Steph and Dud B

Wow, good catch! I've never seen that before.

That's not really the point. The concern isn't that the receiver will fail. The issue is that there are no 1.25" bike racks certified by their mfg for mounting on the back of a towed RV. The actual concern is that a 1.25" rack itself would fail from the bouncing around it gets on the back of the trailer. (And Oliver would wash their hands of that since they didn't supply the bike rack.)

Congratulations! We sold our 5er and picked up our Oliver a couple of weeks ago. I was a little worried I'd miss the living space but I really don't. And we love the easier towing and additional site choices. Spend the next months researching the Oliver and planning out which items you'll be transferring over and what you'll need to replace. Have fun.

UPDATE: OTT connected me to Dexter and Dexter was excellent to work with. The problem was the NevrLube spindle washers. A batch of them were not heat treated properly and were brittle, which can lead to total bearing failure and wheel loss. Dexter overnighted new washers to me and I found a mobile tech to come out today (http://certifiedonsiterv.com/ if you need service in central CT). Eric, the tech, was excellent and made quick work of the repair. (Our washers looked fine. No damage done.) Ready for the next trip! 😃

We run the rear tires of the truck up on leveling blocks when we pull into a dump station (to raise the front of the trailer) then put the tongue jack down for another inch.

You're correct. A typo on my side.

@Chukarhunter, the additional wattage may be other 120v appliances running in the Ollie. The max current charger limit setting they're adjusting only applies to the charger function of the Xantrex. It's still passing through any other 120v loads they have in the trailer. It's much more elegant to change setting #28 and let the Xantrex adjust charging current automatically, but that requires going into the manual settings through the wall mounted control panel instead of the app.

Setting #28 on the Xantrex should be the power limit - from 5 to 60 amps. That's the total power level the Xantrex will pull from shore power for both the trailer's 120v appliances and charging, with the appliances getting preference. Set it at 20 if there's nothing else on your 20A household circuit, less if there's other things on that circuit of your house.

You can get crossbars for bike racks that fit over a tonneau cover on the truck. That way you still have the truck bed for other storage. This is our Diamondback cover, but there are others that basically work the same way.

The red (or blue) one is the Escape Sport model. Their website isn't really clear on the differences between models, but the Sport has the rain flaps for the add-on panels and the upper screen windows zip completely open for better airflow on hot days. We like the white roof for hot days, too.

We had a switch (for the Cabinet Lights) on the main panel with an intermittent fault. Sometimes it wouldn't work, or it would flicker. I opened the access panel behind the control panel and found lots of fiberglass dust in there. I suspected fiberglass debris had fallen into the switch, fouling the contacts, so I vacuumed out the service compartment through the access hatch (wearing a mask to protect me from the dust) and, while the vacuum was running in the back, put canned air through the front of the switch (there's a gap around the rocker). This fixed the bad switch but (theory confirmed), fouled some of the others. I then air dusted and vacuumed the front of every switch and full function was restored to all. So, if you have a sketchy 12v switch, especially in a new unit, you might want to try this first.

After a successful dry-camping trip to our favorite CT state park, where Eggcelsior performed above expectations (more about that in a minute) or new Ollie is grounded pending repairs. We got a phone call from Jason yesterday informing us that Dexter made a batch of bad axles in the last few months and that Dexter would be calling us Tuesday to arrange repairs. Only 12 new Ollies were built with this batch of NevRLube axles, so this is a very limited problem. I assume Jason has already called all the affected owners. Unfortunately, we're one of them. I have learned that this has been a bigger problem with Airstreams. According to an Airstream forum, several brand-new Airstreams had their wheels fall off while driving and Airstream suspended all deliveries while Dexter investigated. The issue has something to do with a faulty washer in the bearing assemblies and Dexter is sending new washers and arranging either service at a service center or a mobile tech to do the work. So, for now Eggcelsior sits at home. At least we got it here with all the wheels attached. On a brighter note, Eggcelsior did great at the state park. We were there for 4 nights/ 5 days. The holding tanks were plenty big enough. When we left, Fresh was at 38%, Grey was at 38%, and Black was at 31%. That was with us using the campground bathrooms during the day and only taking one shower each in the Ollie. As for power, we had a hard time even making a dent in the Lithium Platinum package. We'd watch TV, run a coffee maker, toaster oven, and hair dryer in the morning and only drop a few percent. With sunny days, we were back at 100% by mid-afternoon. Based on this trip, I figure we can stay at least 8 nights in a park with bathrooms without dumping. Now we wait to see what Dexter has to say and what it will do to our upcoming summer travel plans. 🤔

