Leaderboard

Your beautiful butterfly is a Western Tiger Swallowtail. Our links to Flickr are : John https://www.flickr.com/photos/156558292@N04/albums/with/72157707734594685 Nancy https://www.flickr.com/photos/137680150@N06/albums NABA (North American Butterfly Association) has a website where we log in butterflies we see daily as do others. We use this database to see actual sites where species occur rather than rely on field guides for locations. The field guide we use is Butterflies of North America by Jeffrey Glassberg to help ID the species. We submit our photos of new species to BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America). We submit bird sightings to ebird by Cornell University. Birders all over the world use ebird so it is a large database with lots of ways to explore the data. It's a great hobby! Check our Solar Darkroom Santa Monica for fantastic photos of California butterflies! David is a great friend who shares CA butterfly locations with us! He's on Facebook, too!

Oh yea! We pick up hull # 626 (demo) available Sept 8 which has Lithium ion Batteries, 340 watt Solar package & 3000 watt inverter.

Mossey, I'm not opposed to spending the $ either, if there's a clear advantage. Like you, we're more likely to reuse scrap lumber or on hand materials if it suits the purpose. If there's a true advantage long term, well, then, I can open the wallet and let the moths go free. 😁 When Paul and his friend wanted Starboard for a couple projects on our boat, I remember being shocked at the prices I found, even buying cutoffs. I don't remember the exact price, as it was 4 years ago. But, for what we were working on, it was the best available material. We needed the uv protection and the inherent waterproofing, plus the ability to use normal woodworking tools was great. No adhesives involved. I was wondering, honestly, what was the advantage, in this particular case, given the expense, and other considerations, when John wanted a material he could mount with epoxy, which isn't exactly the case with Starboard. There is indeed a lot of carryover in marine materials and fixtures from our boat to the Oliver. Honestly, our long term experience with a fiberglass hull is one of the reasons we bought the trailer in the first place. Sherry

Less maintenance is a great thing. Decisions decisions 😄 many punt on the front decal for your reason mentioned. One thing we are leaving is the Oliver LEll on the sides. Without it...surely questions about make and model will be the flavor of the day. We chose the front logo...it’s not difficult to remove early on so I was told by Rodney Lomax if we choose not to remove it. I think we’ll just have a look first.

I thought about no swooshes, but then I like that they break up the monotony of the all white exterior. I am thinking about no decal on the front. I like the logo, but it would be less maintenance without.

Yes, we ordered the pinstripe swooshes in met silver, simple and matches our TV. There are a gaggle of color choices, but the general swoosh design is the same whether solid or pinstripe. I also like the naked or no logo Ollie, no swooshes, for it’s clean look. I think the pinstripe swoosh will remove easier than the solid swoosh if we decide to remove it. I don’t think we can wait to long if we opt to remove it as it may shadow the gel coat...not sure. Many go with a personal graphic design decal of their choosing post delivery. There are a few cool personal graphics out there that we liked.

Mossey really important details/observation thanks. We take delivery of our Ollie on Tuesday, I will check at some point. I sent 1UP an email asking if the combination would be approved for use on a TT. And I will post up what they say when/if I hear back.

Off topic, but we had a bike rack on our X5 that had an anti-rattle gizmo built into it. When it came time to sell it after we got our truck, the anti-rattle thing had broken and so the retaining bolt just spun, which meant there was no way to get the rack off without a lot of cutting and drilling, So of course I included the rack with the X5 as a 'bonus'. Funny thing is that the people who own it now live in the neighborhood so I still see it every now and then - bike rack still attached.

I would suggest that you obtain the dimensions of the Ollie receiver before buying the 1UP 1.25"x 2" adapter. It does not look like the anti-rattle locking pin is long enough to work with the Ollie receiver and I’m sure that is a fair percentage of the $68. This is a quick Amazon search. Mossey

1Up sells an adapter. https://www.1up-usa.com/product/1-25-2-hitch-expander/ Will add a few pounds to the load, maybe 5.

Sherry, I had never heard of Starboard before ADKCamper's post, but I am always interested in learning about new things or products. One of the questions I asked was how much does it cost and you answered "expensive". Ok, so far I have used 3M 5200 to attach some scrap 1"x4" PVC board to a lower hull wall to mount a battery cutoff. I have also used marine Goop to attach 1-1/2"x1/4" PVC board in the lower hull to which I mounted lights with 3M VHB mounting tape. And as previously mentioned, I mounted a piece of oak which I salvaged from some shelves I demo'd in my house and remounted the afore mentioned battery cutoff to. So with the additional information you have provided you can rest assured that I won’t be running down to Farco for a piece of Starboard as I still have lots of left over shelving and PVC board. And it’s not like I’m cheap, I just don’t like to waste money. And I can justify wasting money if pressed.😆 Thanks again Marine Queen for your expertise, Mossey PS: Marine Queen is meant as a compliment.

