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Still researching


Rias

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Hello everyone. We have been doing some research on types, brands, sizes of a travel trailer. We would like it for weekend use with maybe a longer trip once a year. It would just be myself and partner so we are mainly looking at smaller size basically 20 ft or under. Oliver popped up during our searches & I would like to get some owner views on some of our concerns. We appreciate in advance anything that you can add since you have one & use the product. One of my concerns is the inability to change or modify the interior to make it our own. We also have some misgivings concerning the sleep situation. We don’t see the need for 2 tables in such a small trailer so the front would probably be a bed all of the time. How comfortable is the sleeping situation? One other concern is it looks based on the walkthroughs I viewed the interior is quite dark and walkway is narrow. Any help from actually owners that can give us some insight would be great!! 

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It sounds like you are considering the Oliver Elite and not the larger Elite II.  I’m not sure what you would want to change or modify on the interior.  It is basically a blank slate that you can decorate any way you want.  The fiberglass walls make it super easy to hang stuff.  I’ve seen pictures, fabrics, tiles, vinyl decals, etc.  The possibilities are endless.  A lot of Elite owners keep the larger table down and the bed available all the time using the smaller dinette for meals and sitting.  We have the twin bed Elite II so I can’t comment on sleeping in an Elite.  Finally, we don’t find the interior dark at all, quite the opposite.  The white walls and windows make it bright.  You should try to see one in person to see for yourself.  It is a narrow trailer at only 7’ wide, it’s been fine for us over the last 5+ years.  Mike

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Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

ALAZARCACOFLGAIDILKSKYLAMDMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKSCSDTNTXUTVAWVWYsm.jpgALAZARCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMS

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Thank you so much for your reply. I guess my impression about it being dark is not based on color but more on natural light. The windows seem small and low. I guess you can see out when seated but standing they seem very low. Yes we would definitely be looking at the smaller unit. My question about the sleeping arrangements & comfort are because most seat cushions are fine for sitting but not so much for sleeping. They tend to be quite hard. Do they make a model with dedicated bed? Would the 7’ be the interior width? We probably will want to get inside one at some point but we are not quite ready for purchase at this point. Looking at 2022. We would not want to waste anyone’s time yet. 

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Most likely if you order a 2022, it will be delivered in 2023 so you've got plenty of time. Wait times on fiberglass trailer manufacturers range from several months to several years. Escape is currently out about 23 months to delivery from the order day.

As far as seeing out of the windows unless seated, you won't have enough room to be walking around. Most of the time you'll be on the bed or at the dinette.

If you're concerned about using seat cushions to sleep on, buy the available mattress and keep the rear made up as a bed. Use the front dinette for eating.

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Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

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Yeah it's not dark. I in fact covered the bed area ceiling and back (bed end) corner walls in our E2 with some darker colored fabric to make it feel a little more dark and cave-like back there and yet it still feels bright and open, just a little more homey back there now. I do miss being able to look out the upper windows while standing that I can look out in our camper van when doing food prep or other standing activity but then in exchange I like the storage we get instead from the upper cabinets that run the length of the trailer. So far it's been more of a thing I miss in concept more than in practice though if that makes sense. 

Yeah, you won't be able to gut it and re-do the interior like some of the cool youtube video bloggers and such like you can with a stick-built trailer but again there are pros of having for instance upper cabinets that will never be found on the floor after towing on a potholed forest road for instance. If you're itching to have your trailer be a blank slate for your architectural notions, you'd surely be better off with a used trailer from some other maker so you're not ripping out brand new stuff right away. If you've camped a bunch in campers already you may have some well studied notions of how you want to live in your next one but if you're new to RVing you may consider renting a few somewhat differently laid out trailers in your size range (from Outdoorsy or one of the other rental clearinghouses out there) to get a better handle on what you really do and don't want in the interior space. My camping style may be quite different from yours so what works well for me/us may not be great for you. We're still learning and evolving after 17 years with a Class B van (and about 15 of tent camping before that) and now not quite a year with the Oliver E2, but given our experiences in our van we had a pretty good sense that we wanted just a bit more room and something that we didn't need to make up for driving every morning when we are staying in one campground for a week or more on end but are often driving somewhere during the days. And we had a pretty good sense of how we'd use the space both in nice weather (when we're outside most of the time!!) and in not so nice weather (when we want to avoid the cabin fever two people can get in a standard size van with a raised top 🙂 ). Sure enough, the E2 is a pretty decent fit for us. I'm not quite as fond of the stark white 23rd century space shuttle interior look as some folks but the cloth mod I did along with hanging some of my photos has pretty much taken sufficient care of that for us, and I do like that we can wash down the entire interior (my cloth mod is velcro'd to the walls and can be removed in seconds and replaced in about a minute).