When we sold our fifth wheel we discussed this with the buyers. They paid a deposit with a personal check and we waited until that cleared before the next step. In the meantime, I checked them out online to verify what I could with public records: their names, address, employers, etc. Once their deposit cleared we agreed on the balance via cashier's check. There were 2 complications. One, they needed a title and bill of sale to take to their (other state) DMV to register the trailer so they could tow it from our property. Two, they were concerned about their risks if we took the check and didn't give them the title while we waited for the check to clear (what if we took their cash and refused to give them the trailer). The compromise (which I understand isn't perfect): they gave us the cashier's check and we gave them the title and a bill of sale. But... the trailer remained locked on our property with a Fort Knox hitch lock for the next week while we went to the bank and cleared their check and they went to their DMV. They returned the next week with a plate and registration and we had the money in the bank before they drove off with the trailer. We figured as long as we had possession ("9/10 of the law"), any disputes could be worked out legally if there was a problem.

Next question: which car make/model was that bracket originally intended for? Something from the 70s-90s with the gas cap behind the license plate. (Which was an awful idea. Remember fighting the license plate while trying to get the nozzle in?)

This wasn't mentioned in the walkthrough but make sure you use UNLEADED FUEL ONLY when you gas up your Ollie! 🤔😁

Nope. Down on floor level like the current 3-ways.

I asked Ryan about the Elite 1 redo but he didn't have any info. Didn't ask. Didn't peek underneath. Was just wandering around the showroom/lot while they were working on our A/C issue.

"Eggcelsior" is home and soaking in a CT rainstorm after a week-long odyssey in 90+ degree heat following our delivery last Monday. We arrived on time for our delivery Monday morning (Steph was worried we'd hit "rush hour traffic" in Hohenwald, LOL) and were met by Ryan, who did our walkthrough. The walkthrough went fairly quickly, both because we were experienced RVers and because we had studied so much about Olivers on this forum and Oliver University. The only issue we spotted in the walkthrough was a blemish in the gelcoat on one countertop - which they addressed immediately. We then moved to the Oliver campground for the night. The plan was to run with shore power and water connected until the evening, then switch to boondocking mode for the overnight to test all the systems. While in the Oliver campground we met the new owners of Hull 1149 - who were camped overnight, too - and the owners of Hull 77 (Kathy and ? - forgive me, there was a lot going on...) who were there for service. We found a few more issues with Eggcelsior while we camped. We had a bad 30A shore power cable (it wouldn't twist into the locked position) which Oliver replaced. We also had a jumper set wrong inside the Xantrex unit that caused a 5 minute delay in delivering power to the camper after connecting to shore power. That was fixed onsite. Finally, the toilet was rocking on the flange. That which was fixed onsite, too. The next day we moved to David Crockett State Park. The site we chose (Campground 1, Site 1) would have been impossible for a larger rig, but the Ollie and our big dually were able to squeeze in. That night we noticed our air conditioner short-cycling so we filed a repair ticket and returned to Oliver service the next day. Jason was unable to replicate the condition after a morning spent in Service, but I think we found the issue later. The details are here: The next stop was a KOA in northeastern TN. (We booked commercial campgrounds for the entire trip home just in case there were any systems issues that would interfere with dry-camping.) The trailer pulled very well behind our 3500 gas dually, as expected. Steph did some towing driving for the first time in many years (she wasn't comfortable towing the fifth wheels), which was nice. Towing mileage ranged roughly from 9-12 MPG, typically around 9.5 at 70+ MPH and 10+ at around 65 MPH. The next day took us to MD. We have the Lithium Platinum package and ran the fridge on DC while travelling. On a full-sun day we saw the batteries drop to 99% after 7 hours of travel. On a partly cloudy day they were at 97% after 7 hours. On a 4-hour cloudy run we saw a drop to 95%. The third travel day brought us back to CT, where we experienced the worst traffic (and drivers) of the whole trip. (This is our usual experience when we come home.) A quick run to DMV the next morning to get registered, then the truck and trailer got a bath and we loaded up the rest of our stuff for our next trip. All in all, the staff at OTT were excellent and it was a successful venture. A few other observations: Tanks: The trailer is happiest slightly nose high with a slight tilt up on the curb side. After one day with no sewer in the state park, including 2 showers, the black read 19% and the gray 25%. Smart TV: This is really nice. We ran it off my 4G tablet's hotspot and it worked pretty well. There was a some buffering, but the signal strength wasn't great, either. Brakes: Braking was good, but one brake seems a little more aggressive than the other three. Something to watch.

