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Hi guys and gals! Over the years in my career at Oliver Travel Trailers I have had the pleasure of meeting most of you. I read the forum and the owners Facebook page often and it is amazing to see so many of our veteran owners helping our "newbies" with their questions and concerns. I absolutely love this group of people and appreciate each and every one of you. We get so wrapped up in the business end of things here at the sales office and I don't know if we show our appreciation often enough for the many field visits that resulted in our clients buying Ollies or the expert advice given to the novice campers. So today, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you all a happy holiday season and prosperous new year! - Phil

In another thread, @Nan asked about Maintenance schedules. @John E Davies responded with a link to his post with spreadsheets for Travel Logs, Service Records, and Inventory. John mentioned that you might need Numbers (IOS or Mac) or Excel (Mac and Windows) for these files. If you don't own this software, an alternative is to use free software for spreadsheets, such as Open Office or Google Sheets, which is part of Google Docs. I am posting today because I just updated my lists of Springtime tasks for the Oliver, including Sanitizing the Fresh Water System. I try to keep documents like this and my campground checklists to a single sheet of paper so that they fit into a sheet protector. I also took some info that Oliver posted on regular inspection and maintenance, and put them into three single sheet documents. I am going to upload them as Word documents (docx), so that they can be edited to fit your needs. Please let me know if you would like a pdf document, or an rtf version that can be edited with other software. I probably missed some important maintenance items, and I hope others will chime in. Maintenance - Spring Items.docx Maintenance - Sanitizing the Fresh Water System.docx Maintenance - MaxxAir Fan.docx Maintenance - Water Pump Filter.docx Maintenance - Window Tracks.docx

Too much time at home, with too large of a toilet paper stockpile…. VIDEO-2020-04-05-13-18-21.mp4

I wanted to especially thank all the moderators who handle the increasing amount of traffic here in the Forums. More Ollie owners and more members equals more potential friction, and sometimes things get said that shouldn't be said. Everyone makes mistakes, that is expected. I do greatly appreciate it when intentionally harsh or overly aggressive posts are removed promptly. Bravo. The same for spam posts with links to other websites - they are usually taken out very quickly if flagged right away. Sometimes I post in the wee hours of the night if I can't sleep, or I am in a hurry and my words do not come out exactly as I intended. I hope that anybody who might take offense understands that no harm is ever meant. Once written, words are hard to take back. John Davies Spokane WA

Hello from Albany, NY! My wife, Mary, and I just took the plunge on an Elite II and have been sifting through the Forum to learn as much as possible before we complete the "options build worksheet".... so many decisions!? I'm sure we'll ask many questions, despite all the advice and opinions available here, before finalizing that list... thanks in advance for any help 🙂 Anyway, here's our story: we recently (March) sold our Class A diesel pusher after 6 years of ownership (and a lot of expense) and decided to downsize for a variety of reasons, mostly to start traveling the country and seeing the sights. Previously we had owned a 5th wheel trailer that sat permanently at a seasonal NH campground for 10 years (our weekend get-away); a 24' travel trailer for a couple years (used mostly locally with grand-kids); and then the motorhome when we started snow-birding in FL from Jan to Apr over the past 6 years. Also, we already have a GMC 2500HD Denali tow vehicle that I use to pull a 20' enclosed car trailer... so we're all set in that department. So, we're now ready for a new chapter and after having looked, over the last 5 months, at many Ultra-lites and Mini-lites of all Brands, happened upon the Oliver! Quality and uniqueness won out over the more traditional, roomy, and flimsy alternative 🙂 So, we look forward with anticipation to the next few weeks and months of build decisions, Ollie construction, and travel plans ... while awaiting a late August pick-up! The current Covid-19 situation has thrown a dark cloud over everything, but we are optimistic that the sun will come out again, and our decision to move forward with this purchase at this time was a good one and that the adventure that is to follow will be memorable. Stay safe, and we look forward to the open road and meeting other Ollie owners in the future. Best Regards, Roy & Mary

This short video was just published. It highlights the small town of Brevard, NC which is located just southwest of Asheville, NC and is a short distance from the Blue Ridge Parkway. Perhaps it is really not so different from so many places in this great country but it is where I call home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2b8EkeQn1c&feature=youtu.be Bill

To all those who sacrificed their lives, and those who have served. Thank you. You will always be remembered and never forgotten 🇺🇸

Michelle and I picked up hull 610 on our 30th wedding anniversary in early June and made our way north, up the Blue Ridge Parkway, staying in RV parks and with Harvest Hosts along the way. Ollie life has been everything that we had hoped. Since our return to Maine, we have been on a couple more outings (Acadia had record low numbers of people for July). We plan to visit Gulf Hagas next. We just had a bit of graphics added to the Ollie, as a final touch. We look forward to seeing other Ollie owners on the road! - Jamie-

