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While killing some time I went to the Tractor Supply down the road from the showroom in Hohenwald the day after picking up our trailer and also bought the same pin with handle shown above. Twice between TN and MN I took a sharp turn and crushed the handle. The first time I straightened it out, the second time I just cut the handle portion off. I continue to use the modified TS pin because even without the handle because most of the time it’s easier to remove. Last week I had to take the TS pin to a wire brush and clean up some corrosion. It no longer easily slid through the holes in the whale tail. The black coating on the pin had bubbled up Beware, there is a reason the stock pin has a small end on it and not a handle. With the handle there could be interference issues at extreme ends of motion. And the plating on the stock pin is better than the coating on the TS pin. I could have bought a new one at TS since, but decided it wasn’t the upgrade I thought it was.

Kevin and Kathi Main here. We’ve just returned from Hohenwald and finalized the details of our new 2018 Elite II. Hull #413! It will probably be ready by the end of the year but we plan on making the trip in January or February - after retirement is finalized. We feel so lucky to have all of you to help guide us through our research and discovery. Looking forward to many adventures!

I have finally had a chance to both tinker and document the modifications & customizations I'm making to my Oliver. This Teak Shower Mat is something I've had for years in my Airstream and really Like it to shoe marks in the shower. Purchased from Teakworks4u. $189 plus shipping. They have the Oliver LE II template in their system.

Hello all, Been a member for a decent chunk of time on the forums and I had some questions early on but the answers were pretty slim at the start. So I have had my Oliver for a couple years and we always leave the bed setup. My wife and I spend the majority of the time outside and find the little dinette plenty if we are inside. Early on I was looking for a sleep number type bed but kept running into issues be it a Queen size short and then you have space along the mattress that was left empty or you stuff pads in or a regular size mattress turned size ways but jammed in. At any rate I found the perfect mattress for the location and its very comfortable. We ordered two Ghost Bed Twin size. Ghost bed gives you 100 days to try out the mattress. We placed them inside the house and tried them out and found them comfortable. The attached images show them in place. It is a tight fit and the corner of each mattress at the curve in the back is pushed in slightly but not enough to cause a issue. I will be writing a different post in the modification section to show you how I handled access to the fresh water drain while the mattresses are in place. On a side note the mattress being two twins sit tight in place so they don't move around and also if you had to move them to get access its as easy as stripping the sheets off and lifting one side and placing it on the other. UPDATE Hello for some reason Im not able to reply to my own topic so I am doing this through edit mode. I have my bed setup as a permanent bed. My hull is 087# My cushions for the bed area are stored in my house. The reason I went to a Ghost bed is I have a bad back. What comes from the factory will make me sore after one night of sleep. The mattress I ordered was a Twin standard because the XL is too long to fit into the space without modification. These mattresses I originally thought I would have to slightly modify by cutting corners but as it turns out they as a pair fit in fairly snug with only slightly bending the corners. I also looked at other twins on the market (Bed in a box aka. online beds) and none seemed to have the same measurements. Most would be too large or require more modifications like cutting them. At any rate my update for this is the camping trips I have had so far after the mattresses have been some of the best trips I have had in years. Previous to my oliver I had a Toyhauler that had a full size sleep number queen bed and that was great. That being said I would highly recommend avoid toy haulers because man from year one I typically had to pay 1k to 3k a year in repairs. Turns out that back wall missing sure causes issues with the entire thing flexing more. Anyway we love our Oliver and the only thing I would recommend would be Oliver to rethink their black/grey water system. I have owned TTs and RVs and the Oliver sadly has been the most difficult to deal with when it comes to draining. The rest were as simple as pulling the handle and it drained. With the Oliver if you do not raise the tongue height you never fully drain it. At least thats my experience. Sorry off on a tangent. Anyway at the end of the day some of us keep our beds down full time for ease of use. And the mattress I purchased Im thrilled with.

