Overland

Does the tube really need greasing at all? Apart from maybe a coat of oil to keep it from rusting, I don’t see that it really gets much wear.

Well I’m sold. Nothing but artisanal pipe cleaners for my Ollie. 😛

I've had a number of people ask me about my Raptor over the past year. Here's what I wrote in a recent PM, which I think is a fair assessment:

Ahattar, I don't think I'll join the chorus telling you to cut and run. Two years ago, I was roasting Oliver over a spit for their quality problems, but today I'm getting regularly accused of being a fanboy. I sincerely hope that your path leads in the same direction. I understand all too well how disappointing it can be when you've invested so much time and money into something and have it not turn out the way you expected. And if your trailer is leaking, you have a right to be mad and Oliver should do everything they can to fix it. All I can do is repeat what I posted earlier - Oliver's initial quality is so much better than it was a few years ago; they seem to be on the right track in improving that quality year over year; and, just as they've always done, they do everything possible to fix issues and make their customers happy again when things do go wrong. Everyone who has been on this forum for two or three or (many) more years will back that up. Oliver went from two guys building their own trailer to a small custom shop to a full blown manufacturer in a very short timespan. So yes, they've had and continue to have growing pains. They're not Foxconn. But I think that most people understand that going in and set their expectations accordingly. One thing that makes a big difference from a few years ago, and which I doubt that most newcomers see, is that this forum doesn't paint nearly as rosy a picture of Oliver as it once did. The early owners were definitely in love with their trailers and IMO cut Oliver way too much slack. I remember when a new owner figured out that his plumbing lines couldn't access a third of the water in the tank and the old timers here were like, 'Oh, yeah, that's normal. Didn't we mention that?'. The boom in customers around 2017 changed that. So I think that new buyers get a much more accurate impression of Oliver these days than when I bought mine. That, plus the improvement I've seen over the past few years is what makes me look at this thread and think wow, we've come a long way if a single electrical switch can cause this much of a dust up. But again, I understand your pain and disappointment. All that I would ask is that you keep us informed of what's wrong with your trailer and what Oliver is doing to help. That way we can all get a better picture of how Oliver is doing on their initial quality and if they're still improving or have let things slide a little.

I think you're being a bit unfair. The OP had a single switch go bad in transport, Oliver had it diagnosed a day after they were contacted, and the owner said he was satisfied with their response and is happy with his trailer. I'm sorry that you also had some initial quality issues. Perhaps you could post about them? Maybe someone here can help or others can learn from your experience.

That's pretty cool, David. I've been meaning to get to Dry Tortugas. Someone sent me a link to this channel this morning. They stream live safaris twice a day from South Africa. I had it going as 'background noise' this morning and got zero work done.

Joking aside, ‘realistically’, it’s 4-season. I think what you’re asking though is whether it’s ‘absolutely’ a 4-season camper. And absoluteness is an impossible bar to pass. What I mean is this - I’ve been camping in November and December with freezing weather and snow and nothing broke or froze and my wife and I were comfy and warm the whole time. That doesn’t mean we could winter in Fairbanks. (Or maybe we could, with some extra prep and common sense. Don’t know; haven’t tried.) Point being, nothing about trailer ownership is absolute. Winter or summer, you’ll have to prepare, have to do maintenance, have to make repairs, have to use common sense. I’ll be the first to say that there are things Oliver could do to make the trailer more cold-worthy. All the same, I have no problem with them calling it a 4-season trailer. But it’s true I’d much sooner take our Ollie out into nowhere in January than July.

3 season. The AC noise is unbearable.

I know what you mean about the steering on the F series. It seems to me like they try to overcompensate for the harshness at the back by making the front suspension too soft, at least on the 150s. I thought the 250s felt more balanced, if overall much harsher. One thing it could have been is tire pressure - dealers are notorious about not checking them when they come off the truck.

I’d think things like the camera system will be better on whichever model is most recent, which is the GM now. Ford has a big update coming this year, so keep that in mind, provided you’re willing to wait. But I heard that Ford is moving to first of the year updates rather than than fall, so it may be 9 months or so before they’re out. I know that they’ve got a much larger center display and new dash electronics so new cameras could be in the mix. And on the raptor at least, they’re switching to a coil spring rear end. On the ride quality, be sure you’re comparing apples to apples since any ¾ ton truck is going to be much harsher than a half ton. That said, I don’t think you can go wrong with either. I think the new GMCs are really nice trucks.

