Oliver Production Suspended 'till 2010

[Donna D.]

What can I say? We're not full time bloggers/moderators/fiberglass RV promoters We have full lives with jobs/family/hobbies that get us distracted from our intentions.

Totally understandable. Thanks too for clarification. We all hope for the very best for Oliver. The downturn to the economy has hit everyone and I think it's a fine thing they're trying to do to keep employees working

[BOBSMITH]

I requested an Oliver catalog soon after they started production. I took it to work (where three of us own Casitas) and we were impressed with the apparent quality of their trailers, but horrified at the pricing. If I was going to spend that kind of money on a travel trailer, I'd go ahead and purchase an Airstream. Yes, I'm sure they put a lot of quality into their trailers--it shows in the visual material. But I cannot understand how you can justify that kind of expense for a fiberglass trailer.

Because of the pricing, I don't think Casita, Scamp, or any of the other lower priced molded fiberglass manufacturers should be losing any sleep worrying about the competition.

Their trailers sure are purty, though.

[Rob M]

I stand firm on my original statement.
The Oliver Forum belongs to Oliver Trailers and they will block any "negative" info, I know this first hand and have been PM'd from 2 others that have been also.
Have you noticed that the Oliver moderators have appeared now to defend? And they don't come alone, where were they to announce this info? They only arrive to "defend and promote"
Oliver Trailers is receiving what they sowed, unlike other Fiberglass Trailer who are thriving.

Rob

[Cherie Ve Ard]

Yes, I'm sure they put a lot of quality into their trailers--it shows in the visual material. But I cannot understand how you can justify that kind of expense for a fiberglass trailer.

For our situation.. we can absolutely justify the expense...

Before we purchased our Oliver, we were living/traveling out of a T[at]b Clamshell (16' teardrop) - a bit too small for two who are living and working full time on the road. We had modified our T[at]b to have solar panels and other geeky off grid options. We not only live in our trailer, we also do tech consulting from the road - and need a lot of geekery to make it all work.

When we wanted something slightly larger, we found Casita.. and fell in love with the size, quality and layout. We visited the factory, and were pretty much sold on the concept. But they were unwilling to do customizations - which would have left us to do a lot aftermarket. More than we were comfortable with and equipped to do (not having a physical home, we have no workshop). And some of the things would have been compromises - such as wanting two batteries, privacy blinds (not mini blinds), a computer server room, higher end multi media systems, etc. We would have easily racked up several thousand in extras to get the Casita to a suitable level for our technomadic needs.

We looked at Airstream too.. just too pricey for us, too big and too heavy (we wanted to continue to tow with our Jeep Liberty Diesel). It just wasn't fitting to who we are. And after a couple bad run ins with Thor customer service (they also own T[at]B ), we just couldn't convince ourselves that we wanted to put our home at the mercy of Thor again.


Then we found Oliver.. and yes, at first we were shocked at the price, and not convinced it was worth the premium over Casita plus our time/effort for aftermarket mods. Afterall, in the pictures it just looks like a glossier Casita. But once we saw one in person - we immediately understood why its priced like it is. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Between marine grade fittings, custom aluminum frame, electric levels, true privacy window shades, high end faucets (each one costs Oliver about $100/each, btw.), double pane windows and on and on it goes. The double hull was also a big plus, as well as the huge holding tanks for the size trailer.

And on top of all of the apparent quality .. they were thrilled to do customizations for us. We were able to spec out the 200w solar electrical system we wanted - right down to the gauge wires. We were able to get a 24" LCD panel on a swing arm to interface to our Mac Mini server mod'd to run off 12v, instead of little 15" low quality TV screen, a mobile command center cellular booster system built in, etc. Every quirky request we made, they responded with a 'Yes!' and usually further recommendations on how they could make it even better. In the end, we had the exact trailer we wanted for our full time home & office - customized perfectly for our needs. We even had custom graphics designed for the exterior, which they printed a smaller version for my laptop to match the trailer

That sort of customization has a lot of extra manhours involved - as each one is slightly different and unique off the line. We've now probably seen 40% of the Oliver trailers made to date as we've traveled the US, and each one is as unique as their owners.

And a year later of living in it full time - there's no doubt we made the right choice for us.


So for us and our situation - we can completely and totally justify the cost. Afterall... it's our full time home office, and we weren't going to compromise. In the end, we only ended up paying a few extra thousand than we would have for a Casita + mods.. and we got a heck of a lot of extra bang for those bucks. (Not to slight the Casita at all.. it's a very quality product as well that had us very tempted.)