There are so many great projects on these forums that I felt obligated to document mine (partly so that others can avoid my mis-steps!). We dry camp the majority of the time. During the winter (until the snow flies) that is not a problem, but summer time on the Eastern side of Washington State can be uncomfortably hot. When we bought the Ollie we knew that the solar system would take care of most of our needs, but that we really wanted a generator capable of running the A/C. We specified the optional soft start add-on for the A/C so that the trailer would be ready. A bit of research showed that the new Honda 2200 would run the A/C, even if it was running on propane. We chose “Hutch Mountain” as the best propane conversion for the Honda 2200. After 10 years of putting generators into and out of the truck I knew that some kind of generator carrier attached to the trailer was a must-have. We chose “Generator Box” as they have one sized perfectly for the Honda 2200. I asked Hutch Mountain if they would do their magic by installing all needed gear inside a Generator Box. They said they would be glad to do so. I had “Generator Box” directly ship the box to Hutch mountain. They did an install and then shipped to us. Perfect !! I did the install of the Hutch Mountain conversion kit into our new generator. BTW Honda service centers get very twitchy about propane conversions. There was/is a recall of a circuit board in the 2200. My local shop will do the recall, but will not even start the generator afterwards. I may have to school them about modifications NOT invalidating an entire warrantee. In my case the engine is now out of warrantee, but the generator section is still fully covered (federal law on this subject is well established). We bought the storage box on our Ollie. I wanted to save as much space in the box as I could for lightweight things, so I designed a frame to support the Generator Box. I initially intended to have the box dropped down into the storage unit by about and inch and a half. That was a bad idea as the latching assembly which secures the box to the mounting plate will not operate with more than about 3/8” of drop below the edge of the storage box. I used aluminum flat stock and 70 durometer Sorbothane to raise the box and give a little vibration dampening. Parts list, purchased or modified by me: Honda 2200 Companion generator to get the 30 amp locking connector 5 feet of aluminum 2” C-channel, ¼” wall thickness 5 feet of aluminum 1½” angle 10 1” SS ¼” x 20 screws with NyLock and two flat washers each 6 1½” SS ¼” x 20 screws with NyLock and two flat washers each 30 1” SS 10x32 screws with Nylock and 2 flat washers each I made a 69” section of Marinco 10 ga power cord Hutch Mountain made a 69” connection hose to hook-up the front end trailer propane supply to the Generator Box quick disconnect. Pictures follow… Any questions, please ask! Bill and Dorothy

When we were growing up in the south, "PoP" was expensive so we mostly drank “Sun” ice tea. My mom made it very diluted so us kiddos could drink all we wanted. It kept us hydrated and was effectively a low caffeine low sugar beverage. When camping, she would make it in advance and put it into cleaned out 1.75L bourbon bottles (without labels). They were heavy glass so they kept the tea cold in the cooler and also poured really easy as they had a handle too! During the summer of 1968 (I was 16 years old at the time), we were on the Tchefuncte River camping and water skiing. The retired couple that was camped next to us seemed really nice. But as the day passed, they became quite agitated with us. We could not figure out why. Each time the ski boat returned we would run over to the camp table and guzzle about a pint of weak tea in our Red Solo cups. When the bottle was empty, Mom would bring out another one from the "Ice Chest". Each time, the retired couple would get even madder. Then a State Trooper showed up at our camp site. I had just finished water skiing and ran past the officer and poured and downed about a pint of our weak tea. The officer asked if he could have some, and I poured him a pint into a Red Solo cup. He tasted it and then loudly said "Wow, this is really good". The retired couple were at this point pointing at the officer and us and were now cursing about how shameful it was "In broad daylight". The Officer ignored them and we talked for a few minutes about water skiing on the Tchefuncte river with its alligators and poisonous water moccasins. After several minutes, he went over to the couple and suggested that maybe they should just mind their own business as drinking weak tea was just fine. The look on the retired couple's faces was worth a million dollars. Those folks were packed and gone in about 60 seconds.

