Leaderboard

To Oliver Owners and Valued Customers, The Oliver team and family greatly appreciates and values our current owners and individuals that are considering the purchase of an Oliver. Without you the organization and Oliver brand would not be what it is today. As most of you know, Oliver Travel Trailers is going through a transition period and some of the decisions have created some questions and potential uncertainty as it relates to the direction of the company. Oliver is paying attention, listening, and monitoring all of the feedback and comments on the forum, social media, emails, and phone calls. Oliver Travel Trailers’ intent is to be very straightforward and honest with our owners, potential customers, and employees. Integrity is the foundation of the Oliver brand. Oliver feels an official company update is appropriate to help clear things up. The following are some key facts: The rumor that Oliver Travel Trailers is positioning the business to sell is absolutely a false statement. The Oliver sales team is still actively working with all new and existing customers to answer questions and assist in the purchasing process. If you are interested in purchasing an Oliver or have questions, please contact us directly. The Oliver service team is still actively providing technical support to our Oliver owners to ensure issues are resolved as quickly as possible. If you have technical support needs, please contact us directly for assistance. The decision to close the service department at this time has not been received well by many Oliver owners and potential customers. Oliver leadership is listening and plans to have discussions on this topic next week. Oliver will update our owners in the coming weeks regarding any changes. Again, Oliver Travel Trailers truly values the voice of our owners and potential customers. We’re listening and we care. Oliver Travel Trailers isn’t a prefect organization, but we are committed to ensuring our brand, our owners, and our future customers have a product and customer support that is the best it can be. Thank you for being part of the Oliver Family. Rodney Lomax Director of Operations Oliver Travel Trailers Sales & Service

Hey guys, Phil here with Oliver Travel Trailers. It is important to understand that we as a company have not made any decisions to partner with any other entities at this time. It is simply a consideration to offer the best service from a handful of service centers/dealers to our customers who live the farthest away from Tennessee. We do NOT have any plans to mass produce the Oliver. Quality will not suffer as we will still have control of manufacturing and inspecting the trailers before they roll off the line. We haven't lied to or mislead anyone, rather, we have reached out to you, our family members and best sales force for your feedback. Thank you for those who have responded with your concerns. We are reading and listening to each of them and taking them seriously. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

It was quite painful to sell, but this was the correct move at this stage in my life. For privacy I won’t say who bought it, but he is a member and if he wants to announce it, that will be on his dime. I emptied out the RV bay for the first time in six years, washed the floor using a push broom and Dawn detergent, and lots of water, and moved my LC200 over to that spot. I now have a vast area to park a vehicle or do workshop type projects, and my wife now has a big corner dedicated to gardening, with two big workbenches, power, light and pegboard. A happy wife is a happy me… Plus I have even more room for my indoor 10 meter airgun range. We will continue to travel and explore the back country at times, but we will stay primarily in motels or B&Bs. But if we encounter a splendid isolated pull-off overlooking a great vista, we can pop the Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon and rough it for a few nights. It takes about a minute to crank up, and three minutes to put back down. It is pretty darn crude compared to an Ollie, but it is a simply stunning tent. I was really afraid that there would be a big mpg hit from the tent, like with the Yakima RocketBox Carbonite Low, but I was delighted to discover that I got 16 mpgs going to the dealer with bare round bars, and 17 coming back, and no noise at all at 72 mph. That is good mileage for a Land Cruiser with LT tires, they are gas hogs. It’s way better than the 10-12 I got towing “Mouse” at 62 mph. I may install wimpy Geolander AT G015 tires after our next big trip, they will save 52 (!) pounds of rotating mass and I expect to gain another couple of mpgs. They are great “tweener” tires for an Outback, RAV4 or LC200 that isn’t doing lots of rocky stuff. I have had two sets already on other vehicles and I am impressed. We plan to attend the Total Solar Eclipse rally in Fredericksburg next April, but we will be forced to sleep in the ground due to stupid CG rules. If anyone wants a dirt cheap big heavy Eureka! tent and fly in fine condition, come by and talk to me on Tuesday morning after the crowds have departed. After the eclipse, we will head home via the Utah parks and hopefully spend a few nights on the delightful White Rim Road in Canyonlands NP. I will continue to hang out here on the forum, but my posting will be dramatically reduced. The members here feel very much like family, I can’t just go away. John Davies Spokane WA

Just passing along: Heard back from Rodney Lomax, Sales Manager at factory about a few minor changes to 2024 model year: No big changes as many happened last year. 1) Delete both street side water ports from side of trailer Simplify down to just 2 ports for water. ( These side mounted ports get lots of grime and road abuse. Moving to rear should help.) 2) Move current street side fresh tank fill to left side of rear bumper. (Like the current boondocking port on right (curb) side.) 3) Change right rear boondocking port valves so it is both the regular pressurized input line….and a boondocking port. (In 2024 Only 2 ports for water on rear of trailer) 4) Rework body moulds to remove the inset used for upper fridge vent. New fridges don’t need that vent. The trailer will then be streamlined all the way to the door on the upper hull. 5) The exterior solar port will no longer be standard but will be a dealer option for customers that wish to have it. (Note: Several owners added their own solar ports in the past.) 6) There is a possibility of a bathroom door change but that is still in the R & D phase and may not pan out.

Summary: Check under your kitchen sink I walked up to an Oliver at a campground one time to introduce myself. I noticed water running down the curb side rear stabilizer. After exchanging greetings I brought the leak to the attention of the owner. After looking under the curb side bunk and finding nothing I suggested that he look under the kitchen sink for the source of the leak. Upon removal of the drawers he found water soaked plywood caused by a loose coupling on the kitchen sink drain trap. Since then I have tried to check mine occasionally to ensure that it is tight and to look around for any other problems. Today I found that the quarter turn stop on the hot water was not completely open. It had probably been like that since we took delivery. Anyway, I opened it and improved the hot water flow at the sink. Occasionally remove your (kitchen) drawers and check on stuff down there -tightness of the drain coupling -quarter turn stops fully open -refrigerator plug plugged in -hose weight located between back of drawers and rear of cabinet carcass -hose not twisted -any sign of moisture -anything rubbing against something -and especially that blue clip on the faucet hose assembly. There was an owner that heard water running underneath her sink when she turned the faucet on. Turns out that blue clip was missing and the hose had completely separated. We have a 2018 OEII, hull 313. Some of this stuff has probably changed. The round port was added after production to access a loose clamp on the exit end of the fresh tank overflow hose. It sure is useful for checking below the cabinets. There is a plumbing vent under the back right corner of the range. It is supposed to let air in and not let grey tank smells out. If you are smelling something foul (grey tank odors, not black tank odors) and you can’t locate a leak you might have a bad plumbing vent.

Like others, we’ve been disappointed with the lack heating in the bathroom. In our Oliver, even the kitchen had minimal air flow and hot air was blasting under the bed. When I took a closer look at the duct routing from the furnace, the problems became obvious. There were two 4” ducts coming out of the furnace, one from the front outlet facing towards the registers, and the other from the rear outlet facing away from the registers. The front outlet was connected to the bedroom register with one 900 bend. It had the shortest run with the least turns, and twice as much air flow as the other two combined. The rear furnace outlet was connected to the kitchen register after making a 1800 u-turn. From there it was Tee’d and reduced to 3” to feed the bathroom. The 3” duct then takes a long and torturous path to reach the bathroom. The resistance from over 2800 of turns, and the longer run, resulted in much lower air flow to both the kitchen and the bathroom. I also found a hole from where the duct had been rubbing on the hot water valve, and the kitchen had a restrictively tight bend at the register. Fortunately this was a relatively easy fix, and the results were significant. Our 2022 Elite II has the Dometic furnace, but I suspect that other furnace brands could have similar ducting issues and it might be worth taking a look. The sketch shows how the duct routing was modified for better balance to all three registers. The bedroom and kitchen registers now feed from the high resistance u-turn at the rear furnace outlet. The bathroom has its own feed from the front outlet giving it the minimal number of turns possible. This modification involved moving the Tee which is under the kitchen cabinet. There is an access port under the forward kitchen drawers to reach the Tee and kitchen register, and it’s best to pull them right out of the access port to work on them. The 3” bathroom reducer stays in place and it gets a new duct directly to the front furnace outlet. The bedroom/kitchen gets connected to the rear furnace outlet. Rather than using flexible duct to make the 1800 u-turn, I used two 900 rigid fittings for less flow resistance. All of the parts needed for this modification are readily available at hardware stores. They usually sell duct by the foot, I bought 5’. Use sheet metal screws and foil duct tape for the connections to make sure they don't come apart. The kitchen register can be screwed together from the inside of the register rather than trying to do it from under the cabinet. I used an anemometer before and after the modification to measure flow, and a on-line calculator was used to get Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM): Before After Bedroom - 4” 100.7 53.2 Kitchen - 4" 39.3 65 Bathroom - 3" 11.8 30.2 Total 151.8 148.5 Cheers, Geoff

Hull 505 - Galway Girl Made it to mile 0. Updates later.

