Mike and Carol

The 16K grain softener I used for a couple of years did not fit in the basement and it was very heavy. An 8K grain would be more manageable, although I’m not sure it would fit in the basement. I checked Amazon and they have our small softener HERE. It’s lightweight, fits in the basement standing up and lasts an entire 6 to 8 week trip. It’s easy to recharge with table salt, and only takes 30 minutes or so. Mike

Hull #110 is not too far from ours. I’m a bit surprised at the condition it was in when sold, and I am very impressed with the clean up job! You’ve got it looking great, nice job!! Pete, @bugeyedriver will probably read this and can post a picture of his front end treatment. If not, I’ll drive over to his house and take a pic! He’s a neighbor. Mike

We’ve been using a water softener with our Oliver for about 4 years. My post above from Dec 2020 has details. You can find a selection of portable RV softeners on Amazon, where we got both of ours. Softened water may not be for everyone, but we’re used to softened water at home and it’s nice to have the same experience while traveling. Mike

Welcome, Steve and Ann. It’s a friendly group here so ask any questions you might have. Hopefully these next few months will fly by for you! Mike

I would call Oliver service. They were doing quite a few installs on the ‘16 and earlier trailers and should be able to give you a definitive answer. Mike

I’ve used the clay bar on a couple of cars. In fact, I was just thinking about using it on my Audi, after the last wax it didn’t have that smooth feel when I ran my hand over the paint. The Oliver is a lot more surface area but it does a great job of removing surface issues. Good idea! Mike

We’ve stayed at Cochiti Lake COE, too. We tried to go back a year or two ago but it was closed due to the NM COVID shutdown. It looks like it is open now. Nice campground. We’ve stayed at Kirtland AFB too, but you have to be military or retired. Mike

We run our fridge on propane when traveling. We’ve never used 12V. It switches to 110V if we have hookups. Mike

Like Bill, I upgraded my trailer to the Dexter after about 18 months. The old bushings were totally worn out. It’s something to check if you are buying an older used trailer. The Dexter is easy to spot. Mike

I know of several owners that have replaced their curly cues with chains. No reason not to. I’ve thought of doing it myself. Mike

I would try a thicker gasket on the inside of the door. I added a piece of rubber yoga mat and a piece of that waffle foam floor mats on the inside of the door for insulation. It also makes for a snug door fit up against the existing gasket. I don’t need the ventilation ports since I put in lithium batteries. Mike

I suffered from water pump wire detachment syndrome too. Pliers provided the cure, same as you. Mike

Good tips. They also work on old Oliver trailers! Mike

Ours started sounding in the middle of the night a couple of years ago. No propane was on. I got aggravated and just cut the wires so we could sleep. Called Oliver service and the sent me a new one. We were sleeping with plenty of ventilation, so I wasn’t worried about no alarm. They do wear out. Mike

We’ve also stayed at Cedar Creek COE campground. It is only W/E, but has a dump station. It’s open through the end of October. We enjoyed our stay there. It is close to the Opry and an easy drive into down town.

Agree with John. If I was in this situation on the road I would find a Walmart or auto parts store and get a cheap 12V battery. Hook the reds to positive and blacks to negative and continue on my trip - fix once I got home. Mike

We stayed at Two Rivers Campground in Nashville for several nights a few years ago. Well run, friendly folks. We had tickets for the Opry and a couple of other events and it is very close to the Grand Ol Opry and Opryland. We don’t usually stay at commercial parks but this one was pretty good. There was another Oliver owner there at the same time. Mike

I’m sure Steve has three 100aH batteries based on what he told me before I did my installation. I installed two Battle Born 100aH batteries and there is room for one more. I don’t think three of the larger batteries would fit. Mike

I’m not either, but like other big design changes we’ll get used to it! Mike

Interesting new look for the Tundra. No V8. It was a much needed update, most of the “new” features have been on other trucks for a while. Mike

Hey Zodd, what you say is true. I guess I should be more clear when I state why we didn’t get the wifi booster. When we ordered our trailer 6+ years ago, the Cradlepoint was not an option. The wifi booster was just a simple wifi booster, nothing more. I’ve looked at the Cradlepoint in recent years. For our data needs, our iPhones provide a good hotspot connection for our iPads and our MacBook. Mike

Hey Jeff, glad you and Liz found the issue before something bad happened. We had the same issue, our four AGM batteries were also in bad shape. The hold down straps had worn holes in a couple of them and one was visibly swollen, two were leaking. I replaced all four with two Battle Born lithium batteries, their basic model at 100aH each. We’ve been on several trips since then (January) and so far the two batteries have been plenty, even when we’ve been out with no hook ups for long periods. If you call Battle Born they will work with you and give good advice/guidance. You probably will have to replace a board in the fuse panel underneath the dinette. Battle Born has those also. I had a fellow Oliver owner and general smart technical guy help me with the replacement and cleaning up the cabling. Here’s a link to the thread I started in January - LINK. It has a lot of information, maybe too much. Keep us posted on your progress/solution. We’re going to be at Kartchner Caverns in January, maybe we can drive down to Sierra Vista for a coffee or something. Mike

Olivers are 4 season without any special package. Double hull, pipes and wiring between the hulls, heating duct between the hulls. We got the cell booster but not the wifi booster. Most campgrounds have saturated wifi so no sense boosting something that’s usually not useable anyway. Our cell booster gives us an extra bar. Since we don’t stay often at formal campgrounds with wifi we use our phones as hot spots and don’t have a high data requirement so our AT&T plan works well for us. Mike

Yes, I wash and wax the roof. When I was experiencing the black streaks waxing removed them if I recall correctly. Mike

Sometimes Olivers are talked about in whispers and hushed tones out there in fiberglass and aluminum trailer land. Here on this forum most of us are loud and obnoxious when talking about our trailers! 😆 I also enjoyed your write up on Starlink. It’s good to get first hand experience. Thanks! Mike