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There are so many great projects on these forums that I felt obligated to document mine (partly so that others can avoid my mis-steps!). We dry camp the majority of the time. During the winter (until the snow flies) that is not a problem, but summer time on the Eastern side of Washington State can be uncomfortably hot. When we bought the Ollie we knew that the solar system would take care of most of our needs, but that we really wanted a generator capable of running the A/C. We specified the optional soft start add-on for the A/C so that the trailer would be ready. A bit of research showed that the new Honda 2200 would run the A/C, even if it was running on propane. We chose “Hutch Mountain” as the best propane conversion for the Honda 2200. After 10 years of putting generators into and out of the truck I knew that some kind of generator carrier attached to the trailer was a must-have. We chose “Generator Box” as they have one sized perfectly for the Honda 2200. I asked Hutch Mountain if they would do their magic by installing all needed gear inside a Generator Box. They said they would be glad to do so. I had “Generator Box” directly ship the box to Hutch mountain. They did an install and then shipped to us. Perfect !! I did the install of the Hutch Mountain conversion kit into our new generator. BTW Honda service centers get very twitchy about propane conversions. There was/is a recall of a circuit board in the 2200. My local shop will do the recall, but will not even start the generator afterwards. I may have to school them about modifications NOT invalidating an entire warrantee. In my case the engine is now out of warrantee, but the generator section is still fully covered (federal law on this subject is well established). We bought the storage box on our Ollie. I wanted to save as much space in the box as I could for lightweight things, so I designed a frame to support the Generator Box. I initially intended to have the box dropped down into the storage unit by about and inch and a half. That was a bad idea as the latching assembly which secures the box to the mounting plate will not operate with more than about 3/8” of drop below the edge of the storage box. I used aluminum flat stock and 70 durometer Sorbothane to raise the box and give a little vibration dampening. Parts list, purchased or modified by me: Honda 2200 Companion generator to get the 30 amp locking connector 5 feet of aluminum 2” C-channel, ¼” wall thickness 5 feet of aluminum 1½” angle 10 1” SS ¼” x 20 screws with NyLock and two flat washers each 6 1½” SS ¼” x 20 screws with NyLock and two flat washers each 30 1” SS 10x32 screws with Nylock and 2 flat washers each I made a 69” section of Marinco 10 ga power cord Hutch Mountain made a 69” connection hose to hook-up the front end trailer propane supply to the Generator Box quick disconnect. Pictures follow… Any questions, please ask! Bill and Dorothy

We moved into a newly built house six months before buying “Mouse”.... we picked a small floor plan, 1850 sq ft on one level, and a big attached RV bay, 42’x16’x16’ tall. It is insulated and sheet rocked with four south facing windows up high. Cost for the bay was $30,000, but that option also got us a fully insulated and sheet rocked garage. Covered secure RV storage is about $350 per month in this area. So in the 36 months since delivery we have “saved” $12,600, not counting the gas and miles on the truck we would have spent visiting the facility. Our small development has covenants that allows RV storage if out of sight. Out of the 24 homes, about ten have RV bays.... There is a 120 volt 30 amp power socket inside the bay on the proper side, but no dump station. City code simply will not allow it. We live about 100 feet from the city boundary, if we were in the county it would not have been a problem. Since there is a composting toilet it isn’t a big loss. I sometimes dump a small amount of gray water in the gravel adjacent to the driveway slab. There is a fresh water hose bib inside with cold and hot water, so I can fill the fresh tank from inside. There is another cold bib outside for washing, as shown in that picture. There is a double gate allowing full access to the rear, and I have had an Oliver guest overnight back there. Having year round immediate access to the trailer is priceless and I have zero regrets. It can even be used as guest quarters and in case of a major power outage. I can’t run the propane stuff in winter with the doors closed, but I could run the 2400 watt generator in the back yard and have most of the electric appliances going in the trailer. John Davies Spokane WA

Ok, weeks later got my trailer back. Wasn't the smoothest process getting the gel coat from Oliver which ultimately delayed things 10 days. Part Covid part poor communication. Ultimately though the repairs look good. I'm definitely not happy with the entire situation but at the end of the day I believe in the people at Oliver still. One of the owners reached out and was very understanding of my frustration and I don't get the feeling he was just humoring me. I will leave it at this. My Service Writer made it a point to say how helpful Jason in service was during the process. They are a Keystone/Lance dealer and said there is zero chance any of those companies would have been as helpful and probably would have just laughed at them if they asked for help. So, even though the dealer knows Oliver might have some QC issues, they are at least impressed with how they resolve the issues. Take care.

As I have stated, Jason's team does a great job. Heck, I was surprised by a recent follow up email from Jason on an issue we had discussed a good while back. Still, the production team cannot rely on service after the sale to cover their posterior's. Glad your Ollie's reputation is on the mend.

