Ollie-Haus

I find it perplexing that a few folks on the Oliver forum complain about restrictive practices on the Oliver Facebook page and other social media platforms, and then want to limit the scope of conversations and topics on this forum. I'll be the first one to say that some topics, language and view points can come across as distasteful, or inappropriate. But discussing different aspects of RVing in general is as far from those bad characteristics as a discussion could be. Complaining and even demanding the removal of any thread or conversation pertaining to any aspect of RVing comes across to me as most exclusive and distasteful, as long as the discussion maintains a respectful tone. There are a number of topics that I have found to be of little interest to me on this forum, so I don't bother to follow them. But topics of general interest about RV travels are always interesting to me. I'd rather read them here than have to search the net to find them. I hope that when we attend our first Oliver Rally we aren't made to feel like we can only talk about Oliver campers.

If they are pop-rivets, they can easily be drilled out and replaced. The tools to do this are very inexpensive and handy to have around. Edit: If you wanted to you could drill out the old rivets and replace with stainless steel machine screws with nuts on the back side for a more permanent fix. Ace hardware could supply exactly what you need for a few bucks.

Well based on the clarifications, I haven't read the information on the Oliver program site, that Matt has provided, I think the program is a definite improvement over the previous program. You will definitely realize a bigger monetary reward if you participate regularly, and a pre-paid debit is about the easiest way to transfer money to a recipient on a regular basis. It's the same as the HSA card I have to carry, only I can use this reward money on anything I want. If that's not good enough, step aside and leave it alone. Regarding the so called liabilities, we all invite strangers into our campers, cars, homes and lives in general and don't think twice about the liabilities, without a reward program. If you get to talking to a lawyer about the "possibilities" you will retreat to a padded room surrounded by barbed wire fences and no trespassing signs. I have no idea if I will participate once my Ollie arrives, it really isn't a driving interest for me. But having said that I have always been willing to share with folks the things I own if they are genuinely interested. I'm always willing to help educate people with the things I've learned and experienced and my door is always open to folks that show themselves as friendly and of a like mind. And no I don't hang around with lawyers, but have hung with a few "outlaws" throughout my life. 😆

That's really odd regarding hull# and vin delays. Josh White is our salesman and he told me as soon as our 50% cleared the bank the camper would be scheduled in the production schedule and the vin and hull number were assigned. Within about 4 days of dropping off the check Josh emailed the information to us. I was able to get my insurance quote with the vin in hand. And of course we registered for the rally as owners.

Moral of the story - never take the word or advice of a salesman trying to sell you a truck or RV as to its true capacities or capabilities. Know your equipment. Educate yourself to what you will need in the real world conditions you plan to use the equipment. And most of all, always build in a margin of safety. It's never worth trying to find the breaking point of your equipment.

And to add to what you stated above, If the owner would have taken his loaded truck including the motorcycle hanging on the back to a scale, he would have discovered his rear axil was grossly overloaded. With that much weight hanging aft the rear axil and the diesel engine in the front end with that extra long frame, it broke the frame at exactly the point that one would expect in those conditions.

I was thinking the same thing. The short hoses with the 90 deg fitting are obviously designed with this in mind.

That's an awesome looking rig you have there. I saw in your signature line that you already have a new truck that's pretty awesome but it still sounded funny saying it. Love the decked system. I've seen that on some YouTube RV channels and looks like a great way to organize gear in the bed and still be able to get to everything.

Getting a new regulator will make you feel good for being on the ball. Getting a new truck will put a smile on your face every time you have to go somewhere, or even look out in the driveway. 😉

Based on some of the design inadequacies of the Anderson hitch, I would highly recommend not using it if possible. The 2" Bulldog is more than adequate for the LE2. It's one of the strongest coupler designs on the market and many including myself have be pulling heavier trailers than an Oliver with 2" Bulldog couplers for years with no issues. Even thought we haven't picked our Oliver up yet, many have stated very clearly that the Oliver is one of the most stable travel trailers made. Sway control is a non-issue with these trailers. With an Anderson you are really only addressing tongue weight, which is very reasonable even for a loaded Ollie. One additional thought. Weight distribution hitches add complexity to the hitching process, and introduce stresses and limitations to maneuverability of the trailer when pulling. Maneuvering dips and rises in the road like railroad crossings, hills and dips in less improved roads like those in state and national parks and even more so in remote areas, can put extreme amounts of strain on the hitching components and vehicle and trailer frames. There are many vehicles that won't tow an LE2 safely without a WD hitching system, but that's a compromise to live with if one doesn't want to invest in a heavier vehicle. But if you can get by without one, and your 2500 series truck should be just fine with the standard hitch, you are much better off.

I'm liking this a lot. Generators are advancing rapidly in tech and features and there are dozens of manufactures. Honda no longer owns the "quiet generator" market, and amazingly they seem to be getting smaller at the same time they are getting quieter. I have two linkable Sportsman 2200w inverter gens I bought several years ago. I'm willing to bet they are Honda knock-offs but they were really cheap, and they have turned out to be very reliable. They almost always start on the first or second pull of the cord. They are very quiet, the specs say 53 db, and of course very light weight at about 48 pounds. Looking them up I found they are now duel fuel for propane operation, and they are on sale at Tractor Supply for about $500 each. Wish I didn't already own two of the older ones. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/sportsman-2-200-watts-dual-fuel-inverter-generator-gen2200dfi?cm_vc=-10005

I've seen a number of videos and articles on this topic. It makes me very nervous charging laptops and other lithium powered devices while not monitoring. We just take for granted that things will just work right always, and yet you hear more and more of garages and homes being destroyed by charging systems/batteries catching fire.

