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Maybe give ABlifestyles a call. At the time we ordered they did not advertise the full mattress covers for the Ollie, they made our set. We have not slept on them yet, but they are not noisy. Our experience with AB lifestyles has been great.

We didn’t order the electric lock but later decided that one would be convenient. I ordered a RV lock model V4 from rv lock on Black Friday Sale for $129. Install took only 15-20 minutes. It is plastic and doesn’t feel as hefty as the stock metal manual one that came with our trailer. If the RV electric lock breaks, we still have the original metal one to re-install.

1. Always turn Propane tank valve on VERY SLOWLY, otherwise the force of rushing gas can cause safety valves on furnace, frig, or hot water heater to shut that appliance down. Only remedy is shot of gas, reset appliance, then turn gas valve VERY SLOWLY. Seemingly faulty appliance has always worked after that. 2. Always lock bathroom door before driving even the shortest distance. Otherwise it will be broken for sure from swinging open. 3. Never camp between other RVs that run generators with exhaust pointed towards your Ollie. The CO detector will go off. NEVER ignore your CO DETECTOR!!! You might die in your sleep. 4. Never run propane appliances while driving. They can cause gas explosions at gas stations. 5. Viair Air Compressor makes winterizing water lines and keeping tires at proper pressure a piece of cake 6. Anderson Leveling wedge is worthless on ice and snow. They need a studded version. 7. Boondocking in Winter requires a decent and quiet generator. Solar power is gone for perhaps weeks. I recommend the Honda 2200i. 8. Protect front lower sections of shell from rock chips with plastic coating. Tow vehicle will spray a ton of gravel into it, especially in Winter. The folks who applied 3m film to my Audi are doing my Ollie. 9. Keep Drain hose attached to outlet in rear bumper and simply cap the end. This is way easier and cleaner than taking it apart each drain cycle. And always drain Black then Gray for odorless hose 10. Dehumidifier is a must when Winter camping. Otherwise condensation runs amuck everywhere. 11. Hoppy Rearview Mirror Level on front of Ollie saves tons of time. And, your head doesn’t get nearly as wet running in and out and in and out etc, etc in the rain and snow to get the darn trailer level. 12. Use other Ollie owners for tips and advice, especially for Set Up and Departure Checklists. They are valuable beyond belief. I’ll add more as they happen. Happy travels

I’m sure people will want to discuss the towing prospects of the new hybrid 3.5 turbo. Interesting inclusion of a 2400 watt (up to 7200 watt 😳) inverter. And a 2000 watt inverter option on the other engines. I think that will definitely negate the need for a generator for many folks.

The whole basement area could stand some additional development, from the door to the placement of the valve knobs to the way it’s finished out. You’ll need to get some EPDM foam and seal the front lower corner to prevent road spray from entering. This won’t keep all of the spray out, or keep road grit out of the door hinge, but it will help. Before After Go ahead and remove the insulation and repaint the inside of the door. The insulation keeps the water that gets behind it from drying quickly. The Valterra handles were rubbing the bottom of the recessed handle box and I had read where a couple of people had broken the original handles so I went ahead and replaced mine with stainless steel knobs. Also cut a piece of something like this, I used a piece of PEX tubing And keep it handy to use to hold the license plate door open when you need to remove the spare tire cover or wash behind the license plate. I keep mine just inside the basement door. Back when the gas cap on cars was located under the license plate you would put the gas cap here to hold the plate open while you filled the gas tank. I hope these tips are useful. Bill

Yes the factory lock is metal on both sides.

We got it. It's one less key on the keychain that I regularly need. I do wish it supported some smartphone/smartwatch scheme for unlocking rather than just the code at that price.

The reason your van works is because the neutral and ground are bonded in the generator. Most portable inverter generators do not have the neutral and ground bonded. I don’t believe the automatic transfer switch has anything to do with the surge protector error. I use a test plug to verify correct electrical wiring before plugging my Oliver into any power source I am unfamiliar with and I would suggest everyone do the same. Mossey

Modernism week is in February each year in Palm Springs. Tour some great examples of desert modern mcm architecture. I'd love to visit during that week, some year. Here's info on next year's events, if you're interested: https://www.modernismweek.com/what/ Sherry

Last night I was charging the battery(s) on my laptop in my office when they decided to "do the lithium thing". If it wasn't for the fact that this was in my house and in my office the fireworks were fairly interesting - individual cells exploding and shooting in all directions with flames coming from their afterburners. I'm extremely happy to report that the "Tundra fire extinguisher" performed exactly as advertised and total damage is certainly much less than what it could have been. I'll shortly be ordering a couple more of these but be sure to see the first post in this thread above. Bill

Hmm. If you want to make it a separate storage compartment I think you would need to put it a vertical wall to separate it from the rest of the basement. I do not see the need, though. In my trailer, as I look into the access door from inside the trailer, on the right is a milk crate in the basement, and to the left of the crate is the area where I store our shoes. I found a rectangular tray with about 2.5 inch high walls which fits the area perfectly, and I put our shoes in there. The only advantage of the tray is that on the rare occasions when the milk crate is removed, the shoes do not spill into the area designated for the milk crate. The tray is not essential.

