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This fellow from under our rear deck wishes all of you a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving! Bill

FYI!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our Oliver friends and family. It’s been a strange year, hopefully we can all resume our normal camping adventures soon! Mike

We don't have to boondock to get up close and personal with the wildlife. A few days ago we caught this owl perched in the Maples above our water tank. This afternoon, our resident elk herd came by to show off this year's calves.

This is Valley of the Gods in southern Utah, dispersed camping on BLM land.

This is Goose Island Campground, just east of Moab. We got a lovely campsite right on the Colorado River. This is a BLM campground, so only a picnic table and pit toilets; this qualifies as boondocking in my book.

Last month we camped with some friends in Castle Valley, UT, which is east of Moab, in our two travel trailers. This was socially distant camping – eating outside at separate tables and wearing masks when needed. We decided to have the two trailers antiparallel, so that the doors would face each other, and the awnings, rugs, and tables would be in between the two campers. The fall colors were really nice!

Patriot - Pardon him for what? The poor thing spends all of his time showing off for the ladies and never seems to eat! To make it worse - the ladies really don't seem to care. Bill

We’re taking it easy this year, and ordered a smoked Turkey from our favorite bbq shop. We figured they could use the business, plus it smells fantastic - may become a new Turkey day tradition. We also brought home some Pie Town pies from our recent trip. Gave a few to family and friends that we won’t be seeing, but saved the New Mexico Apple for ourselves. 🌶🍏🌶

I put my turkey on the smoker at 5:45 this morning, it was still dark. We’re eating early so had to get an early start. I always do a small turkey on the Primo and Carol does a big turkey in the oven. House if full of kids and grandkids....

From a gorgeous sunny Western Carolina morning - Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Despite the challenges of this past year and likely many more in the future we feel blessed with great health, happiness and freedom. The bird is in and rolling in hickory smoke for several hours and we won’t open the smoker door until our igrill mini meat probe reports on my iPhone that its done! 😊 A toast to a safe, healthy year ahead for all. Happy Camping!

That is on the south eastern corner of Moosehead Lake. Off of Lily Bay State Park. Actually I think the ice had only been out for about two days.

Just use a good quality 7500 pound rated ball on a plain ball mount of the correct drop; no worries with the 2” Bulldog. Unless you plan to grossly overload the trailer, then worries.... or buy a bigger trailer. I switched because of the horrible ball wear from the forward thrust of the Andersen chains, the bigger ball is definitely better in this respect. I have no regrets whatsoever. John Davies Spokane WA

Western Maine has a few spots, well away from the tourist spots...

We finally took Ollie on a camping trip out west and wanted to share a few photos. We visited Kodachrome Basin SP UT and it was raining, so will visit there again on our next trip. Have to say Ollie has great towing manners and very pleasant to camp in!!!!! Winslow AZ: Bryce NP: North Rim: Zion NP: Cedar Breaks NP area: Valley of Fire SP NV: Snow Canyon SP UT:

SNYSDUP - Unfortunately, the forecast for this coming Tuesday morning is not good with the daytime highs not getting out of the 30's! However, just this morning I started the real planning process for my two month fishing trip to Wyoming starting in July, 2021.😄 Bill

i would like to replace my Garmin 2460 LMT, looking at the Garmin RV 890 what is with this review? https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2FF00MNJWBPSW/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_rvw_ttl?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B089DMTQFT "I have spent several hours trying to upload maps to this device from Good Sam and fro RV trip apps using the Garmin drive app. IT DOES NOT WORK - do not spend the money for this device>" Reading the RV890 manual, i am not seeing that you can upload non *.GPX maps (www.mapstogo.com), Am i missing something? later edit - the reviewer was experiencing a Hardware error, "NUT LOOSE ON THE KEYBOARD..." Maps he was trying to upload were not Compatible with Garmin Software. FYI - the manual can be located at https://cs1.0ps.us/pdf/opplanet-garmin-rv-890-owners-manual-pdf.pdf

Must be the pandemic is almost over. I had an order come yesterday and it was two days early...and it was FedEx... They even delivered to the right place...!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Make that another 890 scooped up. Note that Amazon indicated that there were only two left when I got mine. Bill p.s. Mike - I owe you a sarsaparilla for this one!

