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Hi Everyone, We are happy to be the new owners of Hull #402. We have done a lot of tent camping, but we are new to RV camping. Looking forward to many adventures and excited to be a part of the Oliver Family!

@John Welte Hey John, Sorry to hear about your bike rack failure what brand bike rack was it? It might be helpful for others to know. Here is the rack we are using and are extremely happy with. It is pricey but I think the best made engineered two bike rack for the Oliver. We and other owners have logged several thousand miles with bikes on this rack with zero issues. Our bikes loaded including the rack itself weigh right at 107# well below the Oliver bike rack limit of 150#. A plus with the aluminum finish is looks and blends in well with the Oliver rear bumper. As stated in my previous post it will require a mod to the Oliver factory receiver. https://www.1up-usa.com/product/2in-super-duty-double-bike-rack/ Hope this helps, happy and safe cycling. Patriot🇺🇸

I have a couple of 1-Up Super Duty racks, they are lovely indeed, but like the Kuat racks, the tire braces are all that hold the bikes on. If a tire deflates unexpectedly things might get ugly. I strap down the rims to the trays and also add stout side support straps on longer trips. John Davies Spokane WA

Several years ago, I visited a fabricator Talmage, NM and he created a strong 2" aluminum receiver for my eBike. Rob designed and created an elegant hitch which allows enough space for the bumper to fold down, with significant structural hardening where it fastens to The Wonder Egg's frame. It holds the 1UP rack close enough to eliminate a large armature and far enough to keep the bike off the trailer. Was it expensive? Yes, and in this instance I got what I paid for and am very pleased. This was a number of years ago. You could contact Rob at 8 0 one, six 3 three, 4 two seven 7 and see if he still offers this service and inquire about current pricing. He is often away from the shop on jobs, so scheduling the job ahead of time is important.

I am not an engineer, but your comments make perfect sense and it would seem that it's not a good idea. We had a bike rack fail. Lucky for us it was 1/4 mile from home after a 4000+ mile trip. We were going slow so no damage to cars behind us. I want an over engineered rack and want to error on the side of caution. John

Many years ago when the kids (now grown-ups) were small, we found ourselves coming home early from a long weekend camping trip after waking up to surprise heavy snow conditions in the Rockies. We were about 30 minutes on the road after departing our campsite and turned into a country store for some road snacks for the kiddos. As I'm walking back from the store to our rig parked some distance away, I immediately notice - NO BIKES NO BIKE RACK! #@%* me, so I inform the family that we're headed back to collect our errant kit. 4 or 5 miles back up the hill climb on the snowy mountain road I drive up to the site in question where the bike rack contraption and bikes came to a stop. There's a dude with a couple others loading my kit into their truck bed. "Woah, guys! those are mine and I'm here to take them back!" After some rather heated negotiations we all agreed it would be best to let me have my stuff back. I loaded the mess into my TV and drove home. We now have a 1UP and are very pleased. Whew! The things you get away with in our younger years!

I thought I had posted something about airing out the hull using a fan, but that was nearly two years ago and I can't find the thread, if there is one at all. I wanted to update my findings on hull 110 (2016), which I purchased used in 2021. I had always noticed a "funny" smell from the trailer, especially from within the hull area. Not a horrible wet smell, but maybe more of a mechanical, glue-like smell. Well, even today the trailer still smells MUCH better, even after sitting in the sun all last summer. The inner hull is still not nearly as bad as it was when I purchased the trailer. I think Oliver, or more efficiently, the new owners, should air out their hulls a few weeks after they get them. Some owners get their new trailers so fast that I bet glue is still curing upon pick-up. This is what I do. A 24" fan blowing into the passenger side bed hatch with the dinette hatch open, tyically the one closest to the bathroom (not pictured), along with all windows open and roof fans running at least on low. Try it, see if it improves the hull smell, even on older Olivers. Good luck. I ran mine for hours on a nice sunny day the first time. I'm only showing the electrical hatch open, as that's where I was working replacing the CO detector today. 😉

Well, I put the new CO detector in, and for being the much less expensive color, it totally matches my #110 setup; maybe even better than the white one.

