bugeyedriver

To all single axle Ollie owners, have you ever needed to have the black tank dump valve replaced? How much fun was that?! There is virtually NO room underneath to wrangle a wrench into in order to remove the bottom bolt. I’ve owned The Wonder Egg for 18 years now and it seems about every 9 years, the black tank dump valve begins to seep “water”. The first time I took it to my local, reliable, RV repair shop, Boerne RV, the technician stated that job was so difficult he almost quit being an RV tech! Well, here it is, 9 years later and I just had Beorne RV replace that *!%#! Valve again, I told them to feel free to make any modification to the trailer to simplify the process. Here’s the brilliant idea they came up with . . . A sealed, water-tight exterior access panel directly underneath the valve.

The 24' Casita Discovery width is 8 ft, which is wider than the Oliver and will require extra care while maneuvering corners or pulling up to a crowded gas station . . . doable, but different. Also the interior wall covering is not the Casita "Rat Fur" short napped rug-like covering. It is an almost smooth marine grade, felt-like headliner which comes in two shades.

Through general searches on the internet about protecting RV's from rock chips, I came across a repair facility on the east side of San Antonio who had a video about applying it to the bottom half of a high end Class-A motorhome. I figured if it was good enough for a $500k+ diesel pusher, it was good enough for The Wonder Egg. Unfortunately, they no longer offer Vortex coating. Good luck on your search. If you apply any sort of protective coating, you should still use some sort of rock guard protection between your tow vehicle and trailer to back it up. I use a Rock Tamer fitted to my F150.

The Wonder Egg has had Vortex over the lower front, just like taylor.coyote's picture for about 8 years now. Yes, it added 40 lbs to the weight, but is impervious to rocks. I hesitated to take a trip to Alaska until it was applied. Now, I'll go anywhere, (within reason).

Living in the Texas Hill Country, with steep dips on roads where dry river beds cross, I asked Oliver to build The Wonder Egg (#14) with a spring-over-axle set up to avoid rear end scraping. It has worked very well for me and improves clearances over obstacles if I want to place the back end of the trailer over a log / etc to get into the perfect boondocking site. As mentioned, a set up like this does result in some handling issues you'd need to contend with . . . braking a turn taken little too fast with a strong, gusting wind coming from the inside of the turn is a potential rollover situation. That might be more pronounced in the LEII due to more height and mass on top, combined with a larger surface area causing a "sail" effect. To mitigate this issue, I always travel with a full fresh water tank when starting out to lower the center of gravity and improve safety. The 2"X8" board or driveway modification might be your best bet.

When my tire pressure is too high and the ride a bit harsh, my mother-in-law starts complaining about the bumpy ride back there making her drop stitches on her knitting, which then upsets my wife, and when momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. Happy wife, Happy Life! Just set yer tire pressure so your MIL may knit in peace.

I know our Olivers are hail resistant, but can anyone in Florida confirm that they are also iguana resistant?

Wow, that blower is almost half your age!

MAX - those Brinkley's are stunning. Enjoy! DAVID - Welcome to OllieWorld. Get set for fun and adventures! I'm just down the road, like Mike & Carol, and would gladly get together for an impromptu and informal Ollie roundup somewhere here in the Hill Country. Looking forward to meeting you in person. Pete, and his side-kick, Bosker.

Short answer - YES

Another option is to lower the front of the trailer, which makes it easier to leverage the tank out of the nose cone without resorting to a platform. The Wonder Egg was born with 30 pound tanks, even though lowering the font helped some, it was still a hassle. For the last 12 years, I've used 20 pounders and don't believe I'll go back. I have reliable pressure gauges and bluetooth monitoring systems to keep me informed on their status.

"The Wonder Egg" - because 17 years ago when it was in production, an Oliver travel trailer was cutting edge manufacturing technology in the fiberglass trailer world. It was a wonder the factory was so eager to accommodate any modification I wanted them to make to hull #14. Solar power was not common way back then, I have the first 2000w inverter, they also wired it for my ham radio hobby which makes it so simple to connect my radio on the inside to a long range antenna on the outside. They placed the springs above the axle to make it easier to maneuver and park in heavily wooded areas. They added an analogue phone line connection near the dinette (hahaha). I have specialized graphics which required them to reposition the license plate. I've now gone to disk brakes - uncommon on single axle trailers, making it even more wondrous! There were perks to being an early bird.

I think Steve & Tali Landrum received the initial LE2 not long before the industrywide RV downturn and nationwide closure of RV manufacturing plants . Steve may have even had input with some ideas on the design. One of the greatest things about the Oliver family is how they treat their employees. Unlike most other manufacturers, who laid off employees at large, Oliver offered every worker a position within one of their other Hohenwald, TN manufacturing plants. Nobody had to lose their job. They kept them gainfully employed, and when the market warranted a return to the RV production line, they already had a skilled workforce ready to resume creating the best trailer out there.

Awesome trailer, awesome destination. You are sure to have a great time. Savor the moments.

OK folks, let's all relax and get back to normal 'decorum on the forum'. Different approaches and solutions to confounding problems are understandable and toleration of different approaches is encouraged. The forum Guidelines state: You’ll find a wealth of experiences here, and many owners willing to share their experiences. Have fun, but please keep others’ viewpoints in mind. Respectfully state your point, share your information, or ask your question. Keep it casual and friendly. Reread your post before you hit submit. Is it helpful? Thoughtful? BoondockingAirstream, so glad your brake issue has been resolved. Your towing safety is paramount.