Overland

Also looks like it has a rail spur for those who tow with a locomotive.

Seeing that 60% of the pull throughs on that map are on the left hand side, it doesn't seem like a well designed campsite from the outset. The reason that we opted for the second awning on our Ollie was because we stayed in a campground like that once and took note of the poor souls with their awnings facing the street - some of them with furniture out in the road because there wasn't even a green strip divider.

Unfortunately, they don't use those latches anymore, and I think it's my fault, lol. Snowball was in production when everyone started to complain about them, so I asked if they could use the lockable kind that are on the pantry and closet instead. Same for the nightstand. I ended up changing my mind about the upper cabinet latches since I thought that in practice the lockable kind would be too much of a pain to use. But because of the complaints they were getting at the time, Oliver decided to go with them for other trailers anyway, and as far as I know, still do. But once you do adjust the old latches properly, and add the spacers like Raspy suggested, they work really well. Mine have a nice, secure click to them, don't rattle, and never pop open or need readjusting. And they're a cinch to open. I noticed that Earthcruiser has now switched to them for all of their cabinetry, which is a decent endorsement - they used to use the push kind. So I think it's a shame that Oliver switched them out rather than just learn to install the old ones properly.

The "thinsulate" insulation that's described above (it's either Reflectix or a very similar product) is now standard on all the trailers. It's much thinner than any of the products you listed, maybe ⅛" with a radiant backing. Reflectix isn't a bad product but they list rather optimistic R-values and they have a clarification document on their website that I suspect the FTC made them post. It really acts as more of a radiant barrier than a true insulation. Nonetheless, you'll find that the insulation combined with the double fiberglass hulls and air space between make it easy to keep the cabin comfortable in all weather. There are certainly places in the hull where you could add a thicker insulation on your own, but also many places that would be impossible to access. Plus you'd need to take into account any condensation that happens between the hulls and make sure that anything you add won't trap moisture. I don't think that Oliver will make any changes to the insulation for you, but it wouldn't hurt to ask your sales associate.

I would recommend using the velcro command strips and then moving the chart someplace secure for travel. Those strips are great but it’s best to assume that anything that could either break or break something else if it comes loose needs to be bolted down or secured in a drawer. My rule of thumb is if I don’t think something will withstand an earthquake, then it probably won’t withstand a trip in the trailer.

Looks fantastic

I like a man who lives on the edge. 🤠

It can. And slow drains like that aren’t good for starting batteries even if you aren’t running them down. So you’ve got a couple of choices - The easiest way is to just disconnect the fridge from the truck when stopped and connect it to your trailer, or to shore power if the fridge has dual inputs. The other way is to use a separate rechargeable battery pack like a goal zero for the fridge. With that, you plug the fridge into the battery pack and the battery to the truck. Just unplug the battery from the truck when the engine isn’t running. These battery packs will have hookups for portable solar panels to keep them charged during the day if you aren’t driving. Many of them are sold as “solar generators” for that reason. There’s also a third way, which is to do like we did and permanently install a second battery in the truck, with solar hookups and a relay that automatically shuts off power from the truck when it’s off.

We bought a National Luna fridge/freezer for the back of our truck, which triples our storage space. That made a big difference for us, and we can get about three weeks of groceries between that and the trailer, if needed. For cooking, we do grill a good bit, but then we do that at home as well. We also substituted a small toaster oven in place of the microwave, which we find to be more versatile. A typical meal for us is one thing on the grill, and one or two things on the cooktop or toaster oven. Some people carry an instant pot and seem to get a lot of use out of them. And some people carry a portable stove as well for cooking outside - we carried one for the first few trips but found that we don't use it that much. The Lukens' have a Cobb Grill and you can search for their posts about it - seems pretty neat.

That's pretty cool. I've been waiting for this update myself.

Since it’s under warranty, I’d talk to Oliver about getting a replacement control board. Mine did the same with the remote working but not the buttons and a new board did the trick. It’s a pretty easy DIY if you don’t want to bother with taking your trailer in for service.

I’m waiting for the Legacy IV with the jacuzzi on the rear deck.

lol, Talk to Scott. I bet I know his answer.

Good article. Personally, I think we hit peak RV of any sort one or two years ago. Boomers are leaving the market faster than they’re entering, and the millennials who fueled the van life movement have reached the age where life gets in the way of travel. GenXers are more into the overlanding scene and while that will likely change as they age, there aren’t enough of them to replace boomers.

You'll need at least a Class III hitch receiver, and a single, standard 7-pin connector. I think that most any ½ ton truck with a tow package will come with both of those. They may all come with stronger Class IV hitches - mine did. The backup camera that Oliver sells is a wireless unit. I believe that if you want, Oliver will wire the trailer for a physical camera connector, but it's not something that's necessary unless your truck specifically has onboard systems that you want to take advantage of. Oliver University

The Green Mountain grill looks really interesting. I was just thinking about smokers last week. Hmmmm...

I think ScubaRx has had his apart for repair, so you might give him a PM.

We have a two-canister filter similar to the what Mossey posted but I’ve yet to use it. Since we only use the onboard tank for showering and dish washing, the need to make sure that our water is 100% pure isn’t as great. And we’ve found that even when boondocking there’s always an easier source of water nearby than trying to pull from a stream or something. And then to add another issue, some previous posts have cast doubt on the onboard pump’s ability to pull water through these filters, a problem that I imagine would be significantly worse if you’re, say, trying to pull from a stream that’s lower or some distance away. I’d love to hear if someone has had success with that. As for filling up while boondocking, we carry two 7-gallon portable containers in the truck, go fill up wherever is convenient, and then bring the water back to the trailer to fill. I stole a trick from ScubaRx and made a short wand (2’ of pex and a garden hose fitting) for siphoning the water out of the containers. I’m sure that campgrounds are required to test their water, though whether they actually do, or whether it tastes good even if it’s safe are good questions to ask. There are some campgrounds we’ve been to where I would definitely not want to drink from the tap. On the other hand, the camp water at Bryce tastes like Evian - très magnifique!

Yep those clips are so nice that I added two sets to my trailer, and I don’t even have the table. 😁 Still trying to find an alternate use for them - I’m thinking that I could put some pvc pipe in them for storing....something?

The metal plate is a good idea to protect the door, but on the other hand, thats not a bad failure point if you’re going to have one, since it possibly absorbed most of the impact. That is, I could still camp with the damage in the photo, but if strengthening that point just moved the damage to the hinges or even the hull, then you might end up with trip-ending, or at least more costly, damage.

Don’t make me start posting glamour shots of the Raptor. 🧐

FYI, if you're looking for the brand or model of something that Oliver uses, a good place to look is Oliver University. The Features Guides for each year contain manuals for all the various components.

Oliver's booster is the WiFi Ranger.

Your 'after' video is pretty much the same as mine - same sound and time to open. It was definitely having a hard time in your before video. What grease did you use on the gears?.

Nice idea, Buck. Does the plastic slider still work or is the handle in the way?