Zodd

I have been on this forum for many years as my wife and I researched, learned, and awaited when it made sense for us to join the clan of Oliver ownership. First, I want to thank this group for all you have shared and knowledge over the years. My wife and I were introduced to Oliver a few years back. Like many of you once we saw the quality, community, and how Oliver conducts themselves we had a hardtime accepting anything we saw in other places. We have camped with our kids as they grew up and camped in many different ways including car camping, tent camping, yurt camping, popup camping, teardrop, and renting a few different types of TT. We thought it would be a few more years before we jump into Oliver ownership since we still have one at home for 2 more years. But all the stars aligned this summer and we decided to pull the trigger. We are now the owners of hull #1305 after working with @Snake River Idaho who were great to work with and had a wonderful trailer they had decided to part ways with (such great people to work with and a great reflection on the Oliver community). We just got home from a one-week trip to bring her back home. There is certainly a lot that goes into anyone making this decision. For us, we had heard stories on this forum about health issues making it hard or impossible to do things like this. We have also been personally close to a number of these stories with quite a few of them happening recently. So since we found ourselves in a place financially to do it we decided we were not going to wait any longer even though we have to account for a 3rd sleeper for 2 more years (which on the week trip home she did wonderfully on via the dinette setup each night). The trip home was wonderful. Despite spending a few years learning and researching, doing it for real still had me learning and trying to figure things out. We did have a few minor events on the trip home we had to figure out like the overly sensitive LP/CO2 sensor that woke us up in the middle of the night the first two nights. Or that leather cushions on fiberglass don't stay in place and slide right off (does anyone have a remedy for this?). But we got to experience things on the trip home we have always wanted to but never had before like Bannack State Park Ghost Town one of the most well-preserved ghost towns in Montana and a beautiful sunset in the middle of nowhere outside Dillion MT. Or the Atomic Museum (way cooler and more educational than my wife, I, or our girls expected) outside Arco Idaho along with Craters of the Moon (meeting up with some friends who just happened to be passing through). Not to mention and most importantly having some dedicated time with our youngest laughing, talking and playing games (she is in the final two years of High School and missing her older sisters so getting her away from all the teenage struggles and into a quiet place allowing her to connect with mom and dad and nature and history was wonderful!). We did the showering in the Oliver and I have to say it was easier than I thought. I am 6 foot 1 and while tight it worked great. We had a couple of nights when all our girls were able to come meet up with us and we spent those nights in the Ollie playing games, and eating dinner while watching the Olympics. I have to give a shout-out to @Foy_Mirna for his lagoon table as it was a major win for those nights being able to get all 5 of us around the table again (I expected it to feel more cramped with 5 in the trailer but it did not)! Towing the trailer was also a great experience. I am glad because my wife towed pretty much the entire trip given I was on a business trip the day before pick up and lost my wallet so no driver's license for me. We live in North Idaho so going up and down mountains will be a thing for us no matter what direction we head. It and the truck did great up and down passes, construction zones, and passing semi-trucks. We even had a day driving where we saw 20 MPH wind gusts and my wife did not even realize how windy it was until I told her. My wife did great (she even backed us into a camp spot on the last night and did great!). We head out on the next trip in a week and are very excited! Thanks for letting me learn and take part in this community over the last few years. We hope to see some of you on the road in the coming years.

This is really what drove me to have double protection. Plus a way of verifying the post before plugging in (I did not think of just going the tester route).

It would be easier to not what to stream if we could just cast or view downloaded content via HDMI connection but that is another thread. It is nice how small it is. Packs up easily. I may need to invest in your packing solution. Right now I just put it back in the box it came in.

Also, we are currently on the 50 GB plan. We watched an Olympic Volleyball match (so about 2 hours) and went through 8GB of data. So not ideal for a lot of streaming as people have mentioned. However, you can buy more data (not cost-effective) or use the standard data unlimited plan ($150 a month) with the mini.

