ScubaRx

The Oliver has only been being built for about a year. I don't know for sure, but I would suspect there are not any used ones out there that are for sale. This would be the place to look, however. If you contact Robert Partee at the factory, he could perhaps give you a more definate answer. The Oliver is a remarkable trailer, unlike anything you will find among the other brands available. Good luck in your search... If there is anything else we can do to help you, please ask. Steve

Doug, The camera gives a very wide view of what’s behind you (you can actually see the corners of the trailer.) Come to think of it, are there corners on a curved trailer? Anyway, no extra mirrors required. I think it was money well spent, and it's a lot of fun. Incidentally, the camera has a microphone built into it. You can hear what's going on behind you. We keep it off going down the road to eliminate road noise, but it comes in real handy when the DW is behind the trailer screaming at you while you are attempting to back it into that perfect spot. Steve

A friend of mine has recently bought a used fifth-wheel trailer. He is new to the camper scene and asked me for some advice on a tow vehicle. I told him that a pickup with a fifth-wheel hitch mounted in the bed was necessary but he's an ornery ole cuss and informed me that he didn't see why his little two-wheel drive wouldn’t do the trick. I tried my best to convince him that was probably not the ideal vehicle to tow with but he insisted and I agreed to help him rig it up. This is what we came up with, let me know what you think…. Here he's hooked up and ready to fly!! It's amazing how the extra weight really smoothed out the ride in the truck. He did have to air up the rear tires a bit (around 160 psi) We added some heavy-duty chain for extra support on the tailgate (note that we used the "Heavy-Duty 'S' hooks to attach the chain) I insisted that he pay up for some BIG 5/16 sheetmetal screws to attach the hitch to the tailgate. Yeah, I knows it's overkill, but we didn't want the possibility of having an accident. Much of his time was spent on his front porch whittling down that MASSIVE 4x4 board to fit precisely into the ball mount receiver. Also note that we used a 14" piece of 1x4 to help distribute the load more evenly--It cost a little more, but you just can't be too safe when pulling a trailer of this magnitude !!". Look out Utah , cause here he comes !!!!

Doug, Yes, the jacks can actually lift the entire trailer off the ground. For that reason, no manual jack is included with the Oliver. You do, however, get a nice lug wrench. Hopefully you'll never get a flat, but if you do, the jack will at least take care of the lifting for you... Steve

Doug, This is the exact radio that I bought. It will come with everything you need to install it as you see in my post. Tell Robert to have Daniel mount your antenna (comes with the kit) on the rear of the trailer roof like he did mine. Also have him to mount the 12 volt power port so you can plug in the included 12 volt adapter. This will give you every thing you need to have XM on board. And the price is right on the unit. I paid about $30.00. As an after thought I might mention that you get XM radio feeds included with your Direct TV satellite service. But you can't take that into the car with you. I'd rather have this setup anyway, especially for the cost. Steve

Post your requests to view an Oliver or willingness to show your Oliver here. State your location and how far you are willing to travel

Doug, There is very little room on either side of the installed Jensen radio. I guess being able to mount a radio there would depend on the size. As you can see, mine was a surface mount. I'm not clear on exactly what antenna you had in mind that Robert said could not be mounted. But, no, I don't see any reasons why it can't be done. You may end up having to do it yourself but this is not an insurmountable task. Ya just gotta have the nerve to drill the first hole. As far as the backup camera: Yes, I would still do it again. I've owned trailers (utility) for years and I've never been worth a flip at backing one up. I'm not sure the camera will improve my backing skills but at least it will let me see what I'm about to run into. It does, however, make for a wonderful rear view mirror. Steve

Hello Everyone, As you may have noticed there are now a few people that have been asked to be moderators on the Oliver Forums. We hope that we will be able to make your experience here more informative and enjoyable. The forums have been up less than a year and we already have over 250 topics and over 250 members. I’m sure many of the new members are looking for information just like all the rest of us were when we joined. Mountainborn has been doing a great job as administrator with all his posts and information. What the rest of us will do is assist him. I am going to start to go about the (slow) process of reorganizing the past posts into new threads that will pull together like ideas. You will see things moving about from time to time. I will not be editing anyone’s post. Please feel free to make any suggestions (I need all the help I can get.) Thanks for your support and patience….. Steve

