ScubaRx

Bill, We did do both sides and the doors were provided by Oliver. We also installed the expanded wire bottom after moving the propane tanks forward about an inch or so.

It's the trailer. We have had the same problems. Traced the issue to a poor ground inside the trailer in the harness that comes from the truck. It’s an easy fix. But earlier this year we drove about half of a 7500 mile trip with either intermittent or zero brakes.

Looks like Betty may be burying a body!!! At least it will stay fresh. Are you guys fishin'?

The drill is in the forward direction, the interior thicknesses are such that it would be virtually impossible to worry through in reverse. The edge destruction is evident in some of the first pics but it is mostly on the backside of the cut. I've never drilled/cut a hole that I didn't intend to cover the edges somehow. If you think about it, the only raw edge from the factory is on the upper shell at the belly band and they use some kind of a router setup to cut it after the two halves are mated. The blade I used is just a fine toothed metal cutting blade. I've found the key to using the hole saws is to drill your pilot hole first. This prevents the drill in the hole saw from grabbing and jerking the saw rapidly into the fiberglass. That will always shatter the edges. Just let the the saw get a smooth bite and then work on through with a slow steady forward motion at full speed on the drill. Taking a video of one of my projects would require my very able helper (Tali) to really have to multi-task as I've usually got her playing "surgeon's assistant" handing me the various tools and bits that I need. We do try to take lots of pics as we go. As always, I'm happy to assist with any info/advice anyone may want, would not want you to ruin an otherwise perfectly good day.

There is almost a universal consensus that the scariest thing concerning modifications to our beautiful, shiny Oliver’s is the thought of (OMG) drilling a hole in the fiberglass. Well, we’re on our second Oliver and I’ll have to admit that the first hole I put into hull # 26 was a frightening thing. Since then, I’ve drilled a bunch of holes in both hull # 26 and hull # 50. Some were tiny and some were pretty darn large. I’ll have to say that the drilling has gotten easier as time has passed. In the past few weeks I’ve finished a couple of projects that involved some drilling and cutting of fiberglass. Tali wanted to be able to watch TV while on the road. So, we finally (after two years) got our satellite dish and receiver up and running. The only logical place to mount the receiver was up in the rear cabinet but with the door closed, the remote and receiver would not be able to communicate so I purchased a powered IR repeater from Amazon. The remote still has to be able to “see” the eye of the repeater so it needed to be mounted outside the cabinet. So, there’s gotta be some holes drilled. Then I got the crazy idea that it would be really cool to use the otherwise wasted space behind the propane tanks for storage of my chocks and blocks. Now I don’t know about the rest of you folks, but I’d sooner eat a frozen possum than to have to take the cover off the front. That sucker is heavy and if you’re height challenged (think Steve and Tali), it becomes a two person job. There had to be an easier way to access that area. Yep, more holes. Don’t be scared to drill a hole now and then. Just make sure you know what’s on the other side of where you’re drilling and you’ll be fine. And remember this, don’t ever drill down into the floor and through the top of the fresh water tank, it will ruin an otherwise perfectly good day. Trust me on this.

My first guess is that either the hot or cold tap in the bathroom lavatory is slightly open allowing water to run into the sink and down the drain. The water meets the closed blade valve in the drain system and backs up thru the drain and into the shower pan. The pump is still running due to the water level in the tank being too low and it has lost its prime. Other than that it could be elves or Elvis...

Part of my design for our beds was to put us up even with the bottom of the windows. I like to lay there and look out as the world passes by and if something goes “bump in the night” all I have to do is open my eyes. I’ve not had a problem with touching the window shades very often, as most of the time they are open about four or more inches. More likely one of the dogs has laid up against one when it was fully closed and knocked a few of the pleats out of kilter. That is easily fixed by completely closing the shade then reopening it. There’s never been any lasting damage.

Since our first Outlaw Oliver (Hull # 26) was a twin bed model, we chose the twin bed model for our second Outlaw Oliver (Hull # 50). We wanted to maximize our storage area and I envisioned providing it by raising the beds to create room underneath. I worked with Steve Parsons at the Oliver factory and came up with this design. A special mold was designed for this build. Access hatch under each bed. Interiors are lighted. Mattresses rest on a two part surface. Each part is removable to allow access to the compartments below. Our "stuff" is stored in totes. There is about 13 cubic feet of storage beneath each bed.

