marpel wrote:
Have been researching a new trailer over the last few months and am quite interested in the Oliver product, so hope you report back on your findings. Actually wish I could take a tour but it's a bit far from Vancouver Canada (although have toured the Escape factory up in this area, also a fiberglass product).
So, wondering about the following:
- Am hesitant about the wet bath and wonder if they are considering a full bath model in the future (or if the current models can be converted to full bath with separate shower).
- how thick are the walls and what is the R-value? (the Escapes I looked at have extremely thin walls with only sheets of Reflectex, or similar, between the inner and outer fibreglass skins).
- it appears they only market permanent single bed configurations, with the ability to lower the dinette table to accommodate a (temporary) larger (queen) bed. Any factory option for a permanent queen bed?
- One of their marketing hypes is less propensity for leaking due to fewer roof seams (along wall/roof edges). However, they still have roof vents and A/C which breach the solid roof. Is the method of sealing the roof seams similar to conventional trailers and if so, how is this any better?
- although heavier than my current trailer, the width is narrower and the edges are radiuses all the way around, especially at the rear. Have they done any tests comparing their trailers and wider traditional trailers, and have any data on the difference in mpg performance, with similar vehicle? (I'm presuming, though heavier, the narrower width and radiuses edges will make for an easier pull - hills should be similar but flat highway driving should show a benefit).
Am looking forward to your comments after your tour is over.
Thanks,
Marv
//
Marpel, the staff tells me there are no plans for a designing a new mold in the near future, which precludes them from altering a lot of things, including a full bath. See pic of mold currently being used.
I'm told the width of the trailer is intentional -- to optimize the view of the pilot. The thickness of walls varies... there is a pic or two which may satisfy your curiosity regarding that. The R-value is R16 throughout the trailer. The sides & bottom are insulated exactly the same way as the roof. The insulation strategy for the Oliver sounds very similar to the Escape: Pro-dex (not Reflectix) is placed between the inner & outer fiberglass shells. I found a discussion about the difference between Reflectix and Prodex here.
Pro-dex vs. ReflectixThey don’t use more than one sheet because the strategy actually depends upon the surrounding air to operate as designed. The air, itself, is considered to be an insulator -- as you already know.
If the rear is left permanently in the king/queen bed layout, you still have a dining table for two mid-ship (everything about the Oliver entices you to use marine-speak). It was worth noting that the bed made available by converting the two-seater dinette is as long as those beds in the twin/queen configuration, although not as wide.
Marpel, I’m told that the method for sealing seams created by adding components is similar to traditional coaches but the manufacturer insists there are far fewer breaches -- owing to the fact that the vertices of two planes are not exposed like traditional box-type TT. There are breaches in the roof created when components are added (solar, A/C, etc...) and the methodology for sealing them is consistent with the traditional way, although, they say it is not necessary to use Di-cor; the manufacturer insists you can buy the sealant from any home improvement store. As an aside, I can tell you that I witnessed four steel plates incorporated into the outer upper shell to facilitate attaching the air conditioner. My tour guide was not within earshot when I made this observation & I failed to follow-up with him once we were reunited.
Another observation... I never walked the roof & I noticed a ladder was not a standard option. I dunno if it is an option at all? I noticed that the manufacturing line used this scaffolding (see pic above) to place the components on the roof. I was told you COULD walk on the roof, but I was thinking, if it were mine, I would do so sparingly. I dunno if that’s a valid conclusion or not? Maybe that’s unwarranted paranoia? Fortunately, there are no branches to clear because there are no slides, so maybe time on the roof is limited to inspecting sealant?
Marpel, there have been no tests to compare the Oliver Trailer to traditional TTs with respect to MPG or anything else. So, there was no data available here. Please see their website for the dry weight of the TT and it’s CCC, etc... Heather did tell me the units are weighed individually after all options are installed.
