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I'm BACK Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers - especially those that were specific to me and my family. We never lost power, satellite TV, or water/sewer in my sub-division. We had several trees down that blocked the roads into/out of our home but our City workers pushed those aside fairly early after the rain stopped and then my wife and I cleared the 95% of the mess up until I ran out of gas for the chainsaw. However, even though (as far as I know) the small town where I live "only" had relatively little damage, the storm had major effects on many areas around the entire Western North Carolina, north Georgia, and Tennessee. Specifically, the small town of Chimney Rock is basically gone. I don't mean damaged, I mean it is literally gone. There are highways that are gone, bridges gone, and, of course, buildings that are gone. I've heard varying numbers of deaths due to the storm but there are still areas that have not been visited because there is simply no way to get to them other than helicopter fly overs. Fortunately, these types of storms are not "normal" for us. Certainly THAT is good news. But, the bad news is that our infrastructure is not prepared for this type of thing. Also, our personal and governmental structure is basically not prepared. Curfews have been place since early on and I've not traveled so that the people, equipment and supplies that are needed can more easily get to where it is really needed. However, what little I've personally observed is amazing. We did get cell and land line phones back yesterday and just this morning slow internet is available. My wife went out early this morning in the hopes of getting some fresh fruit and milk. It took longer than "normal" but she returned with those supplies. Only one grocery store had those things in stock though and of the three stores she stopped into only one was accepting limited credit card payments. Apparently the local gas stations have received fresh supplies of gas but there are still long lines to get it. I'm guessing that by Friday things should be getting back closer to "normal". Unfortunately, I can't say the same for other nearby areas where I'm sure it will take months (if not years) to find any sense of "normalcy"😟. Bill p.s. I store my Ollie in a storage yard about 10 miles from my home. I'm assuming that it is still there and undamaged - I'll try to go for a visit by the weekend.

I completed our new Nova Kool R5810 AC/DC refrigerator installation before our trip to the 2025 OTTO's Rally and the 3 week shakedown was everything we hoped for! I want to thank all of the early adopters, Try2Relax, MountainOliver, Geronimo John, Ty J and rideadeuce, who preceded my installation and shared there experiences. I have attached a few pictures that are similar to those that have already been posted. I would also like to shout out to David & Kristine Hess, Cooper Jenkins and the rest of the folks at Sea Biscuit Metal Designs for their help and creation of the upper and lower vents for my refrigerator installation. If you need something custom made from metal, they are my goto team! Mossey

A few lessons learned from the recent storm here in Western North Carolina: 1: Get and/or make a copy of any drug prescription(s) you may have. A neighbor of our went to CVS to get a refill for one of his meds. Due to having no computer and/or internet access the pharmacy could not verify his prescription and, therefore, had to deny his request. They advised him to go to the local hospital where he could see a doctor to get a new script. 2: Keep a supply of cash (in small bills) on hand. Since power and access to computers/internet was lost in the region, the only way to get any services and/or products was to have cash. 3: Keep at least a 1/2 tank of gas in your vehicle(s) at all times. First the power went out. This caused the gas stations to not be able to pump the gas that they had on hand. Second, the power came back on but then there was "panic" buying and long lines to get gas. Third, when the gas stations were re-supplied there were still long lines due to the "panic" and uncertainty of when or if gas would be available in the future. 4: Keep bottled water on hand. Obviously the amount partially depends on the number of people, the area where you live - to include climate and time of year. 5: Consider some type of satellite communications device. This can be something as "simple" as a personal communications device like the Garmin InReach mini, a satellite phone, or Starlink. Bill

OK... Been thinking of this for a while and with some encouragement from @Geronimo John - it's probably a good a time as ever to post this. So, last month the traveling Knuckleheads and I visited the "first come - first served" Oliver Campground for some maintenance activities. We pull in around mid-afternoon knowing there's likely to be some serious WX coming in our direction. Having never been to the much touted-about showroom and maintenance facility located in an industrial area "across the tracks" in Hohenwald, the puppies and I met all the fantastic people in the showroom and general workshop area. Josh showed us all the new upgrades to the 2024 models and Magnus and Oscar approvingly inspected every square inch of them. We were adorned with swag like one couldn't believe (albeit the coveted "Ravel Cups" were no where to be seen)... Retiring to the Casablanca as the only Oliver in the campground, we threw on some Chris Stapelton and settled in to chill for a bit. A few minutes later, a rap at the main entry hatch... "Sir, since you're still coupled, it would be advisable to bring your rig through the main gate and under the protective metal roof by the shop". Assuming he (I'm thinking it was Mike) knows the WX patterns a ton better than us - I "rogered-up" and by the time I managed to snuggle the Tundra under the awning, the hail went from pea size to "no SH!T" golfball size. Never experience hail balls like that. The noise was louder than sitting behind the JBD waiting to launch with an F-8 in full burner on the CAT! IMG_1665.MOV It lasted about 20 minutes or so... The Oliver folks literally save our Tundra from being destroyed by the storm's hail - our metal panels aren't like the thickness of trucks back in the day - they're very thin. Jason Essary came up during the deluge, explaining that they get this type of storm often and I asked about the 6 or 7 brand new OTTs in the parking lot totally exposed to the hurling ice balls like ours was... He said, "No worries, until those hail balls get to the size of frozen chickens, they'll be good as gold!" WOW! Our's was completely being pelted by the hail as Jason explained this and sure enough - no issues! We'd just like to take this moment to thank ALL of the OTT employees that were there that day, helping us save the mighty TV, our Tundra... Cheers, ALL!

Camping at the Dinosaur National Monument, at the Green River campground, and couldn't eat on time because of the people wandering by saying "Is that an Oliver?" or "What kind of trailer is that?" I think most folks had already eaten and were doing their after dinner walkabout, but I got back late after hiking in the desert. Of course I'm not going to blow them off because I LOVE talking about my trailer. I had hoped to eat outside and watch the sunset but nope, by the time all the interested parties were gone, it was dark and I'm eating inside. I might have part of the blame for this.