Much like Buzzy's above story, I too bought my truck (2014 GMC Sierra 6.2L w/NHT tow package) long distance. I did everything over the phone, even my trade in. I looked for what I wanted locally but nothing was available. I finally found a dealer in Collinsville, IL that had the exact truck I wanted. Everything was smooth and painless. That, of course, does not answer your question (Gas or Diesel). If I had it to do again, I would buy the 2500 HD, but knowing how well the big block gas burner preforms (amazing) it would be a hard choice between the 6.0L gas and the diesel. Truthfully, there is no need for a diesel to pull our Oliver's as is evidenced by the majority of the owners. A far wiser man than I told me long ago that unless you pull HEAVY loads in DIFFICULT terrain ALL THE TIME the added expense of a diesel makes it hard to justify. That does not mean I would not choose the diesel as I do tend to over engineer things and then there's the cool factor of having a beast for a tow vehicle. All that being said, there are two owners that just recently chose to trade their big block gassers for diesels.

I know there has been chatter here on the forum for several years about putting a cassette toilet into an Oliver and some have inquired about that possibility. To the best of my knowledge Oliver has not put one in so far, but have they actually refused to install a cassette toilet?

None of the above items are included in the standard setup. Oliver formerly used the E-Z lube bearings, but that has stopped. I believe there were too many issues with blowing out the rear seal with this and it was really designed to be used on boat trailer hubs that are constantly submerged in water. It allowed you to force out water contaminated grease without having to repack the bearings. I got my Dexter Kit last night and have been up under the Oliver today checking things out to see what I'm up against.

Matt is there a button you can add to allow us to preview a post prior to submission?

My kit arrives tomorrow from Nick's Truck. I'm probably going to do the install myself. We'll see how that works out. I will attempt to take pics as I go along (sometimes I get carried away and forget) to document this event. At least I can pass on any mistakes and pitfalls that I encounter. Wish me luck...

Laps... From the moderators standpoint, and I'm sure everyone else's, we love pictures. Post anything you like especially your dog and wolf pics. Wolves are near and dear to my heart. This a picture of my wolf we named Marabou that I had from the mid 80's thru the mid 90's. She was such a joy. All I had to do was look up and stick my lips out and she would begin begin to howl! I know you are excited about the prospect of Oliver Ownership and I sincerely hope you can make that happen. You probably have a million questions and this is the place to ask them.

Although this will not help you with the length or the weight, I have an Oliver friend that is 6'4" and can stand anywhere in the main body of the coach with the exception of directly under the A/C without hitting his head.

Great pictures, great design. It looks as if you had no problem at all applying your front graphic to The Lone Star Oliver. It looks perfectly centered and perpendicular, not an easy job. I am impressed.

I ordered this (K71-653-00 E-Z Flex® Complete Tandem Kit) last night from Nick's Truck. I called them first to verify the parts were in stock and that it would be shipped today. The kit is $163.75 plus some pretty extravagant shipping and handling bringing my total to $196.58. I suppose the difference in mine and Rob's order total's is due to his living in the hinterlands of Montana and at least part of the delivery is done by mule pack train. Thanks, Rob for the good info posted above about the wet bolts. That will make the install somewhat easier. I will jump on this next week barring poor weather. I will try to take pictures as I go to help anyone else that is attempting this mod. Wish me luck...

Thanks, Bill. That is a mast for a remote control Golight.

Outlaw Oliver at Quartzsite, AZ

Outlaw Oliver at White Sands NP

We tow with a 2014 Sierra crew cab. It has custom heavy duty bumpers on each end with a front receiver hitch making the total length 21 feet. The Outlaw Oliver's frame was extended during construction by 18 inches making her length 25 feet. So we are a total of 46 feet point down the road. It would appear that the length of your set up with an Oliver Elite II and your current tow vehicle would be about the same as we are. Realistically I would not expect you to have any difficulties in getting into places that you desire. We have camped in many tight spaces from the East Coast to the West Coast but have never been unable to get into a place we really wanted.

When we returned from our Western Sojourn in early April, we drained all the tanks and unloaded the Outlaw Oliver completely (not even a pack of salt left behind). We then took her to some scales and convinced her to get on and be weighed. She is a robust 5820 pounds. We were told when we picked her up that her "dry" weight was 5320 pounds. So you are doing pretty darn good at 4850 fully loaded. I figure another seven or eight hundred pounds to get us fully loaded, around 6600 pounds total. We are reloading her now and I will get an exact weight when done.

Good job, glad that worked out for you...

No, that's not what I meant at all. I was merely trying to subtly predict that (as Gary stated) most owners would not consider renting their unit out and any comments as such might seem like rain on your parade. I don't think renting is a bad idea at all and with a good business plan you can make it work for you. I too had thought that it might increase awareness of Fiberglass trailers in general and Oliver in particular. Don't worry, nothing any of us do with our trailers will alter the fact that the Oliver is the finest Fiberglass Travel Trailer ever produced (smugness intended :roll: ). Good luck with whatever path you choose.

I do see requests from time to time on the various forums to rent FG trailers and there are a few folks out there doing just that. It's not an unreasonable option for someone. You could pay your unit off quicker if it were generating income. A venture like this would not appeal to some owners and you may get some backlash of negative opinions. I would not let this deter me if I wanted to proceed.