No trailer or RV is perfect. I’m certain if you ask any owner, they’ll have a list of things they hate and a list of things they love about their RV. It makes sense because an mass-produced RV cannot be all things to all people. I started my Oliver Travel Trailer review of the things I hate last week with the first six items. And, today, I finish the list with the last five.  

Hardware

Last week’s Oliver Travel Trailer review list ended with the dark spot in the entry way of my Oliver. My solution is to hang a battery-operated light from the hook outside the bathroom door for use as needed. Well. speaking of that hook, it starts off the list.

That hook, I hate it. And I have five of them. Hate them all.

My Oliver came with three—one in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and one outside the bathroom door. My first complaint was the one outside the bathroom came on the wrong side. It made no sense that it would be installed next to where the hinges of the bathroom door are and above where someone sitting at the dining table would have their head instead of the side where the bathroom door opens.

You might think it’s a coat hook and that I’m wrong for assuming it is primarily used for a bath towel. But here’s the thing, the Oliver has a wet bath. So, you have to put your towel outside the bathroom or risk it getting soaked. If that’s the case, wouldn’t it make more sense to have the hook within arm’s reach rather than needing to put it on the floor or getting out of the shower dripping water to grab a towel behind the door?

Luckily this was something I figured out during my build so I had two additional hooks installed between the closet and the bathroom. In the right place.

But none of that has to do with what I hate. What I hate are the hooks themselves. They aren’t “hooky” enough. Nothing stays on them. They are pretty to be sure but nearly useless for hanging things.

Okay, that isn’t entirely true. They do fine for items with a built-in curve such as the hood of a jacket. Or if the item has a loop that you can thread over the hook such as a pot holder. Or the plastic carabiner that came with the battery-operated light I use in the dark spot.  But they suck for things like kitchen and bath towels or pajamas. They just aren’t deep enough to actually hold the item. Towels slip right off.

White wall, silver t-shaped hook holding a black potholder.
It’s hard to get a good photo with the reflective nature of fiberglass but you can easily see how shallow the hooks are, making them only good for items like this potholder with a hook.

I’d bet dollars to doughnuts that a designer picked them based on looks and not functionality. And for anyone who’s RVed, especially as a full-timer, you need functionality over looks every time. It’s quite frustrating.

Placement of the AC

This one, I totally understand there might not be another option. In a small space, it can be like the game Tetris to get all the necessities to fit. Still, I hate that the air conditioning unit is right above the bed. I’ll let myself be a little hot at night before I break down and turn it on.

Interior of a white fiberglass trailer. There is a tv, a black cabinet door and a white AC at the top of the photo.
The white thing on the ceiling is the AC. Just below on either side are the two beds. The distance between them is not more than five feet.

First, it’s loud and, when right overhead, it’s really loud. Second, even though it feels great to have it cooling down the air, it can actually be quite cold when it blows directly on you. It does have adjustable directional flaps which helps but, still, when it’s right over the top of you, there’s no getting around how cold it can be.

Microwave Front

The microwave button pad is black and the lettering dark gray. In other words, it’s nearly impossible to read the microwave pad. Even in daylight, I have to put my face about six inches away to do anything on that pad. And in the night? About an inch away. How ridiculous is that?

Pad on the front of a microwave inside an Oliver Travel Trailer.
It’s reflective so it’s hard to get a good shot. But this gives you an idea of what I’m talking about. This was taken in the full light of a bright day. Bonus: note my Balloon Fiesta bottle opener.

And, just like the hooks, I’m guessing it was picked out by a designer because of the black and silver sleek look it has which goes nicely with the look of the Oliver. Still, I’d prefer one I could actually see.

Black Tank with Composting Toilet

I have a composting toilet. A composting toilet means there is no need for a black tank because it’s completely self-contained. However, there remains a space in the underneath of the trailer for the black tank. I’ve seen many other RVers convert that black tank into an additional gray tank.

Let me explain the benefit of such a conversion. When boondocking, the main reason you have to leave is because either you run out of water or your tanks (black and/or gray) get full. It’s easy to bring extra water. You can do so in big jugs and use that for drinking, cooking, dishes or to pour in the toilet for flushing.

What you cannot do is find a work around for full tanks. When full, they need dumped. So, can you see the value in converting an unused black tank into an additional gray tank? In essence, provided you bring enough additional fresh water, you could significantly increase your boondocking time. It wouldn’t be double because black tanks are smaller than gray tanks. Still, you could increase the days at least by 50%, maybe more.

Back before I got on the road, when I envisioned myself as a boondocking queen, this was an important concept to me. During the build, I asked Oliver to make the conversion. I’m pretty sure it’s fairly easy and straight-forward. The location of the black tank doesn’t change, just where the plumbing tubes run.

I was told they couldn’t do it because it would affect the resell value and because a future owner might want a marine toilet rather than the composting toilet I was opting for. Now this “hate,” I understand, is not about the trailer itself but rather about the company. But it must be on this list because I hate it and because it’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. I was going to be the owner of the trailer so why would Oliver think they have a say in modifications I’m allowed and not allowed to make on my trailer?

Now, they could’ve said, we cannot make that modification for you but you can have it done or do it yourself post-purchase. But they didn’t.

