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We do not bring but a few clothes that need to hang. We felt like we were losing so much storage area. I built shelves to fill the lower area of the closet. That curve is a bugger to work with. Shelves have a 4" lip in the front to help hold the gear. They are not perfect but work well.

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You'll find ScubaRX's disk brake project down on page 2 of this thread, with a April 18, 2017 entry date. Good Luck!

Your closet upgrade is fantastic! I'm thinking it's begging for a nice secure wine rack! Ha! Heck -- a few bungie cords over the top of the bottles... Might work?

Agreed, I wasn't concerned about the value of my Oliver but rather how this translates into people camping over the next few years as Mountainman implied. My wife and I just returned from a week trip to SW Utah. We noticed one very popular campground that had a few openings still at sunset even with no RSVP tags on the post. Perusing the BLM dispersed areas also return the same results. Now it is important to note the weather down there has been off the charts wet and unseasonably cold. We were bundled up for ever hike we did, 6 years ago same time give or take a week it was all t-shirts and shorts. Cutting to the chase in other forum threads my prediction was many of the people who bought into this during the pandemic will not stick with it. It wouldn't surprise to see a glut on the market wit used RV's for sale soon.

No issues the first 2K miles on Hull #1291. But, bearing issues usually do not appear for at least 10-12K miles. That said, I ordered a Nev-R-Lube bearing cartridge to have on hand as a backup, just in case. In the event of failure, it will save at least a week of down time waiting for shipment of the replacement cartridge.

Original thermostat works fine, though it flashes E5 which is an open circuit code because there is no more AC unity to connect to. Just toggle to thermostat to heat when you turn it on and the heater works as normal. 6 month now using the Houghton and we love it! Its quiet, the Heat pump works great, as long as outside temps are above 40" F. Runs 5-6 hrs so far on the lithium 640 amp Hr batterys. Hull 1144 LEll, FORD F150 2014

We have a Solostove Bonfire and love it. We have had it for years and use it at home as well as when we travel. The wood burns efficiently and once it gets going, the smoke goes straight up. I love camp fires but hate the smoke in my face!

Have you talked to Oliver Service?

Thanks John! They don't offer an inline valve, but I'm sure I can cobble something together. I don't want to end up spending as much as simply replacing my Big Red Campfire, though. I appreciate the input! https://torjik.com For real fires, we use the Pop-Up Firepit. It burns super clean, with very little ash due to great air flow. Plus, you can set it up where *you* want, instead of where the campground wants it. It Folds up into a roll about 4" diameter and 20ish" ling. https://firesideoutdoor.com/?_atid=fxO62CmNHSBrD5RpwMpejcX2IckA0C

We have recently stayed at 3 different places that would not allow any wood fires or charcoal fires. They did allow propane firepits and we were able to enjoy sitting outside in the chilly weather around our Outland portable fire pit. Other benefits are ease of use, quick setup and fast heat source, not hauling wood, and going to bed without smelling like a campfire. The disadvantages are cost of propane, lack of wood fire sound and smell, and burning pattern and complexity of a wood fire. Still, we won't go camping without taking our propane firepit along with us. Kirk

We picked up the tabletop SoloStove Mesa, it'll burn pellets as well as wood. The pellets are pretty easy to bring along. mesa

Just checked and the Outland firebowl on Amazon is back on discount again. Not as cheap as last time but still very much discounted. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KY4S388/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Very nice Job. It’s a tough space to organize for sure. We tend to carry different items with the season’s. We will get it figured out one day.

Based on my observations from 2.5 months of travel this Winter across NM, AZ and CA, this is already happening. Greater vacancies in campgrounds, BLM land and fewer rigs on the road than the two prior Seasons. It will be interesting to hear the experiences from those who camp and travel during the Summer months and in other States as to whether this trend is greater than just NM, AZ and CA over this past Winter.

