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Greetings Campers, I would like to extend a hearty “THANK YOU“ to Foy Sperring the food master, Matt Duncan, the PR & Advertising master at Oliver, to all our volunteers and especially, Scott Oliver, President, Oliver Travel Trailers who without his sponsorship of the 2018 Oliver Travel Trailer Owner’s Rally, it would not have been possible. Success begets success. Everyone wants to know when the 2019 Oliver Travel Trailer Owners Rally will occur. Although we have reached agreement with Lake Guntersville State Park on the date, we are finalizing agreement on registration details for next year’s rally. For the 2018 rally, we encountered significant problems and confusion when registering for both Oliver Travel Trailers and Lake Guntersville State Park. For 2019, we want to have a single point of registration, for collection of attendee fees and campground reservations. Until we have the process worked out, we cannot release the exact date. For planning purposes, the rally will occur in May 2019 at Lake Guntersville State Park, Guntersville, Alabama. We will announce the final dates as soon as we have the registration process and a budget completed. The last night of the rally, I made an appeal for assistance in planning and organizing the 2019 rally. This appeal still stands. I can be reached at coy.gayle8115@yahoo.com Please contact me if you would like to be a part of the planning, organizing and executing the 2019 Oliver Travel Trailer Owner’s Rally. Our priority for assistance now is for someone who can assist in accounting. As we plan for next year’s rally, we will incur expenses that will need to be paid. We will need to develop a budget for the rally. Please contact me directly if interested. Most, if not all work can be done via Internet and telephone. We will need to develop a budget before we set the fee structure and this has to be done before we release the date of the rally. I want the income and expense of the rally to be done with transparency and integrity so I need assistance with the budget and accounting of funds. To move the rally from a good rally (2018) to a great rally (2019), I would like to have committees of volunteers. Below is the ideal structure for planning, organizing and executing the next rally. Please give consideration to being a part of the 2019 rally and contact me soonest if interested. Coy Gayle Chairman, 2017, 2018, 2019 Oliver Travel Trailer Owners Rally _____________________________________________________________ 2019 Oliver Travel Trailer Owners Rally Committees and Responsibilities Communications Registration process Attendee Information Rally notices and e-mails, Creation, distribution and updating of presentation documents, forms and publications Develop a logo for the “ Oliver Travel Trailer Owner’s Rally” Support Oliver Webmaster by delivering completed documents that are accurate, on time and meet the needs of 2019 rally attendees Secure a vendor for Oliver Travel Trailer Owner’s Rally merchandise Food & Meals Coordinate rally breakfasts, cookout and opening & closing dinners Plan and budget expenses for food and materials needed Work with Lake Guntersville Park staff and food vendors Communicate with attendees and set expectations Entertainment and Activities Coordination of local entertainers, activities within the park and Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau Provide a timely budget to the Finance Committee Oversee and monitor all entertainment events Finance Develop budget for 2019 Rally Accounting and monitoring of income and expenses, fees from attendees and fees from vendors on a regular basis Accountability and transparency of all financial transactions Pay incurred and approved expenses Programs Educational programs from vendors – “How To” Sharing and socializing between trailer owners Educational programs- by owners, for owners Scheduling and supporting each program Vendors Develop program(s) that will attract vendors that will fund activities, meals, door prizes and other financial support for the 2019 rally Engage vendors early in 2018 to secure support from vendors in 2019 Develop “Bronze, Silver and Gold sponsorship” for vendors that will highlight what vendors will receive for sponsorship. Support vendors during the rally SKILLSET Ability to develop a rally that will exceed expectations of Oliver owners; • Ability to work as a committee member and coordinate with other committees; • Computer skills in Microsoft Office, Access to all social media formats, exceptional Internet skills and ability to diplomatically and tactfully works with others. • Internet, social media and people skills that support clear, accurate and concise offerings of the 2019 Oliver Travel Trailer Owners Rally

For those of you interested in my craft of making cutting board, I though I would do a quick overview of the process. It all starts with templates for the sink, in this case 2017 Elite II. A top cardboard template that is cut to the finished size, faucet location/cut-out and corner details are establish. I second template is made for the bottom which is use to hold the cutting board in place by dropping down into the sink bowl. Once these are checked for fit, I can make as many as I need knowing they will all be the same. Rough saw 1 1/4” thick Cherry and Maple are select and measured for total board feet need to build all the cutting boards. The board are then milled on the jointer to establish a flat bottom side and then passed through the planer for a perfectly flat board. The final thickness is 7/8”. These are then ripped down on the table saw – Cherry to 2 1/3” and the Maple to 1/4”. [attachment file=IMG_0859.JPG] With all the milling done the boards are then arranged in the ship decking pattern and glued together with food safe, water proof glue. These large panels are then cut to rough size cutting boards. Using the top template the corners are rounded and faucet location are cut on the bandsaw. The final size is cut on the table saw for last minute adjustments. The bottom template is then use to mark the bowl location and the wood is removed from around the edges at the router table. This allows the cutting board to sit inside the sink and not move. Last step is sanding and more sanding and more sanding. 80, 120, 220 and 320 grit sandpaper are used. The final step is a coat of mineral oil and they are done. It takes about 3 days to make a run of 4 cutting boards. Some people have ask why I do this? And think I am a bit crazy. It's not for the money for the wood alone cost what I charge. It is for the love of working with wood and created something I can share with others who value my craft. Over the next few week I will begin shipping these board to their new Oliver Owners. I hope they enjoy them as much as I did making them.

