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Have about 2000 miles towing the Oliver now. As expected, the Sierra HD pulls just fine. We are using the multipro compatible hitch from B&W. So if I drop the tailgate step, it won't nail the hitch. More stable in every way than the Lincoln was, except maybe a little bouncier when I hit the "oh shoot" sized bumps. That is largely due to no longer using the Andersen hitch in my mind. Air bags aren't necessary but they would probably help. Moving from an SUV, we are glad to no longer hear the hitch clanking around in the receiver. 20lbs propane tanks fit under the Diamondback HD cover, but they need to be opened to transport the 30 pounders. As far as electrical doodads: Our "invisible trailer" camera remains on backorder due to COVID-19 (but at the same time GMC has revised the part number twice) - so still using the wireless camera setup from the factory. The TPMS system works great, so that is at least one less box in the truck. Only downside is it is only viewable in the NAV screen. So I have three screens in my truck: center gauge cluster, rear view mirror, and the NAV. I have three pieces of fairly critical information while towing: TPMS, Rear Camera, and Phone based maps. All three of those have to share the NAV screen, despite there being other logical places to put them. I can see my truck's TPMS on the center of the gauge cluster, but not the trailer. Supposedly GM can over the air update and fix all this -- I am not holding my breath. Since the firmware I see on my truck was released, I think Tesla has probably dropped 10 fairly substantive updates. The lane change camera system is pretty nice, but so are the giant tow mirrors. General driving, I average 20-22 MPG when mostly freeway. High teens when "town" and "city" driving dominate. upper-mid teens around home in the mountains. Best tank was 26mpg with a strong tailwind the whole way. 18.x mpg towing at 60mph on the flats, and still respectable at faster speeds. The ecoboost would do well until I pushed it or there was a headwind, and it was like the consumption went off a cliff. For normal towing, we are looking for fuel every ~500 miles to ensure reserve. Getting the big duramax is definitely a plus vs the 1500 with its "car" sized filler neck, the HD with it's semi-truck sized filler neck has me spoiled at truck stops. I just Dieseled up at a Costco on a normal pump and it seemed like an eternity to tank up compared to the truck pumps which flow 4-6 times as fast as the auto side. I still haven't really decided what's next for the truck - I originally was looking at an auxiliary tank. The benefit there would be fueling the tractor might be easier than the blue cans. But for towing, I haven't seen a huge need for it yet, it'd certainly be fun, but the Diesel with a 36 gallon tank has much longer legs than the ecoboost with the 26 Gallon tank.

We have not been outside of Tupelo since returning from Quartzsite and California in late January. We've not been inside a restaurant. We have not been inside anyone's home including our children/grandchildren's. No one has been inside our home. We have taken the pandemic very seriously but we will be attending the gathering at Lake Guntersville in September. just like ourselves, I know anyone planning to attend will have thought long and hard about that decision. We plan on using good common sense and all appropriate precautions will be taken including masks and distancing. I think that most everyone is thinking along these same lines and I believe we can all have a good and safe experience.

The grandkids gave me the same zoodle maker for my birthday (they like shopping at TJMax, too), but I can't seem to get the hang of making it work. The zucchini's are going crazy in the garden, so I'll give it another try. Maybe it will work better with fresh zucchini rather than the limp ones you get at the store. Or, maybe I just don't like veggie noodles 😁 We gave up the tupperware shakers for these by GSI. They are compact and seem to seal moisture out well. I think I found them at Sierra Trading Post Online, but I don't see them there now. Last, but not least are these silicone bakers. I did a lot of online searching before finding these at Nautical Scout.com. They cost a bit more than the abundant "made in China" versions, but are very good quality (made in France). The can be used in the microwave and toaster oven (temps up to 425 deg). Not for use with direct heat (stovetop or broiler). I use them at home and in the RV. They take up little precious space. Great for steaming vegetables and heating up leftovers.