Anyway.. that's our perspective. And that's not at all to suggest that the Oliver is the right choice for the masses. And I don't think that's their goal either. They serve a niche type of RVer.

- Cherie

[Bigfoot Mike]

But in all fairness, this forum also tends to be a little touchy regarding criticism of Escape, which I believe contributes to keep this site running.

Steve, your implication that this site has been bought by Escape is totally off base and not called for. Yes we have received a donation from Escape. We also have received that same donation from Oliver and other companies who appreciate the information that is provided by this site. None of the Moderators own an Escape. You comments are totally unfounded and are not based on facts.

I have owned two Casitas and loved both of them. I currently own a 25’ Bigfoot. When I formed this site, I went to great lengths to recruit Moderators from all over North America and who owned as many different brands of molded fiberglass rv's as I could.

We as Moderators have our personal opinions and express them from time to time. I own a 25’ Bigfoot. Before I bought the Bigfoot , I asked Escape if they were planning on building a 25 footer which I felt would meet my needs. I looked at the 22’ Oliver in Quartzite. It did not fit my needs although I liked the fit and finish and their representatives.

Your comments are stating facts that are NOT in evidence. Please do not assume.

[Ken C]

Cherie, how did they go about fixing your roof leak. I am not a member of the oliver forum, so I never saw the outcome. Did they have to take out the a/c and put some type of support inside the double hull half's? Great digital nomads article too. Take care.

[Cherie Ve Ard]

Cherie, how did they go about fixing your roof leak. I am not a member of the oliver forum, so I never saw the outcome. Did they have to take out the a/c and put some type of support inside the double hull half's? Great digital nomads article too. Take care.

After pouring lots of water on the roof, they isolated it down to the vent fan. So they stripped off all of the sealants that had been applied in previous attempts to fix it, removed the fan and re-seated it with a new sealant type they had researched out and ordered. We left it overnight to cure (woo-hoo.. we got to camp in the factory!), and let a hose run on it for 30 minutes in the morning. Seemed fixed.

We stayed at a nearby campground for a week afterwards (our choice.. we found a fabulous free wooded campground with great cell signal), and endured several strong rain storms... no leaks! Being able to enjoy the sounds of the rain on our roof instead of scrambling to keep drips at bay is so much more fun. We're very happy



- Cherie

[Jim Bennett]

After pouring lots of water on the roof, they isolated it down to the vent fan. So they stripped off all of the sealants that had been applied in previous attempts to fix it, removed the fan and re-seated it with a new sealant type they had researched out and ordered. We left it overnight to cure [b](woo-hoo.. we got to camp in the factory!), and let a hose run on it for 30 minutes in the morning. Seemed fixed.

We stayed at a nearby campground for a week afterwards (our choice.. we found a fabulous free wooded campground with great cell signal), and endured several strong rain storms... no leaks! Being able to enjoy the sounds of the rain on our roof instead of scrambling to keep drips at bay is so much more fun. We're very happy



- Cherie

Did you spend all night doing your own custom mods with all that good stuff at your disposal?

[Cherie Ve Ard]

I stand firm on my original statement.
The Oliver Forum belongs to Oliver Trailers and they will block any "negative" info, I know this first hand and have been PM'd from 2 others that have been also.
Have you noticed that the Oliver moderators have appeared now to defend? And they don't come alone, where were they to announce this info? They only arrive to "defend and promote"
Oliver Trailers is receiving what they sowed, unlike other Fiberglass Trailer who are thriving.

Rob

All of the Oliver moderators, to the best of my knowledge, are Oliver owners who's best interests are in seeing Oliver thrive in their unique business model. We all have a vested interest in seeing Oliver succeed for our own continued customer support, and none of us benefit anymore from our efforts than any other fiberglass owner from a company that offers incentives for showing our trailers to interested buyers.

I can only really speak for myself in this in my and Chris' motivations for being moderators and 'defending and protecting' Oliver. And yes, I will fully admit that Oliver has made some business choices that could have used more guidance in executing (and as business consultants, there are many times I wish they had consulted us!). Not only has the economy affected their current situation, but so hasn't them exploring various paths of pricing and distribution. But regardless, they have produced a darn fine product that we're proud to call home, and we hope to see them recover.


