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Hello Oliver fans - Wife and I are looking at trailers online and came across Oliver. They appear to be well-made. Maybe someday soon we can join you as owners. Until then - we will continue our research. Happy (and healthy) trails- Bill

Mike sums it up well. I loved our Oliver, and I did a lot of work on it to make it better. Some things about it were just not the best for us, but Oliver is so far ahead of the industry standard stickie that there is really no comparison. Comparisons to the HQ19 are awkward. They are so different from each other. But, for a couple, the HQ is extremely nice. The interior is a luxury apartment, and the exterior is a durable beast with the best suspension I have ever seen in America. The HQ19 seems to have pushed the level of traveling comfort and practicality from comfortable and efficient in an Oliver, to laughably decadent. Each one though, has advantages over the other. It seems silly to complain about the Oliver, but it did have points about it that I wanted to be different. The twin beds, for me, were not very comfortable, or even long enough. The wet bath was hard to use, I could not stand up straight and Liye did not like it. The suspension is really only good enough for highway travel. There has been problems with it and the fix seemed unreasonably difficult for just a small gain. Storage was very limited and the kitchen was very minimal. Somehow, there is an imaginary line between the HQ19 and the LE2. The Oliver is fine in so many ways, and great quality, backed up by an amazing company, but it is still a travel trailer that worked best, at least for us, for trips of limited duration. The HQ19 is a luxury apartment that is suitable to live in forever. But towing the Oliver is easier, as it is lighter and very streamlined. The floor plan in the HQ19 is reversed from the Oliver, so the bath is in the back, where there is more headroom, and the bed in the front where headroom is not needed. The bath has a nice counter, a big sink, cabinets and a separate shower. And a washing machine?! The forward queen bed is set fore and aft with a little space on each side, so no climbing over one another, but the trailer is only 4" wider than the LE2. The kitchen has a range hood with lights, three burner stove with oven, dual water systems with filtered drinking water, a large sink and a bigger fridge. The AC and the heater are both higher output. The tanks are larger. But the Oliver is better insulated underneath and better in very cold weather. Our Oliver windows leaked, and the HQ19 windows look like they can't. The interior lighting is much nicer in the HQ with lots of options, reading lights and wall switches. The HQ19 inverter/charger is more advanced in design and is standard, as is the 300 watt solar and AGM batteries. It also has a parking brake, which I love. It has a recovery type jockey wheel in front, recovery shackles in the rear, rock rails along the side, two spare tires and a very durable aluminum diamond plate skin. The skeleton is welded aluminum and it has a one piece aluminum roof. The interior finish is magnificent gloss veneer over core construction cabinet doors and surfaces, with aluminum wall finish over plywood. The dinette is a vinyl faux leather upholstery all sewn with magazine pockets and a beautiful finish. In the Oliver, the seat cushions wanted to get to the floor on trips, but it can't happen in the HQ. The window coverings have the usual screen, or shade options, but also have let down Roman shades. And they don't fall off on rough roads like ours did in the Oliver. Again, I loved the Oliver, so I don't mean to sound too critical. We towed it about 20,000 miles and to 22 states. I averaged 1-2 MPG better towing it than I get with the HQ. Our Oliver weighed 5,700 lbs ready to go, with 560 lbs of tongue weight. The HQ weighs about 6,900 lbs all watered up, with gear, and ready to go. It has a tongue weight of 800 lbs. I have never used sway control or a WDH with either one and have never felt the need to. Both tow absolutely stable on the highway. The HQ has 12" brakes on 5200 lbs axles and the Oliver has 10" brakes on 3500 lb axles. The HQ has independent swing arm suspension with twin shocks per wheel. The Oliver has a beautiful, fully boxed, aluminum frame with lots of gussets. The HQ has a steel box frame that is hot dip galvanized for corrosion protection. Hot dip is the best corrosion protection for steel there is, and the zinc is very thick. The HQ has now been to Moab and I've towed it up rock stair steps and on trails that I would never do with the Oliver. But that is what it's made for. I towed the Oliver way back in on rocky dirt roads too, but this is different. So, the HQ just suits us better for traveling comfort, off-road ability and boondocking, but it's heavier and less streamlined. The Oliver is easier to tow, lighter and has a great factory support system. The HQ has a good warrantee and parts are available, but they are still refining their process and it's not as smooth as with the Oliver. When comparing prices and the out the door price for comparable equipment, the HQ is lower cost. With the solar, AGM batteries and 2,000 watt inverter charger, all standard equipment, they list for about $54,000. Ours is a 2020 model and it was less. Here are three videos. I'm in the white Ram with the HQ19. Watch for th HQ in the rear view mirror while "crossing Nevada".