That is primarily an illustration of why a Jeep owner “airs down” when going onto loose terrain. Wider footprint, more grip, less spinning and trail damage, at the expense of slightly lower ground clearance... It also shows why the tires’ rolling resistance goes up when you deflate your Ollie from 80 to 40 psi. It’s interesting to see that the footprint doubles in area between 40 and 15, but the change is a whole lot less dramatic above 40 psi.,. My sweet spot is 42, because I do minimal Interstate cruising, but lots of back highways and less that ideal road surfaces, AKA POTHOLES. Hit a 3 or 4 inch deep pothole at 50 mph with rock hard tires and you will think your trailer exploded. This shows a main arterial route here in Spokane, where we get lots of freeze thaw cycles. It also shows why the center stripe paint gets worn off so fast, all those studded tires on cars avoiding the holes BTW one of the local weather reporters calls the arteries “artillery” routes. It’s a hoot. John Davies Spokane WA

I recently had my original gas regulator die on Hull 505. I wasn't paying close attention when I ordered the replacement and ended up ordering one with a lower BTU Rating. The original Hull 505 part - GR-9984XF with 345,000 BTU from the Main Service Cylinder is what I should have ordered. The replacement part - GR-9994XF has 262,500 BTU from the Main Service Cylinder is what I have now sitting in a box. Since I learned of my error, I've ordered the original part and left the other new in the original box. I can't return it as the time's expired for exchange. Net Result: I have a NEW in Box GR-9994XF sitting in my garage. I'm wondering if the GR-9994XF would work as a spare for those of you with newer trailers that no longer have the Gas Fridge? If you're interested in the unit...send me a private message and we can work out details. Craig Short

Thank you Jeff for opening the door on this aspect of our "Clean Energy" asperations. The above comments are interesting and informative. I feel certain that the market will dictate where the Gas/Diesel fuel topic goes. I am more worried about the higher level aspect of where will all our energy to travel comes from. The below are my personal feelings and concerns with our energy infrastructure. Your hope is a good one, and I share it. But sadly I don't think there is any chance of that for many more years. As a country, and a world, we pretty much missed that boat 20 years ago. Why? Coal Power Plants: The EPA emission requirements for coal fired power plants have resulted in significant reduction of these "Cheap" to fuel environmentally dirty power plants. Down the road, it is not likely that they can or will be replaced as the older coal power plants are decommissioned due to age and high cost to meet Clean Air Act requirements. Significant coal investment on a national level died years ago. Nuclear: This for now, and likely 20 or more years, is the only power source that could meet the needs of the zooming EV and other needs. But they take way too long to build, and in some states it will ever happen. Hydro Power Plants: How many new lakes suitable for hydro power production have been built in the last 30 years? Basically none. How has hydro electrical production faired as a result of global weather change? Well down. With the EPA required environmental assessments becoming next to impossible to get approved, I don't anticipate this type of power production to be one to hang our hats on either. Wind/Solar: Yes, we are making huge investments in these technologies. Sadly the vast majority of this equipment is imported. Regardless, for sure in some locations, they will shoulder most of the DAY TIME power needed for the millions of EV's coming towards the market. But Wind/Solar can not be relied upon every day and night without major power storage. To date we just don't have the infrastructure or a technology to do so at a grid level. So back to burning more natural gas to charge all those EV's at night. So basically for the foreseeable future, I believe that Natural Gas will be used to fuel the vast majority of the power for the planned millions of EV's. But again our society has pretty much killed off the initiatives for the energy industry to build the pipelines necessary meet the pending demands of the EV. Worse, the energy industry as a whole does not trust that such billion dollar investments to be profitable to their share holders. Same problem with funding new refineries, pipelines, and drilling new fields as most of our existing fields are beyond their prime. The result is that there is a finite amount of natural gas that can be delivered and used for power production. Existing limitations will cause shortages and you can expect that the cost of power will rise significantly as time passes. Also that weather related problems will result in punishing costs to be incurred as we have not embraced buried utilities as many countries have. I can only hope that reliable battery technologies come on line, and we in the USA get our heads around the need for a comprehensive energy policy that addresses bridge technologies to get us through the next 20 years as we embrace the EV wave heading our direction. In the mean time: The utility companies are closely watching the Hawaii situation where our home and commercial use of solar panels have drastically changed the grid peak times for power production. Peak power production on Oahu used to be afternoons, and is now during late afternoon and evenings after sunset. Now they are moving us to time of NIGHT high power pricing. So if you are needing to replace appliances, recommend you consider ones that you can select when you want it to run. Investigate home solar panels, solar hot water generation, and solar produced power storage investments while there are federal, state and local incentives to do so. Have enough power storage so that you can use your investment when the grids are "temporarily" down. I think that the good news is that the Oil/Gas industry is not going away in our collective life spans. As such, our gas/diesel burning "old school" TV and Ollie will likely love the deserted roads at night when the solar powered EV power stations sit idle with thousands of EV's waiting their turn at the few grid powered Charging Stations. We'll beep beep our horn as they wait for sunup to get some juice into their batteries once again. I keep wondering why we rarely hear anything about addressing the capital costs for the needed electrical production, high voltage power lines and substations needed to feed the 50,000 power stations being built today. GJ