We spent four days there in mid September, the trailing end of the busy season. I don’t know much about the West Glacier part, we rushed through it on our way home. There are tons of activities if you like go-carts, zip lines and trinkets. It is just like Gatlinburg TN without Dolly Land. If you are headed east, it’s a great place to stock up on supplies and do laundry since things will get VERY bare in that direction. US 2 over Marias Pass is an easy, pretty drive along the Flathead River. There is a rest stop at the top with an OK view of the south end of the Park. Also a NFS campground (Summit, 12 sites) which is spread out but has minimal sun and no views. Elevation is right at a mile up so it may be windy and chilly. Once you start descending the east slope the dense trees go away and the terrain opens up. There is much less rainfall there. The Burlington Northern main line follows US 2 for many miles, be aware of this when camping and try to pick a spot a mile or two north or south and well away from any crossings. It is very busy hauling freight and coal. Amtrak has two stops, one in West Glacier and one in East Glacier. The East Glacier stop is a short walk from the huge, cool old hotel, so it is busy with visitors, many from other countries. There are mouldering 1930s cottages and tourist shops along the park road road for a mile or so, but nothing really worth a visit. There is gas outside ALL the entrances on this side, but prices will be 30 to 40 cents higher. Browning is the only “big” town (with 1026 souls). The Blackfeet Reservation dominates the entire area. Be very aware of their laws about firearms. If you have any, they must be empty and secured completely out of reach. NO concealed or open carry! Browning itself has cheap gas, a grocery store, post office and a few odd shops, and a museum, but other than despair nothing is present. It is known to be a rough town and you probably wouldn’t want to go bar-hopping there. Expect a lot of visible poverty and a few street beggars. The Museum of the Plains Indians is interesting if you like that sort of stuff. I found myself bored silly, but Jac liked it a lot. The Cenex north of town has a prominent sign posted "No Sticky-Fingers Allowed", with a long list of Blackfeet folks who were banned. The names were astonishing but I didn’t feel it would be OK to take a picture…. https://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-indian-names/blackfoot-names.htm ... Two Medicine is a wonderful place, we spent four nights there. It is right under the craggy peaks and the boat launch/ day use area is a good spot for time lapse video of glorious sunrises. It can be ferociously windy and camping is limited now, but if you can snag a spot it would be better than St Mary. There were no generators allowed in that section in season, but they may have relaxed that rule when it went Primitive. Running Eagle Falls and Nature Trail is a delight, with short and easy access from the entry road. The camp store is closed this time of year. Bears are around, the rangers had to chase a sow and her two cubs from the campground by firing a rifle several times. Even when walking park roads you each need to ALWAYS carry bear spray and keep your heads swiveling! Narrow brushy trails are nerve wracking, keep talking or clap your hands loudly to alert any big predators to your presence. You can buy spray in the Apgar and St Mary gift shops. US 89 is the main RV route north from Browning to St Mary and Going to the Sun Road. At Kiowa Junction there is major MAJOR construction and the entire highway should be avoided They are ripping out the hillsides and rerouting and recontouring the road bed. Expect 30 minute delays, pilot cars and one way traffic. It is NOT a place to take a trailer. It might be OK on a dry day without the Ollie. MT 49 goes from East Glacier to Kiowa. The south part is fine as far as the turnoff to Two Medicine. Further north it is Not Recommended For Trailers. It is fun in a truck - the roadbed is heaved, repaired, potholed, washed out and extremely undulating. To get from East Glacier up to St Mary, go into Browning, gas up at the big Cenex a mile north of town, and take MT 464 as a 70 mph bypass. It is straight and smooth with some great views of the Park mountains from the higher hills. Watch out for free range horses on the reservation, especially just north of Browning. You may see them grazing on the shoulder! The Blackfeet love horses but some owners don’t care if they lose one to a collision… St Mary park entrance is busy with tour and shuttle buses. There is adequate RV parking. Since the GTTS road closed for construction on the west side of Logan Pass (September 16), it may be worse. It’s now the only way to access the high country near the Pass.If you want to hike up there, take the shuttle and don’t even think about parking your truck up there. There are several short hikes to viewing areas along the road that are worth visiting. Sunrift Gorge is gorgeous. Parking lower down should not be a problem. St Mary Campground is just OK, it has plenty of room for an Ollie and adequate sun exposure, but it has no views. One section is prone to flooding. It may be posted Hard Sided Campers Only due to problem bears. This is the best choice to stay on the east side of the Park, unless you luck out and find an open spot that is large enough in one of the other smaller campgrounds. I suggest that you stay here two nights. Explore the second day and keep an eye out fo rougher camping options that would be closer to the scenery. You can always claim a spot and leave a small tent or chairs there, and go get your Ollie that day to shift it. Many Glacier is drop dead beautiful, but crazy busy with back-country hikers. It allows low elevation access to a bunch of spectacular trails.The road in is very nasty, potholed and uneven. It is a disgrace for a national park. Parking will be very tough around the trailhead and hotel. You can go past that turnoff and find a spot along the road and walk back.The hotel has a nice affordable restaurant with stellar views out the back windows. The campground there is very tight and heavily treed and not a good spot for an Ollie. Plus it will probably be full of hikers and their tents. Waterton Lakes National Park - we did not go there since we could not do a Canadian border crossing, but it would be an excellent day visit. It’s about 30 minutes north of the Many Glacier entrance on a very twisty road. RV camping outside the Park - practically none. The Blackfeet do not seem to care to exploit tourist dollars. Most of the small towns outside The Res have an RV camp of some sort. Choteau to the south is a neat, prosperous town (it’s the county seat) with a nice little city campground and a $5 dump/ potable water station. Cell signal is spotty at best, you will be able to connect at the entrances and in the bigger towns, but forget about it completely once you are inside the Park. The campground hosts post weather reports in the busy season, that may not be an option this time of year. On a hike you should always carry enough clothes for unexpected rain or cold, and carry basic survival stuff in case you get stranded. A satellite communicator like an inReach provides great peace of mind and a limited degree of two-way communication. A big handgun is OK in the Park if you are legal in MT to carry one, but it is a crime to actually fire it inside there. It cannot be carried inside any Federal facility like a visitor center, so if you are using the shuttle system it probably has to stay at the trailer…. I am still working on organizing pics, I will post some later. John Davies Spokane WA

Earlier posts described the covid-19 epidemic as “blown out of proportion,” or “over blown,” or “media hype.” I have to strenuously disagree with those characterizations. This virus is extremely transmissible between people, and epidemiologists predict 40-70% of Americans will likely get infected. Yes, 80% of those people infected will have mild to moderate symptoms. However, 20% of infected individuals will have severe respiratory problems. Many of these people will require hospitalization. Many of these hospitalized people will require advanced interventions, including isolation, ICU care, and treatment with a ventilator. Unfortunately our health care has limited numbers of hospital beds, ICU space, and especially ventilators and trained respiratory technicians. The best estimates are that 1-3% of infected people will die. How many die depends upon how well our health care infrastructure can deal with the number of cases. In Italy they were slow to respond to the epidemic, and people are dying in record numbers. They don't have nearly enough hospital beds, and physicians are having to make triage decisions as to who gets treatment, and who lives and who dies. Read about it. It is very upsetting. You may have heard the term “flatten the curve.” Simply put, this means that if we do not shut down large gatherings and practice social distancing, based on the data from other countries, within a month we will have an enormous spike of infections, and 20% of those will have severe problems. Our health care system will not be able to cope, and many will die. If instead, we can slow the rate of transmission, then people will get infected over a much long period of time. This does not necessarily mean that fewer people will get infected, in total, but that fewer people will be infected at any point in time. That means there will be fewer people with severe respiratory problems at any one time, and hopefully there are enough ICU beds and ventilators available to meet the need. And that means fewer people will die. While each one of us is unlikely to have an infection with severe problems, it is nonetheless very important for all of us to do what we can to slow the rate of transmission.