My wife and I will take delivery of Hull 412 in December. Kim and I (Darryl) live in Western Kentucky on a 48 acre piece of ground. We spent 23 years in the military retiring in 2001. We then moved to Kentucky where I become a high school teacher. I retired from that gig in January 2017. We enjoy hiking and bicycling. We share our old farmhouse with our two Cairn Terriers. Toto on the Wizard of Oz was a Cairn Terrier. Their names are Izzy (13 years old) and Remy (12 weeks old). We have 4 grandchildren. Two are located in Wilmington, NC and two in Quantico, VA. We are excited about being a part of the Oliver Group. So far, the support we have received from this forum has been superb. This will be our first RV. We are just a tad tired of sleeping in a tent. Hope to meet many of you in the upcoming year! Darryl

Mike & Carol - I'm no help on SD but depending on how you are getting up there from Kansas I do have two suggestions. First is Big Lake State Park, Craig, MO. This park is not far off Interstate 29. Spotless showers and restrooms. Take food though in that there is not much nearby. The second is a commercial campground - Victorian Acres, Nebraska City, NB. On highway 2 not far west of Interstate 29. Clean showers and restrooms, laundry on site and restaurants nearby. Bill

Mike, we camped at badlands dispersed for 4 days, and visited badlands np, Rushmore, Custer, and wall drugstore, if you don't mind driving a bit it's doable. When we were there it was the middle of "bike week" in sturgis and it was never crowded or noisy.

During our return from the Boler Rally in Winnipeg we traveled down through North and South Dakota. We saw all the National Park units in both states. Several of them had campgrounds for about $8-10 per night.

Since we we are taking about window security , my issues are the opposite. I need to keep the girls inside, even if they spot a bird or a squirrel. They are Setters and always on the hunt.

During a recent visit to the Oliver Service area I met a couple that were just picking up their Elite II (unfortunately I do not remember the names). They showed me a new hitch pin that they had just purchased at the local Tractor Supply and claimed that it made insertion and extraction of the pin from the Andersen easier. I decided to give it a try and went to Tractor Supply. After searching for the pin in the area where other hitch accessories are sold I found out that these are kept in the "farm" area of the store. The 5/8 inch by 4 inch pin is the one I bought and it fits perfectly. In addition, I also purchased a different kind of "keeper" pin since I felt that the one supplied with the hitch pin really didn't fit snugly enough. Once I got home I bent the end of the "new "keeper" pin so that it fit even tighter. This plus the fact that the hitch pin itself will not rotate once inserted in the Andersen gave me a fair degree of certainty that neither will come out on their own. Indeed, this hitch pin is really easier to use with both insertion and extraction because one has a handle for most of your hand versus just trying to use your fingers. Bill

Here is another photo of the area mentioned south of Wall including our LEII, our Land Cruiser, my wife, a cell tower, our closest neighbors, and wild mountain goats on the hillside under our trailer. Great place to park for the night. Ken

I've met Reacher and am indeed glad he did not reach me. Of course, we have our own canine security.

I've met him (Mr. Reacher) and would keep me out, as would my Chessie. I also lean towards less worry about theft and such, not because the threat isn't there, but prevention is too often just a smoke screen. Breaking into an Ollie is a simple task, (not unlike most RV's), therefore I prefer to leave little of any worth inside. Few thieves are going to take "normal" RV camping stuff. I don't leave valuables, wallets, and such in the RV, put $$ electronics in the truck, and don't worry about it. Out of site - out of mind, don't flaunt it. I tend to rely more on observation and common sense, sometimes just paying attention reaps big rewards. I must admit, I carry a firearm much more than I once did, not around camp, or hiking (non bear area), but I have one handy - if it became necessary. Yes, I'm probably too trusting, - 30 years of camping from here to there and back, not really had an issue.

Or you could just not worry about it. If someone wants into your trailer bad enough their gonna get in and tear up a lot of stuff in doing so. If you ever lock yourself out, you'll wish you'd left a window unlocked. We generally leave the windows unlocked and open. Sometimes the door also. Of course, Reacher might be in there. For those of you who've met him, you know what I mean.

I got a text from Darrell. He has heat now. He doesn’t have access to the forum where he is.