Ok... I love these forums! Nothing like great ideas shared by a group of common minded OTT owners. I'm thinking I stole this one from a comment that @SeaDawg mentioned a while back regarding his "LED-lit" Shower Fan. Well, Diane read his post and thought it would be a good upgrade - so, the new MAXXAIR w/LED unit arrived yesterday via Amazon (Happy Wife - Happy Life category). This would be the short story of its installation... First off, the original VANAIR Ventline fan assembly operated perfectly - no leaks, no bearing wobble, smooth actuation, but alas, no LED. It's the exact unit we had in our previous SOBs. BTW: Its up for grabs - a "freebee", I'll cover any CONUS shipping costs for anyone needing a Ventline. There was major brain cramping involved to plot-out a list of instructions for the R&R drill, especially the Removal phase. The first "R" was straight forward - using a plastic "razor" scrapper to remove the butyl tape from the gelcoat. Cleaned gelcoat with a fresh microfiber cloth doused with an ounce of rubbing alcohol. 2. Filled original mounting holes with clear silicone, they will be further sealed with the butyl tape attached to the new fan housing. 3. Cut-to-fit the included plastic sleeve that fits between the top flange and bottom (shower side) trim piece. Applied clear silicone around circumference of plastic sleeve and upper gelcoat. BTW - the OTT factory fan hole was exactly the correct diameter - no additional cutting was needed (WHEW!). 4. Mounted new assembly up top, carefully pre-drilled/chamfered 8 new holes in exterior gelcoat. Lightly torqued-in stainless screws enough to "push" butyl tape out from flange. Trimmed tape and applied clear silicone around perimeter of flange. 5. Rain guard: The new unit included a "rain-guard" which may be helpful if operating the fan in a heavy downpour. Applied butyl tape on the RG flange and carefully pre-drilled/chamfered 6 new holes for the RG. Trimmed tape after torquing screws in and then applied clear silicone around perimeter of RG. Attached fan cap with the provided 2 white screws. 6. Applied clear silicone to the trim piece groove where plastic sleeve seats. Carefully pre-drilled/chamfered 4 new holes for the trim. Connected 12vDC power to fan motor and LED - used solder and heat-shrink for connections. Tucked wires inside trim piece and mounted it with 4 screws. 7. Unlike the Ventline unit, the MAXXAIR has a locking mechanism when depressed allows the fan lid to open/raise. Its raises/lowers smoothly. Fan and LED each have separate switches. And as, I believe, @Patriot has recently said, "Let there be light!" One and done... Happy Wife.

I asked my husband to build me some closet shelves after seeing posted photos of others who have added shelves, and here they are! I love it! So much more space and so much more organized! We opted to not wrap the shelf around the right side because I hang a shoe rack and I didn’t want to lose hanging space. He did add a small shelf on the opposite side. We ordered the black rubber shelf lining from Oliver which will be here soon. I also added command hooks to hang hats. I love that the wasted space behind the clothes rod is now useable and valuable space. ❤️ IMG_7332.mov

Tired of my books scattered all over the trailer and staring at the wasted space under the streetside twin bed “wing”, I installed three plastic bins that I found at Target ($6/ea) and installed using command velcro strips so they can be easily removed for cleaning. Now my books have a home, are easy to access while in bed and don’t fly around on rough roads. Bin dimensions/ea are roughly 5”Hx5”Wx14.5”L. I installed them about mid-way up the wall under the bed so there is still toe room underneath and books can still be removed easily.

Our first 3 nights were at Grand Codroy campground, 30 minutes north of the Channel-Port aux Basques ferry terminal. The campground overlooks a large meandering river. We found it to be very peaceful and well maintained. A short drive from the campground is the most westerly point on the island. The next 3 nights we are at Sandbanks Provincial Park on the southern shore of Newfoundland. It’s a four hour drive from our previous campsite, where you perfect your pothole avoidance techniques. There are beautiful sandy beaches a fairly short walk from the campground. We are heading north from here, to Blow Me Down Provincial Park.

I have a little experience with corroded stainless steel. My experience is from when I TIG welded the stainless steel brewing fittings together for my home brewery. I already knew how to weld mild steel, but had to research the specifics of welding stainless steel and how to maintain its stainless characteristics. Are you using a chlorine bleach based cleaner on your sink? Stop doing that. Chlorine can dissolve the protective oxides on a stainless steel surface, exposing the metal surface to the environment which leads to rust. How about cleaning the sink with steel wool? That's not good either. Iron fragments can get microscopically lodged in the stainless which leads to rust. Use a ScotchBrite pad or bronze wool instead. In order to passivate (establish the protective chromium oxide layer) the recently cleaned spot on your stainless steel sink, you need to use a product containing oxalic acid. As mentioned earlier, Bar Keepers friend is one product. Others include Klein King Stainless and Copper Cleaner, and Revere Copper and Stainless Steel cleaner. Bar Keepers friend comes in a powder and a liquid. I always make a paste out of the powder and scrub the area clean with a ScotchBrite pad to passivate any recently welded stainless steel fittings. A paste of Barkeepers Friend powder and a green ScotchBrite scrubby pad should take care of the issue on your sink. Just keep the chlorine bleach products away from anything stainless steel. HTH, Ken

Thought this might be an interesting read for Oliver TT owners. This is quite an achievement especially helping folks who have might require or need this type of specialty tub. https://www.lewisherald.com/story/2023/04/20/news/oliver-fiberglass-celebrates-milestone-of-150000-safe-step-walk-in-tubs/6028.html Nice job Oliver!! Patriot🇺🇸

I spoke to Anita yesterday and passed on everyone's well wishes. For some reason she is unable to access the forum inside the facility so she's not been able to respond here. She is currently in a step-down rehab facility in Columbia, TN. She states she is still in a lot of pain, but she is very appreciative of all our thoughts and prayers. She thinks she may be there several months. I'm hopeful that won't be the case. She did say that she is able to get into a wheelchair for short periods of time. They do not want her sitting up too long at this period of her rehab.

