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I saw some great custom nose art, and graphics on spare tire covers at the recent Oliver rally. I'm wondering if you got them through Oliver or purchased locally? We live in Santa Fe and may want to put something to identify our Elite II that reflects the area where we live. We take delivery in about a month and have requested the factory nose and tire cover logos be left off the trailer and put in cabin should we decide to install them later. Brad

I didn't want big graphics and left off all the side stuff. I did put on the personal name in two locations, back right below the beltline and beside the door. Anita graciously had their supplier make up three, for no cost, since I had declined the side swooshes and trailer names, and there is no credit for that ;( It wouldn't hurt to ask your sales rep if they would give you a custom graphic at little or no cost, if you send the digital file. It can be a simple jpg. There are a zillion online sign, stucker and boat name websites that you can order from, or use their design software to make a sign. Google "boat graphics". John Davies Spokane WA

I used a 4" port, as I was readily able to borrow a hole saw that is usually used for dryer vents. Also probably will put one on the starboard (curb) side for a gas line. We didn't like the idea of a gas line fitting being expose to road debris. So a flexible line with a shut off will be plumbed to that port. The connection from on the tanks are right there. I have to assume that is where the factory connects to as well. Start to finish project probably only took about an hour or so. Probably would have taken twice as long in the field. Still a well worth effort...

Karen here. I have TWO huge issues that make me regret paying $62,000+ and over $5000 in CA DMV taxes for my 2017 Lecacy Elite ll. OUR WATER TANK RUNS OUT AT 44% EVERY SINGLE TIME.@#$!×%&*!$# What I mean by that is at 44% the water from the faucets start sputtering, the water line starts shuttering and making a racket, the pressure drops drastically, the toilet water flushing is drastically reduced and if I am in the shower, hair full of shampoo and the water hits 44% I no longer have enough water and pressure to get the shampoo out and finish my shower. Reed has to go outside everytime at 44% to raise the front end so we can utilize the last 44% of the water. This also means the trailer is no longer level and the Dometic Refrigerator is now at risk of being damaged. It also means that when we are boondocking it drastically limits how long we can stay out or Reed has to take several trips in the car to fill up our water jugs to refill the Ollie above 44%. TO ME THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND I THINK OLIVER SHOULD CORRECT THIS IN MY RIG. Our $13,000 used 2010 Casita never did this. My second big gripe is that our kitchen drawers continue to open while traveling. This occurs on any road that has curves or bumps. And NO, Reed is not speeding when this occurs as someone implied on another thread. The first time it happed the drawers literally were on the floor when we stopped. Everything dumped out and broken drawers and hardware. Some drawers just had towels, others had cooking utensils, silverware and a frying pan. Oliver sent us new drawers but they still come open even after Reed has adjusted them all. We now have to take the seat cushions, put them on the floor and stack them against the drawers to keep them from opening while we are moving. THESE TWO ISSUES MAKE ME EXTREMELY FRUSTRATED AND WISHING WE HAD BOUGHT THE BIGFOOT. Bigfoot was my second choice becsuse I thought Oliver was better. The 3rd issue I have is that the igniter push button on my stove no longer works. So now I have to use a lighter to use my stove. I don't blame Oliver for this, they didn't make it. However, I need to now buy a better stove for Reed to replace. The 4th issue is I had to recaulk the bathroom around the shower pan because it was not done properly and water and dirt kept getting in the gaps creating a hassle to keep clean. My 5th issue is that one of the 12v ports only works intermittently, I pointed this out on day two to Oliver and they stuck a plug in it and said it works just fine. To me if you put the key in your car ignition and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't that is not fine. I use this port for my cpap because its at my head and it's frustrating as all get out when I put my mask on and it doesn't turn on and I have to keep pulling the plug out, reinsert it, wiggle it around over and over till it finally gets power again. No, it's not my cord, I know this because this doesn't occur when I use any other 12v port. I WAS THRILLED WE BOUGHT AN OLIVER. NOW I AM QUITE DISAPPOINTED.

Don't worry :) Becoming a trailer owner or RV owner of any kind will turn you into a plumber, electrician, truck driver, garbage man or is that a Waste Disposal Technician in no time... It's all part of Pee-wee's Big Adventure :)

In TN at least, you can't reserve a state park site on the day of arrival. This allows drop-ins to take spots that are not reserved previously. We have had good luck MID WEEK by looking for unreserved sites online, then stopping for the night. By Friday night all sites were reserved, darn it.... Obviously the prime sites get snatched up early, you may end up close to a playset or away from the view or beach. I was amazed to discover that there are almost no sites in TN that do not have full or partial hookups. (Meriweather Lewis State Park is one exception - no hookups and free.) That is weird when you look at the situation in the West, where this is much less common. It also makes for very expensive recreation, when you have to go to a commercially run park that is trying to make a profit, and charges you $40 or more for your one night stay..... I think it ruins the experience. But when all "campable" lands are run for profit, there is nothing you can do about it, except plan for a long trip through states with lots of free lands. John Davies Spokane WA

I think it's much easier to find a slot without full hook-up. Remember your Ollie is made to boondock, dry camp, wild camp. Are you going to stay two weeks somewhere? Two months? You are young never mind about hooking up and dumping once every 10 days. I'm twenty years older than you and I don't mind it. Use the shower room and toilet at the campsite and you can go for weeks without dumping. You will have thousands of more places to camp if you can do this! Otherwise, you need 30' camper like my brother and stay six months. You might have to plan a year ahead to get a nice place in Texas to stay for six months and usually the fee is quite a bit cheaper. Just my opinion, not to upset or belittle anyone. I had to come to terms with this as everyone who chooses an Ollie does. The first thing I learned is there are more campers all the time and a limited number of spaces. Go figure!