If I want more ventilation, I prop the bathroom door open, open the bath window and vent, and open the main cabin vent. Leave the fantastic fan on low and auto... This actually draws a lot of air through our little trailer. Pretty tiny thief to fit thru the bath window... lol. But, you've probably already done that... Sherry

Did they show you the reset switch under the rear curb side access door? You should call Jason if you didn't and have him walk you thru it. Have the door open when you call. It could be a priming problem in the gas line also. Turn off the tanks, remove both gas lines from the tanks, then reinstall and turn them both on. If you have the rear propane access port then you can bleed it if necessary but start the stove, then the water heater, then the heater and see if it works. I've had it happen once on Hull #200 and it worked. Ours also had a thermostat that wasn't programmed right and shut the heat off every night at 10:pm until I read the manual, reset then changed the programs over to furnace... Reed

Darrell, Remove the furnace outside cover. Have your wife start the furnace inside while you watch the LED on the control board. Count the number of flashes between the 3 second pauses. Look on the table below to determine the fault. If it’s the “Limit Switch/Airflow Problem” fault, CAREFULLY pull the sail switch out until you see the small bright metal sail. Use a pencil and GENTLY work that sail in and out and listen for the switch to click. Replace the sail switch and try to relight the furnace. Watch the LED again. Report back on what happens. Bill

After a week camping at Huntington Beach State Park - just south of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, a Park Ranger advised us yesterday morning that possible evacuations could occur. Once again at about 4 pm, Park Rangers came to us and advised that mandatory evacuations would be effective as of noon today (Tuesday). Between the two warnings approximately 85% of our fellow campers packed up and left. After a very peaceful evening in an all but empty campground we got up at 5:30 this morning and hit the road hoping to get ahead of what surely was going to be bumper to bumper traffic. Well, while the traffic was certainly heavier than normal it was not even close to really bad. What would normally be a 6 1/2 hour drive actually took us right at 6 3/4 hours. As we left, there was light surf and a light breeze with a gorgeous sunrise. Certainly made it hard to believe that a "monster" storm was bearing down upon that area. I happened to look at my GPS's elevation reading just after we crossed the Intercoastal Waterway and it read 3 feet above sea level. With a storm surge forecast to be as much as 20 feet I realized that much of what I was looking at would/could be under water in about 48 hours. While I'm glad that I don't have to contend with this kind of Mother Nature's fury, I do feel for those that do and am in awe of all of it. Humans are not the only ones that appreciate an Oliver! Be a bit careful where you step! "Spooning" spoon bills Intercoastal waterway on Monday (9-10-18) evening.

I am a serious cyclist who has struggled to find a solution for transporting expensive cycles when traveling with my Ollie. I purchased the original Oliver receiver for a bike rack with my ‘16 Elite II. I then learned that most bike racks are not designed for use on an RV so my Thule bike rack could be used, but without warranty coverage. I liked Oliver’s second attempt at designing a bike rack, but the Thule components they used wouldn’t work with the 4” wide tires on my fat bike. Here’s the contents of the email I sent to Jason when I finally found a solution: “As you can see from the attached photographs, they welded a piece of aluminum to the apparatus You provided to me. Then they mounted components from the Thule T2 Classic bike rack to that new aluminum member. The last two photographs are of that particular Thule bike rack. Now I have a rack that will accommodate any type of bike from the skinniest tires on a road bike to the fattest tires on a fat tire bike.” I’ve attached the photos I sent to Jason. This rack is bomb-proof and accommodates all of my bikes.

Here is my Stinky-Slinky alternative. Pro's: no moving parts (like with a mechanical macerator) with all functions visible through the clear plastic. Hose takes very little space and is easier to handle. The internal water jet does a great job with creating a siphoning effect to get fluids to travel uphill or without gravity effects through the entire tube length. If anything clogs up, it is an easy fix (remove the fitting once all water has drained out and dump clog in a doggie poop bag). Very little setup time or fuss. Con's: You need decent water pressure at the site to maximize the breakup capability of the high-pressure nozzle. The smaller hose takes longer to dump Black & Grey tank but does help clean out hose and fittings. You will need to run another water hose to your setup to use (but use the same hose as blackwater tank clean-out). BTW - I keep the factory supplied stinky slinky as an emergency backup. Parts: Valterra SS01 Sewer Solution Kit with 10 Ft Hose $75.71 Amazon Valterra SS15 Sewer Solution 15 Ft Extension Hose $40.33 Amazon Valterra T1022 10" Clearview Adapter $20.78 Amazon Valterra T1026-1 45° Clearview Adapter with 3" Bay Lug $9.95 Amazon

I've had several questions on where the my Exterior Wifi/Cellular Antenna was mounted. Here is a picture...

