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Well always a good post and the only thing I can say is JUST DO IT !!!!!!! if you like camping the two greats for north are Alaska and the Canadian Maritimes and the trips getting there. If you want to stay in a National Park from mid June to September 7th I would make reservations Denali, Waterton, Banff, Jasper, Glacier, Acadia, Fundy, Canandish, Cape Breton, etc. Now I'll post a few photos I only have several thousand from each trip. Plan a little use the Provincial parks like up at Dawson City on the Yukon and state and city campgrounds. All will be full or busy on Holidays so know the Canadian holidays as well and as always a welcoming Walmart, Fred Meyer's,Cabella's, Bass Pro, etc for moving along or what a save for tonight. PS: take your, time leave open periods like sitting on the campsite in Steward city campground right on the water .

I need to dig out my journals, and share some of my favorite campgrounds. The Alaska trip is beautiful, amazing, and something you will remember the rest of your life. I don't know if we will go again. Three times may be enough. Or, who knows? Campsites like this beckon you back.

Glad you got a sunny day and fewer bugs at the Arctic circle. We drove up on a cloudy and rainy day, intending to camp at the campground by the monument, but gave it up due to the thick swarms of mosquitoes. Got the photos, youred the cg, and decided to make the trek back to silver gulch brewery in Fox. The road out is awful. Most of the way. Some pavement, mostly gravel, and if it's been raining, really mucky and slippery in areas that collect water. Go on a dry sunny day... Don't do as we did... We followed a heavy equipment trick out, a mile to a half mile behind, and followed his tracks. Twice the speed out as in. I would not recommend taking a fiberglass trailer on this road. Too many rocks flying. Take the TV only, and you'll be happier. Here's one of my happier photos, holding the dog, and slapping mosquitoes. Make sure to wear long sleeves.

Looking at glaciers from a distance and going inside are 2 different things. If you get the chance to take a guided tour on or inside a glacier, then do it. I was the guide many years ago for a few groups in to different glaciers around the Anchorage area. Being surrounded by the Blue ice is one of the most incredible feelings that you will ever experience.

Mystery of the Hull Number and the Vin Number... I think the Hull Number of the Washington trailer is between 220 and 229, probably 221. The Wikipedia page on VIN numbers says that there are 17 digits. I have my VIN number shown below, with two positions hidden with an “x”. Positions 1-3 and 12-14 together are the manufacturer identifier, with positions 1-2 also limited by country. Position 1 must be a "1" for vehicles built in the US. For a small manufacturer like Oliver, position 3 must be a "9." Digits 4-8 are a Vehicle Identifier. Digit 9 is a Check Digit. Digit 10 is Model Year. Digit 11 is an Assembly Plant code. Digits 15-17 are a Sequential Number, our Hull numbers. When I take the VIN number of the Washington trailer, it clearly does not align. As Randy and Overland noted, Hull 522 can not be correct. However if I slide the VIN number over 1 position, it fits pretty well. Digits 4-8 are a vehicle identifier. I bet BC232 represents an Elite II, maybe twin bed. Digit 10 is the model year. Mine is G=2016, which is correct according to Wikipedia, and the Washington trailer is H=2017. If I remove the “1” at the beginning of the Washington trailer VIN and move it to the end, I get Hull 221. I looked thru the Forum Members, and I found five Hull numbers between 220 and 229, none being Hull 221. Four of these Forum Members list a location far from Washington, and the fifth does not list a location. In searching thru the list of Forum Users, I found a VIN number from a 2015 Oliver, and it has F, which is correct. It has BC232 as vehicle identifier, and it is an Elite II twin bed. BTW, position 2, part of the World Manufacturer Identifier, is different for all three trailers.

