BackofBeyond

Who did you get the white unit from? RB

Any one put a micrometer on one - yes it looks worn, but what does the data say??? Under the Anderson system, wear seems to be a designed in parameter. The physics of the design leads to the inevitable. RB

Ahh - a topic with clear non opinionated choices - not! Like JD, I would love a diesel comparable big block gas fueled TV. I researched the GM offering, and the Ford too, but came away with similar conclusions - still not there in performance. Price wise, sure, but not in actual real world heavy duty towing. With the last GM labor strike, and now the Covid shutdowns, the availability of future product will be greatly limited. 2020 will be a small production run, for everyone, and 2021 - who knows. Perhaps prices will moderate - due to reduced demand, but still a lot of $$$$$$. I would imagine the used-preowned market would be hot - with prices inflated to match. A good possibility - the OEM's jump a year or two in product cycle improvement - and 2021 offerings are significantly upgraded from past offerings. A 2500 rated diesel Toyota 4wd, would be something I would take a look at, but it seems more a pipe dream. Stay safe, RB

My son has a similar vehicle, and he acknowledges that although he loves it for 90% of his use, its not the best for heavier weights on the towing front. This with a good diesel power train, with appropriate chassis would be fun to see. I am not sure why Toyota has resisted anything in this segment, probably investment return, however, perhaps one day.

https://www.pellandent.com/RV-Window-Seal I'm still waiting on delivery.

It is not much help - but I have offered rv space on my property to a few traveling Oliver owners. (just hit me up - we are in Mid TN.) Water and sewer, and with a little Macgyver-ing, 120 service. Any port in a storm - six foot rule - not with standing.

Perhaps overall quality has improved - only Oliver knows for sure (data, data, data) - and I hope they have internal as-built data to compare to the repair data, and are responding accordingly. I am jaded here, as my professional life was in the manufacturing and quality arena. I took two tours, and although i was impressed by the design and resulting build of the Oliver- their built-in quality and systems processes were not where I would have imagined - but from what I've since discovered - miles ahead of most RV manufacturers. As Landrover commented - "I'm hull #484 delivered last June way before for the COVID-19 many items quality control missed, obvious errors. At delivery one major. Then many after i got the unit home. " - and there are, as stated by others, many other anecdotal accounts of initial quality concerns For me personally - I'm happy Oliver does have a great service and warranty department - I've used it several times - and have been more than satisfied, but honestly, that only dampens the disappointment due to initial quality fails as a new owner. (not referring to any issue with components)." Don't know where they are two years later - but I continue to support them and their effort. Sure - I am reserving final judgement, but delivery doesn't have anything to do with the shortcomings in the documentation - nor would I think a no-incident delivery would have caused the issues as described. It would be great if it turns out to be a loose connection or similar breakdown. And finally - we do see a good deal of new and soon to be Oliver Owners perusing this Forum - and each post/topic of this sort - I'm sure, drives a little uncertainty/apprehension in the minds of these folks. ----- So to these folks - I am very happy to own my Oliver, it is a good to great TT, and as you will find, it draws attention everywhere you go, on the road and in the camp. Take a critical eye to your delivery experience, and I am certain you to - will also come to love your Ollie. Sorry to be so long, Happy Trails all. Be safe out there. RB

I must say this is very disappointing. As Oliver is touted by many as a premium level RV, the delivered product should arrive in near perfect order - in both appearance and function. I understand the RV industry is - on my opinion - pretty lax when it comes to initial quality and long term reliability - but I expect a $60k plus TT to be - if not perfect at delivery, at least have a functioning lighting system. Jeesh.. I'm sorry to hear about your Oliver troubles - frankly it disappoints and bothers me personally. I won't belabor the point any longer - OLIVER dropped the ball on this unit. RB After my initial musings, I felt compelled to follow-up with this - New customers - with a future delivery - be relentless and thorough in your review and inspection at delivery - don't accept less than satisfaction.

Aren't most mini splits 220 volt?

