right? So this week when i took out the Ollie to go to my first outing, when i tried to start the instant hot water, i got water coming out of the unit. Called Oliver and they promptly got me a Truma dealer 3 hours away from my home base. After explaining to the tech what was happening without hesitation he asked "Did you remove the filter when you winterized?" Of course not i said. Well you have a broken water line that cannot be repaired and you need a NEW WATER HEATER. He states that this is very common that people dont take out the filter and the pipes expand or whatever... Mind you this is an authorized TRUMA repair RV facility. So if you want we can order you a new one and of course it is not covered by warranty and we need a down payment of 1200.00 dollars, plus installation separately Remember that they were listed when i bought the unit at 1299.00. Morale of the story.... trust but verify....
    1 point
  6. Love Mossemi's shoe idea! Our shoes are kept in covered bins tucked under the trailer next to the front door. Clothing storage was one of my worries in the planning stages as well. In addition to the packing cubes inside, we started out with a fairly large bin each in the back of the truck full of clothes we thought we might want. Over time, that extra stash has dwindled down to one shared smaller bin. It helps that we're pretty much chasing the sun and warm weather clothes don't take up as much room.
    1 point
  7. The Hull numbers contuined on. The VIN numbers reset.
    1 point
  8. I had heard that but did not want to spread rumors. The plaques are very nice 3 color plaques and that's nice of Oliver to do. I also heard they will mail them to Oliver owners that do not attend the rally.
    1 point
  9. As for the Airstreams, the interiors seem to appeal to me, the mixture of materials, material textures, and layouts appear well thought-out. Although the "spacecraft" looking exterior give the RV a cool factor, it, in fact, represents a weak point in the design. Given the frailty of the external material to damage, and the subsequent leaking and eventual floor rot, any prospective owners should be very wary. Given that the construction methodology of the vast majority of RV's are "stick built", covered in a skin, I view the Airstream as very similar, but covered in a substandard shell. Other than looks, I would rather have the various layups most RV manufactures use on their exteriors. Add to this a very low ground clearance, limited options, and a premium price, an Airstream is just a standard issue RV, with expensive lipstick. It is my opinion, sure, and thousands of Airstream owners would disagree with me. Not dissing the brand, but explaining why I do not believe the Airstream is the top "quality" brand. Were I to scrutinize the Oliver build in a similar fashion, it would be mostly directed to the materials used in the interior. It is not a quality issue, but more a interior design kind of thing. As great as the Oliver BOM (Bill of materials) is on the important stuff, the cushion material, fabric selection, and perhaps ducting layout could use a little more attention. Again - my opinion. To be clear, we purchased our Oliver after viewing the build, carefully examining the materials, design intent, and manufacturing process. I'm a function guy. Looks are indeed usually just skin deep. I will admit, the initial price shock was hard to overcome, but you do get what you pay for. I fully expect our Oliver to look and function as well in ten years as it did the day we took ownership. RB
    1 point
  10. I think of battery management being a very important aspect especially when camping off the grid. This link explains the importance of a good battery monitoring system. Manyt have ways of getting by with out them, but if you want to understand exactly what is going on a battery monitor is the best way. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/battery-monitoring/#post-11798
    1 point
  11. We got the Truma AquaGo water heater, and we have been happy with it. Until it started leaking last week… We were on our way to meet up with two groups of friends at Moon Lake, which is in the eastern Uintah mountains, north of Duchesne, Utah. The NFS campground is at 8100 feet, in an area with almost no cellular reception. We stopped for lunch at a rest area west of Duchesne, and since there were no rest rooms, we turned on the water pump and used Ollie’s toilet. When we came out of the trailer we saw water on the ground, and water dripping from the Truma AquaGo access panel. I opened the access panel and turned the water pump on and saw water gushing into the interior of the Truma AquaGo. Not good. Fortunately, there was no water in the compartment under the curbside bed. I opened the Truma AquaGo instruction manual, and it provided no guidance here. The manual said the unit had a 12 month warranty, but we picked up Ollie 23 months ago. Oh well. We had good cell reception at the rest area, so I called Jason Essary, who was very helpful. Although he did not have a quick fix, he did provide me with info on the RV service shops in Utah that they had used for warranty work, and he contacted them. He also provided me with info the two RV Service Centers near Salt Lake City that Truma lists on their website. Finally Jason confirmed that that we could isolate the Truma from the water system by closing the winterizing valve. Closing the valve prevented water from spilling out when the water pump was on. So we decided to go ahead with our camping trip, but without hot water in the trailer. We heated water for washing and dishes on our outside stove, like we did as tent campers. The camping trip was great, and I am glad our hot water heater problem did not spoil the fun. I called the two RV service shops that Jason had given me, and they said they don’t work on Trumas. I called the two shops that are Authorized Truma Service Centers. Airstream of Salt Lake City said they only work on Airstreams. The other shop said they don’t work on Trumas, despite being listed on the Truma website. I next called Truma, and was connected to Stewart Neville, Truma’s Regional Mobile Service Technician based in Southern California, and he was awesome. First, he was