Customer design input-Larger Ollie

[GSDK9Dad]

2 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

By the sounds of it - you have already decided on what you want.

If I were in your shoes I'd try attacking the issue from a different perspective - how do you intend to use your camper?

What I mean by this is if your main usage will be going to commercial camp grounds and possibly the occasional National Park (even though the 27 foot AS could be a bit of a challenge in some of these parks) you will have your decision.  On the other hand - if you want ease of travel, ease of getting into and out of more remote places or if you want to camp in chilly weather then that road will lead you in a different direction.  If you spend or plan to spend a fair amount of your camping and on the road time actually in your camper then something a bit on the roomy side would be attractive while if being in the out of doors, hiking, fishing and the like is your style then you will go in a different direction.  Let these decisions drive the answer to what size and/or design of camper you should look at.  Then you will be in a better position to be comfortable with the brand of camper.

Good luck!

Bill

Hi Bill,

I know it may sound like my mind is "made up" but, truly it is not.  I have gone to several RV parks with an open mind and even looked at a few options I wasn't considering like Grand Design and etc. but, still haven't come to a solid conclusion.  I do love the "allure" of the AS and the quality it used to stand for but, I have seen the problems of late and not sure you are truly getting what you pay for anymore. 

As for use, that is a hard one to answer.  Currently, I only tent camp (when I can) and I enjoy both... very dispersed away from everyone and also in campgrounds with amenities.  I do enjoy bicycling riding, a little hiking and fishing (not a fishing or hiking nut) but, also enjoy social gatherings as well.  So, I see myself doing both types.  I also realize I will be getting older and ease of use and comfort will definitely play a factor.  I am trying to do a lot of research and buy my "second trailer (and hopefully last) first". 

[Steph and Dud B]

3 hours ago, GSDK9Dad said:

2 AC option

I'm seeing this more often these days, 26-27' travel trailers with 2 ACs. I don't get it. We were in the Badlands and AZ in mid summer with our travel trailer that size with 1 AC and got by. Even our 32' fifth wheel has only 1 AC and it's been fine from the mid-West to the east coast. All this will do is lower the line voltage in campgrounds even more. 

[Dave and Kimberly]

GSDK9Dad... I hear you on some of those concerns.   I was looking at many different models... in the campgrounds passed thru.    I was always looking at the pros/cons of each model... even toy haulers.   I KNEW we required a quality unit and I was looking at AS because they are built near my home and many of my friends spent their careers with them.

   The wet shower is a concern for me (I'm a shower taker).  Many went into Olivers with at least some concern on shower size.  Most have since decided it now is non-issue.  

   We are travelers... not so much campers.   We want mobile comfort but don't need a rolling house.   One of the attractions (for me) of Oliver is it's reputation for towing.   Virtually no one with experience will dispute that point.  I had to reign myself in when looking at RV's.   What did I really need to be comfortable in while traveling?   There are bigger units... and personally I fell in love with some of the AS floor plans. The very first time I saw a trailer with two twin beds in it was a vintage AS... probably around 1955 model.   I never forgot that.  The LEII allows me to chill, read a book in bed... watch a bit of tv... go to bed, wake up and have a cup of coffee at at the table while my wife sleeps in later.   I can go to bathroom, shower and step out to greet the world when I'm good and ready.   It's enough.   Cooking for most part is a combination of stove top, microwave and grill outside.  I quote someone else that said "Ollie is everything I need and nothing more".

   Ultimately cost has to be calculated.  What is a reasonable long term resale value??  Because $90K and fuel costs will buy a lot of hotel rooms!   So then when we toured the factory at Hohenwald and decided to spend this kind of money... I had to give AS one more look while Oliver was fresh in my mind.   I still liked the floor plan.... but the quality of an AS was beyond disappointing to me.  On many levels... AND it was about $30k MORE... for roughly the same length and one foot wider.   This may be a unique point in time... but the re-sale value of Olivers is pretty incredible.  Ultimately... the cost of any unit is just the difference between purchase and resale... and whatever maintenance cost in between.   That's what you paid to travel around.

    On after the sale service:   I'm in Ohio... so Hohenwald isn't exactly close... but their service has proven to be stellar.   I learned the hard way before that the "warrantee and service" that you might think is similar to owning a new Honda... it's NOT that way in the RV world in general.   Not even close.   I expect to educate myself enough to manage 90% of my own service and maintenance on the Oliver.  When I can't... I'm confident the factory will be there for me.