The Oliver Travel Trailer Community is saddened to announce that our founder, Jim Oliver, passed away last night. As many of you know, Jim and his late brother John, were responsible for creating the original Legacy travel trailers which many of you own and love. Jim passed the baton to his children in 2014 who have created the Legacy Elite II which even more of you own and love. His wit, wisdom, and guidance will be deeply missed. Please feel free to add your thoughts, condolences, and memories of Jim to this thread.

Sometime ago I presented a Mod where I installed a black filter material on the MaxxAir Fan in order to reduce light transmission into the interior of my Oliver. I thought an added benefit of this mod was that the filter material would keep the fan somewhat cleaner than it would have been otherwise since normally I only use the fan on the exhaust setting. While in Montana this year I noted a "couple" of insects that were trapped on the other side of the filter material and a few days before heading home the fan developed a ticking sound - particularly at slow speeds. So, I figured I'd remove the filter, fix that ticking sound and clean the interior of the fan for the first time in four years. Upon removing the filter material, I was totally surprised with the number of dead bugs and the nastiness of the fan. Since the MaxxAir frame is caulked into place (along with four screws) onto the inside shell of my Oliver, I proceeded to remove what I could of the fan without a total removal. Here is how I did it: 1 – Remove the screen by turning the four plastic “tabs” 180 degrees either to the right or left. 2 – Remove the inner face plate – the one with the controls and knob that is used to manually open the exterior cover (see picture) by removing four screws plus the screw in the center of the black knob. Disconnect the electrical connection noted in the picture and gently let the faceplate hang in place. 3 - Remove the fan using an allen wrench (3/32 I believe). In my case the set screw holding the fan to the motor shaft was either put on by a gorilla or had a bit of corrosion which caused the set screw to be difficult to loosen. I put a couple of drops of “Liquid Wrench” on the threads of the set screw, let it set for a few minutes and then used a small piece of tubing as a breaker bar as a help with the small allen wrench. Be a bit careful here with the force applied - you do not want to strip the inside of this set screw. Also be careful with all plastic parts in that they are easy to break. 4 – Clean and dry screen and fan. I used “Simple Green” cleaner and a soft brush to clean both the screen and the fan. The fan was then wiped down with the same mixture I use on the interior of the Oliver – 4 parts Duragloss detailer with 1 part Duragloss liquid wax – in order to give it a nice clean shine. 5 – Clean the inner face plate and clean all other interior surfaces of the MaxxAir. Again, I used this Duragloss mixture. 6 – Re-assemble all parts in the reverse order. Note that when re-installing the fan on the motor shaft, the fan set screw should be tightened against the “flat” surface on the motor shaft. Do not over-tighten any of the screws that go into plastic! Snug is sufficient. Don’t forget to re-connect that electrical connection that was disconnected in step 2 above. When re-installing the screen, if the four plastic “tabs” were originally turned 180 degrees then the screen should easily slip back into place. These four tabs can then be turned back to the original position into the indent on the face of the plastic on the screen. Do not force these plastic tabs, they are snug but finger pressure is all that is necessary if they and the screen are positioned correctly. 7 – Turn the fan on to make sure that all is well. For what its worth, the “ticking” sound was caused by a little label (serial number and model of fan) becoming partially un-stuck from the interior side of the fan housing. As the fan would rotate, the blades would hit this label causing the noise.

I would also say thank you to the Oliver Travel Trailer owners and employees. After all, they are really the reason for this forum’s existence. I would also extend a shout out to the forum moderator's, who are always present to offer guidance to all who seek it as well as their collective expertise. Mossey

I sometimes like to drain my fresh tank inside the RV bay, this tool saves a big wet mess all over the floor and I don't have to hook up the Land Cruiser to pull the trailer outside. I used a scrap length of 1/2" PEX pipe, a piece of 1/2" automotive heater hose, a 90 degree elbow water hose, and a female 1/2" garden hose adapter. I had all the parts in my scrap bins, so it took all of three minutes to build it. You can reach the tank drain line without even crawling under the trailer, and the elbow will stay in place without any clamp. I timed the drain process with a nearly full fresh tank and it did not take any longer to empty with this adapter and a 25 foot 5/8" garden hose run out the back door, with only 2 feet of drop at the far end - it took about 22 minutes, with the coupler raised six inches.. I like this tool, it is simple and does not leak, quick to use, yet elegant in function. John Davies Spokane WA

Catalina State Park just outside of Tucson last month. We’ve made reservations for next January already.

We just faced that very decision between a 23-foot Globetrotter and an Oliver. We've loved our great little T@B for several years but have long-planned to order a roomier Airstream for retirement travel. But we just couldn't seem to bring ourselves to place the order. We were camping in Tennessee recently when we came across an Oliver on it's maiden voyage, then we made a detour to Hohenwald for the tour. On the way back to the Midwest the next day, we made it a point to swing by a large Airstream dealer to look at comparable Globetrotter and Caravel models while the Oliver experience was fresh. Sure, there were a few features we preferred with AS (mostly layout-related, maybe a few decor options) but the Oliver really stood out for it's fit, finish, and overall quality, especially against the Caravel. While Airstream advertises high MSRP, the prices dealers offered us were virtually the same as Oliver. We got home, gave it a day, and ordered our Oliver. It was a simple decision once we found the right trailer--or rather, the right trailer found us!

