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I ran across this item on Costco's website the other day. Covered memory foam mattress pad, connected to a duvet with a midweight comforter. Rolls up neatly and small for those who like to use the beds as benches during the day, and need extra padding on top of the cushions. Unlike a sleeping bag, the duvet is big, almost full size, and open on all but one long side. Guessing warmth could be increased by replacing the comforter with a thick down throw for winter. I haven't seen one yet, but thought it was interesting, and had some good reviews. $119 for the xl adult, 30 x 75, for Ollie twins. (169 on the discobed site, or amazon.) Smaller sizes available on discobed or Amazon. https://www.costco.com/duvalay-x-large-sleeping-pad-by-disc-o-bed.product.100494488.html

We like the road less traveled. So from Floyd we took the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to the Fancy Gap exit and then got on I-77. 72 degrees and a glorious ride in the cool breeze of the BRP. A fun 8 days adventure. We met some really neat and funny people. So now we are looking forward to our next trip.

jordanv, Some folks don't read their vehicle operators manual closely. Hats off to you for reading the manual and standing your ground with the dealer. 👍

A beautiful Sunrise....

Hello everyone, we are in the market for an Oliver. We previously owned a Casita and wanting more room. We have been out of camping for a few years and can’t wait to get back into camping and meeting new friends.

Mirror ball is extra?

All this great feedback is super usefull. Thanks everyone. I have recently spoken to a couple of folks frequently pulling the same weight (in a less aerodynamic box) with the same vehicle and they both were satisfied customers. Most folks look at the size of this truck and underate it's towing and payload capacities. I agree that over purchasing on the accessories may be too much of a gamble without giving the system enough time to see if it works well for me or not. I'll give it a go with the Anderson hitch, a progressive brake system and the airbags to see how it feels. If I need to upgrade my TV, I'll bite the bullet. Either way, will post here to share how things worked out. Gerry

Everyone thinks Rv life is cheep. NOT. But fun.

Hello Mike, A MPPT controller should be used with any PV solar modules (aka solar panel, a misnomer) that has a Vmp (the operating voltage) of 17.0V or higher. It does not matter what kind of battery you have. A PWM controller is like a switch: it turns on and off and will only pass the rated current of your module. This causes you to loose potential power which I’ll explain later. A MPPT controller can capture all the power that a module can produce by using DC converters. Consider this example: 100W PV module rated at 20 Vmp and 5 Imp (the output current). According to Ohms law, Volts x Amps = Watts. So, for our above module, here's the math: 20V x 5A = 100W. Also know that a solar module is a constant current device. In our example, you will get about 5 Amps from 0 to 20 volts. A PWM controller will directly connect the PV module to the battery. A battery is a load and will pull down the voltage of the module. If the battery is 13 volts, here's the math: 13V X 5A = 65W. You only produce 65 Watts of power because the amperage is at 5A and the voltage is pulled down to 13V. If you use MPPT controller with the same module, you can produce nearly 100 Watts of power. The difference is that the MPPT controller converts the 20 Vmp down to 13V and raises the current at the same time. By this conversion process, you can raise current because the power (100W) is still available. You now get about 7.5 Amps from your 100W solar module. Here’s the math: 13 x 7.5 = 100W (you loose some in the conversion process) There are other factors affecting performance but using MPPT for high voltage modules is important. Hope this helps!

Like the BRP shots!!!! Looks like a nice adventure including the trip home!

Thanks for sharing story. I am in the DFW area and will be getting a TV later this year. Think I am down to 2021 F-150 or RAM 1500. I have started looking and when I start asking some guys about payload and weight ratings they look confused. Buyer beware is my approach as they just want to move the truck.

https://www.ifebp.org/news/regulatoryupdates/Pages/2020-irs-mileage-rates.aspx I think we are talking about a serious amount of cash here.... John Davies Spokane WA

Agree with John's suggestion about filing a claim with Ford Corporate. Also agree that Tundra's are great trucks...however in addition to "tow capacity", pleas consider "payload" as well as you shop. *Sent JordanV a PM on the topic* My l F150 has a tow capacity of 12,700 lbs (official) but a payload of 1557 lbs on the door pillar. I looked seriously at buying a Tundra but their payloads were even a bit less than my F150.. I'll be doing more extensive towing in the next few years and want more payload margin and the ability to store gear in the back of a truck with a canopy instead of carrying it distributed also inside the trailer. For those reasons I'm planning a truck upgrade. Craig Hull 505

