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Rumline, Thanks for the kind words. Yes, coyotes are incredible animals. Those yellow eyes can lock-on and look for intention. Much more than simple sight. She would start a game and then challenge me to respond to her moves. She understood what we were doing and what we wanted her to do without training. We were all part of a pack that lived and travelled together. I often thought of her as a relative that had come to visit. Lot's of interaction, but also independent. Or like a cat that retained a lot of independence, but she found her place in the family and added an immense amount of joy and character to our world. So much of getting along with her was understanding her hard-wired character and her outlook on the world. She is the smartest and most fun dog I have ever had. We would wrestle and chase and play games for hours every day. We built a bond and a trust that helped her with her natural caution or wariness, when facing new challenges or meeting people. Through it all and now at about 5 1/2 years old, she has never been a threat to anyone. It was a real heartbreaker to let her go, but given the circumstances, Southwest Wildlife is the perfect place for her to be. I designed the counter top, had the piece sheared and bent and then installed it myself. The material is 14 gauge, 304 stainless with a polished finish. The sink and stove holes were made with a 4" grinder. #10 screws and nuts hold it in front and along the back. It is glued down with paintable silicone. It is holding up very well and was put down directly over the white fiberglass counter top after that was scuffed up with a scrubby pad and then de-greased. It is thick enough and glued almost continuously underneath, so it does not dent. We set hot pots on it, within reason. It was designed to be very durable and used hard. Stainless will always show some character from sliding iron pots on it it cutting on it, etc, but that's fine. It will never wear out and is far more durable than the stock countertop.

Yes, that's right. The Victron control panel is tied to the Cradlepoint via ethernet and connects automatically to Victron's server to upload data, including it's GPS coordinates. The location is then shown on a google map inset at the bottom of the Victron VRM dashboard.

I was at Hohenwald a few weeks ago to get some work done and had a chance to meet Scott Oliver. We talked about that series of videos for delivery day. That is definitely on their radar. My thoughts were that it would simplify and shorten the time needed to launch / deliver a trailer. This is something that was a concern in the past. (talked to Tommy Staggs about it) The videos would pay benefit both ways. For Oliver, it shortens the delivery time and saves man hours there and for future calls. For owners, it would be a ready source of information on how systems work and how to correctly perform maintenance like winterizing. Hopefully they move this project up the list. Anyways..... Welcome to the family. Hope you have many enjoyable trips in your Ollie and that our paths cross sometime ... somewhere in the future. Scotty

These are the springs for the 5200 pound axles. These are the springs for the 3500 pound axles. The GVWR of the trailer is apparently derived from the spring ratings. I agree about the higher rated coupler. I have moved up to the 2-5/16" size due to the higher weight of our trailer.

Thanks Interesting i just finished watching your Youtube video on cleaning out the Black Water tank

Hey Raspy, how has the steel counter top been holding up for you? Did you make it yourself or have someone do it for you? Kudos if you did it yourself; it's a very clean job. Was it installed directly on top of the fiberglass or did you put anything down first? Do you put hot pots on it, not caring about the stuff underneath? Any other thoughts you can share or things you would do differently? I read your story about Sandy. How amazing that you had this opportunity in life. I love coyotes (maybe because I don't own any livestock) and although I have no direct experience with them I was always struck by their intelligence. Just having locked eyes with a few over the years. You could feel them analyzing you beyond a base fight or flight, hunter/prey decision.

It’s hard to imagine calling somebody who owns a small uber-quality $60k trailer cheap...... But I am frugal in other things.... I suspect it is the non-frugal people who buy new stick built trailers that lose all their value in a few years.... one reason I picked an Ollie is that they do not depreciate much. Frugal is good, cheap is not. John Davies Spokane WA

Yes, but, when my friends ask me to move the Ollie so that he can get his truck out at 5 am I'm not so happy. Perhaps we should have thought about that prior to that first glass of ....... Bill

This is a small campground in central Tennessee. We stayed here Friday night after some upgrades and maintenance. On the other side are two more sites. Scubarx and Hardrock were there. We had a mini Oliver rally. It was a wild Friday night and we were in bed at 9:00! Mike

Are there any Oliver owners out there with Sleep Apnea? I use a BiPAP machine on a nightly basis to address issues associated with Sleep Apnea. It looks like the electrical, solar, and battery systems will all allow me to plug-in and use my BiPAP in the Oliver. However, based on the online pictures of the interior, it also looks like we might be leaning toward the twin-bed configuration with nightstand out of necessity for placement of the BiPAP each night. We envision the BiPAP machine sitting on the nightstand while not underway, but I am wondering about plug placement and access ports in this area of the Oliver. Are there any openings on the nightstand that would allow the BiPAP to sit on top and run the electrical connections through an opening into the nightstand? Trying to plan for a good configuration or option for plugging-in the BiPAP... placement... storage... etc. Any comments or observations would be appreciated. Thanks, Peter

