Leaderboard

We got home a couple of days ago with our new Ollie and I thought I'd share some thoughts that may be useful to other prospective / waiting buyers. On factory options: ■ Solar is hands-down the easiest choice. Keeps batteries topped off all the time. Allows you to run the fridge on DC while driving and not run down the batteries. Yes it charges off the tow vehicle wiring, but I doubt this would be enough to keep the batteries charged when also running the fridge. ■ The Lagun table was the worst choice for us. I liked the idea, but in practice the table is too bulky in storage (a 3" pipe sticks out from the bottom of the table, plus the arm is not small either) and we're too worried about scratching the surface. We don't like leaving it up while sleeping, and since we're already converting the side dinette to a bed every night for our son, we don't need yet another daily stow/deploy operation. Also now that Overland has pioneered a better mounting method, I would never order this from the factory; do it yourself and get a cleaner solution. ■ The KTT Latex Mattress upgrade was definitely worth it for us. Very comfortable and slept cool in the warm weather we experienced. Yes we had the AC on but we turned it down (raised the thermostat) for bedtime. Man that thing is loud! Anyway we also bought the plastic looped mat to enhance air flow after following this thread. We ended up buying Hypervent from Defender since it was cheaper and looked to be the same material as Aire-Flow. ■ The WeBoost cell booster was a win. We camped mostly in state parks on the way back, many were far off the interstates. It gave us a functioning connection in several places where we otherwise had none. Sometimes it didn't give us a functioning data connection, but even being able to make/receive calls and text messages was great. However having to hold your phone close to the antenna mounted over the dinette is not ideal. I want to plug the output from the WeBoost into a mobile router to enable our devices to connect anywhere in/around the trailer. One day. ■ We ordered the shower track but haven't purchased a shower curtain yet. Wiping down the toilet seat and area around the toilet is not fun. Plus a lot of water seems to collect there so it really saturated our towel (that we keep only for that purpose). So the jury is still out on the shower track but I don't think that having a curtain will be useless. ■ Truma tankless water heater was great. When on full hookups all three of us took nice long showers and never had to worry about running out. Maybe not "needed" but neither is a $65K camper. We got it for the performance but also the ease of use and maintenance. I found Reed's posts on this topic influential (which of course I cannot find right now). Other noteworthy stuff we bought: ■ 18" milk crates. Overland mentioned this in his Snowball thread. I was excited to essentially have the basement packed before we left home to pick up the trailer. I bought these because I wanted to organize my stuff logically: blocks chocks and jacks went in red, water hoses and filters in blue, electric and gas in green. Black stays in the garage and is where I put the hitch, tow mirrors, etc. Perfect. Except that when we picked up the trailer, there was this white plastic sheeting material closing off part of the basement area so the milk crates wouldn't fit in width-wise. I had to crawl in the basement and unscrew the sheeting from a stringer and then the stringer from the floor of the basement. I re-installed the plastic sheet all the way against the rear of the trailer with duct tape to protect the wires and hoses back there but now the milk crates fit. I can get all three in plus my toolbox and Viair compressor, and everything is so easy to pull out and find what I need. Suh-weet! ■ Water filter. Thanks to DavePhelps in this thread for turning me on to RVWaterFilterStore.com. We bought the two-canister Essential system because it seemed like the best compromise between cost, effectiveness, and convenience. We were very pleased with the results. Always had great tasting and feeling (for showers) water even when the campground water was kinda harsh. When we got home and my wife showered in our house she remarked "Meh, unfiltered water...." Also the build quality is very nice. ■ Bed sheets. After much consternation we ordered custom sheets from CustomLinensDirect. They were very soft, well-made, and fit perfectly. We supplied the measurements 75"L x 29"W x 8"D (this is for the KTT Latex mattress upgrade). We bought the 300TC sheets but they also have 500 if that floats your boat. We also bought a few sets of sheets from two different sellers on Amazon as backups and for our son's bed on the side dinette. They were allegedly 300TC Egyptian cotton but after washing just once (and dried on delicate) they were very rough feeling. ■ Plates. We found Corelle knock-offs called Oftast at Ikea. These don't shatter into a billion little shards like Corelle but are still tempered glass so you can use them in the microwave unlike melamine or acrylic. They're also super cheap: less than $1 each. We switched our 4-year-old to these dishes after we discovered them in February and none have broken yet, other than the two I broke for testing purposes. I also want to thank Reed and Karen Lukens for compiling their Amazon Wish List. We didn't buy close to everything on the list, and sometimes we bought different items than what they recommended, but it was a great resource to see things we might have forgotten or not thought about.