I would send Anita an email requesting your hull number and VIN. If you've paid your 50% these should have already been assigned. Our 50% payment cleared the bank today and Josh knew we were excited about getting the hull number so he sent an email today.

Well it took a few days but Josh just emailed me the VIN and Hull number of the Ollie-Haus which is #1373. Another step has been checked off and now to just get through the winter months. Woohoooo!

You nailed it regarding the rear stabilizer bar with regard to camper certified. That is the primary addition, as well as heavy duty springs including overload leaves. I really don't know if there is any difference in the axle, probably not. There's also most likely included a camper wiring harness and plug in the bed to power the camper. And of course the obligatory load rating sticker and supplemental manual for guidance on properly loading and securing the camper. You may get lucky and find a suitable truck on a dealer lot with the camper package included. There's still orders showing up at dealers for the MY 22s. Good luck!

John, you and I have about the same build. My big concern and probably the Op's is how I would fit and feel inside the Ollie. Most travel trailers are a close fit for anyone over 6ft. At 6'2" many travel trailers just clear the top of my head and overhead items like AC, vent and doorways often come in contact. It was and is refreshing that the E2 doesn't have that problem and with the bright interior it just feels more spacious. With our visit the other day to finalize our order details I finally put it all to rest as far as fit and comfort. The beds are perfect for both of us, the dinette works just fine and like you said the overall size of the trailer is still sized for easy travels down the road. The bath is a little tight but I've never camped out in the bath much and this will be conducive to conserving water during showers. In and out quick. The term I would use to describe the inside of the LE2 is cozy and comfortable.

Thanks for the recommendation. I saw the restaurant you mentioned last evening when scoping out the area. Will give it a shot after our visit at Oliver.

I'm in the same camp as @Rivernerdin that I'm more interested in having the "support components" installed by Oliver than worried about the equipment being outdated or premium priced. If we keep the camper for more then 3 years any tech equipment could become outdated but we won't have to reinvent the installation, just upgrade a component here or there. We arrived in Hohenwald this evening to finalize our order with Josh tomorrow and many of my decision for certain add-ons will be made based on the difficulty of adding those items later as opposed to taking the easy route, albeit more expensive, but still much less difficult than after the fact.

In the process of educating myself on the topic of maintaining our future lithium battery system, it became quickly obvious that temperature control is a key to longevity of lithium batteries. We have another system in our world that requires constant temperature monitoring in the winter to not shorten its life and that's a hot tub. If the circuit trips or a cord is unplugged by chance the tub and its pump would become an ice block in a couple days in sub freezing temps. In my place of work we monitor temps in many applications 24/7/365. Once I recognized the need for our hot tub I simply went on line to an instrument company and found a recording temperature data logger that was reasonably priced that would fulfill my needs. Well my and our needs to monitor the temps of our Oliver lithium battery system during winter storage is another perfect application of a recording temp monitor. The one in the link I'm providing is relatively inexpensive in the world of recording data logging devices and really easy to install and use. The beauty of this one is it can either be battery powered (rechargeable) or plugged into 110v with an adaptor (think shore power) and the device connects via wifi to the web for continuous cloud storage of regular temperature readings. That data is always accessible via the cloud storage site and can email temp deviations below or above chosen set points. Definitely not a requirement for a lithium battery system but very helpful, especially in a warranty situation because you own a verifiable temperature record of your stored battery system. See what you think if it sounds useful to you. Edit: Of course you could also use the same device to monitor temps in the bilge area for preventing frozen water systems. https://www.dataq.com/products/lascar/el-wifi/el-wifi-tp-data-logger.html

Just the two of us this year. The food coma will soon commence! 😵😆

You do enough mods and accessory add-ons that you may find this item useful in some situations. It's also available from the above mentioned Video supplier: https://www.camerasource.com/products/universal-intelligent-12volt-power-source

For anyone that needs a trailer camera workaround, these folks offer some wiring solutions. Here's an example that applies to the '13-'20 f150 with 8" screen: https://www.camerasource.com/products/commercial-second-cam-option-for-ford-trucks-w-8-factory-display?make_filter=6011&model_filter=6108&year_filter=6284

I have the Ford accessory trailer camera, but no Oliver yet. The camera comes with a wire harness the runs from the trailer camera to the video plug at the bumper. It will be a direct feed to the dash screen. This is a sample picture provided by Ford for the view on the dash from the Trailer cam: Ford also offers TPMS sensors for the trailer as well that integrate on the dash with the truck TPMS system. They can all be ordered in the same kit.

Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone. So much to be thankful for. And thank you @Katjo for starting the thread. 😉

Thank you @Rivernerd for the detailed delivery report. Having worked in manufacturing my whole life I understand the challenges in quality control and continuous improvement that Oliver like all companies goes through. Not to excuse issues that are obviously preventable, but it is refreshing to see the positive response and quick resolution provided by Oliver. That second part is rare in much of the RV industry today. We're months away from delivery day of our LEII, and much homework needs to be done for us to feel ready and confident in taking delivery. These are much more complex vehicles and systems than the RVs of our past. We are pretty savvy when it comes to tech and connected systems and devices, but there's still an obvious learning curve for each new system and app. On that note and in an effort to not reinvent the wheel, do you have a punch list of items you would be willing to share with folks to help us be prepared for delivery day? The search function is cumbersome at best on the forum and finding all the essential items to check may result in key items missed otherwise. Regardless I'm going to be digging deep in the weeks ahead but anything you have would be greatly appreciated. Chris