Just go drive them. I must admit, there are way to many bells and whistles on most of them. I was set on a Ford, ended up with a GMC and have been very happy with it to date. I may look at the 2021's in DEC 2021... til then the current one will be touring the country - Corona permitting... John - no start stop on the 2500 GMC. or any other 3/4 I'm aware of.

Glad to have you here and considering an Oliver. We camp with a large Chessie (90lbs +), and we are used to his presence and the effort it takes to bring him along. I would not consider two of him. If Harley was not family - he would not be our third. But honestly, life is more fun with him around, so we deal with the extra work he entails. The Oliver is great TT. It's not perfect, its got a great reputation, and exceptional factory support, along with an owners group that is always there to help a new owner. I've had mine almost 2 years - I'm mostly satisfied - with the few complaints minor, and I'm confident much less than I would find with a competing prospect. RB

FYI - Seems its inevitable - all public camping will be curtailed. "Tennessee State Parks will transition to day-use schedules for all 56 state parks, opening daily from 7 a.m. - 6 p.m. The new schedule goes into effect on March 26 and will be in place until at least April 10. During this period, all public gathering spaces such as visitor centers, shelters and playgrounds at state parks will be closed. Additionally, parks cabins, lodges and campgrounds close. Future reservations with arrival dates between now and April 9 will be canceled. The parks will waive cancellation fees during this time."

Nothing that exciting - mostly related to storage solutions and sleeping comfort. But right now the ability to get things shipped to me - will curtail the effort. If I could figure out a way to cool Ollie with out employing the jet plane on the roof - it would be number 1 on the list. So far my best solution is elevation! and season. Good fortune to all.

Topgun, I did a visual on the battery terminals, and the all ready lubed pigtail , checked the alarms, but no change in battery, caulking looks fine, and I don't generally lube dry hinges, just to much mess later. Thanks for the follow-up. Mossey - No I did the work inside the garage - to cold most of the time, and the darn rain storms have been endlessly tormenting us. Ollie is back out in her home, but I'm gonna put a small tarp over the top, damn birds seem to love the cubbie holes. Ken - I'll get a pic off to you - or post here. Thanks folks.

With the Covid 19 suggested travel restrictions keeping me home and properly distanced - I took the time to put Oliver in top shape: 1. Greased all fittings, repacked and replaced (one side) wheel bearings. 2. Verified all chassis fastener torques. includes the Dexter recall. 3. Rotated tires - front to rear, one rear to carried spare, one rear to "extra spare" . The trailer carried spare to front, and second spare to other front. (I purchased a second spare with my Oliver purchase.) So - two new tires to front, fronts now rear, spares are former rears. Basically a 13k rotation. 4. Washed and waxed Ollie. Used the Meguiar's Flagship Premium Marine Wax. I actually believe I prefer the regular Meguiar's. 5. Put a threaded "stop" on the powered antenna - it rotated around, a loose fit by design. Now it is secure and locked in place. 6. Pulled AC shroud off. Removed the bird nest detritus , waxed the shroud, replaced. 7. Added new gutters to all windows - the ones mentioned in other forum posts. I used a electric blanket to warm them up sufficiently and cleaned the surface with 3m cleaner. They are very secure - to my delight. 8. Enlarged the drain holes on the three side windows. (Just the ones on the "slide" glass) . Same rectangular look, just about 75% larger. 9. Added a bolt "stop" to the battery tray. Keeps the tray locked in place should the latch fail. I have seen one fail first hand in a friends Ollie. 10. Replaced batteries in all the remote Temp sensors. 11. Tested all the systems - except AC. Readied all systems for "GO". Sanitized the water system. 12. Thoroughly cleaned the interior, removed the excess floor glue that bugged me since purchase. 13. Bleach cleaned the window outside inserts, to almost new white condition - my new black ones are on back order...... Found my tire covers......... What did I miss? Other than a few "upgrades" I am contemplating..... RB