This posting is in response to a PM which I received from David Thompson (aka – thompsonkd). He mentioned some of my previous attachments may not have transitioned to our new and improved Forum. I thought this posting might be helpful. David, first off congratulations on the purchase of your new Ollie. Oliver travel trailers are the best! I have attached three files. The Campsite Arrival Checklist, The Campsite Departure Checklist and The Core Competencies for Travel Trailer. I picked up my Ollie back in June of 2016 and developed these documents prior to my drive to the factory. I should note, the Arrival and Departure Checklists are scanned documents. I maintain a color laminated card, 5.5”X7.0”, with a checklist on each side. I keep it in the center console of my truck and refer to it all the time. I use several abbreviations which may need clarification: TV=Tow Vehicle, TT=Travel Trailer, PTBA= Pro Trailer Backup Assist (an optional feature on my F-150), Hitch Evolution=A series of steps to connect the trailer which includes an Andersen hitch. When I purchased Ollie, it was my first time owning and operating an RV. I knew less than nothing and felt checklists would be helpful. Keep in mind, my lists do not pretend to be best practice. They are also customized to how I think and progress through a series of operations. For the most part, they have stood the test of time, but could use some updating. As a case in point, I became a widower in 2017 so I no longer have anyone to operation the Walkie Talkies with me. A will add, being a solo camper, makes the lists more essential. David, so there you have it! Please note, I am off again tomorrow morning camping in a state park in Vermont with my dog, Buddy. He loves camping, so we head out all the time and may be off the grid for a while. Buzzy [attachment file=Campsite Arrival Checklist 1.pdf] [attachment file=Campsite Departure Checklist 1.pdf] [attachment file=Core Competencies for Travel Trailer.docx] Campsite-Arrival-Checklist-1.pdf Campsite-Departure-Checklist-1.pdf Core-Competencies-for-Travel-Trailer.docx

Hi Again, We are back in Ohio and saw this post, so replying again (we had previously replied via FB). We had a great time at Acadia and enjoyed staying at the Schoodic Woods Campground which is in the Schoodic area of the park. Very quiet campground with a lovely loop drive bringing you to Schoodic Point in 10 minutes. On our way home we made a quick stop at Freeport to run into the LL Bean Flagship store around 7:00 am. We parked in the RV parking lot down the street next to another Oliver (also with gray/burgundy stripes). It was still parked there when we left around 45 minutes later.

I turn one crate lengthwise and shove it toward the back, flush with the front corner, which leaves enough room in the back for a small toolbox or something similar - maybe 10”. I have some small plastic storage boxes shoved back there. Then I place two crates side by side in the front.

Ww also received our replacement shades yesterday and from what I can tell they look good.

Here's a photo that shows my basement as it is now. I didn't take one that shows the plastic sheet as it was from the factory. It's the white thing on the right. You can see there's a notch cut out of the top where it used to sit around one of the cross members and in front of that long horizontal (athwart-ship) beam. Near the bottom right corner of the blue crate you can see what looks like a white arced scuff mark. That's where the bottom of the white plastic sheet used to sit. So in the current configuration I can fit two crates in width-wise (oriented with their long dimension fore/aft with respect to the trailer) and be even with the electric compartment wall. In the photo there's two in there, the green one behind the blue. Then in front of those I can fit one more crate plus my toolbag and compressor on top and I still have about 3"x18" next to the crate. I can't quite fit two of my crates lengthwise next to each other in the "front" space like Overland can. Maybe my crates are just a tad wider.

Follow up: Received 4 new shades yesterday from AutoMotion.

Voilà

Our coyote, Sandy always just rode tucked in between the seats.

Steve your right. I have had no tracking problems and Daniel even comment on my tires, the lack of wear after 20K miles. Daniel did say he had seen this problem one time before. And your right Steve, he could have given me some BS but no! He went right for the most costly solution at his expense. That shows me Daniel Oliver cares about the trailer his name is on and what customer say about them.

Update: Had time today to work on the plumbing and got to the problem. First, as big thanks for all of you who helped me trouble shoot! I started from the toilet and work back to the city water hook up. The shut off value for the toilet was clean with plenty of pressure, but the hose connection to the toilet was full of what I can only call plastic chips. A lot of them. (SEE IMAGE) I opened the toilet shut off value and used the hose to wash all the derby out on the connection. That fixed the toilet. Next the bathroom sink shower, I started to remove the four screws that hold the towel rack to the cabinet but stopped when I noticed it was clacked in place. Being a day from home I will do this when I get back to the shop. I look forward to seeing the cartage I have heard so much about. Next the kitchen sink, same thing - plastic chips. Cleaned and flowing better now. Last was the water filter on the water pump. Shut the value so no back flow and took off the filter trap. Full of hardened glue strings and bits of black plastic. (SEE IMAGE) How or why this got into my system is an mystery to me. I have had the trailer for a year and always used a water filter on the city water or water tank fill line.

Our 2 Border Terriers always travel in crates, but after watching the videos we may have to rethink our choice of crates. Randy, thanks for the link.

Just to add, I ran across this product the other day, https://ruffwear.com/collections/safety/products/load-up-harness, as currently I keep Harley restricted in the "ext. cab" portion of my truck with a leash tied to the baby restraint anchor. Not the best answer in an accident, but it does keep him in his "place". Long term I must do something better. Ruffwear has a few other harnesses I may consider, that will attach to a seatbelt, and allow a little freedom. However, to much freedom and I have another "driver" trying to sit in my lap. 90 lbs. of Chessy, is not an optimum situation.

You guys are going to make me give my dog crate lecture again aren’t you?

Spotted an Elite II in my mirror heading south on I-81 around Blacksburg VA Sunday 6/17 late morning, could not see tow vehicle. We were heading north to Lock Haven PA with Ollie. Gave tours of Ollie in VA and PA, too!!!!!

Normal, probably; but acceptable? These bits of plastic can lodge anywhere in your plumbing lines, and in places that can be cleared only with great difficulty. I suspect that this is why some people complain about slow fresh tank drains. Mine just dribbles. It wouldn't take much for Oliver to add a step in production to vacuum out the tanks.