I made this because the Owners Manual towing and camping lists are simply lame. This one is set up like an aircraft preflight checklist. Feel free to edit and change as needed, some items may not apply or you may just want to do it differently. Mine is laminated and posted inside the closet door: Click the attachment at the bottom to download the Word file. John Davies Spokane WA OLIVER-TRAILER-CHECKLIST-–.docx

When I ordered my Elite II in the fall of 2015, Oliver had just added the bike rack mount option. I ordered it and discovered later that most bike racks, mine included, are not intended to be used on the back of a travel trailer. In fact, such use voids the warranty. I discovered this after transporting my bike about 90 miles on my Saris bike rack on the back of the Ollie. I was a bit alarmed as I watched the movement of the rack and bike through my rear camera. I understand now why bike rack manufacturers say this is a "no-no". I usually take my Bike Friday folding bike on camping trips so I can fold it and put the bike in a bag that travels in the back of my tow vehicle. However, I'd still like to use a rack if I can find something that works. I would also like to consider taking my Felt Bruhaul, an electric cargo bike on some camping trips. It has a long wheelbase and weighs 52 lbs. It obviously won't fit in the tow vehicle and I don't think I could maneuver it through the door of the Ollie even if I would want to try to transport it inside (and I don't). I found this rack: https://store.lci1.com/jack-it-bike-carrier-retail-boxed. It looks intriguing. I could easily lift my Bike Friday and my wife's to use this rack, but not the Bruhaul. Any ideas?

Because, on another thread, GaryJona said: "The first place my wife and I went to in our first Trailer was straight to the Alcan Highway to Alaska, a great trip and be sure to be there mid July on as the Salmon start coming in, it ands to the bear watching. PS when you go if possible go up through Glacier into Canada crossing right there and do the Waterton National Park to Banff into Jasper and the Canadian Ice Fields a for sure do not miss this part. You can go straight up to the Alcan starting point just out of the west end of Jasper. Enjoy Thanks Gary" And then SeaDog said: "I think we need to start an Alaska thread. We found so many amazing, mostly empty campgrounds on our trips I’m infatuated with the Yukon. So few people, so much wildlife, and wonderful rustic campsites. I think Yukon territory sites were $10 cad last year , roughly $7.60 us. Free firewood. We were often the only ones, or just a few others, in the campgrounds." And I agreed. And since taking our Ollies to ALASKA is on several folk's bucket lists, I asked "We" to start this thread.

Nice! Looks like we are going to need to put this area on our bucket list. In the meantime miracles do happen, its actually raining here in Bozeman today. This might be the first time in a two months been so long don't remember what it was like. I doubt it will be enough to extinguish our fires but it might clear the air for a couple of days at least.

The milepost is good, but devoted to advertising. You will miss a lot if you camp only in the spots listed there. Pick up the provincial/ territory guides at each entry. Use those to supplement. And, keep your eyes open for the local spots. In Alaska, you can camp anywhere no posted. We've spent many nights in turnouts on the Denali, Richardson and other highways, with amazing views, and no fees. ( Obviously, no service, either). Several nights in vacant lots in old Valdez. Much nicer than camping in the crowded municipal campgrounds. We rarely make reservations, but, if you want to camp at Denali, it's a necessity. We've lucked out on last minute, but I do mean lucked. We always have a backup of camping at my cousin's house at the foot. So we can risk it. Sherry

<p style="text-align: left;">My version of someone's idea</p> Helps win disagreements

Nice sunset picture! Hope to see you on the road. Mike

Looks good happy trails and keep us all posted...best of luck and stay safe. Thanks Gary

I had a campground manager say the same thing to me once, so I showed him and told him what the problem was. We opened the box, reversed the wires back to their correct position, so nobody could get shocked, and then he gave me the site for free. The problem with not using your surge protector at all times in an RV park is that they can have varying voltages going on depending on if their system isn't strong enough to hold up all of the different loads happening at the same time, while causing brown outs. Not getting enough voltage or not knowing that your trailer is safe is a huge issue. So the problem isn't really knowing that wires can be frying because they have a faulty system, to me the real problem is that when you take the surge protector out of the system, you are taking your trailers first line of protection out of the loop... And the real problems are going to be from problems at the park itself, not yours. The external units will burn themselves out to open the circuit if necessary to save your trailer from anything, you still need to buy a new surge protector but your trailer is safe. Basically, you can plug in unprotected at any RV park and most will be safe, but if the person isn't willing to take care of the problem when it is brought to his attention, then you have an attendant that doesn't care one bit about your trailer. Lots of accidents happen at RV parks with faulty electricity, most of the time it's just going to fry some wires or circuit boards because of low voltage brown outs. Personally, I won't plug in or pay an RV park that doesn't take care of its problems, but honestly, the choice is yours because what could happen is total loss of the trailer, but that is unlikely. Every other trailer comes into the equation also when you run unprotected, if they plug in with a faulty adapter or bad wiring right next to you then your trailer can become the end result of their problem. As far as your concerned is if it was raining with an open ground and you stepped out into a puddle, you become the surge protector and if you have a pacemaker then will it take the surge? Not always... Next time take him out and show him the difference between a properly wired plug in and the bad one. I simply rewired their circuit properly because the person that had worked on it the week before didn't realise that wires had been reversed at the main pannel. Reed

