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Gooood morning WORLD! From our campsite at Coles Creek State Park, NY, to you. "Sunrise over the St Lawrence"

Hi Bill - Hoping to pick up our Ollie in late July. If you get a chance check out the Big South Fork National Recreation Area - Bandy Creek Campground. We've camped there in our stck-built & really enjoyed it [see photo attached]. It would be great to meet someday! Kathy (& Clair)

After a few days of visiting family in beautiful Denver, we are hooked up again leaving for Wyoming in the early morning hours. Tetons, Jackson, a splurge into Idaho, and Yellowstone all on the coming week or so agenda. Though not camping, Denver has been good.

Larry Gamble of Little House Customs came up with a great idea a few years ago for the Casita's that doesn't run a fan to keep the fins cool. While we were at the Rally in King City, CA. I noticed that our fan wasn't shutting off at all during the day, so I pulled off the cover and it was really over heating in the sun and it was no longer keeping up with it being on AC and on the 3rd setting. So I grabbed the roll of rebar wire out of the tool locker and used Larry's basic idea once again, but on Goldilocks this time. When boondocking, we don't want to be running fans all the time when they really aren't needed. The fridge door vent, after you open the locks leans out on its own a few inches and this is all it takes to vent all of the heat directly out and away from the fridge. So I cut a couple pieces of the wire about 6" long and made the holder to keep it in place. Now the fridge fan doesn't come on and run down our batteries at all :) You can see how I slip the wires through the lock holders and then just bend them down to firmly hold it in place.

We camped at Big South Fork NRRA a few weeks ago during our Rally trip. We were at Blue Heron campground. Nice campsites and good hiking! Mike

If you are talking about the tank vent then it's a standard Camco vent cover that usually needs to be replaced every 3 years because it's made from plastic that just wears out over time - https://www.amazon.com/Camco-40034-Replacement-Plumbing-Polar/dp/B000BQWQ0A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1496091694&sr=8-2&keywords=Camco+sewer+vent+cap A lot of people prefer to replace it with this one because the black lasts longer. But it comes in white also - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SQ1K19A/ref=twister_B00U2WLGAY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&coliid=I27U9266F7Y7DG&colid=DVETVI1ZF5E8

<p style="text-align: left;">Hull 64 carried us into a magical land of Oz.</p>

Rumor has it that if Pete doesn't get up early, Boscar gets his revenge.

When you leave Jackson Hole and head up over the pass, if you're going that way, over the summit, then just a couple to a few miles down the hill, there is a short road on the left side. There used to be a house there and it's a great place to boondock. You can't miss it if you're looking for it because it's the first road on the left past the summit. You can pull down it and park out of site of anyone. Then there's a nice trail to walk down also :)

Awesome photo! Our neighbors love Fall Creek Falls SP. They go at leasr twice a year....so we have put it on our list of places to check out. We stayed at the Seven Points COE Park on the J. Percy Priest Resevoir near Hermitage, TN when Clair had a couple appointments with the VA in Nashville. Restrooms were well kept, it was quiet & inexpensive. Very pretty lake. Smiles....Kathy

Hi John, we picked the hammer up over on the coast at a little gift shop for $20. It's built really well for the price and I didn't want to carry a tack hammer just for putting the plates on our walking sticks, so this filled the gap. I found them on Amazon but I would contact the seller or the gift shop where hwy 1 was closed on the south end and buy it from them, http://www.raggedpoint.us/ragged-point-inn-San-Simeon-CA/ImagesSlideShow/pages/dd-Giftshop1_jpg.htm https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016Y2AXAE/ref=twister_B06XXS5J8T?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

When it's hot out, the fan comes on to help keep the fridge cool, but... With the fan on top, just pointing out the vent, it's simply pulling what hot air it can while getting heated up by the hot air as well. There have been a ton of topics on the fan and where it should be placed on many of the forums and most agree that the fan would be better used for pushing cold air up from the bottom instead of trying to pull the hot air thru itself. In my opinion... The heat is being held in by the Vents Outter edges and trying to vent the excess heat back down thru the vent holes, leaves the top portion where it seals against the trailer, above the top vent holes, holding the most heat and allowing it to recirculate down around the sides. So by opening the vent, it's allowing a lot more airflow out the top of the fridge and not holding the heat in anymore. I think that 2 fans in the bottom would work better over all, but as is in the newer Dometic fridges, with the fans installed up top and connected to a thermostat, the fan does help some in milder climates. If any of you are hearing the fan run all the time or come-on a lot, then try this quick mod or just crack the vent door when the fan is running and see what happens in the next few hours. For me, right now, the fan stays off and the heat flows freely out the now open vent while keeping the fridge a lot cooler then it was with the fan running. So the fan helps some, but opening the top of the vent really does a lot more. So... If the fridge was vented out the top of the trailer... At the very top, above the vent... There may not need to be a fan... Or a stack fan could be put into the 2" bathroom style vent pipe going straight up and out the roof behind the awning...

