Should we sell our Leisure Travel and buy and Ollie?

[Moots]

Hello,

My wife and I started with a tent in the back of a Subaru and kids, bumped up to a pop up trailer, a Holiday Rambler 29" travel trailer, a Keystone Montana 38' fifth wheel that we pulled with a Ford diesel dually, sold it all and bought a Leisure Travel on a Sprinter chassis. We love the simplicity! But there are things we don't like: not a 4-season rig, no spare tire or room for one, expense and hassle of servicing the Sprinter, the tradeoff of having to unhook the rig to drive to town. You have all been there!

We thought we were through with travel trailers, and the finish and design of the Leisure Travel is generally top notch. Solar installed on roof, great little generator, no slider but comfortable queen bed in the back etc. Then we saw Oliver trailers and wonder if we can match the experience in a four-season trailer that will last and hold its value. That's where we are at. We have a diesel Audi Q7 that I think would pull it, although we might ultimately get a half-ton pickup if we go down this road. Also considering Bigfoot. Is that okay to say here?

I will read the forum, but just wanted to introduce ourselves. Rob and Cary Hansen from Littleton, CO.  Safe travels!

[Mike and Carol]

Your Q7 will pull the bigger Ollie, there are owners with an Audi tow vehicle.  I would recommend looking at an Oliver in person to see if it would be a good replacement for your current rig.  We certainly like ours.  We’ve also looked at the Bigfoot.  It’s a nice trailer with more room if you get the 25’.  It has a more traditional interior.  I’d check out both to be sure!  Mike

[Mainiac]

We had a Bigfoot owner, traveling through, that wanted to look at our Oliver. He seemed impressed and you could tell they were ready for a change. If course when they offered us a chance to look at theirs, we jumped at the chance. The initial reactions were that it seemed claustrophobic, dark, with a choppy floor plan, and the table was like my mother's old shakey ironing board. It took three people to help get him turned around and backed up. Made me truly appreciate our wireless camera, that had let us back down a narrow mountain road, after rain had washed out the road ahead...

 

[BackofBeyond]

Welcome Moots,

Try to go through an Oliver, it will go a long way to aiding your decision. Oliver has a program to aid prospective buyers in viewing the product - of actual owners. If we ever make it out your way  - you can look through ours- but CO is going to have open up the rec areas - well  - so will the  rest of the west. We are out your way most summers - 2020 may be the exception.

As for the TV - now that is a can of worms - best left for later......

RB

[katanapilot]

I love the LTV.  Wish we had known about them before we bought our Forest River MBS motorhome.  If we had, we probably would not have decided get rid of our FR MH and buy an Oliver (not yet delivered). The FR quality control was poor to non-existent, warranty service a cruel joke and build quality was poor - although probably average for mass produced RV's.  Hope the Oliver turns out to be a better choice for us. I do trust my Toyota tow vehicle a lot more than either the FR or MBS chassis.

As to the spare tire on the LTV,  I thought there was a rack under the Sprinter chassis that will hold a spare?  It's not easy to access at least on our 2015 model. I know FR has removed the spare tire/wheel on the newer chassis - primarily to save weight since they are building MH's that only have a few hundred pounds of cargo carrying capacity. We tow a Honda Fit behind our MH and the MBS chassis handles it fine. I do all maintenance myself, although admittedly the complex and very expensive emissions system has given some folks fits.  Rear wheel sensors, too.

[Trainman]

We started with a Casita and moved up to the Oliver. Biggest thing other then the fine quality of the Oliver was the Oliver was a modern design and we liked the fiberglass styled interior as well as the exterior. Like someone said in a previous post the Escape and the Bigfoot was old style and reminded me of my grandmother house back in the day, ie., too much wood. I would say you will probably want a crew cab truck to pull your trailer, as it's not that the Audi may do the job, but as the Oliver is somewhat smaller the truck will carry much more and not load up the trailer so much. Personally when we camp we find no problem for more space and the Oliver works very well for us.

 

trainman

[chuckstovall]

Hi Moots and welcome.

I looked at Bigfoot.  There were things I liked and things I didn't.  The list of things I didn't was much, much shorter on the Oliver.  Ended up getting a 2017 LEII used last fall.  Only used it a little before COVID, but am very happy.

I'm down in Monument and would be very happy to show mine to you most anytime.  Feel free to message me if you'd like to set up a time.