You won't want to hear this, but unless you can camp midweek, this is standard for highly populated states without much public land. When your only choice is developed campgrounds, you have too much competition. One reason we moved from Seattle across the state to Spokane is to get away from the weekend hoards, and to get closer to National Forests and other federal and state lands. The availability of free dispersed or low cost camping in DNR, NFS, and COE campgrounds GREATLY reduces the demand for full hookup state parks and the like. Plus the population density is orders of magnitude lower. This problem was highlighted for us when we picked up our trailer on a Monday in TN and didn't have any trouble until the weekends. You must have long term reservations for those days. There just aren't enough available spots to meet demand in a booming RV economy. Sorry. Move west, but not to the coast, problem solved. Or at least greatly reduced. John Davies Spokane WA

We use two apps: Allstays and Ultimate US Public Campgrounds. We tend to look for state parks, county parks, and COE parks. Many have FHU. Some of the nicest campgrounds we've stayed at were state parks. We stay at commercial RV parks when there's nothing else. Once we find some possibilities we check RV Park Reviews to see ratings. Mike

Thought this might be a good place to collect mentions, made outside of our circle, to see what others think of our purchase decisions. http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f51/toured-the-oliver-travel-trailer-factory-in-tn-wow-79932.html Direct blog link http://www.twopluslu.com/oliver-travel-trailers-review/

On to New Orleans (part deux): After a nice evening at Natchez State Park we were up fairly early and on the road for the drive (about 6 hours) down to New Orleans. With the exception of the last 15 miles or so while driving within the New Orleans city limits, the drive was reasonably pleasant. Given that it is just about the closest campground to the French Quarter we had made reservations at the Jude Travel Park (7400 Chef Menteur Hwy) with a Good Sam rate of $30 per night. The neighborhood is not the best and when I drove up to the gate I was thinking that this just might not be such a good idea. However, there was a hot tub, a pool and the showers were clean and best of all Marla (the owner) was extremely nice and just full of knowledge about the town, places to eat, things to see and do, etc. The campground even offers a private shuttle service (for $5 per person one way) to the French Quarter and back. This is about half the price of a taxi and a few dollars less than parking. Site number 28 is just about the best in that there are trees for shade. After setting up camp we decided to try out Marla's shuttle service to the French Quarter. Not much has changed in the 30 years since we were last here. Still crowded with the same "interesting" aromas - definitely a party place. But the architecture is still interesting as is the history and food and drink. The next morning we drove over to the City Park where we found "The Morning Coffee Stand" near the Art Museum (be sure to ask for directions before you go or set your GPS for N29degrees 59minutes07.5 by W 090degrees05minutes41.6) and had our fill of beignets. Without the tourists and noise of Café du Monde in the French Quarter we enjoyed our coffee and obligatory beignets in a much nicer and more peaceful setting. We then headed to the National World War II museum(at 945 Magazine Street). Parking here in the blocks surrounding the Museum is designated as "premium", but, if you park a block and a half away the price is somewhat cheaper. We were told that the museum could take anywhere from 1/2 day to two days to see, so, even though we had stopped for coffee we were still there early. This is also a good idea to avoid some of the crowds that seem to gather from about 10am on. The admission price of $17 (senior and veteran price) seemed a bit high, but, was well worth it. After getting our tickets and having a short wait for our "train" was had the treat of seeing a Medal of Honor winner! This is one heck of a museum! Certainly it could take all of two days to see, read, hear and look at all of the things on display. However, knowing that we were on a bit of a schedule, we left the museum at around 3pm, headed over to the St. Charles Street Car line and headed to the Garden District. The one way fare is $.40 (senior rate) and exact change is required or you can purchase a pass for $3.00 and ride public transportation for the entire day. Once down in the Garden District we took out the self guided walking tout that Marla had given us and started walking. Anne Rice's house, Payton Manning's place, Nicholas Cage, the lead singer for Nine Inch Nails (everyone knows him don't they?) and the place where Jefferson Davis died plus a bunch more are all there. Back on the streetcar to the museum, a bite to eat, get the truck and head back to Jude Travel Park for the night. On our final day we once again headed to the French Quarter and drove to a parking lot just outside the Quarter that Marla recommended. No problems getting there or parking - (they accept credit cards via a machine) - a walk on the Moon walk and Riverside walk and then from one end of the Quarter to the other. A late lunch at the Napoleon House ( reasonable menu at reasonable prices) and then back to walking. Once we were "dog tired" we headed back to camp. The next morning we took our time packing up for the trip home. Being either a hard one day (12 hours) or an easy two days, we decided to take the two days of mostly Interstate driving to get to Western North Carolina. Unfortunately, at about the half way point of the drive we picked a campground at random called "Lakeside RV Park" in Opelika, Alabama. This was perhaps the worse RV park I've ever stay at. Certainly should have looked around a bit more before handing over my $40! Do not even think about using the shower house or restrooms! Good weather, great food and drink, history, architecture, a great Oliver, what more could one want for a final trip of the season? Bill