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There seemed to be a fair amount of discussion on another thread (tailgate clearance) about truck bed covers, truck bed lighting and truck bed liners. So, I thought that I'd start a new thread to cover this type of thing. I too thought a long time about a topper (shell) or a tonneau cover for my new F-150. I decided on the tonneau because: I liked the look better, I didn't need a shell for storage (however, as Reed mentions, it would have been nice for those rainy times both setting up and fishing to be able to stand under the rear "door/hatch"), a shell would need to be removed when I hauled my motorcycle or anything taller than the shell, a shell is harder to see through both when towing and when not, and, generally a shell is more expensive. I wanted a "hard" tonneau cover because I felt that it would be more durable than the fabric ones and would look better too. Also, I could put or lay things on it without worrying they would make it sag or poke a hole in it. However, I didn't want one of the solid (one piece) tonneaus because it would have to be removed in order to haul my motorcycle or get a load of mulch or ... Most (if not all) of the tonneaus that I looked at required you to open the tailgate of the truck in order to close the cover, but, I found Bak-flip that had a model not requiring this - the Bak-Flip MX4 - Besides the tailgate feature, this model allows me to be able to haul the motorcycle or a load of mulch without having to remove the cover - just fold it up to whatever is necessary. And this folding can be done from either inside or outside the truck bed. Unfortunately, these things are not inexpensive - $750 - $900 depending on size and where you buy it. I also bought some rubber gasket material to help seal around the sides and bottom of the tailgate of the truck. This helps keep both moisture and dust out of the rear of the bed. Like Try2Relax, I bought a knock-off brand of Bedrug just to put on the floor. This allows me the ability to easily remove it if I want to haul that load of mulch. Also, it is much easier on the knees, helps pad the things I put in the bed and slightly reduces the amount that these things slide around. Finally, just yesterday, I added some additional LED lighting. The Ford comes with two LED lights near the tailgate of the truck. But with things loaded in the bed, dark nights, and/or the cover in the down position, it was difficult to easily see where things were up near the cab. So, I got "truck bed lighting" at WalMart (about $20) and installed it along each rail. This is a big improvement. If anyone is interested in doing this - just drop me a PM and I'll describe how I did it. Bill

This evening I had the great pleasure of reading “The Oliver Standard”, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2017 written by our new editor Jason K. Walmsley. I was literally blown away by his beautifully written “Letter from the Editor”. I encourage everyone to find his publication and read it. Maybe Jason will see this and post his work to our Forum. Now I want to go bake some Christmas cookies with my daughter. Thank you, Jason! Buzzy

The tank wasn't installed in that photo. I tucked it all the way forward in the water control area, it rests directly against the plywood wall of the drawers, so I screwed a tie down on either side and strap it in. I believe it would also fit in the rear access behind the furnace, the space is there but I'm not sure about getting it in there. These only have a single connection, so they are just a pressure bubble in the system, just like if you have a well system at home. I can get an entire shower 'Navy style" with one running off the pump to pressurize the system. The other nice thing to having a larger size is it stays pressurized so if you stop for lunch you can wash your hands and other things (like flush the toilet in the middle of the night) without having to run the pump and eat up battery life.

Well... You have to understand the type of downpour that we were in, millions of big round thumbnail size drops... We've been over on the Oregon coast this week and everyone here says how it rains so much, but we just came from home where it rains 25% more every year but in half the time... Lol... It rained on us here as usual but nothing came inside. It's actually a lot drier here on the coast then it was at home and the rain drops are the normal small 1/8" drops, give or take... We surprised Karen's mom, everyone drove up and we had a wonderful Thanksgiving at her house in Florence, OR. She was out when we got there and we had just finished setting up when she turned down the street on her way to the front of the house. She looked over, saw the trailer, did a double take, slammed on her brakes, then smiled :) It was a complete surprise :) Reed

Here are some photos of our trip back to Arizona after Stan (our Tundra) finally got hitched with Ollie. As RV newbies, we had much to learn along our way back home. We picked up our Ollie (Hull #222) over a month ago and have finally been able to post these pics. Looking forward to many more adventures.

Update on the heater repair! .... And big thanks to Jason Essary for getting all our work done in one day. Just got back from a two week trip down south. Left Donna in Asheville to hunt the real estate monster while Piper and I headed over I 40 to the Mothership. Got a bunch of work done in one day including a heating unit replacement. Suburban didn't give Oliver any trouble at all about warranty and authorized a new replacement unit. Oliver installed the access door and we were good to go. Nice quiet heat. On the way down we used the Mr. Buddy and a small ceramic Braun heater ( when we had power ). They both worked fine with two cautions. Mr. Heater Buddy - it does put out some moisture and in our circumstance that accumulated near the seams at the bunk area. When I pulled the mattress's to have the work done, the bottoms were damp. So, if you use a propane heater pay a bit of attention to that. Might want to get some damprids. Braun Ceramic - small noise level and a bit of vibration, but nothing too bad. That is until it vibrated off the counter. It took the fall like a champ but Donna saw it getting ready to go and let out a scream that would have made Jamie Curtis proud. I damn near had a heart attack from the scream followed up by the bang of the heater hitting the floor. No damage to anything though. So that's that. The Suburban would be our heat source of choice plugged or unplugged, but having back ups is a good thing. Scotty

I went with the almost the same cover as you did, mine is the fibermax. I really like this cover, it's easy to install and use, the bed is dry and secure with the locking tailgate of my 2014 f150 and it doesn't cover the stake pockets on the bed rails, so I installed a ladder rack and can haul my kayaks on top. The only problem I've had was the self tapping screws stripping out on the rear latches, they were an easy fix.

