Ralph Mawyer

Perfect, thanks guys. Identifying good food is always priority one.

Alcan Spring replacement logistics? I'll be returning from Yellowstone to Texas in early June and am thinking about stopping to have the springs done. Is this an all-day job, i.e., arrive night before and leave day after. Facilities to stay in trailer at their site? Other approaches? Are they doing Bulldog shock replacements also? Other things I need to consider?

Called Truma Svc in Austin. He said they were told it was not a Truma recall and that it had to go to Oliver service for repair. He agreed he could functionally do it, but didn’t know details. Very confused, given how few RV places have Truma experience. Have call into Svc.

Sounds cool. Don't suppose you have photos? 😉

Texas is not a boondocking state, unless you like Walmart. My preference out of SA going west is Balmoreah State Park past Ft. Stockton, then one of the Arizona state parks the next night. I've done a straight run to Arizona State Park for night one, but you have to enjoy 12 hour driving days. El Paso is 500 miles, slightly uphill and usually into the wind. Watch your gas levels. Even on I-10 it can be lonely out there..

One day from San Antonio to Sedona? 😉 Might put this in your toolkit. Wanderinglabs.com I used it a lot when my plans changed coming back from Yellowstone via Utah to San Antonio.

Thanks, missed that. So guess my drive back to Texas from Georgia was an experience of towing with just a normal hitch.

John Davies used to pull his OEII with a 200 series Land Cruiser, but he's no longer online, so... in case someone else might be using the Andersen WDH with a similar truck... My understanding is the Andersen manages weight distribution with the chains and sway control with the friction portion of the hitch. I’ve got a 17' Lexus 2013 LX 570, like Toyota Land Cruiser, but has hydraulic suspension leveling. GVWR is 7300lbs. Carrying capacity is rated at 1200 in the US, higher in Europe. I'm pulling a 23' Oliver II weighing approximately 6000lbs with hitch weight of 600lbs. Since the truck can manage the weight distribution via the suspension, much like with air bags, is there any reason not to just forgo the chain hassles and just use the hitch with the built in sway control? I did drive for 1000 miles without the chains being correctly adjusted when I first picked up, on the trip home. Some sway was noticeable, but not dramatic. The chains do tighten the load, but in most cases sway seems to be good when not hooked up. Thoughts?

It was just the last test stage for the new trailers...after the leak test.

Not at all. The bulk of owners rarely need major service support and while the service resources are more constrained now the build quality has remained the same. Over the years I’ve looked at Escape, Big Foot and Casita and factory service was never in the equation. The Oliver is complex, but the essence of the trailer remains unchanged.

The change sucks, BUT… At this point the quality of the trailer hasn’t changed, so buying another brand just because of this doesn’t make sense. Basically you have to factor in mediocre warranty service support, but for serious stuff they are still there. The nuance is that even at a vested dealer, RV tech turnover is high and they are dealing with all brands. Lack of systems expertise and scheduling will be the major issues. So component issues are probably readily addressed, but resolution of any electrical or plumbing issues are going to be dependent on the guy on the floor. I’d love to see them do an Oliver Certification for all the small RV repair shops many of us have found. And every dealer and their service manager should be at the rally.

Hopefully it goes well. Kind of a common truck around here. 🙂

So happy I had AC replacement and Lithium upgrade done last year. I think losing Q&A voice and email service support will be the biggest impact. No way local dealer is going to match that, though the allude to that still continuing.

When I was there in August for AC and battery upgrade, they were working on a DC-DC charging solution option. Tried to convince them to prototype it on my rig, but didn’t bite, as expected.

If ready to move now, there’s an awesome, fully loaded Elite 2 listed on the Olivers for sale Facebook page. 2023 @ $92k, if I temper correctly. At least $10k off retail. TN location.