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So far, under the tree includes replacement firestarter butane lighters. And, a lithium battery rechargeable vacuum to help collect the hair of our adorable, but super shedding tiny camping dog... Often, the camper gets more gifts than either of us... On the Ollie wish list is a DC Danfoss compressor refrigerator. that also may be under the tree. What's on your Ollie's list? Sherry

Darrell & Kathy, Sorry for not replying sooner but wanted to take a few pictures.... We have a full cab with the short bed in our F-150. To that we added the GL-1000 cargo glide and an ARE cap. When unhitched the cargo glide extends enough to allow me to reach back to things that are loaded in the nose. We use totes to store and organize the stuff we store in the bed. It really saves the knees. You will loose some storage area on the sides and nose but imho... totally worth it. The CG ran about $1k and we debated spending that money... but now am very glad we did. Second part of our storage system was just put in for a recent two week trip. It's a bit rough still but we added some 1 x 3's and peg board to create a shelf above what is stored on the glide. This gives us an area to store the Clam screen room, chairs, golf clubs, and other bulky stuff. We can slide the cargo glide out without that stuff being disturbed. In the past we would just pile it on top of the totes but then it has to be moved around to get into the totes, and that got to be a pain pretty quickly. We are still refining the shelf area. We want to get some "thinner" boards and add another sheet of peg board. That way it will still be easily removable but still functional. Any ideas that anyone has regarding this would be much appreciated. Not much to say about the ARE cap except that it works well. Keeps things dry and has a light built in to make dealing with things at night easy. Also gives some security by being lockable but a determined thief will always find a way in. Finally back to the hitch hitting the gate issue. There is a few inches of space between the ball and gate when unhitched. See pics. But when hitched the top of the gate does hit. I could remedy the situation by getting air cans on the rear shocks of the truck but wonder if that is really worth it. The truck / trailer combo rides pretty level now and I can still get what I need while hitched up. We usually keep a Yeti cooler tail loaded and have easy access to that as well as the portable compressor and some tools. If i need more access I use a towel over the hitch and can get the glide out about half way. Final Tip! Put a small plastic bag ( we use Pipers poop bags ) over your hitch ball when not hooked up and secure with a rubber band. This will prevent all those nasty grease stains on your jeans and shorts. It only took me a year to figure this out.. :-) So that's it... If you have any other questions please let me know. And, if you have suggestions on the shelf, I would love to hear them. Best of Luck everyone, Scotty

What's on our list? Hahahahhhh :) Sunshine first and soon hopefully so I can fix the leaks from lights outside, needs to be 70°+ so we're heading to Arizona, kinda taking the long way being we're in Southern Oregon on the coast for a couple more days but the waves are supposed to be huge tomorrow :) So far Santa has brought me Butyl Tape, 3M-4000 sealant, Captain Tully's Crack Sealer, a Stanley Black socket set, new bolts for the bumper, bathroom Caulk, and I'm hoping for a new fan switch for the bathroom, more magnets for the drawers, a chamfering bit for the light screws and a Hot Buttered Rum :)

Thanks Scotty....I'll report how things work for me. I have been looking into different storage options for the truck bed....camper shell, tonneau cover, cargo slide. You're the first (and only) person I know that uses the cargo slide so I'm curious if you like it and would recommend it. Do you also use a cover of some sort?

I got a pair of those heavy rubber ones like Buzzy at Harbor Freight...for about $6 each if I'm remembering correctly.

Our tow vehicle is a 2016 Toyota Tundra 4 x 4 and the tailgate does NOT hit the hitch latch; we have apx 2 inches of clearance. We use an Anderson Weight Distribution Hitch set at it's lowest setting to have the trailer and truck to ride level.

We tow with a Ram 2500 4 x 4 and don't come anywhere close to anything. The biggest problem with most any trailer is the front jack. That is not a problem with the standard tounge on the Oliver as it is back far enough...

Happy campers should probably drink a wine with a name like Happy Camper! Enjoying a glass this afternoon at a state park outside of Beaumont, TX. Mid 70s, quiet. Oliver camping at its best.... Mike

I wish we were sommeliers like you guys. We have trouble telling the difference between Diet Coke and Diet Dr. Pepper. Mike and Carol have quite an impressive wine collection.

I tow with a 2017 Tundra 4 x 4 and the tailgate does hit the hitch latch. Even with padding I can’t really access the truck bed. If I climbed onto the tailgate the padded latch would still dent it.

You might have an issue. I have a 2016 F-150 and the Anderson hitch. Had to adjust the hitch to its highest level to get the trailer and truck combo to be level. The tailgate does hit the top of the hitch latch. I get around this by draping a towel over the bulldog hitch and can open the tailgate that way. Still have restricted access because we also have a cargo glide. But I can get to most of what we have stored in the bed. Still, you have to pay attention to it. On getting the Anderson hitch.... Check all the small print on your 250's owner manual. On most half ton pick ups the small print will advise that the towing weight limit is HALF the stated capacity IF you are not using a weight distributing hitch. I don't know if that will be different for you but it's worth checking. Will the Oliver tow just fine without a WD hitch? Yep, it will. BUT... who wants to open that liability door. Here is an interesting article on the topic. https://www.totallandscapecare.com/green-industry-news/how-to-tow-trailers-equipment-properly-to-avoid-costly-lawsuits/ Best of Luck.... Let us know how things go when you pick up. Scotty

Still Loving my inexpensive but very rugged rubber harbor freight chocks. Love them so much, we've purchased several pairs as gifts. At $6 each, less the 20 per cent off ever present coupon if you are signed up... They're some of the cheapest and best insurance you can carry.

We use some heavy duty rubber shocks from a hardware store - cheap...just on one wheel on one side (forward and aft of the wheel). The other side gets X-Chocks. You can purchase these at just about any RV store. You can get them cheaper if you purchase them in pairs. The X-Chock provides extra sense of mind from your Oliver traveling away in the night, downhill and also from predators that might like to haul it away without checking for the X-Chock. You can lock them as well, with a not included lock. It also appears to give it even greater stabilization. (I can see any would be thief shaking their stupid head thinking, "why the heck won't the trailer roll.") I wouldn't use the trailer's electric brakes except for their intended purpose - emergency.

In certain situations the handle on the tailgate of my 2017 F-150 will touch the top of the "release" for the bulldog hitch. In turn, this will leave a mark on that handle - so - I glued a piece of foam on the top of the release. But, as Mr. hbay says - no real problems in opening the tailgate. However, I do not have the front basket and therefore am not sure if that just might get in the way, but, I doubt it. Bill