katanapilot

Nice job on the mod to install the hatch. As to fiberglass - honeycomb is very common, very strong and lightweight. Cutting through it and then reinforcing where you cut through can be an issue. I'm going through this right now with an airplane cowling. Now a question. The option list shows a "backflow preventer" valve, which seems to be an automatic (electric) drain valve. Does anyone have one installed and does it replace the T-handle mechanical drain valve or does it serve some other purpose? If it does, this would be another, albeit more complex, solution to continuous gray water drainage when hooked up (and I assume you could keep the drain door closed).

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately there seems to be a race to the bottom as to RV components and there are limited choices at reasonable prices. Dometic is on my list as one of the worst. I see some have modified their Oliver’s with compressor type fridges and things, but one of the reasons for us buying the Oliver was to avoid the excessive mods we had to do to on our MH to make it more reliable and comfortable. I really hope the Oliver will prove to be better than the MH. And yes, although I wish Denso made RV components and Lexus made RV’s, I know they don’t!

One of our motivations moving from our Sprinter based motorhome to the Oliver was the expectation that the Oliver was much better constructed than the "production" motorhome. Over the past 5 years, I've worked out most of the bugs in the MH - some of which were due to sloppy (read little to none) quality control at the factory, but also due to component failures. While I am convinced that the Oliver pays a great deal of attention to assembly quality, one of my lingering concerns is the quality of components (fridge, a/c, fans, etc.). Oliver has little control over the quality of these components - other than that of specifying what they choose to install. As I have mentioned in other posts, the no name batteries is one example where they could choose better components. Stuff is going to break and my experience with the large MH manufacturer for warranty service was abysmal. So for those of you that have had to deal with Oliver (since they don't have a dealer network) - how do you get stuff fixed - especially if you are on the road? What about at home? Will they pay for a mobile repair service? Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.

Excellent and thanks! Looking forward to having a well built travel trailer. We like our Sprinter based motorhome, but the travel trailer will suit us better for our Alaska trip.

Maverick, Top Gun, what's next Viper, Goose, IceMan? Sorry, had to chuckle a bit about that. Best movie ever, BTW.

Please share the results, as we have the same model Tundra that we intend to use as our TV. I can't imagine there would be any issues with the Tundra. Thank you.

You and me both. When I saw that they had changed tires and are no longer installing Trojan batteries (opting now for Chinese/Malaysian made no-name brand) I almost cancelled our order. I hope that Oliver isn't going the way of other trailer manufacturers and changing components to cut costs. I've had Michelin LTX tires on my 92 4Runner, my 2011 Tundra, my son's 2012 Tacoma and wouldn't install anything else. At least the Cooper truck tires are better than the "China bombs" that are on a lot of travel trailers. In the grand scheme, the construction quality is so much better than average and tires and batteries can be replaced easily.

Thanks. A bit disappointed that both the tires and batteries have changed for 2020 vs. 2019 (not for the better IMO). The Brightways are a no-name foreign made battery, so I'm probably going to just go with the supplied batteries until they die and replace them with Battle Born LiFePO4 or Trojan AGM's.

Just wondering if anyone has experience using the now-provided Brightway batteries versus the Trojans that used to be installed on the Oliver. I was going to get the AGM option, but for the same or less money I can probably install Trojan batteries and sell the Brightways. Also has anyone kept the flooded batteries and installed a watering system? Flooded batteries perform and last better than AGM's generally, but I'm bad about keeping them watered.

Thanks for all the replies.

Always wanted a Land Cruiser. If Toyota would ever sell a LC with their wonderful VD twin turbo diesel, I would be all over it. Even a Tacoma/Hilux diesel would be great. I have a 25 year old 4Runner that refuses to quit.

Just made the plunge to move from a small motor home to an Ollie. We took a plant tour a week ago and were impressed. Primary motivation was for our Alaska trip next year. I don't trust either the Mercedes chassis nor the (unnamed) coach on the Alaska highway. I completely trust my Toyota Tundra and from what we saw, the Ollie is more than capable. We did see "Pura Vida" and several other almost completed trailers on the line during our tour. Probably not the place for a question - but here goes. What are folks using for bed linens, etc. for the small twin/cot mattresses that are used on the twin bed configuration? Looking forward to joining in the "family" in May. We signed up for a February production slot that became available. The Ellis Family from Locust Grove (Atlanta suburb)