I dunno... I open mine up a third in the rain to get the blocks and chairs out and the rain gets in, but I do set up rain or shine either way. Nothing gets soaked but it does sweat some in high moisture areas I think also. But I am in high moisture areas quite a bit. I like my cover even though I and my truck get a little wet... but at times I do miss being able to stand under the back door of an opened shell and watch it raining out there, while it's still keeping me dry along with everything inside. This is the one that I have - http://rollnlock.com

We also have the low cover and have never had it leak a drop. An additional item we got when we had the cover installed is used a lot. It is a collapsible pole with an L shaped bracket on the end. When standing at the tailgate, it allows me to reach all the way into the body, without removing the cover. Easy to hook or turn an item and slid it out. It is like using a gaff, for you boaters. We do make sure it is on top when loaded for a camping trip. Another item we are thinking of adding is a ladder, like we had on an earlier truck. A 3/4 ton is a little high. Before the cover was installed we would stand on the tire and 'hike' up to the bed. With the cover on nothing to grab. The ladder screws to the tailgate and swings down when needed. It did get in the way sometimes when sliding heavy or large items...

On our first truck, I put a Leer cab high cap on, primarily because we already had a Honda 7000is (propane) generator and wanted the height and security for it to fit, along with bike and other stuff. With our new truck, the wife decided she wanted a lower profile look, so this one has a tonneau cover, while Reed says they all leak I've yet to see any water in the bed with this one (it's not inexpensive) So, the generator was downsized to a Honda 2000is (propane) and the bike gets broken down, everything else fits nicely. I will say with the cap, I would have to crawl in as the generator was secured in the front and using a bed slide wouldn't work as it was locked into the tie downs. But I actually find that I prefer the tonneau with it's ability to roll up to be able to reach over, the side, for things in the front or easily remove it for completely large cargo loads, not travel related. It's all about the choices and determinations of what your expected needs will be. Oh, on the 350 the hitch comes nowhere near the tailgate.

Darrell, No worries... We know how the decision making kabuki dance goes. happy to help where we can. So far I have you, Kathy, Matt Duncan and me for golf. I will make a push after the holidays to see if we have others for the outing. Looking forward to meeting you and happy to show off the glide and stuff. Scotty

Well my Xmas starts tomorrow when I pick up my new Oliver II ! The day of reckoning has arrived. The only thing that has bothered me reading thru all these month the various posts is the water issue that Reed Lukens has experienced. Hope I don't have that happen to me as I would be an unhappy and soggy camper . I have a loaded Ford F150 loaded with new toys and a lot of my tent camping stuff that I will try to fit in the Ollie. My plan is to head south to Gunderson State park for a few days and then go to Gulf Shores, and make my way up to North Georgia. That should let me do a nice inaugural run before the temperatures come tumbling down

Thanks for the excellent write up. Looking forward to meeting you. Anyone who wants to play GOLF please let me know. We have one foursome so far. Scotty

John-- The photos were all taken with my iPhone 6. Hank is a Great Pyrenees mix--mixed with Blue Tick Coonhound and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. The way I know his pedigree is through genetic testing. Here is a bit of Hank's story. We had lost a beloved Border Collie-Australian Shepherd to cancer, and after a while, my wife, Liz, would periodically show me photos from the pound of different dogs needing adoption. I'd glance at them and just say, something like "I'm not ready to adopt another one now." That was, until she showed me the face of 8-week-old Hank, who was advertised by the local pound as a Border Collie mix who needed a foster home because he was too young to stay in the pound. Seeing his face, I immediately said, "Yes!" However, upon picking him up, we realized that Hank (we named him this later) was going to be a giant. We told one another that we couldn't raise such a large dog (we were pretty sure we would soon be RVing) and that we would just give him foster care until he was adopted. You can guess what happened: As soon as someone called to see if he was still available, we answered that "No," we were keeping him. We have not regretted that decision. The genetic test was well worth the $70. We can understand a lot of his behaviors by learning about those displayed by the different breeds that contributed to our Hank. He is loyal, lovable, laughable, and all ours. He is well trained but sometimes can just not seem to overcome some of his inbred impulses. While he has never bitten another person or dog, he has great guarding instincts (from the Pyrenees line), and humans and canines respect his girth, height, and deep bark. He sleeps on the floor in Ollie. (We thought at first that we would bed him in the convertible dinette section, but soon realized that that idea was not very practical.) It is a bit of a challenge living in the Ollie with him, but he does not mind our feet as they maneuver around him. So far, we have avoided injuring ourselves or Hank. We always have two conversation starters when we meet folks on the road: our unusual small trailer and unusual big dog.