Rivernerd

As Oliver's tire purchasing practices seem to be in flux, I would wait until you actually take delivery of your trailer before purchasing tire covers. Those tires won't be exposed to much UV between the time you get back home to order tire covers and when the correct size tire covers arrive. I wouldn't risk ordering the wrong size just for those few days of exposure.

It depends on whether you consider ebay reputable. I have purchased from sellers with multiple 100% positive ratings before, with good results. The $66 price tag would interest me, compared to $124 from etrailer: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144977315480?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1LXuh-QgGSqeAryZhSSnfng90&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=144977315480&targetid=1644837435723&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=9029558&poi=&campaignid=16743749222&mkgroupid=138744546207&rlsatarget=pla-1644837435723&abcId=9300842&merchantid=6296724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsNjQr5Po_QIVYAWtBh2ZbATpEAQYAiABEgIVePD_BwE

I find the standard tank heaters on the Cortes intriguing. Some folks would love to have those on Olivers. Oliver aggressively markets their products as "4-Season Travel Trailers," yet offers no tank heaters. Does anyone have experience with tank heaters? Are they 120V only? If so, not much help when on the road on below-freezing temps. If 12V, how large a battery bank is required to operate them?

What were your questions, and what were Mike's answers to them?

You have precisely described the leak we found in our Hull #1291 the day after delivery. When we took it back to Oliver, they also sealed the roof penetrations, which seems to have solved the leak issue. I wonder if Oliver has yet figured out that all screws that penetrate the roof must be sealed during manufacturing to avoid leaks from the Truma AC unit?

One of my concerns when opting for the Truma water heater, AC and furnace package in our Hull #1291 was service. I knew that Truma will sell repair parts only to "authorized" RV service centers, including the Oliver "Mothership." Living in the Idaho mountains, I do most of my own auto and RV repair work. I figured that in the event of a failure, if I can't get Truma parts, I can just replace the entire Truma unit with, for example, a Fogatti water heater or RecPro air conditioner. But, the way Truma "whipsawed" you by withdrawing the AC install offer after you had towed your Oliver 5 hours one way, takes customer disservice to an entirely new low. Thanks for posting about this outrage. Anyone considering anything Truma, beware!

My quick Google search suggested that your V6 Highlander should have at least 1485 lbs. of payload capacity. 4700 lbs. of Legacy Elite I will likely result in at least 470 lbs. of trailer tongue weight. That leaves about 1000 lbs. of payload capacity for 3 passengers+gear. IMHO, this is within the safe range as long as you are not carrying 3 NFL linemen. But, I would strongly recommend an Andersen weight distribution hitch.

Have you done a thorough inspection? How does the build quality compare to your former Airstream?

Last November, I, too, looked forward to the opportunity to thoroughly inspect the build quality of our new Elite II. I found several issues while camping over a long weekend at David Crockett State Park. It took two work days, but they were all promptly addressed by the Oliver Service team once we returned the trailer to Hohenwald the following Monday. My report of that experience is detailed here: I am looking forward to your post-delivery report, given your experience and training. I expect I will learn things that enable me to address potential issues while our Elite II is at home with access to all of my tools, rather than out on the road.

I shared your concern, based on those same threads, until I took delivery of our 2022 Elite II, Hull #1291, last November. My inspection of the factory wiring, bus bars and other electrical components visible through the access ports and hatches in our trailer appears to me to be done with greater care, and often with higher quality components, than are shown in John Davies' photos from his 2017 Elite II. This suggests to me that Oliver has raised the production quality of the electrical installations in the interim. It made my feel a bit better about paying so much more in 2022 that Oliver was charging back in 2017! In fact, my impression upon inspection was that the electrical issues noted in John Davies' many posts appear to have been passed on to the "right" people at Oliver, and that they have since implemented needed improvements in component and production quality. Time will tell if our 2022 electrical system is less trouble prone than earlier models. Ollie-Haus, I hope you are pleasantly surprised by the quality of the electrical components and work in your 2023. As you are obviously more knowledgeable about such things than I am, I look forward to reading your observations following delivery!

When sizing tow vehicles to trailers, the issue is not just how fast you can pull the trailer up a steep hill. It is overall control, particularly in emergency situations. Undersized tow vehicles have smaller braking systems, which can make the difference between an accident and a near miss. On the road, I steer clear of big trailers which appear to me to be hitched to undersized tow vehicles, for that very reason. Then there is the legal liability issue. This Motor Trend article is instructive: https://www.motortrend.com/features/1703-tow-ratings-and-the-law-discussing-limits-of-trailer-size/

Oliver does not recommend blowing out the water system with compressed air. Instead, Oliver recommends winterizing with RV antifreeze. That is what I would do, following Oliver's winterizing video:

Wow! I would have jumped on that deal too! Congratulations!

Yes, since we returned home from Hohenwald last November. It will not be out in the weather until mid-April, when we will be camping on the Oregon coast. That could be a good test for the roof.

I have no idea. I have not had a reason to examine the installation of our Truma AC unit because we have had no leaks since the Oliver Service team re-sealed the roof penetrations back in November. I note that Oliver installs many things to the fiberglass hull using wood screws, like the portholes. Maybe the 5mmx120mm wood screws go through the outside housing of the Truma AC, screw into holes in the inside housing, and thus draw the two housings together, sandwiching the hulls between them? I plan to figure out how it works if and when a problem arises. But, if your experience educates you about how it all goes together, please share!