Oliver Elite II #748 Guts - 131 Images of the harder to see spots

[Jairon]

     

   

[Overland]

Thanks - great photos.  They'll be a useful reference for you later.

Some comments:

First thought is that the trailers are being delivered much cleaner than they used to be, which is great to see.  

Some of the wiring still looks like a mess, but I'm glad to see that they're using lever nut style connectors now, which should make repairs, diagnosis, and upgrades easier.  

I hate that they're still using gorilla tape to hold down wiring.  And they're not zip tying the ends of their wire wrap to prevent it from coming off.

I still see *sharp* screw ends poking inside the hull near wiring.

The new batteries are pretty cool.

It looks like they're doing a good job with the new insulation, cutting it tightly around obstacles and taping the seams.  

[Jairon]

7 hours ago, Overland said:

First thought is that the trailers are being delivered much cleaner than they used to be, which is great to see.

We're happy with it and haven't found any major issues. I plan to do a full review after we complete a few trips.

7 hours ago, Overland said:

I'm glad to see that they're using lever nut style connectors now

I was surprised to see that too.

7 hours ago, Overland said:

I hate that they're still using gorilla tape to hold down wiring.

Some of it has already pulled off. Taping over fiberglass dust doesn't work very well. 🤪

7 hours ago, Overland said:

I still see *sharp* screw ends poking inside the hull near wiring

Every unnecessary hole and screw through the fiberglass is hard to swallow (I'm picky). The vent for the furnace seems crazy so I assume some regulation is forcing them to do it that way.

7 hours ago, Overland said:

The new batteries are pretty cool.

I'm really happy with them so far. The bluetooth app is better than most. Lithionics is also the new supplier for Xantrex's lifepo4 battery line.

 

7 hours ago, Overland said:

It looks like they're doing a good job with the new insulation, cutting it tightly around obstacles and taping the seams.  

Yeah, it is pretty uniform other than to the right of the attachment point in the closet (photo below). I'm not sure if this is normal or was an oversight. I believe that is an exterior wall but it is really hard to see anything other than some exposed fiberglass.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Jairon

[Jim_Oker]

Thanks!

Heartwarming (not!) to see that they've already replaced the battery make/model that they put in #709. Oh well, fingers crossed - hopefully  it's  just because either they got a better deal or else because they ended up having to put heating mats under the LifeBlue batteries...

[Jairon]

1 hour ago, Jim_Oker said:

Heartwarming (not!) to see that they've already replaced the battery make/model that they put in #709

I believe Oliver is still installing both LifeBlue and Lithionics. They added Lithionics because they had more lithium orders than LifeBlue could handle.

[ROCOMO]

Great set of photos Jairon thank you for the upload, they help in understanding where the QA/QC is progressing or potentially needs attention.

[John E Davies]

Thanks for posting, some of the locations are a complete mystery to me. It is helpful to add an “annotation” text description in those cases. This is disheartening, I would have expected better than this Rat’s Nest. That looks just how mine did in 2017.... including way too long cables.

And this?

Does installing the black dump valve angled across the middle of the ONLY decent storage area in the front of the trailer make any sense at all? This is what mine looks like, the valve is hard up against the rear wall.

And mine came with smily faces everywhere (inspection marks)... If I had a new trailer with that black valve location and a Natures Head, removing the thing would be my very first mod. 

Kinked duct means a cold bathroom:

And WTH? This is just sad - the sealant should go on the bolt shank and underneath the washer, not globbed on top after installation.

Oh well, if wishes were fishes we would all cast nets. At least there are still things to complain about, if these trailers were perfect, what would we talk about except tow vehicles, grills and campsites?😬

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited March 13, 2021 by John E Davies

[Jairon]

32 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

It is helpful to add an “annotation” text description in those cases.

Agreed. I plan on doing a full review at some point with more detail and descriptions. I loved seeing photos like this when I was considering a purchase so I just wanted to dump them in an unorganized fashion for the time being.

 

32 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Does installing the black dump valve angled across the middle of the ONLY decent storage area in the front of the trailer make any sense at all?

Yeah, I was bummed when I saw this too. I'd be curious to know if all of the new ones are like this and why.

32 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Kinked duct

Practically zero heats makes it to the bathroom even with one of the vents completely closed.

 

32 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

And WTH? This is just sad

The person wielding the caulk gun should probably have their privileges revoked. It is a train wreck in almost every out of sight location. At least stuff like that can easily be resolved in the future. 😁

Edited March 13, 2021 by Jairon

[ROCOMO]

Many parts show an eye to quality that most have come to expect

Match Marking / Turn of Nut

Good wire loom

Assuming good weld penetration the bead of dimes cap is better than most and only in a few spots could use some wire wheel or brush 

As SeaDawg mentioned the insulation looks tight when it does not get damaged later in the build process

 

 

 

 

There is a fine line between a service loop and poor training or a short cut

Ducting and wire looms like this are not expected

 

 

 

Overland mentioned the trailers are being delivered cleaner than before, not sure what to expect now, but there are portions of this build that look like they have quite a bit of glass shop dust and would benefit from additional attention to detail 

 

 

 

Overall should a buyer be concerned the demand for production is starting to compromise QA/QC?

 

 

 

 

 

[SeaDawg]

Seadawg (me)  would say big leaps from 2008. 

I'd say, get out and get camping. Drive a ton of miles. 

Enjoy the heck out of your camper, as we have. 

[topgun2]

13 hours ago, ROCOMO said:

Overall should a buyer be concerned the demand for production is starting to compromise QA/QC?

 

No - I don't think so.

In fact, I believe the opposite is true.  With experience and the income generated by producing more units, Oliver has instituted a number of QC measures in the past couple of years that have produced needed results.  While that effort is not yet (ever?) complete it certainly is better than it was during the period when Oliver was trying to expand rapidly.  

Bill