Oliver offers a yearly maintenance package for our customers. The maintenance items included in this package are things that need to be performed for typical camper use at least once per year. This does not mean that this is the only time of the year that you will need or have to perform some of the these maintenance items. Some customers may be able to go longer than one year for some of the items as maintenance is based on usage & environment. Many of the items have been added to our yearly maintenance list because so many people do not perform them and we felt it was best to perform it once per year rather than never. A/C Filter Cleaning: We perform this in the yearly maintenance but in dry environments it should be done weekly. A/C Condenser Coil: Recommended with Dometic A/C at least once per year however depending on the environment of use it could need to be cleaned as often as 2-4 times per year. Birds can also make nests inside when left unused for a period which would also require cleaning. Exterior Caulking: We recommend doing this at least once per year. Depending on the use and environment it may need to be done sooner or if you keep the camper stored half of the year inside then you may be able to go two years. If you do not caulk every year, we recommend that you at least inspect the caulk. Furnace Cleaning: Basic cleaning should be done once per year however insects can invade and build nests that would require cleaning as needed. Plumbing Decalcification: We recommend at least once per year but depending on hard water use & gallons used you may find that it is necessary to perform this 3-6 times per year. Some areas are known for extremely hard water content and you may have to decalcify once per month or use a water softener. Water Filtration systems do not soften water. Water Heater Decalcification: We recommend at least once per year but again depending on use you may have to perform this 2-4 times per year. The Truma water heater will flash when decalcification is necessary however once the unit needs to be decalcified you must stop use and perform the steps. The Suburban water heater does not provide a warning and you will need to periodically drain & inspect. Blade Valve Lubrication: We would recommend lubricating valves about every 2-3 months to ensure best results. Repack Bearings: Dexter recommends every 12 months or 12,000 Miles, whichever comes first. If you drive more than 12,000 miles per year we would highly recommend having the bearings repacked by the 12,000 mile point. Failure to repack the bearings in time can result in failure & breakdown. Grease EZ Flex: This should be done every 3 months or 3,000 miles whichever comes first. 7-Pin: The 7-Pin should be inspected every time you connect it. Water intrusion can cause corrosion which will lead to issues. A freshly cleaned 7-Pin that has water intrusion can corrode as quickly as just a few days. Coupler: Lubricating the coupler should be done as often as needed. Lubrication on an exposed part does not last. The coupler does not have to be greased but a good lubricant should be used to ensure the spring & lever operation works smoothly. Some rust buildup is normal on a steel coupler. Bulldog recommends greasing the ball pocket however Andersen does not recommend greasing for the ball. Grease will not prevent wear but it will help with rust. Tire Pressure: This should be checked every time you pull the camper. Air, over time, can escape thru the sidewall of the tires. Improper tire pressure can cause the tires to wear sooner. Window Tracks: Depending on where you camp you may need to clean the window tracks out as often as every week. Tree debris & sap can start to buildup in the tracks on day one. Once the white window glazing is left uncleaned for a period of time it will remain stained with mildew. The design of the window track makes it near impossible to completely clean the entire track as part of it is hidden under the stationary window. Air helps to free any debris on that side of the track & running water through it with the glazing removed. You can take a rag and clean as much of the track as you can but don't fret if some staining is left. The primary objective is to remove as much debris as possible that will block the weep holes. If the weep holes get blocked then water will backup and overflow to the interior. Sanitize Fresh Water System: If you leave the camper sitting for a period of time it is a good idea to sanitize before hand. This will keep algae from growing in your tank when water is left sitting for too long. You should also sanitize before using the camper after it has set for a long period of time (2-3 months). Deodorize/Clean Black & Grey Tanks: This should be done with every fill (Complete tank fill, not a single use). When setting up camp & using the tanks it is best practice to add treatment to the tanks. Black tank treatment helps breakdown waste during use but once the tank is flushed the treatment is gone. The black tank should be allowed to fill up with waste during use and a single waste dump once the tank is near full. This allows time for the waste to breakdown and a better waste dump. *Never connect to a dump station with your black tank valve open as to dump while in use. This will cause the water to flow quicker than the solids leaving the solids behind in the tank. As is with all maintenance, the better you maintain your camper the better performance you will receive. Failure to properly maintain will result in more issues. All the listed items above are recommended maintenance for the best camping experience. The yearly maintenance package is to complete required and recommended maintenances at least once per year but should not be considered the only time you maintain your camper. There are other items that should be done regularly that we do not perform in the yearly maintenance. Some of these items are: Fan Cleaning: Dust & grease from cooking inside the camper can accumulate on the fans. You should clean the fans periodically as needed. Failure to clean the fans can cause unwanted noise & performance issues. Wash & Wax: This is NOT performed during our yearly maintenance package but we do recommend that you wash your camper frequently & wax it at least once per year. Again, waxing once per year is the minimum and it is better to wax twice per year. If you really want to keep the exterior looking its best than it is recommended to wash frequently & use a good spray on wax such as Duragloss Aquawax every time you wash. The spray on wax does not however take place of the old fashioned wax that should be done once or twice per year unless you are washing & spray waxing the camper every week. Black Tank Flush: There is a water inlet dedicated just for flushing the black tank. This is something that is best done every time you drain the tank. Water Pump Filter Check: Inspect the water pump filter before or after every camping trip. The filter's purpose is to catch unwanted debris that may be in the tank from entering the fresh water pipes.

Ever since getting my Oliver I have loved modifying different aspects of it. I have done a bunch of stuff to the electrical system such as going mostly Victron for all components except for the inverter. Here is my latest mod which consisted of building an aluminum rack and adding 3 200 watt Newpowa solar panels for a total of 600 watts onboard. They will feed into a Victron 100/50 SCC. Just got the panels installed today and will be working on the connections tomorrow. I also need to fabricate a bracket for the front panel for a little more security but overall it is very solid. 😛

From late May to mid-June my wife and I took a loop trip from our home in Dallas, TX to: Greenville, SC; Asheville, NC; Asheboro & Seagrove, NC and back to Dallas. The trip covered approximately 1900 miles, with significant temperature variation. During the trip we experienced erratic performance by the Norcold Model 412 refrigerator, standard equipment in our 2022 Oliver Legacy Elite II trailer. The refrigerator would not maintain food safe temperatures in either compartment, except when operating on AC current. This problem occurred mostly on the second half of the trip, as daytime temperatures exceeded 90 degrees (F). Especially when in transit, operating on propane or DC current, the refrigerator temperature would climb to approximately 60 degrees and the freezer into the mid 20s. We contacted Oliver Service and made an appointment to have the refrigerator problem assessed in Hohenwald. We later decided not to divert from our trip plans and to deal with the problem when we returned home. Upon our return home to Dallas, TX, on June 20, I began a series of tests with the trailer parked in our driveway. To monitor the temperatures in the refrigerator and freezer, I used an AcuRite Digital Wireless Fridge and Freezer Thermometer, which we had purchased to monitor the Norcold refrigerator and had been using since September, 2022. I also used an Etekcity Infrared Thermometer 1080 to compare readings with the Acurite thermometer. The AcuRite and Etekcity thermometer readings agreed closely. With the refrigerator empty, I recorded the time required to go from ambient temperature to food safe temperatures using AC, DC or propane. Using AC, the refrigerator/freezer would reach food safe temperatures in 6-7 hours (low 40s F for the refrigerator; 0 degrees F for the freezer) with ambient temperatures ranging from 87 to 99 degrees F. Once achieved, when on AC, the temperatures on both compartments would hold in a food safe range. Conducting the same test on propane, the refrigerator and freezer would reach only 62 degrees and 19 degrees F, respectively after more than 12 hours of operation. This test also was done while ambient temperatures ranged from 87 to 99 degrees F. Similar results were observed while operating the refrigerator on DC. I again contacted Oliver Service and was recommended to take the trailer to an authorized Norcold service provider. Blue Moon Mobile RV (Blue Moon) was determined to be the closest available Norcold service provider. I arranged an appointment to bring the trailer to Blue Moon for troubleshooting of the refrigerator. Technicians at Blue Moon confirmed my observations of the behavior of the refrigerator. They also confirmed the cooling function was working properly, since proper temperatures were achieved when operating on AC. They also confirmed the single, small fan located at the rear of the refrigerator was operational, but providing insufficient air flow for the refrigerator to operate properly when ambient temperatures were high. Blue Moon conferred with Norcold technical support on their findings. Blue Moon and Norcold recommended additional fans be installed to dissipate warm air behind the refrigerator. Having anticipated installing additional fans, I had done online research and chose a dual fan assembly from Beech Lane 12V RV Fridge Ventilation Cooling Fan 5.5" (140mm). These fans come with a remote control with which fan speeds and threshold temperature may be set manually or automatically. These fans were installed by Blue Moon in the upper vent opening of our LEII. The 12VDC power supply to the refrigerator was also used to power the fans. The remote control was mounted to the cover over the refrigerator circuit board using double sided tape. The excess length cables provided with the fans were bundled with zip ties and secured nearby, as shown below. Blue Moon tested the operation of the refrigerator following the installation of the Beech Lane fans and reported food safe temperatures were being achieved and held, with high ambient temperatures. On July 19 I picked up our trailer from Blue Moon and returned home to repeat my prior tests to compare results running the refrigerator on propane and on DC. The trailer was parked in the same location in our driveway as previously. After installation of the ventilation fans, using propane, the refrigerator and freezer compartments achieved safe food temperatures in approximately 8 hours, with the refrigerator control set to 7, despite ambient temperatures ranging from 93 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Once safe food temperatures were achieved the refrigerator control setting was reduced from 7 to 6 and allowed to run overnight. The following morning both the refrigerator and freezer had slightly warmer temperatures, but still satisfactory for safe food storage. We have not yet had an opportunity to utilize the Norcold refrigerator on a trip to observe how effectively safe food temperatures are maintained when full of food and under changing environmental conditions using the three power sources. Based on the test results using the ventilation fans, I expect the performance of the refrigerator to be significantly improved. We should now be able to use DC to power the Norcold refrigerator when in transit, and avoid the use of propane. Performance running on DC appears to be similar to running on propane. While I was pleased with the significant improvement in the operating temperatures achieved by the Norcold refrigerator, there were three aspects of the installation I chose to change, all related to access to the remote control: The remote control for the Beech Lane fans has very bright blue LEDs which are ON whenever 12VDC power is ON. At night, we noticed a bright blue glow emanating from the lower refrigerator external vent cover. Accessing the remote control to change settings required removing the refrigerator external vent cover. When we store the trailer we typically turn OFF all DC power by turning OFF our lithium batteries. Upon the next use of the trailer, when DC power is restored, the refrigerator ventilation fans must also be turned ON manually. There was no switch to turn OFF DC power to the remote control. To address these issues, I relocated the Beech Lans fan remote control to the interior of the trailer and installed a switch on the control panel located at the entry to the trailer. I chose to have the remote control inside the access hatch in the storage cabinet located over the microwave oven, directly above the Norcold refrigerator. To re-route the cables to the ventilation fans, I had to remove the microwave oven. To install a new switch in the control paneI I had to loosen the panel from the wall. I had to add approximately 10 feet of 20 AWG twisted pair cable (gray) to reach from the new switch on the control panel to the 12VDC power supply at the bottom rear of the refrigerator. The photo below shows the routing of the remote control wires (black) and 12VDC power supply behind the microwave cabinet. I had to drill a ~3/8" hole in the angled MDF panel behind the microwave cabinet, directly above the refrigerator. I caulked around the cables after routing them through the hole and behind the refrigerator. Fishing the wires into the area behind the control panel was not difficult. The yellow Romex appearing at the top of the photo below supplies the AC outlet for the microwave oven. I contacted Oliver Service and ordered a single pole switch (with blue light) to match the others in the trailer control panel. The cost was slightly over $7, including shipping by first class mail. The new switch was installed in an unused location on the control panel which previously had a blank cover. I added crimp on spade type connectors to the twisted pair cable to connect to the terminals on the new switch. Although the new switch is single pole, there are three terminals on the rear with the wiring connections listed below: Ground (dissimilar color) DC Power IN (center) Switched DC Power Out I found the wiring diagram below which shows an analogous circuit. The switch and the ventilation fan remote control both require a ground connection. The Switched DC power terminal is connected to the DC+ power connection for the ventilation fan remote control. The new switch needs a ground connection in order for the blue light to operate indicating the switch is ON. In the diagram a car battery is shown as the 12VDC source. On the trailer, the 12VDC source is located at the bottom rear of the refrigerator. This DC circuit is already fused at the DC power panel located below the rear dinette seat. I chose to locate the Beech Lane fan remote control behind the access panel in the storage cabinet above the microwave oven. I made this choice to avoid having the bright blue LED lights on the remote control illuminating the interior of the trailer. The access panel is easily removed when there is a need to access the remote control, to turn ON the ventilation fans, or to change the fan speed or threshold temperature. The Beech Lane ventilation fans are very quiet. With the auxiliary fans running, the volume of air exiting the top exterior vent is noticeably greater than with the small, single OEM fan mounted to the rear of the refrigerator. We have not yet tried sleeping in the trailer with these fans running. There is no chance of hearing the fans inside the trailer with the Dometic A/C running. They are not noticeable when they are running unless you are standing close to the upper exterior vent. I recommend these fans to anyone having similar difficulty maintaining food safe temperatures in the refrigerator when ambient temperatures are high. Regards, Don

