Cameron
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Posts posted by Cameron
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So, when it's time to fill up you give this program's card as well as your credit card to the cashier, then fill up and get the discount? How much is the discount? Thx
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Hi Roadlotus,
Welcome to the forum and the Oliver family. It seems like getting an Oliver is a major life milestone for many of us. You've gone through a lot in the past year and I hope that the adventure of buying and traveling in an Oliver will help you transition.
Regarding the tow vehicle, I have a GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 and no weight distributing hitch on the Oliver Elite II. I've got about 3000 miles on the trailer so far and haven't noticed a problem. Before I decided to buy a trailer I rented three and pulled them with my old pickup, a 2014 GMC Sierra 1500 2wd, short bed. It only had a 6 cylinder engine and had to work too hard getting over some steep passes, but overall it was fine. One one of our rentals we had the weight distributing hitch. On the other two, no. Never had a problem even with the old, less powerful pickup. I'm definitely a newbie here compared some of our colleagues, but so far so good with a half-ton pickup and no WDH.
I'm in San Francisco and often travel up to the Sierras so if there's anything I can do to help, let me know.
P.S. I'm seeing some of the Rivian's on the streets here in SF, they're sharp!
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Service sent me a rivet gun, rivets and five new puck lights. I've started with one so far, drilling out the rivets, pulling out the old light, replacing with a new puck light, and installing three rivets. Works just like new. I'll do the other four the same, but I'm hoping that this problem is solved. What caused it? That's still a mystery.
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Sometimes I feel like the buyer is the final quality control agent in the process and that we have to go through each and every component in the trailer and make necessary corrections and repairs. Of course if I lived in Hohenwald I could just pop over to chat with Jason and the team. But I don't. The upside is that each problem solved (and shared on this fantastic forum) increases our ability to keep our Ollies going wherever we go out on the open road.
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Yes, when you plug in the trailer cable to the bumper, it notifies the software that there's a trailer there. The software then reminds the driver to put the truck into tow/haul mode, which switches over the dash gauges to include a tranny temp gauge. It also tells the tranny to act like a trailer brake (common on diesels) when going down hill so that it shifts to a lower gear to try to hold your downhill speed and not rely on braking. The trailer tab on the center screen also shows trailer tire pressure and temp (when the GM TMPS is installed), and it also keeps a trailer odometer so I know how many miles I have on the Ollie. There's a bunch of other stuff but overall I'm very happy with both the diesel engine and with the trailering software on the truck. I know most of the companies have something similar on new models but so far so good with the Chevy/GMC system.
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Hello, I'm also towing with the new(ish) GM engine, the 3.0 diesel, which is in both the Chevy and GMC half-ton trucks. On a 800-mile trip a couple weeks ago I averaged 16.7 mpg. Before the recent changes in fuel prices, back when diesel was less than unleaded, I was very happy. Now, not so much. Plus i do have to add in DEF, which I used to get at Walmart (store brand) for $8 but now it's $14 for a 2.5 gal jug. When not towing, the DEF lasts for a long time. When towing, the engine uses more DEF. So, even though right now I don't like that I'm paying more for fuel than anyone else, I do like the mileage and the low-end torque that makes it a breeze at the freeway onramp or going up steep passes.
PS to Tallmandan: I've done my own calculations on mileage when filling up and found that I'm actually getting 1 to 3 mpg more than what the truck computer says.
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just spent a couple days at the lava beds national monument, hardly anyone there, it's way out in the middle of nowhere, but very beautiful.
$10 a night for beautiful flat campsites, water nearby and flush toilets. no hookups.
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thanks Patriot for letting me know that I'm not the only one
still in warranty for another month
just created a ticket regarding this
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hello, just noticed this after a camping trip, the exterior plastic panel (fridge) seems to have warped a bit, maybe it's picking up some of the wind which is pulling it out?
I'd hate for this problem to continue and discover that I've lost the panel. Other than duct tape, I'm hoping someone has an idea of how I can make this flush again.
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here's what I've used for the past year. so far so good.
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I thought I had researched everything correctly and came with a receiver and ball that I thought were perfect. Of course I was wrong. Fortunately there's a Tractor Supply Co. about a quarter mile from OTT. I actually had to go back twice (!!) to get the correct set up. The folks at OTT were so patient with me and I don't blame them if they were amused by me. Anyway, that's a backup option to make sure you get on the road with the right setup.
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Weird. I'd keep a close eye on that.
