ScubaRx

I think we should stay the first night in a campground with full hookups so we can check out the trailer completely. I agree, it's unlikely, but should you have any concerns after the first night, you'll be close to the factory and they will be straightened out right away. Do you have any first hand information about the Seven Points Campground near Nashville, TN? I think we will be camping there for a couple of nights before heading east. I'm sorry, I have never been at the Seven Points CG.

A bit off topic but just so you'll know, Meriwether Lewis Park is located on the Natchez Trace at Milepost 385.9. The park offers no hookups (not even a dump station), but fresh water is available from centrally located faucets and there are very clean bathrooms with flush toilets. I've stayed there several times and it's quiet and peaceful. You might well have the campground to yourself or at the very least there will be scant few folks camping with you. http://www.nps.gov/natr/learn/historycu ... -lewis.htm

I'm somewhat unclear on why you're turning the gas off at the bottles. Unless this is just your personal preference, and you prefer not to travel with them on, I don't know of any reason why you have to do that. Except when removing the bottles for filling, I've never turned the gas off on either of the Oliver's that I've owned. Maybe I've not been doing it correctly. I assume you do not run the fridge on gas while going down the road???

...showering at night and in the morning using the water pump... You shower TWICE a day? While camping? What's up with that?

Welcome Horace and Dianne. After that factory tour the hook will be set and you can join the most exclusive Fiberglass Travel Trailer Club in the World... The OLIVER OWNERS!!! We'd love to have you.

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I had a problem with the brakes on my first trailer that ended up being a poor ground. Raise the cushions and compartment cover on the left side of the front dinette. Look toward the rear of the trailer with a flashlight. Near the support for the battery box there will be four wires entering the cabin from the back side of the wheel well. Two blue and two white. These pairs are tied together with the blues going to positive 12VDC and the whites going to ground. On my trailer the white wire goes directly to the grounding bar located on the frame right before you. It is the ONLY white wire on mine, all the rest are yellow. If yours is set up differently, find the wires coming from the wheel well and trace where the white wires go. They could be tied to a ground (yellow) wire somewhere else but they have to go to ground for the brakes to work.

Check to see if the brakes have a good ground.

My Sierra does that on occasion. I've read on several of the General Motors truck forums of this happening to other owners of like products. I believe (as others do) that sometime the plug loses contact with the truck for an instant and the truck reports that message. The contact is always remade instantly on our truck and it has not continued. This has happened two or three times.

There is not a factory option for this. I have entertained the idea of Line-X on the front. We are retiring soon and will be traveling much more. I've put about 30,000 miles on the two Olivers we've owned and have never found a great need for protection. But, we've not traveled extensively on non-paved roads. One former owner used a guard on the back of the tow to catch debris thrown up. If I do something, it most likely will be spraying the front with Line-X.

Gary If you're worried about the 30 pound tanks making the tongue too heavy your concerns may be unfounded. I have the 30's plus a Yamaha 3000 watt generator and basket sitting on my tongue and it still only weighs 535 pounds. That is surprisingly light considering the trailer "probably" weighs in at about 6000 pounds. I say because I've not gotten around to weighing it yet with it loaded up with our gear. I'm basing that guess on the amount of heavy custom work we had done. It could be more or less. But I have weighed the tongue at the factory so I know that's right. Your concerns about lifting them is altogether another matter.

Hello Gary and welcome to the forum... It is our Outlaw Oliver that you've seen pictures of that had the hatches down under the beds. I had the Starboard hatch added to our trailer to allow me easier access to the valves below that bed. The Aft hatch allows inside access to the basement. The Port hatch makes it all look symmetrical. I later realized that by opening them it allows cabin heat to enter the enclosed spaces where most of the pipes and water pump reside. This was not an intended use for the hatches in the beginning, but it does keep that area warmer.

Welcome, marsharini to the forum and to the most exclusive molded fiberglass trailer club in the world, The Oliver Owners! I know your excitement, I've been there - twice. The good times are just beginning. You will absolutely LOVE your new Oliver. Tell us all about yourself and stay in touch here on the forum...

Virtually all the benefits of the fan would be derived with use during hot weather. What it is doing is moving the hot air generated by the heating unit in the refrigerator up and out from behind it thereby making it more efficient. This action is not needed so much if the weather is cool.

Stay warm and safe my friends...

Welcome and for sure the Oliver will give you something to do with any extra time you're able to come up with.

We owned one of the original Elites (2008 model). We started out towing with a 2009 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 door) that we bought for that purpose. It only had a 3500 pound towing capacity and was vastly under powered. We traded that for a 2007 Chevrolet Tahoe 4x4 with the 5.3L engine. We got much better results with that vehicle. The older Elites weighed about 3900 pounds ready to camp with full water and everything you would need for an extended trip. I don't know the camping weight on the new models but I would not expect them to be significantly different one way or the other. I would want a vehicle rated NO LESS than a 5000 pound towing capacity. We bought a 2015 GMC Sierra with a 6.2L engine to pull our Elite II. We get about 2 mpg better than with the Tahoe. Since all 2015 models are tow rated with the SAE J2807 Standard you are now comparing Apples to Apples... 4 Runner: The Towing capacity is rated at 4700 pounds (not a good contender) Touareg: The Towing capacity is rated at 7,700 pounds with the available towing package - you will want to spring for this package, as the Touareg is rated for just 1,650 lbs. without it. Nissan Pathfinder: The towing capacity is rated at 5000 pounds.

At about 60 mph, we are getting around 13.5 mpg. We have only been on relatively short trips so far (less than 1000 miles) so I hope for some better on longer hauls.

I posted a link to the manual above, hope this helps.

I looked through the service manual and I believe it details how to remove the panes.

Your windows where manufactured by Hehr. Maybe this will give you some information you didn't have: http://www.hehrintl.com/pdf/Hehr%20Service%20Manual.pdf

Where is the three inches of water?

And so the excitement begins to build even more.... Yea, another egg is in the incubator

Hello Sara and Andrew and welcome to the forum. We had some additional storage areas custom built under our bed platforms in our twin bed Legacy Elite II. You could store store a million miles of yarn in them. I would be happy to share what we have done if you are interested in the Oliver.

Hardrock Welcome to the forum and congrats on your recent retirement. I will be joining the ranks of the UN-employed the first week in October. Living in Alabama (right next door to us) you'll have plenty of great short trip opportunities. GSM in Eastern Tennessee, lots of places in North Georgia as I'm sure you're well aware. I would love to make that Route 66 trip, unfortunately it's not in our cards in the immediate future. Member Pete Marks (bugeyedriver) made the entire Route 66 sojourn a few years back going from East to West. He will tune in here soon and probably offer up some sage words of wisdom about his trip. He's logged over a parsec in his 2008 Ollie (The Wonder Egg) so he knows a thing or two about traveling.