Options questions

[John and Debbie]

Hi all,  we have a November 7 delivery date,  so we sat around the kitchen table looking at options.   We have a few questions. 

1.  If you have the 30 amp connection at the front do you use it much?   I assume it's for a generator hook-up.   We're getting the Lithium Pro package.   I don't foresee weeks of boondocking.   Would it be useful to have?   It's probably very expensive to add later. 

2.  Ultrafabric upgrade.   Does that include the dining cushions also?   I saw it for the twin bed fp. 

3.  Storage basket.   We're thinking of going with 20# propane and carrying a 20# in the storage basket.   Can a propane tank be carried there and how is it secured?   Our thought was we could take it out at the camp area and hook up to a stove or firepit and not get the quick connect propane for front and back. 

4.  For those people that have the shower track option,  is it worth it or if you don't have it,  do you wish you did? 

5.  Bike rack.   Do two standard bikes block the tail lights/turn signals on the back of the trailer?   Oliver has some V shaped bike rack that attaches at the top and bottom of the bicycle wheels. 

Thanks so much for any responses.   You all have been very helpful.   My wife was hesitant to buy because of the cost,  but sees the value in these trailers.   Happy Mother's Day to you moms out there. 

[Mike and Carol]

I can only give some partial answers based on our 6 years of Olivering.

1.  We don’t have the extra 30a connection.  The times we’ve needed to use our generator we just plug it into the 30a on the side of the trailer.  If you carry a generator on the tongue then it might be useful.  We’ve never missed not having it.

2.  I haven’t seen the new fabrics, so I’ll punt on this one.  Ultra fabric wasn’t available in 2015.

3.  We have used our quick connect A LOT.  I hook my Weber or my Blackstone to the quick connect almost every where we camp.  We carry a 20lb tank in the truck bed for our fire pit or if we want to cook far from the trailer.  We have the 30lb tanks.  I’m sure there is a way to secure a tank to the basket, but I haven’t seen it done.  I have an aluminum box on the tongue for chocks, blocks, legos, gloves, flashlight, etc.

4.  No shower curtain here.  Don’t want one.

5.  No bike rack experience, so this is my second punt.

Mike

[SeaDawg]

15th season, mostly without hookups..

1. We have the generator connection at the front. To the best of our memory,  we've never used it. (We talked about this a week ago with a friend. ) I  think that's an option best suited for those who carry a generator  in the basket. 

2. We don't have ultraleather in our trailer. We do have it in our boat, in the main salon, and love it. Cleanable, breathable,, comfy. (5 or 6 years). Probably a waste for sleeping cushions, imo.

All our boat (and trailer) sleeping cushions are fabric.

We have a very small dog, with tiny nails.

My fabric cushions in my trailer are in 15th season. I'll probably replace them in a few years. They've served us well.

3. We don't have a basket. We do have a quick connect on the bumper, that has been useful over the years, depending on whether we carry a grill, or not. Buying that depends on your propane extras. Many items can easily be managed with an extra 1 lb or 5 lb tank. You have to decide, based on your camping style.

4 no to the shower track, imo. Makes the small marine bath smaller, to no great gain. Showering helps  clean the bath, which I'd have to do anyway,  later.

5. Bike rack. We don't usually carry bikes, so search the many posts here on bike racks. If we do some relatively local camping, we'll occasionally take bikes in the truckbed, for the weekend,  so seriously not an expert, here. 

What I told my friend last week:

Other than solar, most addons can be added after sale, if you're handy. Even solar isn't that tough, for some.

 

 

[John and Debbie]

33 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

I can only give some partial answers based on our 6 years of Olivering.

1.  We don’t have the extra 30a connection.  The times we’ve needed to use our generator we just plug it into the 30a on the side of the trailer.  If you carry a generator on the tongue then it might be useful.  We’ve never missed not having it.

2.  I haven’t seen the new fabrics, so I’ll punt on this one.  Ultra fabric wasn’t available in 2015.

3.  We have used our quick connect A LOT.  I hook my Weber or my Blackstone to the quick connect almost every where we camp.  We carry a 20lb tank in the truck bed for our fire pit or if we want to cook far from the trailer.  We have the 30lb tanks.  I’m sure there is a way to secure a tank to the basket, but I haven’t seen it done.  I have an aluminum box on the tongue for chocks, blocks, legos, gloves, flashlight, etc.

