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See above posts from the beginning - It appears that Oliver didn't have much choice - at least on the tires. Bill

John, I appreciate the kind words. I use two cameras, a big Canon digital SLR and a compact Sony RX-100. These Badlands NP pictures look good because of the light. It was the middle the day, and the pictures would have been washed out if it had been blue skies and bright sun. The clouds softened the light and give good visual interest. When camping, I really enjoy sleeping in, snug in my warm bed. However, I sometimes force myself to get up right after dawn to go out and take pictures. The best light is at the beginning and the end of the day. The other thing I do is to shot my pictures in the RAW format instead of the camera's default JPG setting, and then "post-process" the pictures on the computer. More info on RAW in an earlier post HERE.

I bought the Boondocking in Southern Utah guide from Frugal-RV-Travel. I had read excellent reviews about the book, and I have to agree that the book is excellent. They list a bunch of boondocking sites, with directions and GPS coordinates. The cost was $17. They produce six different boondocking guides, on New Mexico, Southern Utah, Southern Texas, Arizona, California Sierras and Coast, and California Desert and Eastern Sierra. The guide comes as a pdf file. I loaded it onto my computer, iPad and iPhone. I put it in the Kindle app on the iPhone and iPad, but the iBook app works also. If I am driving, my wife will be the researcher / navigator, and she likes paper, so I printed out a double-sided copy and put in a report binder. The first version of the book I got in 2017 was the 2013 edition, and it was 140 pages long. They revised the book in 2018, and they send me a copy of the new edition. It is amazing that they sent me the updated edition for free! The new version is 166 pages. The GPS coordinates are hot linked. If you click on the GPS coordinates it opens up in Google Maps, either on the computer or on the phone. Very cool! I highly recommend these guides. Using the Boondocking in Southern Utah guide, I found the best campsite I have ever had, in Valley of the Gods in Southern Utah. The campsite on BLM land was free, so I definitely consider the $17 for purchasing the book money well spent.

Hi guys and gals! Over the years in my career at Oliver Travel Trailers I have had the pleasure of meeting most of you. I read the forum and the owners Facebook page often and it is amazing to see so many of our veteran owners helping our "newbies" with their questions and concerns. I absolutely love this group of people and appreciate each and every one of you. We get so wrapped up in the business end of things here at the sales office and I don't know if we show our appreciation often enough for the many field visits that resulted in our clients buying Ollies or the expert advice given to the novice campers. So today, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wish you all a happy holiday season and prosperous new year! - Phil

Same to you and your family, Phil. Also, Happy Holidays to all the great folks in the Oliver Family - both at the factory, sales office and owners. I still find it difficult to believe that in this day and age there is a product and company this good. Bill

My rving experience started with a 1976 or 77 class c. Belonged to my parents. Spent a long summer in Florida in it. It met my needs. My parents sold it later, as i was the only one in the family who used it much. It's another vehicle to maintain, even if you don't use it much. Since then, my husband and I have delivered a number of them to alaska, and rented class c's in other places. including New Zealand. Some of the pros are also cons. C's are wider, so more room, but trickier on narrow roads that we love and frequent. The Oliver follows the truck footprint. Class c is like a rolling billboard when you're struggling with a strong crosswind. High flat sides made for a miserable drive across the Dakotas for us one year in May. Truly miserable . Lousy gas milage, even if keeping it on the road isn't a struggle. But, pro, that height gives extra headroom for the overbunk. And headroom everywhere. Build quality. Even brand new, out of Elkhart, everything rattles. I carry bits of cardboard, foam, and a small toolkit to tighten and repositon misaligned hinges and latches . House battery compartment on the c's we've delivered is usually fairly open, under the step.. Collects dust, mud, and crap. Not great. Slides are nice, til they don't work, or because you can't go to bed because you can't open the slide in a beautiful, but tight space . No slides on the Olivers. No slide gap draft, no maintenance. The typical c roof is tpo or epdm rubber. Oliver is gelcoat fiberglass, solid, and not really susceptible to uv degradation. Yes, you'll need to reseal openings, but that's it, in an Oliver, beyond clean and wax. Parking. With the Oliver, We can drop the trailer, and explore in the 4x4 truck. Exploring is much, much more difficult in a class c, even a shorty. Or, impossible. We know. Been there. Bathroom. most class c have a separate shower, with, skylight. Great shower experience, for a few years. I've yet to see one that's properly caulked and waterproof. I'll take the smaller marine bath in my ollie any day . Class c, Exposed plumbing, low unprotected tanks. lack of insulation, leaky seals at slides, fabric bottom instead of mouse proof fiberglass, dust everywhere from little openings in the class c's, even without slides. Rattles drive me crazy. Stuff stored in the ollie probably rattles, but i can't hear it, because I am in the truck.😃. And, none of the above applies to my Ollie. Except a bit of dust through vents. We drive class c vehicles every year or two, delivering to Alaska.They're a great way to get from a to b, but I'd never buy one. A better comparison would be Ollie to class b+. Or class b. Done that, too. The one big thing i do love in every class c we've delivered is the oven. I personally really love that. Especially since I'm cooking in cold May in Canada, often .I do love oven dinners, and muffins and bread, when it's rainy/ sleeting or just crappy cold. I've learned to live without it, 12 years in our Oliver. I can adapt, for the solid trailer that I have loved for 12 years . That said, I'd challenge any class c to match the appearance and solid carriage of my Ollie, 12 years in . We have the original shorty, so a lot of people think it's too small. For us, it's perfect. Every rv lives big outside, which is where we live Sherry

