Steph and Dud B

We do fine with our gas 3500. While I enjoyed the torque of my diesel, I couldn't justify the extra expense of DEF and the higher repair and maintenance costs of diesel for a 6500# trailer. Maybe if we were full timing or traveling extensively in the mountains.

Hi, Mike. We spent a lot of time on this forum, first deciding if we wanted to buy an Oliver, then learning all the particulars so we were well prepared and equipped when we took delivery. One note: the online search function here is terrible. We use Google and start the search phrase with "Oliver trailers" followed by whatever we're looking for. Have fun browsing.

We've found the 15 gallon black tank to be adequate, but it's the smallest we've ever had in a trailer (even our 26' Sunline held 30 gallons). 20 would've been nice.

Congratulations!

I was going to use Velcro tabs to attach it to the basement door (in case I decided to modify it later) but when I went to dry-fit it, it just sort of popped in, supported by the flanges around the edges and the hook eye for the support cable. Seems pretty solid, but if it does come loose I'll add the Velcro. For the shower door, I used clear nanotape.

Do you have stock in Reflectix? 😁 JK, good ideas, thanks!

Just added Reflectix to my basement and outside shower doors. Battery door next.

I think most of us are very conservative about exposing our plumbing to cold temperatures. Personally, I'd be at DEFCON 2 if I saw 33 degrees near a water line. However, hitting 32 isn't necessarily going to mean damage. The compartment might be 32 but the water in the lines is still 35. The water may have room to expand by draining into a tank. PEX plumbing is more tolerant of freezing than PVC. I imagine there's some wiggle room. What I'd really like to know is, has anyone experienced plumbing damage in their Ollie from freezing, what was damaged, and under what conditions did it happen? In other words, what are the real world limits to what our Ollies can take? Not that I'd want to go there...

Nice balanced article! I'd still rather have my Ollie over the other choices, though.

Incidentally, kudos to OTT for providing us with a full-size ABC refillable fire extinguisher rather than the half-size disposable BC extinguishers that come with most towable RVs.

That's a tough one because fire extinguishers are supposed to be mounted by the exit. The idea is, you move to the exit to get the extinguisher and if the extinguisher doesn't work you now have the door behind you to escape.

Swing out windows.

Did not know this! I thought there was still plywood in the closet wall of my 2021 Hull #1150. Thanks for the info.

Interesting video on the manufacturing of German motorhomes. Quite a difference from the way American coaches are made, with a very favorable price point. Much more like a car assembly line than American RV factories. Some things were similar to Ollies, like the way the water pump and associated valves are preassembled before installation. Some unique features, too, like a freeze protection valve that automatically drains the water system if the internal temps drop to freezing, and a camera to help you position at the dump station. Pretty cool.

@GAP How did you clear snow off your solar panels?

I think they were testing temperatures while winterized so they could establish a baseline before risking winter camping with water in the lines.

We have this Xtend & Climb 770P telescoping-ladder,12.5 ft, Yellow/Gray https://a.co/d/gWOv7kr Seems very sturdy and stores in our closet. Not cheap, but I try not to skimp on safety items.

Forgive me if this is a stupid question: Did you open the lever valve on the shower head? Did you say the pump is running even with nothing flowing? The pump should shut off if there's no flow anywhere in the trailer.

Really hasn't been a problem for us yet. In our experience the black tank fills up about the same time the grey tank does when we're dry camping. The first thing to go for us has actually been the fresh tank. After a 7 night trip this summer our black and grey were both at 69% and the fresh was at 13%. We did use campground bathrooms during the day and only took showers in the trailer every other day, though.

The Goodyear Endurance tires are well regarded in the towable RV field. I'd be ok with them on my Oliver. ST tires have strengthened sidewalls to handle the sideways scrubbing trailer tires endure in tight turns. @bugeyedriver We've had Maxxis on our previous 3 trailers with absolutely no issues at all. Very nice tires, too.

No doubt it can. As an isolated incident. Not so sure if it's a daily occurrence. Again, not something the average person would have to worry about. But, if there's another camper in a similar situation it's something to consider.

Another (albeit unusual) consideration: my wife is undergoing treatments that cause, shall we say, frequent severe lower digestive issues. With the composting toilet's aversion to liquids in the composting medium, we probably couldn't use one. With the black tank we can still camp. Obviously not something we, or anyone, would have planned for but the regular toilet ended up allowing us to keep camping during treatment.

I received a reply from the mfg of the beads: "Thank you for reaching out! I would be glad to help. Lionshead, is an OE account for us, so many of the tire and wheels they produce do come with Counteract inside the tires already, so there is no need for a traditional spin balance. You can remove the wheel weights and continue on, the beads will balance out the wheel tire and entire assembly on the fly." Short-term, since the trailer is currently in its winter storage position, that's my plan. I'll remove the external weights and that'll return the trailer to the way OTT handed it to me. I'll run one trip with it that way and see if the temperature issues change at all. Then, next summer, when I have some time, I'll run it down to the tire shop again to remove the beads and rebalance all the tires.

Just dirt. The flash and the areas I touched really make it stand out. She needs a bath, but first things first.

Well, there are a lot of stick on weights located in one area of the rim just inside the spokes. Pretty much the same on all 4 tires.