Hi everyone, Judy and I enjoyed meeting many of you at the rally. Thanks for all the tips. We really enjoyed the decorating competition. We finally got our act together and placed our order the 15th of May for a September 20 delivery and we can't wait. Our plan is to enjoy the fall weather on the east coast and then head to Arizona for the winter. See you on the road, Ken

Here’s a photo of my A/C drain on my ‘16 Elite II. Camped at Edisto Beach State Park in S.C.—A/C is running!

The AC drain for our Dometic AC is a white tube or hose close to the exterior Cable TV inlet connection on the port & aft bottom hull corner of our 2015 Elite II. Don't have any close up photos right now, will take one during next visit to Ollie's hangar.

I would think the hose near the water heater would be the drain for the fresh water tank. The metal plates are covers over holes that are hull drains. These (I assume) are incase water or condensation occur between the hulls. They do allow dust and cold air to enter the hulls...

Never Lube Bearings? Not....So....Fast....Moosebreath. I spoke to the Dexter Axle guru at the Ollie rally and inquired about the newfangled "Never Lube" bearing products on the market. He stated the "Never Lube" concept is for those folks with trailers who may take them out several times a year to a campground relatively close home. In this case, their need for maintenance would be very minimal, virtually making it a never-lube proposition. After asking him how that would apply to a guy like me, who takes his trailer out for 10,000 to 15,000 miles a year, he said that, in all honesty, the never lube bearings still need inspections and might need a major repair/replacement somewhere around 40,000 miles. So I figure I'll stick with my ten year old protocol of getting them inspected and repacked or replaced annually before I head out on a big wander. How about you?

I have been involved with Oliver Travel Trailers almost since day one. The fact that we have owned two of their fine trailers should indicate to everyone that I am very pro-Oliver. As well as the Oliver family, I have personally known virtually all the workers on the line during these past 10 years. I can attest that they are all fine, Christian, honest folks with the customer’s best interests at heart. I have placed this post in this thread since it seems that, once again, an old problem has reared its ugly head. That problem being the attacking or speaking disparagingly against Oliver’s employees. I want to make it very clear that from this point on there will be ZERO tolerance for negatively commenting on an employee’s performance or words within this forum. This is not the proper venue for venting toward an individual. Case in point is the recent comment alleged to have been made by Anita in the sales office. I have spoken with Anita concerning this matter. She is very upset about this accusation and vehemently denies ever having said those words. Further, it has been addressed with management. You may feel free to rant on about anything Oliver Trailer related but if you have a problem with an Oliver employee or if you perceive they have acted in a manner that you deem unprofessional, you are to address that matter directly with Scott Oliver.

With everything closed...

Thanks, Randy. That's helpful. We haven't done anything else with the vents yet, but it's on the list. We'll probably do something on the order of your method. Happy to report that the new fridge has been very quietly humming away for over two weeks now, maintaing frozen bottles frozen, and interior at an average of 37 in the fridge, set on Midway/ 4 setting. I'm loving the interior light, and being able to reach stuff on the bottom shelf without getting down on the floor. I put a couple coats of paint on the plywood sidewalls and the black back wall/inside of the hull. Put some Ikea shelf liner on the bottom fiberglass. We'll wait to add any lipped shelves til we use it awhile. I did take a few photos of the lift up door, and the open drawer. I'm very pleased with the additional storage space. The fridge uses about 20 amp hours a day, in the dense shade of its home parking place, net of the tiny solar gain we get between two tall houses and a bunch of tall palms. When it runs, it uses about 4.2 amps, and runs a few minutes every ten or fifteen minutes. And, we've had a very warm two weeks, with temps like mountain summer weather. In 36 hours, I'm down to 79 to 80 per cent battery used. I think that's totally manageable for us, and quite efficient. Travel camping, we won't have to plug in. We may have to adjust our panels if we stay put for a week or two at a time, or figure out how to connect one of our portable panels. Or, run the Honda 1000 every few days, if we camp in total shade. We'll see what works out. Sherry