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Thanks everyone for the kind words of encouragement. I can't wait for it, but I want to be sure I'm ready financially. The one house is Utah is a rental. So I'll have to time it right before the lease ends. I think I'll put it on the market next year. If I sell the house, order the Oliver and try it out while I still own this house and work, then if it suits me; sell house and quit job and enjoy retirement. There's plenty of camping right here is south Texas. So I can get my feet wet. Never owned one, but I'm ready for change! Pete and Mike and Carol I would love to check your trailers out. I had my mind set on the larger one, but would love to see the smaller one. The weight isn't a problem. I have a TV that is overkill for a travel trailer. I have a 2006 F350 dually with a PSD. It was much cheaper than paying prices for a new truck. With some TLC, this truck will last a long time. Mike and Carol I'll pm you. Pete, I'll wait until you get back to set up a time to see yours. Mike

Seems that something you would think should be stainless isn't. This is a photo of the bolt that holds the toilet to the floor. After seven trips and daily showers this is what's left of the bolt. Any ideas on how to seal this. I really don't want to get into removing the toilet .

You call them big dogs? Hank does OK on the floor and is patient as we maneuver around him. No upholstery for him.

Short of setting something really hot on the counter top surface, I don't believe you could damage the fiberglass very easily. A close examination of our tops will reveal swirls and scratches due to wiping them off, but you would really have to look very closely to see them.

WOW...I hope Oliver sees this picture ..quick. Subbing that washer at the initial install is needed. That is another one of those irritating little things, that QC needs to handle as quick as possible. It would bother me to no end, because I am a clean freak, LOL Not everyone has "handyman" in their resume. Good Luck.

Thank you for your response & congrats on your soon-to-be OTT! I love the fabric you chose & hope you will let me know how you like it.

I have to tell ya...having more than 2000 is much better if you want to stay cool and want to use your microwave, watch TV, any other things that will require more power at the same time you are using that AC. After ordering YACHT OLIVER (Hull 242), I was a little disheartened to learn I needed to buy an additional Honda 2000 to pair my existing one. (I now have two Companions.) However, I am now very glad I did. I am a photographer and use my Legacy II for overnight or longer client visits...used it just last night and my wife wanted to go in early. Generators are kinda like other security items (such as firearms)...you hope you never have to use them but, when you need them, it sure is a much nicer feeling to have them. (The one Honda 2000 was fine for starting my AC in our Casita but, after all these years, we now don't have to turn off the AC just to have a meal or do other activities.)

We have two 38 lb labradoodles and our solution is they are not allowed up on the furniture. They have the floor, and a couple of well used dog beds, with their scent firmly imbedded in them. If you cannot keep your big dog(s) off your stuff, I suggest dog training. Trying to keep the covers from getting damaged is a bandaid fix for a dog behavior issue. IMHO, of course. Our dogs sleep on the bed with us at home, they sleep on the floor when camping. It took very little time to get them to understand this. One is smart, the other is rather dim.... OTH Sunbrella is great stuff, looks good and is expensive. No offense intended, I just want you to look at the other side of the equation.... when camping, your dogs are going to get really dirty, buggy (ticks), maybe wet and smelly... do you really want that on your cushions? We need better pics of your dogs. Is one a doodle? John Davies Spokane WA

Your surge protector will not allow generator power to connect... it sees some sort of ground fault. You should have received one of these, look in your drawers (the trailer's, not your pants) and see if it is hiding. Plug it into the unused 120 receptacle and it should accept power from the other one. I don't know what to say about the house issue. Perhaps you need to get it checked by a good electrician. Surge suppressor thread here: ... http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/progressive-industries-surge-protector/ John Davies Spokane WA

On April 12, 2017, our Legacy Elite II was hooked to OTT’s forklift and brought outside into the sunshine, ready to be hitched to our tow vehicle. After six months of research, planning, consulting, and finally building our baby, (“Olivia”) the day had finally arrived. From the first phone call to Anita last year and our reliance on her knowledge, Jason’s expertise, and help from OTT’s able-bodied service crew, our specifications, dreams and wishes were fulfilled, and the final product was ready for the road! After owning multiple RVs and travel trailers over the last 18 years, and witnessing the “quantity over quality” mentality become the norm in the industry, it was exciting to learn that Oliver Travel Trailers is bucking that trend and offering a hands-on, custom-built product. OTT’s business model is what any RV manufacturer should aspire to. In our experience, their customer service is stellar. Any issues we had (which were very few) were handled quickly with patience and total accountability in doing the right thing for the customer. Every time we use our beautiful Oliver, or show her to potential buyers, we are grateful for our good fortunate at having discovered OTT, and proud/confident in recommending their products and customer service to anyone. We just wanted to take a moment here to share our experience with anyone reading the forum for the first time. Have fun, and enjoy the wild, blue yonder! Malcolm and Ursula