Maybe we should start a "wagon train" of Ollies. Circle the Nation, in a counter clockwise direction, picking up 'strays'. Should we start at the Spring Oliver Rally 2018? What would the parks think when 50 to 100 Oliver's showed up? Maybe Trailer Life, Outdoor Life, Good Sam's, Oliver, and state camping associations would sponsor? We have 8 months to plan?

As an example, just got word from a friend living in the eastern part of our county that her rain gauge, which maxed out at 4.5 inches, was overflowing yesterday from a single downpour. This is my favorite season here. The rain can be intense but short lived. Our summer monsoon season is often referred to as our "fifth season." Attached is a photo of Cave Creek/Portal area of the Chiricahua Mountains.

The Atwood wasn't offered to us, we asked about it. My husband had done some research on RV A/Cs and I had done some browsing on the Forum. We asked about it and they said they could do it. There was an upcharge. Part of it was ordering as a one off part instead of being able to get a bulk price as they do with the Dometics and also, I recently learned, for the modification for drainage. The Atwood does not come with a drainage tube/pipe (I guess they don't need them in Australia) and so they are having to create a drain channel as there is with the Dometic so that the water doesn't drain on the outside of the trailer. I was ecstatic to hear about that! My husband was also wanting to have a different controller for the solar installed, but the build date was getting close and we decided that we would just go with the Zamp and change it out ourselves. -Angela

My guess to the "why not" is that a lot of times too many choices can be confusing and overwhelming, to the uninitiated and actually turn people off who aren't good with decisions. So it's good for a company to pick what works well and at a good price and offer that. The problem comes in when that is all they offer. This is where Oliver excels, for people who know what they are doing and what they are looking for, they do everything they can to accommodate the customer's request, like the AC, more solar, or even the AC/DC marine fridge. One just needs to know what they are looking for and ask.

Just call and ask for it to be added. There are a number of "unlisted" options, like extra inspection or access hatches. I am not sure why they have not been added to the build spreadsheet. Why don't you see if you can get an answer...? 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

Malcolm/Ursula and Oliva Its great you are enjoying your new Oliver, Olivia ! I hope to see you and Ursula again at the next Oliver Rally in Guntersville coy

Congratulations!!! Our build starts next week and I am so looking forward to pick up day! Quality of the trailers is what sold us on the choice. Enjoy your travels and maybe we'll see you out there this fall when we have ours. Angela

Malcolm and Ursula, Agree, we really enjoying camping with our Ollie, too. The folks at Oliver been great to work with. We showed the Ollie several times during the last camping trip and probably over 100 times at campgrounds since buying it used last year!

The new rack will certainly be more stable, not having that single hitch pivot point. It doesn't look like there would be any flex or bounce whatsoever. Two concerns, license plate visibility and tank dumping access. What are they pricing the new mount for, coming with the Thule?

My wife and I really enjoy cycling. We have this bike rack set up in our pick up truck. The bikes fit snugly without needing to remove any wheels.

Not sure if you are aware but Oliver has redesigned their bike rack. It is a bar type not a hitch mount anymore and comes ready to go rack and all. We are getting one. We may be the first to get it. We have a pickup date of April 27. I will be sure to post pictures and tell you how it works. Yvonne

The biggest problem with any single point bike system is that there is just too much mass to balance on the single point, I've found that by simply tying off the tires, to the ends of the bumper, creating a three point brace, spreads out the support enough to control it. With the Oliver's storage area you can also strap from a high point, on the bikes, to somewhere towards the front of the structure, to control front to back high point sway also.

Would something like this work for you? It might be preferable to keep the weight off the back of the trailer for sway prevention. https://www.etrailer.com/ball-mounts/curt/d210.html

Well, I think I found the solution myself. http://www.swagman.net/product/escapee/ This rack is approved for use on the back of an RV and it is E-bike friendly--will transport a bike that weighs up to 60 lbs.