Hi Everyone, we just bought hull #1147! We spent the past few weeks cleaning and performing some minor maintenance on this LE2. We just went on a weekend camping trip to Larabee park in Bellingham WA and it is such a nice little camper. Our kids have grown up and left home and this new to us camper is going to be our getaway plan for weekends and vacations! Anyhow we are looking forward to getting to know and learning from you all.

I took the time and read up on the 'Smart' Plug. I didn't find any evidence that the Smart Plug is a better product than the power receptacle that was supplied when the Oliver was delivered. But, wanting to give it the benefit of the doubt and in the interest of sharing accurate and reliable product information, I offer the following information: From their website, under the heading About Smart Plug: Our vision... Smart Plug Systems is a privately held manufacturing firm specializing in power delivery systems. It was founded in 2007 and is located in Seattle, WA. Its flagship product, the SmartPlug, is a patented device positioned to replace the current power delivery system for RV’s, Boats, and a variety of specialty vehicles and miscellaneous industrial applications. Every corporation has to have a Vision Statement, Right? Designed to be versatile Developing and providing innovative world-class solutions that make power delivery safer, more secure, and easier to use. Continuing our aggressive growth strategy and expanding far beyond the domestic recreational power delivery market to industries and geographic locations that can leverage our technology. We’re just getting started Establishing strategic partnerships and building long-term relationships with our suppliers, customers and the consumer. Sustaining a preferred work environment that will create positive share-holder value while maintaining a high level of innovation, quality, and customer service. This nothing but corporate techno-babble and tells us nothing about the Smart Plug. Here is additional BS from their website... Contrary to popular belief, the #1 cause of shore power failure and fires is not electrical shorting, but rather overheating caused by poor electrical conductivity. This is very true...but, on our Oliver’s, not for the reasons stated below How does this happen? The problems with many plug designs are that the shape of electrical pins allow for very little contact area, and the pins themselves are also largely responsible for bearing any physical stress placed on the cord (from constant movement of the boat, someone tripping on the cord, etc…) This is partly correct. There is plenty of surface contact area on the standard Oliver supplied power cord. Last I checked these are NOT boats moving around while attached to shore power. This results in the pins working loose, further lessening the precious little contact area they had to begin with. Furthermore, such loose connections allow for moisture intrusion and ultimately corrosion of the pins. This does Not apply in our situations. Arcing occurs and the connection heats up, scorches, and in some cases, catches fire. Because the current draw is unchanged, all of this happens long before a breaker or a GFCI can cut the power. Additionally, the old design can be very difficult to use in low light or hard-to-reach scenarios since the “L” shaped pin must first be located and then oriented before connection. The actual #1 cause of shore power failure and fires is not electrical shorting, but rather overheating caused by poor electrical conductivity, not from the pins in the connectors but from the screw connections between the pins and the supply wires not being tight. This has been the source of the problem in every overheating situation I’ve seen or heard about concerning Our Oliver's. Then I decided to go right to one of the vendor’s that supply this product for their say in the matter. In about an hour long chat session, this was revealed... Ashley: Hi! Can we answer a question for you? If not, feel free to close out this box. Steve: I am curious about your Smart Plug product. I am familiar with the plethora of other "smart" products like smart phones, thermostats that can be adjusted via an app on my phone, Alexa etc. What is it about this product that makes it Smart? 'SMART' OBJECTS Ashley: Hi Steve! Let me get you some information for you Ashley: There really is no "Smart" Feature as you are thinking about, but here is the description: SmartPlug is the highest quality electrical plug in the RV industry. This is the ultimate solution to replacing your standard twist plug, and it completely eliminates typical heat issues due to poor electrical contact. The standard twist plug that comes on many RVs has problems with electrical transfer because of minimal contact from the plug to the inlet. The SmartPlug has 27 times more contact and this makes for efficient electrical transfer and drastically reduces the heat on the plug. If you have a standard twist plug on your RV then you need to get that changed to the Smart Plug today! Steve: What is the amount of surface area that is contained in the Smart Plug in square inches? I'm confused about how their contacts are 27x larger than normal. Ashley: Let me see if I can find you a video I am going to post a link below to one of our Installation videos. Let me know if it helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTkd_nMW-sw Steve : Let me take a quick look at the video. I have other questions. Ashley: Ok, sure Steve: This appears to be nothing more than an installation video. Can you tell me more about the claim that this product has 27x the surface contact area of other plugs. How was that determined. For instance, if a standard RV plug has say 2 square inches of surface area spread between the contact legs then your claim would be that your plug has 54 square inches. How is this possible? Ashley: I am not exactly sure why the manufacture claims that. I am trying to find some more information on it. Steve: OK, Thanks... Ashley: "27x more electrical contact than the old twist type connector" This is all I can find; I am unable to get an exact explanation. Steve: Thank you for all your help Ashley. But can we agree that this plug is really no better or worse than a standard plug and there is no way to cram in 54 square inches of contact surface area? Yes, No? Ashley: Apparently, they are claiming that is 27x more that the "Old Twist Plug" According to your logic, no it does not make sense. However, I couldn't find enough of an explanation to really say one way or the other what exactly they are comparing it to. Steve: Ashley, I want to apologize to you for putting you on the spot like this. I realize that you could not possibly know all the technical details of the products your company sells. I just could not find this information published anywhere, and I wanted to see if there was information I was missing. I'm sorry. You're a good sport. Ashley: Absolutely! No need to apologize, I couldn't find it either and you brought up a very good point. It is extremely vague about what they are comparing it to. I would like to think I know enough about what we sell but sometimes, unfortunately, I met my match. Is there anything else I can help you with today? Steve: No, we’re good. Ashley: Ok! Have a good day! I didn't find any evidence that this is a better product than the power receptacle that was supplied when the Oliver was delivered. If any of you want to change your plugs out, go ahead. Or, you could just make sure the screws are tight instead.

