Impressions of Oliver Legacy Elite

[Rossue2]

Was camped next to a gentleman with a new Oliver Legacy Elite last week. This is their 18'5' fiberglass trailer: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/travel-trailers/legacy-elite/.

This was his maiden voyage and after being plugged in at home with shore power for a few days he drove five hours from SoCal to a campground at 8300'. I met him on his second day out and his batteries were drained. He optioned the Lithium Pro Package with 260 AH/240W roof solar panel/2000W inverter.

Even with calls to Oliver head tech, it seemed that at that point- with a 2200W Honda generator all he was doing was trickle charging it and a false reading showing 3/4 charged quickly dissipated after generator was off. He insisted he never used anything other than his Norcold fridge on LP. His inverter was on and may have had some parasitic draw, yet he never used his microwave. To turn off his inverter he had to lift up his mattress which was not very easy. So no definitive answer on what caused his problem and will have to plug in shore power for a day or two to try it again.

While this trailer is well built I found it over-built and super claustrophobic compared to my first Escape trailer- a 17B. It was super tight inside with the bathroom up front and a very narrow aisle. And would you believe the dry weight is more than a 21? Yep- 3700#'s. He told me he spent $70K for this trailer not including paying someone to tow it from TN to SoCal.

If I absolutely had to have a four season trailer I would be looking at Bigfoot. And while I agree with others about the build quality I thought the controls were overly complex and confusing.

 

[MVA]

We toured the Oliver factory during travels through TN last summer and talked to the sales rep to gain some insight into the engineering and design of the trailer and components.

Our impressions - Strengths and weaknesses between ETI and Oliver. Oliver is more expensive, 4 season, tanks are protected, roof is stronger (saw workers walking on roof), leaf springs, aluminum frame. ETI allows for interior customization due to wood cabinetry versus molded fiberglass which restricts modifications.

As of last summer, Oliver was disconnecting the TV charging lead in the 7-pin connector box when a Li package is ordered; no DC-DC converter was being installed. Hence, in the experience you noted, only solar couple be used to change the Li batteries, if that was functional. Perhaps their solar controller was not functional or on.

Was the generator used to power the AC-DC converter in order to charge the batteries, or did the Oliver owner try to charge the batteries directly from the generator via the 12VDC tap on the generator? If the latter, then it would make sense that the batteries would not take a significant charge (voltage is too low for Li battery to charge), but the standard KIB battery monitor would indicate a high battery charge (KIB monitor is a simple voltage monitor setup for Pb-acid).

 

[Rossue2]

He used the same outlet one would plug into at home or campground. The Oliver with this setup has a combo converter/inverter vs. a separate converter.

 

[brroberts]

We too looked at Oliver. Way too many dislikes on the interior for our wants. We owned a Bigfoot 2500 pickup camper for many years, but got an Escape simply because it’s easier to tow. The drive itself is very easy with the Escape, and I could buy a smaller truck to tow it easily.

 

[MVA]

He used the same outlet one would plug into at home or campground. The Oliver with this setup has a combo converter/inverter vs. a separate converter.

OK - bad news for them. Thanks for clarifying.

We did like the robustness of the structure. AC units, solar panels were bolted into embedded aluminum plates in the underside of the outer fiberglass shell. Of course this adds significant weight.

 

[bborzell]

Prior to ordering our 2022 21C, we drove 100 miles to visit an Oliver owner who had a new dual axle model.

He gave us as much time as we wanted to inspect and hang out in the trailer. After looking around, we went into all day rain mode and just imagined that we were stuck in the trailer for much of a day.

After two hours (we brought books to read), I was done. It felt like being holed up down below in our 22ft sailboat. The molded furniture and narrow pathway just felt wrong for our needs.

It looked well built, but it was heavy and not at all what we wanted.

 

[nepaweb]

We had a chance to tour an Oliver LE 2 recently. The owners only camped with hookups so it had no solar or inverter systems.
I really liked the larger bathroom and wardrobe and the outside storage bin is huge. Windows let in a lot of light on 3 sides of the trailer as well.

My takeaway from the tour was that the Oliver is a quality built trailer that is in need of some minor redesign and upgrades.
We prefer the kitchen on our 5.0 with the bigger fridge, stove with oven and exhaust hood. Dinette can be made into a bed for the grand kids as well.
Our 5.0 is only about 2 inches taller than the Oliver and weighs much less.

The thing that really got my attention was when the owner told me that if he has an issue with the trailer he can call the factory anytime and get someone to help him. He has even been able to get a hold of service techs on weekends and has always gotten prompt callbacks with helpful responses.
He has also taken his trailer back to the factory for service and upgrades a couple of times.

That all sounded pretty appealing to me as with the Escape, being 3000+ miles from the factory, I've felt like I'm pretty much on my own as far as service issues are concerned.

I would love to see a comparison of thermal retention between the Escape and Oliver. The double hull design adds a lot of complexity to the trailer but I wonder how much real world benefit it provides.

 

[Rossue2]

One positive I did notice: the upper half of the shell overlaps the bottom with a 2" or so overhang vs. the way the Escape meets and then rivets on a belly band. Seems like a better way to do it.

 

[Eggscape]

I am sure it is a well built trailer but the bed is only 74 by 52 and we like to look out a front window and see things going by. Then there is the cost and extra weight of a 4 season trailer that we don’t need.

 

[rlgrand]

I had an opportunity to tour the elite model while traveling. They were new owners and really liked it. My observations are as follows: one) is very much built like a good boat. It is comfortable and compact but very structured. Two) I found the bathroom to be roomy enough (I’m 64). Three) Akiyasu for some will be the small dinette area if they choose to leave the bed area as a bed. Four) I am 6 foot four in a fraction. The only Escape I fit in is a TA 5.0 and for that reason I really like it. If I was going to get a trailer, the only one that would fit me would be the Oliver.

I think many people will like the layout it’s very clean and neat, and if you’re familiar with boats it’ll be very comfortable. My personal preference is a TA 5.0 given my height. That being said as noted above I fit in the lead.

 

[rbryan4]

Well built is one thing. But it's just a stretched Casita when it comes to the Floorplan. 75K+ for a tiny galley and a side dinette, and a bed you have to convert? Not a chance.

 

[cityofdestiny]

The convertible bed is a deal killer for me.

 

[marsman]

Agree with a lot of the comments I've seen here. We also toured a Legacy II Oliver and although the fit and finish and overall look were really good, I found it felt claustrophobic. Two months later I was at the Escape showroom and stepped into a 5.0 and wow, what a difference; it felt much more airy and spacious, and I was sold.

 

[oldwave]

We looked at an Oliver, then ordered a Bigfoot
Nuff said. I wonder if the owner had the water heater on ac as well. Lithium batteries Should charge quickly
I’d make sure the inverter was off. He also might have the refrig on ac . Sounds a lot like inexperienced understanding of his power systems.

Or of course something could actually be wrong

 

[Ooshkaboo]

We looked at an Oliver, then ordered a Bigfoot
Nuff said. I wonder if the owner had the water heater on ac as well. Lithium batteries Should charge quickly
I’d make sure the inverter was off. He also might have the refrig on ac . Sounds a lot like inexperienced understanding of his power systems.

Or of course something could actually be wrong

Something is definitely wrong…

 

[Grasshog]

Whatever floats your boat. The Oliver’s are built fantastic. I believe they have an airstream like cult,, which that is fantastic for them I really like the prior post. They were very well said just got to hole in the wall Campground in the Mojave preserve. How about that?