Oliver Factory Tour Photos

56farmerjohn

New member
Oliver factory Tour

I am sold on Fiberglass trailers. I have a 2015 Escape 17A, while not as expensive as the Oliver, it does the trick for me.... I have taken it to the East Mojave and to Anza Borrego, no problems... Have gone on dirt roads, with washboard effects and nothing came open, no damage of any sort.. My Escape is half the the weight of the Oliver which (for me means easier towing)It is also half the price of the Oliver, yet comparable in durability etc.. I got the Idea for the Escape after seeing Ace Browns' 17, He went everywhere in his... He is a member of this forum.....
 

Nd4SpdSe

Adventurer, eh?
Its interesting that they don't Huck bolt the frame as on the aluminum M1101/1102 military trailers. I have always thought welded aluminum trailers don't hold up as well as steel when it comes to stress etc. Would make me nervous spending 50K on a trailer then having issues with the frame. The aluminum military trailers also started out with an aluminum draw bar then ended up switching/replacing them with steel. I am guessing they did that for a reason.

You might be right. I'm not expert in the field, but i read the Kirkham Motorsports book on making of their Cobra and they were concerned about that exact issue on their frame. It was a great read. You may like it
http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_03.pdf
 

OCD Overland

Explorer
I am sold on Fiberglass trailers. I have a 2015 Escape 17A, while not as expensive as the Oliver, it does the trick for me.... I have taken it to the East Mojave and to Anza Borrego, no problems... Have gone on dirt roads, with washboard effects and nothing came open, no damage of any sort.. My Escape is half the the weight of the Oliver which (for me means easier towing)It is also half the price of the Oliver, yet comparable in durability etc.. I got the Idea for the Escape after seeing Ace Browns' 17, He went everywhere in his... He is a member of this forum.....
I haven't seen an Escape in person, but they do seem like a great bargain, especially with the exchange rate.
 

OCD Overland

Explorer
You might be right. I'm not expert in the field, but i read the Kirkham Motorsports book on making of their Cobra and they were concerned about that exact issue on their frame. It was a great read. You may like it
http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/aoe_03.pdf
That's very cool - I can't imagine the cost of that frame.

I think Kedron in Australia advertises bolted frames as well. They make a tough travel trailer.
 

Tazman

Adventurer
That is a wonderful looking trailer. Build like a sailboat and I'm sure you will have little leaking problem. Nicely equipped and very durable. I agree with the comments on the steps being eliminated as that will get banged right out the gate. This is the first time we have seen this trailer. During our search we looked at everything including Casitas and Airstreams. We decided on a Kimberley S3. Built in Australia, the currency play really helped us. We expect delivery in March. Like you, we can hardly wait.

Best wishes in your travels.
 

OCD Overland

Explorer
That is a wonderful looking trailer. Build like a sailboat and I'm sure you will have little leaking problem. Nicely equipped and very durable. I agree with the comments on the steps being eliminated as that will get banged right out the gate. This is the first time we have seen this trailer. During our search we looked at everything including Casitas and Airstreams. We decided on a Kimberley S3. Built in Australia, the currency play really helped us. We expect delivery in March. Like you, we can hardly wait.

Best wishes in your travels.
The S3 is on our radar also. It's more expensive, of course, but what you get for the difference seems well worth the price. The main stumbling blocks I have with getting one are 1) that we can't see one in person, and 2) what to do about getting it serviced, made worse since the Kimberlies are fairly complicated. With the Oliver, their factory is 3 hours away from us and that's a nice bonus.

How long of a wait did you have on yours? Will there be any import duty or will you have to pay any other taxes?
 
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elmo_4_vt

Explorer
Beautiful camper if you need/want something larger. It seems like it'd be a great option and the fiberglass should last a lifetime.