That was private land in Castle Valley. Our friends are going to build a house on the land. There are some nice BLM sites further up the road beyond Castle Valley, on what is called the La Sal Mountain Loop Road. It is probably 30-40 minutes to Arches.

Scooped up the 890. Thanks for the post!

We have the Anderson wedges and love them. 0-4 inch lift for side to side leveling. No need to cut them to fit between the tires (at least on the 2017 model).

We need a moderator to merge them. 😛

Happy Thanksgiving to all

Happy Thanksgiving from a future Oliver owner...

Yes! Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Happy Thanksgiving ! It has indeed been a year for the books. We still have many reasons to be thankful, though. This year's dinner is much smaller, just immediate family, and we'll be eating outdoors. Thankful for a beautiful Florida day that makes this possible.

Of all these places that we have been, Valley of Fire in 2019 was my personal favorite. I loved that you could roam and hike wherever you wanted. Beautiful place and not overwhelmed with people. We planned to visit Utah this Spring, but that didn't happen . . . . . maybe next year.

Happy Thanksgiving to the Oliver company and all of the Ollie owners family!

Interesting. We've made lots of connections in boondocking spots. Well, probably because we rarely camp in organized campgrounds/rv parks. Just not our thing.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, too!

No, it's mostly a chemistry thing. The anode is sacrificial, dissolving instead of the steel tank rusting. I do think use of electricity may accelerate the dissolving of the anode. We never used the water heater on electricity, and our anodes lasted a really long time. We have an instantaneous heater (not a truma) for the last three or four years.

The main reason is that the 2” Bulldog coupler on the Ollie is rated at “only” 7,000 lbs, but the 2-5/16” Bulldog coupler is rated at 12,500 lbs. Some Ollie owners have a loaded weight close to or even over 7,000 lbs., so upgrading the ball size along with a higher rated hitch and a bigger tow vehicle gives a lot more towing capacity and safety factor.

See response embedded above.

I am just over 6ft and too short for my weight. No problems at all getting in and out of the trailer. I do need to pay attention exiting the bathroom. Very happy with our trailer.

The outside hot water heater “shore power” switch is there mostly so you do not accidentally fry the heating element when the tank is drained for winter. If the circuit breaker inside is not turned off, the element will burn out in a few seconds unless it is completely surrounded by water. When winterizing, or any time the tank is emptied (for a flush or anode change) it is a really GOOD idea to trip the breaker inside under the dinette, and also turn off the outside switch, to avoid a senior moment and the inevitable swear words. The element is not expensive and it is easy enough to replace, but it is a hassle best avoided entirely. There is a little white plastic tab that secures the outside door in place, at the top. It has two sides and rotates. I colored one side with a Sharpie, when the element switch is ON I turn that side OUT, when it is off I turn the white side out. Simple and effective, you can tell at glance the status of the switch as you walk by. It takes all of ten seconds to color one side. Another thing I do to avoid a burnout is to leave the anode lying on the bottom of the heater and not reinstall it until spring. It is a very strong reminder that the tank is empty and out of service. I call this stuff Red Flagging, we used to do that on aircraft routinely when we stopped in the middle of a job for lunch, or to go home for the day. It was literally a long red streamer looped around a nearby support, to alert anybody that “this repair is not finished yet!” or “this engine has no oil!” It was mainly in case you got sick and somebody else had to complete the job, but it also prevented very expensive mistakes, like running a Beechcraft Baron’s two freshly rebuilt piston engines without oil, and destroying them both in a couple of minutes. Uh ohhhhhh. Which happened where I worked, but not to me fortunately. I still red flag things, like the gearshift lever every time the trailer is hitched while the jacks are lowered. Or the ARB compressor fridge inside the truck is connected to the Ollie’s solar port. Uh ohhhhh! John Davies Spokane WA