Oliver's decals are made by a sign company, so I would think that any color materials that are available to that sign company you could get. I do know that metallic colors are an extra charge. I guess someone said that the graphics style has changed for Oliver, I have not seen a pic of that as of yet. Oliver would probably let you talk to there sign company for colors that they don't offer and remember your colors may not be the colors you want. I know how I am on stripes and graphics, so I want mine to have that special look that I like, get your special look you want. trainman

You could always ask your sale rep at Oliver to send you a sample - that way you would be certain as to your choices.

The nice thing about the Oliver, if there is something you don’t like on the trailer, change it. Most of the mods are simple, and there are a lot of mod suggestions and changes to the Oliver on the forum.

I have a few questions about upgrading the stinky slinky to a higher quality hose and clear end connector.(We want to keep our Oliver hose as a spare) We are looking for a high quality reliable hose that we can still store in the bumper including the clear end cap. We also want a hose that will attach to the black tank outlet without out any modifications. I have asked a few members in PMs but just thought I would ask the group. Mods respectively if there is a write up on this please delete my post and redirect me to the link. What is the general length of hose everyone is using that stores in the bumper 15’, 20’? Is a 45 degree clear end adaptor a better option than a 90 degree? What’s everyone using successfully? Thanks in advance for your patience with our questions. Thoughts and recommendations appreciated. -Patriot

There is no guidance on a replacement interval. It is a judgement call by the tech or owner who does the job. I personally would want to trash the original cheaply made bearings by 15,000 miles. Mine are OEM and have been repacked once, and in my mind are are due now (12,000 miles). I have Timkens and good seals ready to go. Once you have high quality parts installed, I would let them go indefinitely with regular visual inspection and lubing at about a 10k interval. I think it is really important to watch for signs of distress - play and overheating, grease leakage, funny noises - and be ready to act right away in case there is trouble. Having a seal leak and screw up one brake will ruin a trip. The brake may lock up, making it impossible to tow the trailer without adjusting the controller really low. Which makes it dangerous if your TV has marginal brakes. Disc brakes have huge advantages over drum brakes in so many ways. The biggest one IMHO is that a failed seal will just dump grease outside the hub, not all over the brake mechanism. Once you contaminate one drum brake, they must be replaced in pairs. What a stupid design..... John Davies Spokane WA

There’s no shame in leaving the Ollie to fend for itself for a night...

Dwain, since you are still in that initial research stage, check out truck campers. An Ollie with solar and composting toilet is a fantastic, comfy dry camping platform, but you are always hampered by the fact that your rig is 40 feet or more in length. That is always a big factor in driving unknown backroads..... will I have a way to turn around if the road stops at a closed gate or there is a washout or a downed tree? This is not something to brush aside, getting caught at the end of a long single lane road is no small matter and it can cause lots of stress. You can do a lot of research ahead of time using Google Earth, and you can ask your partner to get out and scope things on foot, but the bottom line is that it is always a PITA, either minor or huge, to tow a trailer anywhere. Ferries cost more, parking in cities is often impossible, you risk finding yourself blocked in if you do find a place to stop, storage is more of a problem. Sometimes you will come to a campground that you may not even be able to use due to lack of room to maneuver. Here is one of my favorites, Deception Pass State Park, WA, and I simply won’t go there with my Ollie. And there are lots of similar ones in the woods of the Pacific NW and along the Pacific coast. Trailers are just awkward, ALL the time. That is just the way things are. With a truck camper all those particular worries vanish, replaced by a different set of its own. For a couple with no animals traveling all over the country it makes a bunch of sense. If you want to tow a small boat or motorcycle trailer it or a small motorhome is the only choice. There are very few really good 4 season truck campers like Northern Lite, they cost less than an Ollie but you must have a dedicated very heavy duty pickup to carry the load. They are not put together as well, you have to go upscale considerably to an XP Camper for that, but there are always compromises you have to make. Just something else to think about. ... https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-tech/boondocking-101-water-tanks-power-and-propane/?singlepage=1 I strongly caution you to avoid all slideouts, they are usually huge nightmares starting the very first year. Finding any recent model RV without a slideout is difficult, they are in fashion because people like the big floor space and they are also idiots. Here you go.... https://northern-lite.com/Truck-Camper-SE-10-2EXSE-DB.php OTH there is NOTHING out there for less than about $125k plus the cost of a HD truck that compares to an Ollie for build quality, features, warranty and above all customer service. John Davies Spokane WA

West Texas sunset.