I am sorry to hear of this misfortune, but you were very, very smart to get it in writing from the salesman, even if it was just a text or email. Phone calls are a recipe for disaster. I have had a couple of nasty experiences with buying things where the verbal promises made were a fantasy. Always ALWAYS get it in writing. Bravo! I financed a home purchase in person (in the Olde Days) and the rep gave me a great deal (zero points, low rate), but it sounded a little off to me, enough to raise suspicions. I demanded and received a written/ signed rate description on their Wells Fargo letterhead. Months later I received a letter from the bank saying that the guy had been making promises they could not keep, and he had been fired, and the points and rate was going up. I sent them a copy of the letter and a comment that they should probably let it slide in my case, which they did. Sorry for the thread hijack. It is too bad you drove so far and spent so much time with this, it should never have happened with a brand new vehicle. Ford owes you some financial compensation for your miles driven and lodging (12 hrs and two nights!) and lost wages. Seriously, I would initiate a ticket with their corporate office. This is a very big deal and IMHO you should pursue it. If you have trouble with Ford, consider contacting a local tv news station, they usually have somebody who helps in consumer cases like this. It makes great stories on the local broadcast, and the threat of bad publicity usually forces a good outcome. Are you still going to get a F150? I personally would be a little wary at this point. Maybe you should swing by the Toyota dealer to look at a Tundra....;) ... Thanks for keeping us updated, and good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

That's pretty lousy, but like you said, at least they gave you back your money. I think the tow charts for all the big three are confusing and yeah you've got to check every footnote, but even so, it doesn't look like Ford makes that limitation clear in their towing guide. Unless I'm missing something, it seems somewhat negligent on their part that you have to go through the manual to find it. Maybe it's listed somewhere obvious and I'm just not seeing it. I think I remember another owner having a similar problem with a dealer trying to push a truck without a tow package on someone.

Fritz, I am 6’3” and have no problems sleeping in the curbside twin. I haven’t tried the street side as my wife sleeps there. I have tried in both directions and prefer the head to the rear especially since our 40lbs dog spends about 40 percent of the nights on my side.

Rvtravel.com is an excellent resource for RV information. Sign up for the daily newsletter, and you may want to aalso join their Facebook page for casino camping. Lots of really good information and helpful hints . It is all free!!

Arizona parks are generally hard to get into without reservations well in advance. Lyman Lake wasn’t bad during the week, but weekends are full. We’re going back to Catalina State Park in January and made reservations last January! This summer was crazy. We stayed at Navajo State Park in Colorado the last part of July and it was packed.

The factory quit offering this as an option several years ago. They have also stopped doing custom work during the initial build. These would be incredibly easy to add after the fact...if they would be willing to mold them for you. Who is your salesperson?

Where are you in Oregon? We will be bringing our Elite II Twin home in December. We live on the South Coast. If you contact Oliver, they can find an owner nearby. A friend of ours camped next to one in Gold Beach in the past couple of weeks. They are around, but haven't hit the West Coast much yet. . . . . . . soon, though, I expect to see more of them on the road.

Set aside the aluminum vs fiberglass. The most destructive source of any Rv is water. It can delaminate rot wood corrode metal and short out electrical systems. The airstream would do all that, I know from experience. 2017 30’ airstreams serenity. I had a leak in the bathroom which was in the walls. The plywood floors got soaked. The bat insulation in the walls were saturated with water. Because the floors were wet it delaminated the flooring. After everything dried out, then noticed the frame starting to rust. Should I continue? And not to mention carrying a pop rivet gun to replace rivets popping out. Keep comparing the apples to oranges. The Oliver wins.

The dinette bed is ideal for a child, in the Elite I or II, so that's where we plan to sleep the grandchildren. We only have one granddaughter right now, so no problem. Im still researching next steps, but one idea is to buy a hard-shell RTT Roof Top Tent, such as this one (made in USA). https://www.roosttents.com, mount it over the bed of my Ford F150, perhaps on a Rack system such as this one https://www.leitnerdesigns.com When one of my 5 grown children and their significant others wants to come on vacation with us, they can fly out to meet us, we will pick them up at the airport and will have all the camping "stuff" they need. We will let them sleep in the RTT, parked well away from us. if they have more than one grandchild, they will probably have to bring a tent.