Nice trailer, probably would have been something I might have been interested in 30-40 years ago. My camping style today is comfort on paved campsites with full hookups, what can I say, the Oliver spoiled me. trainman

Welcome, Bill. There are trailers in the area you could arrange to look at when you get to that point. If you have questions, ask away. Mike

David and I left NH Feb 16 intending to camp in the south-eastern and gulf states working our way over to Mississippi and then coming back on the Natchez Trace Parkway, attend the rally in Alabama, then slowly camp our way back to NH, arriving home in mid-June. Then the rally was postponed and campgrounds began closing. Several days ago we decided that ending our trip and heading home was the wiser thing to do. We reached NH yesterday afternoon, sad to have our first real trip cut so short but we had great fun and learned a lot about our Ollie (happy we had brought the manuals with us!). It is time to stay home to help protect as many people as possible. Hope you all are well and planning your next trip.

I've got the smaller (four sides) Clam. While it is great for one or two people and as many as three can fit, it certainly will not fit over picnic tables. However, its smaller size allows it to be stored in the Oliver closet. Interestingly, it seems to me that this smaller Clam is slightly more difficult to put up as compared to its bigger brother. I think that the reason for this is the length of the fiberglass rods is shorter in the little unit. This causes them to be slightly less "flexible" thus requiring a bit more "oomph" to get them to spring open. Even with this I believe that a reasonably fit 120 pound human would not have trouble putting the smaller Clam up - once they mastered how to do it - see the YouTube videos on this. Even though I think that the Clam has better features and is made from slightly better materials, there are other "clam like" screen tents on the market - like the Gazelle. With slightly thinner fiberglass rods it would be likely that the Gazelle would be even easier to put up. Unfortunately, this would probably also mean that the Gazelle would not stand up to winds and overall use as well as the Clam. Having said this, while in West Yellowstone this past summer I (along with four other Oliver owners) road out a heavy thunder storm inside a Gazelle with no significant issues. Bill

The concept is pretty nice - I took a look at them at overland expo and there are definitely a few things that I prefer over the Ollie. But then there are also some things I don't like so it balances out. On the whole, I prefer what I have. But if they had been available when I was shopping, and I didn't know what I know now, I'd have looked at them pretty closely. At that time, I seriously considered a Kimberley trailer, since they were available here back then. The Kimberleys were fairly unique, though, if more expensive. I don't think that there's anything particularly special about the Black Series - they're just an Aussie style trailer that happens to be sold here. Tougher construction than the average, and a lot more off-roady eye candy, but not unique in any way. There have been other Aussie companies enter the market here, like Kimberley or Extreme (?), and it seems like they last a few years and then quietly leave. Conquerer, from South Africa, comes and goes randomly. Earth Cruiser I guess is the only one that has stuck it out. From what I've read, though, the big problem with the Black Series is that you don't have to wait for the company to exit the market before being hung out to dry. There are some really ugly stories on ExPo about the quality and customer service - to the extent that they say the company has threatened lawsuits against their own owners, and the forums they post on. I can't see how anyone would put up with that sort of clown show, especially after having owned an Ollie. So, my opinion is that if you go into it, think of it like importing a trailer. Assume that you're on your own, and if you have the time, skill, and money to fix things yourself, then sure. But for me, it seems like the sort of trailer that looks great in the brochure but loses its shine in use; whereas I think you don't really start to appreciate the Ollie until you put it to use, and the more you use it, the more you realize how good it is.