Kathy and Clair, Thanks! Will visit Big South Fork National Recreation Area – Bandy Creek Campground this year. We camped at Fall Creek Falls SP TN earlier this month, fine State Park:

Welcome, Claire, Kathy, and mattyd.

Reed, Simple and affective mod. Good job. BTW, I like that combo hammer, pliers, etc. tool in the picture. What is that?

Our Cobb is our only BBQ that we carry now because you just can't beat a good charcoal flavored Tri-tip :)

Some pics

Day 4 of boondocking in our trees on the old road. Even with all of the trees around and overhead, Goldilocks is charged up to 12.6vdc before sundown. We haven't needed to run the generator even though we've been using the inverter, microwave, etc. You can see our tank fill hose hanging off the back end, still connected. We added a couple loads of water today and now we have the Cobb out and Karen is bbq'ing Tri-tip that we picked up from the Lockford Meat Company. The place is famous out here and people travel far and wide to buy from them. It was my first time and the place is always packed with customers :) https://www.yelp.com/biz/lockeford-meat-and-sausage-services-lockeford I am really happy with our 7 stack leveling :)

We have the Weber Q1000 and really love it. I carry an extra propane bottle in a milk crate in the back of our pickup that I use for both the Weber and our fire pit. We have the propane quick connects on front and back of the trailer but I don't use them. We use the Weber at just about every stop. Hap. Sometimes at our home in Florida. After several months on the road traveling from our home to California up the eastern side of the mountain range through Ca. Or. and Wa. around Olympic National Park, back down 101 to Los Angeles and now parked in the parking lot of the mothership in Hohenwald. We are having a couple of minor issues addressed tomorrow and we are really looking forward to getting home in a couple of days. Our Oliver has held up remarkably well on our long trip.

Brandi, I'm pretty sure Oliver used the Ventline round 12v vent on our trailers. Chances are, they still use the same one. I'd call Tuesday to verify, but I believe it's this one https://www.etrailer.com/RV-Vents-and-Fans/Ventline/VP-543SP.html?feed=npn&gclid=CjwKEAjwja_JBRD8idHpxaz0t3wSJAB4rXW5ii-OICIDxEW7I3BiMrkXCj_gsENfUfUU3xSTEuJ9phoCrVrw_wcB They also carry a replacement cap, only, for around $5. The pull down handle on ours broke a few years ago. Oliver replaced the whole unit on one of our factory visits.... Etrailer also carries a locking plastic shore power door that looks similar to ours. You'll want to check the measurements to be sure. Again, I'd check with Oliver tomorrow. They might have both pieces in stock, even though they've changed up the shore power connection to move the furnace location. Sherry

Yesterday I installed the micro air "easy start", when I finished and plugged in my power cord, the air conditioner would run for about 5 minutes and shut down, I have the built in surge protector and I checked the voltage on it while it was running. It had 120 volts on startup and when the ac compressor would kick in it dropped to 102 and the surge protector would trip just like it should, turns out I had a bad outlet on the exterior of my 8year old home. Moral of the story is, the progressive dynamics surge protector save me from potentially burning up my ac compressor!!!

When I started researching bike racks for the back of the Oliver, like Don Thompson who started this thread, I found that for many bike racks, mounting them on a towed vehicle voids the warranty. I wondered why, and I searched the internet with terms like “catastrophic bike rack failure trailer.” There are lots of examples and discussions on trailer forums. Most (all?) of these failures are on stickbuilt trailers, where they have bolted a receiver hitch onto a possibly flimsy bumper. And catastrophic failure can occur. After seeing this, I figured that the lawyers for Thule and Yakima were simply doing their jobs and voiding the warranties when the racks are on trailers. I felt that the Oliver bike rack was much stronger, and I would take my chances. After my research I decided on the Yakima Holdup bike rack that fits into a receiver hitch, and I am quite happy with it. I have the rear view camera, and I can see the rack as the car travels, and the rack and the bikes are remarkably stable. The new Oliver design for a rear bike rack that Yvonne & Doug posted pictures of looks very good; it was not available when we ordered our unit. However my reason for posting here is that for some people there is a good rationale for a standard bike rack. I am an experienced bike rider. I commute to work by bike and I did cycle touring multiple summers. I am comfortable riding on many kinds of roads. My wife, in contrast, is happiest riding on an empty road with wide shoulders; even better is a protected bike path. So for us, the campground may be on a poor road by my wife’s preferences. However, if we transfer the bike rack from the trailer to the tow vehicle, we can transport the bikes to a more desirable bike path. We camped at a BLM campground last month near Moab. The road was narrow with no shoulders. However, eight miles away there was a great bike path along the Colorado River. Some photos enclosed. There is a bridge across the Colorado River for bikes and pedestrians, and at each of the bridge piers there are wonderful sculptures of rock and steel. David

I am happy with the Yakima Holdup Bike Rack so far. I have the rear view camera, and I can see the rack as the car travels, and the rack and the bikes are remarkably stable. Longest trip with the bikes was 500 miles, round trip. I am going to post some comments on the bike rack on this thread: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/how-are-you-transporting-bicycles/ David

Clair and Kathy, Welcome! Many nice and knowledgeable folks here. We just started camping in the TN plateau area this year and love it. Hopefully will meet you while camping soon!!!