OLIVER FORUM GUIDELINES Welcome to the Oliver Forum, a great place for Oliver Travel Trailer owners and future owners to interact, share knowledge, solve problems, and most importantly, to develop friendships. Respectful and considerate responses help build this community. You’ll find a wealth of experiences here, and many owners willing to share their experiences. Have fun, but please keep others’ viewpoints in mind. Respectfully state your point, share your information, or ask your question. Keep it casual and friendly. Reread your post before you hit submit. Is it helpful? Thoughtful? Please try to stay on the original topic of the thread. Confusing the issue may cause the member’s original question to go unanswered. Start a new topic if you have a new question. It’s important for all members to have the environment and opportunity to contribute in a considerate manner, and to learn. Inflammatory and trolling comments shall be removed by a volunteer moderator. We encourage members to use the “REPORT” function (bottom right corner of each post) to help us, as we’re not reading every post, 24/7. If your post is removed, you’ll receive a PM about it. If there is a continuing problem, further action may be taken, up to and including your removal from the forum. Some inflammatory topics to avoid include religion and politics. We’re all about camping, and Oliver campers. Over the years, we’ve seen a few simple topics turn into heated debates. It’s natural to want to jump in, but honestly, it’s often better to let it go, and hit the report button, instead. We moderators are avid campers. Even as we write this, we are all out camping, some with limited bandwidth. We respond as quickly as we can, and the sooner we know, the better. Some have asked why our forum is linked to the Oliver website. Valid question. Since the beginning of our forum in 2008, Oliver Travel Trailers (OTT) has paid for our Oliver “sandbox”, including our web space and an administrator who knows way more than we do about maintaining the software, for which we are very grateful. OTT DOES NOT CENSOR OR INTERFERE with the moderators’ management of the forum content. Moderators are not employees of OTT. We are Ollie owners, and receive no remuneration. OTT does have a employee designated to read the forum for the purpose of improving the “Ollie Experience” for all, but that’s a few minutes a day in a busy job description. If you should ever have an issue or a warranty claim, call tech support. Your post might not be seen on the forum by an Oliver employee. With that in mind, we moderators ask you to communicate directly with the company and afford them an opportunity to satisfy any serious needs before flaming OTT on the forum. We are not asking that anything to be swept under the rug. Just, please, let Oliver Travel Trailers have the first shot to meet and exceed your expectations. Sometimes, communications here may be misinterpreted, because the written word just doesn’t carry the visual clues of face to face conversations. Should you believe a post is a little ill-mannered, consider the poster might be trying to be helpful, but isn’t able to put his or her words together the way you might. Forums work best when our skin tends to be a bit on the thicker side. Remember as well, whatever you post will likely be permanent, and picked up by automated internet software programs. Though this is our forum, it’s still on the world wide web. Our words may very well outlive us. Please, be especially patient with newbies. Our search feature is still being tweaked, and they may not have found an answer by simply using “Search”. You may remember your own newbie questions . . . of many years ago. If you have already answered the same newbie question as many times as you care to, relax and allow someone else to step up and reply. Help foster a community of teachers. We recommend all phone numbers and email addresses be sent in private messages and NOT posted. If you must post personal data, we suggest you post in a manner so trolling automated internet programs will not grab your personal information and use it nefariously. For instance, a phone number might be “8ThreeZero, 5one5, 9 2 eight seven”, or for an email address, something like “Bill DOT Fisher at flyboy DOT com”. Please reread this, and help us continue to make our forum a great place for everyone. We hope you enjoy our forum. Thank you, bugeyedriver, SeaDawg, ScubaRx, Mike and Carol, topgun2 , Overland Oliver Owner Moderator Team

Imagine this. You are traveling a back road, because interstates all look pretty much all alike. The afternoon is getting long and then you see it. An old stone building along the side of a lazy stream. There is a slow turning water wheel making an occasional squeaking and gurgling sound. The trees are just starting to turn to a beautiful range of shades from reds to yellows to oranges. There is a wide flat gravel drive and a grassy area, with picnic tables, next to the stream. Scenes like this, and many others, are available all over this country. The Oliver is built for you to get to enjoy these scenes in comfort. Without plugging in you can have lights, heat, water, a bed, food, and other creature comforts only a few feet behind you as you gaze about to see what this country has to offer. Enjoy...

We finally installed our grapics today on hull 537 "Beacon" It was too cold to install them in Maine after we returned from picking the Ollie up in late October. It was warm enough today in the Florida Keys. We have been on the road since February 3rd and will end this year's trip at the Oliver rally. My wife took the pictures and the graphics/vinyl were done by Banana Banners of Bowdionham, Maine. (Thanks for the referral Mainiac) The photos are of the Pemaquid Lighthouse just 3 miles from home. See you at the Rally.

We ordered an Elite II in June.. pick up is in November.. so we can’t wait for fall to get here..Sold our faithful old Casita today, strange watching her head down the road without us, but it was fun helping the new owners get acquainted with their new camper, having driven over 1500 miles just about straight through to get here. They have never had a camper, never been in a Casita.. they were super excited to say the least.. As I watched, I kept thinking about how exciting it will be when it’s our turn to load up all kinds of gear in the truck, head to Tennessee to pick up our new camper, then go hide at Davy Crockett St Park for a couple days trying to figure it all out...Four more months to go..

My truck can beat up your truck with one wheel tied behind its tailgate. So there...

