Cameron

Hi Two Stooges, I also was going to wait until I retired to get the Oliver, but changed my mind and got it now. I was three years out from retirement when I bought it. I decided not to wait for a few reasons: 1. trailers keep getting more expensive 2. i'd rented a couple trailers on Outdoorsy and it killed me to pay that money when I knew I'd eventually have my own trailer 3. i wanted to stage it in the mountains at a friend's place and use it as a tiny home for weekend getaways One one hand, I can't use it nearly as much now when I'm still working vs. when I'm retired. On the other hand, I'm getting plenty of enjoyment even on my limited schedule.

Just now saw this post, missed it the first time. Wow. Super cool. I'd bet that you are the only Oliver owner with a flag pole on your rig, and maybe even one of very few trailer owners anywhere with that setup!

I keep my Ollie about 3 hours away up in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Last time I left it, the fresh water tank was half full and the batteries were turned off. I'm planning to go up in another week or 10 days and hopefully everything is okay, with no frozen or burst pipes or lithium battery malfunctions. I would have loved to have been in it during the snow storm, warm and cozy.

congratulations! however much time do you have scheduled to pick up your trailer, plan on more time, slow everything down, ask lots of questions, and try to look at each and every component. turn all the switches on and off, and make sure everything works as it should. that includes turning the fridge on and off, putting it on natural gas and electricity, and also turning the furnace on and making sure hot air comes out of all of the vents.

I love that this is always a popular topic of conversation. No squeamishness among Ollie owners! I picked up our trailer in late July this year and the two of us used the composting toilet every day for about 20 days. We were in western states in very hot temps. The pee bottle smelled sometimes when full but not the toilet. We then parked the trailer where we're storing it at a friend's property in northern California. Also a hot dry area. During storage we turn off the lithium batteries, so, no vent fan for the toilet. I've been to the trailer five times since then for 1-3 days each time, using the toilet. I'm no where near having to replace the medium. It's not stinky. It's not full. There's a big pine tree nearby which gets the contents of my pee bottle as needed. In the past when I rented SOB trailers, one of the chronic irritants was where to dump the black tank. Once, the campground dump station was closed for repairs. Once, we went to an RV park but had to wait for Joe to get back from errands with the key to unlock the dump station (and we had to give him $10). Often, the internet said some truck stop or gas station had a dump station, but they didn't. So, for me, it was a cost/benefit decision. I like to boondock or go to primitive camp sites without hookups. For me, the benefits of the composting toilet outweigh the negative aspects discussed above.

Hi John, Seems like this original post went off in a fun direction but I wanted to throw my two cents in regarding the original question, and I'm looking at it from a different direction. The Oliver LEII is expensive, no question about it. It took me three years of delay before I finally laid down the money. The delay was to get confident that it was worth the money. I told myself that I could very easily get a Jayco for half the cost and be done with the whole matter. But, I was working hard at my job, saving my money, and continuing to look at other companies. When the time came to order, I went with the options I wanted (including the Lithium Pro) and tried to ignore the price. The way I figured it, I'd already decided to get one of the most expensive trailers on the market and didn't want to have any regrets down the road. So, if you want the Lithium Pro, go for it. I love my setup and it's worked very well.

Welcome! Please be confident that you made the right decision. It's a big investment but a safe investment. On one hand if you have a sudden change in circumstance in future, you'll be able to sell your Oliver with very little depreciation. On the other hand, as you can see from many of the "seasoned owners" on the forum, you can use the heck out of the trailer and not worry about anything falling apart as it would on any other brand. Plus the excellent customer service from the factory. Plus this incredible resource on the owners forum. It's a win-win! All you have to do now is think of all the great places to take your Ollie.

