How Rough a Road?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I did a quick pop up truck camper trip into Succor Creek and Leslie Gulch on the east side of the Owyhee river in Oregon, and was surprised to see this trailer camped on a pullout between  those locations.  

Not a place I would have picked because of the steep slope behind the truck and trailer.

To be honest, until I saw the Bowlus up there, I wouldn’t have considered taking the Oliver on roads like that.  They’re bumpy, rocky, with flying gravel and some washboard.   BTW, their top model starts at $319,000.😳
 

Would you take your Oliver on those kinds of roads?

[SeaDawg]

I blew up your beautiful photo, looking for wheel chocks. 🙃

Me, no. I wouldn't bother anymore. My husband would probably disagree. He loves the challenges.  

To drive that type of "scenic " highway, sometimes it's wiser to leave the camper in a secure park, and enjoy the ride from our 4x4 truck windows.

[MAX Burner]

1 hour ago, Wandering Sagebrush said:

To be honest, until I saw the Bowlus up there, I wouldn’t have considered taking the Oliver on roads like that.

My guess he's minus a few rivets on his inside skin...  

[John E Davies]

That sounds like a spectacular trip with an Ollie AFTER going in to locate a practical site (one far enough off to the side of the main road to provide clean air when camping). That valley is waypointed on my GAIA map program. Just haven’t got there…. Gravel roads are GOOD, bring a gas leaf blower to de-dust the trailer and it doesn’t hurt anything.  Beautiful picture! But that poor trailer, its owner has no mud flaps on the truck!  I wonder how many dings are in the front.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[jd1923]

What you cannot tell from the picture is what was the road up, to get to the campsite pictured. I may have a rivet loose too, but I prefer climbing a steep dirt road, than driving a rig 75 MPH, the speed limit, on our terribly maintained I-40 in Arizona!!! Maybe it's the old biker in me, dirt-riding these trails for years, but who knows. Looks like they found a level spot. My spot pictured, was quite a climb. Once your parked and level, all's good. Finding a level spot, priceless!

[jd1923]

BTW, our Olivers look way better than the silver-looking stuff in the first photo.

[Cort]

Ray's been driving Airstream's all over the west - and is now out there in an Oliver. He feels its a fine boon-docking trailer. I don't see any reason - given a good tow vehicle with 4wd - why you can't get an Oliver into many backcountry places.  Clearance is fine and the suspension - while not up to trailers engineered for off roading - seems to be strong. 

I should find out pretty soon actually 🙂

[Raspy]

The Oliver can be a very good off-road, rough-road or boondocking trailer.

But there are different kinds of rough roads.  Steep rocky trails are fine if traveled very slowly because the Oliver has good clearance, is narrow and is not too heavy.  I towed mine as far back in as my Ram 3500 would pull it, with all four wheels clawing for traction.  Never a problem.  But on higher speed dirt, with washboard, the suspension struggles and the interior suffers.  I had my window coverings fall off, cabinets open and the microwave try to escape from its alcove, repeatedly.  Lowering tire pressure to about 25 lbs seems to really help, but the vibration should be avoided.  Hard suspension hits at speed are also a no-no.  With only about 2" of suspension travel, metal to metal stops, and minimal shocks, the pounding can be brutal.

Just take it slow, pick your path and don't be afraid to venture off the highway.  The best camp spots are out there beyond where trailers usually go.

[Mike and Carol]

3 hours ago, Raspy said:

I had my window coverings fall off, cabinets open and the microwave try to escape from its alcove, repeatedly.  Lowering tire pressure to about 25 lbs seems to really help, but the vibration should be avoided.  Hard suspension hits at speed are also a no-no.  With only about 2" of suspension travel, metal to metal stops, and minimal shocks, the pounding can be brutal.

An issue that Oliver must address is what John describes.  We’ve had doors open, window frames fall off and TV drop.  We don’t do much off-roading, this was on crappy interstates and rough backroads.  Mike

[Coastal Aggie]

@Mike and Carol Has anyone found a good solution for mitigating the blinds falling off? That was something that plagued me on the way back from Alaska this spring.