This long awaited swap-mod is now checked off my to-do list! Like many, I tolerated the noisy Dometic Penguin ll long enough; so glad I was finally able to take decisive action with this install. After a couple years of mulling over the various replacement models being marketed, a unit emerged that caught my attention; the newly available Atmos 4.4 seemingly met all of my expectations. I will forego the removal of the Dometic, here is how I proceeded forward: First and foremost, all AC and DC power sources were turned OFF! Scaffolding and equipment/supplies were then staged for Dometic ‘liftoff’ and subsequent Atmos ‘lunar landing’ (only appropriate since I live a couple miles from the NASA Mission Control Center in Houston). Roof area in need of cleaning. Notice the raised fiberglass landing on my year model and that the former condensate drain tube was simply disconnected rather than cutoff. Roof area throughly cleaned and prepped. I decided to adhere the square self-adhesive foam roof seal directly onto the fiberglass and then apply non-leveling Dicor around the cutout perimeter to further ensure the best seal possible. In positioning the foam seal, care was taken to center it as evenly possible, thereby allowing about 1/4-3/8” of exposed fiberglass to lay a bead of the Dicor and finger smooth to finish. Interior view of the Atmos being positioned over the roof cutout. Note the use of the mounting bolts as a guide, as recommended by SDG. Because the ‘rough cut’ edges of the layers of fiberglass (inner and outer hulls, and spacial filler) were inconsistent, I used the foam seal as a reference to accurately center and align the unit; distances measured to each respective bolt. Initially, installation instructions were followed by adhering the supplied straight piece of self-adhesive foam onto the bottom of the unit as a rear support, but it did not make contact with the roof due to relief of the aforementioned fiberglass landing. Alternatively, the foam piece was cut in half and each adhered onto the fiberglass, in like manner as the square seal, along the outer edges of said landing. This adaptation proved very effective in application and purpose, as the last of the next three pics demonstrates. Now that the exterior unit is properly positioned and supported, it’s back inside to further installation. As a side note, I made use of a portable a/c to buffer the heat and humidity of the day! Although my son helped with the heavy lifting and positioning, I cut him loose and completed the remaining tasks solo. Before proceeding, I used foil tape to treat the end of the aforementioned condensate drain tube and secure it to the side. Next the installation of the fabric air plate duct subassembly was started (provided Dreiha Atmos 4.4 Manual details the process). Note I used foil tape on both the upper (at Atmos bottom) and lower (at mounting frame) duct plates, even though most installs viewed applied to the mounting frame plate only. Between the upper and lower duct plate installs, the ceiling assembly mounting frame was bolted in place and hand torqued using a screwdriver only (torque specified in Manual). The AC power connection was very straightforward. The ceiling assembly’s junction box cover was removed, a strain relief fitting installed at one end (the other end had a preinstalled protector) and respective wires routed inside. I reused the Wago Lever-Nuts from the Dometic install, but first tinned the stranded wires of the Atmos lead for optimum assurance in application; electrical tape was used to further secure the Wago connectors. Ground wires were secured per the Manual. The junction box cover was then replaced, DC thermostat wire bundle loom wrapped and tucked away for future use, and ceiling grille fastened in place. . I’m very pleased with this mod, quality of the Atmos and ease of installation! I should mention that SDG preinstalled a SoftStartRV. I will provide an update once the furnace wiring and thermostat mount is completed. A special shoutout to @rideadeuce for forging the way with his install of an Atmos!

We recently returned from a week-and-a-half-long trip through Glacier and Banff for my 50th Birthday. Farily last minute all 3 of my girls decided to join us on this trip. This created some logistical challenges we had to figure out. We got it all worked out but it left us with one night where no one had a place to stay except in the Ollie. That meant all 5 of us sleeping in the trailer! Who says it is just a couple's trailer, bring on the family camping 🙂 Not a great picture but had to share. The girls were great sports about it and we had a fun night hanging out and watching a movie. We ended up having a wonderful birthday trip through Glacier and Banff. It was our first time in Banff and it did not disappoint. An amazing hike up Avalanche Lake in Glacier. And then we got an amazing site in Banff Tunnel Mountain II Lake Louise did not disappoint either. We also had a great time talking with our neighbor, who was headed to Alaska in their EarthRoamer (pricey little machine)! Overall, an incredible way to celebrate a 50th birthday!

They put us on their November calendar. After running our trip, every time I sat on the old cushions, I thought it would be a shame to merely reupholster with new cloth yet keep the 9-year-old foam. When we dropped them off, I asked about new foam. He said the quality of foam for seating they carry is far superior to what we showed them in the old cushions. We went with 24x25" bottoms with 5" new foam (1" taller) and with the batting and fabric, the cushions are closer to 6" tall. We had 2" clearance under the window frames with the old cushions. The new ones just fill the opening and stay nicely. Went with the original sized 4" foam for the seat backs. All new foam, batting, fabric, zippers with newly corded edges. Chris loves the color given her Red, White and Blue Oliver theme! We spent just under $500 out the door. Which for me was better than the $350 for upholstery only. Soon, she will look as good as she tows or provides inverter power!

On the last leg of our summer family vacation we stopped at my dad's in MI. Next morning, I drove down to Elkhart, IN and had SDG install the Atmos 4.4. Guys were on time, efficient and knowledgeable. Installation went great! Pics below: They now offer SoftStart as an option on their website but I brought my own SoftStart Breeze (smaller version) . Atmos 4.4 Pics Removed the old Dometic Penguin II, cut drain line and plugged. Cleaned surface, applied very small bead of Dicor self-leveling on the inside perimeter of fiberglass 14 x14 opening Removed interior shroud. Penguin shroud was screwed to fiberglass ceiling, the 2 holes on each side will barely show after Atmos plenum installed. Fixed mine with a couple of the small glow in the dark dots we use on the ceiling to amuse the kids. Kevin was able to use the wiring for the original thermostat location to power the Suburban propane heater control. I may change or remove this later. They used Molex connectors instead of JXN box additional pics The new unit is a good bit quieter (6-10db) depending on mode and has around 40% less draw on the battery. On high it was pulling 1200 W vs 1800 W for the PII. Fan only was under 300 watts. They were done with the install in 2 1/2 hrs. App and remote are working well but still figuring it all out. I know this is short but on our way home to TN. I did find out that the Atmos 4.4 is designed so that the fresh air coming in and the exiting conditioned air is in a sealed unit and does not contact the outside (humid air). So running the fan only does not introduce humid air, it only re-circulates cabin air. Still awaiting answer on how exactly AUTO mode works. From the manual, it only states that it senses ambient air and automatically heats and cools but nothing about a parameter. You actually cannot set the temperature in that mode at all as far as I can tell. I did notice this unit manufactured 3/24 is using R-32 refrigerant. Best, Mike