Joy and I are trying to be optimistic and have not cancelled our reservation at Guntersville . It would be great if we could safely meet other Oliver owners but admittedly we are in a very difficult time. Of all places, we are coming from Florida, but I assure you we are being careful to a fault. Hopefully the stars will line up, we can meet informally and have a good time. Stay safe out there, Renegade

We picked up our camper yesterday! (Monday). Phil Andrews and James Oliver did an excellent job answering all our questions in 3 hours. We are planning on staying till Friday morning then heading to Cloudland Canyon State Park in Ga for 2 nights before returning home in Palmetto Ga Sunday afternoon. I had no idea there is a 80% chance of rain tomorrow. Not sure I will change our plans but will continue to just learn our Ollie. We had another Oliver that pulled into the campground this afternoon for a 1 day stop before heading out for an another trip. It was great to stand and chat for awhile 6 feet apart of course. If you are well seasoned campers then I understand not camping, but of course you never know what little problem you may have when you get home. Have a safe trip! Thanks for all the post and excellent answers from all these past 9 months or so. All the information made our walk through seem less intimidating. I will post a few picks when I get home

I would also say thank you to the Oliver Travel Trailer owners and employees. After all, they are really the reason for this forum’s existence. I would also extend a shout out to the forum moderator's, who are always present to offer guidance to all who seek it as well as their collective expertise. Mossey

We keep the dogs' waterbowl in the shower.

Here is the multi pro hitch for those wondering what compatible means. It will also clear the ball at its highest setting. the Anderson or other hitches will hit the step when it is deployed.

Thanks, but sometimes I feel like I am just a fancy version of the guy with a spoon and a lighter!

My Coffee Paraphernalia: Comandante Coffee Grinder Hario Filters/Holder Super fancy Kettle Generally not a fan of items that are one-trick ponies - but coffee is a heck of a drug.

I just watched this video and it got me thinking harder about deterrents.... They mention using your truck remote to start your engine, if it has that feature. If you leave your headlights in Auto the lights will come on also. Brilliant..... unless it tempts the bad guy to bust into the truck and drive away. Or you can use the panic button to engage the truck security alarm. That sounds good, if the remote range is adequate. Any ideas on how to easily wire ALL the exterior lights in your Ollie to a single prominent switch near the beds? I don’t want to wake up all confused and muzzy at 200 AM and have to walk to the entrance and figure out which switches to flip. I guess it could include a loud alarm. Has anyone installed a security system in their trailer? How about a peep hole in the door? I am concerned about large bears as much as about human predators. Please advise. John Davies Spokane WA

I ordered a new salt and pepper shaker set by Josep Joseph last year. The tiny units stick together with magnets, seal well, and are easy to refill. Fits in my pocket, or in the condiment basket easily. Probably designed for lunch boxes, it's perfect for small spaces Holds enough s and p for at least several weeks, for us. (And, room for rice grains in the salt shaker to help with summer humidity.) It's on sale at bed bath and beyond for $5 right now. My other latest favorite is a manual zoodle maker. I don't like making pasta in the camper, and we both like zucchini noodles, anyway. I got this little gadget last year at TJ Maxx. I can cook the zoodles in foil, on the fire, or a quick saute in a pan on the stove, with olive oil and herbs. Very small, no power needed. Available from many places, about $10 on Amazon. The s and p has replaced the old Tupperware sealed minis. Less than half the space . Favorite items you keep in the kitchen?

We ordered an Elite II in June.. pick up is in November.. so we can’t wait for fall to get here..Sold our faithful old Casita today, strange watching her head down the road without us, but it was fun helping the new owners get acquainted with their new camper, having driven over 1500 miles just about straight through to get here. They have never had a camper, never been in a Casita.. they were super excited to say the least.. As I watched, I kept thinking about how exciting it will be when it’s our turn to load up all kinds of gear in the truck, head to Tennessee to pick up our new camper, then go hide at Davy Crockett St Park for a couple days trying to figure it all out...Four more months to go..

Michelle and I picked up hull 610 on our 30th wedding anniversary in early June and made our way north, up the Blue Ridge Parkway, staying in RV parks and with Harvest Hosts along the way. Ollie life has been everything that we had hoped. Since our return to Maine, we have been on a couple more outings (Acadia had record low numbers of people for July). We plan to visit Gulf Hagas next. We just had a bit of graphics added to the Ollie, as a final touch. We look forward to seeing other Ollie owners on the road! - Jamie-

I bought one of these 30 Amp extension cords before our Ollie pickup, based upon older threads (here and here) with lists of what is needed for pickup. I never needed the extension cord either, until this this state park campground, where the power pedestal and water spigot were on the wrong side, well behind the asphalt pad. The power cord would not reach, even when passing the cord under the trailer between the tires. I was pleased that I did have this extension cord in the box of "rarely needed" items in the tow vehicle. It cost $33 when I bought it, $48 now. Good insurance, like a lot of the stuff we carry.

I tried steaming zoodles, but thought they got mushy. I like the texture better (more like al dente pasta) if I do a very quick saute in a little olive oil. When I process the zucchini, I twist over a bowl lined with a paper towel, so I can remove some of the moisture before cooking.