As can fiberglass 😉

Dometic is the plague.

Erv & Sherry, Congrats on your beautiful Ollie! Nice shots, we will visit Juliette State Park. Good looking rig, too!

Nice tow vehicle and it's the same color as mine.

Great pictures! Looks like you had the first of many great trips. Keep sharing the pics, now I’ve put Juliette State Park on our list. Mike

I can’t speak to your questions with any authority as my EII is being built now. However, we have been going through the decision making process for over 12 years, anticipating 2020 as the year for us to purchase. We’ve toured multiple factories, visited at least 40 dealerships and researched specs for everything from A’s, C’s and B’s. We were constantly stopping and going back over our criteria and finally focused on 3 class C models. While at a dealership last fall, my wife randomly walked into an AS. Once again we shifted our thought process to add the possibility of a towable. Just before we went to the Tampa RV show in January, I convinced my wife to visit the Oliver factory (38 miles from home). Walking in one and getting the factory tour was life changing. When we got to Tampa, we literally walked into 4 RVs and found ourselves comparing everything to the Oliver then left and went to the beach! One of the things we were most excited about with Oliver was NOT having to go through a dealer or anything like we experienced at the Tampa show. Through the years of dealerships, test drives and being pursued by sales people, I cannot tell you the name of one sales person we worked with nor remember anyone that built trust with us to feel confident about our major purchase. So, I recommend using the resources at Oliver to find one to tour in your area. If you can swing it, get to the factory and see the whole process. In lieu of a visit, use YouTube. After all these years, this was a huge paradigm shift for us but, we have never looked back or had buyers remorse and are completely comfortable with our choice.

David, We have some grading & concrete work to be done at home. When that's done, will be heading back to BRP, probably Linville Falls. Glad y'all had a fine time at Chantilly. Tested all of Ollie's systems on this trip since we have not camped much this year and everything worked great. Ollie is so pleasant to camp in, can't wait to go again!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks,

My $0.02... You will need an Andersen hitch. It’s the only one that fits the Oliver without some amount of fiberglass cutting/modifications. I towed with a 4.0L Tacoma (with a TRD Supercharger). Engine-wise is was okay. After about 6K miles I upgraded to a half ton because a) I was tired of stopping at every gas station on the way due to the small fuel tank and b) cargo capacity was limited so we couldn’t carry the stuff we wanted due to both weight and size of the bed. The smaller size truck means you’ll also need to be very aware of stopping distances and hills will not be a lot of fun (both going up and down).

This is Lost Dutchman State Park outside of Phoenix this past January. It’s a big park and very scenic. There were a number of Olivers there in January, including the crazy Oliver owners in the middle picture.

Catalina State Park just outside of Tucson last month. We’ve made reservations for next January already.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Gerri and I had the MCD shades put in our motor home that we had a few years ago. They are totally aw3some and would highly recommend them. In fact we have discussed going to McKinney Texas where they are located to see about having them put in. Several people who have Casitas have had them put in. With the price point of the Oliver Trilailer one would think that they would.be a standard.

Well I have some bad news Long story short I was incorrectly told by the dealer multiple times that the truck I purchased could tow 10,500 lbs. The afternoon after my purchase, I read the manual as it is something I like to do. I found a foot note that said that if the 3.5L V6 does not have the "Heavy Duty Towing Package" ("Trailer Tow Package" on the sticker sheet) then it is limited to 7,000 lbs. This means that it was a fruitless purchase for me as my Tacoma can Tow 6,700 lbs. The dealer was adamant that they were correct until after hours of research, and organizing my documentation, I was able to show them they were wrong. One of the managers went so far as to tell me that "That line is only in the manual for safety purposes, I know people who tow without that package and its fine". I also mentioned I could be sued if I were to get into an accident pulling a weight the manual states clearly I should not be pulling. His response: "How would a lawyer prove that?" They did not offer to install the package or reimburse my travel expenses. They did agree to give my Tacoma and money back however. If you are interested in the details, I am going to make this document available for others who may experience the same issue. (It has happened to others according to many F150 forum posts.) https://www.notion.so/F150-3-5L-V6-Towing-Complications-0227c06eeb314f7cba83e05e85840f45