I haven't watched them all, but the one on cleaning the window tracks is well done. I hope they continue with more of these. Great job Jason, and of course everyone else involved. Here's a link for anyone who hasn't seen them - Oliver YouTube Channel

I kind of like the roll ups, personally. Here's a photo of the old sliding doors, as well as a shot from behind so you can see how they were done. It looks to me like Oliver just used a standard 2-channel sliding door track fastened to the back, and so the 'frame' was just to cover the edges. Airstream do a sliding door with an aluminum extrusion frame. If you can find the right extrusion, then I think it would be a really good look in an Ollie. Eagle Aluminum is a good source for that sort of trim - Another style for the older Ollies was just a simple cabinet door, similar to a Casita. That might be the easiest thing to retrofit, since you could size the door to cover any holes that are leftover from the roll ups - Here are some Casita shots to see what they do. The painted version looks best, imo - Earthcruiser has done the same, but with a more modern look and sturdier hardware, and since their interiors are so similar, I don't think it would look bad at all an Ollie - They also do what looks to me like a routed sheet of HDPE or maybe PVC, with a frame that looks like it might be the same. I really like the hardware in this video. You can also go back in the video and it looks like on one door, they've cut a sheet or assembled some aluminum extrusion for the frame -

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the jacuzzi roof deck. I thought that was a given.

It's also good to know that the pump itself works via a pressure switch. So even if you accidentally turn it on while hooked up to city water, it won't try to run.

I know that Apgar, St. Mary, Many Glacier and Bowman are fine, but you may find some sites in each that are too small for both your truck and trailer. I think Two Medicine also. Bowman is rough to get to - not for everyone. When we were there, sites were all on a first come basis so there was no way to plan ahead. That may have changed, or may have been an early season thing. I think both Mike and Carol and John Davies have been there more recently than I have so maybe they can pipe in. But if you can reserve, we usually look at an aerial of the campground on google or apple maps when reserving individual spots. That will give you a good idea of site size, how it's arranged, tree cover, view, etc. Most park limits are set pretty conservatively, but of course you never know. And size limits are typically for the trailer itself unless they specify otherwise. One thing to keep in mind for back in spaces is that your Ollie can overhang the rear of the parking pad by 2 to three feet. The Ollie also seems to be a bit more maneuverable than other trailers of the same size. The scenic route in from the east, for example, (49?) has a size limit shorter than the Ollie, but it was a breeze for us to drive and the trailer never crossed the center line once. When are you planning to go? I assume you know that the park is closed now - I don't know if they're taking future reservations or not.

I got the TT size aerator today, and while the size is correct and it threads into the Ikea faucet, the design is different enough that it won't seal without some modification...which you know I'll do.

I think people have short memories. They'll be packing themselves into planes and cruise liners before you know it. But I'm making a Maximum Occupancy sign for our future campsites: 4 Humans, 2 Dogs, 0 Bears.

I believe that @Ahattar mentioned that he had one in his truck camper. Just reading about them, I think they sound better than the Nature's head. I like that they have a real seat and you don't have to open the whole thing up to remove the pee tank.

Yeah, but in reverse - instead of pulling a jeep, the jeep pulls the bus. Hey but by then, everything will be autonomous, so we won't even have to attach the trailer. It'll just follow behind like a big puppy.

We have the same aerator on our kitchen sink, and haven't had a problem. But that might be because we have the truma comfort plus model with the water circulator. So I'm curious now if anyone with the regular truma has tried this aerator and if it works for them.

Thanks for that, Sherry. Looks like the TT size @ 18mm might be it, so I've ordered one to see. Odd that Neoperl's website only lists the larger sizes.

I haven't had any issues backing up with the McHitch. I guess that by the time you had the hitch at an angle that it might bind, your trailer would be on the brink of tipping over anyway, so probably not a situation you'd want to be in.

Just over the caddy, between it and the counter. But I don't really like it there and it's too long to fit to the right like on mountainoliver's trailer. I really think I'm going to mount it on the closet wall.

Jeez, I didn't even check - and the answer is no. Oh well, I guess it's going back. Thanks for reminding me - I would have had it installed before checking.