This morning we had the 5 leaf pack installed on Hull #634 XPLOR at the Alcan shop here in Grand Junction, CO. We had an excellent experience from start to finish. We opted for the upgraded heavier duty wet bolts, nyloc nuts, Alcan HD 2 1/2” shackles. Our Monroe shocks are still in good shape with less than 2500 miles on them. Over all very happy with the work performed by Tucker at Alcan, he has installed the custom 5 leaf pack on a number of Olivers. Lew the owner was excellent to deal with and explained everything in detail. If you have questions about the install, parts or pricing, give Lew a call. Now we can get on with our trip to Utah, Wyoming and maybe Montana. Onward & Safe Travels! Drop off early morning - yes we hit the loves to top off with diesel, saving 76 cents per gallon with our TDS Open Roads Fleet card. We love LOVES. Ha! Thanking Lew 2.5 hrs later after the new leaf packs were installed. Gotta have a little swag.. Decal swag - Optional upgraded wet bolts. Torque specs -

Thanks to our salesman (Colton Laidlaw) & the folks at Southland RV, Norcross, GA for making the purchase of our new trailer a seamless transaction. I’d also like to thank our neighbors Steve & Tallie (hull #50) for stopping by to say hello. 😊 IMG_3726.mov

After lugging around my old heavy Gen-1 Starlink for a few years, I was thrilled to get the new Starlink Mini. It’s small and light, and the router is built into the dishy. It speed tested at 202 Mbps, a very respectable speed, although not as fast as the Gen-3 which typically runs over 300 Mbps. The Mini comes with a 50’ x ~1/8” diameter power cord that has 5.5 mm barrel connectors on each end. It also comes with a 120 volt AC wall transformer that puts out 30 volts dc (vdc.) The Mini is rated to run on 12 to 48 volts vdc, and 25 to 40 watts. It peaks at 60 watts with snow melt on. The 12 Vdc rating is an attractive feature, particularly for Boondockers who don’t have inverters. However, when I first hooked it up to the Oliver’s 12 Vdc battery… it would’t work?? After some investigation, it turns out that it’s not so simple and I’ll try to explain why: Given that the AC transformer puts out 30 volts, and the power is about 40 watts, then it would be drawing 1.3 amps per Ohms law (40w/30v = 1.3 amps.) With the same calculation at 12 volts, the amperage increases to 3.3 amps. The resistance of the long thin power cord can’t handle this higher amperage and the resulting voltage drop puts it below the minimum 12 volts operating range. In fact, I did some bench testing and found it would only work at voltages over 18 volts. There are solutions to this issue including cutting the cable shorter, using a larger gauge cable, or increasing the voltage. Without a better option, I chose to increase the voltage. I looked at cheapie power converters that would probably work, but I wanted something more robust and higher quality. I found a Victron Orion TR 12/24-5, isolated, DC to DC Converter, and it was perfect for the job. It has a 12 Vdc (+/-) input and an adjustable output of 20 to 30 Vdc at 5 amps. Standby power is under 80 mA, and it has remote on/off switching capability. It comes factory set at 24 Vdc, but I adjusted it to 30 Vdc output with the potentiometer on the front. To connect the Mini to the trailer’s 12 Vdc power system, I installed a 5.5 mm female panel mount socket into the Satellite TV inlet. I removed the Coax connector and the 5.5 mm socket and nut fits perfectly in it’s place. Oliver conveniently labeled it “Satellite.” If you need the satellite TV, then install a third “Furrion” inlet as I did for my old starlink RJ45 connector. I mounted the Victron under the rear seat on the street side. The socket wiring was sheathed and routed along the ceiling of the outside storage garage. There are a number of options to pick-up 12 volts in that area, I took power off one of the circuit breakers. I ran the negative wire to the ground bus under the rear dinette seat. The Mini comes with both a snap-in kick-stand and a 2” pole mount, and they’re both necessary for optimum RV use. I prefer having it on a pole, but we often have to move the dishy away from the trailer for a clear sky view. That’s why it’s a bad idea to shorten the cord. It also has an RJ45 port that I suppose is for hardwiring without WIFI, but I probably won’t ever use that feature. I built-up some PVC fittings on my 10’ Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT) mast to fit the Mini’s pole adapter. (See the post for Tacky Starlink Dishy Mast). A little sanding was involved, and the starlink mount uses a thumb screw to hold it in place. It’s better to turn the Victron off when not in use, so I recommend using the remote switching feature with a switch installed in an easily accessible location. I’m too forgetful to switch the Victron off every time, so I came up with a way to turn it on & off when the Mini’s power cord is plugged in & out. Read on if your interested in that part of the installation: The “three pin” 5.5 mm female socket sold by Amazon has a built-in switch that’s designed for appliances that use either batteries or a 120v transformer supply. When the transformer is plugged in, the pin-3 switch opens to disconnect the batteries. This is opposite of what’s needed for the Victron remote switch, but it can be used to trigger a digital relay and it’s actually easier than it sounds. Amazon carries fun little programable 5 &10 amp timer/relays for under $20. I already had the 10 amp version in the Oliver for a hot water recirculation pump timer, and it works great! The 5 amp is adequate for this application, and you will also need the $20 dollar re-usable Bluetooth programer. They use 50 μA of idle current, which is nothing, and they can be programed for delay-on, delay-off, flashers, dimmers, duck decoys, and more. But for our application, we’re just interested in the trigger functions, specifically the “ground-open” trigger. Before installation, the relay has to be programed from a smart phone or computer. It’ links by WiFi to flash the program into the relays memory. Use wire nuts to connect the timer and programer together, and power them from a USB port. Follow the well written and simple programing instructions using the settings shown in the screenshot below. The relay requires a timing function, so I arbitrarily used function #12, which is “delay-on.” I set it randomly to 1.5 seconds. The trigger is programed to use the “Trig Blue” set at #5, which corresponds to the blue wire used as a “grounded trigger.” The green wire trigger is disabled. My wiring sketch shows that the timer is powered with 12 volts from the Victron’s positive and negative inputs. The relay’s yellow output wire feeds the positive side of the Victron’s remote switch (the negative side is not connected). The Victron’s output feeds the 5.5 mm power socket, and the blue trigger wire goes to the 5.5mm socket’s pin-3. Use a continuity tester to identify pin-3, it’s normally shorted to the negative lead of the socket and it “opens” when the male connecter is plugged in. The socket barrel is negative, or ground, and the center pin is positive 12 vdc. There is one other step to make this work. This Victron model is “Isolated,” meaning that the input and output “negative” terminals are isolated from each other. It needs to be “non-isolated” because the timer is grounded to the Victron input, and the socket is grounded to the output, and the trigger needs continuity between the two. So remove the jumper wire that comes on the Victron’s remote switch, and use it to jump across the two negative terminals. Victron support confirmed that shorting the grounds is not a problem, it just un-isolates it. This works satisfyingly well! I checked out the power draw with the solar turned off, and while streaming a video. It was 2 amps, 27 watts (after subtracting the parasite load). That’s a huge improvement over my previous Starlink, and I don’t have to worry about running the inverter and draining down the batteries anymore. I hope someone finds this useful Cheers! Geoff

