Oliverr Travel Trailers was started by our founder because of his bad experiences with other travel trailers,” Phil Melfa, General Manager of Oliver Travel Trailers, says. "He had a company where people would have to stay all over the country and set the foundations for mobile homes in a couple days so staff would have to stay in travel trailers. Every trailer they bought would be unusable within a year or so, so Mr. Oliver said he could make a better one, and he did." Oliver started selling travel trailers in 2008 and after the economy went down in 2009, their travel trailer company went on hiatus and re-opened again in 2014 when RVing started to pick up again.
"Our goal is to make high quality custom trailers," Matt Duncan, Marketing Manager for Oliver says. With the exception of the components and mechanical systems, Ollies are built entirely in house, from the fiberglass shell to the aluminum chassis and they are all made to order trailers. "We made 117 trailers last year and will make about 150 this year," Duncan says. It takes the company about 10-14 weeks to build a trailer. As a result of being made to order and of quality construction, their trailers receive great reviews and feedback from their customers. "Vocal isn't quite the right word. More like fanatics," Melfa laughs as he describes the feedback.
Oliver Travel Trailers takes advantage of this fanaticism by offering a tour of the factory, as well as a "See An Ollie" referral program. People can find an Ollie close to them and see it by visiting a current owner. This takes a lot of confidence in the customers and the product they are selling – two things Oliver Travel Trailers has in spades. "Most of our customers are very proud of their trailer and enjoy showing it off. Our potential customers appreciate the un-biased information they receive from our current owners, which allows them to make an un-pressured buying decision. This is totally opposite of what they have come to expect in the tradition RV sales model," Melfa says.
“The Legacy Elite II model from Oliver Travel Trailers with twin beds. Now that's luxury on wheels!”
As for the product, Oliver only uses the highest quality components and materials. Some examples include, aircraft grade aluminum frames, handcrafted dovetail cabinetry and marine grade hardware, just to name a few. They minimize the use of wood to avoid one of the most common problems found in the RV industry, deterioration due to wood rot. "We are striving to build something more like a yacht than an RV," Melfa says. As a result, the price point is higher than typical travel trailers of the same size. "We are more on par with an Airstream in terms of price point, but we are selling an entirely different product." The price point is not because of a name, though, it is for the quality components, the customizable options, as well as everything being done in house. They also only sell through their factory outlet. "Honestly, if we sold at some of these dealers, they would have to sell each Ollie for about $20,000 more than we do through our factory outlet," Duncan says, "And they wouldn't take the care or have the expertise that we do for our trailers."
The interesting thing about Oliver is that the trailers are small. When most folks think luxury - they think big and extravagant. The 2018 models of Oliver Travel Trailers are 18’5” and 23’6”. Though small, their standard offerings are packed with many of the features found on other luxury trailers, as well as the ability to be customized with a wide selection of add-ons and upgrades. One difference between larger trailers and Ollies are the sleeping capacities. Ollies sleep 3, while larger trailers have a larger capacity. “A lot of our customers are empty-nesters or recent retirees,” Duncan says, “So we cater to that market currently.” Another difference is weight. A lot of the big trailers require a pickup with a huge tow capacity, however these Ollies can easily be pulled by an F-150 or something equivalent as the weight at full capacity of the larger of the 2018 model is 7000 pounds, something newer trucks can pull with ease. The difference of the high GVWR and dry weight of about 4600 lbs., leaves you with an amazing amount of carrying capacity, not typically found in similar sized travel trailers.
To see more information about specs or features, head over to their handy website and there is plenty of information about the trailers as well as the forums and blog posts about the trailers. Worth mentioning is the four-season capacity of the trailer. As it says on the website, “Our designers have put in mind every type of camper, the wandering winter warriors, the sightseeing spring soothers, the sun-chasing summer saints and the fall free-spirited frolickers.” This is done by having two fiberglass shells lined with space-aged Prodex insulation and further enhanced with an air gap, which insulates like a double insulated cup.
Oliver Travel Trailers wants to keep growing, but keep it controlled. “We are steadily growing,” Melfa says, “However we want to make sure we keep the personalized service with each of our customers and remain high touch in our interactions.” They also participate in rallies, both for Oliver Trailers as well as fiberglass trailers in general. Rallys for Oliver Trailers started in 2015 with 17 attendees and in 2017 it grew to 175 attendees. They will also attend the Boler 50th anniversary rally in Winnipeg in early August. “Boler made the original fiberglass trailers,” Melfa explains, “And we want to pay our respects to that.” With the respect for the market, for the customers, and the product, Oliver Travel Trailers in Tennessee will continue to grow and become known more and more widely as the highest quality fiberglass trailer on the RV market.