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That is an excellent question John. The two older ones will not be sleeping in the trailer. Our kids are home bodies who would stay inside all day and night if given the chance. We have been renting trailers on and off for a number of years and found the smaller trailer makes it easier to encourage them to spend more time outside. Not to mention storage space at home precludes a trailer that is much larger/wider without ponying up a ton of money to store elsewhere. I come from along line of tent campers and that is where the kids will be on our camping trips. That also means more quality husband and wife time separate from the kids ;) Richard

I have the Renogy portable 100 watt solar suitcase and it is a very nice setup. I installed a plug on the battery compartment door and wired it inside the compartment directly to the batteries. The plug is a CNLINKO 20 amp plug with cover, found on Amazon for about $16. I made a cord from a #12 extension cord and made it about 20' long. This allows me to set the panels anywhere around the trailer and pointed to the sun. Here's a link to the plug: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0795464LP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The other end of the cord gets made up with the Renogy male and female connectors that plug into the collector wires already on the suitcase and coming out of it's controller. All pre-wiring is done on the suitcase and it's simply plug and play. https://www.renogy.com/mc4-solar-panel-cable-connector-pair-male-female/

There has been considerable chatter and interest regarding having an Oliver Rally in the Western US. This rally would not be designed to replace the Annual Oliver Travel Trailer Owners' Rally held annually at Lake Guntersville State Park. Rather, this rally would recognize that it will be difficult for everyone to travel across the US. Hey, some people have to work, not everyone is retired ! For a rally to be successful, someone must champion the event, preferably someone living in the area . It takes a lot of planning, organizing and work. It does NOT need to be at the same level as the current Annual Rally. The first Oliver Rally had 44 people in attendance. I have spoken with Oliver and they have agreed to sponsor a rally held in the western US. I will support this effort but to be successful, we need a person in the area that can do much of the organizing. Also, I believe there are a number of persons that attend the rally in Guntersville that would attend a rally held in the western US. We are a camping group that always need an excuse to travel and camp. If anyone is attending the rally in May and would like to discuss a western rally, I would be happy to discuss this with you, especially if you can help to organize the event. If you individually or as a group would like to take on this task, please contact me. We will happily share our experience and support for this endeavor. Coy E. Gayle Chair 2017, 2018, 2019 Oliver Travel Trailer Owners' Rally aka Hardrock

We sold our motorhome a couple of weeks ago, after deciding it was too big to go where we wanted. Have decided on an Elite II, should start production July 1st. We hope to pick it up September 3rd and head north on a maiden voyage to Michigan before returning home to Pensacola, Fl. Now we just need to find a tow vehicle! Bob and Cheryl Ayers, with Argus the Wonder Dog

A western rally in the spring would be difficult for Oliver to support since the main rally is in May. A fall rally (sep/oct) in the Southwest (NM, AZ, southern CA) would be a better option. Mike

I don't considerate it fall until mid October.

If anyone way out West is really interested in organizing a Western Rally I'd suggest besides contacting Hardrock a private message (PM) here on the Forum to Foy and Mirna. Last year they organized an Oliver Mini-rally in northern Florida. Even though they went well above and beyond organizing a dinner and lunch and then had to change a couple of things due to a pending hurricane, I'm guessing that the actual work involved was fair minimal - get a campground, set dates and let it be known to the world. I believe that the old saying - "build it and they will come" - certainly applies here. Yes, a central location would be nice, but, the West is a big place and you will not be able to satisfy all of the people all of the time. To coin another phrase - "Just Do It". Bill

I agree with John. Fall has always been my favorite time to travel to Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, etc., but with the wildfires we've been plagued with, my habits have changed. The best time to travel to the Rocky Mountains is in May and June, but that won't work if we want to plan a western rally at a different time than the current Oliver Owners' Rally. What about the Southwestern United States? Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Southern Utah, or even Death Valley in California. When I was at Big Bend National Park in late-February and early-March this year, I picked up a new Official Guide to Texas State Parks published by the University of Texas Press. There are a lot of them! Choosing a place where the weather would be mild and with some early Spring foliage would be great.

We need hardly any excuse at all to travel and would probably attend. I would suggest that since the Eastern Rally is in the Spring/Early Summer (May in Alabama) the Western Rally be held in the Fall. That would give everyone that would like to attend both the optimum opportunity.