Resurrecting an older thread. We've had our Elite II for a year now, never had trouble with the water system, except the pump seemed to be pretty loud (our first RV, so no other experience to draw from) and the flow was never what I would call strong. However, on our latest trip, the water pressure took a very noticeable drop. On Jason's advice, I checked the water filter and it was half full of the white plastic shards. Cleaned it out and reinstalled, but the problem persisted. Turns out, the 1' of braided hose connecting the fresh tank to the pump was also packed with the plastic. That particular section is more constricted than the other pipes leading from the tank, so the debris more easily lodged there. Difficult to remove, but managed to make a pipe cleaner from some stainless wire I had in the tool kit. Once the shards were out, water pressure is much better AND the pump is much quieter.

Elizabeth and I have an agreement in hand to sell #64. Assuming all goes as planned we will be trailerless after this July 2020 weekend. I know you will be welcoming to the new owners as they begin their journey. FYI, we are healthy When we bought 64, we planned to own it a couple of years to do some travel that was in our bucket list. We have owned her almost four years and the bucket is full, so rather than just have her parked, we reluctantly decided to sell. We do plan to continue to snowbird, but rather than months in a 23' space, we elect to rent a park home or condo. Wanted to stop by here for what will likely be my final post and thank Oliver TT, especially Jason, for their help. More importantly, I want to thank those of you who have befriended us, shared times, and even helped us when we were befuddled new kids. We have pictures and souvenirs to remember many of you by, and will be looking at our nostalgic Ollie days well into the future. Keep doing what you do. Love you guys and will miss you.

A while back, we settled on this set up for our water purification. It has worked well for us many years now. It's quick, easy to set up and make friends with all the surrounding campers.

We usually cook and eat outside, and we often have the need for paper towels outside. Our simple solution is to hang the paper towels outside using a cord and two suction cups. With a longer cord, we have also placed one suction cup on the tow vehicle and one on the trailer to create a clothesline.

Happy Independence Day to everyone! We’re fortunate to live in such a great country and our Olivers give us the chance to travel and see it all! Mike

So these were the two brass connectors, and you can see the full split down the length of them. Oliver was very responsive and got me the parts quickly. I finally got around to changing them out yesterday. It was a tight spot to work in, but honestly the most frustrating part was trying to wrap the plumbers tape around the threading of the intake in such a tight space - that stuff twisted and stuck to everything but the threading. Took about 2 hours total, but we are back in business. Thanks everyone for your input.

Welding aluminum correctly by hand is very much an art. Your average trailer hitch shop cannot do it, a specialty company is usually the best place to have something like a personal project welded. Robotic machines are taking over in the larger factories like Aluma. In a shift they do the work of ten men, and with very repeatable high quality. I don’t know if Olivers will ever be machine welded, it would not be a bad thing, but their human welders do beautiful work, and as owners we should appreciate it and thank them. John Davies Spokane WA

The plastic chrome covers on my porch lights were starting to peel and the rubber gaskets were all dry rotting, causing those ugly black streaks. I’ve tried a few times to seal them with varying success. New ones are about $38. I found some on Amazon that are similar, about an inch larger lengthwise. They have an aluminum cover that is not shiny chrome. They were $19 each. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ODSBXB0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Light and rubber sheet. Cutting gaskets. The rubber I ordered was much thicker than I needed. Probably 1/8” or less in thickness would be fine. The thickness I had made cutting square edges a bit challenging. Comparison of new and old. After removal of old lights. There isn’t much wire to work with so I cut them off right at the solder joint on the old light. The new lights came with plenty of wire. The remains of my feeble attempts to seal the old rubber is obvious! Cleaned up. I used some 3M fiberglass polish to get the shine back. I decided to drill only one new hole. I hate drilling into my trailer! Since the new lights were about an inch longer it meant the lights would not be centered over the window. I asked Carol to come out and look at the first installation and she didn’t notice the slight off center so I went ahead and did the same for the other three. I filled the old unused hole with silicon. New light. It’s hard to see but the lights are about a half inch off center to the front of the trailer. Lights on. They are about the same brightness as the old. Mike

I would like to thank the Oliver service department for posting those maintenance videos on youtube. They will assist me and many others greatly. Job well done!!!

Imagine being huddled together inside for months ...

It is not much help - but I have offered rv space on my property to a few traveling Oliver owners. (just hit me up - we are in Mid TN.) Water and sewer, and with a little Macgyver-ing, 120 service. Any port in a storm - six foot rule - not with standing.

Caution before travelling. We had planned to leave Friday for a ten day camping trip to the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly. It would have been a great trip, and we planned to listen to Tony Hillerman audiobooks on our drives. But several days ago we decided to cancel the trip, and to remain at home. We made this decision before the National Parks (and National Monuments?) started restricting entry, as noted by Overland. Here is the reason I am posting now. Our NPR Utah radio station covers the entire state, and in the past several days they have had several stories about how Moab is discouraging visitors because their health care infrastructure, like in many rural areas, is minimal. No ICUs, no infectious disease physicians, no ventilators. They do not want visitors getting sick and the community not be able to provide adequate health care. It is surprising that an area whose economy depends on tourist dollars would be discouraging visitors, but these are exceptional times. Then tonight, Moab shut down the town to visitors. All restaurants are closed. All “short-term lodging (hotels, motels, condos, townhomes, guest homes, RV parks, and all camping on public or private lands)" in four southern Utah counties are closed to non-residents. In other words, unless you are already there, you cannot camp anywhere. More info here. It is nice to think that our self-contained travel trailer can go anywhere, but right now that may not be true. We like to camp in remote areas, and right not that may or may not be permitted. Check before you depart. Safe travels, everyone. And wash your hands!

