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We had a great time these past few days at the rally. Big thanks to Coy for all his planning and hard work to make this a well executed event. Also thanks to Foy and Matt for their work. These rallys wouldn’t be the same without the support of the company, so thanks to Scott Oliver for providing company resources and for being an active attendee. Carol and I thought the location and facilities were outstanding. It was great seeing old friends and meeting a bunch of new friends. We’re looking forward to next year already. Mike

Spring Canyon Campground, on Lake Roosevelt two miles east of Grand Coulee Dam, central Washington. The dam lights are in the background. Lake access is very good, even when the lake level is low this time of year. Rates are $9 off season, $18 starting in May, and you get half off of that with a Federal geezer pass. There are two camping sections, the upper is newer, flatter and more easily navigated with a trailer. But the sites are really strange - they are all very short and back-in, and most have a strange partial carport roof overhead. You are expected to park the TV beside your trailer. I think this was designed before slideouts became ubiquitous. It is very unappealing to me, like camping in an apartment complex parking lot..... Has anyone seen this sort of odd arrangement elsewhere? It certainly would defeat the purpose of roof solar panels! The older lower section is on a substantial slope and the gravel pads are not real even. But the best view is there. Verizon cell signal is very strong a little way up the slope where we are. There are restrooms with running water but no hookups. There is a dump station. While shaded, there is lots of sun and it may be really hot in summer, though winter conditions are mild due to the low elevation. Winter camping here is encouraged. If you want to visit the dam area including wonderful Steamboat Rock State Park, and not pay $40 to camp, this is a teriffic location. But very busy in summer! Some sites are reservable. John Davies Spokane WA

Security is always an effort to prevent, knowing nothing is absolute. If a thief wants your stuff, and is resourceful enough, they will steal what they want. At some point, trying to prevent theft becomes more intrusive on your personal life, than the risk represents. Short of being present, and armed, I have usually just tried to be more preventative than the next guy, hoping the crooks take the path of least resistance. At the Guntersville event I looked at several of the security locks Oliver owners were using, I was impressed with the Gushill units, and will most likely purchase their products, with the best puck lock I can find. Between that and my canine security guard, that will have to be enough. Common sense, preparation, and awareness have served me well for the last many, many years, from one end of the country to the other, I'll keep doing what's worked - so far. On an aside, I never thought about the mischief that could happen while parked in route (say at a restaurant). The idea that some smarta** would undo my hitch latch, never occurred to me. I heard this warning Sunday, and will take measures to protect for such mischief. Perhaps we need some sort of human bug zapper protecting a 20 foot zone around the Ollie.

Be patient...

On this page here: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/oliver-rally-hashtags/ You can view everything that is on Instagram without signing up for an account. It pulls all the photos to the page itself. P.S. It seems my link did not get posted in the first topic. I have updated it.

This is better than the factory solution because you can open the drawer with the table installed. Not to mention also have the basement access door. Color me jealous!

One of the things I asked Oliver to do for me was to install a 12" counter extension to the right of the cooktop that could be folded down when not in use. I figured we could use the extra counter space, plus I wanted a buffer between the cooktop and beds for splatter. This is what they came up with - This was perfectly fine and exactly what I was expecting, and we've really enjoyed using it. The only thing I didn't really like was that the hardware was finicky and just didn't work well. And the top ended up about 9" rather than 12", so it was a little small. And we had asked if they could make a piece of fiber granite to match, but they'd have to make a new mould for it so that wasn't going to happen. It also would have been nice if the extension were flush to the counter. So maybe a lot of problems. But we were happy with it nonetheless. But one day when I was running some wires through the pantry, I had removed the countertop beneath for access and just naturally set it down on top of the counter extension. Well, it fit perfectly; and thus, a new project was added to the list. I asked Oliver if they would sell me an extra top and picked it up when I got my trailer out of service a few weeks ago. I believe they charged $150 for it. Since I was redoing the top, I figured I'd search for better hardware as well. I found several options, but the ones that stood out were these from Amarine. They're super heavy duty and stainless steel. They work much better than what we had, and look nicer to boot. The only problem was that they were about a half inch too long for the countertop, so they'd have to be cut to size. But worth the trouble, so I ground the ends off a half inch. If you don't want to go through that trouble, my second choice was these, which are small enough to fit without modification. I cut a ½" piece of plywood that I could screw into to use as the base for the top. A ½" sheet will sit flush to the lip of the counter, which is what I wanted, but to make the countertop flush to the existing counter, it meant the hinges had to be high enough that I had to grind out a small notch for each hinge to clear. No big deal - btw, a Dremel with a small sanding cylinder works really well on the fiberglass, and leaves a smooth edge and no chipping whatsoever. Wear a mask. Here are the notches - The brackets are easy, just mark the holes, drill, and screw. I used ¾" #10 stainless on the bottom legs and ¼" #8's on the top. And 3M 4200 along each leg and on each screw going into the fiberglass to prevent it from backing out over time. Since none of the surfaces in the trailer are perfectly 90°, I needed to shim something to make the counter level. I considered grinding down the latch that holds the brackets at 90°, but that would have been difficult and if I ground off too much, I'd have to buy another bracket. Instead, I decided to shim between the plywood and fiber granite and then glue the top to the plywood with more 3M 4200, which I'm using so much that I've started referring to it around the house now as Snowball Glue. It's only about ⅛" max to shim - I used some stainless washers that I had lying about and just glued them down in each of the corners. I found that the top was a bit warped, so I had to weigh it down while the glue set - See, I knew lead acid batteries still had a use. I let it sit overnight and in the morning, I had what's in the photo above. Cool. BTW, if you want to do this and have mattresses, then you'll want to check their thickness to make sure the extension will clear when folded. Measure down 12" from the bottom lip of the counter. If your mattress is below that, you're good. If you have cushions, then no problem, but you'll need to move one of the back ones out of the way when raising or lowering the top. More pics -