 

[Moots]

Katanapilot,

The Leisure Travel is a fine camper. We have sure taken it on some beautiful trips -- clear to Vermont and eastern Canada (from Colorado) last summer. We are emotionally attached to the memories and our great traveling rig. But if the Oliver, because it is a true four-season travel trailer, allows us to do even more of what we love, that would be a win!

 

Mainiac and Trainman,

Thanks for the Big Foot comparisons. We hope to see both. Still getting used to the wet bath idea, but in the big scheme of things, that is a blip. Really looking forward to seeing an Oliver.

 

Thanks,

Moots

 

Edited May 11, 2020 by Moots

[Moots]

6 hours ago, chuckstovall said:

6 hours ago, chuckstovall said:

Hi Moots and welcome.

I looked at Bigfoot.  There were things I liked and things I didn't.  The list of things I didn't was much, much shorter on the Oliver.  Ended up getting a 2017 LEII used last fall.  Only used it a little before COVID, but am very happy.

I'm down in Monument and would be very happy to show mine to you most anytime.  Feel free to message me if you'd like to set up a time.

 

Chuckstovall,

Thank you for the offer. That would be helpful. I will message you.

Moots

 

[WhatDa]

Hi Moots,

Welcome -- any relation to the bike manufacturer?

I actually rented a sprinter RV (Revel) before getting the Oliver LE2.  

What I liked about the Revel:

• drive down the road, walk to the back and take a nap without ever going outside. 
• propane-free design - only had to make sure I topped off on Diesel
• parking was a breeze - I could fit in one space at a store while on the road
• bed/garage design was very flexible and did provide 

What I didn't like about the Revel

• I was less likely to take it somewhere once all hooked up and settled
• Didn't have jacks so wasn't super stable inside, if someone has restless leg and you are trying to type on the computer you get seasick
• Cost: I could buy an oliver, an awesome tow vehicle, and another car for the price of the Revel
• Sprinter Maintenance/Reliability
• Space - Revel is the shorter sprinter so the closet is also the shower - I needed someplace good to hang clothes

 

Why I eventually got the Oliver

• Price - with the Oliver I use the TV as our main car, so the cost of the revel is $100k more easily.
• I needed a hanging closet for dress shirts/etc... and shuffling those around in the Revel was a pain
• Parking the Oliver is very easy, I have ended up with some money "tent only" or "no one else can fit" spots that back up on lakes/rivers.
• #VanLife was stolen by people that eat avocado toast.  
• It was the only TT that I didn't cringe when going to the underside of a used Northeast model.  Beautiful welds and no rust on the Aluminum.
• VS other TT: If the roof somehow leaked on an Oliver all winter, you could pretty much fix the leak on the Oliver and have an awesome spring.  For many other TT's your trailer is now a total loss.  While the big foot is fiberglass on the outside, it's more traditional on the inside.
• Narrow - it tows easier than the 8' wide trailers and uses less gas
• I can use it in the snow - we live in the Cascade foothills, so we get snow and venture in the mountains often.  It could be better insulated, but it's better than anything else I've seen.

 

[Moots]

Hi WhatDa,

We appreciate your thoughtful response, which mirrors much of our thinking, with some additional thoughts that hadn't occurred to us. Thank you! We are meeting ChuckStovall this Friday to see his LEII. He lives very close to us. Can't wait! We have owned enough rigs that we will know pretty quickly whether the Ollie is a good fit for us. And yes, I have done a lot of road biking in Colorado over the years, and still ride a Moots VaMoots. Thanks.

Moots

[carnivore]

Moots,

I just sent you a pm.  We are currently in Palo Duro canyon and slowly camping our way to Littleton to visit our Son. If you are flexible with your time, we would be happy to show you ours and discuss likes/dislikes. Give me a call or text. 
thanks. Steve

[WhatDa]

Forgot one other thing, if you are taking an extended trip and need an oil change, something breaks, winter tires need to be mounted and installed, etc.... you can stay in your trailer while that happens.  Make sure you take a look at the underside of the trailer you look at and the weld quality on the frame.  That's what sold me.

Edited May 12, 2020 by WhatDa

[topgun2]

Whatda - 

Your comment about the frame welds brought back a memory - After having just purchased a new SOB travel trailer I passed through Hohenwald on my way out West for some fly fishing.  At that time, the first stop on the plant tour was the frame jig where they weld up Oliver frames.  I was so impressed with how those welds looked that I was ready to sign a contract right there.  However, there was the not so small matter of that brand new camper sitting outside and a wife that I'm sure would not appreciate those welds as much as I did.  At the end of the day though the "new" camper was sold for what I paid for it and the wife (finally) saw the quality of the Oliver.  Now when I show my Ollie to interested parties I always have a clean piece of cardboard for them to kneel or lay on so that they can see those beautiful welds.

