ScottyGS

I have to say ..... I think jd1923 may have converted me to the Church of the Furrion Chill Cube. I was very fixated on condensate running down the outside of the trailer and NOT on the amount of power needed to run the damn thing. I've been doing some research on power draw on this A/C vs. the dometic and other compressor types and am pretty much amazed. All in all about half the power needed to run the Chill Cube. And quiet. We are scheduled for a lithium upgrade toward the end of the year and will have the A/C replaced at the same time. Right now... I am going with the Chill Cube. Thanks JD for the help on this. Appreciate it. Scotty

The Lonseal Yacht flooring deserves the best cleaner available. It's AI powered!

We're using this.... but it has a hard time turning around when it hits the end of the aisle. The dog stays off the floor when it's running..... Scotty

Some things need to be said. I am no tire expert but I can see at most a $500 savings per trailer using these tires. Offset that with the negative publicity, and now having to manage customers who order a new trailer and specify what brand of tire will be on it.... I don't see the benefit. The money does not move the profit margin needle all that much. Plus... how can you boast of a "Best in Class" trailer and put these tires on it. Unless I am mistaken, Oliver sells every trailer it can make in a given production year. Maintaining a healthy profit margin is important but at what cost? To my knowledge there was no official communication on the spring failure issue. Huge miss. There are other things too. Oliver has built not only a wonderful trailer but has "over the top" brand loyalty from it's products owners. I feel that sometimes we are reluctant to discuss the companies shortfalls. Maybe that is a mistake. Maybe Oliver is not getting the feedback it needs to hear because we are loyal owners. Even now I am thinking... should I hit "submit reply" or not. How does a company with such awesome brand loyalty loose it? Gradually.... and then all at once. I hope not.

I would get a hammer and beat that extension cord FLAT..... then I would cut it up in little pieces, braid it into a noose and hang it in full view of the other extension cords as an example of what will happen if they pull the same sh%t.

Another thought.... I know that Oliver is focused on selling new trailers... That's where their marketing is directed. But... How many of us remember the reason for the name "Legacy Elite". It's because this is a trailer that will endure. That you could hand down in your family over generations. JD's trailer is a perfect example of this. Oliver should feature this trailer in it's ads. TEN Years and still going strong! That's a story that shows the advantage of cost of ownership vs. purchase price. Good Job JD!

I said "Summer Day".... not Nuclear Winter in FL! :-)

John, Thanks for posting this! Our trailer (#145) came off the line in June of 2016. Oliver at that time was making about 2 per week so I am thinking the delivery date on #113 was sometime in February of that year. I've been proud to own her for ten years now and lucky to be able to store indoors for most of that. I have the satellite dish installed and appreciate the pictures of it's removal. I think it would be awesome to pull the guts out of it and put a Starlink Mini in there but that kind of work is way above my pay grade. What did you replace yours with? Looks like a smaller more angular version of the dish cover. I am sure it attracts less bugs that the original. I've had conversations with Oliver management about answering price objections with a "cost of ownership" vs. purchase price strategy. Your work on this trailer is a poster child for that. Ten year old trailer that, at least in my opinion, is better than new. When people talk about their automatic awnings and other new stuff, I like to bring up mirrored cabinet doors and Lonseal flooring. Thanks again for all the pics and sharing your work. Hope our paths cross in the future. Scotty

The Suburban is longer than the aquago and has styrofoam insulation around it. So from the outside instead of the truma cover with vents you would have a metal cover that hinges at the bottom. Under the curb side bunk is where you will notice the difference. Not really a problem but there is less room to fiddle around when you throw the bypass switch. Oliver did ours years ago so they would certainly be capable. If it's a long drive to Hohenwald I think almost any RV service shop would be able to do it. Good Luck.

I know this is an old thread but.... I am currently in the market for the Nev-R-Lube Axles and wanted to share that Hull #145, a 2016 model, picked up in June has the 50.5" axles. I also assume that current LE2's are provided the D52 axle with an SC measurement of 50.5"..... If someone would confirm that for me I would appreciate it. TIA, Scotty

YES! YES! Yes.... This is a good switch. We had the Aquago from new in 2016. Nothing but trouble and large repair bills. Switched to the Suburban and never looked back. Service available just about anywhere. It just works. I never use the electric heat, always propane. Heats up reasonably quick. The only negative is that it will take up quite a bit more room under the bunk, so locating and throwing the cutoff valve takes a bit more work. Did I mention that YES!.... I think you should do this? Good Luck Scotty

That's the one you want. Lay it out in the sun on a summer day and it will uncoil just fine. Clean the area just above the window with iso alcohol and let it dry before install. When you put it on be precise because that's where it will stay. When I installed I found that there was a window that I had to use two pieces on because of the length of the roll. (25' I think) You might want to measure and buy more to avoid that. Cannot recommend thus enough. Good Luck.