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Jim and  Yanna, Woodinville WA

2004 Ford E250 camper conversion

Oliver Elite II hull #709

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I did look at  LOT of trailer floor plans and toured several from a short list in person. One thing I quickly eliminated from consideration was any trailer with a slideout. I've just read of too many horror stories. Join the RV Boondocking Facebook group for instance and search on Slide-out and you can find some such stories including leaks and slides that are stuck out on move day and such. Traveling in our van has helped me realize how much a camper will be bounced around and also how frustrating any component failure can be, so I wanted to reduce the points of possible failure, which I think the Oliver fits fairly well.

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Jim and  Yanna, Woodinville WA

2004 Ford E250 camper conversion

Oliver Elite II hull #709

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Thank you all who responded. It is always nice to hear the views of people who actually own & have used a product. I have been viewing quite a few walk through videos of the various travel trailers we are interested in but can only find one of an Oliver. Once we get closer to making a decision to purchase we will definitely be looking to get inside the models to get a better feel for what will work for us. We want to stay small, definitely no slides, but want to be comfortable. I’ve done my fair share of backpacking, tent camping & at this point in life don’t want to do any “ground” sleeping. We also are motivated by quality & are looking for something that will last more then a few years. 

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It's good to take your time. We went to rv shows, private sellers, and looked at well over 150 campers before we settled in our oliver, 14 years ago.

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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11 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

It's good to take your time. We went to rv shows, private sellers, and looked at well over 150 campers before we settled in our oliver, 14 years ago.

Or, if you are like us, just do the research online, read multiple forums and just pull the trigger.  😁   We kept coming back to the Oliver Elite II over and over, so after about a month of research we ordered without even seeing an Elite II in person.  The honesty of the owners on this site made it easier to do so.  Happy to say we have ZERO regrets.  

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States Visited Map

2020 Elite II, Hull 688 --- 2021 Silverado 2500HD, 6.6L Duramax Diesel

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We have a 2018 LE and like quite a few others, we leave the larger rear dinette in its "bed" configuration. So far we have been using the factory cushions for the bed, with a mattress topper over them. We didn't want to setup and tear down the dinette every day when traveling. The bed is 2" narrower than a full/double mattress and you sleep cross-ways, so the person closest to the rear window has to climb over their partner if they need to get up in the middle of the night. For us, a small inconvenience in exchange for the smaller trailer for easier towing and access to tighter campsites.

There are several bed configuration options in the LE II, a little more headroom and more available storage space... so quite a few puts 'n takes to trade off against your own camping style, interest and capabilities. We've been camping for decades, working our way through backpacking & canoe camping, tent camping out of the car trunk, pop-up trailers and now the LE for the two of us and an occasional grand-kid.

Someone above recommended the factory tour, which is a GREAT experience if you think you might be interested in an Ollie and can get yourself to TN.

Also as mentioned, many Ollie owners are more than willing to show off their trailer to potentially interested customers, discuss their own personal post-purchase modifications/add-ons and experiences with towing, maintenance, options selected, etc. If that's something you might be interested in just call the sales office and they can match you up with a near-by owner of the model you're considering.

Best of luck with your research!

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Tom & Holly

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite I #409 - 2017 Silverado 1500, 5.3L Gas, 4x4 Z71, Dbl Cab, Std Bed

 

2023-10-16OliverCampedStates(medium).jpg.8e9964c26c7927a0077806565b9dcfc2.jpg

 

 

 

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Our 2008 le, shorty, is set up in bed mode, all the time.  I'm really not sure where the pedestal leg is anymore, for the big dinette.

As @ADKCamper said, we are totally ok with the smaller crawl-over bed but not everyone is. The tradeoffs for us are great. Again,  everyone has different ideas,, and camping styles. I'm the one in the inside against the hull spot, so I can tell you, it's not a big deal for me. 

If that's not ok for you,, I'd look at the bigger le ii,  and twin beds.

Towing the smaller LE opens up a range of tow vehicles. Towing the bigger II requires a half ton, and Anderson, or bigger truck . Take your pick.

We've camped in vans in Australia and lceland with beds in the 42 to 48 inch width bed, rentals in foreign countries. . Not my cup of tea, for permanent,  but doable, for a month or so. In those cases, I  took adventure over comfort. 

My Eite I  offers both, imo. With a wider, better bed. Not a queen, more double or full, in the shorty. When I can no longer crawl over my husband on the rare occasion,  I  will reconsider. 

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2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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