Frank C

I have the electronic door keypad with remote fob, the awning remote control, the MaxAir fan remote, and also a TireTraker TPMS system (installed after delivery) and so far no problems that I’ve noted.

I have the flooded lead acid battery setup (4 of the 12volt FLAs in parallel). I considered the Honda EU1000i (MSRP $1099) but it’s still very expensive, almost the same price as the EU2200i (MSRP $1399). I’d rather have the overkill 🙂, so it can be used for additional generator needs around the house, etc.

I’m not looking to run the air conditioner or microwave. Just looking for battery charging for running the DC accessories like the water pump, lights, fans, jacks. And thanks for the Honda recommendation! 👍🏻

Just some trivia for a discussion topic. I’ve been looking to purchase a small inverter generator to carry on long extended camping road trips, and in comparing specs and reviews, the Honda series consistently comes out as a top choice (but pricey!). One interesting detail is the engine displacement comparison. The Honda has a significantly larger engine for the given wattage compared to the lower cost competitors. Probably explains a lot about the reliability and noise advantages of the Honda. The larger gas engine just doesn’t have to work as hard. Couldn’t find any any info on the engine horsepower ratings of each brand though. Maybe it’s on the data plate on the unit itself (there’s a direct relationship between engine horsepower and potential maximum wattage of the generator). Larger engine displacement typically means more torque, and more torque means lower RPM needed to achieve a particular horsepower. HP= torque in lb-ft x RPM/5252 1 HP=33,000 lb-ft/min=746 watts Comparison: Home Depot Ryobi 2300 watt - 79cc. ——— Harbor Freight Predator 2000 watt - 79cc. ——— Honda EU2200i 2200 watt - 121cc. ——— Champion 2500 watt - 79cc. ——— WEN 2500 watt - 80cc. ——— Craftsman 2500 watt - 98cc. ———

Sounds like a mis-communication. We have shown our Oliver multiple times through the “see an Oliver” program to potential buyers before they placed any order or made any down payment. Some did end up ordering a new trailer afterwards, one couple didn’t want to wait for a new one and found a used one after visiting ours, and others didn’t buy one.

Tubs were the original Oliver family fiberglass business. The trailer builds came after and were a VERY low volume business, more a “labor of love” as a side business (hobby?) to the main business of the fiberglass bathtub operation, rather than a full blown volume trailer manufacturer like Airstream. But that tub manufacturing gave Oliver a very strong knowledge base and manufacturing experience with fiberglass to do the trailers successfully (just look at the Airstream business disaster with their fiberglass Nest trailer). Each early Oliver trailer was unique and customized based on customer input (shout out to Steve L.) with a lot of experimentation on different options (different color hulls, bed storage risers and nightstand safe are a few examples) and even some different layouts (there is at least one early Oliver with a basement access door on BOTH sides of the trailer with full width basement storage). It took Oliver over 10 years to reach the first 500 hulls built. When we took delivery in 2019 (Hull 461) they were still only building about one to two a week, and that’s how they built their reputation for providing very personal relationships with their customers. The demand for Oliver trailers went way up as the RV camping craze boomed during the pandemic, to the point that Oliver had to adopt more of a true production line type of manufacturing, with reducing / eliminating some options, combining options into “packages”, no more customization, etc.

Thanks for the info. But some of that is either misleading or wrong. Harbor Freight is an American company but the Predator generators are built in China and imported, like almost all HF products. Companies will use wording like “designed in USA” (Apple does this a lot) to give a more positive impression.

An Airstream concept trailer. No production date projected, and combining Airstream and Porsche means this will be a REALLY expensive little trailer. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a43234914/airstream-porsche-camping-trailer-concept-sxsw/

Anyone have any firsthand experience with the Harbor Freight Predator series of generators? Very inexpensive but if it’s like other Harbor Freight products, the reliability may be suspect. Mostly good reviews on the HF site though.

Yep, after a couple of close calls with mine trying to run away and become a wild free range cover, it’s now on a short leash. It never unthreaded on its own though. The close calls were due to me leaving it laying on top of the doghouse when getting ready to leave a campground. Stainless tether from Amazon, link below. Problem solved. https://a.co/d/5ipX5mE

The first example has an error in the charge time formula. It’s using watts instead of converting that to amps by dividing by the panel output voltage. The second example does that. Compare the two charge time formulas. An example of why AI is not to be trusted. It very confidently gave a wrong answer. And in the real world there are other factors as well. The 390Ah rating of the batteries is a discharge capacity rating. Charging is different in that there are different phases of the charge process cycle with different voltage and current values depending on how deeply the battery is discharged. The battery charger also has a maximum limit on the battery charging current as well. A generator with 2000 watts output will charge the batteries faster than a 400 watt solar panel, but it won’t be 5 times faster.

I check mine a couple times a year, anytime I have the trailer jacked up with the wheels off the ground, for doing bearing maintenance and suspension greasing. And the mechanic checks it as well during the annual Pennsylvania state safety inspection required on trailers here in Pennsylvania. I think the official recommendation is to test it before every trip, but I doubt most owners actually do that. It is an easy test though. Just pull the cable until the black plastic pin comes out of the breakaway switch. That activates the emergency brakes. At that point you should not be able to spin the wheels. After you test them, just make sure you put the plastic pin back in place correctly, otherwise the electric brakes will drain the trailer batteries. Once the pin is reinserted, that shuts off power to the emergency brake circuit and the tires should spin freely.