Still working on it, 15 seasons in... Every trip is different. We make it work.

They sure have gone up since 2019 when we purchased ours wowzer! 😕

JD: Great graphic. I intuitively knew what was happening with air pressure and tire contact/drag forces, but had not seen it visually. thanks for sharing. It also makes a great justification for not going over 50 PSI on our OE2's unless it is way loaded. For us in the 6,000 pound group, doing so would appear to be little drag reduction with increased down sides as discussed above. Would be totally cool if OTT could run the OE2 over a glass plate at these pressures to see how close it mimics the Jeep visual. My gut says it would be really close. GJ

Nice use of space while retaining some hanging space.

I don’t remember what size the mounting holes were, but I used some small round pads that I found at my local Ace Hardware store. They aren’t plugs, more like the pads you find on the feet of a table top radio or a clock. They aren’t rubber, maybe some space age material with a glue backing, but they are pretty thin and have stayed up almost 4 years. Amazon has a large selection of plastic or nylon hole plugs if you can find the right size. Mossey

Interesting forecast…….however I’m not certain how accurate that may be. There is a large demand for the diesel truck, not only by RV owners, but mostly construction, agriculture, and general use. The diesel develops much more torque at lower RPM’s than a gas engine and that gives it an advantage over a gas engine. The lower RPM also gives longer life to the engine, just on reduced wear. Auto manufacturers will do almost anything to squeeze more profit from the product, and yes the diesel is more costly to manufacture. I would not be surprised at all if you see the V8 engine (gas or diesel) eventually go away. That will be a sad day for many. I have owned several diesels in the pick-up truck offerings and have been very pleased with them. The current truck is a Ford F-250 with a 6.7 diesel and I have been very pleased and impressed with that truck. Before that I had a 2001 Dodge with a Cummins diesel and a manual 6 speed transmission, possibly the best and most trouble free vehicle I have ever owned. I am 73 and have had many vehicles over my driving history. The Dodge (pre catalytic emissions) was almost bullet proof. In the 15 years I owned it, the only problem was the A/C compressor and a water pump; both around the 150,000 mile mark. I have no doubt that truck will drive on for many more years and miles. If your needs are to only run down to the Home Depot on the weekend to pick up a few gallons of paint, or a sheet of plywood, then the electric truck may work for you. However if you are planning to pull 6,000 pounds or more cross country, and up and down steep inclines, then the electric truck will not do. The auto manufacturers love to push the electric vehicle concept, mostly because there is more profit and less production cost involved. I will never own one, and hope that my latest diesel truck will be my last, as I intend to drive it many, many years (or at least as long as I possibly can). Think about the major differences between electric and diesel powered vehicles and you can quickly see where the production and manufacturing cost advantages are. For an electric vehicle, you eliminate the cost and expense of an internal combustion engine, a complex transmission, as well as the final drive. All profit areas for the auto manufacturer to take advantage of. They are already adding a premium cost of about $10,000 to add the diesel package to a truck, and that is a huge profit margin for them as it is. Just imagine the profit advantages if they can design and manufacture just the battery pack and a couple of electric motors for the drive; and still sell the vehicle for the same, or possibly more, as a standard pick up being offered today. Electric trucks will have no place in the heavy duty truck market, nor in the over the road type of market. The endurance, and pulling limitations just to not work. My personal suggestion would be to find a new 3/4 ton, diesel powered, truck and plan on keeping it as long as you can. Having a good preventive maintenance schedule for it will insure you will drive it for many, many miles. Not all will agree with my perspective, and these are simply my personal feelings. Steve R.