[ScubaRx]

As most everyone knows, the blinds hang on two tabs at the top and snap onto two brackets on the bottom. To take them down, pull out sharply at the bottom and then lift the whole frame off the two top hangers. (Later Edit...some have the same snap in brackets top and bottom, but you still just pull them off, If you don't know which you have, pull the bottom off first to allow you to check)
 

If you’re traveling on a bumpy enough road the bottom will eventually pop loose from the bottom brackets and then it’s only a matter of time before the top will jump off the hangers. 
 

The best way I’ve found to prevent this is to take the blinds down, squirt some adhesive caulk on the two surfaces of each bottom bracket and re-install the blind. Once the caulk sets up, they’re unlikely to come loose accidentally. But, they can still be removed as described above albeit a little more difficult at the bottom. 
 

[Mike and Carol]

6 hours ago, Coastal Aggie said:

@Mike and Carol Has anyone found a good solution for mitigating the blinds falling off? That was something that plagued me on the way back from Alaska this spring.

The only solution I’m aware of is what Steve describes above.  I’ve tried bending the clips to create more resistance with some success.  I don’t want them permanently mounted because I remove them when I do a deep clean on the window tracks.  Mike

[John E Davies]

7 hours ago, Coastal Aggie said:

Has anyone found a good solution for mitigating the blinds falling off? That was something that plagued me on the way back from Alaska this spring.

Try this:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2202-how-to-fix-and-flip-your-blinds/

Once fixed, they should never fall off, unless you are running more than 45 psi in the tires. Mine never shifted over six years. No guarantees if you run the tires hard!!

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Skipster]

Our fix is a dab of goop on the upper and lower trac  they can be snapped out easy enough but still stay in place on a rough road

[SeaDawg]

@Skipster, little dab, without blind in place? That might just work

Oliver caulked in one of our loose  blinds, and I didn't know it til I tried to remove it for cleaning. I'm pretty strong for my size, but it wound up taking two of us, and a knife, to get the blind out. 🤷

 

[jd1923]

Ours haven't come off on just a few miles of AZ washboard. Prior owner had new blinds installed by OTT a few years ago.

[Skipster]

our inside windows have popped out enough that now we take them off and lie them on the bed during travel and pop them back in when we arrive. 

 

[BoondockingAirstream]

A Bowlus did fine on roads in the 1930's and any roads today.  Nancy and I looked them over in Henderson, Nevada with the company's CEO.  A Bowlus was a bit too narrow for our needs... but built to perfection. We need more space, but for a couple... probably works out well. Do not confuse the construction of a Bowlus with a modern Airstream. They are spelled differently, and the Bowlus is capable of traveling where our 27 foot Airstream travels, any time.

The exterior Buck Rivets... on a Bowlus... made to perfection. The aluminum is polished like a mirror.  Not an Airstream with the dimpled buck rivets. Both travel trailers are good looking.  Prefer our Airstream for how we use it.  The Bowlus is the most beautiful travel trailer built and then the Oliver's.  I may not be handsome, but sure know my travel trailers.

Window shades in our 2019 Oliver Elite II:

Wonderful.  Ingenious two shades in one frame.  Just travel with them Opened to avoid trouble.

When we are ready to tow, we open the shades and Nancy checks that all six snaps are secure.  We have had NO shades fall off while on the Interstate or Off the Grid. We do not drive over the speed limit on the Interstate Highways nor exceed reasonable speeds.  If off the grid and go from 1 mph and up never an issue.  A Yahoo who thinks OTG Boondocking owners burn rubber on a dirt road and in a hurry in the National Forest, has never left a RV Park with hookups.  Oliver's have leaf springs, as our F350.  We have never had a drawer come out. Closing the shades and checking them as secure before moving and open them once camp is set.  

If you have the shades, down for shade, keeping the interior cool while traveling... you do not realize how well the Oliver is insulated.  If the shades are down and falls off the window frame... you can easily damage the shade.

Open the shades. Check that all six snaps are secure and take a deep breath.  I would have preferred Oliver Elite II Shades in our Airstream.  The comparison is like having pillow covers taped over the window to the Oliver Elite's  two choices of shades at will.  Oliver's shades beat anything we have seen. Airstream is way behind in shades, but they also have never fallen off the windows.