Preparing for your Oliver Pick-up Day

[technomadia]

Having just picked up our Oliver last week, I thought others might appreciate a checklist of things to be prepared for on your exciting Oliver pick-up day!

 

 

 

One of the very unique things about Oliver, aside from the trailer itself, is your pick-up experience. Unlike picking up your RV from a traditional dealership where you may be given a quick introduction to your new camper and then rushed out on the road, plan to spend a couple of hours at the factory going over your Oliver and completing the paperwork and payment - and then have Oliver help you set up at a nearby campsite for your first night of camping.

 

After a pretty thorough introduction, the Oliver crew will help you hitch up and then walk you through your first propane fill up at a nearby station. Be sure to bring a form of payment for the propane - cash, debit and credit cards are accepted, and fill up rates are standard market rates.

 

Next you'll follow your Oliver rep out to Natchez Trace Thousand Trails campground, about 20 minutes outside of Hohenwald, where Oliver puts you up for a night to test out everything before you head on your way home. You won't need to pay for camping for your first night, but you can extend your stay if you like. You'll be walked through a full setup of the camper with lots of opportunity to ask questions. And then, you will enjoy your first night in your camper!. This is your shakeout opportunity to test out all of the facilities of your Oliver, and report back to the factory in the morning if you find anything wrong at all so they can correct it before you hit the road.

 

Even if you're an experienced RVer, it can be helpful to have an idea of what to expect on your pick-up day and what to prepare for.

 

 

Before arriving, make sure you have the following already installed:

 

- Appropriate tow package on your vehicle

- Standard 2" ball with ~19" height from ground

- Electric brake controller

 

Your Oliver will come complete with all the hoses and electrical cords you'll need to hook-up. But there are some additional items you'll want to make sure you bring with you:

 

- Wheel chocks

- Leveling blocks (lumber pieces)

- Small toolkit with general pliers, mallet and screwdrivers - just in case

- RV Toliet Paper (*don't* bring your regular stuff from home)

- RV Black Tank treatment (your toilet comes with a sample that will get you started. But if you want something biodegradable, it's easiest to start off with a fresh tank)

- Disposable gloves for dumping your tank(s)

 

And because the nearest stores will be a 20-30 minute drive away - packing to plan for the overnight stay will go a long way to maximizing your time in your Oliver check-out.

 

Some ideas for your packing list:

 

- Clothing for at least 2 nights (just in case you end up needing a second night)

- Cookware to prepare your first meal(s)

- Pots/pans

- Spatula, spoon

- Plates & utensils

- Cups

- Napkins

- Food to cook

- Don't count on your refrigerator to be cold enough for a few hours into your first night

- Dish soap / sponge

- Beverages

- Linens for the bed(s)

- Pillows

- Foam mattress topper (if desired)

- Towels for kitchen and bath

- Toiletries

- Toothbrush / toothpaste

- Personal care items

- Entry mat to reduce tracking of dirt into your new camper (entry way is 26.5" x 19")

- Small bath mat (the bath floor is 22" x 24")

- Pen and Paper for making notes

- Record items you want Oliver to take a look at in the morning

- Brainstorm things you want to pick up for your Oliver

- Any questions you have

- A DVD or two to test the A/V system with

 

 

 

While camping, be sure to go over everything as best you can - as this is your opportunity to get things fixed before you hit the road. Be sure to check out all of the lights, monitoring systems, stove burners, water heater, fridge, microwave/oven, fans, A/C, batteries, DVD player, TV, etc.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

- Cherie

[herm]

Thanks Cherie for posting such a thorough list! I'm getting excitied just reading about the delivery process, and it's going to be a useful checklist for us in 1-1/2 months or so. We haven't camped in a couple years, so it's easy to forget some of the basic things (like RV TP...wouldn't that be awful).

 

One questions for you & Chris: What ball height measurement did they give you, and did you raise it any to account for the squat of the TV due to the tongue weight. Is the trailer sitting perfectly level while hitched?

 

Herm

[dougi]

Thanks for the check list Cherie.

 

I'm wondering why it is necessary to spend time getting the propane tanks filled? I would think that could be accomplished before the owners arrive, so the refrigerator could be cooled down before you pick up your unit. That would be much more convenient for the new owners, I would think. I suppose this could be an education process for the RV newbies, but most Oliver owners are not newbies and already know how to remove empty and replace full propane tanks.

 

This was the only thing that struck me as being unusual with the process, other than the fact that an Oliver person will accompany you to the campground and help you set up the trailer for the first time. That's a really nice thing, IF you don't need to first swing by the local grocery store to pick up something to eat on the way to the campground. Maybe this could be accomplished with some additional coordination.

[jam49]

Thanks for the checklist. I only have 143 days or 1144 hours left to pickup.

[technomadia]

Herm - The ball height they gave us was 19". Ours is not sitting level at current moment, as we need to get air shocks installed on our Jeep Liberty to compensate for the weight.

 

Doug - I'm not sure if there is a reason why Oliver doesn't have the tanks pre-filled for us. It may be a legal/risk issue. I'm really not sure. I agree, it would be a bit more convenient that way, but it really wasn't a big deal to stop and get them filled. And if you do need to stop and pick anything up at the grocery store, the Super Walmart is right across the steet from the factory and I'm sure your tech would be more than happy to delay going to the campsite until you're ready.

 

- Cherie

[dougi]

Thanks Cherie,

 

I just emailed Robert and asked him to fill the propane tanks prior to delivery and turn on the refrigerator to have it nice and cold when we take delivery. I'm happy to pay for the propane and the time it takes to have this done, so I asked for that service to be added to my invoice, which we are in process of finalizing.