The first use of the mini out in the wild. I was surprised it worked pretty well given the tree cover we had. The setup is super easy and does not seem to care much about how it is pointed. Pull it out, plug it in, open the app, and follow the instructions. The app does all the work to align and celebrate based on where it is pointed. You can see in the images below how it was set up and how many trees we had creating obstruction. The screenshot shows based on that setup how it performed over 60 mins. 2 mins of no single and 7 mins of obstructions. For streaming and video calls not great but for web surfing and some slack messaging it worked great!

Ouch. I went with the mini a few weeks back. Oh well, the smaller size is nice.

Crokinole is such an enjoyable game that's easy to learn and quickly provides fun!

Love this! This is the state my wife and I are hoping to get to (traveling to camp and playing some pickleball). We just got back from Mt. Vernon doing the Tulip Tussel. Doing Airbnb for now until we get our Oliver someday we hope. Warming up at tournament play is always a bit tricky. We had the same issue plus it was 50 degrees. The concept of combining travel with stops for pickleball tournaments or open play across the country is quite appealing. Especially, if we can do some PPA tournaments and combine amateur play with watching the real pros like Jack Sock! Should you find yourself in the Coeur d'Alene, ID region and are looking for a pickleball match, feel free to reach out.

On this note. I think Jason did a good job on the summary. However, I do find that this is the first somewhat "bad news" item I have ever seen written about Oliver if that provides any context around how this has been bumpy. I agree with Jason that it is not necessarily a bad thing, as he does call out how picky they are trying to be in dealer selection and the challenge of growing without this. It does show how poorly people view dealers and dealer service though. I wanted to post here so Oliver could respond to RVMiles if they so choose (I have not even joined the Oliver family yet but find myself rooting for them to get through this growth challenge. 🙂 ) .

As someone who has been active on this forum for years and has been aspiring to own an Oliver, it's disheartening to hear the recent news. This forum has been a source of great learning, and through it, I feel connected to the Oliver community and the company itself. We've been looking forward to joining the ranks of owners. Yet, with the ongoing changes and the rising prices of new models, I'm hesitant to invest in a new Oliver, and these changes don't make it any easier to leave the sidelines. The general consensus is that the dealer sales and service experience is subpar for most. While some dealers manage to do it right, it's worrisome that Oliver is considering outsourcing a significant part of their identity and culture. I hope they can engage with dealers that can do it right. I remain hopeful but cautious about their success. Being far from Hohenwald, the prospect of a local sales/service center infused with Oliver's culture is appealing. However, for the time being, we plan to observe from the sidelines and see whether Oliver succumbs to the typical sales and service model. We're rooting for a positive outcome that will compel us to join the community. Until then, we'll keep watching, hoping, and supporting from afar. At the Oliver price point, we're not sure we want to be the guinea pig for such a fundamental shift. May we be proven wrong and be compelled to switch to a wonderful TT like this.

Agree @SomeDaySoon I agree with most of what has been said. It is my experience that most people causing, or running the risk of causing, are people that just don’t care even though they know the risk (know but just don’t care or appreciate the risk). They fall more into the camp of “it will not happen to me” or the risk is over stated, or “it is just too much work for me tonight” or “I don’t have the extra water to put it out” (because it does take a lot of water. This is why I like propane fires as they go out quickly and don’t demand the water usage to put out.). I just don’t think these permit/educational videos move the needle with those folks. I have been to a few camping sites where they make water and water buckets easily accessible to the campers to help make sure fires get put out. I think initiatives like these help invoke action from people that actually help. I just don’t think lack of education is the main reason people don’t do it. Humans are more complex then that.

I have friends displaced by the paradise fire so please don’t dismiss the question by just calling ignorance. I am not questioning the need for fire safety, but rather how requiring people to fill out a form addresses it.

I am not trying to be annoying here but how does this help? I just don’t see how making everyone fill out a form helps stop/slow down wildfires. Maybe an awareness campaign feels like it may help but seems more like a money grab via fines. How many people (in state and especially out of state) know you need a permit to have an outdoor flame? if you start a wildfire they will try and hold you accountable rather you have a free permit or not.

Nothing like people that go camping and bring the city with them.