We have the King bed and Karen's CPAP sits in her back corner on top of a small set of drawers. We had outlet sets put in on both sides by the rear speakers in the back corners a/c - d/c - USB along with reading lights but... We have found that the Zamp Solar doesn't have enough power to recharge the batteries each day, so we end up using the generator every 3 days at least to keep enough charge in them to run the CPAP. You should check the low voltage cut out on your bi-pap and see where it's cut off is because we have found that low cut off, along with power consumption, varies greatly between different brands. Then if you camp where you get more clouds then full sun, plan accordingly and get an aftermarket 500watt MPPT Solar System installed elsewhere or just take a generator. We run an induction cook top now also since the solar can't do its job anyway and just run the generator every day or 2 to charge up. Most of the time we are on the coast or in the mountains under the clouds and these days we don't plan on ever counting on the solar to help much with boondocking. The gas for the generator is cheap and it is a needed accessory unless you are somewhere in the south, stuck in the desert where the solar has a chance. Reed

At the risk of going off the rails here with a story unrelated to Oliver trailers, I will tell you that I met a woman whose father, as a boy, had a coyote. I anxiously asked her to get more information and get back to me about his experiences. After a few weeks, I saw her again and asked her about it. Her disappointing response was that she couldn't get anything from him as he didn't want to talk about it. Why? I asked. What's up? After a bit of probing, the answer became clear. He was in his 90s then and his mind was clear. It had been about 80 years since his experiences with that dog and he remembered it well. The problem was that it was so painful for him that he refused to revisit it. I was silenced and will never forget that response, mainly because I understand it completely and it's the same for me in the intensity. I'll openly talk about it, but for at least two years I could not do so without my voice breaking and having to stop to regain my composure. Even writing this I feel that emotional, physical grip. An unsatisfiable dilemma. The outcome I want, to live, learn and play with her as I would and do with my other dogs, can never be realized. She did no harm, but must be locked away. She is the most interesting and fun dog ever, but can't come home. She could do immeasurable good for her species, but precious few will ever know she lived. And finally, as my years slip by and someday someone asks me about a coyote I used to knew, what will I say that really conveys the story in a way that is worthy of telling? This is where I'm stumped: The combination of an independent and highly intelligent friend from the wild, that completely accepted us as her family, while being playful, inventive and responsive, and while living a very tenuous life, is incredibly powerful. She was and is, all in, full of life, emotional, loyal, fun loving, independent and completely oblivious to the dangers that could cost her her life at any moment. Dangers that domestic dogs don't face. She lives in the moment and yet plays games and has habits that reveal a much deeper understanding than I ever expected. My fear of losing her in a stupid way was a strong driver in my efforts to secure her future and protect her. I, at once, played openly and joyously with her and watched very carefully for ways to help her. All while studying her, learning from her, writing about her and sharing my experiences of living with her. Sharing in a way, hopefully, that would never jeopardized her, but would reveal her goodness and value. We've settled on an difficult compromise. She is safe. She is emotionally and physically cared for. Has medical care when needed. She has been given the opportunity to select a mate and found the perfect one amongst the offerings. She has chances to interact with her keepers and volunteers who are also amazed by her and spend time with her. But she will never run free, singing her song into the night as she prances with her siblings and pals. She will never have pups. She will never live the life of a wild coyote. She is physically perfect, but she is generally understood to be disabled in that she has never demonstrated affective hunting and she is not afraid of people, only cautious with them at first. So therefore, she cannot be released and will live her life in a sanctuary. As an ambassador, she is amazing. The folks that care for her have never seen anything like it. First, she is incredibly healthy because we figured out what she needed for nourishment and supplied it in abundance. Wild rabbit is her favorite. Second, she has never been under stress, so she is mentally stable. Third, she is used to people and after a short standoff, will climb right up into your lap. Imagine being able to sit and pet a coyote, or have one in your lap, or have one challenge you to a game, or walk with you, or come and get you in the morning to begin another fun filled day. While reading the story, listen to the firsthand experiences of some of the caring writers about their love of their dogs. Notice the knee-jerk hate of coyotes that drives some of the posters who are unable to learn from what is right in front of them. And the real experiences that have lead to others hating them for good reason. Understand why Sandy could have been taken at any moment by a bullet or a county official. Sandy's story was never meant to convince the reader that all coyotes are harmless or friendly, but it is intended to show there is a lot more to these dogs than is generally understood. To show the good that is never seen. To reveal some of the intelligence that underlies their famous "trickster" behavior. To report on the development of a tiny pup from a couple of days old and nearly frozen, to a mature dog. She has eyes so powerful that they see intention in those around her because she sees subtlety and studies it. I've been breaking new ground, trying to show how much more there is to these fascinating song dogs than what is commonly perceived. During it all, and over the last 5 1/2 years, she has never been dangerous. A lot of eyes have been opened. Nobody who has ever met her, has forgotten the experience. Here is one of my favorite questions: "what is the difference between a coyote and a domestic dog?"