HDRider

No doubt we will all find a way to deal with the reality of it. We always do. That said, this move by Oliver does not serve my best interest and rubs me the wrong way. No amount of spin can change that. It was handled very poorly. It needs a rethink. I hope the pride of the owners does not stand in the way of making proper adjustments.

No. The nearest Oliver dealer is 16 hours round trip from me. Hohenwald is 7.

I took my trailer to a off brand dealer for service, with Oliver's approval, on the first of October. It took them two months to do two hours of work. My invertor went bad. When I got it back the invertor was not configured properly. To their credit Oliver service walked me through the config in about 20 minutes.

I have only talked to Jason once since I got my trailer last August. I stand by what I said about the service being a broken system. I am not speaking to the most recent develops, but rather my experiences since I got the trailer. It is ripe for process reengineering.

We can all make up scenarios that make it better, or make it worse. The lack of information does that to people. If the Oliver family cares as much as some folks here say this would not be happening.

Ink has dried, hands shook and now comes the painful reality. There is no sugar coating this.

I am the one that feels like I am sliding.

That might work if the nearest dealer wasn't much much farther than Hohenwald.

I cannot emphasize enough there is no way a person can use a couple of days to learn that trailer. I made the mistake thinking that I could call and ask questions when I struggled with something. That process is broken.

Do you really know that, or simply intuit that? People thought I was off base when I thought Oliver would move service to dealers.

No, I think you were right. I was just curious, and shared what I found about how big Tiffin was before they were purchased. That clip was from 2020.

Family owned and operated premium manufacturer of luxury recreational vehicles for 49 years with a longstanding reputation for outstanding product quality and customer service .  Tiffin generated approximately $800 million in revenue from the sale of RVs for the fiscal year ended February 28 , 2020. https://s23.q4cdn.com/270606922/files/doc_presentations/2020/12/RT-Investor-Presentation-(12-18-20)-FINAL-Web.pdf

I agree. It is hard to say who might buy it.

Maybe Oliver exiting servicing their product will open up some opportunities for some young folks to make a good living opening mobile service trucks. I'd help with some seed money.

The best time to buy is in a down market. The best time to sell is at your apex. The Oliver progeny might not have the passion their dad did for the business. No one would fault them for cashing out. If Warren Buffett would buy DQ or Forest River, growing a $50 million business to a $500 million dollar one built on the Oliver name might make sense.

Using that logic, why would the Oliver family continue to operate it themselves? As unique as Oliver is, and as good as their reputation is, someone might view it as a gem.

I like my Rock Stars from https://www.agricover.com/mud-flaps/

Mike sent me the manual. ProSmart Manual.pdf

Just doing a back of the envelope calculation that puts Oliver Trailer worth about $50 million. I wonder if building the dealer channel is to enhance the salability of the company. That would buy a few nice houses in Bermuda.

I wonder that too. Oliver had me use a third party here to replace an invertor. It took them two months to do two hours worth of work, and they still did not do it right. Lucky for me Jason walked me through things to make it right. They were just down the road. I can't imagine driving 16 hours, leaving it, and then doing 16 hours again. Hohenwald is 6 hours round trip for me. This whole thing sucks.

How many hull numbers were assigned in 2023? I was guessing about 125.

That did not age well.

This is disappointing. I feel betrayed. I bought from the manufacturer as it was represented at the time, with the service being provided at the factory. I am asking myself now if I made a costly mistake. There is no dealer closer to me than Holenwald and I do not expect there will be. I also question how responsive a dealer will be to me since I did not buy my trailer from them. Dealers care more about selling than they do service. Does this also include warranty work? My clock is ticking...

Turns out he is a Georgia boy living in North Carolina. Super nice folks. He is a long time Ollie owner and active camper. I learned a lot from our short conversation. I suspect that is just a taste of what we might learn at the owners rally.

Tipping the front of the trailer as high as I could worked for me. I also open the valve on the last leg of the trip home. It is a finicky operation.