We were on our Way home from the Hershey PA show when we stopped to stretch our legs. A couple came up to us and said they had been following us for about 20 miles hoping we would stop so they could see our trailer. It turned out they had a you tube channel. You never know who you might meet on the road. Bill

I just got back from the facility where I store my Oliver. I'm very happy to report that all is well, Twist is still there high and dry. Unfortunately though I had several discussions with people that live in and around the town of Mills River. All of those that I talked to are still without power, water and sewer. Free water is being distributed in a number of places as is free food. Even while I was at the storage yard a young fellow drove by with cases of water in the back of his truck asking if anyone needed it. To his credit - he wouldn't even take the $20 bill I offered him to help pay for his gas. And, out of the five people that were near me only one took a case of water because the rest of us simply didn't need it. A local Holiday Inn is offering free showers to anyone needing one. FEMA has arrived in our town as of this afternoon and I noticed that several of the downed power lines that were down as I drove back towards town were being worked on. Our electric provider (Duke Energy) has posted that virtually all of the Transylvania County residents should have restored power no later than Friday evening. And, most important, it has been reported that there have been no deaths in the county due to this storm. Bill

@Mike and Carol Thank you Mike for your concern. As reported the Western NC foothills and mountain areas are in really bad shape in a lot of areas. A close friend of mine who works for Duke power told me it looks like a war zone. We did have had friends and neighbors check on our home and to our surprise we were spared and had no damage with exception of a few pines over on the ridge we live on. Sadly, this is not the same report for many of our neighbors. Our LNG Generac standby generator ran for 60 hrs before our power was restored keeping our home on 💯 full power. We are very grateful to say the least. All this said our hearts our heavy for ALL impacted by this storm. I40 which connects eastern Tenn with western NC is closed and it appears it will be for a long time. Our Starlink mini has been a game changer with regard to staying up to date. I have made several attempts to call and txt topgun2 and have not had any success. Mike I am glad hear you got through this morning. We are both relieved he and Sue are ok. I would ask everyone to take a moment and lift up ALL people impacted by this storm in your thoughts and prayers. David & Kathy

Some pix from Acadia NP this week.

Whenever I'm in my Ollie, I find myself thinking, "This is a great trailer. I love it!" And then I read something like this: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/youtuber-goes-dark-after-getting-legal-threats-from-big-name-rv-brand-238585.html I know it's confirmation bias, but this article makes me feel good about my Ollie. I feel bad for those folks mentioned in the article, but I feel even better about my decision to drop the $$ for the Oliver. Yes, I've had a couple minor issues but really, compared to this article and hundreds of similar articles, my issues are nothing. And the best part is that whatever little issue I have, I can get immediate personal attention from the service department. It seems that a lot of people who buy SOB trailers have a lot of problems and when they try to get help, well, good luck with that. So, thank you OTT for selling me a quality product and keeping me far away from all those headaches.

To all those that served our great nation - THANK YOU To all those that served our great nation and didn't make it back - WE REMEMBER AND HONOR YOU

Yesterday morning we left Hull #634 XPLOR, with Collin and Gavin owners of CGi who gave it the CGI 3 step Ceramic coating process. We really like that they kept our Oliver overnight which allowed the ceramic coating to cure for at least 4 hours inside their shop. All we could say this morning when they opened their shop door was WOW! WOW! WOW! 🤩 Our Oliver looked better than the day we took delivery June 16th of 2020. Their work is excellent and the attention to detail is truly amazing. With over 130 Oliver Travel Trailers under their belt they truly are masters at their craft. The CGI team knows exactly how to take care of ALL things Oliver gelcoat. We also had our windows and wheels ceramic coated along with everything white on our Oliver. This was an excellent seamless experience and a valuable investment in our Oliver. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Patriot 🇺🇸 One of several of their YouTube videos-

10,000 mile update on Alcan springs: A year had passed since my dreaded roadside leaf spring break and 10,000 miles are on the Ollie with Alcan springs underneath so I thought I would provide my update. Ride height - rear bumper rides approx 1/2” higher than stock Ride performance - first 500 miles seemed a bit stiffer than stock with a few more items from counter and beds on the floor but the springs settled-in after that and there is no observed difference inside the trailer now (no additional stuff found fallen to the floor). Trailer tracks the same as stock, however visible jouncing (up and down) and side to side (roll) are observed to be less pronounced than stock. I also noticed when doing annual bearing maintenance that the spring shackles no longer invert when both wheels on the same side are jacked off the ground. Overall impression - had I known that a heavier capacity, 5-leaf spring, made in the US with US steel and featuring a design with the second leaf which extended all the way under each spring eye was available sooner I would have swapped sooner, just as I had previously done with solid stainless lug nuts and US made Timken bearings. No regrets on the upgrade from stock springs.

