bugeyedriver

As owner of Hull number 14, picked up in March of 2008. I've now pulled The Wonder Egg 124,000 miles from Florida to Alaska and California to Newfoundland, including most points in between, I do admit that 2018 Olivers include a more refined bit of quality control "between the hulls", and some cool toys are being thought of (push button awnings). That being said, my venerable Wonder Egg has faithfully provide me with the dream retirement, wandering the roads 4 to 7 months each year and traversing everything from smooth interstate highways to mind boggling frost heaves in Nova Scotia, car swallowing potholes in Newfoundland, and literal hundreds of miles of dirt roads in Alaska and Montana. The trailer's "bones" are sound. Items that have failed over this period have either timed out (10 years for the original microwave and water pump) or been abused by my failure to properly care for the entire mechanical system (because I live in south Texas and was complacent about winterizing). I believe this was causative to one of the internal pressure regulator's failure. Many wonderful changes have been made by Oliver over the years, such as placing a furnace between the hulls to quiet the noise when it is on. But to do this, the power cord reel was eliminated. I do love my 45 ft, 30 amp cord that winds into the trailer with a push of a button. Sure, there were QC issues at the beginning as the company went through the slow maturation process to where they are today. But since the first Ollie graced the roads of this nation, the company has stood by their "Trailer to Last a Lifetime" idea and always made it right for the customer. Even second owners are treated like part of the family. Now, with checks and double checks taking place throughout the building process. They have, indeed, come a long, long way in the Quality Control department. Some owners have minimal skills when it comes to turning a wrench or selecting the right widget for a mechanical job (take ME , for instance) Others are gifted with the ability to discern how something could be improved upon, and have the tools and wherewithal to make it so. Bless their hearts and thank goodness they are out there to improve their rig and help the Ollie be the best it can be. Some of their ideas make it into future Ollies and others stand as examples of how their unique rig has given The Starship Enterprise a run for its money in the "pizzaz" factor. It is apparent that recommendations for improvement are noticed by the company and incorporated when it is deemed feasible to improve the Ollies rolling off the line. But, we must realize not every good idea will make it to the production floor for a myriad of reasons. Ultimately, the company decides. It is nice, though, that they have and will likely continue to listen to us. Keep those ideas coming. Bottom line, to the original post of this thread, how is the quality control of an Oliver Travel Trailer? Has it improved over the years? You bet it has. This opinion is formed from my years as an early adopter of the Ollie and talks as well as face to face meetings with owners all over the country throughout the last ten years. Pete

Yes. About 4 years ago, I noticed a trashy looking nest at the bottom street side corner of my Elite's A/C. The mess was cleaned out using a 6 foot ladder, skinny grabbing tools, skinny poking items and several copious streams of water from the hose nozzle. A quick search on Google or Amazon will help you find several options for a cover for your specific A/C size. While a 6 ft ladder worked on my Elite, an Elite II may require a taller one. As long as you do not stand above the "do not stand above this step" line, ensure the feet are firmly grounded you should do OK unless you are accident prone. A spotter may be a good idea as well. My A'C sits way back on the trailer and was easily reached. These outer shells are very strong and load bearing if you need to "get up there". If that is the case, use a spotter to support the ladder as you ascend and descend. Also, be sure to remove any clothing items that might scratch the gelcoat, such as belts or shoes with metal buckles or eyelets. Have your spotter help guide your foot to the ladder as you descend. Slow and easy does it. Putting the cover on is a bit of a hassle but is better than having damage done. I only had minor damage done to some of the styrofoam around the unit. I caught it before anything major was done. Good luck and be careful.

I recently acquired a nice, small YETI cooler (ask ScubaRx) that's perfect for any cool items picked up on a long distance grocery run.