We spent last week visiting Big Bend National Park. It's one of the least visited National Parks and is somewhat off the beaten path. From Fort Stockton on I-10 you head south for about 3 hours. It is on the Rio Grande with Mexico in sight all the time. Even with the hot weather (low 70's at night, high 90's during the day) we had a great time. Lots of hiking, great views and no crowds! At times we felt like we were the only ones there. It's a fairly large park, bigger than the state of Rhode Island. This is at the end of the Boquillas Canyon hike. The bluff is in Mexico. This is where the Rio Grande enters a huge canyon that's been carved out of the mountain. After a hike to the top of the second highest peak (7550') this is the view down. It's called the Lost Mine Trail. Views are great all the way up and it's a nice little workout! We sat at the top and had some snacks and water while enjoying the view. At the other end of the park (western end) is the Santa Helena Canyon. Mexico on the left, US on the right. The upper water flow is the Rio Grande, the lower (muddy) is the Terlingua Creek emptying into the Rio Grande. You can wade through the Terlingua to the bluffs on the right and then climb up about a quarter of the way to a lookout platform. Another nice hike was Grapevine Hill. It's not too far, a couple of miles through the desert then some light rock climbing up to this balanced rock. Carol is enjoying the shade! It was right at 100 degrees when we made this trek. This is the view from the balanced rock looking back down at where the path goes back to the start through the canyon. We stayed in Lajitas, TX at a very nice, full hookup campground. There are three RV parking areas in the park, one has full hook ups. No reservations, first come, first served. If we do it again we will look at staying inside the park. None of the park RV areas were full. Peak season is November through April, so it may be more crowded. We think the Chisos Basin has the most scenic camping areas. It is surrounded by the highest peaks and is close to the start of the Lost Mine Trail. Most importantly, bacon was consumed!

John, Remember, there is no glue that works on polyethylene. It's inert and that is why it has to be welded. So with any mechanical connection there must be a gasket, or thread sealer or something. Those deck plates have a small O ring and the tank is flexible. Screws would have to go clear through and be nutted. Not a reliable system for a poly tank. I'm not sure there's room to get it in there either. Maybe. I'll look later with that in mind. I'm not confidant that it would hold the sloshing impact of the tank water. If so, and you could get your hand in there , it would be a way to install a bulkhead fitting for the suction line. I don't think I'd trust it. Another way to gain access later would be to install a 1 1/2" spinweld fitting and then bush it down to 3/4" for the new dip tube. Later, if needed, the bushing could be unscrewed to give a large enough hole to get a vacuum hose in. As far as renting/lending the tools, etc. I'm not doing any commercial stuff till I discuss it with Oliver so as to not conflict with their forum rules. It might be possible to rent the stuff and each person do their own work, but that seems unlikely. It might be possible to do the mod at a rally. Who knows at this point. It is definitely a good fix though. It works and it retrofits fairly easily.

There's an idea! Plus we could hang out by the river, enjoy the Pine Nut Mountains and remember why it's so nice to be out in the great outdoors. In fact, we could probably host twenty or so right here! Tonight, I'm sitting here after 8:30 PM. Up on the porch and looking at the incredible Nevada sunset. Frogs are croaking, the sky is orange, the scent of sage wafting as the sky darkens. It's magical. A warm high desert breeze slides down the mountain after hot day. We call it the "evening performance" as the sun shadow crosses the eight mile wide valley and the day concludes. It's all worth planning the day around. So, with a barbeque, some great conversation, plenty of room to set up and the incredible Nevada sky, all while doing a few tank modifications, I'd say Yeah!!! We'd have Ollies till the world looked level. And everyone would be able to have more water when it was all done. It's the kind of experience you read about, with incredible Nevada and high desert scenes and stories. Too bad our coyote doesn't live here anymore or you'd all have her sitting in your laps and wanting to start a game. Can you imagine a Nevada sunset with a coyote in your lap? Now there is a western scene! I'll probably sit out here for a while yet. Our dog Gogo, is surveying the yard. Chiming clocks remind us once in a while. The frogs make me wonder about frogs in the desert. Venus will appear soon as the moon waits for the right moment, beyond a distant horizon, to show up. A fading bit of orange, silhouettes the mountains north of us and I'm reminded of why I went for this place to begin with. Enjoy.