4.  No shower curtain here.  Don’t want one.

5.  No bike rack experience, so this is my second punt.

Mike

Thanks Mike! 

[John and Debbie]

5 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

15th season, mostly without hookups..

1. We have the generator connection at the front. To the best of our memory,  we've never used it. (We talked about this a week ago with a friend. ) I  think that's an option best suited for those who carry a generator  in the basket. 

2. We don't have ultraleather in our trailer. We do have it in our boat, in the main salon, and love it. Cleanable, breathable,, comfy. (5 or 6 years). Probably a waste for sleeping cushions, imo.

All our boat sleeping cushions are fabric. We have a very small dog, with tiny nails.

My fabric cushions in my trailer are in 15th season. I'll probably replace them in a few years. They've served us well.

3. We don't have a basket. We do have a quick connect on the bumper, that has been useful over the years, depending on whether we carry a grill, or not. Buying that depends on your propane extras. Many items can easily be managed with an extra 1 lb or 5 lb tank. You have to decide, based on your camping style.

4 no to the shower track, imo. Makes the small marine bath smaller, to no great gain. Showering helps  clean the bath, which I'd have to do anyway,  later.

5. Bike rack. We don't usually carry bikes, so search the many posts here on bike racks. If we do some relatively local camping, we'll occasionally take bikes in the truckbed, for the weekend,  so seriously not an expert, here. 

What I told my friend last week:

Other than solar, most addons can be added after sale, if you're handy. Even solar isn't that tough, for some.

 

 

Thanks so much! 

[Frank C]

1 hour ago, John Welte said:

 

4.  For those people that have the shower track option,  is it worth it or if you don't have it,  do you wish you did? 

We didn’t get the Oliver shower curtain track.  It’s an odd design, seems a bit expensive, and some owners have had issues with the track detaching from the inner hull ceiling because of a poor riveting job.  But we wanted a shower curtain though, so I attached the small Command hooks all around on the ceiling directly above the perimeter of the shower pan in the floor, and then hang a standard shower curtain on those hooks when we take our showers, and can quickly remove the curtain to let it dry outside the trailer when done.  It was a cheap and effective solution.   And if I ever come up with a different idea this one is easily removed completely.  Command strips/hooks are a great accessory for attaching lot of things on the Ollie interior.  

[John and Debbie]

4 minutes ago, FrankC said:

We didn’t get the Oliver shower curtain track.  It’s an odd design, seems a bit expensive, and some owners have had issues with the track detaching from the inner hull ceiling because of a poor riveting job.  But we wanted a shower curtain though, so I used the small Command hooks all around on the ceiling directly above the shower pan in the floor, and then hang a standard shower curtain on those hooks when we take our showers, and can quickly remove the curtain to let it dry outside the trailer when done.  It was a cheap and effective solution.   And if I ever come up with a different idea this one is easily removed completely.  Command strips/hooks are a great accessory for attaching lot of things on the Ollie interior.  

Looks like you managed to get a bigger area too.   Looks good.   Great suggestion!   Thanks! 

[xmavrick]

John when we ordered our 2021 the sale staff informed us that their are 3 options that cannot be added later and they are the front 30 amp connection, convection microwave and front and rear gas quick connects! Can't help you with the ultra fabric or storage basket and bike rack but we have the shower track and it is completely overpriced and not worth it, command hooks are a better choice. Another option we find we have no use for is the electronics package and omini  directional tv antenna! Hope this helps

[ScottyGS]

On the propane tank carried in the basket.... 

We have the 30 lbs tanks and they are more than enough.  If I were to do it again....   I would get the 20 lbs tanks and replace them with two Blue Rhino's from Lowes or HD.  Then when on the road I would run one dry... switch to the full one and trade out the empty at the next stop.   I don't see the need to carry an extra unless you are boondocking for an extended period of time.   Also, it seems to me that a propane tank on the basket would be an easy pick up for a thief.  Just my $.02.  Good Luck

[Trainman]