Greetings from Fairbanks, AK! I've been out wandering from Texas since April and have cleaned out the water exit pathways twice to prevent leaks. I use four items: A small brush; tweezers; pipe cleaners; and a compressed air can with one of those small red straw nozzles. I remove the screen and slide the window all the way left and right to access the channel. The compressed gets into all of the holes in the channel on the inside and sprayed in both directions from the outside slots. No leaks so far and I've been in a few frog chokers. I had no idea regular cleaning was required ten years ago (in my early Ollie days) and found out the hard way.

Greetings from Grand Prairie, Alberta! This is my third year up in Canada and I have found it to be a breeze (except for the Quebec Province where all of the signs are in French and some store personnel look at you like you're from Mars) Border crossing with a passport or border card is easy . . . bring NO firearms or ammo!! ATMs are all over, just like the states and will gladly give you Canadian dollars for a nominal fee, just like the states. The exchange rate is close to 1CND = .74USD. You'll quickly get used to the colorful paper denominations and coins that are similar in size to their US counterparts. Cell phone service is widespread. Check with your provider about coverage. I have a Version plan that includes Canada. Although my data plan is unlimited, after a lot of use, to may "throttle down" for the rest of the day. No biggie. All town libraries have great, high speed data flow, as do many fast food restaurants. Best of all . . . it's not as hot up here.

ENJOY!

Never Lube Bearings? Not....So....Fast....Moosebreath. I spoke to the Dexter Axle guru at the Ollie rally and inquired about the newfangled "Never Lube" bearing products on the market. He stated the "Never Lube" concept is for those folks with trailers who may take them out several times a year to a campground relatively close home. In this case, their need for maintenance would be very minimal, virtually making it a never-lube proposition. After asking him how that would apply to a guy like me, who takes his trailer out for 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year, he said that, in all honesty, the never lube bearings still need inspections and might need a major repair/replacement somewhere around 40,000 miles. So I figure I'll stick with my ten year old protocol of getting them inspected and repacked or replaced annually before I head out on a big wander. How about you?

I just received an email notification about a PM. Yippeeeee

Many years ago, my A/C drain problem was fixed by giving a firm tug to the tube as it exited the trailer. It straightened out a kink in the line and everything flowed nicely after that.

I did it just like that for years until a fellow traveller told me of a simpler method. Now, I simply pour the clorox directly into the water hose prior to hooking it up to the water bib at home. I find this to be easier and it cleans some bugs out of the water hose at the same time.

You'd smack the ground just as hard falling from 80 feet as 250 feet but the woohooo should be better up higher! Count me in - level 2 Anytime would be fine.

From John's customer service contact: My two monitors arrived today and shall travel with me this summer. I plan to use the small snack Zip-Lock baggies as an extra moisture / dirt barrier. I get so many good ideas from the forum. Thanks, ya'll!

My 2008 Tacoma Prerunner with a 4.0L V6 faithfully towed my Elite 18.5 over 112,000 miles. Because it currently has 236,000 miles on it and I go to some far away locations, I've recently purchased a new TV as an insurance policy. I've chosen a 2018 F150 FX4 with the 5.0L V8 and a six and a half food bed for more cargo space. The Tacoma is a proven performer but I wasn't sure about the newer, smaller 3.5L engine going the distance towing as much as I do. The extra cargo space will also come in handy. So far, the F150 gets the same or better mpg, not towing, as the Taco. Haven't tested it yet on a long trip pulling the trailer, but am hopeful on its performance under load.

The other lady does rather well, being one legged and in a high heel.

The Duo Mini Instant Pot is perfect for one or two people and you won't be stuck with a pile of leftovers. Leave your crockpot at home and bring this instead so you will also have a pressure cooker! It is versatile and easy to use. Very well made components. You can go exploring all day and come back to an aromatic crockpot delight or bring home freshly purchased ingredients and whip up a meal quickly in your safe, programable pressure cooker. I love mine.

Pete & Bosker are wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year. May all your camping dreams come true.

