Overland

Hmmm. Why would that be? The length of the tongue?

Come on guys - I want to see pics of some Olivers out there braving the storm. Get out there and deploy those awnings! Just kidding of course, you guys stay safe.

Reed & Karen, I like both of those cutting boards. Did you have them specially made or did you find them online somewhere?

Oliver has a vertical divider that they've put in a couple of trailers. We were going to have them do that to ours but we thought having the 'wall' there would be in the way. We've asked them instead to make a 12" fold down section to the right of the stove that will give us a bit more counter space and some distance between the stove and bed. We'll have to move one of the cushions aside to raise it but that seems like an acceptable compromise.

Yeah, that really is nice John. I think the price is reasonable for what you got.

They're doing it as sort of an experiment - I think mine and one other trailer. The price they gave me was very close to what I would have paid for the parts (Hydrastar actuator and Kodiak brakes), but it took them much longer to install than they thought so if they decide to offer it as a regular upgrade I suspect the price will rise. I don't have a parts list, but if I were doing it myself I'd have gone with the HydraStar/Kodiak setup since it's proven and the actuator can be tucked nicely into a corner of the nosecone. The Dexter actuator is too large for that and Oliver had to fabricate a mount for it to sit within the frame. It would be difficult, I think, for an owner to replicate what they did, so unless you could find another spot for the actuator, I'd go with the HydraStar. I think Oliver created a lot of work for themselves with the Dexter but they really wanted to stick with them. But like I said, there may be advantages to that system that I'm unaware of so I'll wait until I have the trailer in hand before making a final judgement.

The stainless kits are mainly intended for boat trailers that get dipped in salt water regularly. Not that they wouldn't be nice to have, but they'd probably be over the top compared to what you have on your tow vehicle. They do look pretty. Not a difficult mod to do after the fact - though if more people requested them, I'm certain they'd become standard, or at least an upgrade. At the Oliver rally I mentioned to the Dexter rep that I was thinking about it and he told me hands down it was the best thing I could do. He should know. After delivery I'll post some pics. Ours will be the Dexter kit so it will be interesting to compare them to the HydraStar. The Dexter actuator is much larger, which I don't like, but there may be advantages - I'll have to wait and see To add to what John said, disc brakes will also run cooler and are lighter, though that might be offset if you opt for heavier axles which are required for larger discs. They'll shed water better and if you happen to own a Ford they reportedly work better with the built in brake controller.

It's a hatch door that's supposed to be going in ours. From the cutout I saw when I visited I think it will be slightly larger than the tray.

I met Richie during my visit just the other day. I thought he told me he was over quality control. Is he doing service now?

It is possibly yours. I had saved it from an earlier thread.

I just had them replace the tray with an access hatch on ours. We didn't need the tray and I figured a nice large hatch would be handy.

That's the insert tray under the sink removed, looking at "B" on the diagram.

Thanks for the follow up, Bill. Looks like the coating worked as advertised, and is cheap and easy enough to apply and remove that it would be a worthwhile seasonal prep for anyone's trailer.

Thanks for the update, Bill. Jason had told me that they were waiting to see how difficult it was to do a modification before they made any sort of announcement on it. Did they tell you if you were the first? I guess I can confirm then that the units I saw the other week coming down the line all had this mod. I'd post pics of mine but it's identical to what they did on yours. My only question is if Oliver's mod is all PEX vs the copper tube that Raspy and Reed used. Not sure if it makes any difference, but I didn't see any sign of copper on mine, nor yours.

I read on an F150 forum that there is a note in the owners manual warning that the Adaptive Cruise Control on the F150 does not control the trailer brakes and that you should never use it when towing. That's one of those warning boxes that I could have easily missed had it not been pointed out to me. With some research, however, I discovered that Ford changed the warning in the 2nd Edition of the 2017 Owners Manual to state that Adaptive Cruise does not work with aftermarket brake controllers; i.e., you're fine using the built in controller. What I don't know of course is if it was an ongoing mistake in the manual that they finally corrected in 2017, or if they actually updated the system in 2017. Regardless, it's something worth being aware of if you have a 2015 or 2016 F150 (I think they added adaptive cruise in 2015), particularly if you're like me and tend to skim past all those warning boxes, lol. It seems like something that you could use all the time without realizing the danger.

There's a really good thread on ExPo right now about connecting LFP batteries to your vehicle's charging system, specifically Battle Born batteries. Lots of good technical info is being posted from both ExPo peeps and Battle Born themselves about their batteries. By the way, we did a test fit of the BBs in the Ollie's battery tray when I was over there last Friday. It's a snug fit but you can get 4 in the box without too much difficulty. The only issue was the screws that hold the strike plate for the door would need to be countersunk. That, or I can grind off the plastic strap keepers on one side of the batteries, which I'll probably do anyway just so they lie flat.

I was told that they are only offering the latex upgrade right now. Something about them having problems with quality control on the other options. I think maybe they were getting mattresses that didn't fit? Can't remember, but if you're thinking about ordering directly from Mobile Sleep Components, it may be worth checking with Oliver on what the problem was.

Call Southern Mattress. They've gotten very good reviews here and are reported to be superior to the Oliver upgrade but at half the cost. They have the Oliver patterns and will customize the thickness, foam layers and densities to your taste. They'll ship directly to the factory for you.

They'll advertise it at that and then sell for a discount just like everything else on their lot. And someone will pay good money for it. It's loaded, practically new, and they can have it today vs waiting until next season to use it. Plus a lot of west coast people might rather buy from a dealer hoping to get local service/warranty.

522 can't be right. 225 maybe. I think ours is supposed to be 256. Regardless, it's a youngster.

On the original trailers, Oliver used to make these formed inserts for the access hatches. I don't know why they stopped - they sure would be handy.

How'd you get there? Can you fit an outboard on the back of an Ollie? So jealous.

Oliver will upgrade to a marine vinyl if you ask. We're using Morbern Prodigy (pdf sample card), which is essenitally a much more reasonably priced version of ultra leather. It's puncture resistant, easy to clean, and frankly looks ten times better than any of their standard fabrics. I have samples here at home that I've torture tested and it looks to hold up really well to abrasion and scratches. It has a nice texture, matte finish and a soft feel to it, similar to what you'd find in any high end car these days. If that's not your thing, then the sunbrella fabric mentioned above should do the trick. Both Sunbrella and Prodigy run about $20/yd vs. I think $9 for the standard fabrics, which is an insignificant cost in context. The standard Oliver fabrics have a loose weave that I doubt would hold up well at all with dogs, and their 'leather' options aren't nearly as nice as the Prodigy.

I was at the factory yesterday. The fix is close - I'm sure they'll make some sort of announcement about it soon.