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Looking for specific suggestions for some good quality camp chairs. We have a pickup as the tow vehicle so space is not a huge consideration but we don't want crazy big either Secondly: How many chairs should we have with us? There are two of us but who knows when someone might swing by to say "hello"? I would think 4 chairs would be ideal but with the limited space available for the storage for all things camping, do you carry extra chairs (just in case)? Just wondering what the "norm" is here. Thanks

Good news! Instead of buying 4 or 5 stick built campers like I did and putting up with the horrid depreciation, leaking rubber roofs, lack of cargo capacity, lack of insulation, lack of towing stability, lack of ground clearance, lack of ….. you chose wisely. A week or so around Hohenwald after delivery will serve you well. However, even Olivers (more importantly it is the stuff in Olivers that this happens to) break. Being a first time RV owner it will serve you well to get as much knowledge about RV systems as you can prior to taking delivery. John's suggestion is a good one, but, it is even better if you can simply borrow a camper for a long weekend or two so that you have time to "poke around" getting a bit of hands-on with these systems. Like "BackofBeyond" says - experience is the best teacher. Heck, after more than 20 years of owning various RV's I'm still learning. Good luck - don't over stress about this - it is not brain surgery. Stay calm, think about how systems should work and explore the reasons as to why they are not working. Usually you can figure it out on your own. But, certainly do not be afraid to ask for help! Bill

That's not me or my vehicle in the picture. I tend to avoid posting pictures of myself on the Internet. lol It's my buddy and his rig. He's done a lot to it since then actually. He has a friend who owns the shop that did the diesel Landcruiser restomod that was at SEMA this year and I think they've been coaching him on mods. He's super interested in crawling whereas I'm more go-fast. When we rent UTVs it works out well because I'm railing and jumping everything and then when we get back to rock he takes the wheel. ;) For the initial x-country/pickup trip there won't be any motorcycling. Just old people + kids vacationing. Once I get back to SCZ that's when the moto stuff starts. Very likely the Tiger will be seeing some Moab stuff but I'm lazy and like to ride small bikes offroad and treat the Tiger like an over-grown supermoto on B/C roads and fire roads.

I had a similar experience with a Quincy 4wd E3500 RV with the 6.0 diesel. I took it to a shop for a checkup and after 20 minutes I said "Stop, that is enough". It was pretty worn out in front, the engine had multiple injector issues, some leaks and some other codes. I took it back to the seller and he then told me that he did not even have a title for it!!!??? I was really pissed and I slammed the door on the way out. You did right to walk on that 7.3 van. Not letting you inspect it was a huge danger signal. Tell me about the 200 picture, is that yours and where was that taken? That looks like the Green River down below. The Green is actually brown, and the Colorado River where it joins up is green - talk about weird... You should know that a 200 will pull an Elite II with minimal problems, it just needs rear airbags and the Anderson hitch. It would be really hard to carry all your bikes inside though... Are you going to be bringing the Tiger on this trip? It would be a great tool for exploring the desert, especially the White Rim. Bring a bag and sleep under the stars one or two nights. There is a fair amount of traffic along that route, so if you get broken down or hurt it is not too isolated. John Davies Spokane WA

Nathan, A quick reply on your van comments. I put 60K miles on a Sprinter, loved it, towed a few times with it, but finding a Sprinter service center when your "back of beyond" is a no go. I know, wasn't going to happen twice. I then purchased a Transit XL350 passenger with 3.5 ecobost. Great van, great powertrain, but not tow rated to pull an EII Oliver. (Unibody) So it went, and a new GMC 2500 truck replaced it, happy now. If your not any a big hurry, you can find some really cool 4x4 E250/350, hard to locate, but they are out there. Probably like the one you didn't pick up. I had one in my sights years back, should have grabbed it, would have saved me on the next two! RB

https://www.amazon.com/ARB-10500100-Brown-Sport-Camping/dp/B0036UI1OI These are comfy, strong and not too large. Two will fit nicely in the front of the closet if you wanted them there, along with a ladder. Plus they have the cool overland ARB logo that will make folks think you really know what you are doing. Be sure you get chairs with sloped backs. The crap ones for $20 often have vertical backs and those are 100% horrible to sit on. John Davies Spokane WA