When Tali and I started planning the we wanted to add XM radio to the entertainment system. We bought a small XM receiver designed to be added to a car. I asked Daniel at Oliver to mount my antenna on the roof during the construction phase (this can easily be done post delivery.) These pictures show the XM antenna mounted on the roof: The wire was run into the body and located near the entertainment center. Daniel added a 12 volt power port to supply the XM radio that I would install. This is the installed XM system : Then I decided it would be really cool to add an iPod. What I needed was a base that could be mounted on the wall (to compliment the XM radio) that would charge and play the iPod. I wanted a direct hook-up to the entertainment system thru the Aux jack. I find that relying on FM transmitters is sketchy at best. Many long internet searches did not find what I really had in mind, but I did find the Griffin Technology TuneFlex AUX. See details at: http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/tuneflexaux All that remained was to design and construct a mount for the TuneFlex. Since there was no way to surface mount the iPod Tuneflex, I decided to mount it inside the cabinet just to the left of the entertainment system. I had several pieces of the fiberglass that was cut from the windows of the Oliver trailers during construction that Robert had given me on one of my trips to Hohenwald. I made a cardboard template and then cut it from the fiberglass. I mounted a 12 volt power port to supply the iPod. This is the mount: I then mounted it inside the cabinet and this is the finished product. And there you have it, XM radio and iPod support. I will next mount a rotary switch that will select between the iPod--TV--XM radio. But that's a project for another day..... Steve

I think it's always fascinating to see what others have done to their trailers to personalize them. So I thought a thread for modifications might be interesting. I would propose that we could list things we've done to our own trailers or things we'd like to do. If you post about something you've already done, include pictures to show how you did it and how it turned out. If you have an idea for something you'd like to do but maybe don't know how, post it anyway, someone will probably have an opinion on how or what to do. I'll start with a following post about modifications I made to the entertainment system. Let's see what everybody's doing out there. Hopefully we can all share some good ideas and make our camping experiences more rewarding. Steve

Doug, The table pedestle will go nicely into the closet. Steve

Alex K, If you do decide to go with the Oliver, I am certain you will be very pleased. There's not a day that goes by that I don't find some other little thing about the that I've not noticed before or some little touch that amazes me. It truly is an amazingly well built trailer. Good luck, Steve

Alex, Maybe I have a little different perspective on the whole situation. When I first saw the Oliver I was not in the market for a travel trailer. I was driving thru the Wal-Mart parking lot when I saw one sitting there. Apparently Meanderthal and Company were traveling South on the Natchez Trace and stopped for supplies when I happened upon their rig. After an internet search and a couple of trips to the factory, I was sold on the quality of the Oliver and became in the market. But first, I decided to consult someone that I consider to be an expert on the matter. I have a relative that currently owns not one, but four Airstreams. He looked at the info from the factory and listened to my speel about what the company would do for someone in the way of customizing. A group of his Airstream club buddies were present to hear about the Oliver. Their singular response was "I wish Airstream would be willing do that..." I've seen his trailers. They are all nice. Anyone would be proud to own any of them. They do take a rather large tow vehicle (even the two Bambi's) but with his extra 90 gallon diesel tank in the bed of his heavy duty pickup, he can get from here to just about anywhere without having to stop for fuel. When he saw our trailer the day we got home with it, he was blown away. He didn't have enough good things to say. Bottom line is everyone has to make up their own mind. With money not too much an issue I'd say it comes down to personal preference. I'm sure you would be satisfied with either trailer as both are examples of fine craftmanship. Any one of us would be happy to share any info you might need. Just let us know...

Tali always worries about bears (and lions and tigers, Oh My). But I bet you guys were safe and sound in there. We had a glitch our first night also. But everything was made ship shape and I know you are good to go now. Congrats on the new . It's got to be the most techno one produced so far. We know how much fun you'll have with it. Happy trails..............

I have wished for my windows to open the opposite way also. On the curb side of the trailer it will have the added benefit of placing the rear window (when opened) under the awning. I thought about taking that one out and turning it around, but decided that it would be a LOT of trouble. Would seem that it would be easy during construction though. Herm, Tali and I were fortunate that we lived close enough to the factory to visit whenever we wanted. I’ve ended up having gone 5 times so I have had an excellent opportunity to observe the trailers in all stages of construction. If your wife would like discuss her concerns with Tali about of the , they could get together for a woman's perspective. Let me know.....