I found accessing the fresh tank drain valve in our Elite I quite cumbersome since we leave the bed set up 100% of the time. We have the optional latex mattress which is heavy and awkward to move. So, I copied what others have done and installed an electric valve operated by a toggle switch. Works beautifully! BTW, when I removed the manual valve and inspected it, I saw a large piece of plastic debris wedged inside. Probably explains why it took so long for my tank to drain. Used the US Solid 3 wire electric valve and SPDT on/on toggle switch with flip cover to prevent accident activation of valve. All parts purchased through Amazon.

Update: Site G-5 John & Susan

Craig: Don't know which furnace and stove you have, but if you check their BTU input ratings you could find the answer. If the actual required loads are less than the rated load, you're golden. Here is all the Suburban models that are in my 2018 hull 342 furnace O&M manual: I suspect as you are way under the rated load, you will be fine. But do add up all your gas usages (BBQ, Stove, etc.) just to be sure. JPRussell

I just returned from another trip camping in temps below freezing. In the last two seasons, I've now done more then two month's of camping with temps staying below freezing even during the days. Have done the mods to assure that all areas of the basement stays above 50 degrees even when outside temperatures have dropped below zero. Tested with registered digital thermometers. I've now had multiple frozen lines under those conditions. I'm confident the culprit is the insulation (or lack thereof) and especially the type of insulations used - reflectix. This type of insulation does OK with radiational heat loss but not good at all with conductive heat loss. Translation is the pex lines freeze at points where they actually sit directly against the reflectix allowing the cold from outside to transfer through to the lines. The lines froze after a couple of days where temps were consistently in the low teens. My take is that these trailers without extensive mods are not safe to use the water system when outside temps sit in the low 20s for more than a day or so. By allowing air to flow through the basement, this threshold drops another 10 degrees. Without running heat tape along pretty much all pex lines and tank adding warming pads, an Oliver cannot operate with water below that. Our experience may not line up with others. Have asked before and do so here again for anyone who has used their trailer free of mods and used their water in ambient temps below the mid teens to share the particulars of their story. I'd love to be proven wrong on this but feel that, as sold, Olivers are not built for the type winter conditions found where snow is a common place thing.

Well, she may be a "vintage" Oliver Elite with almost 140,000 miles, but she's had a NEW upgrade to her list of many, many improvements over the years. Following ScubaRX's template from 2017, with some minor modifications, the old tired drum brakes have been retired to the history bin and have been replaced with disk brakes. Woohooooooo . . . Took her for a test run today and I'm very pleased with the result. If anyone is near San Antonio and desires the same modification (5200 lb axles required) contact Ron at Boerne RV - Eight 30 - 8 one 6 - 388 three and he will take good care of you.

Why would you get anything less than the maximum available battery power...? You can never have too much power but you can definitely have too little...? In the scope of the whole project...get the best!

OK - this is a great thread with a lot of stellar ideas! Thanks to all the contributors! That said, we've always loved a good fire whenever we're camping (RV, car, or backpacking). The options are out there depending on what you're doing. Since we've gotten a bit "long in the tooth" lately, it's been more RV camping than the others. Since RV camping obviously takes you into a variety of venues which, as noted above, may or may not allow wood burning. So, we give ourselves options, right? For camping areas where wood burning is allowed, we'll typically use the provided fire ring and enjoy sipping that Mezcal with all that smokey/crackling wood. When we can't burn wood - it's the Outlander for us. We love that piece of kit! With a dedicated 20# LPG tank and 12' hose - we put it wherever is convenient. The Mezcal works well with the Outlander, for sure and for certain. But our other option is the SoloStove. They're available in 3 or 4 sizes - we have an intermediate size called, "The Ranger." It'll efficiently burn 13" pieces of wood which I cut in advance of the RV trip - it really cranks out the heat as well. The SoloStove comes with an available pellet tray - very cool option! We can get 2+ hours of fireside Mezcal sipping & Macanudo burning with a stove-load of pellets. The unit is half the size of the Overlander and no lava rock dust in the back of your TV. So, where we're allowed to burn wood/pellets, it's our "go to" option. Suggest checking them out!

