Oliver Trailer Build

I decided to pull the trigger and buy an Oliver. I sent in my order sheet today (10/9/2015). Expected February delivery.

Very excited. I ordered most of the options. Gettting the solar, big inverter, AGM batteries. Decided on a twin model, with one side the upgraded mattress, the other side set up as a sofa. Since these are touted as to lasting a lifetime, I decided to get it well equipped to use in my retirement in around 10 years.

As I posted in another thread, I want to use this RV as lodgings in my work and it will see winter conditions. I'll be selling my fifth wheel after I get my new trailer. After considering how much unused junk I've been carrying around, I don't think downsizing will be very tough.


Here are the samples for the counters, cushions and flooring:



Here is the link for the exterior graphics colors:

ORACAL® 651 Intermediate Cal - Graphic Products

These are the awning colors:

I put a few combos togther. Here they are in order of preference:

#1



#2



#3



#4



I'm not really good at this kind of thing, so I'm going to my sister's tonite to get a ladie's input.

I ended up choosing none of these combos.  You'll have to see the final pictures to see what I selected.  There were many more choices than the samples above.  The Oliver website has a fairly complete listing.

For the exterior graphics, I'm thinking a red and a gray. For the awning, I was hoping for a bright red, but there really isn't one, so maybe the gray.


January 6, 2015:

Well, I'm in production. Here are the photos I recieved today. Very excited it's getting going.











January 27, 2015:

Shell complete, major appliances in, countertops in, windows in. Happy surprise the high neck faucet.

Looks like we're only a few weeks out!


Solar, TV antenna and both awnings!

February 5, 2015:

Getting extremely close now - my guess is next week!

Looks like Tuesday the 17th is delivery day. Very excited!








I'll give you my rundown on why I chose the Oliver over the Airstream. Please don't anyone take this as bashing the AS. They are lovely trailers with alot of desireable attributes.

On the Pros of the AS:

They are bigger - wider particularly at 8' and 8'6" depending on model.
They have alot of storage - mostly interior cabinets.
The aesthetic is beautiful if you like the retro look and the shiny bits.
The torsion axle setup is a very low slung and smooth ride. They tow very well.
They have a very active community and a network of AS only campgrounds/resorts.
They have a long history, so there is a huge knowledge base of resolving issues and deep spare parts inventory.
They are backed by a huge company, so you can be assured they will be there for you many years down the road.

Now the CONS (but PROS for Oliver):

The aluminum is very susceptible to damage - scratches, dents (like from hail) and corrosion. In the way I use my trailer, I just don't think I could keep up with the AS to keep it beautiful and perfect. The fiberglass of the Oliver is much more forgiving.

Not true 4 season capable. Many would argue it's not even 2 season capable. The insulation is old style fiberglass batt. There are pics online of old trailers where the insulation came loose and drooped down inside the walls, leaving large sections basically uninsulated. Newer trailers have a bottom skin, but I don't believe it is also insulated. The Oliver, of course has insulation applied directly to the fiberglass, and all the plumbing is enclosed inside the hull. AS does not offer any dual pane windows. It does have many more windows, but that just adds more area of no insulation.

Weak on technology and equipment options. You only can get a modest solar and inverter setup on the AS and only 2 batteries. They are just not keen on setting them up to be off-grid. With Oliver you can get 4 batteries and a big enough inverter to run everything except air conditioning. The solar panel setup is all properly sized wires and large enough to service a large battery bank.

The AS uses a wood floor and a steel chassis frame. Very old school and a shame considering the price point. So they all eventually rot and don't have the available payload of an Oliver. My new trailer will have a 7000 lb aluminum chassis!

The AS can leak. All those connected aluminum sheets have a joint that is put together with rivets and sealant. Eventually that will leak inside the walls and will rot out the floor. The Oliver is all joined fiberglass. The only place it can leak is at the penetration points and windows. If it does, so what. You clean up the water, seal the leak and keep going. There is no wood to rot. There is no fiberglass insulation to collect mold and have to be removed.

There are many more points, both pro and con, but these are the majors to me. Oh, and I forgot to mention price. A similar sized AS is going to be $70-$80k. That is significantly more money and a tough value proposition if you consider the above.