FYI: Quartzite "Proving Grounds" -- We opted-in on a Solar Tracker at the owner's rally last year which Coy and his business partner, Joe designed. It's been running straight through since arriving at the Q last Monday. The tracker uses onboard GPS, MPPT charge controller, and other programs to "track" the sun's progression throughout the day. It stows itself at sunset then "wakes" up after sunrise, resets its position and its 200W solar module angle to optimize power generation. Even with the low winter sun angles here at the Q, the tracker get's our 300A-Hr Battle Borns back to 100%SOC by noon-ish to 1pm. We're still putting it through its "shake-down" cruise during this trip. More later...

I updated my batteries with assistance of a friend who does solar installs for a living. This is a bit different than most of the installs I have seen here in that we used two 400 AH EG4 rackmount batteries. After removing the rackmount handles from the batteries and the battery tray from the Oliver they fit perfectly. There was a bolt in the bottom of the battery cabinet that was an issue. We put in 1 inch square aluminum rods on the floor of the cabinet to raise the batteries above the bolt head. We also replaced the Xamp solar charger with a Victron solar charger 100/30, added Victron lynx shunt, Victron distributor, and Victron cerbo with a touch screen (7" model). This fit perfectly in the hole left by the removal of the Xamp solar charger. To get the cables from the cerbo to the touch screen I ordered an extra HDMI extension cable and USB cable (approx. 15'). I ran the cables to the back of the camper in the tray behind the cabinet and then down the wall in the back, under the basement, and back up under the street side bed. Trying to pu the wire down next to the pantry would not work. It was too tight. I believe Victron is planning on replacing the HDMI cable with the small USB connections this spring. Didn't help me, but maybe it would help you. In addition we added a solar disconnect which you can see below. In the pictures below. These batteries can be powered off and the breaker thrown to disconnect. They also come with automatic fire suppressants, two per battery. Cost was $1200 per battery (400 AH, each). This was the first stage of the upgrade. At some point I may replace the Xantrex 2000 inverter, but for now it works well for us. Unfortunately the Xantrex and Victron do not talk to each other. That is why you don't see information on the touch screen about the AC loads and AC input. We have taken it on a couple of trips now and we do not come close to making a dent in the batteries. I added an extra battery in case we need to replace our 3-way fridge in the near future. So far it is doing well. I replaced a power board on it a while back, but since then no issues. Parts are harder to come by now though.

My wife Jane (Hospice nurse) and I (former Bosch employee) retired earlier this year and after a cross country trip to California from home base in Chicago by car, decided we needed to investigate trailers. We had followed Oliver for a year or two, and looked at fiberglass truck bed campers prior to purchasing this Elite2. Very happy with our decision - but making many rookie mistakes as we weren’t camper prior. So far, only correctable mistakes and a few serious close calls! We head to Hohenwald tomorrow for a factory tour. Currently enjoying Green River Lake State Park in Campbellsville, KY ( beautiful park)! hope to meet you all in our coming travels! Rich and Jane Walker

Just brought her home, new to us 2017 Elite II. Hull 207. We are so excited to be here and to be the proud new owners of this beauty! We have a Casita independence which we will be selling. We live in NH. We both retired in the past few years and want to explore our amazing United States while we are still in our go go years. We are looking forward to learning about the Ollie and enjoying adventures on the road.

Our SL mini arrived today. Very impressed with the ease of a 10 minute set up including PW and latest updates. I think this will do the trick for us as far as comm goes. It even fits down in my Osprey Day Lite pack. Waiting on the Stiker protective case which is scheduled for delivery this sat. I will post up more user info once we get back on the road and put this tech to use. SpaceX we have a Starlink lift off!! 😊 Front yard initial set up. The mini fits easily in my Osprey Daylite plus pack.

So got the new U-bolts from ALCAN and put the new leaf springs on only to find out the HD 1/2 in. OEM shackles were too short. They are the HD 1/2 in width but 2 in long measured zerk to zerk. The 2nd leaf rides on the suspension arm. Talked with Lew, figured out the problem and he is sending out new 2 1/4in HD shackles to resolve the problem. Confirmed Key points: 3500 lb axles use 4 bolts on the backside of the hub and 1/2 in. U-bolts. They can have tube diameters of 2 1/2 or 3 in. Make sure to measure. 5200 lb axles use 5 bolts on the backside of the hub and 9/16 in U-bolts. They typically have tube diameters of 3 in. Make sure to measure. If you don't upgrade to the shackles Lew sells, make sure even if you have upgraded HD 1/2 in. shackles to measure the length. If it is 2 in they will not work, must be 2 1/4 in. Make sure to measure. Lew was great to deal with as always. @ScubaRx I did confirm that he does not want his 2/12 in U-bolts back. Hopefully, this adds to the conversation since both of these issues came up for me. Cheers, Mike

For those interested, a short interim travel summary: So, we departed NM mid-morning, last Friday for Moab, UT. High winds and rain from Farmington to Shiprock slowed us way down, but the TV/Casablanca performed wonderfully. Moab and Arches were fantastic and we'll be staying there a few days on our return leg next week. We initially planned to spend about 5 or 6 days in Rock Springs, WY for an annual "Escapade Rally" -- but changed our minds after 2 nights there. Decided that the time away from home would be better spent exploring around the Tetons and Yellowstone. Dumping holding tanks and topping off fresh while the Knuckleheads wait for D to return... So we "pulled-chocks" yesterday AM and headed north on the US 191 (one of our most fav US HWYs) - stopped for a great lunch at a Brewery in Pinedale, WY. Smoked brisket nachos - OMG! Made our way to Jackson winding our way northbound on the beautiful US-19 following the Windriver Range and eventually the Hoback River into Jackson. The snow-capped Windriver Range in the distance below... Hoback River alongside the 191 - no wind and temps in mid-60s all day long: Harvest Hosted at the Jackson Hole Still Works - met some phenomenal young men that owned the distillery and they provided an interesting/educational tour of their very modern facility here. Our "boondock" location at the HH venue in Jackson, can you find Magnus below?: It's off to Coulter Lake, Teton NP this morning then up to Yellowstone this afternoon... More later... Cheers, All! A & D