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Thank you all for these ideas and suggestions. My great frustration is that I keep my Ollie three hours away at a friend's property, so I can't just run outside and work on the problem. I have to wait until the next time I go up, maybe in three or four weeks. I opened a ticket about the puck/touch lights and Jason believes they simply went bad. He'll send out five new puck lights that I can install. Unfortunately they're from another manufacturer and it sounds like they won't be touch activated. Regarding the inverter, I sent screenshots of the settings from the app, and Jason confirmed the settings are correct. So, no real answer yet to that inverter problem.
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Excellent question. Don't know. If it's there, I've never used it.
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I didn't have my voltage meter with me, so unknown on that question. Removing the lens covers didn't seem to affect the problem. I suppose that the touch lights, or puck lights, could have suddenly gone bad, but seems unlikely. There's one light above the sink, one above the stove, one below the curbside bed cabinet, one below the streetside bed, and one above the dinette table. Whether I was connected or not to shore power didn't affect the problem. Because my first problem was an unresponsive inverter (had to "jump start" it by connecting to shore power) I suspect that may have something to do with it. I've opened a ticket and hopefully the folks in service will have some answers. Unfortunately I keep my trailer about three hours away and won't be back to it for another month, so any instructions they give will have to wait till then. I'll post updates when I have them.
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I leave my Ollie for 4 to 8 weeks at a time, and always turn off my lithium batteries with the little on/off buttons on top of each battery. The solar panel is always receiving sunshine, but not converting it because the batteries are off. Then when I turn the batteries back on, the panels start putting power into the batteries.
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The batteries were at about 87% when I turned them off a few weeks ago, and kept that same charge when I turned them back on. I've been connected to shore power overnight now and the situation is the same.
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Hello
Was away from the trailer for a few weeks. Came back, turned on the batteries and no inverter. Popped the breakers under the street side bed a couple times, but still no inverter. I remembered from my problem last summer that plugging in to shore power can "jump start" the inverter. So, I plugged in to a 110v outlet and, voila, the inverter came on and is working fine whether plugged into shore power or not.
Now I have a new mystery. Three of the five touch lights are on with a very dim output. If I touch them they go to a slightly higher light output, but still dim. They do not turn off. The other two touch lights do not turn on. I took off the cover of one light that was on, and hit the coiled spring wire a few times but that didn't solve the problem. I took the cover off one of the touch lights that won't go on, but that didn't work either. The reading lights all go on and off, and all the other lights (interior and exterior) are fine. I pulled the 10a fuse in spot #13, and then replaced it, but no change. Whether I'm plugged into shore power or not doesn't make a difference. Turned the batteries off and on again, but that didn't make a difference.
Never had this happen before. I'm going to pull the fuse again when I go to bed so the lights go off. Hopefully someone out there has a suggestion.Photos-001.zipPhotos-001.zipPhotos-001.zipPhotos-001.zip
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Here is the GMC trailer camera installed by Oliver service prior to pickup. They did a great job.
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I'm out in the eastern Sierra Nevada high desert for three days. I wanted to see how the Oliver does in these conditions. Cold temps and windy! I'm dry camping, running everything on propane. I put the fridge down to #1 and it's fine. I've set the furnace to run at 58 degrees or so, which keeps it comfy enough inside. When I got the site on Monday afternoon the lithiums were at about 85% SOC. Now on Wednesday morning they're at about 62%. I can feel some cold air coming in from the windows, but not too much.
Benton Hot Springs is definitely off the beaten path. There are 11 campsites, each with it's own hot tub. Hot mineral water is piped in from a nearby spring. If I'm outside, I'm in the tub to stay warm.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Towing MPG with GM 3.0 diesel 1500 pickup
in Towing an Oliver
Posted
Hi Jim,
Welcome and congrats on your new Ollie. I know you're going to love it. I wonder if you got your new truck to go with your new trailer. I know I did. White, just like the Ollie. For some reason the Chevy has a better MPG rating with the 3.0 diesel than my GMC Sierra. I've had the same experience you described. Good mileage. And coming west on I-80 down the continental divide I did discover I was going 80 without noticing it, and immediately backed down to 70, but the Ollie tracks so well!! Just changed my fuel filter yesterday after 31k miles. It was clean as a whistle, but got replaced anyway. I've found that the computer is a little wonky on the DEF warnings, like warning me when the DEF gauge shows half full, and sometimes the gauge isn't so accurate. But I'm loving my 3.0.