Steph and Dud B

It's the Front Runner setup offered on the Diamondback site and, yes, we had to drill the cover to bolt the rack tracks on. A little tricky to get it just right.

We have wedge pillows we put on the bed to recline, watch TV, etc. inside. We put them on the dinette seats when we want to sleep at night.

Absolutely, there's no "one size fits all." We loved our diesel when we had a fifth wheel. Effortless towing.

@DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI, so glad to hear you're scanning clear! I'm so impressed with what they can do with treatment now. I hope we can meet someday and share success stories over a few drinks.

After reading all the classifieds of Ollies for sale because of "health reasons," and one person who said they bought their Ollie "one year too late," we decided to push ahead with our purchase before actually retiring. Then it happened to us. Steph was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer in July, just two weeks after we took delivery of Eggcelsior. Our little Ollie allowed us to find last minute reservations at state and COE parks and get away a bit during the initial treatments. The change of scenery was good for both our souls. At the moment, Steph is doing spectacularly well, with no cancer detected in her last PET scan. She's not cured, but it's very, very encouraging! We've pushed our retirement up a bit and we're hoping we can continue to enjoy good heath and get out in Eggcelsior as much as possible in the coming years. I think the message here is: don't wait for retirement to live your best life. We've seen friends and coworkers put off their adventures, waiting for a retirement they never got. If you've got the means to get out there and have your adventures now, in an Ollie or not, strike while you can. You just never know. Be safe and well, everyone. We'll see you on the road!

Wow! Too much excitement for one day! Glad everything is fixed, or getting fixed, and there were no casualties besides Bambi. Interesting info about the tank and pipe fitment.

@Mike11 what are you downsizing from?

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.