After ~5 wonderful years with our Ollie and many adventures around the United States and Canada, we are moving on to a new phase of travel in our lives (overseas, cruises, etc.). So our much loved Hull #461 has been sold to a new owner. This forum has been great for support and sharing among the Oliver owners community, and a thank you to all for the great discussions and information shared over the years. We are definitely going to miss our Ollie, but she is going to a good home with a new owner that is very knowledgeable about trailers in general and also Olivers specifically, and I expect he will be joining this forum (he might already be a guest member). Thanks again to all. I'll still hang around/lurk here on the forums, and safe travels to everyone. Frank

I’ve been thinking about installing some type of shade or deflector shield on each of the curb lights along the bottom of Ollie-Haus to reduce the harshness for folks camping nearby. After considering numerous ideas, I decided to buy a piece of 1.125” aluminum “Z” extrusion and cut into 5 inch pieces to serve as stick on shields. (Edit) https://www.mcmaster.com/7062T16/ You may be able to pick this up locally and save the high shipping charge. Metal supermarket is a good source around the country. I chose this method as it seemed to me an inexpensive, easy, effective and non-permanent modification that should do the job. I painted the pieces glossy white to match the camper and installed with clear double sided silicone tape. Here’s some pics of the results.

Two summers ago my wife and I took a trip back into the Green River Lakes area of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. This is the headwaters of the Green River that connects with the Colorado River further south. Had a great time, gorgeous place comparable to anything else in North America so we just had to endure the trip again a couple of weeks ago. When I say endure, its the road into this place, calling it a rough ride would be an understatement and this year was no different considerably worse in fact. Literally took us just over two hours from where the paved road ends and the dirt begins to arrive at the USFS campground. Figure about 10-12 mph the entire way in. As one local puts it, "what isn't tied and strapped down will break". Knowing what we were getting into this time we came better prepared. At the end of the paved road we deflated the tires by some 15 PSI on the Ollie, took the window shades off and laid them on the bed and made sure everything else was secured and shut. Yes the shades came off the windows on the previous trip among other things. I purchased a portable battery powered inflator for the return trip out to inflate the tires back up to their normal highway pressures. Money well spent, but one wouldn't confuse one of these devices with a real air compressor by any means but it works just takes extra time. Posting a few photos below, hope everyone can at least vicariously enjoy the trip, even if you never decide to embark on this journey. We took our kayaks this time, those lakes are just too irresistible not to paddle them. Thanks for looking. Paddling the lower Green River Lake, fortunate this morning to have glass smooth conditions, such a treat. My wife Trudi, cutting a path to the beach on the south end of the lake As we approached the south end of the lower lake a view to the east at Clear Creek Canyon comes into view Incoming, low flying clouds once we hit the beach on the south end of the lower lake, time for a quick lunch before hiking down to the upper lake further south Once we beached our kayaks on the lower lake we hiked up to the head or south end of the upper lake. This lake is much different in color due to the glacial silt and yes it really is this color but maintains a somewhat milky appearance. From the head of the lake you can attempt to summit Square Top Mountain seen in the upper left corner. Maybe someday but not this time around for us. On the return trip back to camp on the lower lake there are some dramatic cliffs on the west shore that come right into the lake. The boats were disrupting the reflections though. All images (except the upper lake) from an iPhone 13 Pro, using RAW capture mode for those interested in hobby, upper lake from a Nikon Z7 & 24-70 F4 lens.

The New England Mini-Rally was held from June 5 through June 11, 2023 at a 125 campsite campground in Boothbay Maine. 28 Oliver Owner's from all over New England were in attendence. Wednesday was a Oliver Trailer Open House and 8 couples visited the CG and were escorted to see the Olivers on site by Phil Anderson, OTT Sales Associate. There was scattered showers on 3 of the days but the other 4 days were generally partly cloudy. The campground was located on a river inlet to the Atlantic Ocean. Cast Iron Cooking Demostration - June Leslie, OTT Owner # 258 Pot Luck Supper Shore Line Hike at Porters Preserve - Walk Leader Jamie Rines, OTT Owner # 610 Bird Walk Leaders - William and Nancy Cormier, OTT Owner # 1265 PRESENTATIONS: Boondocking 101 - Presenter - Phil Andrews, OTT Sales and Daughter Charlie Cermanic Coating Presenters - Colin Rafferty & Galvin Luthringer, CGI Restoration of Fish Ladder at Damariscotta Miles Dam - Presenters Mark Becker & Deb Wilson, OTT Owners # 685 Optimizing the use of the WiFi Ranger & SkyPro - Presenter David Caswell - OTT Owner # 509 What's New at OTT and Questions and Answers - Presenter Phil Andrews, OTT Sales Presentation Audience: CornHole Tournament & Campers around the fire pit Lunch at Robinson Wharf Boothbay Craft Brewery Tap House Tour & Happy Hour New England Lobster Bake at the Campground More Olivers A Porsche can pull Elite II's

Just a reminder for anyone buying replacement lug nuts. Make sure you buy the “Bulge Acorn” type for aluminum wheels. I’ve seen a few owners referencing “Acorn” type as replacements, but the acorn type are for steel wheels and have a smaller conical seating surface compared to the bulge acorn type. Aluminum wheels are softer metal than steel wheels and the larger bulge acorn type lug nuts provide a greater seating surface to prevent deformation of the aluminum wheel and loosening.

I would like to add that the value of this forum is as great as factory service in helping me solve occasional problems. For example, this past weekend I ran into what I thought was a serious issue but quickly found that someone else had experienced the same issue and provided the solution on this forum....and poof! Problem solved. Interestingly, the original problem while reported to factory service was only solved by the owner himself. Given the outstanding expertise of our factory service folks, this was a rarity but proved once again the value of this forum. Do we have RV tech shortages? Yes. Are RV techs typically paid poorly by dealerships with lack of training? Yes. Are there risks with the new service model? Yes. But, do we still have each other and this forum? YES!

I’m new to the Oliver community, just 7 months into my new-to-me LE1, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I offer them with some humility, honestly. Here’s my thought: I'm surprised at the negativity about the developing Oliver sales and service model. My own service experience is quite limited to a week in Hohenwald a month ago - we’d timed it to launch our current 5 week camping trip. Our planning went back to a service request 4 months ago. When the date came, we traveled 2 days to get to Hohenwald, and then had to find accommodations for 4 nights for me, my spouse and our dog to wait out the 3.5 days our upgrades and annual servicing would take. We were happy with the results and the knowledgeable team we met, but would have been much happier if a regional Oliver dealer was available for a “drop it off and come back in a few days to pick it up” kind of servicing last winter. The jobs we had done (lithium & Truma AC upgrades & annual servicing) would have been well within the ability of a competent and well trained regional dealership. When the dealership expansion was announced, I did contact such a regional Oliver dealer in lower Va. They told me they had not yet been trained for servicing, so I kept my March appt at Hohenwald in place. I thought, “Training dealerships has got to take some time. Check back with the regional dealer in a year and they should be up to speed.” That seems (to me) a reasonable expectation for the Oliver community, with widespread benefits for Oliver owners like me in the years ahead. From what you all are repeatedly saying about the Oliver family and team, I’d have a high confidence that they share that goal. If everyone’s experience with the Oliver team in the past has been so widely appreciated, why not give them the benefit of the doubt? In the meantime, I feel confident that I have a backstop if I get caught - you all. I’ve been a regular reader (if an infrequent poster) in the Oliver forums over the last half year. I’ve seen you all step in again and again to help people like me, who are trying to make something work better, or fix something broken. The generosity, creativity, competence, and enthusiasm of the Oliver owners was a factor in my purchase. Were I in Oliver management, I would hope for your partnership in making this expansion as seamless and fruitful as possible. i suspect as a newcomer to the Oliver community I’m missing something here - maybe it’s the longstanding friendships that have developed in the Oliver community. Maybe it’s something else. I just hate to see a much loved team with a first class product and a devoted family of owners fracture like this when some (well deserved) trust and some months of patience and a “let’s do what we can to make this work” attitude could make a good thing even better.

We have our first grandchild and his name is... Wait for it... Oliver! (He's going to love our trailer when he's old enough to read!)

