mountainborn

Just finished with the new owner walk through and check list. We were so excited we were about to burst ! Retirement was in the near future and it was the beginning of years of adventures.

Here we are at the end of the road at South Padre Island, at Dawn, after overnighting. Pretty well loaded up, isn't it ? It worked well for us, but may not be for others.

In this photo we are 65 miles down the raw beach drive from the Malakeet campground at the Mansfield cut on the Padre Island National Sea Shore. It is another 65 miles of raw beach driving to get back to camp. You might notice my buddy Dillon the drug dog looking nervously at the front tire of the jeep. When he went to it I noticed that we were having a flat. Yep, it turned into a adventure alright. So, what do you think ? Overloaded ?

Earlier in this thread bugeyedriver mentioned our large generator box on the tongue and how heavy we would load. Here is a very short video that was taken as we returned from "Wintering up" down on the Gulf of Mexico. It is a good look at our genset box and loading. We did not use a sway bar or weight distribution hitch. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FGCLa2fuSA Please note in this 42 second video, how level the Jeep and Oliver are sitting.

Want to weigh your trailer tongue at home ? Here is a link to photos and description of "do it yourself" methods. https://www.flickr.com/photos/8334394@N04/sets/72157624087337977/detail/

Excellent ! That looks really good.

My world seems to be the same world as everybody else's, yet I tend to view things in earthy simple terms. I studied the Oliver travel trailer as most do, thought it was right and it has been. I met a salt and pepper haired man with a firm hand shake and a steady gaze that told me that it didn't need "all that stuff", and it didn't. Betty and I tend to carry everything, and I mean everything. So when I loaded stuff poorly, I could overcome the good handling of the Oliver trailer, that is when I remembered the handshake and advice, and balanced it like it should be and it has always towed well. With no added devices needed. Now, that has been our experience. Others will experience towing the Oliver as their personal learning and fears dictate. Now don't misunderstand my use of the word fear. Any trailer that is loaded poorly will react to that, and a swaying trailer is a scary, fearsome thing. In my simpler world there is two ways to "fix" a sway. Unload your stuff and reload it in a more balanced way, or add a device that helps to overcome a poor job of loading. Yes, I know that is a outrageous concept, that the owner might be the source of the problem. Yet here is a simple fact. Too much weight in the front and a trailer pulls bad, too much weight in the back and a trailer pulls bad. Balance the load and the trailer pulls well. This was with the 17' Oliver, the 23' 6" is two axle, wider, longer and heavier. Your tow vehicle of choice is a major contributor to the over all handling when towing. By the way should you need a WDH, the Oliver factory now stocks and can install for you, the all aluminum Anderson weight distribution hitch.

Pete's LED's are a good choice for the Oliver. Putting the brightest in the kitchen is the way we went. Later when converting a fifth wheel to LED's we found a source that mailed to us from Shanghai. They were a lot cheaper, but their color and intensity varied a lot. We had to mix and match them by room and use to get a good look and useful lighting situation.

The Oliver is the perfect "BUG OUT" vehicle ! Run the refrigerator on propane and the solar keeping the battery's charged will let you keep up with news, weather and current events so you know which way to turn next. Air conditioning will require more power than the battery's are comfortable giving. A small generator will be needed to power up and cool down the interior for lengths of time needed to rest up for the next day's activity. Should the small noise of a gen set attract too much attention, seek higher ground where up sloping breezes from prevailing winds will get an increase and use the ceiling fan to move more air for comfort. The 4 six volt battery's give the deepest ampre per hour response over a given time and the glass matt battery's offer no maintenance ease of use at the expense of a small loss of amp per hour capacity.

Older 13.5 BTU roof units could be refitted with a "quick start" kit so that a 2000 watt gen set could run them. The new low profile unit is most likely efficient enough that they will run well on a 2000 watt gen set without modification. Yet, I haven't heard of any one running a test to confirm that. Maybe someone will chime in with a first hand report on that.

Welcome to the forums ! You will enjoy the factory tour !