We got a good look at some 2023 Elite 2 demo units while we were at the mothership last week. On the outside you can see that the solar panels aren't as wide (it has been reported that OTT is switching to more powerful panels from a different mfg.), there was the optional Truma A/C unit up top, and there's no lower vent panel for the refrigerator. The latter is because OTT is switching to 12/120v compressor fridges, and the reason for that is that they can't source new 3-way fridges in that size anymore. I did ask Jason what impact that would have on battery life and he said that their tests showed good performance, even with AGM batteries. The lower fridge vent panel has been replaced by a cool flip-up table which we liked a lot. Inside, the compressor fridge itself was deeper, with more fridge storage, but a smaller freezer than our Norcold 3-way, which we didn't like as much. The Zamp solar controller was replaced by a Victron, of which we're jealous, and the furnace was different, too, with smaller registers in the cabin. I think the furnace was a Truma as well - part of the optional Truma package. Otherwise, we didn't notice any other major changes from our 2022.

Ah, memories. My dad had an International Travelall that we used to tow a 27' Holiday Rambler travel trailer. I remember "vapor lock" well. It was my Dad's nemesis, much like the furnace was for the dad in the Christmas Story movie.

Man in this case, although Stephanie was the one who noticed it was still short cycling so she gets some credit, too.

Just got home from OTT with Hull #1150. Noticed that one brake is more aggressive than the other three - locking up before they do. These are the Dexter Nev R Adjust brakes and, from what I've read, there is no manual adjustment to back them off, only to tighten them during the initial install. I don't think it's actually dragging - the drum temp was consistent with the other axle throughout the trip (per IR thermometer) - it just grabs harder than the others. I did notice that overall braking of the trailer was getting stronger throughout the trip - had to back off my brake controller twice. Looking at how these brakes work I'm wondering if the other 3 were set looser at the factory and are now starting to catch up as they auto-adjust? Thoughts?

Update: I think we've identified the problem. The short cycling returned the night after OTT inspected the unit. Immediately after a cycle shutdown I went to the thermostat and shut it down so I could see the current temperature it was reporting. As I watched, it rose 3 degrees in about 2 minutes. An IR thermometer verified the final reading was the actual temperature of the thermostat. Working hypothesis: the thermostat was ingesting cold air directly from the overhead A/C unit, causing an early shutdown. When the cold airflow stopped, the thermostat called for A/C again and the process repeated. Experimental solution: the thermostat has vent openings top and bottom. I placed a folded handkerchief over the top vents to shield them from the cold airflow. Viola! Normal A/C operation for the first time! I was concerned maybe the thermostat needs the top vents to release internally created heat, but that doesn't seem to be the case (because that would cause increasing calls for A/C, which didn't happen). The weather has cooled, so I can't field test anymore. Going to try something more elegant than a folded handkerchief next time. Maybe a piece of felt. I think our mystery is solved, but it raises other questions. Why couldn't Jason recreate it at Service? Why aren't more people reporting this issue?

Our 2022 with the MaxxAir bathroom vent pops open on the highway. An empty plastic water bottle through the handle "fixed" it for now... 🙄

@Time2Go!, did you ever get a resolution to the short cycling? We're at the mothership now after our new LE2 was doing the same thing yesterday/last night. With the fan on continuous Low the compressor would run for 2 minutes, stop, then repeat after a 3-5 minute pause. Shore power was good, temps in the mid-80s/mid-70s. Dropped the thermostat setting to 68 with no change in the behavior. Thought maybe it froze up, so switched to High fan only - no A/C - but saw no drainage from the drain tubes, so don't think it was iced. Right now, OTT can't duplicate the issue in their shop. A mystery...