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I've lurked now for several years on this forum, and over the last year have even begun sneaking in some questions. I've been highly impressed with the knowledge, advice, suggestions, and ideas; the constructive forum community has contributed to our selecting an LE2. And now that we are getting closer to finalizing our order, I thought I'd send in a more formal introduction. My first RV in the late 1970s was a Job Corps bus (a shorty school bus); since then my wife Susan and I have backpacked, tent- and car-camped, owned 2 Airstreams (1965 Globetrotter and a 1966 Caravele), and over the last 13 years have averaged 2-3 months per year in a Sprinter conversion attending old-time music festivals, exploring the west, and visiting friends and family throughout the country. Our vacations over the years have also included numerous self-supported whitewater raft and kayak trips. We hope to continue doing all of these things, and perhaps, in our travels we'll have an opportunity to meet some of you in person. In the meantime, I look forward to learning from you.

Following this thread closely. There are a couple of areas beside the floor laminate, and several square feet of gelcoat along the outer wall below the dinette table, where a sloppy tech got floor adhesive and just ..... left it there. The latter is only visible with the table removed or I would have seen it at delivery. Idiot tech, and idiot me for not checking. It will not come off with any solvent or careful scraping, so I guess sandpaper is the only choice? That and the crookedly mounted rear window (visible on the outside) make my blood boil. But I admit that I am anal. Does this stuff bother other owners? There is a house nearby with one crooked window out of four in a line, every time I drive by I laugh, it is so obvious to me and such a silly thing for a worker to do, this is why God made bubble levels... 😬 John Davies Spokane WA

I think that would be a good addition to the Oliver options list, honestly. We use our manual awning all the time. But window awnings on the street side would be very nice. Years ago, one owner played with the idea of making streetside awnings from solar panels, kind of dual function. He never did it, but youtube rver Tito did. It attaches with suction cups. Karen Luekens and her husband added an awning to the dinette window, a modified Carefree awning from Little House. At that time, Little House still did installs. I think they only ship parts to you now, and you install yourself, or hire someone. Here's a photo of the Luekens' Casita, and their Oliver.

Shermica, I haven't read all the comments yet so this may have already been mentioned, at Texas State Parks there is a 14 day limit during one stay. Then you will have to move to another park. All the parks are pet friendly and are welcome on trails. However pets are not allowed in any park owned facility such as the headquarters office, cabins, restrooms, etc. Most parks we've stayed at have a lake or water feature, thus kayaking, fishing, canoeing, swimming, hiking trails, etc. Pretty much every camp site will have a table, fire ring and lantern pole. We've mostly stayed in the north central Texas parks since we can easily do weekend trips there. East Texas has lots of pine trees and there are some really pretty parks. West Texas has the canyons and mountains. Texas is huge so there is great diversity in the parks available. The website has pretty good descriptions, photos and maps. Most parks have some full hookup sites available. Cleburne State Park, Meridian State Park, Dinosaur Valley SP, Mineral Wells SP, Lake Whitney SP, Cedar Hill SP are all within 1-1.5 hours from where we live in Cleburne so those are our go to parks. We have also campted at Lake Tawakoni SP, Fairfield SP, Fort Parker SP, Tyler SP, Daingerfield SP, Atlanta SP, Fort Richardson SP, Inks Lake SP, Mother Neff SP over long weekends. Download the app for the Texas State Park. Also, Texas has a lot of Corp of Engineer Parks built on and around lakes. In my opinion most lack in "extras" as far as hiking trails, kayak rentals etc but the parks and sites are nice. Cindy

A few owners have installed window awnings from Little House Customs. Like so... We have the full side awning and use it all the time. For us, it's a regular part of setting up camp to set both awnings like in the photo below (with or without the arms down). That's far enough to keep an unexpected rain out of any open windows while not being extended so far that the wind can catch them. And of course it takes just a few seconds to roll them further out to block the sun.

