My Only Gripe with the Oliver LEII - Page 2 - Fiberglass RV
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Old 02-06-2020, 06:08 PM   #21
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Sometimes I ponder a comfy, quiet auto, what used to be called a "turnpike cruiser" and hotels. The last mid price hotel we stayed in (Hampton Inn?) had dark curly hairs all over the sheet. Housekeeping changed the sheets, but still. And no matter how curious you are, never use one of those blue light flashlights in a hotel room.
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Old 02-06-2020, 06:18 PM   #22
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Sometimes I ponder a comfy, quiet auto, what used to be called a "turnpike cruiser" and hotels. The last mid price hotel we stayed in (Hampton Inn?) had dark curly hairs all over the sheet. Housekeeping changed the sheets, but still. And no matter how curious you are, never use one of those blue light flashlights in a hotel room.
"We'll leave the blue light on"!
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Old 02-06-2020, 06:31 PM   #23
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If I were someone tempted by the Oliver (OK, I admit it) I might also be cross shopping a nice Class B. Leak resistant 4 season construction and probably a safer, more relaxed travel experience for "seniors." An Oliver and appropriate HD truck would be about the price of a Winnebago ERA and more than a Travato. Of course the Oliver would hold value and the Class B would drop like a rock.
In my experience the B class hold their value much better than a lot of other motor motorhomes. I owned a B class,that I bought used and sold it after using it for a year and sold it for more than I paid for it, sales taxes included. They are however really expensive to start with. Maintenance on any motorhome is also really expensive..
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Old 02-07-2020, 08:43 AM   #24
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We enjoyed our “Ollie” for two years but find our current Bigfoot 25RQ a better fit for us. Spend some time on the Oliver forum and you’ll discover a very active modification group, many mods of which end up on the production trailers. Lots of engineer owners like me who can never leave well enough alone. Nice trailers but not perfect. To each their own.
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Old 02-07-2020, 09:20 AM   #25
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Originally Posted by Bruce Olive View Post
We enjoyed our “Ollie” for two years but find our current Bigfoot 25RQ a better fit for us.
Which model/layout Ollie did you have? In what areas does the Bigfoot better suit you?
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Old 02-07-2020, 09:40 AM   #26
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Name: Bruce & Kathryn
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LEII twin bed version. Rear queen walk around, large fridge, stove, 45 gallon tanks and thick insulation on Bigfoot is more enjoyable for our long multi-season trips. Tows the same only wider. Oliver a nice trailer, just not for us.
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Old 02-07-2020, 09:57 AM   #27
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The Bigfoot 25 RQ is our dream trailer maybe someday if our 401 K makes money we can take the leap
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Old 02-07-2020, 10:35 AM   #28
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If your 401K has not made money in the last 10 years, I'd be asking some serious questions. Basically since the market melt down in 2008, it's been years of either flat, up, or up a lot. That was a generational buying opportunity with the Dow at about 6500 (now its 28,000). 2013, 2017, and 2019 were all up a lot, spanning both Obama and Trump years.

I would not count on this trend to continue at this rate. Historical return is more like 8% average, not including dividends, Add dividends, and the average return for the last 100 years is 10%. Last 100 years includes the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and many, many market meltdowns.

http://www.1stock1.com/1stock1_139.htm
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Old 02-07-2020, 11:45 AM   #29
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I seriously considered an Oliver. The pictures looked great on all of the advertising. I was in discussions with the company to set up a visit on an LE I. But, I found someone selling a lightly used Twin bed LE II 3 hours from me. I went to take a look. Trailer was in great shape and the price was really pretty good. I could tell it was extremely well built with all of the marine grade hardware, etc. Problem is that I just didn't like it. To each his/her own, and I'm not knocking if someone else likes them but to me it felt like I was in a hospital submarine. Too stark white for me, and too narrow. When I set foot in a Bigfoot 17.5 I could immediately tell I liked it better. When I found my Bigfoot 21RB, I stepped inside and immediately knew this was the RV for me.
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Old 02-12-2020, 11:37 AM   #30
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@OCJohn,


I'm coming up on a year full-timing in my EII. The major subsystems in the trailer have been flawless and I've focused on numerous small tweaks. There's still fun to be had hacking but, tbh, I'd rather spend my time modding the heck out of dirt bikes etc. For me, that I was *able* to rely on the major subsystems and focus elsewhere is justification for the cost. That and paying for the trailer is still cheaper than paying rent/a mortgage in home state by a huge amount.