I have a small rectangular basket, 11 L x 5.5 W x 3 D, that I keep in an overhead cabinet. It holds olive oil, a small jar of honey, herbs and spices and toothpick dispenser. It has grab slots on each end so it's easy to pull out when cooking. The basket came as a set, from Marshall's or Ross. The little spice jars are from Ikea. Thanks for the Zoodle tips. I'll give it a try tonight. Do you steam the "noodles"? How long?

Rhino, Welcome to the Ollie family. We live in mid-coast in New Harbor. I noticed the Dickinson tee shirt. Our younger son played lacrosse at Muhlenberg College. Both Centennial Conference schools. We did a lot of driving to PA. Every weekend in the spring for 4 years. Enjoy your Ollie.

😆They specifically mentioned "a place to plug in your CPAP machine," so at least they understand the problem that was created.

The best place if in Florida to get ABS pipe is from A mobile home supply company. Most of the stock is ABS.

Well at least they narrowed it down to one quarter of the trailer for you.

Your Comandante coffee grinder is beautiful! I know you and your wife often live and work from your trailer. That makes it an investment, not a splurge. A month or two without Starbucks surely recovers the cost.

By the way, you will NOT need a coupling to attach the flange to the short pipe. The flange has a short stub that inserts into the pipe. You WILL need the proper glue to attach the pipe to the flange/stub. Shirley

I agree that the 2 and 4 door Bronco’s are pretty much Wrangler type off-road vehicles. The Bronco Sport is more family oriented and I bet they sell a bunch of those. Mike

I received an Oliver sighting report from Fairholme Campground on the western shore of Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula. Hope your having fun because we had to cancel our June visit due to Covid. Post a picture or two if you can. Mossey

Back in 2008, we were excited to hit 100. This past weekend, we reached 4000 total members, over 4000 topics, and over 40,000 posts. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our forum. We do appreciate it! Sherry/seadawg

Haven't decided on what we will do as of now, just have to see how this virus thing is going at that time. trainman

I’ve got one in storage, too. We need to come up with an alternate use for those things.

For screw holes that don't show a lot, I'd actually recommend marine tex epoxy. It's white. Might not be the same white, not shiny, but it will definitely seal the hole. And much less noticeable than a deep black hole. If you decide later that you don't like the color match, you will have to sand it to rough it up to get a secondary bond. Gelcoat is brittle. It doesn't like to bond to a lot of material, including marine tex. That said, if we have to fill old screw holes on the boat, epoxy if some kind ( often marine tex) is our go to, because it will seal and stay. You can buy gel coat repair kits, tinted or untinted. They're not cheap, and for deeper "wounds", require buildup of layers for proper repair. If you just glob it in to a deep hole or gash, it will likely just look good for awhile, and then part ways . If you buy untinted and colorant, you're really on your own, because the color is different wet than when it dries . We've had a few scratches in noticeable areas repaired at Oliver. They did a great job, and I can't see the difference. They did the buildup in layers, so it took a couple days. And did the proper wet sand and buffing. Where are your repairs needed? Noticeable areas?

Ugh. Think I'll stick to trailers.

I will certainly be glad when we are over this ordeal . . . . it has taken so much from our lives, especially where family is concerned.

We are planning on attending. Hopefully things will calm a little by September dates.

Spoke to a Clam rep and asked if it was alright to treat our new shelter with Kiwi Camp Dry. The rep said that is the best water repellent to use. One 10.5 oz can will treat the (5) sided clam and the optional (4) sides. So it was a fairly cool 69 degree Western NC morning and I was the man for the job. 😁 It took about 20 min and a step ladder was needed to spray the top center of the roof. We will let it dry/cure for 24 hrs.

Meeting Ollie owners is the best part of an Oliver rally, and I can understand why people going to Lake Guntersville still want to connect with each other. I want to remind people that the pandemic is serious and It is best to exercise appropriate cautions. It would be good to wear masks when talking to people, especially when visiting inside a trailer. Reasonable actions concerning shared food activities can improve safety. Disinfect surfaces. No finger foods or shared appetizer bowls. Serving utensils can transmit virus via hands, so each family group should bring their own serving utensils to food events. Alternatively, social interactions could happen without shared food, in the interest of safety. Of course anyone with symptoms would not attend the rally, but with a group this size the odds are significant of having at least one asymptomatic person capable of transmitting the virus. We don’t want this to be a Superspreader event, where people from diverse locales are brought together and then return to spread the virus through their home communities and family groups. Stay safe.