Wow, just checked out the 1up bike racks. Those are well engineered and well made. I'm really just as impressed with their web site and the functions they provide for 2D and 3D viewing. They're pulling at my heart strings! As a CAD draftsman this stuff is in my wheel house. We still have folks at great companies here in America that can design and produce the very best products. This is the way we will be going with a bike rack. With that being said, I'm fully in the camp of less is better on the back bumper of the Oliver. We have two very light Specialized Expedition city bikes. We should be less than 120 pounds including the rack. Thanks for sharing David!🍻

If anyone actually goes to this event or if you are near Camp Hale - there is a small stream with a couple of ponds that parallels the main road for roughly a half mile. Stop in one or two of the turn-outs that are there and watch those ponds for a minute or two. At least two beavers reside there! Bill

Thanks for that information ScubaRx. I would love to see your design. I definitely want to have a 2 inch receiver. I app your post! Kirk

I was on the 1Up USA website and noticed they now sell cargo carriers. So I decided to post up a link in case anyone is considering a cargo carrier for their Ollie. We have the 1Up Super Duty (2) bike rack and are very pleased with the fit, finish and fitment. These cargo carriers look really nice. USA made! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://www.1up-usa.com/product/60in-hitch-mounted-cargo-carrier/ Patriot🇺🇸

Mike and CnC: Exactly my thoughts and procedures as they echo the Battleborn guidance. The intent of my post was to get just such feedback. That said, the advice and procedures stated are only for OUR Battleborn based systems. Other manufacturers have their procedures to be followed. The very reason it makes sense (as all three of us did!) to always state what battery manufacturer and size/model we are talking about. Especially for Lithionics that vary quite quite bit from Battleborn, especially in the topic of cold weather unattended storage requirements. . GJ

Back to that engineer's perspective: JD: Love it! All: We have safety chains/cables up front on Ollie to keep it with the TV during an OOPs. Might be a good idea to have a safety strap on the bikes themselves that is tied to Ollie's frame. At least should there be an OOPs, it will stay with you. GJ

Welcome and congrats on your new to you LE2 Ollie! We also did plenty of tent camping years ago, we love camping in Ollie!

Wish I was close to Hohenwald but Bellingham WA is a bit of a drive.. Awning "should be here in a couple weeks"...we'll see... Still learning lifes "lessons"...

Dicor is not a "bad" brand. Have you asked Oliver Service what they use? If you talk "sweet" enough - perhaps they would send you enough to do the door? Bill

I don’t have the factory solar package (but I do have the wiring), so not sure if this will help, but there is the master DC 60 amp breaker and another smaller 20 amp resetting breaker (under the red rubber cover), for the DC circuits under the street side bed that you can check for proper voltages as part of your troubleshooting.

"Sorry to hear about your bike rack failure what brand bike rack was it?" Patriot, it was a hitch bike rack between our tent trailer and our tv. It was made in Portland, Oregon. The failure happened because they forgot to finish welding the rack! It had 1/2 welds and 1/2 tack welds if I remember right. Never having seen how it was supposed to look like, I trusted it was done right. I was just lucky that it failed so close to home and not at freeway speeds. Thanks for the info on the rack. I have the Oliver bike mount but haven't bought the rack yet. John

I am a new Litho user so this is my dumb question(s) response: The idea of draw-down and recharge past "Resting Full Charge" on to equalization level is to ensure that all the cells are "together" voltage wise. For our Battleborns (3 Each 100AH = 300 AH Total), and charging at 60 amps, I was advised to charge up to 13.7 (RFC) and continue charging with our Progressive Dynamic's 60 amp charger for 30 minutes/ battery = 90 minutes. It will peak out at 14.7 and stay there for the equalization process. At that point, shut off the charger and it will settle back to RFC of 13.7 volts and all cells will be at that voltage allowing use of 100% of the installed batteries. The idea is to over charge for equalization purposes periodically. Bill's question and responses above went "Tilt" in pea brain so, I can't help but ask: Is there a reason to take it all the way down to the Low Voltage Cutoff (LVC)? Wouldn't just say 30% Status of Charge (SOC) do just as well? GJ and other new Litho's are a pondering......

At first when I read your response, I was sad face due to bike damage and trip interruptions. Then I was happy face when it was close to home and no damage to others property or person. What many of us, my self included, lacking was a full understanding how ROUGH the trailer contents inside the trailer in the attic or even on the bed at the aft of Ollie is while traveling. My eye opener came when I put my paraglider on the bed at back. I somehow bounced it off there and onto the floor. And it had been fully wedged in. When I place it at the front end of the bed, it travels quite nicely. Further back past the spare tire is true war zone as far as damage to things and stresses forced upon the cargo, tire or bikes back there. Owners contemplating putting anything back there should take a look at the massive amount of metal that keeps the spare tire in place. That was not designed by accident. Our spare tire weighs about the same as an E-bike. But with two and several feet of lever arm.... Let's just say that it would not have a chance on a trip to Alaska or for that matter just about anywhere off road. For grins I Googled Travel Trailer Bike rack Fails and a few others below. From RV Net Forum: https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27780211/print/true.cfm Some interesting fails. That said, I found one solutions that as an engineer I really liked, but for sure would add a couple of gas shocks to take the load off when loading/unloading: GJ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And to round this out with a video for the youngsters try this one: GJ