And for the record, as Oliver owners who have posted about our own frustration and negative info on the forums.. Oliver has not once blocked us. The only time we have seen 'blockings' have been from moderators (not Oliver employees) in attempt to prevent excessive flame wars. While yes, Oliver owns the user forums and can theoretically shut them down.. they have not. They do not currently have an active presence on their forums, and let us moderators (who are all just Oliver owners) conduct the forums.

- Cherie

[Cherie Ve Ard]

Did you spend all night doing your own custom mods with all that good stuff at your disposal?

We so totally should have, right? Oh well.. maybe next time

[Steve Dunkel]

Steve, your implication that this site has been bought by Escape is totally off base and not called for. Yes we have received a donation from Escape. We also have received that same donation from Oliver and other companies who appreciate the information that is provided by this site. None of the Moderators own an Escape. You comments are totally unfounded and are not based on facts.

I have owned two Casitas and loved both of them. I currently own a 25' Bigfoot. When I formed this site, I went to great lengths to recruit Moderators from all over North America and who owned as many different brands of molded fiberglass rv's as I could.

We as Moderators have our personal opinions and express them from time to time. I own a 25' Bigfoot. Before I bought the Bigfoot , I asked Escape if they were planning on building a 25 footer which I felt would meet my needs. I looked at the 22' Oliver in Quartzite. It did not fit my needs although I liked the fit and finish and their representatives.

Your comments are stating facts that are NOT in evidence. Please do not assume.

Mike,
The main reason for my post was to offer a possible explanation for Rob M's comments. Everything that I stated was accurate. Nothing was implied and I'm sorry if you read more into it than intended. I merely suggested that donations proffered by Oliver or any other manufacturer of a product to a forum that discusses it lends the "appearance of impropriety". I never said there was a quid pro quo relationship between Escape and MLFRV and I do not believe there is one. However, I think it's reasonable to temper reading of praise for a product, especially by those in control of the forum, when manufacturers donations exist. I apologize if you took my comments as criticism. They were not meant to be.

[Donna D.]

Steve, the reason for the donation by trailer manufacturers has to do with this:
HELP SUPPORT THE SITE, which is the same rules any member selling trailers (or product) must follow. But you'll also notice, there is no glaring ads from these manufacturers either. That's not the way it works.

From a moderator's view, I can tell you none of us receive any pay or any product or any consideration of any type for our work. We're all volunteers and are here because of a love (fascination? sickness? Need intervention?) for the molded fiberglass trailers and the community of owners/wannabes. None of us own an Escape (although Ches has owned one) or an Oliver. At this point, there may be more Bigfoot owners than any other brand amongst the staff.

I'm a member first and a moderator second. Although I own a Scamp, there is an Escape in my future. Why an Escape? For all the reasons you've read about.... usually from current Escape owners AND because I've seen them first hand and have talked with Reace and Tammy. There are other fine trailer manufacturers out there for sure. But that's not where my heart and checkbook are leading me and there's not much chance I'm going to "temper" my discussion about the Escape either. Wannabes come to FiberglassRV looking for information. It's up to ALL of us to provide as much of that information as we can.

[Ian-Vicki]

Steve, the reason for the donation by trailer manufacturers has to do with this:
HELP SUPPORT THE SITE, which is the same rules any member selling trailers (or product) must follow. But you'll also notice, there is no glaring ads from these manufacturers either. That's not the way it works.

From a moderator's view, I can tell you none of us receive any pay or any product or any consideration of any type for our work. We're all volunteers and are here because of a love (fascination? sickness? Need intervention?) for the molded fiberglass trailers and the community of owners/wannabes. None of us own an Escape (although Ches has owned one) or an Oliver. At this point, there may be more Bigfoot owners than any other brand amongst the staff.

I'm a member first and a moderator second. Although I own a Scamp, there is an Escape in my future. Why an Escape? For all the reasons you've read about.... usually from current Escape owners AND because I've seen them first hand and have talked with Reace and Tammy. There are other fine trailer manufacturers out there for sure. But that's not where my heart and checkbook are leading me and there's not much chance I'm going to "temper" my discussion about the Escape either. Wannabes come to FiberglassRV looking for information. It's up to ALL of us to provide as much of that information as we can.

Good on ya, Donna
cheers
Ian

[Oliver elite]

Hello fellow egg owners, I own a 22' dual axle 5200# each Oliver Elite II. I know of only 3 in the world. I have owned this trailer for 4 years. This trailer tows behind a 2008 Honda Ridgeline no tow package and had no problems. Just a little background about me. See you on the road.
Feel free to contact me regarding my post etc