Travel Summary #3 -- Day-8: Yesterday, Thursday 20JUN, Casablanca got a rest at the campground near West Yellowstone, and D, the Knuckleheads, and I hit the northern high-country of YNP. Absolutely spectacular in all regards - first it actually topped our tour of Yellowstone Lake and Old Faithful areas from the day prior (Wednesday), next the WX was phenomenal (no wind, blue skies, low-mid 60's), and tons of wildlife! (FYI: We crossed over the Continental Divide three times from the park's south entrance on Wednesday, the highest was 8,300+ feet MSL.) Following the Madison River into the park from West Yellowstone, we took the Norris cut-off at the 14-mile mark. D captured this snap of a nice 5x5 in velvet at a turn-out enroute: We stopped uncountable times as we made our way to Canyon Village, managing to get several interesting shots: The Knuckleheads liked their "pee/poop-walk" near Canyon Village and saw several new furry pals. From a safe distance, we observed a black bear and her cubs - then later a griz... Going further north into the high-country alpine area the views were spectacular. Roads were very well maintained in this region and traffic was light even though its high/peak season. We suspect most sightseers like the southern region for the lake, geysers, and Old F. We pressed-on driving on Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road (again, stopping countless times) for about another 36 miles over Dunraven Pass (8,859') past Tower Falls to Mammoth Hot Springs for another break for the boys. Enroute, we were able to grab this shot of D pointing at a massive bull buff about 150 yards away: All in all, this 137-mile loop was one of the best sightseeing excursions we've made in the Tundra. Yesterday, we topped just north of 1,150 so far since leaving home. Our lifetime-military National Park pass really came in handy so far on this adventure as we'll have visited 5 NPs before returning to NM. Today, we head off for Bear Lake which straddles eastern-most border of both ID and UT - making way for Moab (again!) by Thursday next week... More later, folks! Cheers! A & D

This is a duplicate of a post I made on the Facebook Oliver owner’s page. I’m sharing here for those not on Facebook that may be interested in a dehumidifier option for their Oliver. We were experiencing rainy and cool weather at the rally and conditions in the Olivers were getting steamy. Facebook post: Temperature and humidity outside at Lake Guntersville state park are 62deg and 94% humidity this morning. Inside OllieHaus it’s a perfect 73 deg and thanks to our counter top dehumidifier, it’s a very comfortable 46% humidity with all windows closed. No heat or AC needed. Loving life in our Oliver!! Edit: Here’s a link on Amazon for the dehumidifier if interested: Dehumidifier

Hi, new to the community, having bought hull #1165, a 2022 LE2, on January 2nd! I've gained lots of pre-purchase info browsing these forums as a guest and would like to start off with a thank you! I appreciate everyone's help so much! Paul

Last night was our 100th night in our 2023 Oliver Legacy Elite II “Curiosity”! While not a big deal for a lot of campers, it is a milestone for us. Thank you Oliver Travel Trailers for building us a wonderful home away from home!

Wishing everyone and their families Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Bill and Debbie LE2 #75 North Carolina

I decided to chime in on this because I don’t think you’re missing anything, your discharge rate is perfectly correct! All the given advice is good, but it’ can be a bit miss-leading to fully understand whats going on. I hope to provide a better explanation, and show you a simple and very accurate way to check your “parasite” loads, which I’ll refer to as normal “stand-by” loads. Your 390 amp hour battery with a daily discharge rate of 3% equates to a loss of 11.7 amp hours over a 24 hour period. This further equates to a stand-by load of 0.48 amps, which is not overly excessive considering all the electronic devices in the Oliver. Devices with memories, remotes, touch lights, rain sensors, USB ports, electronic boards, etc., can each draw milliamp currents even when turned off, and they do add up quickly. I took some current readings from my own trailer to show you what I mean. It’s the same year as yours and it also has a 390 amp hour battery. Remarkably, the values add up to exactly the same current as your calculated load. But more importantly, it shows that there is no single extraordinary load: Fuse 2, Various electronics = 0.117 amps Fuse 4, Furnace = 0.012 amps Fuse 5, Main lighting = .003 amps Fuse 6, Fans = 0.016 amps Fuse 7, Water heater = 0.113 amps Fuse 8, Radio = .204 amps Fuse 9, USB outlets = 0.007 amps Fuse 10, USB outlets = 0.009 amps Total = 0.481 amps These measurements were done with a precision multimeter having a resolution of 3 decimal points. My Victron shunt has a resolution of 2 decimal points and it showed a lessor current of 0.42 amps. My Clamp-on Amp Meter has a resolution of 1 decimal point, and it showed a higher current of 0.5 amps. This demonstrates how subjective and inaccurate some of these measurement methods can be when dealing with such small milliamp values. Another potential misconception is that the Lithionics BMS App will provide the overall charge and discharge values. It’s only true to the extent that it provides values for the battery selected, but not for each battery combined. For example; the 390 amp hour package consists of three 130 amp hour batteries. If the overall load is 3 amps, then the App will show each battery discharging at 1 amp. Additionally, it’s only accurate to 0 decimal points so it won’t show anything less than 1 amp. This is another good justification for installing a Shunt. There are a number of ways to measure stand-by or parasite current, but the easiest and most accurate way is with an inexpensive Multimeter through the fuse box. It will show the load of each circuit, but not each component on the circuit. Thats okay because some of the individual component loads are too small to be accurately measured anyway. Caution: When using the ammeter function, the meter is in-line with the circuit. This means that the current is running through the leads and meter. So don’t use it with loads greater than it’s rated maximum current, which is typically 10 amps. Before testing, make sure that everything is off including the inverter/charger and solar (Solar switch is in the street side overhead cabinet.) Make sure shore power is unplugged too. Pull each fuse one at a time and the red LED “blown fuse” indicator will light-up if there is any load. Put your ammeter leads on each leg of the fuse socket and read the current. Add up the values and you will have an accurate overall stand-by load. FYI, the inverter/charger does not go through the fuse box, but it will add another 0.2 amps load if left on. I keep my trailer undercover without shore power and the batteries also discharge rather quickly. In fact the shunt screen shot below shows that it will discharge in 10 days. I considered adding a battery master switch, but it wasn’t a viable option for a number of reasons which is why I believe that Oliver doesn't install them either. I ended up getting an auxiliary solar panel, with charge controller, and I mounted it on the roof to keep the batteries at 100%. It was better than running an extension cord and risking complete discharge mishaps. Hope this helps Cheers, Geoff