The Oliver's molded fiberglass hull is pretty watertight, so, would you want to make openings for outside speakers ? Here is our experience with them in a fifthwheel trailer. Maybe think twice about the so called "weather proof" speakers ! SPEAKER http://mountainborn.blogspot.com/2014/08/speaker.html

Welcome aboard BINGS !

Our own Steve Outlaw posted to the thread back in 2011, Steve and Tali were in their 17' Oliver at the time, and years have passed since that posting. It has been quite a encyclopedia of reasons of why folks prefer one trailer over another. Five pages of reading takes a bit of time but the feel for what's out there is the end reward. The topic matter is close to the heart of all of us in the molded fiberglass community. It is a simple question, yet the scope of answers is ever so complex ! So, WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE TRAILER YOU HAVE ? Here is the link to the FIBERGLASSRV thread, it is good reading ! http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f51/why-did-you-buy-the-trailer-you-have-46849-5.html I bet many of us will be waiting to see Steve and Tali's update to their original posting since they have moved into a Legacy II. Betty and I have heard many such comments from Oliver owners and there are some really compelling reasons out there. If you have the time, I bet that the folks over on FIBERGLASSRV would like to have your input.

Four very early Oliver Video's linked at this page. Just click each to view. http://www.mountainborn.blogspot.com/2014/08/remembering.html

Wow, Steve, this is the very kind of thread that our forums members jump on really quick with their wealth of knowledge and experience ! Yet two days and no replies. You may be the very first to replace the bearing races. I think that you are breaking new ground here !

Here is the link: http://www.dexteraxle.com They have a couple of new offerings that have gotten my attention ! In the past I have considered myself as a dyed in the wool, conventional springs and shackles kind of guy. But time has passed and technology has advanced, and, I must admit that I am looking at Dexter's new offerings in a more positive light ! Dexter's Airflex and Torflex axles look pretty good now. Though I have towed a similar product axle under our mule trailers, I had liked the ride somewhat, but there seemed to be no way to get a higher lift for other applications. For the Mule trailer's it was ok to be closer to the ground for ease of loading the animals. At the time I couldn't see a way to get more lift to allow better ground clearance for Forest Service roads. The new Dexter axles seem to be able to get an acceptable height for campers. Has any one else took a look lately ? If so what do you think ?

I guess that there are a whole lot of us that are in the same boat ! After all, that's where we all got our start. The 17' Oliver is in campfire conversations more and more often. I think that the 17 is the ultimate forward OPERATING BASE FOR OUTDOORS ADVENTURES, and can't wait to see the newest offering.

Hey you guys ! Lookin' good !

Greetings Stan and Carol from Lake Ouachita Arkansas. We are camped out and just came in off of the water, sunburn and all. Betty and I like you, have spent nights in the front of a Horse trailer. No, we have never towed a Oliver with Sway bar or equalizing hitch, though the Oliver factory doesn't discourage it. It has just never been our need to use one. We have members on these forums that have a lot of experience and they are sure to chime in on any questions that you may have. My cell number is 479.243.5450 should you want to chat about molded fiberglass pro's and con's. Welcome to the forums ! harm & bett

Hey Steve, if your photo is on the web somewhere like photobucket or flicker, then just paste that url. Our software doesn't provide for a direct upload from your machine, it uses a third party. Here is one from my photo bucket account:

Wow, another great "off of the beaten path " story ! Thanks Sherry. Those small jaunt's away from the main artery's of our Nation's freeway system are always such a pleasant relief and always the high point of our travels. Thanks for sharing !

Can't wait to see those photos ! Bett and I are camped on Lake Ouachita doing about the same thing, small chores and campfire tending mostly, interrupted by an occasional dip in the lake. We really enjoyed the tour of your mountain hideout area and refer to it often in our conversations. It was a great time spent with you guys.

When I review the video link, here it is, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzW1kK8oWkc they say that the wheel should be up off of the ground and rotating slowly to prevent the defeating of the double grease seal, which would allow grease to get onto the brake shoes. Any one have any experience with this ?

Hey Flyrod ! Betty and I have been a bit worried about you guys. How close to you did the fire get ?