They had a nice little launch video. Interesting concept and loaded with a huge battery. Not sure how needing a level 3 charger to charge that huge battery will pan out. Hopefully the 1 kw rooftop keeps it pretty topped of as no way do I want to pull that into and try and charge at a level 3 power station while on the road. Good luck finding a way to get that into a spot. Also since it has its own electric motor. how much of that solar power you gain while underway is just eaten up by the trailers electric motor? They are still pretty sparse on details. The idea of using privacy glass to help increase the feeling of space is interesting but feels more gimmicky then anything (although I do think privacy glass is really cool).

That is a great trailer! It is very high on my list. However, the price point puts it too high on the list 😉. Great news about treatment!

This is cool. However, I wish they would do this outside a login so you take any VIN (like when shopping for a truck) and easily get the real numbers. Ram has this and it is really nice (even if they do seem to have a bug in it right now)

The Terra Oasis is not much cheaper though. But floor plan is pretty gorgeous IMHO.

The inTech Oasis has had our eye but there are a couple things that keep me a way. First, the towing experience. The story Mike mentioned above was a 1/2 ton truck I am pretty sure. But still an odd experience for sway and it seems many that own the trailer have WDH even with bigger trucks. But I have seen that with airstream as well. Having a safe and stable tow is very important to me. Second, are the below pictures. I was at an RV show and went inside an Oasis. Really loved it until I saw behind the tape on a seem. Someone else had pulled the tape off. The inTech rep had no explanation and no one on their forums has been able to explain what looks like a lot of missing screws. @dennis I am curious what build issues you had?

I have been reading on this topic for a little while and it seems to be a bit of religious argument. However, there are a lot of long-time knowledgeable campers across different rigs here, so I wanted to ask for thoughts on this topic. Again, I know it is a bit of a religious argument so not looking for any clear winner here just thoughts on what you all have seen. So, background and starting points. Double Pane RV Windows: Worth It or a Waste Of Money? Essentially the argument is about pros and cons around the cost and weight they add to the rig versus the noise and insolation factor (plus reduced condensation) they bring. For TT they are more susceptible to vibration and because of that the seal breaking and then they become foggy. Have any long time Olver Owners seen this and had to replace foggy windows? Of course, the better suspension (and other travel type factors) on the TT the lower the risk but it seems more a question of when not if. For any type of cold shoulder or winter (4 season) camping a single-pane window seems silly to have the draft from the windows plus all the condensation build up. But having to replace windows every chuck (who knows the duration of the chunk) of years also seems like a major pain for those of us that don't upgrade RVs every 3-5 years. Thanks for your insights!

I switched to T-mobile a few months back as I was getting frustrated with spectrum reliability. It worked well for the first few months but the last month has been a lot of bad video call experiences saying internet is unstable. Luckily I only paused my service from spectrum. So turned that back on and going to shut down T-mobile. Spectrum is only running me $80 a month versus T-mobile’s $50 so not a big difference. Both give me about the same up with spectrum a bit better. Down spectrum is way better at 300 mbps down versus T-mobile 60 mbpds.

Yes. I chatted with her for a little bit. They were headed down a hill in CO going about 55 and they were passed ( in same direction) by a semi and that triggered the sway. I was surprised the brake controller did not correct it. Not sure what the gain was set at or last time it was checked.

I know this is an old thread but found this interesting insight on their build quality. That fact the trailer held together so well says a lot. That fact it was caused by sway is interesting given I have never heard an Oliver owner say they have ever had a sway issue (but who know how they were loaded out and it was a smaller 1/2 ton truck). Everyone was ok after this which is great. They did have a WDH and engaged their brake controller. Just wanted to share to show the build quality of how it held together. Since it was quationed how stable the frame would really be.

It will be interesting to see this space (no pun intended) grow. T-Mobile and SpaceX announced plans to get into this space as well. It is still early and it seems 2023 may only bring the ability to send text messages. A start is allowing every mobile phone to have no dead spots. Good and bad IMHO as some times it is really nice to be totally disconnected. Even if speeds are slow the ability to have an SOS connection to get word out is nice.

This is rather disappointing to me. Oliver for many years marketed their 16" LT tires as one of the reasons their trailer frame/chassis was better. It is dis-hearting to see them downgrade to the standard ST tire for their trailers now.