John, The spin welding procedure is very quick and easy, but it MUST be done correctly or it would be a disaster since the tank is in such a difficult spot. I had never done it before, so I ordered the parts and practiced with a couple of fittings on a five gallon flat sided jug. The jug wall thickness is about 1/2 what our water tanks are. It also requires a powerful router with a 1/2" collet. 1 1/2 HP seems about right for these 3/4" fittings. A slight down force that will allow the router to come up to full RPM, the tool held perpendicular to the tank wall, steady but slight down pressure. Two seconds max time and then release the switch. Continue to hold the slight pressure until the molten poly sets. If done right, you'll see melted poly all around the joint and you won't go through and ruin the attempt. I found the pipe thread wanted to cross-thread, so I ran a 3/4" pipe tap into the fitting before the weld. It's remarkably easy, but scary. Here is a pic of the router with it's depth plate removed, the driver installed and the tank fitting in the driver:

Pete, Oliver hasn't responded to my phone message yet. I called Jason to talk to him about this, but missed him and left a message. Bu,t they did say, in their open letter, that they were going to hire an "expert" to solve this issue. It's really just a common sense approach to an obvious problem and probably the way they should all have been made. Normally, the side outlet they install would be fine if the tank was a tall narrow design, or had a sump in it. But with a flat tank, the side fitting leaves about 1/3 of the water trapped in the tank. This method completely solves the issue and the fitting can be easily pulled out if needed. Plus it leaves all of their existing plumbing in place and is installed in such a way that is easy to reach. The original tank drain is extremely difficult to get at, so any new fitting that would go through that hole would be so hard to install. I looked at it, but it's not practical to do it that way, plus, no matter what new fitting I designed to go through the existing hole, it would not pick up reliably below 1/4" like this new design does. It took a while to figure this out, assemble the parts, make the prototype and do the first installation with the spin welding procedure, but I think it's the right fix.

Knowledge Base Article for Zamp Solar ZS-30A Charge Controller The Zamp Solar 30 Amp 5 Stage Digital Deluxe Solar Charge Controller # ZS-30A has PWM or Pulse Width Modulation, which is a digital signal that is used to control power applications and has 5 stages of charging for best battery health and longevity. This controller can support and is programmable for the 4 typical types of deep cycle batteries – WET, GEL, AGM and Calcium. We pre-set the controller at the factory according to what batteries are installed. 12 volt solar charging power. LCD screen displays battery voltage, charging current, charging capacity, battery types and faulty codes. LED light indicators show charging status and battery condition. 5 stages of charging: Level 1 – Soft Charge – When batteries suffer an over-discharge, the controller will softly ramp the battery voltage up to 10V. Level 2 – Bulk Charge – Maximum current until batteries rise to Absorption Level. Level 3 – Absorption Charge – Constant voltage charging (battery is over 85%). This stage takes longer than any other stage to complete. You will typically see your battery status remain in this stage unless you are not using the camper. The full battery indicator is about the last 2% and while running lights and other components it will remain in the absorption stage. *Battery volts displayed during this stage are charging volts not actual battery volts. Level 4 – Equalization Charge – Only for WET battery or Calcium battery type. When the battery is deeply drained below 10V, it will automatically run this stage to bring the internal cells to equal states and fully complement the loss of capacity. (Gel and AGM batteries do not run Equalization Charge). Level 5 – Float Charge – Battery is fully charged and maintained at a safe level. Fully charge is more than 13.6V. Includes a port for an optional external battery temperature sensor. Zamp Charge Controller & Digital Monitoring System (Battery Volts) Both systems will display charging volts rather than actual battery volts when power is being supplied to the batteries. Customer interaction The charge controller has 2 buttons. One button labeled Amp/Volts can be used to scroll through relevant information Amp/Volt Button Current battery volts or charging volts Current Amps being supplied to the battery (Initial startup will be lower amps and slowly increase to maximum output depending on sunlight available. Current total of Amp Hours supplied within the 24 hour timeframe. This setting will reset with every 24 hour period. Current Battery Temperature. (Displayed in Celsius). This is used by the charge controller to monitor the battery. Battery Type Button This is pre-set at the factory based on the type of batteries installed and should only be changed if you replace your batteries with a different battery type. Zamp Error Codes: P01 - Solar Panel Reverse Connection P02 - Solar Panel Over Voltage 601 - Battery Disconnected or less than 3.0 Volts 602 - Battery Reverse Connection 603 - Battery Over Voltage (> 17.5 Volts) 604 - Battery Temperature over 65C