 

This seems like a reasonable request to me. We'll see if Oliver will do it.

 

Doug

[bugeyedriver]

DougI, I understand your thoughts on the propane, but as I recall from the delivery of my Wonder Egg, Oliver is not technically set up for the storage / OSHA requirements / Tennessee propane service permits / etc. They have been busy concentrating on the production process of the "Worlds Finest Fiberglass RV" (IMHO )

 

They also find it instructive for a portion of us who have not dealt with the propane tanks to get a practical example of the fill process. It goes along with their philosophy of a great shake-down overnighter with on the Natchez Trace. Actually, the time involved to accomplish the fill is about 10-15 minutes and does not detract from the pick up experience.

 

They are starting to run an electrical hookup the the delivery trailers in order to enable the refrigerator to cool down by pick up time. This enables customers to load their food items directly, without worries about temperatures.

[dougi]

 

They are starting to run an electrical hookup the the delivery trailers in order to enable the refrigerator to cool down by pick up time. This enables customers to load their food items directly, without worries about temperatures.

 

This is my goal, to have a refrigerator that is cooled down so we can put food in it before we leave for the campground. The propane is not important one way or the other. I told Robert this in the email. I don't want to go off to the camp ground with a hot refrigerator, and no place to put cold food. We may not have an ice chest with us, depending on our packing. We plan on staying away from home for about a month once we pick up our trailer.

 

Does the campground you go to have electrical hookups or is it dry camping? I read about a free campground near Hohenwald on the Natchez Trace Parkway but maybe it's not the place they take you to for your first night's camping.

 

I wonder what they did with Chris and Cherie when they let them stay in their warehouse. Maybe they had to take their propane bottles out of their trailer before they could stay there overnight. I would think as long as they don't sell propane, they have no permitting issues, but I don't really know Tennessee laws about this. I'm sure customers come to see them all the time with their filled propane bottles on their trailers. But I don't mind filling our propane bottles myself. I just don't want a hot refrigerator when I drive our trailer out of their driveway, not knowing for sure if it's going to cool down later or not.

 

Doug

[bugeyedriver]

DougI,

 

Can't answer for Technomadia's time as he blasted throughout the factory floor that night on a golf cart, but I can say the accommodations out on the Trace are wonderful, with water and electricity provided. You won't need any black water flush until you're further along on your adventure, anyway.

[dougi]

Sounds good to me Pete. We are looking forward to getting our new Oliver. I noticed on the invoice that it will be titled as a 2009 model.

 

I wonder what percentage of the new Olivers are free of all malfunctions when they are delivered. I wonder how much testing is done on these trailers prior to delivery, to make sure everything is in working order, and there are no water leaks. I haven't sean that issue discussed on the forum. Maybe someone can fill us in on that if he or she sees this post.

 

I wonder why we haven't heard more about how Cherie and Chris like their new trailer, and how long they were at the factory getting things fixed. Has anyone talked to them?

[technomadia]

Doug.. patience... please!

 

We absolutely love our new trailer and really couldn't be happier.

 

We've just been *MEGA* busy since we picked it up. We had a major malfunction with our old Tab trailer to deal with before getting it to a consignment lot, moving everything over into the Oliver and getting our entire lives in order to hit the road full time. Not to mention, while all of this is happening - my house in Florida sold. Like I said.. busy. Life has really been a bit of a blur the past week or so, as despite what it may seem - we actually do have a life outside of the internet.

 

As of yesterday evening, we're actually back on the road full time and getting caught up with resuming our normal technomadic lives. We enjoyed our first night actually living in our Oliver last evening, boondocked in a WalMart parking lot outside of Kansas City. Right now, we've scored some awesome free camping in Vermillion, SD - where tomorrow I will get my driver's license and switch my domicile to SD from FL. And then it's westward.

 

Trust me, lots of reports and pictures about our new Oliver will be forthcoming in the coming weeks as we make our trek Westward towards Burning Man (we're on a very tight time table) and fully get acclimated to traveling with the Oliver.

 

 

I can say, in the 24 hours that we've been on the road - we've already given two full tours to people who stopped us at rest stops and RV stores. The Oliver is attracting a lot of attention! And we're very proud and happy owners.

 

- Cherie

[dougi]

Hi Cherie, I'm glad to hear you guys are doing well and back on the road enjoying your new Oliver. Congratulations on selling your house. Have fun at Burning Man and keep in touch.

 

Doug

[SeaDawg]

Cherie,

Thanks for taking the time to do that wonderful checklist! I'm sure a lot of new owners will find it to be very helpful.

Sherry

[alex k]

A couple of comments:

 

First: did someone say 167 days until delivery? It takes that long to make an Oliver?

 

Second: I live on the West Coast. It is unlikely that I could pick up my Oliver from the factory. There are no dealers here yet. Does Oliver have a special punch list that they could do to test everything before it gets shipped 2000 mi to me? Or am I pretty much on my own and have to pick it up, in which case I don't think I can get one.

[dougi]

No Alex, it takes 6-7 weeks to make an Oliver, and I'm sure they can arrange delivery to you on the West Coast.

 

Doug

[technomadia]

Hi Alex...

 

Never fear about the 167 days - just some folks are ordering them later in the year to correspond with their vacation time. Turn around time on an Oliver is about 6-8 weeks from order date.

 

You're probably best calling Oliver to see if arrangements can be made for shipping one out to you.

 

- Cherie