Ollie-Haus

I’ve dealt with U.S. Truma on three occasions regarding warranty issues. Twice with our C73 portable cooler, both times they shipped out a new cooler no questions once it was determined the control system had failed. The third occasion was when the Aquago water heater outer cover plate had started developing cracks in various locations. They shipped a new cover plate and frame assembly immediately no charge. You usually have to wait in a queue for a while to speak to a representative, but they are more than happy to address your issue if possible on that call. Make sure to have your data plate information before you call.

This will only be our second winter owning the Oliver in Indiana. Temps here can be all over the map through the winter season. For that reason I thought it would be a fun experiment to install several sensors throughout the camper to have a running data log of seasonal temps in key areas. I also like the idea of being ready to camp year round, even if locally, if the weather is going to be decent say on holidays. I have winterized both winters at this point, but also leave a heater running in the camper set at around 50 degrees. Our camper sits in the driveway under the Calmark cover, and even when we have experienced temps in single digits and occasionally below zero, the basement spaces have always maintained above freezing with the access covers open. It’s nice if I decide to driveway camp in a snow storm just for the thrill of it, and go out to a relatively warm camper. Turn on the furnace and everything is toasty in 10 minutes. If/when we get the garage modified to make room for the camper inside, I would be very confident in doing as @ScottyGS has described without doing a full winterization. After all. If the power goes off at home in the winter, the house would be as big a concern as the camper, and we have contingencies for that in place. BTW, I’m using the Yolink brand of sensors with WiFi hub, and an older IPhone that stays permanently in the Oliver as a hot spot for monitoring. It adds only thirty dollars per month to our phone plan and has proven very reliable for this system. Anyway, my long winded $.02 of saying I like the way @ScottyGS is thinking. Edit: For anyone interested this is the system we’re using. It’s very effective for the price, and you can add as many sensors as you like. I have seven sensors including the cabin, basements, battery compartment, front under sink, refrigerator and outside under the propane cover. You can export the data every two months if you want to keep a permanent record. https://a.co/d/fjmAmBD

Hey Mike and welcome to the forum. I have to say that you are making the right choice for extensive exploration, as the Oliver will open doors that most other campers will not. The size and overall design are most conducive to state and national parks that often have size limits. Coming from a boating background you will very much appreciate the design of the Oliver as it lends itself more to a fiberglass boat design than a traditional stick built camper. Once you own an Oliver the rest just never measure up in quality and construction. There's a lot of discussion about tow vehicles, and for many reasons. I personally come from a background of towing larger trailers, horses and other livestock and equipment haulers, so I'm in the camp of get as much truck as you can afford. Lighter trucks that are properly equipped can be satisfactory, but come with the need to be more precise in loading and also limitations due to weight distribution needs, etc. With a heavy duty truck the Oliver is just something you hook up and tow with little complexity. Even adding extra gear in the truck has little effect and no cause for worry. As far as mentoring, I recommend your choice of YouTube camping channels. One that I highly recommend is one of the longest running camping channels on YouTube, Sean and Kristy's channel, https://www.youtube.com/@LongLongHoneymoon . They have covered everything imaginable from getting started, avoiding common problems, planning trips to understanding the dynamic of living in close quarters for extended trips. They even have great playlists that help you learn about specific topics over several videos. I hope you do make the leap to Oliver traveling, we love ours and can't wait for our next voyage. There is a Facebook page just for Olivers for sale that is a good place to find a used one if that interests you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OliverforSale . Otherwise I highly recommend going to the factory if that's possible for you and taking the tour. It will lock you in on the quality and value of the Oliver campers and you will meet some of the best people in the RV manufacturing industry. Good luck with your journey and please participate on the forum to seek out answers to your questions.

