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Bill, I had to blow the dust off an old photo of me at Deals Gap back in 1999. (It was not as well known as it is today population 6) I was riding my new 1999 Honda Valkyrie. This particular day I remember buying a long sleeve heavy t shirt which I recently parted with along with the leathers. The Deals Gap Store was tiny and had a few t-shirts in a card table for sale, so I bought one. Now it’s Tail of the Dragon...it attracts all kinds of moto and auto enthusiasts. Over the years grew way too crowded and just unsafe to ride and enjoy. Many have met their fate on Tail of the Dragon on her twisted turns and terms. With 40 years plus safe riding years and a rather number or large sampling of different scoots, my wife and decided to retire off two wheels in Aug of 2018. Oh what a great ride it was! The Valk...a great bike in its day. Never a moments problem. The last two scoots we owned my former R1200 BMW ADV and my bride on her Suzuki 650 Vstrom. Photo taken by “Blind Kenny” a road side photographer on route 80 aka- the Devils Whip right off the BRP.

One time, around 1972 on a Norton Commando 750. Actually, three times, I went back to the beginning and rode it again before departing the area. Pretty neat road, and zero traffic. Another good one not too far away is TN 30, between McMinnville and Falls Creek Falls SP, (north entrance). Woohoo! Most RVs shun that route and take the more modern (bulldozed straight) alternative. Out west those kinds of twists and curves are not that unusual.They are found as side routes off new modern freeways, from the good old days. Though it is rare to find a stretch that long, they do tend to be shorter, going up and down precipitous mountains. One good detour off US 95 in the ID Panhandle is the Old White Bird Grade, it was made about 1920 and was quite a challenge for Model A’s - in the 2900 foot climb there were four water stations so drivers could pull over and top up their boiling radiators.... others are the Spiral Highway going down from the Palouse into Lewiston ID (Snake River gorge), and the Chief Joseph highway due east of Yellowstone. The latter is amazing because you have to crank the wheel hard back and forth but the speed limit is 65 mph. 😳. Corvette drivers have a great time on it. I have done these and more with “Mouse” but you need to take it really really easy, in either direction. Traffic is usually low or nonexistent. Not at all like the Dragon in these times. John Davies Spokane WA

What Mossey said - OR - if you are looking for the "new" sales and Service departments: N 35.56483 W 087.53159 Bill

OK - for those that have never either heard of or had the chance to "enjoy" this road, here's a map for when you are in the area. Bill

In the Only-Somewhat-Related-But-Perhaps-Amusing-Department: Several years ago we were driving up the Whitebird grade (the new version, with four lanes, a fast and slow lane in each direction, but same elevation gain/loss, and similar big drop-offs over the side). It was windy. Very windy. The wind coming out of the canyon below caught the slide-in camper in the pickup ahead of us and twisted it out of the truck. Bent out the entire side of the bed. The camper went skittering across several lanes, breaking up into many pieces (which a stick-built unit is capable of doing very well). Personal belongings -- clothes, cookware, food -- were scattered everywhere. We of course stopped to offer the poor guy some help (very little traffic that day). Another pickup coming down the hill also stopped. That fellow got out, put his hands on his hips, surveyed the situation, and in typical Idaho fashion helpfully offered the guy whose camper was demolished and whose belongings were scattering in the wind, "Ya wan' me to help ya jus' shove it all over the side?" It wouldn't have been the first wreck that ended up in the valley below.

Does Oliver pre-wire for Solar? If so, it's a few holes in the roof, and brackets, and heavy wire through the cabinets. We added solar 6 months in, in our 2008. It wasn't necessarily easy, nor was it necessarily hard. True prewire would definitely make an additional fixed solar easier. Why are you doing lithium, if you think you will camp most of the time, with hookups?

It would be easy to add solar later, the trailer is prewired for it, but my suggestion is, if you want to get your feet wet, add an external solar port and solar controller next to it, inside under the rear dinette seat, and get a 100+ watt portable suitcase panel (without controller). Renogy makes some really nice ones. That will allow you to plug it in occasionally when you have the sun exposure, or if you are parked in shade, you can use a really long power cord to the panel and set it out in the direct sunlight. Since the controller will be at the trailer that setup will work great. Panels with onboard controllers are limited to around 15 to 20 feet cable max, due to voltage drop over the wires. https://www.truckcamperadventure.com/the-renogy-solar-suitcase/ If you later want more power, add the roof panels and keep the portable unit, it will always be useful in certain situations. John Davies Spokane WA

I've simply lost count on the number of times I've driven/ridden that road. Last I heard, the record for the quickest it was ridden was right around 6 minutes. If you drive or ride it slowly you can see bits of motorcycles and cars still hanging in the trees. These days, law enforcement tries to control things much more than they did 10 to 15 years ago. However, virtually every year someone losses their life doing stupid things on that road. Bill

Road was pretty smooth. Elevation change was abrupt at times. I think going around one corner I could see myself ahead?