    In two days we are leaving to pick up our new LEII... and we will be doing a shake down trip and then hanging out with others at the Rally.  That was really nice of Oliver to schedule a get together just for us so we could meet everyone!  🙂 

[GSDK9Dad]

Dave, Thank you!  You have definitely made me even more exited about my upcoming trip to Tennessee.

I really going to enjoy the tour and looking them over.  I keep telling myself, even when I tent camp, I don't "hang out" in my tent unless the weather turns bad (then it is pretty miserable lol).  I do realize I will be spending a lot more time on the road and camping with a trailer when I retire but, I still will want to sit out and enjoy when possible.

I am 6'2" and not a "small individual" it has served me well in my career but, not always fun in tight spaces.  At first I was concerned about the "wet bath" idea but, I keep hearing how much room there actually is so, I am looking forward to seeing that in person as well.  

I do appreciate all the feedback from everyone and I do realize everyone has there own reasons for choosing and ultimately it has to be "right" for each person. I am learning all I can in the meantime!  🙂 

[Mike and Carol]

3 hours ago, GSDK9Dad said:

I keep telling myself, even when I tent camp, I don't "hang out" in my tent unless the weather turns bad (then it is pretty miserable lol).

The only time we wish we had more room is when we camp during periods of lengthy bad weather and can’t spend time outside.  

We spend a lot of time outside.  If the weather is cold we set up the Clam and fire pit and have a nice outdoor living area.  Otherwise, we’re out under the awning enjoying the weather.  Mike

[routlaw]

4 hours ago, GSDK9Dad said:

I am 6'2" and not a "small individual" it has served me well in my career but, not always fun in tight spaces.  At first I was concerned about the "wet bath" idea but, I keep hearing how much room there actually is so, I am looking forward to seeing that in person as well.  

Hopefully you do understand its not the size of the wet bath so much as how much water you are carrying around and how fast the gray tank fills up. Understand you will NOT be taking Hollywood showers unless you are in campground with full hookups. You will be amazed at how fast you can empty a full fresh water tank and fill up a gray holding tank. 36 gallons does not go far in the boonies. Glorified bird baths is closer to what you will be doing if boon docking or camping without full hookups. 

[SeaDawg]

My old saying is "all trailers live huge on the outside, which is where we live."

We're over  a week into season 15 with our 2008 Ollie. It has everything we need, and nothing more.

I know your choice is a very big decision.  We looked at absolutely everything before we bought our 2008 elite shorty.

Sometimes, I  wish we had the bigger bed of the elite II, or its twins, but we still are quite fine and happy, and sleep very well. Actually,  I sleep better in the smaller camper bed than the king at home. Must be the fresh air, and the quiet.

I'm always ready for the next day's adventures, though maybe not before 9. 😆

Good luck with your decision.  The factory tour will tell you a lot. 

[AlbertNTerri]

Very interesting thread to read through. When I ordered our EII last October, I asked the sales rep if there were any plans in the pipeline for a larger unit. His response basically was that before COVID they were looking at a 25-27 foot unit, but then all that was put on the back burner when the orders started rolling in and the priority changed to filling the orders. My delivery date set in October 2021 was for the end of May 2022 (7 months). Now our pick up date for Hull #1125 is on June 3, 2022 (counting the hours).

The things I'd like to see in an Oliver are more solar charging capability, although I don't think I'm going to be disappointed with the top-end package I've ordered, and an incinerating toilet. The Nature's Head which I ordered is a fine unit but an incinerating toilet seems like such an elegant solution to the age-old problem of what to do with our waste. Turning a single usage into a table spoon size amount of ash seems quite efficient. Current technology will allow you to use either electricity or propane but you have to pick one type, it's not like a fridge that you can switch back and forth. In any case, no one makes an incinerating toilet that is rated for rv use (although people are starting to use them). When someone comes up with a toilet that can run like a 3-way fridge, on AC, DC or gas, I'll be first in line to buy one.

For now, I'm looking forward to the soon-to-be new addition to our family just the way it is and can't wait to start using it. 

[topgun2]

Albert - 

That is a cool hull number and a great time to pick it up.  I do think you'll be impressed with the solar on the Ollie unless you are a major consumer of electricity.