One of the first "mods" I did to hull #145 was to install 3M trim lock drip rails. We've owned the trailer for 10 years now and although we have been fortunate to be able to store inside for the last 8 years, I have never had a window leak problem. Once a few years ago I decided to remove the rubber and clean the weep holes and window channels. I only found dust. I credit this to the drip rails. They just channel all that rain run off around the window and keep the channels clean. Just my $0.02. It's an easy install and I believe prevents a LOT of problems. I even put it above the Oliver sign at the back. Happy Camping, Scotty

Talking to JD1923 now and I was telling him about a "trailer disconnect" problem I had years back with my Ford F150. What solved it was the "Tow Ready 20142". https://www.reeseprod.com/product/20142_trailer-connector-adapter-7-to-7-way It "fools" the truck that there is enough electrical feedback to keep that message from happening. It's not that expensive, less than $30. You might try it. It solved a very vexxing problem for me. Good Luck, Scotty

Hey Gang, It's past time to retire the Penguin AC for something quieter and more suited to our eventual upgrade to a 600ah Lithium system. I know we have owners with the Truma, Houghton, and dometic freshjet 3 series. (Thanks to Roadlotus for her write up on the FJ3) I am leaning toward the new Dometic Freshjet 4 or 5 series. Reasons include: A) Quieter than the penguin (what isn't) B) would be easy to fit into the existing structure C) Service almost anywhere D) Has iphone app control as well as the Air Distribution Box control and E) Should be energy efficient enough to allow a few hours operation on a 600 ah system. I was considering the Furrion Chillcube but the possibility of condensate overrunning the pan down the side of the trailer is a deal killer. Just wanted to ask what I might not be considering on the above list OR if there is an outlier that is not on my Radar. TIY, Scotty

Yes.... Given a 3/4 ton truck ditch the Anderson. Have to mention for folks using a 1/2 ton that you need to read your manual very carefully. Most half tons will require a WDH if the trailer weight is over 5k lbs. Hopefully no one finds themselves on the wrong end of a lawyer trying to take their house, but if you do... you'll be glad you had the WDH installed. Quack Quack! Oh no.. wait... I got the Alcan springs. Scotty

I remember when that happened with the old style cone. Sounded like Sasquatch was trying to rip the bumper off.

The ignitor not working is a useful feature of the Oliver.... It explains why you always need to keep a lighter in the kitchen drawer. If anyone has an explanation of why a cigar cutter needs to be in that drawer too... I would appreciate your passing the information along. Scotty

The First place to start is the driver side door of the Colorado. The payload of the truck will be listed there. This is the maximum weight allowed to be carried by the truck. Next... Start adding the weight you will be putting into / on the truck. Start with the tongue weight of the Oliver (650 lbs.) Next would be the passengers (be honest). Then account for anything you have added to the truck as an aftermarket accessory.... Bed Caps typically weight about 300 + lbs. Finally any camping equipment that will go in the truck... stove, generator, camp chairs, tools, etc. Subtract that number from the max payload capacity limit. If you still have a positive number, you have passed the first test. (you still have more math to do) I would be interested to see how your numbers work out if you would be kind enough to share. Also would strongly advise against the Chevy Colorado ( or any other medium size truck ) as a TV. Best of Luck, Scotty

I have been using a Sensor Push (https://www.sensorpush.com/) for some time now. I keep it under the port side bunk near the controls for the outside faucet. There have been times when I did not winterize because our trailer is kept inside a large unheated garage. Temps rarely go down below freezing but to be safe we use a large oil filled heater with the hatches blow. I have also monitored the temp without the hatches blown and was surprised to find the difference in temp was only about a degree or two. This would be inside the trailer vs. in between the hulls with temps close to where you would worry about freezing lines. So my conclusion would be that even down to the 20's using a cube heater you should be fine. "SHOULD BE".... I would still monitor and use the on board heat if the between hull temps started to show a drop. When I first got the ceramic cube heater and I wasn't familiar with it I woke up around 3am and the temp inside was 85 degrees. Not fun but no broken pipes. The Sensor Push has provided a LOT of peace of mind for the last few years. Of course all the other advice like pulling in the outside faucet and insulating the inlets apply. YMMV... Good Luck Scotty

Dubbed "The Flying Sea Turtle" by my wonderful wife in summer of 2016. By next Summers camping season we will have had 10 years with her. Truly a unique Oliver for both the Logo... (many people remember the Turtle) and the unique stripes that no other Oliver has. They were a test pilot by Oliver but they decided to stay with the original "swoosh" design. I have to say I am still very proud to own her. See you on the road! Scotty

Speaking of Dash Cams.... this happened a couple years back. GRMN-2023-06-16_17-23-51-exportedVideo.MOV

Remember the black streaks that came from the black gaskets drying out. And the solution was to paint them with Capt. Tolleys Creeping Crack Cure. Took a while to get Oliver to even look for another material but they finally did it. Scotty

I did this for years when I had an F150.... Over time I noticed that the receiver developed what I thought was an excessive amount of play. So much that I started to get a clunk sound every now and then when stopping. Now I have a new TV and generally just use a ratchet to tighten the chains. I think the 2" method would be better and am tempted to try again... Has anyone else experienced the receiver developing excess play? TIY, Scotty