Steph and Dud B

Bigfoot was my second choice when we were shopping fiberglass.

I think the second one is an Escape. They and the Bigfoots are more squared off. We ended up next to Bigfoot at a rest area last week.

We stopped (twice) at that Bucees last week. Our first Buc-ees. Very impressed with the food and gas pieces. I'm actually eating some Beaver Nuggets right now. 🍽️

That's really cool. Can't be more than 1 place like that in the whole country, at least with that backstory.

Yep, been down this road before. Kept me busy last year. Just posted a trip report and photos on our blog. A short, but good, trip. A lot more camping to come this summer and we're retiring at the end of the year so, hopefully, we're just warming up!

We just got back from a 9-day, 2300 mile trip to OTT for warranty service and back. It was the first trip we've had with our new trailer that didn't uncover some new problem that needed to be fixed. Eggcelsior performed as expected! A great relief. It was also nice to see a bunch of other Ollie owners down in Hohenwald, either getting service or taking delivery. (Shout out to Merl and Heather!) Now, on to using our trailer instead of fixing it! (Well, almost. The city water connection has loosened up a bit. I'll need to figure out how to snug that up before our next trip, but that shouldn't be a big deal.) Our 2023 season has started!

It looks like the mystery of my hot brake drums on one side has been solved. Last fall I learned that the tires we received from the factory at delivery last summer contained balance beads. This is relevant because the first thing I did when we got the trailer home that summer was take it to a tire shop to have metal valve stems installed. I also had the wheels spin balanced for good measure. A little research revealed that tires containing balance beads will not spin balance correctly. It'll look right on the machine, but not be correctly balanced when the beads shift on the road. Maybe that was why both clockwise-rotating tires were running hot... Before putting the trailer to bed last winter I removed all the stick-on and clip-on weights installed by the tire shop. We just returned from our first trip of the season, 2300 miles. Whereas the right wheels were running 60 degrees hotter than the left before (per IR measurement of the drums), I saw no more then 10 degrees difference between any two wheels on this trip. I think the problem is solved. (I will, however, continue to monitor wheel temps going forward in case there was residual damage to tires or bearings.)

At least that's what my brake drums seem to think. We just returned from a 2300 mile trip to Hohenwald and back. Twice during the trip, after leaving campgrounds with gravel roads, we apparently had small rocks caught inside brake drums. The symptom was loud metallic scraping/squealing when braking. The first time, while trying to diagnose the problem in a parking lot, Steph actually heard the "ping" when the rock popped loose. A subsequent brake/wheel inspection at OTT revealed no damage. The second time it happened, the rock popped free before we were even able to find a place to stop. Now I'm wondering: I put rubber plugs in the 2 "adjustment" holes at the bottom of each of our "Nev-r-Adjust" brake backing plates. Our old brakes had plugs there. But, maybe I should leave those holes open as a path for debris to find its way out of the drum assembly? Any thoughts on that?

I was looking for a way to prevent a road bump from releasing the TV from its horizontal stowed position. I know some have put pieces of pool noodle between the TV and the underside of the "attic" cabinet, but I didn't like the way that pressed on the plastic back of the TV. I wanted something that would fit against the metal bracket instead. I came up with this: It's a section of large pool noodle, slit lengthwise twice, with that section removed to make a large "C" shape. The "C" then clips around the bracket attached to the back of the TV and wedges between that bracket and the underside of the "attic" above. This way, all the pressure is on the metal mount, not on the TV, and it still prevents the mount from bouncing up and releasing on a rough road.

Welcome. Enjoy the new adventures to come.

We've had these for 2 years in New England: Explore Land Tire Covers 4 Pack - Tough Tire Wheel Protector for Truck, SUV, Trailer, Camper, RV - Universal Fits Tire Diameters 26-28.75 inches, Tan & Khaki https://a.co/d/e20v5uu (We have the stock Cooper 235/65R16 tires.) They fit snugly and seem to be good quality. We've always covered our trailer tires in storage, mostly because we have a short camping season. My understanding is they're more prone to UV damage when they're sitting still because the oils in the rubber aren't getting moved around. Maybe an urban myth but I feel better with them covered.

Our 2022 didn't come with a BT thermostat, only the manual controlled Dometic.

Saw an LE2 in Tennessee this morning, eastbound on I-40, approaching Knoxville. No swooshes.

For the first time our Dometic furnace shut down unexpectedly. It was running fine until I dumped our tanks this morning. After turning the thermostat off, then on again, it resumed operation. I did tilt the trailer nose high to dump. Wondering if the tilt caused an overheat or some other issue that shut down the furnace. Everything else seems normal, propane full, etc. Anyone else experience this?

They sell motion activated 12v lights. Just swap out the light fixture.

I've seen this before. Not like a real awning when deployed. More like a pergola because of the gaps between the panel sections. So, it wouldn't keep rain off of you and would provide only partial shade. Of course, with all that power, you could run the A/C...

In our first year of ownership we've had a variety of issues. Some serious, some minor. Some Oliver's fault, some not (vendor component issues). OTT was quick to respond to all of them. I fixed many of them myself after Oliver sent me the parts. They were quick to ship what I needed. When a mobile tech was required, OTT was quick to work with the vendor to arrange the service. We're heading to Hohenwald soon for some warranty work that can't be done locally. This will be our first trip back to the factory after delivery. I'll post a report on the experience when we return. In summary, I'm a bit disappointed with the number of issues we've had, but I've heard far worse stories from people with other brand RVs, and Oliver has been very responsive to every service ticket we've placed. The trailer's design is solid and the materials used are generally better than most RVs. We're really hoping this will be the year our problems are resolved and we can truly relax and enjoy our trailer.

Very nice, and cool name!

We had a Hensley on our first trailer. Fantastic hitch. Solid as a rock in any towing situation, including emergency maneuvers. Hitching up took some practice, though. Got rid of it when we bought a fifth wheel.

Depends who's flying it...

Would be nice if they were still 3rd brake lights.

It's much less stressful if you have a substantial tow vehicle. Not just pulling power, but lots of mass with good brakes, so your trailer doesn't overpower your truck. For an Elite 2 many here prefer a 3/4 or 1 ton truck (although many are towing successfully with 1/2 ton trucks, too). No-one ever complained they had too much tow vehicle. Try to load your trailer evenly, or even biased toward the front a bit. Heavier tongue weights enhance stability. Plus, everything @ADKCamper said above. For maximum stability in a towable, go with a fifth wheel. They have the pivot point above the rear axle, which stops any of the tail-wagging-the-dog you can get with travel trailers. (Although Olivers are some of the most stable bumper pulls.) Lots of options out there, including special hitches, too.

I love these mods. For now, I just use some of the initial cold water coming from the hot water line to brush my teeth and rinse out my shaver. Our last fifth wheel had the water heater located right next to the bathroom. A very smart design, now that I think about it.

That would put you under the recommended tongue weight of 10-15% for stability. Interestingly, our very inaccurate WeighSafe hitch also reads just under 10% of our total weight. I really need to get onto some Cat Scales. OTOH, not sure how to remedy this. I have already tried to pack as much weight as possible toward the front of the trailer to bring our tongue weight up. FWIW, the trailer has been stable so far.

Sounds like good general guidance.