Answers to your questions depend on you use case for mobile data: Some considerations and a quick table I made to show the differences... A key resource for all of us who are going to be mobile, and want to use internet on the road. This site was started by some previous Oliver owners...who were living the life of mobile technical writers. Since then, they've grown their YouTube and Blog on Mobile Internet into their main line of business. They do reviews of various types of BOOSTERS for CELL and WIFI and discuss the differences and why each is needed. They also describe many different use cases for RV's. From full time to part time, mobile workers to occasional travelers. They review and track the various data plans by Carrier, AT&T, Verizon etc...and tell which is the best value, has best coverage. Link below: https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ C Short Hull 505 -Galway Girl

That was our first Ollie trip as well. There's plenty to fill three weeks or more on that route. We started by making our way to Carlsbad/Guadeloupe. You could start with Big Bend as well if you want. We're hikers, so we spent maybe five nights there and could have spent two more. Be absolutely sure to watch the bats at dawn or dusk at the cave entrance. You could do a quick day trip from there to Roswell if you want to do something hokey. There's BLM land nearby - we camped here the entire time and there are more campsites further down the road, but I'll warn you that the road up the hill to these sites is punishing. It's an oil service road, but we couldn't see nor hear the pumps from our campsite. From there I think we spent two nights at Cloudcroft. There's a campground there, but it may not be open yet when you go. There's an outdoors store in town that you can ask for locations in the national forest to camp. We camped here. That spot was a bit steep, but the better ones along the road were occupied - just be careful that the south end of that road might be closed and it's a difficult turn around. It's a beautiful area, the town is nice, and if you time your trip right, you can get a tour of the Sunspot Observatory. From there we made quick stops at White Sands NP and then the Missile Range Museum, on the way to Saguaro. I think we must have stayed a night somewhere before Tuscon, but I can't remember where. In Tuscon, we camped in the forrest up near Mt. Lemmon, which is a great drive. We camped here, and it was a pretty nice spot. You can walk up the hill from there for some nice sunsets. From Tuscon, we went down to Tumacocori for one night. There's a USFS office on the highway just before town, and they can tell you some spots to camp. We ended up on some BLM pasture land - it was actually pretty nice, but you had to watch where you stepped. If you go there, ask at the park gift shop if they have any home made Membrillo. When we went, one of the rangers was making it from quince that they grow on the grounds. Bring me some. Also stop at the San Xavier Mission if you're into architecture. Next stop was Organ Pipe NP. When we went, we were the only people there besides the border patrol, so it was pretty nice. Watch out for africanized bees - we were chased down a trail by some. The visitors center will tell you where they are, so don't ignore their warnings like we did. The park has a nice campground and we stayed there. There are some good driving trails in the park but its not much for hiking. The park now comes with less cacti. Then we went up to Phoenix to see Taliesin, with a brief stop in Ajo where they have a nice town square. I think we stayed at a KOA in Phoenix - I'm sure you could do better with some research. From Phoenix we went up to Sedona, staying west of town on one of the few roads that allow dispersed camping, here. It's a long, corrugated road, but not too harsh for the trailer. It was a nice, quiet spot. Then we headed back east to Canyon de Chelly, staying at the campground there. Don't ask Siri for directions there - you can stop at the entrance gate and she'll tell you that you're still three hours away. May include unpaved roads, lol. They have a warning on their website now to not try to follow Siri's directions. Anyway, Canyon de Chelley is O.K. for a quick visit, but I think the real way to see it is via a tour of the bottom, which we didn't have time to do. Alternatively, you could keep going north to the Grand Canyon, or farther east to Chaco, which is one of my favorites. You could also stop at Petrified Forest NP. Mesa is then just a hop away, etc. So much to see in that area. Another fun thing to see is the Very Large Array, which you might be able to shoehorn in there somewhere. I don't think I'd try getting up into Utah unless you add another week - it's really a separate trip. We've done four 3-week trips so far to the four corners area, still haven't seen everything, and are itching to go back to the places we've already seen. Finally, whenever we're out there, we spend a few nights in Santa Fe before heading back home, which is sort of a tradition with us.

This is one of the main reasons we sell direct. The constant feedback from our owners keeps us on our toes and we continue to improve how our trailers are built. Manufacturers that sell through dealerships have less (or barely any) communication with the actual owners that buy their RVs. Dealerships don't always have the intentions and care of the manufacturer either. They can be misleading or not prioritize customer service like we do. I have been with the company since 2013. I can honestly say that there are a lot of features and components on our units that came directly from our owners experiences. Some did their own modifications. Some made suggestions. The user feedback is important to us. In the end, our goal is to build the best camper we can make, back it up with great customer service and want owners to be safe and enjoy their experiences in them. You are purchasing a premium product... we know it is more expensive than some trailers. You deserve a premium trailer and a company that cares about it. We are not always perfect, we are human, but we will do our best to make it right when problems occur. We want to thank everyone for the comments and belief in us!

Thanks to months of hard work by Jason Walmsley we are now allowed to play in a brand new sandbox. Over the past weeks the Moderators have had the ability to poke around, throw some sand and generally play as we tested and tried to make things break. As we get familiar with these new surroundings, we trust that everyone will find the new Forum easier, more stable and yet more flexible while still allowing for the great discussions, stories and information that we have always had. If anyone has problems with the Forum, be sure to let any of the Moderators or Jason Walmsley know so that we can seek a solution right away. Enjoy!