High enough you might not see in the rear view mirror. Would look great to those walking (running) by...?

Crooked River State park in St. Mary's GA is a great spot. Large lots! The pulp smell is not noticeable. We have a house across Crooked River on the marsh and we never smell the mill. Once you get near Bruinswick the smell is noticeable if the wind is blowing in the right direction. There is a campground on Jekyll but I have not driven through it in a long time.

Definitely the UPS is not "purpose built" as it doesn't have near the capacity, but it can obviously be used for some smaller mobile AC capabilities. For example, it's great to use to power a small dog heating pad for the entire night. I also use it at car shows (I have a Mustang GT that I take to shows with my son) to power a plasma globe that only accepts AC under my hood for hours. I've used it to charge my electric toothbrush... I can go on and on. It has always been one of the most useful items to have along on a long road trip. I have used a UPS when traveling by car - not travel trailer. The way I see it I'll be towing an 80K Jackery soon and I won't need the UPS any longer! @Airedales, I recharge at hotels, etc. while on the road or just bring it back dead and recharge it at home. While some may not consider taking along a UPS, I never considered spending more money on a Jackery or something like that when all I needed was AC that a small UPS that I already owned could provide. 😏

Good luck finding a used Elite. Love your photos.

LOL, wrap the toilet and place an old rag on top, to indicate.... “Do NOT use!” I for one would not mind hearing the story about how you ended up in the pool..... John Davies Spokane WA

Great suggestions John, I have not wrapped a toilet seat in Saran Wrap since pulling a trick on a few friends many many years ago.😂 I will spare the details. Well I did get tossed into a pool full clothes as payback. 😂 Those teenage years were fun. A beverage and campfire story for sure. Thanks for the suggestions!

I vote for the little guy - the smile gives it personality. Who cares how it works 😁. Bill

I have been working on a Drop-Leaf design for another customer that would increase the size of the pantry countertop for serving and fold down for storage when not in use. Something similar could be done for the front edge of the dinette. I will post pictures once I have a prototype of the pantry drop-leaf.

That really sums it up, right there! I am very fortunate, and VERY grateful all this is happening. Been through a buncha years o’ sheer hell I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. No lie. So excited. Still have tons of questions and no time to read much right now. Apologies in advance for asking stuff that is probably already answered and easily Googled. I am a web nerd (one of many hats), but damn there is a LOT to read up on and learn and I’m trying not to “overthink” but that too is one of my charms. Ha. Thanks again to ALL. I really hope to attend a meet up. Or run into some of you - well, not literally - after I am out there FT. Especially any of you Ollie folks who FT!

I don’t know what inverter Oliver is installing now. The 2000 Watt Xantrex I have has two settings, On and Off. When connected to shore power I keep it “Off’ and all the AC outlets work. When not connected to shore power and I want to use an AC outlet or the microwave, I turn the inverter “On”. While plugged into shore power while in storage, I make sure the inverter is “Off” so I don’t drain the batteries if there is a power outage. I’m sure any inverter that is “Off” does not disable AC outlets when connected to shore power. Mike

The whole "power thing" is complicated and confusing. . . . . I'm going to have to sit down with someone at Oliver, when we do our walk-through, and get educated. I need a flow chart (no pun intended), showing different situations: where the power is routed and what kind of power it is (110, 12v, solar, generator). Is there a pecking order, so to speak; which power source takes precedence. This is something Oliver needs to put on their university.

I know there has been discussion and a lot of Oliver owners use an induction burner. I've been shopping for one for some time now, narrowing my choice down to a few. So, cutting to the chase: Aside from Overland's recommendation of the Volrath , I am considering the Nuwave Pro Chef and the Duxtop High End Full Glass, leaning more to the Nuwave as it has more precise controls and is NSF certified. Does anyone here have experience with either of these?

Jordanelle SP UT is on our list of State Parks to camp at during future western trips! Would be nice to visit during a rally in the fall.

Alternative Mount for Andersen WD Hitch Attached are photos showing the Andersen WD Hitch mounted to the center box shaft of our Oliver Elite II, as described in my earlier post above. John Shkor, SailorsAshore