Welcome. I am sure you will enjoy your Ollie, but I will go ahead and speak for those too polite to ask..... “where is everybody sleeping?” It’s refreshing to see a young family group. John Davies Spokane WA

Beware of those untold "Little Timmy" stories! Dark woods, howling winds, a lone owl hooting far off in the dark. However, I'm certain that hull number 476 will keep you all safe for many miles down the road. Welcome! Bill

Little Timmy is a great name! You will have many memories made in that trailer. We like camping in California, just returned from a month there! Mike

Really nice number! Welcome to the ownership world. At the Rally don't be afraid to ask anyone about what you see on their camper. Or, simply ask to see the inside. I've never had anyone refuse a request for more info. Can't wait to meet you guys - please grab me if I pass by and Twist is always open to you. Bill

New Oliver owner (Hull#444) and very much interested in learning at the Rally. Good topics planned for Sunday - unfortunately, I am still working (ugh) and need to return back to work Monday morning. With an 11 hour drive back to FL, we must leave Sunday morning and head south. Hate it. Hopefully from Wed night to Sunday morning we will meet new friends and learn much from experienced owners. Next year we will plan better (and, starting in July, I will be semi-retired at 20hrs per week - working for the medical benefits).

In the spirit of keeping this thread going, here are a couple more random ideas I've found useful. We had remotes everywhere until I put this wasted horizontal surface to use! Velcro dots keep them in place when the tv is down. We're on the move quite a bit and at each new location I pick up as much info as I can to plan our time there. All that paper ended up stacked on the table. This simple little file holder mounted out of the way under the dinette table keeps the current info handy without clutter. It can also hold a charging laptop, again freeing up the table surface. When you're living in a small space little things like this can make a big difference?

G & T - Here is another idea for you: I've got two of these that I use to store little items in. They fit very nicely in the cubbies. I did glue strips of 3/8" thick foam on the bottoms so that the lower drawer would clear the lip of the storage area. They measure: 7" wide 7 1/8" tall 8 1/4" deep - including the little pull handles on each drawer

We found that we weren’t using the cupboards above the dinette very efficiently, since some of the things we were storing there were not very tall. We solved this by buying two of these wire shelves, one for each of the two cupboards above the dinette. Before we got Ollie we were advised to get refrigerator bars such as these, to prevent stuff from falling out when the fridge door was opened. We found that stuff in the pantry shifted around during transit, and so we got some spring-loaded bars double bars for the pantry. We had put heavier stuff on the bottom shelf of the pantry, but things just moved fore and aft during transit, sometimes making a mess. I found the fruit box from the Farmer’s Market fit perfectly, and I could stack canned beers or soda two high in the box to optimize space usage, and they would not shift during transit. But the pantry bars were not enough. The major problem was not being able to maximize the use of vertical space in the pantry. I measured both the available space and the size of the opening at the pantry door, and then went virtual shopping at Amazon and the Container Store, looking at dimensions posted on the web sites. I ended up getting these Wire Storage Organizer Baskets from Amazon. They fit perfectly. GrumbleandTwist put an Ikea bag under the front dinette seat. I wanted something with a solid bottom and sides, as we wanted to carry our pressure cooker in this storage area. So I measured the space and again searched at Amazon and the Container Store. The problem was that bins large enough to use the space effectively are too big to fit through the opening. And then I had an inspiration. Have you ever seen InstaCrates, these collapsible storage bins? We got them at Costco for $7 each, and they are available at Amazon and Walmart for $12-14. We use them when organizing for our trip (foods or clothes), and to carry stuff out to the trailer. At the end of the trailer trip, we bring a bunch of collapsed InstaCrates out to the trailer and use them to carry stuff into the house. We love them. Well, I discovered that the collapsed InstaCrate will fit through the opening into the storage area under the dinette seat, and then I can open it up when it is inside the storage compartment. It works well for our needs.

We've been full timing in our Oliver since Nov of 2017. Here are some pics of storage solutions that work for us. It took a while living in the Ollie to really determine how we would use the space so I would caution you to give yourself some time. [attachment file=0311191047.jpg] [attachment file=163145] [attachment file=163148]

I agree with David that your "your engineering on this is amazing!" I haven't the skills, knowledge, or tools to implement your full-cabin-length solution, which, I agree, should now be built into all new Olivers. This is our cabin-width solution, with no engineering necessary--just a shower curtain tension rod and hair clips--but it works great for hanging our hats and other to-be-used-soon clothing.