aluminum duct tape. https://www.lowes.com/pd/3M-2-5-in-x-30-ft-Pipe-Wrap-Tape/1002947426?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-pnt-_-ggl-_-LIA_PNT_222_Applicators-Tape-Tools-Sprayers-_-1002947426-_-0-_-0-_-0&ds_rl=1286981&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnoqLBhD4ARIsAL5JedLDJJfSR561tDikPxT3o9hFO8zTMf0DXM5eANFFTNO9m4xVzjVuqWgaAjjcEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Be sure to check this out

I have to believe that some of these problems mentioned are random and one-off rather than a consistent failure to complete components correctly. For example, during delivery I did not catch that there was no caulking around my kitchen sink, and I did not catch that only one duct was connected to the furnace and the other duct was loose. Also, I didn't catch the big gap around my screen door until a week later when the trailer filled with mosquitoes! I think the people in the factory are doing a good job overall, but something is bound to slip by any given worker on any given day. In case the Oliver quality control process doesn't catch it, it's important to use this list and spend as much time as necessary at OTT before driving away so that you can catch anything that needs attention. The problem is that we're so excited and emotional to finally be picking up our trailer that our eyes are not as sharp as they might otherwise be. When I have a friend who wants to buy a car I always suggest they take me with them so that I can look at it with a more skeptical eye. Maybe I should have done that when I picked up the trailer.

that's genius! how do i do that?

Spotted in Marin County, CA at the China Camp campground in the camp host spot.

So, here's an update. Tried the furnace today and realized no air coming from the vent below the sink. A quick investigation found that the duct was not connected to the furnace. The knock-out hole on the rear side of the furnace was knocked out, and that's where the hot air was coming out. No one in the factory connected it. Since I picked it up in mid-July, here are the other problems I've had. No caulking around kitchen sink, allowing water to seep underneath and drip to drawers below. Put duct tape around sink for quick fix. Need to put silicone around it. Screen door misaligned, with big gaps allowing bugs to get in. Jason suggested tweaking it to try to close the gaps. Haven't tried yet. Lettering on light switch panel rubbed off. Mike sent out new panel. Lettering on Dometic stove knobs rubbing off. Waiting for new knobs. Xantrex inverter shutting off and not rebooting due to improper programming from the factory. This resulted in a new Technical Service Bulletin (Aug. 3), and after Jason helped me change the settings, the problem hasn't returned. In another post I shared an article about the horrible (really horrible) quality of SOB RVs and the nightmares those owners are having. In that post I promised not to complain about anything related to my Oliver, and I'm trying. I guess my point here is to remind new buyers to do a super thorough check of the trailer before leaving OTT. I spent two and a half hours at OTT before leaving and thought I did a thorough check but I missed some things. For example I turned on the AC because I wanted to make sure it really could run off the lithium system, but I didn't turn on the furnace. I will say that I'm very happy with the trailer and all the components. The composting toilet is easy peasy. The lithium pro package works great. The Norcold fridge is big and cold. The suspension takes rough roads like a champ. The KTT bed is super comfy. The windows seal tight. Yesterday and today I gave it it's first wash and wax, by hand. What a job. My arms are sore! But, with a little elbow grease I got all the bugs off and with the marine wax got the hull shining.

Yes, wetness is no good. The issue with closing all the windows during the rain is that it can get a little muggy or hot inside. I'm going to try to solve this by getting a small table fan that I can put on the kitchen counter or dinette table to blow air toward the bed during sleep. The MaxAir does move air in and out but when I'm in the bed I can't really feel it. I'd rather have the open window. Love that feeling of fresh air during the rain.

Hi DJM, I have the Girard and have found that it works great in the rain. We've sat under it a few times in a light/moderate rain storm with no problems. The only problem was when retracting the awning. It gave someone (?!) who was still sitting underneath a real splash of cold water! Lol. Wish I had a video of that! So, we learned to always get the heck away from the awning during retraction in the rain. Regarding the windows, I also learned the hard way that leaving the window open even a crack will get the bed wet! When closed, the windows do great even in heavy rain. But you sure can't keep them cracked until you get gutters or something on them to keep the rain away.