Wish for 4 person family trailer

[J293132]

Wish Oliver would produce a travel trailer for a 4 person family.

Today's travel trailers have put too much emphasis on bells & whistles, huge size, and do not share my priorities...but Oliver seems to be one of those rare companies that do (although I'll still need to figure out how to pay for it).

[ScubaRx]

The Oliver Travel Trailers were not originally designed with more than two people in mind. But, that is not to say that it can't be done, we travel in a twin bed Elite II with two adults, one 100 pound Doberman and two other 10-15 pound dogs. We make out fine with the big dog sleeping on the side dinette bed. Yes, I know he's a dog and could sleep on the floor, but he's a big dog with a rather mean temperament so you do what you gotta do. Actually, if you don't make his bed down for him by dark, he'll just stand there and cry until you do.

In an Elite II you have a choice of two bed layouts. Both have the side dinette that makes down into a single that is comfortable for one adult or possibly two small children. The rear sleeping area can consist of a large king bed or two twin beds.

If your family of four consists of two adults and two younger children, it can be done quite nicely by letting the older child have the side dinette and the younger child sleeping with the parents. If the other two people are older teenagers or adults there's just no place for four to sleep. If that is the case some folks have opted to put the older kids outdoors in a tent. Which is where they probably wanted to be anyway.

I hope this gives you the information you need to help you make a decision based on the dynamics of your family.

Good luck in your search. If you can make the Oliver work for you, I promise you will love the trailer.

 

[SeaDawg]

We have an Elite I, the shorty.

When our adult daughter camps with us, she pitches a tent. Ditto with our nephews. 

I don't think the Oliver's are very friendly for more than a couple plus one child, on the dropped down dinette.

Sherry

 

 

[Overland]

I think an Ollie plus a rooftop tent on the tow vehicle for the kids would be a pretty nice way to travel.  You get all the conveniences of the Ollie, and the kids get their own space plus maybe a bit more sense of adventure. 

[Overland]

Continuing that line of thought, I actually enjoy sleeping in a tent, possibly more so than the Ollie.  What I dislike about tent camping (mainly) is the setting up and taking down.  A rooftop tent solves that issue for the most part, but the problem with living with one of those is all the rest of the campsite gear that has to be pulled out, set up and then taken down the next morning so that you can use your vehicle for the day,  That’s fine if you’re traveling from A to B to C each night, but because of the density of parks and scenery, people don’t really ‘overland’ like that in the US - we tend to camp in one spot for two or three days, explore the area, then move on.  

Anyway, my wife would hate this idea, but I’ve wondered how well it would work to think of a shorty Ollie as a sort of luxurious chuck wagon.  Kit it out for storage and daytime use, but not necessarily for sleeping.  

Edited July 25, 2020 by Overland

[BackofBeyond]

We spent a lot of time camping with two boys when they were still at home ( a long time ago) and I can see plenty of ways to incorporate the Oliver EII into a multi people camping centerpiece.  Regular (well designed) tents along with a good awing system would be the cats meow when camping with kids. Back in the day it would have  been like staying at the Ritz - .