Oliver Apex X23 video (field test)

[Patriot]

 

[Galileo]

Aside from the 48volt electrical system and a few accessory changes, the main changes seem to be cosmetic - black trim and such. 

[rich.dev]

12 minutes ago, Galileo said:

the main changes seem to be cosmetic - black trim and such. 

Yup, and why on earth did Oliver switch from the MaxxAir fan with cover to that weird brand name fan without a cover? 🤷‍♂️ 

The issue is that the new fan will close in wet weather, so there’s no vent option while cooking in the rain. The MaxxAir with cover could stay open in wet weather, which would pair perfectly with the new awning windows that also stay open when it rains!

[Galileo]

The thing that gets me most is the tires. “Aggressive tread” for sure. Maybe they make sense, but they look like what you’d use if the trailer wheels were actually used to propel the thing. I suppose if you’re braking down a muddy hill they come in handy. 

Im not one easily impressed by trim and accents. But, seeing all the bright orange and lime green sports cars on the road these days, I guess I’m the old guy who’s behind the times. 

[routlaw]

Agreed its the same old chick dressed up in a different skirt, nothing really of substance here that one couldn't implement themselves and many or most of us have already such as the Bulldog shocks, LT off road tires etc. It preposterous they are promoting this as an off grid off road travel trailer yet still using the basic old leaf spring dexter axles rather than an independent suspension. The least they could have done was adopt the Curt independent suspension as so many others have for a better off road experience. Then there is the same old (mostly) bulldog hitch rather than a full articulating hitch.  The gravel road they test drove this thing on is joke. This might be off road for back east but it sure isn't out west. And what on earth is the point of going off grid just to set in your camper and run the air conditioner just because you can. People out in this neck of the woods who choose to go off grid and off road are certainly not setting around knitting, watching tv in an air-conditioned camper. What happens when that solar awning jams, or gets off center and will not retract properly. The 48 volt system seems a bit weird too. There are several dozen more ruggedly built campers than this for off road and over landing that do not use a 48 volt system and get by fine with a tried and true 12 volt system. What happens is you have issues with that system in the middle of nowhere?

The interior is certainly nice and at least theoretically love the new windows and shades but thats about it. All the black isn't appealing to me, might be to others. Not sure who is in charge of marketing at Oliver but man oh man this is making much ado about nothing. By no stretch of the imagination is this an off grid/off road camper any more than my old 2015 model is with some modifications. They really need to rethink this before releasing it to the public in its current configuration. 

Not impressed. 

Edited 50 minutes ago by routlaw

[CRM]

6 minutes ago, routlaw said:

The 48 volt system seems a bit weird too. There are thousands of more ruggedly built campers than this for off road and over landing that do not use a 48 volt system and get by fine with a tried and true 12 volt system. What happens is you have issues with that system in the middle of nowhere?

I agree. I did some napkin math when the specs first came out and it seemed to make much more sense to have 600-900ah of 12v over 400ah of 48v and run everything though either 12v or the inverter. Even the AC efficiency came out better running a 120v inverter compressor unit over the 48v Houghton unit, especially at the lower BTU rating of the 48v Houghton. 

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, Galileo said:

The thing that gets me most is the tires. “Aggressive tread” for sure. Maybe they make sense, but they look like what you’d use if the trailer wheels were actually used to propel the thing. I suppose if you’re braking down a muddy hill they come in handy.

Yep, that's about it! They're just for looks.

59 minutes ago, CRM said:

seemed to make much more sense to have 600-900ah of 12v over 400ah of 48v

Besides A/C efficiency... Ah = Ah! 🤣

He already converted the 100 Ah 48v battery to be equivalent to 400 Ah on a 12V system. 600+ Ah on 12V is 200+ Ah better. One problem that can occur in a 48V RV system, is when the 48/12 DC-DC converter fails, you cannot use your trailer jacks, any cabin lighting, the CO detector, USB chargers, the fail-safe for the trailer brakes and every other 12VDC device (unless they also integrate a 12V battery).