Something which has come up with talking to my Mechanical Engineer father is how often I've gone down the road of *thinking* I ought to make an adjustment and finding that Oliver is one step ahead of me and that tweak has already been made and was probably pointed out to me at delivery but because I was new to this RV thing at the time it didn't sink in. For instance, I got paranoid about quality of shore power for a while there only to find out that what Oliver had done to mitigate that concern was as good or better than anything I would have researched and hacked into place.



I'm planning to do a post on the Oliver forum about what I learned in the first year and the minor adjustments I've made. Maybe I'll post a link over here as well.
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Old 02-12-2020, 11:40 AM   #31
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Originally Posted by JonRaw View Post
to me it felt like I was in a hospital submarine. Too stark white for me, and too narrow. When I set foot in a Bigfoot 17.5 I could immediately tell I liked it better. When I found my Bigfoot 21RB, I stepped inside and immediately knew this was the RV for me.

I've done some things to make it less white but their ain't nothing you can do about the width other than adjust yourself. I'm sympathetic to what you've written.



On the other hand, cleaning up after a meal is super easy. I can just spin instead of take steps to get from the sink/counter to the pantry.
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Old 02-12-2020, 12:18 PM   #32
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Nice trailer, but the interior feels a lot like the inside of a refrigerator. Too much glossy white for my taste.
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Old 02-12-2020, 12:42 PM   #33
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Maybe a bit pejorative?

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Originally Posted by steve dunham View Post
I agree you could buy 2 or 3 other FG trailers for the price of an Oliver but there is a hidden cost / factor in that line of reasoning
For me it is the frustration cost / factor .
We bought a new trailer to go camping / traveling not as a fixer up , remodel project
I like working on our trailer but on my schedule & terms not out of necessity forced by failure
Again it appears Oliver took the time to build it right so I don’t have to
Suggesting that Oliver “took the time to do it right” implies that other manufacturers just throw something together as quickly as possible to save money. You are comparing apples with oranges. Rolls Royce takes forever to build a car, and they certainly do it right. Honda doesn’t take nearly as long, but they do it right as well, and in terms of reliability and cost of ownership, a case could be made that they do it better. Other fiberglass manufacturers are building a different product at a much lower price point, and they take all the time necessary to make them well, but at a price that is within reach of far more people.
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Old 02-12-2020, 01:34 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by Procyonid View Post
Suggesting that Oliver “took the time to do it right” implies that other manufacturers just throw something together as quickly as possible to save money. You are comparing apples with oranges. Rolls Royce takes forever to build a car, and they certainly do it right. Honda doesn’t take nearly as long, but they do it right as well, and in terms of reliability and cost of ownership, a case could be made that they do it better. Other fiberglass manufacturers are building a different product at a much lower price point, and they take all the time necessary to make them well, but at a price that is within reach of far more people.
Some of the built in differences in an Oliver are the four shells required to make the body and the hand built aluminum frame that is a work of art. Even the suspension with it's standard EZ Flex kit, and aluminum wheels with Light truck tires represents an attempt to do it better. It costs more to build this way.

As far as speed goes, Oliver has always made it clear that they are not in a race and they don't push their employees to crank out higher production. They build as many as they can efficiently build. The glass work, in a number of areas, requires a multi step process that allows curing between steps, for instance. Much of the glass work is hand laid instead of simple chopper gun, and then hand rolled to smooth it out. Metal stiffeners are hand glassed in after the shells are cured. The finished product is very carefully scrutinized for the slightest imperfection, and sent back to the shop for final cosmetic work if needed.

You cannot compare those things with some other trailers that are much cheaper, by design, and call it a fair comparison of cost. It's not.

Not every company competes on price, and it's true that Olivers are out of reach for some. But they are building them at full capacity and selling them before they are made. There is not much argument that they are building them very well, standing behind them, and have plenty of buyers.

