Delivery Lessons Learned
Frieda and I took delivery of our 2022 Legacy Elite Hull #961 the afternoon of Tuesday, Dec 28, 2021. This was about six weeks later than originally scheduled due to the Oliver Factory shutting down for a month over supply chain issues. Thank you Covid and Let’s Go Brandon!
Overall, our delivery could not have been smoother. As with any major event in life, there are lessons learned and these are ours. Obviously your mileage may vary, but here’s what we experienced and learned.
What to expect upon arrival
We had a 1 pm delivery and got into Hohenwald around 11:45. We ate lunch at a relatively new Mexican restaurant downtown called Los Hermanos Mexican Grill. Other than the fact we ate too much and wanted a nap, it was amazing. Highly recommended.
We walked into the Oliver building a few minutes before 1pm and were greeted by Oliver’s very nice receptionist Crystal. Right about 1, our Delivery Specialist Ryan greeted us and took us to our new trailer. After a few oohs and aahs and pictures, we started the delivery process. Ryan did an outstanding job of going over all the features and systems of our new Ollie. It’s a lot to take in, especially if you are first-time RVers like we are, but having spent a lot of time withe the Oliver Factory videos on YouTube and having read the online manual, I felt prepared.
After the delivery orientation, we sat down with Megan who took our final payment, had us sign a few delivery documents, and presented us with our manufacturer’s certificate of origin and final paid invoice. We also received a bag with our Owner’s Manuals, T-shirts, coffee mugs and a few other goodies. It was then back to Ryan who then installed our optional Andersen anti-sway hitch and propane tank sensors. He then helped us hitch up and off we were to site #1 right there at the Oliver Factory Campground.
First tow, setup, and overnight
As we drove the short distance to the camp site, I knew I was fried. It’s a huge purchase — almost as much as our first house 35 years ago — and a LOT to take in as new RVers. It was already dark and here I was parking a travel trailer for the first time. Fortunately, the Oliver camp site is flat, well-lit, and set up for just this situation. Without too much trouble I got our new Ollie backed in.
A few things we were grateful for:
The factory-installed backup camera. It seemed like a lot of money for this accessory but we quickly fell in love with it, especially the next day driving down the highway. Already a highly recommended factory option.
Setup checklist on my iPhone. Having gone though the online PDF of the Owners’s Manual, I knew I wanted to have it on my phone ahead of time. After trying out a few different options for iPhone app checklists that could be reset and reused easily, I decided on reChecklist. As I stood there staring at my parked truck and new Oliver, fried, tired, slightly wet and a bit nervous, I had no idea where to begin. Fortunately, I had set up reChecklist with my setup and other checklists ahead of time and I followed the setup checklist I had created based on the Owner’s Manual steps, my optional equipment and how I know I like to tackle processes.
We packed light. We kept what we brought to a minimum since we were just spending one night in the trailer and would be home the next day. (We live in Harriman, TN — just a bit over three hours away.)
Things to think about:
Dump station. While the Oliver Campground has electricity and water, there is no waste dump at the parking spots. Instead, there is a dump station for use as you exit. Having no experience with showering in an RV, we chose to skip showers the next morning to ensure we did not exceed our gray tank capacity. In hindsight we could have probably taken a quick one but better safe than sorry as we get used to the systems.
Entertainment and system checkout. We meant to bring a DVD and/or couple of music CDs to try out the Furrion entertainment system but forgot. We tried connecting our phones using the Bluetooth option but about a dozen or more Furrions showed up to connect to and we never did figure out which one was ours. Over the air TV worked fine but the local offerings were not anything we wished to watch. I recommend a DVD or CD just to check out the system if nothing else.
The weather. It had rained hard off and on that day, but it was just misting as we set up. More importantly, the temperature was in the upper 60s. It would have been a lot more challenging if it had been very cold or very wet. Be prepared for worst case.
Meals. We chose to have dinner at Lewis & Clarke’s in Hohenwald (decent but not as good as Los Hermanos) and then just focus on doing a simple sausage and eggs breakfast in the morning. This worked out well as a first-ever experience cooking in an RV.
Overall, the delivery experience was terrific and was befitting a trailer of this quality.