In part the article stated: According to the RV Industry Association, total RV shipments for January fell nearly 62% from a year earlier, marking a reversal for the industry, which saw demand rise during the pandemic. One of the reasons cited for falling demand are rising interest rates for larger loans like those used to purchase RV's. ad

Before we picked up our Oliver, I thought we would use a lot more propane, especially during cold weather camping. In reality we use far less propane even during cold weather camping then I thought. We typically leave it on eco mode and then on comfort when we take showers. No problem turning it off when it's not being used but I think it's a good habit to at least put it in eco mode when you don't need hot water. If you forget at night, you will be reminded when it powers up to heat the water. I usually just get up and turn it to eco mode or off in above freezing weather. Sometimes I forget to turn the propane on before turning on the Truma. If you do this and turn the thermostat to eco or comfort mode the amber light on the thermostat will blink. Also the Truma on/off switch green led will blink. Just turn the thermostat off and turn the Truma switch off. Turn the propane on. To be sure the propane is flowing, check it by lighting the stove. If the stove lights then turn the Truma on/off switch to on, then go back inside and turn the thermostat to eco or comfort mode and the amber light should be constant. You will also see the same thing happen if there is not enough fresh water circulating through the pump. I found that out the first time I used the antifreeze kit. I drained the fresh water tank thinking the antifreeze kit would just keep the water in Truma warm. But I soon learned that the pump runs continuously when in antifreeze mode circulating water through the Truma. Fortunately, the Truma has some built in failsafe's allowing the user to make some mistakes without damaging the unit.

Several years ago, I installed a SiriusXM receiver and antenna in the attic. The antenna is between the insulation and the outer hull. I don’t know what size GPS you are working with, but it’s very easy to put it between the insulation and the fiberglass outer hull at the back of the trailer in the attic. If it’s small, it would not be noticeable to someone looking, but you would be able to easily access it. Mike

Not a V8 but mileage on the 3.5 twin turbo (2017) was 12-13 on several round trips from the mountains of Western NC to the Rockies and back. Tonneau cover on FX4 trim truck with a 6.5 foot bed, max towing, and max payload. I understand that the V8 performance is about the same while towing but that the ecoboost has better gas mileage (22 to 24 mpg) when not towing. Bill

You can’t see the trailer behind, as it is still in the parts bins in Hohenwald. 😉 @bugeyedriver older cousin; 1958 MGA 1500 Roadster

Last winter I put a 4" vent through from the base of the toilet to the area under the dinette. It's an eyebrow style vent so shower water can't splash into the belly. I also removed the exterior shower head, brought that hose inside and re-attached the head. Also removed the hot and cold water knobs. Used closed cell foam to insulate the space behind the tiny door and two layers of reflectix to insulate the outer door. All super easy and very productive. Those belly areas were measurably warmer as was the temp in the bathroom as air now flowed through there where it had been a dead end.

Jason, Thank you for the update and clarification! It is always good to hear explanations concerning changes to Oliver Travel Trailer production from the service department. Mossey

Our original thought for the vent, was the bathroom exhaust fan. If you go into the bathroom, turn on the exhaust, and then close the door you can hear the fan struggle hard to work. Open the door and you can literally hear the fan relax. If this is the case there must be a negative pressure (vacuum) situation going on. So, thinking the inverse might also be true, came the idea for the vent. Thinking that with the door closed, like when using the bathroom, there would be a positive pressure when the heater fan was blowing. So the vent would allow the heat duct to "relax" and allow the air to get out and to the return air vent, hence increasing the heat flow to the bathroom. As you can see by the candle flame movement there certainly is air flow. We did restrict the air flow to the duct opening under the bed so that that air did not go out and immediately go into the return. We think the bathroom is a lot warmer in cool weather. We could have done the same thing by leaving the bathroom door open, as some do, but find that inconvenient while using the dinette.