I have been on this forum for many years as my wife and I researched, learned, and awaited when it made sense for us to join the clan of Oliver ownership. First, I want to thank this group for all you have shared and knowledge over the years. My wife and I were introduced to Oliver a few years back. Like many of you once we saw the quality, community, and how Oliver conducts themselves we had a hardtime accepting anything we saw in other places. We have camped with our kids as they grew up and camped in many different ways including car camping, tent camping, yurt camping, popup camping, teardrop, and renting a few different types of TT. We thought it would be a few more years before we jump into Oliver ownership since we still have one at home for 2 more years. But all the stars aligned this summer and we decided to pull the trigger. We are now the owners of hull #1305 after working with @Snake River Idaho who were great to work with and had a wonderful trailer they had decided to part ways with (such great people to work with and a great reflection on the Oliver community). We just got home from a one-week trip to bring her back home. There is certainly a lot that goes into anyone making this decision. For us, we had heard stories on this forum about health issues making it hard or impossible to do things like this. We have also been personally close to a number of these stories with quite a few of them happening recently. So since we found ourselves in a place financially to do it we decided we were not going to wait any longer even though we have to account for a 3rd sleeper for 2 more years (which on the week trip home she did wonderfully on via the dinette setup each night). The trip home was wonderful. Despite spending a few years learning and researching, doing it for real still had me learning and trying to figure things out. We did have a few minor events on the trip home we had to figure out like the overly sensitive LP/CO2 sensor that woke us up in the middle of the night the first two nights. Or that leather cushions on fiberglass don't stay in place and slide right off (does anyone have a remedy for this?). But we got to experience things on the trip home we have always wanted to but never had before like Bannack State Park Ghost Town one of the most well-preserved ghost towns in Montana and a beautiful sunset in the middle of nowhere outside Dillion MT. Or the Atomic Museum (way cooler and more educational than my wife, I, or our girls expected) outside Arco Idaho along with Craters of the Moon (meeting up with some friends who just happened to be passing through). Not to mention and most importantly having some dedicated time with our youngest laughing, talking and playing games (she is in the final two years of High School and missing her older sisters so getting her away from all the teenage struggles and into a quiet place allowing her to connect with mom and dad and nature and history was wonderful!). We did the showering in the Oliver and I have to say it was easier than I thought. I am 6 foot 1 and while tight it worked great. We had a couple of nights when all our girls were able to come meet up with us and we spent those nights in the Ollie playing games, and eating dinner while watching the Olympics. I have to give a shout-out to @Foy_Mirna for his lagoon table as it was a major win for those nights being able to get all 5 of us around the table again (I expected it to feel more cramped with 5 in the trailer but it did not)! Towing the trailer was also a great experience. I am glad because my wife towed pretty much the entire trip given I was on a business trip the day before pick up and lost my wallet so no driver's license for me. We live in North Idaho so going up and down mountains will be a thing for us no matter what direction we head. It and the truck did great up and down passes, construction zones, and passing semi-trucks. We even had a day driving where we saw 20 MPH wind gusts and my wife did not even realize how windy it was until I told her. My wife did great (she even backed us into a camp spot on the last night and did great!). We head out on the next trip in a week and are very excited! Thanks for letting me learn and take part in this community over the last few years. We hope to see some of you on the road in the coming years.

I am currently acting as the Service Director overseeing the service department & technical support. Jason B. & Mike will be handling more of the daily activities while I will be putting a bit more time in traveling to our dealer partners assisting with Sales & Service training. I would say 75% of the time I will still be here onsite working with Rodney in sales & Jason B & Mike in service.

Milton made landfall at Siesta key/Sarasota around 8:30. Moving very fast. Damages from wind, torrential rains, and tornadoes will be seen in a big part of the state. No power in many many places. About a quarter of our county, so far. My extended family and friends have all reported in. Safe and good.

I am talking to topgun2 as I type this post. He and Sue are safe and sound, with all services. I called again this morning and I was able to reach them. I’m sure he will have stories to share when has full communications back. Mossey

As promised - below are some pics of Mr. Oliver's "Beast". I assume that the name derived from the fact that it is estimated that this Oliver weighs in at something at or near 10,000 pounds. Partially this is due to the interior counters being made of Corian - not fibergranite - the addition of the under carriage storage areas, the bed risers, etc. Shape eyes will note things like the lack of a rear window (no emergency exit), the location of the front and rear under carriage storage, the location of the water heater, the design of the reading lights and "coat" hooks and bath faucet, single entry step, etc. Enjoy this classic! Bill

Did I say ordered? I did! That is incorrect. We put down money on one of the showroom demos. We are/will be owners of #1550. And going back to lessons learned: We were insured with Safeco for replacement cost. But, we only get the replacement cost IF we purchase a NEW "similar" unit. And that money goes straight to the dealer. If we never buy, we only get the valuation. That's why the valuation was so important. I believe another consideration for everyone is that with ~ 2000 units out there and with more on the market, a good first cut valuation is much easier for the insurance companies. Finally - on the long 6 hour drive home after the accident, the traumatic events settled on us and became real. We had lost a central part of our retirement plan in just a few seconds! The "what next?" question finally came up. I won't lie - we talked about the options of more room or a fridge that you can access without sitting on the floor. We quickly came to our senses and realized that if we were ever in a similar situation again - we wanted to be in an Oliver. By the time we got half way home we were dreaming of the quiet Truma A/C!

A couple knuckleheads enjoying a sunrise near Palo Duro Canyon SP this morning.... Then we had some visitors... IMG_2333.MOV Gotta love 'em! Cheers! A & D

Just a great excuse to extricate ourselves from killer June temps in northern NM - we joined the SKP’s club and are at their rally in Rock Springs, WY. Grilled artichokes, shrimp, and fresh garden salad for chow… Cheers All!