Hello, My wife and I started with a tent in the back of a Subaru and kids, bumped up to a pop up trailer, a Holiday Rambler 29" travel trailer, a Keystone Montana 38' fifth wheel that we pulled with a Ford diesel dually, sold it all and bought a Leisure Travel on a Sprinter chassis. We love the simplicity! But there are things we don't like: not a 4-season rig, no spare tire or room for one, expense and hassle of servicing the Sprinter, the tradeoff of having to unhook the rig to drive to town. You have all been there! We thought we were through with travel trailers, and the finish and design of the Leisure Travel is generally top notch. Solar installed on roof, great little generator, no slider but comfortable queen bed in the back etc. Then we saw Oliver trailers and wonder if we can match the experience in a four-season trailer that will last and hold its value. That's where we are at. We have a diesel Audi Q7 that I think would pull it, although we might ultimately get a half-ton pickup if we go down this road. Also considering Bigfoot. Is that okay to say here? I will read the forum, but just wanted to introduce ourselves. Rob and Cary Hansen from Littleton, CO. Safe travels!

The plastic chrome covers on my porch lights were starting to peel and the rubber gaskets were all dry rotting, causing those ugly black streaks. I’ve tried a few times to seal them with varying success. New ones are about $38. I found some on Amazon that are similar, about an inch larger lengthwise. They have an aluminum cover that is not shiny chrome. They were $19 each. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ODSBXB0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Light and rubber sheet. Cutting gaskets. The rubber I ordered was much thicker than I needed. Probably 1/8” or less in thickness would be fine. The thickness I had made cutting square edges a bit challenging. Comparison of new and old. After removal of old lights. There isn’t much wire to work with so I cut them off right at the solder joint on the old light. The new lights came with plenty of wire. The remains of my feeble attempts to seal the old rubber is obvious! Cleaned up. I used some 3M fiberglass polish to get the shine back. I decided to drill only one new hole. I hate drilling into my trailer! Since the new lights were about an inch longer it meant the lights would not be centered over the window. I asked Carol to come out and look at the first installation and she didn’t notice the slight off center so I went ahead and did the same for the other three. I filled the old unused hole with silicon. New light. It’s hard to see but the lights are about a half inch off center to the front of the trailer. Lights on. They are about the same brightness as the old. Mike

The Oliver fits all our needs, but guess that is why we bought i. Solar keeps us powered, propane keeps us warm, high ground clearance keeps us out of most trouble spots.

Hi Moots and welcome. I looked at Bigfoot. There were things I liked and things I didn't. The list of things I didn't was much, much shorter on the Oliver. Ended up getting a 2017 LEII used last fall. Only used it a little before COVID, but am very happy. I'm down in Monument and would be very happy to show mine to you most anytime. Feel free to message me if you'd like to set up a time.

I agree with The Shackelfords that the WD-40 Specialist Dry Lube PTFE Spray would be a good selection. I found it at Home Depot in a large 10 OZ can for less than $7. This lube is dust and dirt resistant. It is my go to lube for bike chains, table saws and other equipment that tends to gather gunk when in use.

Wow John, you read my mind I had been looking for the service procedure and was not having any luck. thanks for taking the time to post this wonderful "How To"!

Nice JD.

The screws on the original lights are about 3/4” long and anchor into the fiberglass. The screws with the new lights are probably 1.25”. They anchor into the fiberglass very securely, just like the originals. I used a 1/8” bit to drill the holes. I looked inside in the upper storage areas to see if I could tell where they came through but the liner in the storage areas doesn’t appear to be easily removable. I did not see any evidence of them inside after the install.

We are hopefully going to get approval from our HOA to park our Ollie behind our home. The covenants state that a trailer or RV must not be seen from the road. Our lot is unique and private (on a Ridge) so our Ollie won’t be seen from any roads in the development. We have had our attorney review the covenants in advance before we submit our request to the HOA, He sees no reason why we cannot park our Ollie in our back yard since it will be out of sight per covenant rules. -photo of the tentative Ollie parking area. It’s a 12X45’ stretch of crush and run base which starts at the edge of the grass out to our fire ring and is concealed from public road view. If approved we might have a 5-6” 12X35’ slab poured and add a 30 amp receptacle in. Naturally a little tree trimming is going to happen. This is a work in progress for now. edit- Cost for a few hours of grading the parking area and 23 tons of crush and run spread and leveled $900.00. Nothing fancy...but if we can make it happen, it will be nice parking it at our home.

We rented a space in a nearby RV resort so we can use it all year.

Landrover your right, it almost seems like we will need a moving truck...😂 ...I actually had to reorganize the extra Ollie gear in my shop the other day. Indeed the fun of it all. 👍🏻

I'll certainly give a shot and let you know how it works out.

Any of those teflon (PTFE) sprays would probably be OK, some RV owners swear by them. But the white particles do not really bond to the steel, they tend to flake off and fall away under any real side force. I have not personally tried this type, but their big advantage is they are not very messy, unlike the black moly lubes which are pretty nasty. Why don't you try that product and report back? Be sure to degrease the tubes first, I don't think it will mix with the existing grease. Thanks. John Davies Spokane WA

I have to disagree again John. Being a contractor one of the most common accidents reported to OSHA are ladder accidents. Over my many years in the trade I have seen lots of serious ladder accidents many that were caused by cheap or overloaded ladders. I have a friend that fell 2' off the second step and shattered his foot and leg. One of my employees fell 20' on a extention ladder collapse and is disabled for life. Ladders are not the place I would suggest saving money. It only takes one time and you could be crippled for life.