I've thought about the need for a 30 Amp generator - thinking primarily that I'd be able to charge the Lithiums faster - however, that's not true in our case. Our 3000 watt inverters are configured to charge the Lithiums at 100 Amps, which requires about 11 amps of 120V power, so a single Honda/Yamaha 2200 is plenty of generator to charge the batteries at full speed. In fact, a generator that can deliver 15 amps sustained at 120 volts can deliver ~150 amps (in theory) sustained at 12 volts. Your 1800W toaster will require (1800W / 12V) nearly 150 amps, which a single 2200 can also support. Just don't charge your batteries and run your toaster oven at the same time unless you have 30 Amps - and even then it's gonna be borderline for something like a charger and a toaster oven. Bottom line - I don't see the pressing need for more than a small, 2200 Watt generator at this time - and whether or not it has a 30 Amp plug is not a differentiator when it comes to generators.

A great big NO, do not transport one in any position but dead upright. You could maybe get away with a steep angle (not sideways) when it is completely stationary, but not in motion. Even if you drain the gas - and you should run the carb dry every time - the oil will maybe run out the breaher vent, and the engine mounting system is not designed to support weight in the “wrong” direction. If you don’t drain the gas, it will run out the carb, either into the cylinder head or through the paper air filter and onto the floor. At the very least a mess, at worst a fire hazard and it might maybe possibly screw up the generator. So, just forget this idea. John Davies Spokane WA

Apparently the Scrubba is still a thing. It seemed like a neat idea when it came out but I wasn’t confident that it would make it.

I think Oliver should add something like this to the list of things to bring. Or add it to the starter kit. Rv parks are somewhat notorious for poorly or incorrectly wired electrical posts. These are available everywhere, if you don't own one already. Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowe's, Ace, etc., etc.,

And I guess with today's technology a GPS tracker should be an easy, necessary add on.

We stayed at Monahans Sand Dunes State Park. It’s just off the freeway (I-20). Some of the sites were hard to get into and there is a lot of sand, everywhere! It was good for an overnight. We’ve not stayed at Lake Colorado. The annual pass is a good idea.

The one really main feature is you can use up your battery reserves 50% faster, which is a huge issue if you do not have access to shore power or a sizable generator to recharge. I am a fan of “less is better” when it comes to power hungry accessories..... I would toss our microwave but my spouse forbids it. John Davies Spokane WA

The large awning i did not like they worked great but had a cheep feel to them. The window awnings less bulky strong feel worked great.

Thanks for the confirmation, Landrover, on the vendor. I wasn't sure if correct.. I posted zipdee's installation and setup videos a few posts up. I'll look up a link to dealer sales. https://inlandrv.com/product/zip-dee-rear-window-awning/ http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/rv-awning-products.html Probably six of one, half dozen of the other, but I honestly prefer the look of the Carefree. Probably a personal choice .

Actually, I recently went deep down the rabbit hole of charging the lithiums vs running AC based items (AC, radar range, toaster) by having a long talk with an awesome tech at Xantrex. May be an issue for another chain but... Turns out that the Xantrex charger is set up to prioritize feeding AC product first and does so by shutting off lithium charging till your AC done with. This is supposedly true whether you are plugged into shore power or running a generator. The tech also pointed out that the factory settings on the Xantrex is set up with shore power in mind so she hand held me through the none too intimidating process of making a couple of tweaks. One was adjusting the charging rate. Factory setting is to draw power at 24amps for charging which is too much for my 2200 Honda generator. Temporarily turned that down to 18amps which, so far, has worked perfectly. Had previously overloaded my generator a number of times while charging with no other AC based draw. Second tweak was adjusting the battery overload auto shut off which was set for something like 12.6 volts. She said that too high of a cut off so we adjusted down to 10.5v. I had been having occassional auto shut offs with an alarm an low voltage warning when using my microwave and the lithiums being at 75% charge. Since making this change, I've had no problem running the microwave at it's highest power draw and have tested with batteries down to 50%. Will test at some point with a lower battery charge level as the lithiums are good to drain effectively down to nearly flat.

shade cloth interested me....a 12x20 piece is 100bucks...would cover the whole side of the trailer and me light. see link:Shade Cloth, 70% Black (greenhousemegastore.com) only need 3 hard points on top and poles/anchors at the bottom...????

I agree. Zipdee, who (I think) makes the airstream window awnings, uses a similar method. Rivets. I'm thinking there might be access in the cupboards over the windows for proper backing and fasteners, in the Oliver. http://www.awningsbyzipdee.com/instructional-videos.html As far as partial deployment, I didn't find anything in the Carefree owners manual. You could pm KarenLuekens. They'd certainly know.