If you have retired your Ollie for the winter season and it is plugged in and you don't plan on using it until Spring, I would tend to let it stay and melt away when the temperature rises. If you want to use the panels for electrical production for your batteries or intend to do some winter camping, that's something else. The panels should be strong enough to withstand the snow. After all, they are installed on rooftops all over the country. Although they are silicone there is a bit of elasticity in them that aids in resilience against inclement weather conditions. Snow also cleans your panels. I have 43 panels on my roof and after a recent 2' snowfall melted away the panels were sparkling clean. Here's a good read on the subject https://energy.gov/eere/articles/let-it-snow-how-solar-panels-can-thrive-winter-weather

MY Tacoma has produced flawlessly for 235,ooo miles and still runs like a Swiss watch after towing The Wonder Egg for 112,000 miles. Since I tend to travel to far away places, I did not want to roll the dice much longer and potentially be stranded in the wilderness, so I though I'd retire my good steed and purchase a newer one. I chose the 5.0L V8 F150 for its potential longevity. I was not too sure about the F150 turbo boosted engines for extended mileage or the 3.5L engines found int the newer Tacos.

Sure looked pretty at my place the morning after the dusting.

It turns the water pump on or off, like the switch in the galley. Note - if you flip the outside water pump switch and do not return it to the original position, your inside galley water pump switch operation will be reversed. To use either of these switches, the water pump must be enabled on the master panel, just inside the door.

"We live in a rain forest" Ever consider moving? Just Kidding!!!! OK, your weep holes are clear, that's good. When was the last time (when it wasn't raining buckets outside) you slid your windows open wide and used compressed air and tweezers to blow out / pick out the seeds, pine needles, dirt, etc from your rubberized channel the window slides on? I neglected this many years ago and was confounded as to why the water would slide over the bottom railing. Well, the water did not have a clear pathway to get to the weepholes outside that I had already cleared with compressed air ... Duh! No problems since. On the other hand - I have no answer to the water coming in from the top. Hmmmmmmmmmmm . . . . . . ..

In my 2008 Ollie . . . pre super-de-duper latest technology insulation type, I added two 110 outlets between the shells and plugged in a couple of low wattage bilge heaters. When the air temp between the shells dips below 40 they come on until the intra-shell space reaches 50 degrees. Of course, this requires hookups to accomplish. We first leearned of this vulnerability when Mountainborn and Technomadia were caught in a tundra like blizzard and they both experienced problems near the outside shower area. Initally, I only had one bilge heater. But after getting stuck in a minus 6 degree wind chill for three days and having my water pump freeze (pre super-de-duper insulation) I added another heater between the shells on the curb side. Now I can tough it through the deep freeze as I plan which direction th roll outta there to a warmer place.

If you landed your helicopter longitudinally on your RV, with the tail boom hanging out the back, and then tied down the blades so they would not rotate, you could drive to your next destination and then go exploring with your own private air surveillance toy. Sweeeeeeeet

When my original vent cap became brittle from UV exposure, I replaced it with a cool looking one I saw on an Escape. It's the "360 Siphon RV Vent Cap" from Camping World. It uses the Bernoulli Principle, from fluid physics that says "a region of fast flowing fluid exerts lower pressure on its surroundings than a region of slow flowing fluid." This cap has no moving parts to develop noise issues. It works regardless of the direction the wind is blowing due to the convex shape on the underside of the top piece which causes the low pressure to develop. Before having it put on, I sprayed it with Krylon plastic paint for protection from UV damage. It required a bit of sculpting with the sealant due to the curvature of the Elite's roof on the curbside near the cap.

On my trip to Newfoundland this summer, I found the portable induction stove very handy to help with quick breakfasts outside and searing steaks in the evening after they rested in the sous-vide bath for an hour and a half to a perfect temperature of 129 degrees. It comes with a convenient canvas carrying bag and hides unobtrusively in the closet when not in use. If you must have consistent low temps for your recipes, Christmas is right around the corner, and a Vollrath would fit nicely down the chimney. Just saying . . .