pissed that the Authorized Service Centers were of no help, and said that he would deal with them. Second, he asked me if I had the extended 2 year warranty. Huh? It turns out that when I picked up Ollie there was a form that said if I register the Truma online I get an extended warranty. I was pretty certain I had, and lo and behold, I found the email from Truma with the subject line Extended Warranty Confirmation. Remember I said we purchased Ollie 23 months ago? Advice. If you purchase an Ollie and get the Truma AquaGo, do the online registration and get the free extended 2 year warranty. So now I had to find someone to repair the unit. Two years ago a friend recommended a local shop. They have good online reviews, and I had used them to repack my wheel bearings. I called them, and they were unfamiliar with the Truma. I then googled “RV service,” and google autocompleted with “RV service near me.” Okay. I remembered forum posts suggesting that many RV repair shops are incompetent, dishonest, or both. (I am thinking about you, John Davies.) I found an independent guy, Berts RV Service, that had five five-star reviews on google. I know that reviews can be gamed, but these looked real. Additionally there was a blog post by someone who had used Bert Warner. And Bert was mobile. He came to me in his van, rather than me schlepping the trailer to an RV shop. Bert learned his trade working at RV dealer, before he went out on his own. He talked on the phone to Stewart from Truma, and learned how to remove and open up the Truma Aquago. He found the problem, a loose water connection fitting (correct word?) that was not even finger tight. He cleaned it, put on lots of Teflon plumber’s tape, and reconnected it. No leak! I was very pleased with Bert’s work. He used fresh butyl tape and silicone when he reinstalled the unit, and verified that there were no propane leaks. He even cleaned up the broken rivets and stuff from the floor. I had never heard of butyl tape, but it helps waterproof the chamber. I learned stuff watching him, and that doesn’t happen at a regular shop. All components can break, and I am glad I got this fixed. I don't want to dissuade prospective Oliver buyers from getting the Truma Aquago. We really like it. Bert told me he had looked up Truma Aquago online, and they have great reviews, unlike the Girard tankless water heaters. Leave it to Oliver to select the highest quality components. So, I'm a happy camper!
    1 point
  12. I signed up about week ago for 2019 and it's already filling up. Last year I was hesitant to go because it was so far. We live in Northern Nevada. But we decided to go after talking to Scott Oliver and I am really glad we did! The thing about trips is you can never judge them before you go and they always turn out to be so much better than imagined. So we took off with the absolute minimum of planning. We didn't even take a map and only had the destination date in mind. We wandered around and stopped when and where we wanted too. Sometimes 500 miles more east and sometimes a 100 mile detour to see something. We saw the vast emptiness of Nevada, Valley of the Gods, The Rio Grande and The Johnson Space Center. We toured the Oliver factory, visited Muscle Shoals Alabama and the Fame Music Studio, where so much music came from, toured the Helen Keller Museum, toured a Frank Lloyd Wright house, camped next to the Tennessee River at McFarland Park and had a marvelous dinner on a floating restaurant on a perfect evening. Crossed Mobile Bay on the ferry, and played in the Gulf behind the Flori-Bama Bar in Pensacola. we stopped at a "picnic area" in Texas for the night and the thunder and lightening was so powerful we stayed in the truck until it passed, nobody around for miles, and watched in wonder. Afterward everything was fresh, a fantastic rainbow and and evening with an endless view. We made zero reservations along the way and found so may beautiful places to stop for the night. Oh, and we had a great time at Guntersville. Met some great people and made some long term friends. Oliver went all out to make a very nice, fun and casual event. Coming home we played it by ear again and were able to wander along at a speed we chose. Cruised through Quartzsite after the rush and stayed in a BLM campsite, by ourselves, for free. Stopped in Death Valley and soaked in the hot springs for a couple of days as our last major stop before the final leg home. About 60 miles in on a gravel road and 60 miles back out on another gravel road. The last 6 miles is across the desert with almost no road at all. Finally, the Oasis arrives. Wild burros casually stroll by, looking for a cookie. Warm clear water fills beautiful soaking pools. Besides our nights at the rally, we only paid for four nights to camp during the month long trip. Two were $7. and two were $10. Each with full hookups. We entered federal parks for free with my Senior Card. If you want some good sippin' whiskey, be sure to get some Kirkland Premium Small Batch Bourbon at Costco before you go. It's hard to get and twice the price in Alabama. The final couple hundred miles up 395 wander through the eastern Sierra and past Mono Lake. Then up to 8,000 ft. A refreshing thundershower rinsed the truck and Ollie. We left pounds of dirt on the highway and got home with a clean rig. Two months later I eagerly signed up for the next one. We'll probably cruise through Yellowstone this time and see some different parts of the South that I'm so unfamiliar with. Alabama is full of beautiful parks. The food is delicious and everyone was very friendly. Heck, we might even take a map this time!
    1 point
  13. I ended up with a king size latex topper. Love it! I was suspicious because the memory foam toppers are just way too soft for me (at least the Costco one was). Turns out the latex topper is really great. Very comfortable - feels just like I'm on a "real" mattress.... And it's easy to flip aside to get to access compartments..... - And I don't have to find somewhere to store all the cushions (which I would have had to toss if I'd gone with a custom mattress, because I don't HAVE any storage!) Expensive but worth it. Carole
    1 point
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