Hello Everyone. We just sold our class b van and we are starting to look at trailers now. Ollie's are at the top of my list, but the three things I really do not like are - No lithium option, not awning style windows and no compressor fridge. It sounds like they might be getting ready to solve all three of these concerns! At least I read on Facebook that they are engineering the awning style windows. The compressor fridge is just a guess as most offer that with a lithium option. This forum has been an invaluable tool and it looks like Ollie owners are a great bunch. I am looking forward to joining the owner side of the equation in the near future. Thanks for all of the great information. Mike

Whisky won. We're rendezvousing with my brother who is a Jack D drinker, Duke likes Dickel, & I don't drink either unless it's ruined with Coke. If anyone is interested, attached is a blip from the Whiskey Trail website that we plan to follow & the State Park where we plan to stay. Please join us!!!

I can think of several spots where something of that size could be mounted, depending on method of mounting. Oh never mind, forget I " mentioned" it.

We have had our trailer for 10 months. We have the hypervent under our upgraded mattresses. It's smooth on the side facing the mattresses and isn't causing any snagging or marking of the body of the trailer. Getting under the mattress requires some lifting and shifting...and the hypervent is the least of the issues. Luckily, getting under the mattress isn't an every day occurrence. When I do need to access I tip the mattress up against the wall...or move it all the way out of the way into the aisle temporarily. C. Short Hull 505 Galway Girl

Aha! Canine wanderlust. That explains why the Doods are so blue, & us too.

The "un-mentionable"

Mention what?

Nice of you to "mention" it!

Related to the above, many people prefer that certain features of Olivers not be mentioned in public. So fyi if someone can't resist mentioning the unmentionable in a reply, one of the moderators will likely unmention said mention. 😉

John, Thanks for the kind words. As you remember, you were the one who brought Black Series to my attention. I made a mental note to stop in Utah and have a look at them on our way from Wyoming down to North Rim. Then, I decided to cut the North Rim stay short and head back to Lindon Utah and have a second look. We both really liked the Black Series HQ19 right off the bat, but loved the Oliver too. I never intended to sell the Oliver, but suddenly, we were going to get a Black Series. Glad we did. But it hasn't been a perfect transition. I've done lots of little fixes and modifications. We've put about 7,000 miles on it now since November, been in all kinds of weather, off-road, etc. It is definitely a keeper. It is perfect for making it our own with some mods, very roomy and comfortable, and tows great. Having solar has really been nice. I make electric coffee, carry no generator, and have plenty of power for lighting, charging, running the propane heat, etc. As much as I liked the Oliver, this is a different world. A true luxury apartment sitting on a heavy duty off-road frame and suspension. The best of both worlds. So now, I'm distributing McHitches across the Country and they are going on most new Black Series trailers. See what you started? The WDH with McHitch on an Oliver isn't going to happen as far as I can see, without cutting some fiberglass covering the tongue. I'm not even considering that at this point. Here is a short video of us crossing Nevada and it shows the trailer in the rear view mirror running straight as an arrow. Comment back, or PM me if you'd like. John (Raspy)

This “departure angle” issue not only applies to "rough uneven forest roads". Particularly in the Western States roads are built with fairly deep gutters for rain and snow. These can pose a "departure angle" problem when pulling into and out of gas stations, grocery stores, laundromats, etc. Particularly when one is in a hurry due to traffic considerations. And, due to the fact that these are not dirt roads, the damage done can be much more severe. Bill

The tie downs are probably not needed with a 1 Up rack but they are definitely needed with most other brands of bike racks. The tracks would offer multiple locations for straps, so you don’t have to hook them around the bumper or frame. The actual clearance from the ground of the low receiver Is less important than the fact that the trailer’s “departure angle” is drastically reduced. I guarantee that the low slung mount will be a big problem on rough uneven forest roads. Simply because the angle for the stock LEII is already marginal. John Davies Spokane WA

Overland, It does have a light. It is the same as the interior overhead cabinet lights and it is on the kitchen light switch. The light is blueish not a warm white like the under cabinet lights. Thinking about changing it out so the color tone matches. Andrew

Probably, but then if someone is dumb enough to hook another trailer to their Ollie, then they’re probably dumb enough to use a 1 ½” hitch to do it.

I like the all mirrored cabinets, they make your trailer look much bigger inside and the feeling of more room. On nice days with the windows open it brings the outside inside, for that natural look and feeling. trainman

I have read some of the comments, and was surprised that I have one of the "terrible 200's". I don't feel that way about our unit at al!. We read the forums before ordering and decided that we wanted the Ez-Flex system which was optional. It is now standard. We added a 4" marine hatch to our propane cover, so we didn't have to take the cover off. They now put in a 6" hatch as standard. Our porch light has occasional black streaks. They changed the product supplied to them and newer units have no problems with them. Our unit had a drawer problem from too short a screw supplied by the drawer maker. The factory corrected it and those affected. All the while as they geared up production to almost double the assembly, they cared about the existing customer. if I can't pull a switch and ascertain it is bad, or put a panel back up, over some wires that vibrated loose, what will I ever do when time to figure how to dump? Or need to sanitize the fresh water tank, or winterize for a sudden storm coming? Or bring more fresh water through the outside port? We took these things as learning experiences as we learned about our unit and grew with them. As we encountered, an opportunity, and discussed it with the Oliver staff, we think we learned from the experience, and maybe more important, so did they. The listened to us...