Well, we’ve had many great week or weekend trips since getting our Ollie in Sep 2021 but we just returned home from our first two month traveling and fell in love with our Ollie all over again! What a wonderful way to go on adventures! Our first day was Wed April 10th and we arrived back this past Fri June 7th. Way too many photos to upload but will try to insert a few. Our stops included: 1) Keystone State Park, Sand Springs, OK - visiting family and grandkids. 2) Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas 3) Chupadero RV Park, San Antonio, NM. 4) Fool Hollow State Park, Show Low, AZ. 5) Lost Dutchman State Park, AZ. 6) White Tank Mountain Regional Park, AZ. 7) Dead Horse Ranch State Park, AZ. 8) Desert View Campground, South rim of Grand Canyon. 9) Mesa Verde RV Resort, CO. 10) Love’s RV Stop, Walsenburg, CO. 11) Historic Lake Scott State Park, KS. 12) Wilson State Park, KS. 13) Milford Lake State Park, KS. 14) Eisenhower State Park, KS. 15) Cracker Barrel, Independence, MO. 16) Dr Edmund A Babler Memorial State Park, Chesterfield, MO We set up camp, relaxed, looked at historical sites, biked, visited friends and relatives, and were wondering why we were ending it so soon. Our Ollie was a trooper through the mountains, we took Rte 60 through New Mexico and Arizona, and put some 3,800 miles on it during the two months. We stopped in Pie Town and of course bought an apple pie. We toured Sedona, Jerome, and rode the Verde Canyon Train. We camped on the edge of the Grand Canyon, toured through Mesa Verde, and even weathered tornado warnings in Kansas. Great trip! Wonderful memories made.

In the past, several people have gotten camping spots for the next years rally. At this time I don't know the exact dates yet and wanted to advise not to secure any spots for next year until I can finalize the dates. I will be speaking with the campground and shoring up the dates and will let everyone know as soon as they are set in stone.

Your working too hard 😊. We have been using eley hose quick connects for several years and they have served us well and do not leak. A quick and simple way to hook up our water hose sans pliers. https://www.eleyhosereels.com/products/garden-hose-quick-connectors?srsltid=AfmBOorhl73lbWlG-pTRQ_aHjougxYv88x-aD4DfsGjJACCyuZjoAX0t More info here -

My camper has a 3000 Watt Inverter and the Lithium Pro Package. Right after a camping trip last November I noticed my batteries were not charging on shore power at home. I discussed the issue with Oliver and they recommended I take it to a shop and have the surge protector examined. Rather than take it to a local dealer. I setup an appointment at Hohenwald (it's only a 5-hour drive for me). Yesterday I went to Oliver and they worked on the issue. At first Oliver thought it was the inverter which they replaced. However, this did not fix the issue. They then re-checked the surge protector and found the wire from the EMS to the breaker panel burnt as well as a burnt connector. They put my old inverter back in and replaced the surge protector and the batteries now charge. The work was done quickly, professionally and I was charged for only what was actually needed. While it was there I had them fix a couple of other small issues and grease my fittings. This is my second trip to Hohenwald for work on the camper since it bought it new. I am very happy that we can still go to Oliver for work and really appreciate that we can set an appointment and reasonably expect the work to be done timely, and well. It was nice to be able to drive up Sunday, drop off the trailer Monday morning and then drive back home Monday night with the trailer.

After almost a year on this forum, reading all the wonderful information, getting used to the you get what you pay for price of an Oliver, and finding the wonderful owners of Hull 292, Duke and Chris Chadwell, on Dec 16th we took the plunge. Duke and Chris loved their Oliver and bought so many toys to go with it. We were so happy to get them included. We head out on our first adventure Dec 26th to St. Augustine with our Standard Poodle, Ranger. Anita, my Wife, came up with the perfect name for our Ollie, “The Range Rover.” We’ve already booked site F27 at the April Ollie Rally. Hope to see you there. Gary, Anita, and Ranger

Ah, yes, the Oliver Motorhome. They never sold well, possibly due to the lack of a windshield. You don't see them very often.

I've had a hard time responding. Times here in Florida and in our western north carolina neighborhood are very hard. We are very grateful that all our friends, family, and neighbors are alive, and safe. Stuff can be replaced. As you who are affected work through recovery, PLEASE be very careful. When you are tired, and emotions are high, it's easy to misstep, or not see a hidden hazard. We are working still on Florida cleanup, ours, family and neighbors, and will not be going to nc till we are not a greater part of the problem. Our community has been amazing. Everyone has worked together to help each other. This is what we do, as normal folks. In our part of Florida, we pretty much have it handled. We are more accustomed to the immense devastation. (Sometimes, we get almost numb.) Please pray for wnc, and support the true helping organizations, if you can. Grateful is my most common feeling these days. Followed by guilt. Everyone in my circle may be affected, even losing everything, but we are alive, uninjured,,and seeing the dawn bringing a new day. This is not true for so many families. My heart is broken for all of them. God bless and keep those who lost loved ones. And for those who lost their homes. If you are the praying kind, please join me. This storm affected so many. Across the southeast.

While 98% of Oliver Owners will probably never make Indiana a destination camping trip, the state offers some of the best camping in the Midwest. With access along I-80 and I-94 in the North, I-70 and I-74 across central Indiana, I-64 across the South. North-South on I-65 and the newly completed I-69. This provides easy access for a couple days during travel through Indiana. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) manages the Indiana State Parks and State Recreation Areas (SRA). All Indiana State Parks have electric, water throughout the campground, dump stations, and well maintained restrooms/showers. Some even have dedicated fresh water lanes just inside the campground and not connected to the dump station. From reservoirs to Lake Michigan, and beautiful canyons, and Indiana Limestone cliffs, there is a lot for everyone. Indiana Dunes SP and Indiana Dunes NP have great camping off Lake Michigan. No hook-ups in the National Park. Lake Michigan is a 5 minute walk from the State Park campground. By November we will have camped in all 22 state parks and a large number of the SAR's. Our favorites, North: Indiana Dunes SP, Potato Creek SP, and Pokegan SP. Central: Turkey Run SP, Prophets Town SP, South: Clifty Falls SP, O'Bannon Woods SP. Also, there is Lincoln SP. The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is just across the road from the State Park. South Central: Brown County SP near Bloomington. If you need info please feel free to reach out to me. Indiana Hospitality is the best.

Grab your springs, order some new shocks, put some ice on the lobsters, throw it all in the truck and head south. We'll get them on. We don't "suggest" you to buy anything like the HH folks do. I might as well make a cardboard sign that says "Will work for food!"