Bill

[John E Davies]

Welding aluminum correctly by hand is very much an art. Your average trailer hitch shop cannot do it, a specialty company is usually the best place to have something like a personal project welded. Robotic machines are taking over in the larger factories like Aluma. In a shift they do the work of ten men, and with very repeatable high quality.

I don’t know if Olivers will ever be machine welded, it would not be a bad thing, but their human welders do beautiful work, and as owners we should appreciate it and thank them.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Patriot]

John Davies is spot on regarding Oliver’s welders. When we did our factory tour one thing I looked at were the aluminum welds...I saw “stacked nickels”. If anyone knows anything about welding “stacked nickels” is a very high complement of beautiful welds.

So Thank you to the welders at Oliver for fine work.

-David

[BackofBeyond]

Yes -humans at Oliver do great work. However, Humans are not machines, and as such we make mistakes, can't help it - its our DNA.  You want to see great welds, 1ooo's of times, every time, go to a modern high tech, robotic  body shop in a modern automotive manufacturing facility or, supplier to same.  It was my pleasure to be associated with such an place. Suffice to say, starting up the process was the hard part - they are their best - running in steady state. Holidays were NOT something we looked forward to most of the time. 

[Moots]

I appreciate fine welds on my Moots and Steve Potts titanium bicycles. The craftsmanship is beautiful. When I get a chance to see an Ollie, I will look for the fine welds.

I am close to sold on the Oliver travel trailer, and will be surprised if an in-person tour doesn't confirm that. My wife, however, is a little more careful and unsure about selling our Leisure Travel Unity. So we will take our time until we both are sure.

[The Shackelfords]

My wife was unsure until our factory tour. After the tour she was ready to buy the same day. 

[Moots]

You won't meet a nicer person than Chuck Stovall. He kindly showed Cary and me his Ollie this morning. Cary is concerned that it might be too small for us and our two midsize dogs. And all that keeps popping into my head is the beautiful belly of that trailer  --- the craftsmanship, the welds, support structure. The clean lines and functionality. Hmmm..... We will figure this out. Thank you.

[Overland]

For what it’s worth there are quite a few Ollie owners that travel with dogs. @ScubaRx even travels with both a dog and a small horse and they seem to get along fine. 

[WhatDa]

We are two + one 35-40lbs dog.  There is plenty of room for the dog on the floor bed she has, either dinette cushion, we use a "full" size topper on the "king" bed, so plenty of room for her beside that too.  No matter where we get her to stay as we sleep, we'll wake up with her in the middle of us.  During the day, she collects all the pillows and sleeps on top of them.  The only problem we've run into with two is the ruckus of playing, which is too much for the Oliver or a 2500 SqFt house if they don't get yard/outside time first.  Two dogs is not double the mischief, it's mischief squared.

 

That clean underside has a side benefit that has the wife an Oliver believer: no mice can get up in it.

Edited May 16, 2020 by WhatDa

[topgun2]

ShallowGal has two large labradoodles plus a good sized husband and when they picked up their Ollie they immediately left on a multi-month trip across the USA to Alaska and then back down to Florida.  Last I heard all of them are still in one piece and very happy with each other - including the Oliver. 

Bill

[Moots]

22 hours ago, topgun2 said:

ShallowGal has two large labradoodles plus a good sized husband and when they picked up their Ollie they immediately left on a multi-month trip across the USA to Alaska and then back down to Florida.  Last I heard all of them are still in one piece and very happy with each other - including the Oliver. 

Bill

Thanks Bill. We searched and found ShallowGal's thread on their Alaska trip -- traveling with "doods" Great trip! And it gave us confidence that we could find room for our pals.

We have decided to sell our Leisure Travel Unity. Hopefully we can find a buyer who will enjoy it as much as we have. We love the adventures, and want a rig that will enable us to go even more places in more seasons. We have a lot we want to see and do!

[John E Davies]

While two dogs and two adults is doable, the limiting factor IMHO is floor space. The center isle is very narrow and there is hardly any room under the dinette. If the dogs are calm and well behaved, then maybe it will work OK.

For our two 40 lb doodles ..... we and they are MUCH happier when they stay at home.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited May 18, 2020 by John E Davies