There are different ways to build things "right". Sometimes fit and finish is right, sometimes price is right, sometimes it's features, or floor plan, it can even be whether or not the cabinet doors are made of pretty wood, sometimes best suited for the weather is right, or the width of the bed. Each potential buyer has their own list of what is right.
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Old 02-12-2020, 01:52 PM   #35
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Ollie considered

Recently I very seriously considered an Ollie LE 2 twin bed version. Like many others the wealth transfer was a major consideration. I have decided to retain and maintain my 1999 Casita 17 SD. What I like in doing that is first I redid the sleeping arrangement so we don't crawl over to do a night bathroom trip and second I have found Casita very good about supplying parts at a reasonable price.
A real setback in considering an Ollie was my tug is a GMC Envoy Denali whose tow rating is about 400# light for the 2 axle Oliver. So, replacing the Envoy with a newer Yukon and the trailer would come close to $100 large! Suddenly the travel budget takes a major hit. So, we will continue to fly under the radar and have fun with the egg crowd. BTW, I sure like the Scamp Max 5th wheel seen at the Swanee last month!
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Old 02-12-2020, 04:39 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by Tomcztank View Post
I'm planning to do a post on the Oliver forum about what I learned in the first year and the minor adjustments I've made. Maybe I'll post a link over here as well.
I look forward to reading that wherever you post it.
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Old 02-12-2020, 04:46 PM   #37
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Originally Posted by JonRaw View Post
I seriously considered an Oliver. The pictures looked great on all of the advertising. I was in discussions with the company to set up a visit on an LE I. But, I found someone selling a lightly used Twin bed LE II 3 hours from me. I went to take a look. Trailer was in great shape and the price was really pretty good. I could tell it was extremely well built with all of the marine grade hardware, etc. Problem is that I just didn't like it. To each his/her own, and I'm not knocking if someone else likes them but to me it felt like I was in a hospital submarine. Too stark white for me, and too narrow. When I set foot in a Bigfoot 17.5 I could immediately tell I liked it better. When I found my Bigfoot 21RB, I stepped inside and immediately knew this was the RV for me.
I looked at a couple of BFs last week also. I liked the walk-around bed, huge fridge and homey, traditional cabinetry quite a lot. But at 6' 4" tall, I couldn't stand up in it. That's a deal breaker for me. But I certainly see why people like them.
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Old 02-12-2020, 04:56 PM   #38
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Originally Posted by JaxDan View Post
A real setback in considering an Ollie was my tug is a GMC Envoy Denali whose tow rating is about 400# light for the 2 axle Oliver. So, replacing the Envoy with a newer Yukon and the trailer would come close to $100 large! Suddenly the travel budget takes a major hit. So, we will continue to fly under the radar and have fun with the egg crowd.
I get it. A new trailer AND a new TV isn't in the cards for me either. Also the reason I'm not looking at 5th-wheels... I don't own a truck! Our Excursion diesel SUV is rated for towing 11,000 lbs, is paid for and I still like it. It was born to tow an Ollie.
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Old 02-12-2020, 06:15 PM   #39
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Originally Posted by Ronald L. Bates View Post
Nice trailer, but the interior feels a lot like the inside of a refrigerator. Too much glossy white for my taste.
I hear this a lot. If you don’t do anything to the interior of an Oliver then you are left with white, glossy surfaces everywhere. Almost all Oliver owners do some interior decorating resulting in a pretty cozy feeling. The fiberglass walls make it easy to hang things with command tape or suction. It also makes cleaning a breeze. We fry bacon inside frequently during bad weather and never have any lingering odors.
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Old 02-13-2020, 11:03 AM   #40
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as has been said

No doubt an Oliver is quality and built to stay that way. I guess the majority of us all want something to hanker for. I like Cadilicas I have bought 2 new ones regretted it the minute after I bought them! Why? Because they drew down my money on hand.

Now I buy one as much as 10 years old and enjoy! No doubt I will never either afford a new Oliver or a used one. Checked on their prices? I do not have a problem with whoever wants or buys one I admire those rigs but I doubt if I can ever swing one.

As usual not matter what you get there is just something else you want or wish was in the rig!

best of luck to you Oliver guys

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