Don

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Wombat

Observer
We have the one and only Oliver Sport that was built in the first run of Oliver Trailers. It was their attempt to offer a lower cost Oliver by using a steel frame and deleting some of the standard features. It sat in a corner of the factory until we bought it last year.
IMGP0179.jpg
 

Wombat

Observer
That is a nice set up Wombat.

Thanks, three years from now my wife and I will be hitting the road full time. We plan on adding solar in the near future.

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We use the Oliver as base camp and go exploring in the Sprinter. I can fit 4 bikes in the back. The sofa folds out into a bed. I have an Aluminess rear bumper on order to carry a Honda eu2000 generator.

SAM_0433-L.jpg


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John E Davies

Adventurer
Thanks so much for the pics and info. My wife and I are looking at a Northern Lite truck camper for our Ram 3500, but the big Oliver has caught my attention. The big problem with a truck camper is lack of storage, and we would have to drag our little 4x6 foot utility trailer anyway, to carry extra "stuff".

I don't especially like the idea of having a 44ft long rig, but the amenities and storage are sweet and maybe we could adjust the trip lifestyle to accommodate a big trailer. I can imagine the difficulties in trying to drag one over some of those rough Colorado passes.... We would have to park the Oliver and use it as a base.

We are going to visit an Oliver Elite 2 owner in three weeks for a look. The company has only produced 100 or so units, to the best of my knowledge, so they use (willing) owners across the country to show their trailers to interested buyers. It's a really long haul to the factory from Washington, but the Northern Lite factory is just three or four hours northwest of here.

Do you know if Oliver would install a cassette toilet and switch the black tank to a second fresh water tank? I can order a NL with a cassette setup, but it is a $1200 option ;(

Thanks again.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 
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OCD Overland

Explorer
That sounds great - I'm glad that this thread has helped. I think you'll be impressed with them, since the quality doesn't really come through in the photos.

You might consider doing what we are, which is to treat the trailer as a base camp, and then get a rooftop tent for the truck bed for our more adventurous excursions. We're also looking at Kimberley trailers from Austrailia, so you might check those out as well. Their pop-up caravan seems almost as mobile as a utility trailer, and offers all the conveniences as the Oliver, if not the living space.

I can't say about the black tank. I'm sure they'd switch out the toilet, but changing the tank might mean they have to get the new one special made. They fit together tetris-like under the floor, so they aren't stock tanks you could just go buy. But it's definitely worth asking. The guy to talk to at Oliver is Robert Partee - I can PM his contact info to you if you want.
 

John E Davies

Adventurer
I can't say about the black tank. I'm sure they'd switch out the toilet, but changing the tank might mean they have to get the new one special made. They fit together tetris-like under the floor, so they aren't stock tanks you could just go buy. But it's definitely worth asking. The guy to talk to at Oliver is Robert Partee - I can PM his contact info to you if you want.

Thanks, but I will wait until we have had a chance to crawl around in an Ollie before getting involved in "what if" scenarios.

John Davies
Spokane WA USA
 

DUTCH

Curmudgeon
The S3 is on our radar also. It's more expensive, of course, but what you get for the difference seems well worth the price. The main stumbling blocks I have with getting one are 1) that we can't see one in person, and 2) what to do about getting it serviced, made worse since the Kimberlies are fairly complicated. With the Oliver, their factory is 3 hours away from us and that's a nice bonus.

How long of a wait did you have on yours? Will there be any import duty or will you have to pay any other taxes?

As a Kimberley Karavan owner, I can share my experience.

1.) There is no import duty. KK prices their products delivered to Los Angeles. Depending on your location, you might have to pay a local sales tax when your register the unit. I did in Georgia - 6%.
2.) There is currently no North American Service; and that is a SERIOUS problem for me. I just had a major canopy lifting cable break after 2-1/2 years of ownership, which renders it unusable. There have been numerous other issues, too; but I have been able to fix them myself. There is not only no NA service, but there is no easy access to replace the cable. At this point, I'm not sure of the future of my unit. Sad!

DUTCH
 
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