The most obvious pro is cost (provided you consider your tow vehicle as a daily driver that you'd purchase anyway). Second is the ability to leave the trailer behind and travel around parks and cities in a reasonably sized vehicle. Third would be the ability to go places without having to break camp and set back up at the end of the day. Most places we visit, we stay three or four days, sometimes more. While it's not too terrible to set up camp with an Ollie, it would still get old. But for me, the main advantage is longevity. If taken care of, I think an Ollie can last you 50+ years. An RV will start to feel old and outdated after 10. And you can't just buy a new truck and swap out some cushions to make it feel new again.

Ya might think twice about removing those batteries. Given the location - right over the axles - they are fairly easy to get to. However, they are about 4 to 4.5 feet off the ground. Unless you are a fairly strong guy and/or are fairly tall - something over 6'2" then I'd say that you are going to have your hands full lifting each of those 90 pound batteries off the sliding tray. I did it once and then figured out quickly that there simply must be another way. In my case I leave them in place and hook a 25 watt solar charger to them. Welcome to the Family! Enjoy the heck out of that beautiful camper! Bill

Coopers are good tires. Just keep them within their limits and you should have many years of faithful service. I would recommend getting a tire pressure monitoring system so you can see if a tire has an insidious leak that will result in hyper flexing of the sidewall, just before the KABOOM! I use Truck System Technologies, (TST). Also, be sure of the speed ratings of your tires and do not exceed them. Many ST tires are speed limited to 65MPH. OH, and do not overload your tires by having too much weight in your trailer. Know your limitations, and stay within them, and enjoy many carefree years of Olivering. . .

The smaller A/C should be fine. I run ours on low all the time, 13,500 is a bit overkill for the size of the trailer. I agree that this smaller A/C should work well and is probably quieter. If mine quit today I’d look at a smaller replacement. I can’t comment on the Michelins since mine came with BF Goodrich which have been good tires. I’m sure the Coopers will be fine, too. I’ve got just shy of 50K miles on my tires and they still look pretty new. I’ll have to replace them due to age not wear. Welcome to the group. I think the changes are fine, I would certainly be okay with them. Mike

Truma updated their website and they are starting to post how to's...using an Oliver as their model. Here's the youtube link: My 2019 Instructions are still the "corrected" version.... Is the final story now set? I wait to see if Truma posts an updated winterization video.

New nautical clock for the Ollie! Chelsea from the Patriot collection. Fits nicely. https://www.chelseaclock.com/style/patriot-collection/

We leave the outside switch on except when traveling or stored. The inside switch we turn on and off as needed.

Isn't the world of "no schedule" great? However, usually this comes with a bit of a price - age. All of that "someday" I want to … now turns into - I better simply get to doing all of those things instead of just dreaming about them. We all have to start somewhere and what an exciting time it is - have FUN! Bill