Yes my original plan was to do that. But I wanted to see if it would even make a difference before I went through the extra effort . This took me about 10 minutes to swap the piping around to try it and it worked better than anticipated. Next step will be to clean things up a bit and most likely run rigid pipe where possible. Bill

I give credit to ScubaRX for detailing his disk brake modification back in 2017 and Ron for his mechanical prowess.

I purchased a 5" X 13" X 1/4" sheet of aluminum for mounting the actuator and asked Ron to ensure the fill port was mid-center, between the propane tanks. It is tight, but does not interfere with the tanks or make contact with the fiberglass shell. The actuator adaptor module which allows it to interface with modern in truck brake controllers is mounted on the inside of the street-side A-frame. One major change I asked Ron to do from ScubaRX's design is to enclose the entire run of the copper-nickle brake line in a protective stainless steel brake line protector from Summit Racing https://www.summitracing.com/parts/ops-gg31616ss It slips right over the brake line to protect it from stones. The line is run on the side of a frame member until it enters the fiberglass channel housing the propane line where it is well secured and away from anything that might chafe it over the long term. The grease bearing zerk fitting came with my 5200 lb axle. I never used it because one day a brake shop owner told me about all the extra work he was seeing because customers were applying too much grease, which squirted out of the seals, which then fouled up the brakes.

Just completed 8 weeks in the Oliver. The Houghton A/C was flawless. We used the heat pump function most mornings in Alaska and the Yukon - saving us a bunch of propane. I've said this several times - if you can't stand the noise of the Dometic and don't want to spend what I expect will be several thousands to have Oliver replace yours with a Truma - the Houghton is an excellent choice and very reasonably priced.

And then there is the Electric Airstream to go with your electric truck... https://robbreport.com/motors/aviation/airstream-new-electric-trailer-estream-1234659272/ Still, 300 mile range for the Ford truck and the trailer isn't enough.

Reminds me of beta vs vhs. And the winner is.....? We'll continue to see advancements in battery tech. I'm sure of that. I'm not a huge fan of traditional hybrids, because of the necessity to maintain two systems. But, they've definitely made headway, and reduced emissions. We're still in baby step stages, imo. Even with major advances in the last decade. Our kids and grandkids will see a very different way of powering vehicles. My money is on electric.

It sounds like you want to go first class on your upgrades. Before settling on your current intentions, you might explore the expanded benefits of a Victron solar controller and a Victron Multiplus 2k inverter/charger. After having upgrading to these items in an Airstream, I find I miss their capabilities in our Ollie. I know that I'll be changing our 2020 Ollie setup in the near future. I hate to spoil your plans, but I'd hate it more if I didn't point you toward the alternate options that I'll be making (again.) BTW, I think the Ollie is Sooo much better than comparable Airstreams!

Yep, put it in the middle with chairs around and it is quite cozy even in really cold weather!

Hadn’t thought about using it in the clam on a chilly night. Great idea!

Well, it is safe, am I the only one here that gets turned on by this kind of high end running gear? I do hate drum brakes, they are the spawn of Satan. The hardware, lug nuts and even the backing plates for the pads are stainless. http://www.sturdybuiltonline.com/Kodiak-Trailer-Slip-on-6-Lug-Disc-Brake-Kit-ALL-STAINLESS-w-SS-Hubs_p_968.html I plan to keep my drums for a while, but when they are too tired they are going straight into the trash. I really think that disc brakes should be a factory option, stainless would be nice but it's not needed unless you tow in winter on deiced roads. Disc brakes give significantly better towing mpgs, that alone would help mitigate the cost over many miles. Then there is the low maintenance and the cool factor .... ...which is undeniably important to me..... Comments? John Davies Spokane WA

My version of Disk Brake Porn Dexter D52 axles Nev-R-Lube bearings 12 inch 4 piston disk brakes