Fire Dancer Propne Fire Pit

With all the talk about propane campfires, I thought I'd share this. I got this one 

on Amazon a while back and decided to put it together.

Fire Dancer

It's a very compact unit. Probably 12-14" diameter. Weighs only a couple 

pounds. The 14 lbs in the description is incorrect. Instead of logs, it uses 

vermiculite. You can replace it with different colors if you wish, or just 

replace it with same when it gets too dirty looking.

This one doesn't use a ring burner. It's a tube and nozzle that sprays the 

gas into the bottom of the pan and it bubbles up thru the vermiculite.

All bundled up and ready for travel (hose coils around base and lid 

screws on with twist handle):

The vermiculite (comes in a bag, you just dump it in):

Hose is around 6 feet or so.

Lowest flame.

Highest flame. Puts out a fair amount of heat.


What I like most about it is that the lid screws on tight. No logs to bang 

around. Clean and secure enough, you can put it inside the trailer 

without it ending up making a mess.

Coleman Compact Lantern

I found this Coleman collapsible LED lantern. It's nice and square and is much
smaller than my old GE lantern I got at Costco.

It seems to be on par brightness wise. There is a high and low settings. 200 lumens. 

Has a handle so you can carry or hang it.


It stores in a very small space.


Coleman Lantern

Chinook Folding Toaster

I like toast, but don't want an electric toaster on board.
I tried a Camco stovetop version, but ending up discarding it. This looks better.





http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001HNIN6C/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Stowaway2 Mods - Add Valterra Tubes

The Valterra Tube has worked so well for my extra sewer hose, I decided to add another.



Valterra EZ Hose Carrier

Water Right 50' Coil Hose

Just screwed it in next to the existing.


Why would I do such a thing?  
To hold my coil hose of course! I love these hoses. Tough, food grade/potable safe. Enough room it also can have my y-splitter and pressure regulator attached. 50' hose.

Folding Drainer, Tables and Rack

I got some more items for the van. 

I got this neat folding dish strainer on Amazon.

Folding Dish Rack 

I was using a silicone collapsible, but it was just too big and 
used up too much cabinet space. This is much smaller, and fits easily under the sink.
I like that it has a narrow draining tray to a single small point.

I bought these folding tables actually for my teardrop trailer. They are all aluminum,
including the tops so you can put hot items on them. They fold up to a little less than 
2" thick. I figure one is good to set down cocktails, the other is big enough to 
either eat on, or to set a grill on. They seem sturdy enough.
Folding Tables Large and Folding Tables Small

I got this hanging rack to stick on the rear bulkhead of the bathroom. What I like about 
this one, is it can be attached with 3M tape (so many are set up with hollow backs 
intending to mount with screws. There are 4 grippy things for broom handles, and for hooks.
All with adjustable positions. 

Hanging Rack

Little Guy T@G Kitchen Mods

My T@G Max did not come with any drawers, shelves or bins in the galley 

cabinet. I tried organizing it with a fabric tool bag, but it still looked like a 

big 'ole mess:


So I bought some 1/4" birch boards (3 1/2" x 24") this week at Lowes and 

decided to make a shelf and some partitions to hold all the kitchen ware.

Step 1 clear it out:

Step 2 build the bin for the dishware, glasses and utensils. I'm certainly 

not a skilled carpenter, but it turned out serviceable. It's velcroed to the 

back of the cabinet so it will stay put while traveling. I built the shelf so 

that it could be taken out to service the water pump. I used 3M red tape 

to hold quarter-round braces (was afraid to screw into the trailer's wood 

as there is a water tank and wiring back there). The shelf breaks down 

into two parts, held together with wood tabs and a velcro strip. It needed 

a leg for support, so I screwed one in made from a piece of quarter-round. 

Sounds flimsy, but it all fits snuggly and seems solid enough.

Step 3 load up my gear:

I like I can now get to all my utensils and they aren't all scattered in the 

bottom of a bag.

Now I have room for some pantry items under the shelf:


I also was having an issue with my folding table. The T@G only has 3 1/2" 

under the bed for storage. My table folded to 4" or so. So I found these on 

Amazon:




What is nice about these is that the tops are not plastic, but aluminum. 

So I can set my grill on the big one.