Thanks, that was informative. I personally do NOT believe that blind pop rivets going into only fiberglass is a good design, in any way! With aluminum plates behind, they are fine. I would replace the rivets with self tapping screws and a full layer of 3M VHB tape. Even then I would worry about somebody walking into the deployed arm and ripping it off the hull. Crunch! “Oh, sorry!” But I guess I should ask, is there a backing plate for each of the Oliver factory installed awning lower support brackets? John Davies Spokane WA

http://thehandycamper.com/window-awnings-2/

Sheri, With a state park pass you also get 1/2 off your second night camping and don’t have to pay the daily entrance fee per person so that will help a little. Limit one 1/2 price night per reservation. Cindy

Sorry to everyone for referring back to the Airstream again. They have it as an option pkg. you can have a separate awning for each window. They withstand high winds easy to open just pull down the strap and attach it to the hooked bracket. It provided much cooling with all the windows. I preferred these awnings over the large 16’ awning I never had to worry about these window awnings when I was away from camp, If Oliver offered individual awnings for the windows I’d prefer that over the full-size awning.

That is an interesting idea, I personally have no love for the awning and rarely deploy it due to wind concerns. I have thought of replacing it with a 270 degree Foxwing canopy, on the right side only, to allow some shade for the back of the trailer. The radius is just over 8 feet. John Davies Spokane WA

To be clear - we are turning our undies inside out before declaring them dirty, no????😲 We have been fortunate to find good Laundromats in our travels. There Is a really good one in Vernal UT. As mentioned - some RV places have decent facilities - and don't mind non-customers using the wash area. If I can find a place to swim - get wet - showers become less needed , have been some really cold baths however!!! And those inviting hot springs - took me two days to get the Sulphur smell gone. RB

For any of you looking for a new roadside plan, GoodSam's roadside is half off for new members only, through Jan 22. I got an email alert this morning. https://www.goodsamroadside.com/rv/ra/enroll/index.cfm?pkgcode=35C7&phone=1-800-626-7572&utm_source=cwrv&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CWRV_RA_SpectacularSavings_01172021&utm_content=https%3a%2f%2fwww.goodsamroadside.com%2frv%2fra%2fenroll%2findex.cfm%3fpkgcode%3d35C7%26phone%3d1-800-626-7572&scpc=ra11721-email-cwrv-nat

When traveling I forgo my usual all cotton underwear, sweatshirts and khakis (mostly) and bring full synthetic fast drying travel clothes. They are easy to hand wash individually in the sink as long as there is an endless water supply and sewer dump. Or just the undies if the water is limited. Then this.... https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2758-how-to-wire-cable-clothes-line-full-cabin-length/ The towels are all cotton and go there to dry, obviously that takes a while. And none of this is very photogenic, so a pay laundry is in order every ten days or so. I do tend to not shower as often, I can live with a wet wash rag wipe down, and I hope that anybody I meet will be accepting... that is one reason I tend to social distance outside. 🙄 John Davies Spikane WA

NCeagle, We have used Meguiar's #67 one step compound achieving good results for water spots and light scratches: https://www.meguiars.com/marine/products/meguiars-marinerv-one-step-compound-m6732-32-oz-liquid After using #67 then we applied Meguiar's Flagship premium marine wax/cleaner with good results: https://www.meguiarsdirect.com/meguiars-flagship-premium-cleaner-wax-32oz.html

I had the small portable washer machine in our airstream. We got more use out of it moving it in and out of the shower stall than we actually washed cloths. Forget it for boondocking uses to much water you have to use little or no soap or it takes to much water for rinsing it also only spin dries they still come out wet. Hanging wet cloths takes a while to dry. Don’t get me wrong it works. So does a wash board in a creek.

That's really interesting, and I'd never seen the scrubba before. Like a drybag, with scrubby teeth inside. Not surprising, it's from down under. Collapsible, space saving. I like it !

@jim_oker, traveling, I love the all in one places. There's a laundromat in downtown Jasper, AB. Coin clean. Pizza upstairs. (And, it's really good!) Downstairs, laundry, Snowdome coffee bar, and showers. It's truly the all in one location. We've been there several times.

Now it's making sense. . . . . so, the Yamaha already has the 30amp plug, so is there even a companion Yamaha, or do you simply connect two of the same model? Is the "Companion model" just a Honda thing?