We never noticed it until you said something. We use the microwave all the time and it's not an issue for us. The dinette light is always on when we use it, so we've never had a problem. We have all of the reading lights also, but just using the dinette light makes it easy and it's our main light that we leave on after the sun goes down.

Before I hook up to shore power I test both the voltage and the circuit wiring. This website describes a simple device to do this http://www.myrv.us/electric/Pg/tester_30amp.htm I ordered all the parts for this device from Amazon for about $25. https://www.amazon.com/Camco-55233-Electrical-PowerGrip-Adapter/dp/B00192QB3I https://www.amazon.com/Globe-Electric-46505-Single-Tap-Grounded/dp/B007XQORTO https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Products-12-4055-Voltage-Meter/dp/B002P48KLK https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instruments-GFI6302-Outlet-Tester/dp/B000RUL2UU I keep the testing device in the box with by 30Amp connector cable, and use it each time. David

David: It appears from the picture that you are using a Yakima Holdup Bike Rack for two bikes. We use the Yakima Holdup Bike Rack but have not carried the bikes on any long distance trips. What is you experience with the bike rack and what is the longest trip you have made carrying bikes? Looks like you are having a great time from the picture.

We did not get the built-in model, but we have the Progressive Industries EMS-PT30C Portable EMS RV Surge Protector - 30 Amp - and it's saved us many times. Most of the time the campground owner will at first try to convince us that its the Surge Protector's problem, but thank goodness, we've never fallen for that excuse. When new campers ask if I think a Surge Protector is worth the cost, I always tell them: You will be getting one, either before you need it or after you've needed it, but you'll be getting one.

Last month we were at Costco and saw the Outland Mega Propane Fire Pit for $99. Amazon has this model for $160, although right now it is $130. I had not seen these so I read about them when I got home. The reviews are impressive. You don’t get smoke in your face and clothes with these. The flames are pretty to watch and it gives off good heat. So we bought it, brought it home, and I carefully unboxed it. This is the Mega model with a 24 inch diameter, and we decided it was too large for our needs. So I boxed it back up like new and returned it. We then bought the 18 inch model from Amazon for $130. LOL, we paid more for the smaller version! Go figure, this 18 inch model is currently $160 at Amazon. (I can’t figure out Amazon price changes, but if you want to follow the price of an item over time check out https://camelcamelcamel.com, where you can also set up alerts for price drops.) We used the Outland Propane Firebowl on our trip last weekend, and it was great. You can sit fairly close to get the warmth, closer than I would with a regular fire. I swapped out the propane hose for one that uses quick connect. I think the propane firepit takes up less room in the tow vehicle that the box of firewood we took to Moab in April. There is one major advantage to the Propane Firebowl over a regular fire. We made fires every night when we were in Moab last month at a BLM campground without water, and we had to use water to make sure the fire was completely out before retiring for the night. We were boondocking, and water is a precious commodity to use for putting out a fire. David

When I had my Ollie built, I think (according to Oliver) my Ollie was the first Ollie they built and installed the built - in Progressive Industries unit. Soon after I picked up my unit I drove Route 66 as a retirement celebration. I stayed at a state park in OKlahoma halfway through the trip. When I plugged into the 30 amp power outlet, my unit immediately issued a loud click. I could tell this was not business as usual so I looked at the monitor attached to the Progressive Industries unit. I then called Peogressive Industries and the electrical engineer told me the code I gave him indicated the polarity was crossed, posited to negative / negative to positive. I looked at the box and could tell someone had recently tampered with the unit. I opened the box and indeed I could tell from the wiring colors that the wires were crossed. I did not have access to turn off the main, so I reported this to the ranger station. They sent a repairman and he corrected the wiring. The cost of the surge protector was certainly worth the preventative cost of a Oliver camper catching on fire ! I will never have a camper without the Progressive Industries unit.

Hello to all! My wife and I are starting to look for our next trailer, something primarily for the two of us. We have two boys, both off to school now, and they don't camp with us so often. We've been RV'ing for a decade now. We purchased a Salem bunkhouse travel trailer in 2007 and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Trips to Disney, family visits, and other wanderings in that trailer will always be some of our best memories. Our wish list for the new RV include a smaller, more nimble unit that tows easily with less worry about sway and the like. And also a higher quality one. I've been a fan of Airstreams for decades, but am not sure I want the maintenance and some of the other downsides that come with one. The Oliver is an intriguing alternative. I look forward to reading and gaining from everyone's experience. I hope along the way I can also offer a helpful tidbit or two. Thanks in advance for everything. This should be a fun journey! stuart