Yes it definitely pays to have a few key spares on hand. My regulator has gotten stuck a few times as well, but so far I’ve had good luck with either the whack-it-with-a-wrench or the open-and-close-the-tanks-a-dozen-times methods.

We just purchased hull 64 from Michael and elizabeth and are very excited to get started with our ollie adventures. We are Kimbellee and Kevin from Birmingham, Al. We have been silently following oliver for a couple years now and Michael's trailer is just perfect. I Look fw to sharing more on these forums and they were great theoughout the process. My initial question if someone reads this is if there is an optimal hitch height for the ollie when loaded to the hitch. I am pulling with a 2013 land cruiser and andersen hitch on 64. I feel like I may be a little high on the hitch at the moment but am not experienced on what exactlh to look for. Thanks, kevin

I was sure I wanted the frosted doors until we traveled to TN and saw them in person. I decided it would be better not to be able to see the outlines of the items inside the cabinets. I also wanted black doors to go with the Samba counters.

Your trailer looks perfect, but your 200 looks slightly butt low. There is not anything you can do with your hitch to fix that, but a set of Firestone inside-the-springs rear airbags inflated enough to bring it level, (10-12 psi) help significantly in terms of stability. Here is “Mouse”, it is dead level but the pic shows a little camera lens distortion. This is with 33” tires on the 200. Checking an Ollie to see if it is level can be tricky, the frame structure in back kind of droops and it is deceptive. Use the front part of the frame and the belt line as a visual guide. Plus, if you haven’t already done so, switch out the squooshy OEM style tires to firmer LT tires. The ride will suffer a little, but towing is MUCH more secure, and you will be much less at risk of a flat on rough roads. This hasn’t been updated for a while, but..... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2059-land-cruiser-200-towing-thread/ How do you like your Cruiser? A couple of helpful suggestions..... Your safety chains are too long and should be shortened significantly, so that you have minimal loops hanging down, and they should crisscross under the ball, to act as a safety catch if the attachment should fail. You can droop a bungee cord over the tongue and hook onto the chains to help hold them up. Also, your trailer harness is vulnerable. The 200 has a wierd location for the socket, as you no doubt know, and this loop is prime for catching on a road hazard and ripping clean off the trailer. Ouch. I run mine on top, secured with a bungee to eliminate slack under the bumper, plus I leave a horizontal loop so that the cable doesn’t stretch tight in a hard jackknife turn. This also takes most of the strain off the fragile little plastic hook that keeps the plug in the socket. Welcome, and I hope you enjoy both your Land Cruiser and your new Ollie. John Davies Spokane WA

Congratulations!!!! Welcome to the family! We pick ours up on the 27th. The time will fly by and you will be driving away soon with a big smile!

A while back, we settled on this set up for our water purification. It has worked well for us many years now. It's quick, easy to set up and make friends with all the surrounding campers.

We usually cook and eat outside, and we often have the need for paper towels outside. Our simple solution is to hang the paper towels outside using a cord and two suction cups. With a longer cord, we have also placed one suction cup on the tow vehicle and one on the trailer to create a clothesline.

Since you brought it up, we are camped at Wasatch Mountain State Park, and this is their golf course.

Thanks David, great suggestion and the photography is top notch as usual. I am just glad you didn’t clutter up the paper towel holder with one of your world famous Utah landscape photos. 😉😉😉 Mossey

Counter Top Space

A beautiful 78 degree gorgeous North Carolina foothills morning and time for Hull# 634 to have EZE gutters installed. The install went really well and we are happy with the results. My bride was my extra set of hands which really helped. I will leave the painters tape on for another day or two ensuring a good curing of gutter adhesion material. We let the gutter material heat up in the sun which made it easier to work with. We ordered the Bright White gutter color for our 2020 Ollie which matched up perfect. We even did a gen set cargo box fit check with our new Honda Handi eu3000i and all is well. Thanks to everyone who posted up on EZE gutter install info. Another mod done! -David

A lot of questions have been answered before. Patriot posted the magnet information above as you requested and said he used 3M double sided tape. In the other thread on this subject I explained that I used 3M Command Tape. Most of us don’t mind repeating answers to questions so don’t feel like you are making things difficult, we certainly don’t. If you do, then you can just review already posted threads before asking. Otherwise, we’re okay with lots of questions. Mike

To watch TV when your on the _ _ _. trainman