How about an individually adjustable pneumatic airbag type suspension for Ollie? No axles - lighter, smoother ride - less damage to OTT and components, no more broken leaf springs, more ground clearance by adjusting air pressure, enhanced braking, and "drum roll" please.... no more zerks! ...screenshot taken from an earlier thread on "Aussie Quality RVs": ....just say'n

For those campers that may not know about BLM LTVAs (Long-Term Visitor Area), they were established in 1983 on public lands managed by the BLM throughout the Sonoran Desert of southern AZ and CA. The LTVA program allows visitors to camp for as long as 7 months between 15SEP to 15APR. Special permits are purchased at BLM kiosks at the LTVAs. A 14-day permit is $40, 28-day permits are $80, while a 7-month permit is $180. Payment must be cash only - exact amount. Unfortunately, Golden Eagle, Golden Age, America the Beautiful, and military passes do not apply to LTVA permit fees. Campers who wish to stay on the desert outside of an LTVA may camp in one location on underdeveloped public lands for up to 14 days in any 28-day period at no charge. After 14 days, short-term campers must move to a new site outside of a 25-mile radius of their original campsite. Short-term camping in the Quartzsite area is limited, but there are 5 designated LTVAs here. The LTVAs have various levels of dry camping - some have vault toilets, some have showers, some have potable water. There are limited waste water dump sites. All have dumpsters for bagged garbage. Since only minimum facilities are available at most of the LTVAs, campers must have self-contained rigs. This means rigs that have permanently affixed wastewater holding tanks of 10-gallon minimum capacity. So, how is the Casa Blanca behaving on the LTVA? Well, "sort of" as expected, it's been performing famously here on our 4th day on at La Posa West, about a half-mile south of "The Q". My only issue was totally "self-induced". Arrived at La Posa Saturday mid-afternoon with 100% SOC from a combination of solar and DC/DC charging during a 2.5 hour enroute drive from PHX. After a good sleep on night-1, checked the SOC at around 0530 Sunday AM and found it at an unusually low level at 36%. Racking my mind trying to figure out what the heck was consuming all the power from the BBs overnight, it occurred to me to check the Dometic fridge status. Sure enough, it was in the "DC" mode... Can't believe it escaped my checklist item to switch to "GAS" mode on arrival day. Lesson learned, for sure - the DC mode is extremely inefficient in this model of Dometic fridge. Don't get me wrong, its a good mode to use when under tow as the 27-28A from the TV smart alternator can handle the load from the fridge and still charge the BBs. So, it took Sunday and Monday to get the SOC back up to 100%. No biggie - the Honda GENSET still never saw the light of day and stayed in the back of the TV. With 340W roof-mounted solar modules and the Renogy 200W portable module the BBs were receiving a max of 310W during those two recharge days. The BBs were got to 100% SOC by mid-afternoon yesterday. Winter being winter, obviously brings low sun angles and short days. Campers should consider this when boondocking during this time of year. Just because you may have 540W of "solar modules capacity" does not mean that's what you'll get. Our roof-mounted modules are flat, as we have yet to install legs to adjust them for a more optimum angle to the sun - so they're kicking out only about 190W at mid-day this time of year at this latitude. Interestingly, the Renogy portable module needed to be propped-up to a steeper position in the early morning hours to achieve optimum angle to the sun. By doing so we got an extra 1.3A: If it wasn't for the "wall-to-wall" sunshine conditions here at The Q during the past couple days, the Honda would have been called upon to top-off the BBs! Notwithstanding the fridge brain-fart, it was a good feeling to wake up this morning to a 93% SOC. The BBs are expected to be topped off by mid-morning, maybe even before the pot of Black Rifle is "Winchester." This morning's main drill was topping off the fresh water tank. After switching the valves to "Boondock" mode: 6 gallons of fresh water was pumped into Casa Blanca in less than 3 minutes time, taking the fresh tank from 50 to 75%: Now it's heading to Q to refill the container, less than a 5 minute drive from the campsite. But first - a quick egg scramble for breakfast.... More later!

Our first travel trailer was an EII. We loved it. Just enough space and no more. Lived in it full time for nearly 2 years, but pandemic and a serious back injury made us re-think many things. Built a house, sold the Olly and purchased a much larger trailer. It’s great, bigger tanks, queen bed, dry bath, bigger fridge… very civilized. This winter we decided to take our first long trip in the new RV. All other trips have been local (really local) and the truck and trailer did great. This latest trip has been an eye-opener. New trailer is an absolute wind brick. Mileage plummets above 45 (yeah, 45). Average for the whole trip has been 8mpg! I now realize just how fantastic the Olly was to tow. Super obedient, never felt the wind, often forgot it was back there. 12 - 14mpg regularly. Easy to park, clearance was never an issue. So warm and cool (new one is NOT 4-season and basically follows ambient temps). Seriously started looking at classifieds for a gently used Oliver. Sometimes, you don’t know what you got until it’s gone.

Pessimistic thoughts are like cancer. Spouting statements that have no validity do not help. Oliver has a business plan to make them a force for years to come. Instead of stirring the pot with negative comments, it might be a good idea to have all the facts first. This site is a little more open minded, but comments here and especially on Oliver Facebook, come across like the sky is falling. "Oliver will be another Thor, and this will be the end of Oliver". Oliver isn't going to just set up repair centers and spend the money to train personnel. It has to be a win-win-win for Oliver, RV Dealership, and Oliver Owners (Future Owners). There has to be something in it for the RV Dealership and that is having Oliver's on their lots for sale. Someone in Washington State can go to Portland, OR (or wherever the RV Dealership is located) instead of driving 1,500+ mile to Hohenwald Remember, any Oliver Owner or Future Owner can go to Hohenwald to purchase or have service work done. Things will continue for those that prefer the Mothership. Oliver needs our support. We need to let this play out. As locations come on board, and Oliver shares the sales part, and how the repair work will be implemented, we will get a true understanding of the entire plan. We need to stop with negativity and spewing false comments. As I mentioned earlier this site has been a little more restrained. I personally think this is a win-win for Oliver Owners and Future Owners In the meantime Happy Camping.

I've said this before in another post... but at the risk of repeating myself again... Oliver is not a "club" or like most of us, a bunch of retired people who have already accumulated enough wealth to sit back and be philosophical about how we would do it. It's a business that has several hundred employees who come in everyday to the Oliver factory trying to earn enough money to get to the place most of us owners enjoy right now. Warranty work (every dime of it) is anything that fails or wasn't done right the first time... it costs the factory money and is a cash drain. Service work could and probably is somewhat profitable and self sustaining part of the Oliver business, but the real cash cow that the owners and every employee counts on (remember they have their own life dreams too) depends on selling new Olivers. With hull numbers around the 1500 mark they have likely picked the low hanging fruit. Now they need to dig deeper into the existing marketplace to fulfill the burden and obligation to pay for tools, equipment, buildings, benefits, healthcare, wages and everything else that those several hundred people working there are depending on so they can make their house payments, buy groceries and maybe even someday own and Oliver and travel around the country seeing and doing everything we all are doing right now. Growing the business by selling new product doesn't mean forgetting the customers that have already purchased Olivers, rather it is doing both in a way that is fulfills everyones goals. It's not easy. Sometimes feels like a balancing act. There will be the occasional mistake... but I'm counting on the Oliver management to provide that "North Star" to keep the companies core moving in the right direction. We were just recently in the extreme north west and several times had conversations with folks who might have been prospective buyers... they just rolled their eyes when I said you could only buy and pick them up at the factory in Tennessee. All of us need to remember that if we want an experienced service team that is equally invested in our Oliver the factory where they are built needs to survive and grow. Otherwise, "who ya gonna call"?

This is neither Mechanical nor Technical, but more maintenance. Not sure what other channel to place this. Hope it helps our new-comers. Someone on the Oliver Owners Facebook page saw my first video and asked me if I could video record actually how to clean the tracks under the windows. So, it was a beautiful day and I figured I'd see if I can clean and record at the same time. This is kind of new to me. https://youtu.be/-oEpon3iaPc

Hello, I have been meaning to introduce us since we became Oliver owners. We are Bobby and Nadine, we live in East Texas and are lifelong campers. This latest purchase raises the total count of RV towables to 13 (over a 43-year period). The Oliver is our second fiberglass trailer, we owned a 16’ Casita for several years and enjoyed it, but it became too small. We were in the market for an Air Stream, but my wife reminded me of the Oliver we saw once at a fiberglass rally. We were both so impressed we called Phil and placed our order. We picked up our new LE II back in December of last year. Glad we made this choice. The folks at the factory have been great and I would recommend the trailer to anyone that is interested in luxury camping! I wanted to share a recent experience: We left home in early June for Lake Placid, NY. On our way we stayed near Connellsville, PA. To our surprise we woke that morning to 44° F! (cold by our standards) Being from Texas and having never traveled this far north this was quite a shock. So, I set the thermostat on the Tuma Vario Heat furnace. Yes, it made it warm in short order but the noise coming from the vents was deafening. Sounded like an angle grinder on a sheet of steel. I promptly turned it off thinking the thing would self-destruct. Thankfully my wife had remembered to pack “the Cube”. I plugged it in and after 10 minutes it was nice and toasty. We used the cube heater off and on till we returned home. I contacted Jason Essary in service for warranty repair. He told me that Truma had a mobile service technician in Texas. I called Truma directly with the supplied number and scheduled an appointment. The tech (Todd) drove from the Austin area to my back yard 3 days later. He checked the unit out and said it was 100% covered by Truma’s warranty. Unit was defective from the factory. He replaced the noisy unit with a brand new one and extended the normal one-year warranty to two! The entire service call lasted less than 45 minutes. Super service, and a super nice guy. Well, this howdy turned out to be much longer than I wanted it to be. Just wanted to share. Bobby Christall Hull# 1307

Last year we met another couple from our general region, and they generously let us tour their Oliver. It turned out the lady and I grew up in the same hometown with a number of common acquaintances, and the husband and I shared common interests. When we decided to purchase an Ollie, we reached out and asked questions about what they liked and what they might have done differently if purchasing a new trailer. We were beginning the process of filling out the build sheet, and working with a great sales person when we received a text from the couple asking if we might be interested in purchasing their Oliver. They had been on a camping trip, and our town was nearly on their route home, so they stopped by to let us take another look. Needless to say, we were as impressed this time as we were last year, and a deposit was made. We hope to pick up the beautiful new to us Oliver Elite II in about 10 days. We are thrilled! Photos to follow after our Ollie is home at Fort Sagebrush.