If I understand correctly, at least on the Honda e2200 there's only a 30 amp plug on the "companion" model, which you would want if you were looking to run two together to get 30 amps/3600 Watts of output. In which case said plug is a necessity.

This does not come close to answering your question, but it seems like it may be relevant to some readers who may not know this... When on the road in my van in places like southern UT, I've found that in addition to laundromats (which are few and far between down there!) that many RV campgrounds/parks as well as places that rent cabins will let you use their coin-op laundry machines (also handy for a standard size van camper is that they often will also sell showers, though I have worked out how to do portable dirtbag boondock showers so that's less of a draw than it was on my first UT trip...).

This guy has devised an ingenious method, utilizing two five gallon buckets, one with holes, and a plunger. Pretty effective. Depending on cost if buckets (most of us have a bunch of them laying around), probably less than $10. I like the spin method. 🙂 Probably could add a mop bucket wringer. ??? This method could actually work well for us, off grid. That, plus solar clothes dryer-- a length of clothesline on a sunny day, plus clothes pins.

SeaDawg - Perhaps you have already taken a look at this ONE. Bill

Lake of the Pines is nice as is Wright Patman Lake and the COE campgrounds there. We recently stayed at Clear Spring COE. Not expensive lots of tall pine trees and not too far from Texarkana.

We make it a habit to stop at Buc-ee’s near Luling on I-10 on our way to/from Houston. We frequently pick up a pound of brisket to munch on while we drive. They are going to build one here in Boerne on I-10 next year.

We haven't camped in Texas in about 15 years, so I have nothing current to add. (Yes, Pete, I know we're long overdue, and we owe you that stretch of road...) However, friends who used to camp in Texas told me about the great small town municipal campgrounds where they camped, for tiny fees. Like many Midwest states and the Dakota, lots of small towns build campgrounds to bring people in, and support local businesses. Here's one that I remembered reading about, in the Panhandle. (The name makes it obvious why I remember it, and why the song Luckenbach, TX will be playing in my head for days, now.) Waylon Jennings campground, Littlefield, TX. My surprise today--first photo was an Ollie:

This is reply is not state park related, but if you are not familiar with Texas you should know that we have a chain of gas stations here called Bucees. IMO they set the benchmark for all other gas stations that I have visited. You might keep their locations in mind when planning your routes in Texas. They have started expanding outside of Texas too. Mike

I could suggest Johnson Creek on Lake of the Pones in NE Texas. Lots of green and trees. The corp of engineers manages several very nice camp grounds around the lake. Most sites have water front access and are full generally around the big holidays. They all have boat ramps and beach areas. I live on the lake just across the bay from the Johnson Creek campsite. Very beautiful, clean, safe, and low cost. There are a number of smaller towns near and Longview is about 30 miles away (pop about 80,000). you should be able to find out much more online. The lake is about 20 miles long and has a great number of campground sites all managed by the Corp of engineers. Jefferson is a small town about 12 miles away, it is a real tourist area for weekenders with historic hotels, bed and breakfasts, and saloons. Steve Rangeloff. Lake of the Pines, Texas.

2,200 watt generators only output 18.3 amps at peak and 15 amps constant. Andrew

FYI boondocking (and hunting, backpacking and other outdoor activities) is always a whole lot easier when you are located near Federal lands - BLM, Forest Service, BOR, COE, etc etc.. and to a much lesser degree, State lands. Unfortunately that does not include Texas; when it became a state in 1845 the government began selling off almost all of the 200,000,000 acres of public lands to pay for expenses, like a new Capital building. So most of those blank areas on the map, with the exception of designated parks, are privately owned. https://www.adventure-journal.com/2016/04/texas-as-model-for-public-lands-think-again/ For true boondocking meccas, you need to shift further west and north. I am not putting Texas down as a destination, but you will have fairly limited camping choices compared to the very red states. BTW, do you have a Federal Senior (aka Geezer) Pass? I will not ask your age, but if you are 62+, that will save you a TON of money, with free admission to National Parks, and half off camping rates at almost all Federal campgrounds, like the most excellent COE ones. Around here those are typically $18 per night, no hookups, and the rate drops to $9 off season, and you only pay half of that. A great bargain! https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm John Davies Spokane WA