Reed, The factory installs the Carefree awning crank now in the closet since it has the bend in the handle it no longer fits between the closet & entry doors. Also, I listed the dimensions of the Viking LP tanks above for reference. Thanks --- Jim

Here is a great one that I learned from the Marine Industry: Viking Composite LP Tanks 22 Pounds each. Half the weight of steel tanks and they do not rust. Plus they are see-thru so you always can visually inspect your propane levels. Does require you to install an RV mount tray in place of the standard mount since these tanks have a flat bottom. Tanks were $149 each on Amazon and RV Mount is $40 direct from Viking Cylinder web store.

110 Outlet Surge Protector for Storage Unit. Tripp Lite Isobar 2 Outlet Surge Protector/Suppressor, Direct Plug-in, & $10K INSURANCE (ISOBLOK2-0). Amazon $22.76 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000510R4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Marinco EEL Pigtail Adapters. Allows me to plug into a standard 110 in my storage unit and run A/C (thanks, easy-start) and lighting, etc. I have a bucket under the A/C drain not to flood out my concrete slab in the storage unit. I love the built-in flashlight and quick grip lock no more misthreading outlet $63.84 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009IJJLZO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Crucifix for spiritual oversight and as a reminder to pray for our many blessings.

Custom-made Nautical themed bedspreads from Sumbrella material. The strips give the illusion of a longer interior.

Don't know why, but I can't open any of your pictures.

Screen Door Bar. Credit for this idea goes to the Lukens!!!! Thank you!!! Purchased on sale at Camping World $9.47

Umbrella anyone within reach and protected. I used a plastic fishing rod holder to secure the umbrella is a great location.

Dependable Flashlight at hand and always in the same place... Olight r50 pro seeker $159 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFBMCIG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFBMCIG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This mod will most likely create the most questions and I believe is the single most beneficial addition I could make to my Oliver. BTW prior to joining Apple, I lead mobility enterprise solutions for 10 years with AT&T and I know what really works and what is just a gimmick from a cellular and wifi booster reference standpoint. CradlePoint Cellular Router: COR IBR900 Series https://cradlepoint.com/ products/cor-ibr900-series Here is why: Enterprise Commercial-Grade hardware Supports LTE-Advanced (next generation Cellular protocol - next 3 years Future Proof) Supports SIM-Based Auto-Carrier Selection built in 2 SIM trays expandable to 4. Allows you to have either more than 1 Cellular Carrier (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint, etc.) or allows you do double up on SIMs from same Cellular Carrier to prevent throttling back or exceeding data plan. Fully Ruggedized and built for vehicle vibration, temperatures, etc. Intelligent remote configuration via Cloud Access Redundant Power Capable WiFi: Dual-band, dual-concurrent WiFi (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)* Wave 2 External Mounted Antenna: 3-in-1 GPS & Modem Screw-Mount https://cradlepoint.com/ products/accessories/3-1-gps- modem-screw-mount Amplifies Cellular & GPS Reception by a full 5 watts (Cellphone & Tablets only 0.5 watts) Significant improves cell & GPS signal reception thereby giving you stronger signal strength and increased bandwidth throughput. Gives you priority ranking of network vs. cellphones, tablets, & consumer hotspot devices. AT&T Data Plan (Unlimited +) You also have the option to buy program month to month or prepaid. Only subscribe when you need to use it or add it to family plan Allows you to use your home DIRECTV account with no charge against your Data Plan or you can subscribe to DIRECTV NOW if you do not have DIRECTV at home. https://www.att.com/bundles/ data-free-tv.html https://www.att.com/bundles/ directv-now-unlimited-plus. html The Cradlepoint router will work as the nerve center for your Oliver. Providing you constant and consistent wifi coverage in about 98% of the US. Also, it gives you the ability to jump from carrier to carrier via a webbed portal. Now that you have WiFi all the time you now have a connected RV. You can use wifi to place wifi calls, FaceTime calls Video or Audio only. Stream video, Music, gaming to your Trailer via laptop, iPad, iPhone, or AppleTV, and stream Over the Air Directv without data charges if you are an AT&T customer. I may use devices inside trailer like Nest Protect battery version (Smoke & CO2 detector). You can hook up WebCams, and other home automation products that run on WiFi. I'll also run my iPads of the trailers WiFi vs the iPads embedded cellular receiver because the trailers wifi will always have a stronger signal than the iPads embedded cellular antenna. I will also run my MacBook via the trailers WiFi which is great for working on the road.

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