Used the Flag pole setup this past weekend and it worked great! Got it here: http://www.flagpolebuddy.com

I talked ( at length) to the Dexter rep at the 2018 Rally this past weekend about the problem with the "plugged" zerk. He said that the assembly into which the zerks are threaded come to Dexter with a (plastic) film covering the "tube" that goes from the zerk into the bushing reservoir. While it shold be removed prior to installation, there have been times when that film simply didn't get discarded. This is probably what happened in my case. The fix is simple - take the zerk off, insert a thin piece of wire into the tube behind the zerk and clean it out by moving the wire back and forth (wiping the wire off several times as you are doing this). Screw the zerk back into place and all should be well. On a related topic - when re-greasing the EZ-Flex, only pump enough grease into the zerk so that you can barely see grease coming out of the bushing. Any more than that is a waste of grease. There are no "seals" in these bushings, so, there is nothing to hurt. According to the Rep - the actual primary job of the grease is to help dissipate heat with the secondary function to actually lubricate. Bill

I’ve talked to many people at Oliver and I still don’t think I have definitive information about if and when we’ll see a larger Ollie. Without going into detail, I think it’s only possible, not definite, that Oliver will design and manufacture a larger camper. If this does happen, my best guess is that it will be 4-6 years from now. Don

We left the rally this morning and had a short drive east into South Carolina. We’re at Twin Lakes COE near Pendleton, SC. Our site is on the lake and we can’t see any other campers near us, just a few across the lake. Water and Electric for $12 a day. The only sound is water against the shore and some birds.

As I'm still waiting for my current unit to roll of the production line, I have, like many, thought about a larger Ollie. I am sure there is a larger one in the design stages, and within a few years, will be available, given the current economy stays sound. As a smaller manufacturer Oliver must tread carefully as production increases and any new models are introduced. Their most important and valuable asset is their reputation for quality, design, and customer satisfaction. We have gone around and around with our decision to finally purchase an EII, and although the total cost with options is substantial, I am confident the value is there - for me. So much so, I am planning my future TV around my current TT choice and keeping in mind, any future offerings from Oliver. I don't plan on going bigger, but then again, 6 months ago, I wasn't planning on an Oliver!

Great job!

I wished for a larger model before we ordered our II, and now that we have, I keep praying they don't release one at least for a year or so. ;) For the OLE III I'd prefer a design that catered to families better. Either a larger dinette (that converts to bed wide enough for two kids / smaller people) or fold- down bunk bed over the skinny dinette. Also retain a dedicated sleeping area. Might have to make it wider, which while not ideal for towing may be a necessary compromise. I think it would do Oliver good to expand their appeal to a wider audience than just empty nesters or people with one kid. If we have another child we're going to have to sell our Ollie.

I use the Oliver Forums and choose to not participate in other social media! Instead of sending me and others like me away from here, please keep everything local. Why not just have a “Post your pictures” thread here? I don’t understand why you would even consider using other media..... I am certainly not going to sign up for Instagram. Sign me: Old Fart. John Davies Spokane WA

For the 2” bulldog coupler you do indeed need the model 2178-B. For those with the 2 5/16” bulldog coupler, you need the 2516-B. These locks are probably the best and most reliable on the market. I own the 2516-B and if I had any negative thing to say it would be how heavy it is. BUT, were it not this heavy it would not be nearly as effective as it is.

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately the data base is fairly crude and does not show smaller public parcels under a square mile like the one I pictured... I use GAIA and discovered that their Premium membership includes several useful layers such as public land ownership in more detail, and USFS MVUMs (motor vehicle use maps). I always use Google Earth satellite imagery instead of Google Maps for looking around potential camping areas, it has the extra detail needed to focus on important stuff, but it won’t tell you if the track in is open or choked with sagebrush, nor does it show washouts or deep potholes. With GM the detail blurs out as you zoom in, while GE stays sharper. We need a real time source with a resolution of a foot for checking potholes. Not happening in my lifetime. https://help.gaiagps.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003524547-Free-vs-Membership-vs-Premium-Membership John Davies Spokane WA

I saw about 50 Oliver’s parked beside a pond in Alabama today. Looked like they were having some kind of meeting or something.

While I have not been to the Dakotas, my notes include this forum thread: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/camping-in-august-and-september-in-dakotas-and-minnesota/#post-63427, and this one about Glacier: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/a-big-boondocking-opps/ Also an Airforum thread: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/glacier-national-park-177358.html A colleague at work recommended Hegben Lake, near West Yellowstone.

When I was a kid, the family car was a big Ford LTD, so I have a soft spot for land yachts. That car was a little bigger than our Ollie of course.