Update - So, with a popular State park just a few miles down the street, we took a drive through the Camping areas out of curiosity (after a hike on the remote trail) To my surprise there were a fair amount folks enjoying the park. From the number of "reserved" notices on the site poles, the place was pretty full last (50%) weekend. License plates included were AL and TN mostly, but also a NY. probably about 20-30% full on a Tuesday. The sites are fairly dispersed, plenty of space. The park's trail system runs from paved walkways in the forest, and near the roads, and a couple that are true backpacking - out and back 20 miles plus. I regularly run one of these, and I am usually the only one (The dog and I) on the remote trail, however, the paved walking paths are seeing some daily activity, and yes, the folks are maintaining their distancing. Seems as work is off limits, fresh air and space is a good alternative. Be safe out there, keep active, maintain your social distance, and try to maintain your sanity. RB

I'll check my manual, what else have I to do today, under duress and rain... Ain't no Covid 19 around this casa.

Yep, I bought a case, good stuff. i also carry a standard grease gun, and spare tube with me on the longer trips, wrapped in a rag, inside a plastic bag, in the bottom of the tool box, under the rear bed cap..... I must admit, I haven't kept to the 3K schedule, perhaps somewhat longer intervals... Everyone stay sane and safe. RB

It is without doubt that we will see the rise in cases as predicted, but accordingly, it will fall, as predicted, and eventually life will return to normal - whatever that is/was. But I am as confident, the vast majority of Americans will do the correct things, and as a whole we will keep the "curve" under control. Ollie will sit - waiting for the all clear to travel signal. Guess I'll get to that garden - time to plant a few things. Best wishes to all, RB.

Seems a few states are just beginning to respond = NC is shutting down state parks, I would believe in time, many will follow. It appears we are looking at an almost full stop effort to keep people movement and gathering to a minimum for at least until April - or later.

This is my last post to this topic : here is the reply from Timken, and it settles the issue. From the Timken rep: "Russell- thank you for submitting the photos. After reviewing the identification data shown in the photos I can confirm that the product shown in the photos is genuine Timken product manufactured in the USA in mid-late 2019 and appears to have been stored adequately. I would only be speculating as to how RBV Bearings sourced this product outside of normal procurement channels since RBV is an unauthorized distribution source. Going forward I would be cautious of any distribution source that does not clearly state they are an authorized Timken distributor." RBV should be RDV, purchased through Amazon.

To be clear - I am a mid summer "chicken" with the a mindset of a - I'm just breaking out of my shell !! Yes this epidemic is a little over blown, but by and large the activities I engage in, with and without my Oliver, are not usually in a crowd or gathering atmosphere. Social distancing, who knew? Now I have a name for it. What is evident, with our current cultural norm, seemingly, being a reactive animal, folks are doing just as I imagined, and panicking at the last min. But the bright spot, you can always stay in the Oliver when the last of the services go off line... just kidding, about the off line thing...sort of, RB

Ken, After changing the out left side in my garage, I totally agree. bearings are simple, replacing the races, is not so easy - esp on the side of the road, or in a rv park. RB

I think I'll just cheap out and use a gallon freezer bag.

Like many Oliver owners, and forum lurkers - I repack my own wheel bearings, grease the chassis, and anything else that needs doing. Recently I did my wheel bearings, Dexter has a decent video on the topic if your so inclined, and I ended up replacing both sets on the left side of my Oliver. Once I clean them really well - I do a close inspection to ensure they are good to go back on. I found some indication of damage - these are the bigger inside bearings. If you look opposite the black dot- between the black lines you can see what I'm referring to. You cant see it, but where the indention is on the top side between the rollers is a polished spot, indicating it rubbed on the bearing race. I'm not sure if they were manufactured this way, or if damaged during assembly. I put new Timken's in their place. So perhaps some of the failings we have read about may have come about from this sort of longer term wear. These had 13K miles on them, the bearing cups/races looked fine. Hope this is of interest to ya'll. RB