At 6'7", I have learned to live with banging, scraping, gouging, slicing my head on things around me, when I have two feet on the ground. In addition, I no longer hesitate to help when asked if I can reach something on a high shelf by a total stranger in a store. It is something that comes with the territory or altitude. The clearance in the Ollie is something my wife & I discussed at length, she researched all the dimensions, and asked me if it would be an issue before we made the decision to travel to Hohenwald. At the factory, we walked thru an OLE II, I rubbed my head on the A/C unit to see how much damage would be self-inflicted. I sat down and got up to see if I would hit my head on the overhead cabinets, above the beds and dinette, well… NOT if I remembered to close them before I sat down. The Shower is a bit tight, but hey, I have had less room in worse showers. I am able to sleep diagonally in the “Twin Bed” arrangement, and if I get a cramp in my leg at night, I just stretch out and press against the wall. Getting in & out the front door, does require ATTENTION; notice the padding on the inside above the door… half the job of padding the doorway is already done. Have I banged my head in the Ollie... YES, but that would happen on many trailers, and they are NOT an OLLIE. I have learned to adapt to the world designed for people shorter than myself, and momentary lapses remind me there is more to be aware of… I have also learned to wear a cap; it softens the blow and absorbs the blood. That said; I would rather bang my head on an Ollie whilst out camping or on vacation, than at home. Respectfully, Bryan

It seems like every trip, we're helping someone out of a jam. I figure I'll need the return favor someday, so I'm banking the karma. This trip, we helped a woman who'd locked her keys in her Sprinter, gave someone a spare lighter for their stove since they'd forgotten theirs, and righted a side by side that had been flipped (no injuries). Last time, we pulled a stuck tour company truck out of some ruts (embarrassing for them, I'm sure) and a ride to a pair of hikers who'd miscalculated how long it would take them to get to their planned campsite.

My second trip was mid-October a few years later. No problems with the bugs. Mozzies, biting gnats, midges, and brine flies come out from  spring through  early fall depending on the species. The midges were what I'm still washing off my van years later from the causeway drive, but the mozzies and gnats were annoying at the campsite (not as bad up on the hill where I went to shoot most of my photos though, thanks to a bit of a breeze up there).

So the truck is loaded... We head south tomorrow, pick up # 685 Tuesday. As I’ve been jamming stuff into the Tundra, a strange mix of what worked with the Casita, great ideas I’ve picked up from this forum, some probably not so great ideas I’ve picked up from this forum, and a large number of items that fall into the “better to have them and not need them than not have them and need them” category, I can’t help but reflect upon the last 6 months following this forum... Sure are a great group of folks on here, and it’s been wonderful eavesdropping on your discussions, debates, and pontifications.. Its been helpful to say the least as we prepare for “Mark and Debs big adventure”... which really started about 6 months ago when I first checked out this site.. Thanks for all your help.. Hope to meet you all someday! We’ll be the Ollie with the Alewives on the front...

Hello, new guy here. My wife and I took the plunge this morning and ordered our Legacy Elite II. We had been looking at trailers over the last year and had it narrowed down to Oliver and Lance. Not an apples to apples comparison but both nice trailers. Preaching to the choir here but the Oliver is in a class of its own. I've been lurking here for a while and want to thank you folks for all the help. All my questions had already been answered here. This is also our first (hopefully last) trailer.

The peach and cherry cobblers were fantastic and they had ice cream, too.

We have never had a problem camping in camping grounds and that's where we camp 99% of the time, the other 1% is at Walmart when we just can't get to a camping ground. We tend to stay away from campgrounds that the pads are close together, these are mainly found in private campground, state parks and other U.S. parks are mostly spaced farther apart which we find much more desirable. We do like to spend time with other campers, but then again you find out real quickly if you have things in common, or not, if not move on. As far as letting someone use our bathroom I would not be in favor of that and if they asked I would probably say, No, your camping and your trailer should be near, or there is always the woods. Since we don't Boondock I would think that more safety precaution might need to be taken, but then again I find campers most of the time to be considerate of each other. I would rather camp where law enforcement is present and this does tend to control those who drink and become rowdy, we drink, but to old to be rowdy anymore. Today dealing with covid all the rules have changed and many things may not go back to the way they were. trainman