Steph and Dud B's RV Screed

We've had the Oliver for more than a month now but, due to unforseen circumstances, we only have a couple of trips under our belt. We've done some dry-camping in Connecticut and some full-hookup camping in Cape Cod. The Oliver has had some issues. I already mentioned the problem with the axles. That wasn't Oliver's fault. Dexter was great to work with and it was fixed by a mobile tech who came to our house. Next, the flange ring for our toilet broke, probably due to incorrect installation at the factory. Oliver shipped us a new flange ring and I installed it myself without too much difficulty, but it did put us out of service for about a week. The electronic keypad lock failed and I discovered the cause was improper installation at the Oliver factory which led to water intrusion into the lock. Oliver shipped a new lock, which I installed myself and I added sealant to prevent a recurrence. There was an issue with the air conditioner running very short cycles. Oliver ship...

We picked up our new Oliver trailer, named Eggcelsior, in Hohenwald, TN on June 20. I posted details about that trip in the Oliver forums here:  https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/7054-hull-1150-is-home-and-marinating/ but I'll summarize by saying we had a few minor issues that were corrected at the factory before we left Tennessee, and a few that we addressed ourselves on the way home. Overall, it was a positive sales experience and a successful first trip. Since then, we've done one camping trip in Connecticut and found out we're subject to a recall on the Dexter axles - which has stopped our travels for now. (Not Oliver's fault, details here:  https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/7070-successful-dry-camping-but-grounded-by-axles/ ) The trailer has performed admirably, towing easily and working very well while dry-camping without hookups in a state park for 4 nights. We think we can plan 8+ night trips without hookups in the future if there are ba...

Our Oliver delivery date is approaching fast. We've sold our fifth wheel to a very nice couple (who named it Garfunkel) and we're just about ready to head to Tennessee to get our Legacy Elite 2. We've purchased a few more convenience items for the new trailer. First, we bought a pair of backpacking chairs. We wanted to have a couple of chairs for guests, but they had to be compact for storage. These Cascade Mountain high back camp chairs collapse to about 1/2 the size of a regular camp chair but seem sturdy and comfortable. There is some assembly required to set them up, though. We bought them on sale on Amazon but we've since seen them much cheaper (and a better color) at Costco. C'est la vie. Next, we bought a tiny little Keurig-type machine. We didn't want to give up the cabinet space for a regular Keurig. This little Chulux coffee maker also came from Amazon. As you can see, it's much smaller than the Keuirig, but it seems to work fine, if a bit slower t...

With our Oliver trailer delivery day approaching fast we officially put our fifth wheel up for sale today. The Rockwood 8289WS is listed on RV Trader here , if anyone's interested. It's a nice rig. We really enjoyed it. UPDATE 5/13: We now have a sale pending on our fifth wheel.

One of the traditions of the Oliver Travel Trailer company is that they refer to their trailer bodies as "hulls." I assume this has to do with the fiberglass construction, similar to many sailboats, and the fact that a Catamaran designer helped the company design their first trailer. Another tradition is that they assign each trailer its own "hull number," starting with Hull #1 for the first trailer they built in 2007. Owners are very proud of their trailer's hull number since it tells others a little about its history and lineage. We have just passed an important step on the road to getting our new Oliver Elite 2 in June: we've learned our hull number. Our trailer will be hull number 1150. We also followed another owners' tradition. We named our trailer. Hull number 1150 will be named Eggcelsior,  a play on excelsior, which means "ever upward" and is often used as an exclamation upon the completion of a major challenge or accomplishment. We th...

Last week we sent Oliver Travel Trailers our second deposit payment and our build sheet, which specifies our option choices for our new trailer. Some of the options we chose were a large lithium battery bank and rooftop solar panels, cellular signal booster, and an additional awning on the driver's side of the trailer. These are all to increase our boondocking/drycamping capabilities with an eye toward more varied and less expensive campsite options and future trips back to the Southwest. We still have a few more items to purchase before we take delivery. Other than that, we're basically in a holding pattern. Oliver will start making our trailer in early May. For now, we wait and anxiously watch the financial situation. It's going to be an expensive summer for RVing, but the trips we have booked are relatively close to home and we're hoping the Oliver's lighter weight and aerodynamic shape will give us better gas mileage than we currently get with our fifth wheel.

On October 25, 2021 we talked to our Oliver sales rep and put a $2,500 deposit on an Oliver Legacy Elite 2 with the twin bed floorplan. Our estimated delivery date: late July, 2022 - 9 months away. What to do while we waited? Shop for stuff, of course! Weirdly, even though we've been camping for 20+ years, we had to buy more stuff to move to a smaller trailer. Some of the things we carried in our fifth wheel were too big for the Oliver and had to be replaced by smaller versions, or alternate devices. Others were things we never needed before, like a ball hitch for the pickup truck. We pored over the Oliver forums, looking for tips and tricks, and started making shopping lists on Amazon and other online retailers. When something went on sale, we grabbed it. When Christmas came, we asked for gift cards. Here are some of the things we've bought so far (we have no affiliation with any of these vendors and have not been compensated for any of these links): Weigh-Safe 4" Drop Hi...