I will say that we have none of those options that you listed, plus not many more of the other options that Oliver offers. As I have said before we purchase a stripper Elite II in 2019 and got it out the door for $55,500. We only got the two propane out side disconnects, the bike rack/hitch which we don't use, and the confection microwave. As you know the trailer does come with many things standard and for our camping needs it works out great for us. We don't Boondock so many of those options were of no interest to us, plus many of the electronic upgrades we didn't feel were needed. An iPhone with Hot Spot will get just about everything we need, so far being disconnect with the world has never been a problem. I will say that most new buyers today do go for the $80,000 models with all the upgrades, many from when I talk with them have never used many of the options, but I'm sure many do when they work. We now carry our electric bicycles in the bed of the truck, too heavy for the bike rack on the back of the trailer, so it sets in the shop over in the corner collecting dust. Personally get what you think you will use on your new Oliver, we did. 

trainman

[Dave Mazone]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:46 PM, John Welte said:

Hi all,  we have a November 7 delivery date,  so we sat around the kitchen table looking at options.   We have a few questions. 

1.  If you have the 30 amp connection at the front do you use it much?   I assume it's for a generator hook-up.   We're getting the Lithium Pro package.   I don't foresee weeks of boondocking.   Would it be useful to have?   It's probably very expensive to add later. 

2.  Ultrafabric upgrade.   Does that include the dining cushions also?   I saw it for the twin bed fp. 

3.  Storage basket.   We're thinking of going with 20# propane and carrying a 20# in the storage basket.   Can a propane tank be carried there and how is it secured?   Our thought was we could take it out at the camp area and hook up to a stove or firepit and not get the quick connect propane for front and back. 

4.  For those people that have the shower track option,  is it worth it or if you don't have it,  do you wish you did? 

5.  Bike rack.   Do two standard bikes block the tail lights/turn signals on the back of the trailer?   Oliver has some V shaped bike rack that attaches at the top and bottom of the bicycle wheels. 

Thanks so much for any responses.   You all have been very helpful.   My wife was hesitant to buy because of the cost,  but sees the value in these trailers.   Happy Mother's Day to you moms out there. 

Hi John,

#1: We seem to always use our front 30 amp hookup. I don't have to load and unload the generator from my truck that way. It also gives you the option of keeping the noise down, depending on what side of the trailer you're spending most of your time (outside the trailer).

#2. Yes.

#3. Why not 30# and save space? We use our basket for firewood and it's paraphernalia.

#4. It does get in the way a little bit while ahowering. It also could use a little better design to close-off the toilet area better. Overall though, glad we got it. PS the Foy shower mat is a good idea.

#5. I don't know. No experience.

Blessings.

[John E Davies]

On 5/9/2022 at 8:32 AM, ScottyGS said:

  I would get the 20 lbs tanks and replace them with two Blue Rhino's from Lowes or HD.  Then when on the road I would run one dry... switch to the full one and trade out the empty at the next stop. 

That is certainly convenient and cheap, but around here you don’t get 20 pounds of propane, they only fill the bottles to a little over 15. That might cause you to run dry a lot sooner than you expected. I just bought a 20 pound bottle at U-Haul so I can actually fill it.

I would not carry an extra big bottle on the tongue unless it is permanently mounted. Some ferries prohibit portable ones, but permanently installed RV ones are allowed.

Bikes covering tail lights…. I don’t think a pair carried up high on the factory receiver will be a problem. My custom 1-Up tray is lower down and the ebike definitely obscures the lights, big time, but it has really thick aero rims and 700C x 47 tires. I added an LED light bar. Or you can buy cheap towing lights designed to go on a car, and figure out a temporary mount.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6892-how-to-connect-a-standard-sae-4-pin-harness-or-4-pin-with-backup-lights-to-your-oliver-factory-7-pin-wires/

Front 120 VAC connection, I would not get it. You can connect a gennie in the truck bed to the side port using a heavy (10 AWG) 25 foot extension cord and a 15 to 30 amp RV adapter pigtail (at the trailer).

https://www.marinco.com/en/p/104SPP/Pigtail-Adapter-30A-125V-Female-To-15A

If your gennie has a 30 amp receptacle, just use the factory cable. I very rarely use the standard 30 amp cord, perhaps one or two times each season if I have hookups in hot weather... I run my Yamaha in the Land Cruiser sometimes, sitting on the tailgate. If I think there is a theft risk, I put it on the ground and cable lock it to the frame.

John Davies

Spokane WA