We're talking about it. We'll be in the general area for a Land Cruiser event that ends on the 16th and we will have our Oliver in tow. Not sure if my wife will want to spend more of her vacation time balance for this or not. Just last year we spent a day running 4x4 trails around Camp Hale with a group of Land Cruisers. I remember stopping next to the cement structures in the photos to air up and air down tires. It's a beautiful area. Should be very peaceful.

Could not agree more, Bill! We've got it on our radar screen. Love it up in Leadville. We've backcountry skied into several of the 10th MTN DIV. huts near Leadville over the years. Plus it's just down the road from our place, less than 6 hours time. Flew in and out of LXV several times back in the day! One of, if not the highest elevation airport in the CONUS. Can't confirm right now, but I believe there's a real good chance we'll make, brother... Cheers.

Vic: From an Engineer's perspective, the ultra long moment arm of the assembly loaded with two heavy E-Bikes gives me concern for even good highway use. However, with the G-Forces induced by rough roads, and worse if taken off-road, my concern rises to grave. Under such conditions, be advised that: Due to the moment arm length and heavy load, that it would be prudent to counter balanced (by additional front of trailer loads) to somewhat restore your Ollie's great antisway characteristics somewhat. There is a significant potential for your added hitch, and/or the OTT components supporting it to unexpectently fail. I highly recommend your shortening the moment arm to a minimum and reduce the load if possible. As pictured this design IMHO is an accident looking and waiting for the worst possible opportunity to fail. GJ

Curiosity is also the name of the boat that a popular YouTube couple uses for their boat - Gone with the Wynns. Bill

Paul Harvey mode on: “And now, for the rest of the story!” The inspiration for the came from a video by the “From She To Me” YouTube channel, which is the travels of a couple our age in their class B van. The voiceover for a recent trip was “Every one of our journeys begin with curiosity. What will we discover? What challenges might we encounter? What will be the lessons we learn?” I paused, replayed that scene, and paused again. Epiphany moment! I turned to Deb and asked how “Curiosity” sounds for a name for our new Oliver, and she was all for it. Then I looked at various images for graphics inspiration. I saw the corporate logo for Curiosity Software Ireland, and thought I’d fiddle with something along those lines. On a whim, I wrote to them asking permission to use their logo. Surprisingly, not only did they approve, but enthusiastically so, offering original graphics files and their endorsement. They plan to tell our story on their social media blog. Crazy how both events happened!! Serendipity! (which was my original thought for a name.)

I prefer this brand of snap cap. John Davies Spokane WA

I would like to say here that Oliver will probably not be much help on a 2" receiver as there hitch 1 1/4" was designed for certain amount of weight and going to a 2" receiver is going to let owners overload there designed hitch assembly. Plus I see in many of the pics that many extend there assembly by some two plus feet beyond the hitch assembly, I would think this would put much more stress on the assembly then Oliver designed it for. I see no problem with a 2" receiver, but you still have to control your weight and what you are doing. trainman

This is how the current situation got started. Years ago, Oliver’s sales manager asked me to come up with a design for a bike rack. I did and they built a good 2” rack that could handle any two bikes. They informed all buyers of the rack its weight limitations and even had a sticker stating that information proudly displayed on each rack. Oliver built a bunch of these units with my design but ultimately changed it to the current rack first with a 2” receiver then moving down to a 1-1/4” receiver due to “the incident.” Much like the general population, there are a few owners that don’t necessarily read and follow directions. One owner didn’t. He bought one of the racks with the 2” receiver and, although I don’t know exactly what happened, I can imagine him installing one of those flat racks you see hanging off the tail end of a vehicle. He probably loaded a cooler of ice and beer on one end and a plastic tote of whatever beside it, put a coupe of bungees around it and called it good. Somewhere along his way everything proceeds to turn to shite. He complains to Oliver that his expensive rack didn’t meet his expectations, they wonder how it failed if it hadn’t been overloaded, he swears it couldn’t have been, one thing leads to another and here we are… I’ll be happy to share my design with anyone. Although I don’t carry bikes on it, I’ve used it on the rear of our Hull #050 many times carrying upwards of 200 pounds. I’ve never had an issue with it.