Jim Oliver's Beast

[topgun2]

As promised - below are some pics of Mr. Oliver's "Beast".  I assume that the name derived from the fact that it is estimated that this Oliver weighs in at something at or near 10,000 pounds.  

Partially this is due to the interior counters being made of Corian - not fibergranite - the addition of the under carriage storage areas, the bed risers, etc.

Shape eyes will note things like the lack of a rear window (no emergency exit), the location of the front and rear under carriage storage, the location of the water heater, the design of the reading lights and "coat" hooks and bath faucet, single entry step, etc.

Enjoy this classic!

Bill

[CRM]

Wow, thanks for the pics.. I can see where it got the name "Beast" now..

Lots of similarities with our Hull 45, which was built right after, such as the 3 running lights at the top front, round reverse lights, coat hooks, reading lights, switch panel, retractable power cord, galley drawer configuration, and single step, but those mods are something I've never seen anywhere else before! And the heater located in the rear street side is very interesting. I wonder why he decided to put it there and lose the rear pass through functionality?

Also, looks like it *was* upgraded to 5 leaf springs after the original build as shown in the pics I posted a few days ago. Probably at the same time all those mods that surely added a lot of additional weight were done.

[topgun2]

For anyone that has an Oliver Service appointment during the first three weeks of September, the "Beast" should still be located in the Service Department area.  After that, Scott Oliver will probably take the "Beast" to his home.

Bill

Edited September 3 by topgun2

[SNY SD UP]

On 9/2/2024 at 5:30 PM, topgun2 said:

For anyone that has an Oliver Service appointment during the first three weeks of September, the "Beast" should still be located in the Service Department area.  After that, Scott Oliver will probably take the "Beast" to his home.

Bill

Would you verify with Scott Oliver that what we are seeing on the 'Made in USA leaf springs' ref to 'The Beast' are in fact 5-leaf springs.
It would be interesting to see if we could find a reference to the sourcing...

Thnx

B~Out

[topgun2]

5 hours ago, SNY SD UP said:

Would you verify with Scott Oliver that what we are seeing on the 'Made in USA leaf springs' ref to 'The Beast' are in fact 5-leaf springs.
It would be interesting to see if we could find a reference to the sourcing...

I'll send an email to Jason Essary to see if he can add any information on this subject.

With all due respect to Scott Oliver, I don't think he would necessarily know the details.

Bill

[topgun2]

In his usual style of excellent service, Jason Essary has already answered my email to him from this afternoon.  Here is what he had to say:

"I don't have exact information on it but I would say that it has 5k springs.  Jim typically as soon as one of his units was built had 5,000lb axles and springs ordered for it.  I would guess that it is just the same Dexter axles because that's what we did on his 2017 model.  He typically always loaded his units up with extra stuff that made them extremely heavy."

I'd add to this that Mr. Oliver did this because he thought that if he or his family might like a particular or product in/on the trailer then we (present and future owners of the Oliver Travel Trailer) might like it too.  For instance - the counter tops and spice rack that are in the pictures I recently posted are actually made of a product called Corian.  It looks a lot like Oliver's fiber granite but it is much heavier.  He and a few other early buyers of these fine trailers did a bunch of the early "testing" of the basic products we all now enjoy.

Bill

[Jason Foster]

This looks cool.  I like my fiber granite better, but I'm always concerned about scratching the surface.  Corian, though heavier, can be sanded and buffed.  I would be interested to see what the under-belly storage looks like, though no reason to get extra pictures.  I would assume they are similar to the rear bumper storage.

[topgun2]

17 minutes ago, Jason Foster said:

would be interested to see what the under-belly storage looks like, though no reason to get extra pictures. 

I didn't take a look inside the additional storage, but, it certainly did look like it would be similar to the rear bumper area.

I felt fortunate enough to be allowed to take pictures of the interior.

Bill

[Jason Foster]

26 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

I didn't take a look inside the additional storage, but, it certainly did look like it would be similar to the rear bumper area.

I felt fortunate enough to be allowed to take pictures of the interior.

Bill

The people at OTT are some of the nicest, down to earth people.  It would be easy to lose the kindness with a big business and I have known several who have, but they remain good folks.  

[MAX Burner]

We love the under mattress storage option!!!  We first saw this in Steve and Tali's OTT, wondering if that can be available as a FIY, do you know @ScubaRx?