Not a good choice. The empty dry weight of a bare bones no options Elite II is 4,900 lbs. That’s completely empty with no options at all. We have minimal options (no solar package, no second awning, no front storage basket) and our Elite II has a dry weight of 5,100 lbs on the factory sticker. Loaded up for camping we are close to 6,000 lbs with a full fresh water tank. Some owners are over 6,000 lbs. because of their options and accessories. That RAM towing capacity doesn’t give much of a safety margin.

There normally shouldn’t be any odor. As suggested, check all the vent pipe connections, and you may also want to pull up the toilet and see if the mounting flange is broken. We had an odor issue and traced it to a broken toilet mounting flange that was creating a small leak into the hull area under the bathroom floor and onto the top of the black tank. Oliver uses an all plastic toilet mounting flange that seems prone to breakage. I replaced it with a metal ring toilet flange. Problem solved, no more odor. Fortunately we only use the camper toilet for #1. #2 is done at campground facilities or roadside rest stops, so the clean up and repair wasn’t too disgusting.

You should probably consult with your doctor as soon as possible. You are exhibiting the early symptoms of Ollie fever 🙂.

The other one at 3:11 isn’t an Oliver (note the window on the front of the trailer). It’s one of the other similar white fiberglass hull campers, Casita, Escape or Scamp, but they are part of the fiberglass camper extended family 🙂. And the one at 3:43 is the same one as the 3:11 mark, the road just looped around back to that one.

Mine had cracked, and judging by the pink discoloration, the cracking was probably due to the winterizing anti-freeze. I couldn’t find just the clear bowl/screen part available as a replacement so I just ordered the entire assembly that John linked above, and swapped out the bowl/screen. When you do replace the bowl, make sure that the O-ring is in place and properly seated when you install the new bowl, otherwise air can get sucked in and prevent the pump from priming.

I use this Thetford drain valve lubricant in both the black and gray tanks to lubricate the valves. So far no stuck valves. https://a.co/d/4RTsboO

There are multiple categories of forum threads. The General Discussion forum says “feel free to talk about anything”. Adds some interesting topics. Otherwise we’d spend all our time just discussing what the best tow vehicle is 😂.

Correct, there are the 16 that you have circled. The 4 (2 each) on the two EZflex couplers are very well hidden and hard to get to. Removing the tires makes it a lot easier to reach those ones.

There’s no definitive ideal tow vehicle, but there are definitely wrong choices. As an example, the Ford F-150 can either be a great tow vehicle or a poor choice, depending on the specific engine configuration, options package, etc. The payload rating and towing capacity rating vary widely depending on how the truck is equipped. Depending on how it’s configured, an F-150 can have a payload as low as 1,100 pounds or as high as 3,300 pounds, and a towing capacity rating as low as 8,000 pounds or as high as 12,000 pounds. And it’s a similar situation for the other vehicles you mentioned. You need to look at the details for the exact truck / vehicle you are considering. And yes, a vehicle equipped with a trailer tow package (including a trailer brake controller) is highly recommended and pretty much required. The factory trailer tow package offered on most suitable vehicles typically includes the trailer hitch receiver, the 7 pin electrical connector, and a trailer brake controller. We had previously towed with a Ford Expedition (with factory tow package and trailer brake controller) and a Nissan Armada (with factory trailer hitch and wire harness but aftermarket trailer brake controller added). Both were large full size body on frame SUVs, but we found them both to be “less than ideal” for towing our Elite II and hauling all of our camping gear. Now towing with an F-250 with factory trailer towing package including trailer brake controller, no more worries about payload or towing capacity issues.

Hi John, so far the silicone edge seal has been watertight, but I also have a shower curtain setup I made that covers part of the vanity as well, so it’s not getting a lot of water running over the cubby anyway. And I did not make any changes to the ductwork in the vanity at all, just cleaned up the wiring a bit as shown in the original post.

Very interesting. Imagine two of those (curbside and street side), ~2,400 watts with two (under ideal conditions), but that would power a LOT of appliances & accessories. No charging while driving though since the awnings would be retracted, but still a very cool product. Hope it succeeds.

I’m surprised you are still noticing any strong “glue like smell” on a 6 to 7 year old trailer. Everything should have outgassed long ago. The “new Oliver trailer smell” of fiberglass resin & adhesive was gone from our Ollie after about 6 months or so. You may want to thoroughly check all the systems (plumbing leaks, electrical/batteries, etc.) and make sure there isn’t something still generating that odor. If you are using any type of chemical treatment in your black or gray tank it could be a leak & odor from that. We had an odor issue under the dinette seats that ended up being a broken toilet mounting flange that was leaking very slowly onto the top of the black tank and between the hulls. Thankfully we don’t do #2 in the trailer bathroom, #1 only, so cleanup and installing a new toilet flange wasn’t too bad of a job. #2 is done at roadside rest stops and at campground bathrooms. Never had any other odor issues since then.

I don’t have the factory solar package (but I do have the wiring), so not sure if this will help, but there is the master DC 60 amp breaker and another smaller 20 amp resetting breaker (under the red rubber cover), for the DC circuits under the street side bed that you can check for proper voltages as part of your troubleshooting.