Hey Doug, We leave a couple of windows on the slid open about an inch or two while it is parked. With the Fantastic Fan going, we get plenty of air movement and it is never hot or stuffy (even in this Mississippi heat.) We got a nice little shower a few days ago. I had left 3 windows open. The trailer is parked in our side/back yard and is not perfectly level. The windows on the high side allowed a amount of water to get in. It was only enough to make the corner of one cushion damp. Not really a big deal. If the trailer had been perfectly level, I don't think any water would have gotten in. The rear window actually swings out from hinges on the top. If you expect rain this might be your best bet for leaving a window open. As for the window in the bathroom, I felt the same way as you do until we used the trailer last weekend. We were camped in a state park in TN. No hookups. We could have run the generator for the A/C (and did for a little bit) but we wanted to see how it would be without it. Just to cool off, I decided that I would take a shower prior to going to bed. After I finished, it was hot and suffy and humid and I wondered if we would have been better off without having added the heat and moisture from the shower to the already warm trailer. I reached up and switched on the vent fan. I really didn't feel like it was doing much. Then I slid the little window up a couple of inches. Wow, there was a terrific breeze coming in and in no time, the heat and moisture were gone. With that in mind, in my opinion, the window is nice. During the daylight hours, it gives plenty of light so there's no need to turn on a light. As Geri mentioned, it is handy for washing out the toilet, but if you've got the tank flush option, this is not necessary. You are going to be thrilled with your Oliver. These guys really did their homework. I've always been the type that when I get something new, the first thing I want to do is take it apart and see how it works. I've looked in every nook and cranny of this thing and I can't find anything that I think could have been done better. They do a great job of construction and I think that this product will last its owner a long, long time.

Doug, Fear not, the twin bed model does not limit accesses to the inner workings of the Oliver. The hose/pump setup is standard and should give you just what you need. Steve

Steve, Here's something I found and it may be of some help/interest in this thread regarding the use of propane while on the move. http://www.gypsyjournal.net/traveling_with_propane.htm I learned a few things from it. As with everything on the internet, take it with a grain of salt, use what you need and discard the rest.

Steve, We just returned from the factory after having some mods made to the . They had to remove the outside upper refrigerator vent cover to access that area behind it. Just as Mountainborn describes, there is a "curved air flap" that is screwed to the upper edge of the vent hole. It is supposed to be curved back and over the top of the refrigerator to direct the rising heat out the vent. It is made from the same mat material that is lining the upper storage areas. I would remove the vent cover and make sure that this mat has not fallen down behind the refigerator and is blocking the vent. Mountainborn, that is a grand idea about the insulation....

Darn Pete, you mean to tell me that mountainborn's photos aren't supposed to look like he took them thru a foggy window. Well, who'da thought, and I was thinking of taking up some money and buying him a real camera for his birthday or something.....At least he's taking some and sharing with all the rest of us.... You keep up the GOOD work there, mountainborn, don't let all us flatlanders try to tell you how to take pictures. But, really will it take pics? Steve

Paul, I'm sure you're correct about the gas line on the Olivers. I didn't think about the fact that everything downline of the regulator would be at a reduced pressure. I actually didn't realize that the BBQ grills needed a higher pressure. Thanks for your input, I stand corrected. Steve

Even though our new Jeep was ordered with the tow package, it did not come pre-wired for a brake controller. It also only included a 4 pin connector. I took the hitch loose from the rear frame, ground off the bracket for the 4 pin connector and welded on a bracket for a 7 pin connector. After I repainted the hitch, I re-attached it to the frame. I then made up a wiring harness to convert the 4 pin to a 7 pin connector. If you already have a 4 pin connector you don't even have to cut any wires. Just connect a plug to the 4 pin connector and the wires on the opposite end to terminals in the 7 pin connector. I ran a 10 gauge wire from the alternator through a self resetting breaker to the 7 pin connector for the charging circuit. I then ran a 12 gauge wire back to it for the brake circuit. I am using a prodigy brake controller that included a wiring harness consisting of 4 wires. One goes to the cold side of the brake switch on the brake pedal. One connects to the brake wire going to the connector. The other two are the positive and negative connections. This will make you good to go.....

Doug, I have moved this discussion to a more appropriate thread..... See the new topic: "Twin Bed Discussion"

Stuart, The terminating end of the gas line that runs down the centerline of the under-belly of the Oliver is a plug. You could easily remove this and run your own gas line to any place you wanted. The company has made it easy to modify their product to any degree of customization you might desire.

Hi Doug, Tali and I chose the twin bed model (with modifications) for the in part for the extra storage space. In a unit this small storage is at a premium. With this option, you get a drawer under the rear sleeping space that would have been the area under the table in the standard Oliver. This drawer is easily the capacity of the other three combined. You also get extra counter space of about 4 square feet. Under that counter there is another storage area of the same size. This area is more difficult to access as you get to it from under the drop-leaf table that is installed in lieu of the standard rear dinette, but we find it very handy to store items that you don't need very often such as extra soft drinks, water, canned goods, etc. An added benefit to this area is that items can’t slide out of it during travel. In Oliver’s standard twin bed option you also lose the front dinette. We choose to keep that and to make it into the bed when needed. We felt that this was the best option for our needs. This modification gives us more storage, more floor space, more counter top area and generally a more open feeling/look to an already small space.