DCKiefer

Looking for ways to reduce weight and shift load is the best sollution. Before you focus on the weight distributing hitch I would research them a bit more, since I don't think that would solve the tongue wieght issue. Those hitches simply apply a kind of lever between the tow vehicle and trailer to keep everyone level, thus providing a more stable ride.

Does the 12 volt plug have a fuse built into it, some of them do?

Here are some of the things I check regularly. A/C airfilter A/C itself on the roof under the cover. Critters like to make nests in there. Heater vent for blockage if no screen in place Wheels and tire for anything unusual Batteries Any visible bolt for tightness Window tracks for debri or crud Gaskets round door Check all callking Refreigerator compartment for critters or other things that should not be there. Basically once a year or after very long trips I give the camper a complete look over. Get to know your camper so when something different appears you will know if this is normal or not.

I tow with a Toyota FJ Cruiser and Toyota Tacomo, 5000 and 6500 pound tow rating respectively. Both tow great and milage runs about 14 mpg with trailer coming in at 4000lbs. In my opinion the Oliver is best towed with a vehicle with a minimum of a 5000lb tow rating. Horse power shouldd be somewhere in the 200 to 250 range and torque

Condensation can not be avoided in RV, it is par for the course. Bugeyedrivers recommendations are the best you can do. The great thing about the Oliver is that you don't get the walls absorbing moisture since it is all gelcoat.

Count me in as a Sunbird, wish we were still there with you at 10,000 feet. Sea levels not all that great in August just above the Tropic of Caner. But just the same us and our Oliver will be heading to the beach this weekend.

The wear appeared after about 2000 miles, but did not seem severe. It really showd itself on our last trip after about 4000 total trailer miles. I am thinking ours was an extreme case. When looking at the trailer on a level flat surface it was very easy to see how much the tires were sitting on the outside edge. I believe this is likely what lead to the tire failures at about 6000 miles. At that point the tread area that had unusual wear had no tread left, no wires showing, just no tread, was planning on changing to the spare at the end of the day. The opposite side of the tire was normal to very little wear. When I put a 36 inch strairght edge at the center of the orginal axle there was about an eighth of an inch gap between the straight edge and axle. This would clearly translate into a much bigger difference out at the ends. The new axle have virtually no difference when using the same straight edge. I believe our problem is solved.

It is the same rating. I think the orginal axle I had was either way out of spec of possibly bent. I put a straight edge to the old and new and there is a noticable difference. I have look at a lot of other trailer axles and know had as noticable an arch as the old one. I'll let you know how this works out.

I believe we are one of the few that had an improperly align axle with too much camber. Received our replacement axle from Oliver this week and will be switching it out Sunday. Very noticable difference between the old and the new. The new axled has no curver or arch to it at all. With ours so off camber I wonder how much that lead to the tire failure we had last month.

They were the upgraded tires, load range E. Unfortunately I don't recall the brand, but I can tell you they were not a name brand like Goodyear. I have the Maxxis now, so hope to have better luck. Just for those that haven't had a blow out, this was the first time in my life I ever lost a tire on anything. Never really knew what to expect. I can tell you the sound scared me more than the what resulted a second later, which was pretty much nothing. The tire blew at about 65mph, I realized what happened and safely pulled over. No unusual handling of any kind. The tread did seperate and hit the trailer several times but no damage to the fiberglass, just scratch and scuffed gelcoat. The electric jacks on the trailer made the tire change even easier. The one thing that I did learn and should have been a warning sign was the fact that the tire began to rapidly wear in an unusaul pattern. This is what saved me the next day on the second tire. I check the tire carefully at the start of the day and by our second gas stop saw extreme wear on the inside edge and what appearred to be a spot that looked like the tire was scrapped on the road without rotating. That isn't really possible, but I think that is were the bubble was. Moral of the story is check your tire at each gas stop and don't disregard any clues that you can't easily explain.

Just a note about trailer tires. Apparently the brand that comes on our Olivers does not like travelling 1600 miles in three days in 100 degree temps. On our way back from Colorado I had one blow out in east Texas. The next day I caught the second tire failing in the Florida pan handle. The first did scrape up the side of the camper some, but no major damage. I'll answer the standard questions. Yes, the tires were inflated to manufacture max and no the trailer was not over loaded, weight was 4100lbs. The tires were load range E, should have been more than enought tire. I am switching to Maxxis since I can find nothing but good reviews on these tires.

In reference to the Blue Rhino cans. Are they always two pounds less or is this something new to keep the price the same?

The RCA non-amplified unit I have does ok if you are close to a major town or city. We don't have cable or satelite so comparing the reception to our home antenna we get about half the channels in the Oliver as we do in the house. It's better than nothing for $19.

Olivers are great on the inside, but the small size makes them roomy on the outside.

Where are you exactly. My wife and I will be heading for Telluride, CO next Wednesday.