Does anyone know the brand of black rubber matting Oliver currently uses in the storage compartments? We like it better than the "spongey" black non-skid toolbox mat we've purchased for use in drawers. The mat Oliver uses is ribbed and more rigid than what we've found. Thanks

Yes, basically the cushions do fit the platform exactly and they are using 4 inch foam. Bill

SherMica, On your pick-up day, ask whoever gives you your walk thru if you can use their parking lot after your orientation to Maneuver, Backup, Make Turns, just to get a feel on how your entire package handles, especially stopping. Maybe ask them for a "Backing up lesson...with you as driver", just make sure your copilot is okay with a stranger in the cab with you... If you have never towed anything before, just take your time when you drive (i.e. no DRIVING FASTER than you can react) have your eyes sweep Straight ahead, Left & Right. And if no Topper on the TV, then you can have that view also. As I remember, the roads from Hohenwald to DCSP are not High Speed Interstate Rated. They are somewhat windy and meandering, so you can drive 35-55 or slower. Make sure you stay on your side of the yellow lines, and at the same time make sure you do not slip off the passenger side of the road. [When we are born, we cannot walk and chew gum at the same time, it is a learned process; I gave up gum years ago and my walking/driving has not suffered from it…] THE BEST THING I LIKE ABOUT TOWING AN OLIVER IS IT IS NOT WIDER THAN MY TOW VEHICLE, so I can see if the ZOMBIES are trying to get in that side access door I forgot to check/lock before I took off. I believe your "Ram 1500 Rebel 4x4" is about 82" wide, not sure if that includes the mirrors or not. I believe the LE I is 78" in width, so you should be able to see both sides of #731 (to be named later...) with a quick glance in each mirror. When making Right-Left turns, drive slow and do not cut them too tight. Practice your turning in the OTT Parking lot to get a feel for space/distance whilst looking in your mirrors. In addition, remember, you only get points for CURBIES when skateboarding… Concerning theft of your Vehicle or #731... Sometimes bad stuff happens to nice people thru no fault of their own. It is just stuff, as mentioned by others, and that is what insurance is for. Be SMART, Be AWARE, Be MINDFUL, but do not Be AFRAID. If you are going to live in fear of theft, then maybe, we should have had the "is this really for me" discussion months ago. Finally, “Stuff”, we went thru checklists of others, and made our own, bought some “stuff” before, and some additional “Stuff” after we picked up. I did order some “Stuff” we ended up not needing/using, but we did okay (Wifey was in charge of the “Stuff” list). Purchases of “Stuff” were minimal on the 3-week camping trip home, I believe we looked at “Stuff” at a Camping World, but no purchases. Christmas was a completely different story, Santa has a Workman’s Comp Claim against us for all the “STUFF” he brought us, but hey, we were home. And Wifey does not know it yet, but she is going to get a bunch more “STUFF” for Valentine’s Day… The best gift of all was a replacement set of those “Black Hard Rubber Chocks” I drove over and away from at a camp in AL. At the time, I thought our camping neighbors were being rude by laughing at us as we were driving away. Which reminds me, there is a “Towing Checklist” for when you are preparing to get underway, it does not hurt to review that each time. It is cheaper than replacing damaged or left behind “Stuff”. Enjoy the Adventure, Bryan (and Maggie),

Being somewhat mechanical, I focus on caring the right tools for most repairs that I might need on the road. All this being said, I don't carry much in the way of repair, or replacement parts, just things like tapes, fuses, etc. I feel if something goes wrong I can go and purchase what I need for the repair, in most cases you are not going to have onboard what you would need if something breaks, or goes bad. Replacement wheel bearings are probably one thing that you should carry, even if you can't replace them yourself and a repair shop with parts in hand makes the job go much faster. There are very few things on a trailer that can't wait to be repaired at a later time, but anything to do with the wheels, etc. probably can't wait. This is just how I do, others carry much more and look at it in a different way. trainman

We use standard twin sheets. The bottom fitted sheet is a little too big and we use those elastic straps that connect to the sheets under the mattress which provides a nice tight fit. For the top sheet, it's no big deal - just a little more to tuck in. We have standard twin blankets that also tuck in nicely. For the top quilt, Carol did cut off some material and hemmed the edge. We also have a queen bed at home and find the narrow twin beds fine while on the road and camping. We got the 6" optional mattress and have a 2" foam topper on that. We've had some of our best sleep on our Oliver twins. Mike