Glad to know you and Deb were able to adapt quickly to the situation and maintain some “normalcy”. Thanks for sharing your experience. This type situation is actually a real part of our decision to buy the Legacy Elite 2 with platinum lithium package. And it’s why I like to “driveway camp” regularly. During disaster events I want it to be second nature to use the Oliver to provide basic comfort and shelter while public systems are down. Having the tools/connections to use the Oliver to support other necessities at your home is difficult to throw together in the middle of a crisis. Setting up redundancy is very helpful.

Thanks for sharing all this great information John. We truly do have some very nice and enjoyable state parks and reservoirs. I'd like to add a suggestion for those that may have relatives or friends in the region. Many of Indiana's state parks also have inns with restaurants and also cabins. These are great parks for a stop over combined with a meet up with loved ones and they can stay comfortably at an inn or cabin to enjoy the outdoor experience together during the visit. Here's a couple links for all the information you may need to plan a rendezvous visit. BTW the new inn at Potato Creek State Park, which is under construction, will be a state of the art facility that anyone would enjoy, and it's being built directly adjacent to the campground. https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/inns/home/ https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/rates-and-fees/family-cabins-fees-and-reservations/

If you like to dry camp and boondock, I highly recommend the larger lithium package if you can find one with that option. Many have chosen to upgrade to lithium after the purchase and it's much more functional and seamless to get one with that system already installed from the factory. Not having one isn't a deal breaker, but it will save you a lot of work adding lithium later. Good luck. Do check the Facebook Group "Oliver Travel Trailer for sale". There are some good listings there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OliverforSale

A Forstner bit is a very clean way to cut holes in fiberglass. Make a very small pilot hole, 1/8", and then use the size you want the hole to be. Light pressure and run the drill at a medium speed. Forstner Bit Set

It was an exceptional rally, many hours renewing acquaintances and making many new friends with so much in common. It's really hard to grasp how you can have so much in common with so many people from every part of the country. It's a special community indeed. Site G34 is already reserved for another great rally next year! BTW I only got a couple phone pictures, geeze what a slacker! I will do better from now on.

Starting at $300 Gs!!! 😵 I'm thinking my Ollie is just fine.

Ours were missing as well. Just replaced with some of these (link) Silicone bumpers from Amazon. They work perfect and the extras are in the spare parts kit in the trailer.

Leave it to a mom to get your attention with properly timed "colorful" language! 🤣

Love it @ScubaRx. When it comes to fabrication, there's always a solution.

Thanks @rich.dev for the attached links. As was mentioned above, I also would advise against mounting a tray or box by the 1.25" receiver. There's a lot of dynamic load with an extended cargo tray, or bike rack for that matter. The single point Oliver hitch allows a lot of movement side to side and up and down. The two point mount used by those of us that installed boxes or trays inherently provides a high level of stability as well as a direct mount to the trailer main frame rails. Also the 2" sockets at those locations allow you to use a heavy wall 2" square tube which substantially increases the strength of those connections. Even mounted by the 2" tubes, you still use the hitch pins Oliver used to secure the bike rack mounting frame. This still allows the tray or box to be quickly removed for installing a bike rack or service needs. All this having been said, I still believe you should limit the total weight mounted to the back to the maximum that Oliver recommends. The tray or box mounted doesn't extend much farther from the bumper than a double bike rack would, so the loads should be somewhat similar to those exerted by two bikes mounted on the Oliver mount. But again the cargo box is mounted directly with two points that are extremely stable and secure. Just my thoughts. Edit: Additional thoughts. Regardless of your method of mounting a cargo box, clearance for the lid to open without hitting the spare tire cover must be considered. Also if you make the mounting tubes extend far enough into the frame sockets, you will be able to slide the box back far enough to remove the spare tire without completely removing the box from the trailer. This was very important to me because complete removal requires two people and sliding it back enough for tire access can be done by one person.

Hi Joe, At this time the best approach is to contact Oliver customer service and they will direct you the best route forward. For a dealer list, go to the Oliver home page, click on the shopping tools tab at the top of the page, then click on the gold "Find a Dealer Nearby" button on the upper left of the page.

Never had any doubts, but thanks for the update and reassurance!