Mike and Carol

I would caution against taking the comments of one owner and and assuming those problems apply to everyone. Hull 200 has had an unusual number of issues. As far as stripped screws, I had one on my bathroom window. I found the head on the bathroom floor, clearly over tightened. My understanding is that these windows are received by OTT already assembled so the issue would be with the window manufacturer. I’ve had no other stripped screw issues. Bill makes a good suggestion on a factory tour. Many of your concerns could be addressed directly. Mike

That’s a great illustration of how weight distribution affects sway and why it’s important to know the weight measurements of the trailer being towed. Mike

Mark, the two owners you mention have, at times, been very critical of their purchase causing some potential buyers to look elsewhere. You may join that group. If you’ve read through some of those threads you should have noticed a response from the Oliver company and also a number of owners that expressed satisfaction with their trailer and the company. As far as regrets, I believe the Lukens are the only owners expressing regrets on their purchase. There is also no shortage of owners who are very happy and will go on record saying so. I recommend you contact Reed and John directly to get their views. They have both been extremely helpful on this forum and also personally helpful with other owners. They will give honest views and assessments. This will probably need to be moved to a new thread so this one can stay on topic. I expect there may be a number of replies to this. Mike

Happy Veterans Day to all the vets out there. If you are an honorably discharched veteran, starting today you can shop at AAFES (PX/BX/Exchange) online. Just go to vetverify.org for information. The background story is at: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1049503/department-of-defense-extends-online-military-exchange-shopping-privileges-to-v/ We do most of our online shopping at Amazon, but do some shopping at AAFES Online. More than half the profits from PX sales go back into programs for soldiers and airmen. Mike

Wow, quite an adventure! Glad to hear the Oliver folks went the extra mile on this one. I’m also interested in what is discovered about this as I was going to add one of these myself. I’ll also go with the KISS principle for now. The key has never failed! Thanks for giving everyone a heads up. Mike

David, good question. We were there the end of September and the nights weren’t too cold. One morning we used the furnace to take the chill off. We did not use the vornado, although on low it’s only using 750 watts so we could have used it for a short period. The furnace heats things up quicker. As Bill notes, a good blanket is also useful! Mike

Plenty of time to get it broken in! Mike

While we were camped at Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Colorado in September, we came across this Casita while on an evening walk. Hmmmmm..... Mike

We spent September touring Colorado with a short detour into Utah from Mesa Verde to visit Canyonlands NP and Arches NP at Moab, Utah. We stayed at Horsethief Campground, one of many BLM campgrounds in the area (recommended by Scubarx). With the senior discount it was $6/night. It’s open all year with 60 sites. There are no hookups, no water and no dump station. Each site was level, nice picnic table, fire ring and views. Vault toilets were clean and odor free. It’s a half mile off the highway about 5 miles from Canyonlands NP and about 12 miles from Moab and Arches NP. It’s first come first served and filled up by the time it got dark. We arrived around 1:00pm and had a good number of sites to choose from. Sites are well spaced so you’re shouting distance from your neighbors. We will definitely stay there again. Our site. You can see our neighbor, not too close Quiet site, good view, adult beverage, relaxing after a day of hiking in Canyonlands NP Mike

This has happened to us too. Hair spray! I’ve also heard of dogs sleeping under the dinette causing an alarm due to a bit of methane escaping. Mike

We like the little Vornado because it is very quiet and provides nice even heating. Mike

For us the resolution on the TV is fine for a trailer. I installed an Apple TV and use an HDMI splitter which works well and provides 2 HDMI inputs. I also have an HDMI to Lightening adapter so we can stream San Antonio Spurs game from my iPhone to the TV. Mike

Ray and Betty Jo, welcome! Now the waiting begins...... We’ve enjoyed National Parks and sites in the West too. Your Oliver will be a great way to travel and camp. Mike

Mine is like in the video. Maybe someone with a newer trailer can help - must be in there somewhere.

Carole, whenever I would remove the controller from the box everything worked. I may have been able to just bend the connectors 90 degrees and reinstalled it, but went with Ryan’s recommendation to send it to him for testing and repair. Once I turned the knob off and popped the two breakers I did cover each connector with tape as I disconnected them. I didn’t try to completely disconnect the batteries from the trailer. Mike

Carole, we had the same problem. The way the controller was installed bent the four big cables enough that there was too much pressure on the circuit board. Read through the thread at the bottom. To disconnect the controller from power turn the big red knob to off and pop the two circuit breakers. Buzzy explains where they are in his video on the thread. I had mine back in about a week. Then, bend the connectors 90 degrees like in the photos before reinstalling. Our solar works like a champ now. Mike Read through this thread: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/solar-charger-not-working-hull-178-blue-sky-system/

Whoa.....????

Darrell and Kathy, congratulations - now the waiting begins! It looks like you have a good list of options. I don’t think you’ll need the Andersen hitch with your truck. Mike

John, we didn’t attend the show last year, got there just for the rally. Steve may have better answers, but here’s what I saw: - there is very little dust. The only vehicles passing by are those of fellow rally attendees going slow. There are no roads to anywhere, so no traffic just passing by. - didn’t see any lose pets. - not aware of any late night parties. Mostly old folks who don’t party like they used to. It was quiet enough after dark you could barely hear I-10 traffic a mile away. - the stars seemed to be brighter out there for some reason. - if you don’t want to be close to anyone there are miles and miles of desert. Some folks bunched up, some were all alone. We parked up on the ridge with a few others away from the main group. Mike

We are planning to attend the Quartzsite Rally again this year. Had fun last year. Pure boondocking! The view from our trailer: Three Olivers at last years rally: Mike

Alex, welcome! I retired from the Army 11 years ago after doing 30, then did 10 more civil service in basically the same job here at Fort Sam Houston. We didn’t have as many options to choose from when we ordered in 2015. Here are my thoughts: we got the solar, fiber granite, and Andersen and are happy with all. Ours is the Blue Sky solar. Some owners like the current Zamp install and some don’t. Tankless Hot water wasn’t available and we’re happy with the standard tank. Shower track wasn’t available and I don’t think we’d get it - we just squeegee after showering and wipe what’s left with a microfiber. Not sure what 30 amp connection is - surge protector? We have an external one that plugs into the pedestal. Keyless entry and easy start weren’t available. I’m getting the easy start installed next week while we’re in Hohenwald and will probably do the keyless entry myself. We got the cell booster and use it quite a bit. We’re happy with the larger propane tanks and extra batteries. We also got a propane quick connect in the front that I use for our Weber Q. Overall, we’re very happy with our Oliver. We’ve got about 20K miles so far, leaving Wednesday for 3 weeks! Mike

Don, we just returned from a month in Colorado. As much as I liked my Tacoma, I’m glad I had a big truck - not so much for going up the many inclines but more for the downhills. Mike

Welcome to the group! I initially towed with a 2012 Tacoma. It did fine. Upgraded due to small fuel tank and small bed/cargo capacity. As John mentions, Mountains May be a challenge. Mike

Good suggestion. I did make a hard emergency stop a year or so ago and found the drawer on the floor when we stopped.

I did think about the larger ones but went with the 30 gallon because my intent is to use it just to replenish my fresh tank. My thought was to put it behind the wheel well and in front of the tailgate and use my (heavy) toolbox with bungee’s to hold it against the side of the bed to prevent rolling around. I don’t plan on traveling with it full, just transporting water between the source and the trailer. I may be surprised the first time I use it! I was surprised at how small it is empty. Mike