We are very happy to report that our 13500 BTU Truma Aventa AC retrofit was seamlessly completed today. A special thank you to Director of Service Jason Essary, Mike Sharpe, and Tucker the technician that did an excellent job on our install. Just amazing work and we are so grateful. A Big Thank you to the entire Oliver Service Team! David and Kathy Patriots🇺🇸 New Truma Aventa decibel reading on high setting. Former Dometic Penguin on high setting. New Truma CP Plus Control panel. https://www.truma.com/int/en/products/truma-operating-systems/truma-cp-plus

My ALCAN springs arrived yesterday (Wednesday) and my RV tech installed them yesterday PM. His torque wrench failed so I brought him mine this morning so he can finish up the job. He liked the ALCAN springs and there were ZERO issues installing them. He also confirmed that at least one set of the original Dexter springs were starting to flatten out. Meaning (to me) they were on the way to failure. I will also state that the original springs had only about 5000 highway miles on them and ZERO off road miles. We depart tomorrow (Friday) for a six week, 5300 mile trek around the US so I'll report back how they ride. I did lower my PSI in the tires to 48 PSI to help soften whatever uptick in stiffness there may (or may not) be with the new springs. I'll also report what difference (if any) there is on additional lift the new springs may have provided. Paul (2 HOBOS) hull 414

I’am so excited to kick off another camping season! Time to dewinterize our Oliver (yeah) and get it ready for some summertime glamping! I love decorating my camper, I recently added this mural to the bathroom, keeping my botanical theme.🌿🍃🪴😍 I also will be adding some new videos to my Oliver YouTube series starting next month, so many new items, decor, tips and organization hacks to share. Like and subscribe to get notified.😃 Happy camping!

OK... You're boon docking in a remote area on BLM/Public land and you experience a critical medical emergency requiring local EMS response. A call to EMS on your commo device (either via local cell net, Starlink, PEPWave, SATPhone, HAM radio, or whatever) will require a hasty report with specific location information as accurately and efficient as possible. You may not have an accurate street address or may not know your grid/GPS coordinates. Even if grid/GPS coordinates are known, this data is a lengthy alphanumeric string of up to 17 characters which could easily be jumbled up or miscommunicated in the heat of the emergency, sending responders to the wrong location. Using the first 6 lines in a military-style "9-Line MEDEVAC" report is a good start to communicate for your EMS request. Line 1 of the 9-Line MEDEVAC format contains the most important data in the report - your location, expressed using either grid or GPS coordinates or a simple street address. Clearly, this critically important data should be quickly and accurately conveyed to the response team in a life-saving scenario. The problem is making this happen accurately from a remote location. An available free application has solved the problem - it's called, "what3words". While attending an amateur radio campout last week, "QuartzFest 2024", one of the EMS presentations introduced this application and how it can be used to more effectively vector-in a response team. At https://what3words.com/products/what3words-app you can learn what this app can do to accurately describe your location to an EMS team using only 3 random words. The developers of "what3words" have mapped the planet into discrete 3-meter grids, each of these grids is assigned 3 random words that never change. For example, sitting here in my living room, my "what3word" address is: "seamlessly.gossips.bottle". Should an emergency response be needed here, we could contact response personnel and pass along these 3 words to describe the location of the emergency. Provided the local EMS has access to the free app, many do, they'll be able to navigate their way to my living room. Responders across the country are using this app, as are companies like Amazon, Uber, and food delivery services, to bring their resources to a precise location without grid/GPS coordinates or inaccurate street addresses. The "what3words" address is compatible with many navigation apps and can be shared via text. Turns out, last year during the QuartzFest, an attendee experienced cardiac arrest. One of the HAMs contacted Quartzsite EMS, quickly communicated the specific "what3words" address of the patient's location and EMS deployed to that grid square using the app's navigation feature. We've got our family members up to speed on the "what3words" capabilities and would like to get the "word" out to the OTT RV community to consider using as part of their boon docking regimen. Stay safe out there! Cheers!

Once I get back from Florida in early February, I will make a post to compile sites, names, forum user names, hull number, etc. like I did last year. As a new attendee, I did it for myself to put faces to names. But when arriving, I found that many folks had printed out my list to use for themselves. During last year's rally, I was asked if I'd be doing it again.

I've been banned from shopping at one of out local Walmart's here in town. About 6 months ago I was in Walmart buying a large bag of Purina dog food for my beautiful Doberman, Reacher, which weighed 110 lbs. I was in the check-out line when a woman behind me asked if I had a dog. I wondered what she thought I had. So, because I'm retired and have little to do, on impulse, I told her that no, I didn't have a dog, I was starting the Purina Diet again. I explained to her that it was the Perfect Diet. Dog food is nutritionally complete and contains all the nutrients, protein, vitamins and minerals to adequately sustain a large carnivore for a lifetime. I added that the last time, it had worked really well and that I'd lost 50 pounds. Since I had gained back some weight lately, I had decided to give it another go. I told her the way that it works is, to load your jacket pockets with Purina Nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry. Further, I told her that I knew I probably shouldn't do this, because the last time, I ended up in the hospital. I explained that I had awakened in the intensive care unit with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IV's in both arms. (I need to mention here that practically everyone in the checkout line was now enthralled with my story.) Horrified, she asked if I had ended up in intensive care, because the dog food had poisoned me. I told her no, I had stopped to pee on a Fire Hydrant and a car hit me.

I’m hunkered down in scattered showers at Camp Oliver right now. Ryan did a great job with the delivery and I’m completely overwhelmed! The big stuff I’ve got covered but the little details are just going to take time.

When returning home from the Oregon Coast this April, my wife and I boondocked at a Harvest Host site. That cold evening, we tried to heat water for hot drinks in the microwave using the inverter, but it shut down after just a few seconds. We were surprised and disappointed, because our Lithium Pro Package with Xantrex Freedom XC Pro 3000 watt inverter should enable us to use the microwave on inverted power for at least a few minutes. It had been a cloudy day so we got minimal solar recharge, and with our Nordcold fridge running on DC while on the road, our battery State of Charge was down to about 74%. When we submitted a service ticket, Jason Essary confirmed that we should be able to run the microwave on inverted power at 74% State of Charge (SOC), and much lower, down to 25-30% SOC. With Jason's helpful guidance, I then spent dozens of hours trying to troubleshoot the electrical system, both on the DC and the AC sides. The inverter/charger was charging as designed, and would run 120V appliances that pull up to 1100-1200 watts (including the Truma air conditioner, which pulls 1100 watts with the compressor running), but loads greater than 1400 watts (like the microwave or a space heater on a high setting) caused the inverter to shut down. Nothing we tried solved the problem, including replacement of the Optifuse 300A inverter breaker, which Oliver sent to me under warranty. I also spoke with a Xantrex customer service rep (after45 minutes on eternahold) who assured me the problem could not be with the inverter, so it must be in the trailer wiring. Jason then authorized me to engage an RV service tech at Oliver's expense to try to find a solution. But that was right before I had planned to use the trailer boondocking at the Lochsa River the week of May 15. I decided to engage a tech after I returned home. But while camping (and running the Lochsa river during the day) I happened to mention the inverter issue to another RVer. He asked me if my inverter is a Xantrex. Yup. He then told me he had been advised by an RV service tech to do a "hard reboot" of his Xantrex inverter to resolve a similar issue. He explained that this involves disconnecting both the positive and negative DC cables from the inverter, and leaving it at least overnight, then reconnecting. I determined to give it a try after I returned home, as it would be relatively easy to do. To my surprise, the "hard reboot" solved the problem. My tests have confirmed that we can now run the microwave on full power (1540 watts) for 4 minutes or more at a time, at SOC levels down to 35%. So, the Xantrex customer service guy was wrong--the problem was with the inverter. And, the solution was relatively easy to implement: turn off all batteries, and ensure that shore power is disconnected (so there is no power to the DC cables), then disconnect the DC cables from the inverter and leave at least overnight. I left mine disconnected for 3 days. Then reconnect, and turn the batteries back on. If your Xantrex inverter is not performing up to spec, try a hard reboot.