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Mike, as your Oliver is one of the early ones, it likely has two 3-way valves instead of the 4 on-off valves of later builds. The is the original (as delivered) valves in our Hull # 050. Maybe this will help trouble shoot your valve positions. This a photo of the later valve layout. They both do the same thing, but the factory altered their manufacturing plan. I removed my manual valves and replaced them with electric ones. Now a flip of a switch takes me from "Normal" to "Auxiliary".

Meeting Ollie owners is the best part of an Oliver rally, and I can understand why people going to Lake Guntersville still want to connect with each other. I want to remind people that the pandemic is serious and It is best to exercise appropriate cautions. It would be good to wear masks when talking to people, especially when visiting inside a trailer. Reasonable actions concerning shared food activities can improve safety. Disinfect surfaces. No finger foods or shared appetizer bowls. Serving utensils can transmit virus via hands, so each family group should bring their own serving utensils to food events. Alternatively, social interactions could happen without shared food, in the interest of safety. Of course anyone with symptoms would not attend the rally, but with a group this size the odds are significant of having at least one asymptomatic person capable of transmitting the virus. We don’t want this to be a Superspreader event, where people from diverse locales are brought together and then return to spread the virus through their home communities and family groups. Stay safe.

With the Covid 19 suggested travel restrictions keeping me home and properly distanced - I took the time to put Oliver in top shape: 1. Greased all fittings, repacked and replaced (one side) wheel bearings. 2. Verified all chassis fastener torques. includes the Dexter recall. 3. Rotated tires - front to rear, one rear to carried spare, one rear to "extra spare" . The trailer carried spare to front, and second spare to other front. (I purchased a second spare with my Oliver purchase.) So - two new tires to front, fronts now rear, spares are former rears. Basically a 13k rotation. 4. Washed and waxed Ollie. Used the Meguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax. I actually believe I prefer the regular Meguiar's. 5. Put a threaded "stop" on the powered antenna - it rotated around, a loose fit by design. Now it is secure and locked in place. 6. Pulled AC shroud off. Removed the bird nest detritus , waxed the shroud, replaced. 7. Added new gutters to all windows - the ones mentioned in other forum posts. I used a electric blanket to warm them up sufficiently and cleaned the surface with 3m cleaner. They are very secure - to my delight. 8. Enlarged the drain holes on the three side windows. (Just the ones on the "slide" glass) . Same rectangular look, just about 75% larger. 9. Added a bolt "stop" to the battery tray. Keeps the tray locked in place should the latch fail. I have seen one fail first hand in a friends Ollie. 10. Replaced batteries in all the remote Temp sensors. 11. Tested all the systems - except AC. Readied all systems for "GO". Sanitized the water system. 12. Thoroughly cleaned the interior, removed the excess floor glue that bugged me since purchase. 13. Bleach cleaned the window outside inserts, to almost new white condition - my new black ones are on back order...... Found my tire covers......... What did I miss? Other than a few "upgrades" I am contemplating..... RB

We are on the Gulf of Mexico due south of Tallahassee. We began our journey departing Maine on February 3rd with plans to visit Charleston, Savannah, the Keys, Naples, Tampa, Destin, Gulfport, New Orleans, Natchez and the Trace, Nashville, and then to the Oliver Rally and then home. We did get to Charleston, Savannah, the Keys, Naples and Tampa. We are leaving here tomorrow for home. With limited services and most everything closing, to us, it just seems best to head home. We will end our trip 2 months early and that is disappointing. However, the 45 days on our first camping trip in our Ollie has been great. We learned a lot and met some very nice folks. We stayed in Cracker Barrels, State Parks, RV resorts, and private campgrounds. It has been an adventure. We learned about our Oliver. We hooked up, used a dump station, learned how to use the Andersen hitch, greased our Dexter suspension, fixed a broken tongue jack (operator error) and had our refrigerator serviced in the keys. We will return to Maine to wait this out and hope to remain healthy and enjoy a great summer. We will plan to go back back out next winter and finish part of the trip we didn't get to do this year, go further and do more next year. Stay healthy!!!!!!!

Hello everyone! Our Oliver build should have started and we are scheduled to take delivery in April. We have our reservations for the rally at Lake Guntersville State Park and are very excited to meet you all! I don't have a hull number yet.

I live about an hour from Guntersville, I have land for anyone who wants to arrive a couple of days early to boondock. Of course no charge for my Ollie Family.

Yep - certainly not the first time I've tried to be humorous and have been called on it. Obviously, if one would not want something done to them then just why would they even consider doing it to someone (or something) else? Nature and all animals (to include the human kind) deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. I sure wouldn't appreciate it if one (or more) of those ground squirrels decided to pipe their "grey water" into my Ollie . Bill

We're migrating our current forums to a new and better forum software starting tomorrow October 23, 2019. The forums will be set into Read-Only mode and no posting will take place until Friday when the new forum is setup and the conversion and permissions are completed. Keep in mind that anything you do after the forums is set to read-only mode will be lost. So please refrain from sending private messages, changing profile information, and etc. until after the conversion to the new forums is completed. Thanks everyone!

Truma updated their website and they are starting to post how to's...using an Oliver as their model. Here's the youtube link: My 2019 Instructions are still the "corrected" version.... Is the final story now set? I wait to see if Truma posts an updated winterization video.