Timely question, since I'm trying to convince my wife now that we need to rethink our chair game. At the moment, we have three sets of chairs that we've collected over time. The first, which we got years ago, is the armless scissors style or quad chair like this one from Alps Mountaineering: Ours are from LL Bean, I think, from back in the early 90's. They've held up well and gotten a lot of use, but they're heavy and only good for lounging around; i.e., you wouldn't want to try to eat at a table with them. They have a relatively low seat height and you slouch back in them when you sit. They'd probably be difficult to get out of for someone who's elderly. They pack up into a tube shaped bag, and in that respect are fairly easy to pack. We don't really use them anymore. In our later car camping days, we wanted something that wasn't so loungy, and so we got these directors chairs: I like these a lot. They're super sturdy with a normal seat height and straight back that makes them great for use with a table. They're also heavy, and don't pack compactly at all. They're also steel, and water will get into the tubes - so if you leave them out in the rain, you'll get rusty water dripping out the legs. When we got our Ollie, we figured we'd have enough space to upgrade to some zero gravity chairs: These are sort of in between as far as seat height and position. They're probably too clumsy and heavy to use well with a table, but they make fantastic loungers and are stiff enough that an elderly person can probably get in and out of them without difficulty. They're great for soaking up the sun or stargazing. They're also steel tube. Also heavy - and not compact in the least. My wife loves the Zero-G chairs, and so do I; but I don't like at all how clumsy and difficult to pack they are. The directors chairs are a bit more packable, but we've found that we don't eat outside a lot with the Ollie (at least not at a table), so they don't really make a lot of sense to take anymore. At the moment, I'm into making everything more compact, lighter and efficient, so in my mind, the Zero-G chairs have got to go, but I've yet to convince my wife. What I'd like to switch to are Helinox Chairs, which are super light and super compact. And they're also pretty sturdy, despite their appearance. They're a little on the loungy side, but their Sunset and XL models have a normal seat height and I think that in a pinch, they'd work fine with a table. To me, their high backed Sunset chair would be a good compromise between our Zero-G's and Director chairs. I just need to convince my wife. They're not cheap, either. In the same vein, Big Agnes has just released their own line of camp chairs, which have a somewhat different design but are just as light and compact (and just as expensive): I'd like to see one in person though before spending that much money on one. In truth, I'd be fine with a good sized rock, but man are those hard to pack.

Nathan, add a signature so we can see what you drive. Are you planning to boondock and did you get the solar and Natures Head? There are so many cool things in Utah, but by mid May there will be a bunch of places you cannot reach yet because of snow, like the north rim of the GC and much of the National Forest high country. OTH the lower stuff will still be comfortable, Moab is worth a week at least. If you ride a dirt bike, being your gear and rent an ATV and go exploring. The White Rim Trail is stupendous but unfortunately you need a street legal motorcycle or 4wd truck and you can’t drag Ollie along. So if you want to do that drive, rent a Wrangler and be sure to make a reservation if you want to camp there, otherwise you just need a back country permit from the ranger station. The very best campsite is White Crack about half way along the 100 mile route. I love Moab, Canyonlands and Arches.... it is one of my favoritist areas ever. White Rim area pics: If you get there in June expect blistering 100 degree+ day time temps, you must either plug-in or bring a generator big enough to run your AC. Or head up high above 10,000 ft where it is cooler and there is some shade. If you like Overland style adventures, you could visit the Overland Expo West in Flagstaff starting May 17 .... https://www.overlandexpo.com/west/ but unfortunately they no longer allow “regular” travel trailers to camp there, just small offroad ones. Take lots of pics and please post them here! Finally, if you can borrow or rent a small travel trailer for at least a few days there in California, it will teach you an awful lot, and it will also make you appreciate how much better your Ollie is put together. It will also highlight accessories or equipment that you don’t have and can acquire before you head east. Like electrical adaptors, water filters, chairs, tools etc. https://rvshare.com/rv-rental/santa-cruz/ca John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome to the family! I can't think of any one thing. Experience will be the best teacher, and it sounds like you have a good plan. The delivery walk through is a perfect time to learn about your Oliver, but it will be later, when your alone and doing it by your lonesome when you really figure it out. No worries though, Oliver owners are here to help, and we are not shy! Good luck Nathan, hope to meet you soon.