I've commented in a few different threads about my experience towing with my 2021 Chevy Silverado 1500 3.0L diesel. In 2.5 years, it now has 32K miles and about 5k towing my LEII. I thought I would post a follow-up that may be helpful for anyone considering the GM half-ton diesel as a tow vehicle. After owning Toyotas for almost 20 years, I have to say I was hesitant about the reliability of a GM product -- but it's been great so far. PROS: Power/torque more than adequate for towing an LEII. I just returned from a trip that took me over Loveland Pass, Rabbit Ears Pass and Berthoud Pass in Colorado. The diesel engine has absolutely no problem and no stress getting up and over. No noticable loss of power at high altitude and no high-RPM downshift that can happen with a gasoline engine. Fuel economy has been very good. I average 17 mpg while towing and the truck gets around 30 mpg in highway driving when not towing. In Colorado, diesel is now a little less expensive than regular again (yay!) but a year ago it was more per gallon so that wiped out any significant savings. 10 speed transmission is super smooth Automatic engine brake is fantastic on the long downhill runs. It's very reassuring to have it kick-in automatically and only touch the brakes a few times. I've always felt stable and in-control - even rolling all the way down Loveland pass at speed with traffic! GM trailer tow package and 360 degree camera package is excellent. It recognizes and remembers my trailer. It checks and notifies me of a wiring fault (I still check my lights/brakes manually). I purchased and self-installed the GM accessory trailer rear-view camera and it works extremely well. The live-motion back-up guidelines are super helpful (see photos). The truck monitors the TPMS sensors in my Oliver tires (had the GM sensors installed) and it displays on the dashboard screen. Comfortable and quiet ride both while towing and when being used as my daily-driver. You can barely tell its a diesel engine as there is almost no "clack" sound No problems in 32k miles so far CONS: Payload is around 1500 lbs (like all half-ton trucks) and that could be limiting for longer trips and taking more "stuff" Have to use the WD hitch (like all half-ton trucks). I find the Anderson WD hitch to be a hassle - but one that I can live with to be safe and legal. Squat from trailer tounge weight was not bad but a little more than I liked. I added Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) and this reduced squat by about an inch without any noticible effect on ride quality. Have to mess with adding DEF fluid. When towing, it uses a lot of DEF and the guage is not very accurate. Best to top off before leaving and/or put an extra 2.5g of DEF in the bed to minimize anxiety about it. Maintenance may be a little more expensive. I only trust the dealer to do the work as independent shops may not be familiar with the 3.0L Duramax. Oil changes cost $120 every 6K to 7K miles. Overall, I'm very pleased with my decision to buy the truck as my TV and as my daily-driver. I would buy this truck again and defintely get the 3.0 diesel over the 5.3 or 6.2 gas engines. If I were more of a full-timer in towing, I would consider spending the extra for a 3/4-ton. This would be primarily so that I had more payload and to avoid the WD hitch. Hope this may be helpful for anyone considering the GM half-ton diesel truck.

Well, after a year or more of using towels to soak up rain water, I finally got the nerve up to take off the walk-in Lippert door from the trailer. The sealant putty behind the door frame, where the screws go in, had failed and leaked bad. This was an easy job! It only took me three hours and most of that time was prep-work and clean-up of old butyl tape (putty). I have a bunch of video clips to put together to make a YouTube video of the process, but I'm finding it difficult to organize everything. I need to re-shoot a better intro. I'm still learning. Anyways, the door & frame came off WAY TOO EASY. It appears that someone before me attempted to repair the leaks (left & right sides), but they did not cleaned off all the original butyl sealant/putty. Don't be lazy. Clean everything like new. Also, I used two layers of butyl tape in the middle area of the door frame, on the left and right sides of the door frame, due to the distance between the yellow straight edge (see picture) and the curved pieces of hull and where they meet up. I used a plastic scraper to take off the heaviest of old butyl tape from the hull and the door frame itself. I then used 3M adhesive removal and a rag to get the surfaces perfectly clean. (Wear gloves) Everything went back together quick and easy, no issues at all. I waited 18 hours before performing a leak test, to ensure all putty had warmed up in the sun and "squished" around as needed. I've done a heavy, heavy leak test and it's gone through one heavy, blowing rain storm and another lighter rain since completion, all without a single drop inside. YAY ME! You don't know how happy I was to see that I did it better than the last guy. The original putty(s) looked really bad and it did look like someone attempted to address the issue before I purchased the trailer. What a crappy job they did. Shaking my head. Also, in those middle sections of the hull, where I doubled up the putty, I noticed that old putty was not even remotely "squished" in by the door frame, indicating there was air gabs between the putty and the frame, or the hull. THIS WAS NOT A DIFFICULT JOB. I should have done it sooner! Many of the screw holes were too large for the screws used. Really, there were about 10 of the 23 screws which could have been removed by hand or simply pulled straight out of the holes. I Epoxied the worst of the holes and re-drilled. I also added a handful of new self-tapping screws to ensure the door frame snugged up tight to the trailer where needed (not in the middle sections of the left & right door frame). Remember, the door frame will not really "bend" towards the hull due to the door frame itself being so stout and with right-angles, hence the need for doubling up the putty in the middle, where the hull was too far way from door frame's edge, where the screw holes are located. As some of you know already, this door, I think, is custom made for Oliver, as my door did say Lippert, but the sticker essentially said, made for Oliver, mine was from a lot of 10 doors. I looked on the Lippert web site and I did not find the same dimensions of doors as Oliver uses, or I'm measuring wrong. The fan in the attached picture is where I was drying up the spray foam between the floor and the outer hull. Oliver used foam as a filler, likely to reduce movement, but my foam was soaking wet with rain water, so it sat and dried while I worked on everything else. Again, if your door leaks, but is not damaged and does not need replacing, this is a super easy job, and likely if you did need a new door and might be able to have it shipped from Oliver, it would still be easy. I say that because someone on Facebook just mentioned their door got damaged in a wind storm recently. This is a one-person job too, unless someone wants to help clean up old putty from the hull or door. That would save a lot of time.

Here’s a quick little modification for those who don’t use the TV. I took ours out and repurposed the fold down mount by adding a small shelf to hold our coffee in the morning.

Great rally this year! Thanks to Scott Oliver and his staff and the great folks at Lake Guntersville State Park. If you have pictures this is the place to post them! Here’s the sunset from the lodge after Wednesday’s dinner. One of the best rally activities, sitting around talking! Right to left - Scott Oliver, Ken Cvacho, Lee Slusher and Terry Slusher. This group grew as the evening progressed! Trailers with a view of the lake.

Well we are finally ready for delivery day-take 2. It's been a long four weeks but we are ready and excited to finally pick up Ollie-Haus. I'll be pulling out Wednesday at 5am for a 1pm appointment. Truck is loaded and I've got my list of questions and a notepad to help remember the flood of information I'm about to receive. Stacie is staying home this go-round, she's got work commitments she can't get out of due to vacation scheduled next week for the rally. I think we will be the newest LE2 at the rally, unless someone newer hasn't announced their attending yet. Home to Indiana on Friday if all goes well and than turn around on Monday and head back south with wife and doggies loaded. It's been a long six months since we ordered, and yet it's been a whirlwind of activity preparing for this day. Looks like the weather is going to be decent for the drive down, love that I'm able to make the trip during the Spring season. Thanks to our friend @Patriot, who is down at Oliver Service for an AC upgrade, we have been given a glimpse of our completed LE2 as he was able to identify it in the holding area next to the Oliver camp sites and send us a picture last evening. It was the only one with burgundy Oliver Graphics. Stacie started crying when she saw it. I think she's more excited than I am! Thanks a million David and Kathy! After years of planning we are finally at the threshold of a new chapter of fun and adventure. Look out America, here comes a couple of crazy old people prowling the back roads for adventure!🤣

Yep, after a couple of close calls with mine trying to run away and become a wild free range cover, it’s now on a short leash. It never unthreaded on its own though. The close calls were due to me leaving it laying on top of the doghouse when getting ready to leave a campground. Stainless tether from Amazon, link below. Problem solved. https://a.co/d/5ipX5mE