Sounds like you'll be putting some miles under your Oliver. We will be doing the same mid month. Heading for Telluride, CO. We will be stopping at Palo Duro Canyon in TX, Great Sand Duens NP, Telluride and Black Canyon Of The Gunason NP.

Anyone know how many trailers they have built now?

This post is in response to the system picutured in the orginal post. All the sewer valves work as intended. My orginal hope was that I could leave the hose with this system connected at all times, only removing it for a good cleaning. this didn't work out since I needed about another half inch to allow the bumper to close. Needles to say I have to detach the hose when not in use. Jam49 also mentioned the slink red hose. The system I switched to replaces the hose with a thicker material the stay in position and the length you wish to use. The thing I really like is the cam lock on the hose connection at the sewer outlet. This style is a sure seal. I'll let other comment on the electric pumps since I don't have one.

Wow, your the first people I have known to take a trip like that and RV while you are there, cool. I don't like what sound like a lot of restrictions on modifications. I would probably be band from owning an RV with the things I have done over the years. I do want to make a comment about the cassette toilet since our last camper, a slide-in, had one. If you do a lot of dry camping were dump stations are not available they are a great idea. There were a number of times were I emptied the tank into toilet or pit toilet. You don't get as much capacity, but options for empting it were much more available. Have a great trip, I am sure your Oliver misses you.

The water heater switch location is not very desirable to me either. I actualy took a crome curved drawer handle I got at Lowes and mounted it over the water heater switch to prevent it from getting turned on accidentally. I don't find the AC thermostat necessary, wish the controls were in the unit. Don't like the two minute delay when I kick the air down. I want cool air on demand. The bumper storage could be modified a bit to gain and extra half inch of access. I actually trimmed the aluminum angle in a couple of places to allow storage of sewer connectors. I also would like to se the battery compartment with a lock. Just something to keep the honest folks out. I will admit that the sliding cabinet doors might not give the best access, but from past experience anyhing that flips up or swings out gets in the way. Never had trouble with them coming out of the track and as some one else stated have tried to remove them on a couple of occasions but gave up out of fear of breaking them. We haven't spent a year in our trailver, but we have been on a half dozne trips since purchasing our Oliver last June. The only issues thus far are as follows. 1. Didn't care fo the fact that the spare tire was of a lower load rating and smaller size than the other two. A very simple modification to the tire cover allows a 225 to fit. 2. Discovered minor water leaks at power cord in let, rear awning arm braket and battery box. A neat calking job corrected these problems. 3. Water leak around AC in rain at highway speeds. A/C was not torqued enough to compress gasket, don't correct this on your own without careful though or talking to the follks at Oliver. 4. I would like to see something that would shield the refreigerator controls. I found the frig turned off a couple of times becuase it is to easy to bump the off button.

As other have said it's personal preference. I like a lot of light and prefer the cool white. I accidently ordered two warm whites and religated them to the closet and the fixture near the door since these get the least use. My opion is the the cool white illuminate the trailer much better.

Cool little device. I ordered one and set it up just like Andrew, but left it on batteries instead of 12 volt. I like the idea of being able to leave the tank switch over on automatic, but having the ablity to know when the current tank runs dry.

If anyone is interest in a MaxAir vent cover, the big one, I have one available hear in Dade City, FL. Took it off our last camper and have decided not to use it on the Oliver. Still has the mounting hardware but no instructions. I do kind of recall how it mounts or maybe the instruction can be gotten from MaxAir. It's not going anywhere other than the attic so just send me a message if interested.

I just installed the LED replacement for our reading lights. You don't get the ablility to dim nearly as much as the holagens, but love the light and the abscence of radiant heat. Wih these lights now LED our trailer is 99% LED lights. I replaced all the pucks, plus the exterior lights and even two of the bulbs in the third brake light. The one in the center is still a standard only because the LED's don't illuminate the entire lens as well has the standard bulb. I replaced the little flood lights on either side of the trailer with one found from the same place the puck replacements came from. I use the one with six LED's, in total darkness they give good light 15 to 20 feet from the trailer. The porch light I replaced with a yellow LED I bought at Pep Boys, it looks like it will work pretty good, but have not tested it camping yet. Replaced two of the bulbs in the third brake light with some red ones found at Pep Boys. Looks pretty good, but I should mention I have modified how the third brake light functions so these will not work as intended right out of the box.

My feelings exactly. All the cool features are nice, neat little lights to tell what is on or off, electric start frig and water heater, DVD player and tons of lights. But we do alot of dry camping were our only power are the batteries. Even though LED's don't draw much it all adds up. My first reason for disabling the switch panel lights was the light emitted, but the second did have to do with reducing unnecessary power drain. If all the switch panels are the same I found one wire held on by a screw, removed the screw and the LED's went out. I'll try to post a pic later. Not sure how much power it saves, but I'm thinking it might balance with my weather alert radio I hard wired in.