This actually highlights the last item on the list. Again, this is more about the company than the trailer itself. Still, in my mind, they are inextricably linked.

Oliver Travel Trailer Review: The Company

White small trailer with purple stripes. A white van behind it. For the Oliver Travel Trailer review post.
The day I picked up Hull 249.

Production

The 2017 Oliver Travel Trailer I own is Hull #249. Hull #600 just came off the line. In 2016, they were rolling out four trailers a month. In 2017, production increased to 10 per month. Most of us with the 2017 models (or hulls in the 200s) think they had a steep learning curve on our trailers during this increased production phase.

I’ve told the story before about how Oliver told me their trailers go through a rigorous system check twice before delivery. And, yet, my inverter was installed incorrectly and didn’t work from day one. Similarly, it wasn’t until I took a video of water, literally, pouring into the rig during a bad rainstorm that the issue was taken seriously. Prior to video proof, I kept being told it was just natural condensation and to clean the weep hole. Turned out, the window was installed wrong.

Last winter I was talking to a couple who picked up their trailer just a couple months prior to me picking up mine. We were comparing notes. They asked if I purchased the XYZ as an add-on (sorry, I have to use the generic because, for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was). I said I didn’t and, in fact, I didn’t even know it was a possibility. It wasn’t on Oliver’s website as an add-on option. They agreed and told me they learned about XYZ because they got a call from Oliver asking if they wanted it. It begs the question, why didn’t I get that call? Why didn’t everyone who was in the process of having a build done?

Infrastructure

And with an increasing number of rigs going off the line, there naturally is an increased demand for service. I assume (hope) they are adding people as numbers increase but, last year, when I went for service, there was no sign of it. Workers were completely stressed, citing tons of trailers in for repair.

The repairs and service I asked for were fine (including that window replacement). But the state of my trailer when I got it returned was a mess. At first, I thought it was just an unfortunate un-Oliver like oversight. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if they were just so slammed busy, that there simply wasn’t time to give me back my trailer properly.

First, I’d had the door lock replaced. They left the new keys in my trailer, then locked the trailer with their master key. Fortunately, on this one, I thought of it before I got too far away. But can you imagine what would’ve happened had I driven several hundred miles away before discovering it?

Second, the handle of the water drain valve in the bathroom broke so I had them replace it. It wasn’t until I got where I was going, got unhooked and went into the bathroom that I discovered they failed to shut the valve. I use the bathroom shower pan as storage and everything in there was soaked, including one appliance that I ended up throwing away rather than risk electrocution since the motor was at the bottom and got filled with water.

Third, when I dropped the trailer off, the gray tank was empty. After I pick it up, I went to a State Park nearby with no hookups. I took a shower and couldn’t figure out why I had standing water in the tub. Turns out, in testing, they completely filled my gray tank (which is also why the second thing happened) and didn’t bother to drain it. Or even tell me they’d done so. In the end, I didn’t have a choice but to drain a little out onto the ground (only gray water) just to get the shower to drain. Then I had to leave the campground earlier than planned. I was incredibly irritated at and disappointment by Oliver. 

Communication

Like the black tank conversion, I was given inaccurate information when I asked about a convection oven. It seemed like such a good solution to the no oven issue. But I was told convection ovens need more space for air circulation so it wasn’t possible for Oliver to offer them without a complete redesign of the fiberglass mold. Guess what’s offered now? Yep, convection ovens. No mold redesign that I ever heard about.

Likewise, I asked about lithium batteries. Again, the answer was it is not possible with the solar setup they offer. Now, Oliver still doesn’t offer the lithium batteries (though I wouldn’t bet the farm on lithium batteries it not making the upgrade list in the future). However, another owner who has a blog just wrote of the mod to their trailer to add lithium batteries. And it didn’t involve anything to do with the solar. The mod was in the battery bank area so they could fit snugly.

In other words, it is possible.

Oliver Travel Trailer Pricing

Have you ever bought a Dell computer online? Basically, it starts with a base-price then you upgrade or downgrade each component. The price goes up and down accordingly. With Oliver, when doing a build, the price only goes up even when you want a lesser item.

For example, a microwave is a standard option and is factored into the base price. However, if you decided not to get the microwave, you don’t get a “credit” on the invoice for the cost of the microwave and installation even though, obviously, it costs the company less.

Similarly, when you upgrade to the composting toilet, they don’t factor into the cost the fact that you are not purchasing the marine toilet. Seems to me, you should get a credit for the marine toilet then a debit for the cost of the composting toilet.

Overall Oliver Trailer Review

Overall, I really do like the trailer and am happy with it. That can be hard to tell when a post is only about the things I hate. Hold tight, though, because next week I’ll share all that I love about the trailer and you’ll see the other side of the coin.

Next week I’ll also answer that all-important and frequently-asked question: If I had it to do over again, would I buy an Oliver Travel Trailer? But in the meantime, this list is the things I have to live with that I wish I didn’t have to. The good news is that, at least for now, none of these are a deal breaker.

If you own an RV, I’d love to hear the list of things you hate. Be sure to include your make and model so it’s clear what rig you are referring to. If you are still deciding what RV is right for you, I hope this gives you a complete picture of things to consider.

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