With your delivery so close - are you coming to the Rally?  Attendance would certainly help you prepare even more and would also give you more ideas than you can handle regarding mods that everyone has made to theirs.

Hope to see you there!

Bill

[Mattnan]

We had the same intent for use of our Ollie as Dave and Kimberly.  We used our Ollie in most every possible way.  We boondocked. We stayed at full service high end parks, State Parks, COEs, National Parks, Harvest Host and Cracker Barrel.  We looked at Airstream 28,27,26,25 and 23 all international trim.  I admit I liked the floor plans and the interior.  The quality control issues were evident each of the 3 separate times we visited the dealer (5 hours away from us).  Those quality issues the roughly 30% additional cost and the fear that I would dent the Airstream led us to Olliver.  We were brand new to camping  other than some tent camping 35 years ago.  For Nancy, our dog, and me the Ollie turned out to be a great choice.  Our plan was to do some extended trips South and West during the cold Maine winters.  We did that and camped in temps from 5 to 95 degrees.  We camped in urban locations like the middle of New Orleans a 5 minute walk to the French Quarter.  Our concerns with the Ollie were; the wet bath, inside storage, and refrigerator space.  The wet bath turned out to be a non issue.  We like it fine.  Clothing storage also turned out to be a non issue and we has to pack for both winter and summer clothes on the same 4 month trip.  The fridge space was tight at times but worked great and is bigger than it seems.  The ease of towing was huge.  We had a plan to do 2 long trips over a couple of winters and then sell the Ollie and do some foreign travel and spend time with our new grandson.  We did 2 longer winter trips and 2 short summer trips.  The Ollie was perfect for us.  We just sold our Ollie when we returned a month ago.  Great choice for traveling, camping and boondocking!!!!  We had also toured the factory and seen 2 before we purchased.  Good luck with your decisions.  

[topgun2]

17 hours ago, GSDK9Dad said:

Dave, Thank you!  You have definitely made me even more exited about my upcoming trip to Tennessee.

Don't forget to take a camera with you and use it!  These are individualized guided tours.  However, do not be hesitant or afraid to ask to see something in more detail, touch it, walk over to get a closer look at it, etc.  Certainly get your monies worth.

With regards to the wet bath - think about exactly how much time you spend in the bath versus what that square footage of space costs in terms of not only money but in terms of square footage value to you.  When I'm camping/boondocking in the Western States I most often shower outside and use a solar shower.  This saves on propane (the sun heats the water) and grey water tank space.  Let alone giving me all the room I could ever ask for!😃

Bill

[AlbertNTerri]

Thanks Topgun.

No, unfortunately we won't be able to make the Rally this year. My work schedule conflicts too much with it, but Terri and I discussed it and we're hoping to block it out next year so we can make it and come hang out with the flock (or is it a herd?)

Perhaps we should call it a Pod of Olivers?

[KeysConchs]

Chiming in a little late on this, but I do think it bears emphasizing that 27' is considerably larger than 23', especially in state park campgrounds.  We are 4 months into a trip from our home base in the FL Keys and have been up as far as Cape Breton, PEI, and throughout New England. Many of the campgrounds we have stayed in had very few campsites that could accommodate 27'. One other consideration is that if you really intend on using both air conditioners, you will likely need 50 amp service which will further limit your options. As others have pointed out, it will be important to predefine what style of camping best suits you. 

[Patriot]

4 minutes ago, KeysConchs said:

Chiming in a little late on this, but I do think it bears emphasizing that 27' is considerably larger than 23', especially in state park campgrounds.  We are 4 months into a trip from our home base in the FL Keys and have been up as far as Cape Breton, PEI, and throughout New England. Many of the campgrounds we have stayed in had very few campsites that could accommodate 27'. One other consideration is that if you really intend on using both air conditioners, you will likely need 50 amp service which will further limit your options. As others have pointed out, it will be important to predefine what style of camping best suits you. 

KeysConchs,

We agree with you on length being a concern. We also traveled the entire east coast last summer from Gulf Shores to Maine and never had an issue with getting a site.  I personally don’t see Oliver building any thing larger than the LE2 for a lot of reasons. There is still awaiting list to order and purchase LE2’s. Anything larger would be super expensive and possibly not sell as well as the existing model. Oliver has really got a great design in the LE2 and we are thrilled with ours. It’s everything we need and nothing we don’t. 👍🏻😊