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Less stress. Sounds good.

Sunset tonight at Catalina State Park!

What a surprise to find four other Ollies at our favorite AZ State Park the day after we arrived. Great to meet new Ollie owners and reconnect with some we met last year, before we had our Ollie. Ollie owners are really nice people.

We just left this park yesterday after 4 days. Great park! We had wild weather with temps in the mid 80s when we arrived, severe wind and thunderstorms, then evening temps drop in the low to mid 30s with windy conditions. Mis 40s when we left yesterday. I would definitely stay here again at $12 per night with the geezer pass it can't be beat. Beautiful park and very well kept. Really becoming big fans of COE parks.

Agree with Bill and Mike regarding Fall Hollow.

Agree with Bill. Oliver had us stay at Fall Hollow the night of our pick up. It needed work (that was 6 years ago). The owners are nice and we stayed in their B&B twice and enjoyed the hearty breakfast that was cooked for us. It’s convenient to the Oliver facility but I would check it out to see where they are now.

A little further and east, you could head to the Smoky Mountains. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are vey busy in the off season I cannot imagine what it is like in the summer. We stayed at a private campground in Early December, Pine Mountain, right in the heart of Pigeon Forge. Very well kept and clean and close to all of the attractions. It is not out in the country. Just 2 blocks off the main road. It is tight with full hookups. I would stay there again as it was reasonably priced for the area and offered the ability to use the pool at the hotel that was near by. It was a good value. Recommended going for a back in site. More room and privacy. Worth the small up charge. Enjoy your new Ollie.

Very true. It must have been someone new at the company that just spelled Ollie wrong.

So it seems that as long as you have Olly or Ollie in you name you get less stress. Certainly that is true for the latter! Bill

Since you mentioned it in the original post above, I would tend to stay away from Fall Hollow Campground unless you can determine that improvements have been made over the past year or so. The last time I stopped there the couple that now owns it were working on it, but, there was a bunch that needed to be done to include cleaning up some of the campers that were there. Bill

Thanks to the original poster for the question!

We never buy extended warranties on anything. They are "hard sold" precisely because they are high-profit items for the seller, and therefore low-return for the buyer. And, the hassle of actually obtaining a replacement under an extended warranty at least doubles the time required to replace the covered item. If the extended warranty were offered and administered by Oliver, it would be a bit more attractive, because of Oliver's outstanding Customer Service department. But, the extended warranty is sold by American Guardian Warranty Services. We are not interested.

Yikes I can't get your videos to load but the photo looks pretty scary. Glad you noticed quickly and got it shut off. Did just turning off the unit close the valve or did you have to turn off the gas? It would have been reassuring if the unit had detected the problem and shut itself down on it's own. Maybe with a little more time it would have? It does look like the flame was contained within the box so that's something I suppose. I may have to remount my little Atom smoke detector back in that compartment. To answer your question, I don't think anyone here has posted about mechanical failures on the Truma - could be wrong, just don't remember. But nothing like this for sure. They had a software issue a few years back on some units that required swapping out the control board. And mine I managed to break on our first outing, but that was almost certainly an installation issue and Oliver dealt with it. And there was another plumbing error that made me think the Truma wasn't working right (again not really a Truma issue) but once I fixed that, I've had nothing bad to say about it. That's a pretty serious failure, and I definitely want to hear Truma's response. I'd let Oliver know also - not that I think it's any of their fault, but I think they'd want to know and maybe they can help you with Truma. On the videos, I don't know if others can see them, but the most reliable way to post them I've found is to upload them to YouTube and then just paste the YouTube link into the post.

It depends. We don't usually buy extended warranties. I did buy one on my Samsung fridge, and wish I'd bought a longer one. Love the fridge, hate the problematic ice machine. Love the lifetime warranty we bought on the 2008 ram, because we've kept it so long, and we are way ahead. With the Oliver, even if it had been offered way back then, we'd likely have declined. If something breaks, we'll likely fix it, or replace it with newer tech. Much has to do with your skills, risk adverse thermometer, and pocketbook. But we had so few real issues over the years, I know the insurance company would have made money on us.

Our pickup date is July 22. We were going to stay at least one night right at the factory in new sites they recently put in. Hope to go through most of the stuff there but also plan to spend a few days exploring that part of Tennessee. Good info on some of the options to look into in that 1-2 hour drive.

Thanks for all the new campgrounds to check out and the reviews, good and bad! This is so much fun...can't wait to pull the new Ollie into one of these sites. Martin & Shari

I never have purchased an extended warranty and have never had to pay more money on total repairs then the cost of an extended warranty policy, In fact I spend very little money on repairs on todays vehicles, their quality is so much better today. I do trade every 5-6 years and my millage is between 60,000-70,000 miles when I trade. If you think you need a extended warranty, buy the manufactures policy, not some Joe Blow company as you may find all repair shops will not work on your vehicle under that off brand policy. trainman

We stayed at Fall Hollow in May 2017 because it was quite late in the afternoon and Oliver paid for it. Yuck. The septic hookup was in the same muddy hole in the ground as the water spigot. I can’t imagine any building code allowing that. The rest of the campground just appeared run down, OTH state park and Corps campgrounds in TN are beautiful and well maintained. Henry Horton and Anderson Road COE on Percy Priest Lake (east of Nashville) are good ones. The latter is close to city attractions and has boat noise during daylight hours. John Davies Spokane WA

Hi Carol! What a ray of sunshine she is.

Lance, it was great meeting and getting to know you. Ollie owners are the best! Mike

I just double checked the slope, using the Subaru's in dash gauge (accuracy is approximate). The slope ranges from 6-11 degrees (11 deg further down the hill). It is about 8deg at the tongue of the trailer in the picture above, 6deg at the trailer tires. Yes, 4 low is definitely helpful. 🙂 It was extra fun on our return Sunday evening, with a thin layer of freezing rain on portions of the drive (fortunately not on most of the main slope). 😅

I didn't even know such a thing was available....but I wouldn't have purchased if I had. The only extended warranties I get are AppleCare (I take advantage of that one a LOT) and anything that is added automatically via purchase with a specific credit card. Otherwise, we "self insure". mb

There is a good benefit to your parking situation. If you can park /back your Ollie in that spot you’ll be and expert in parking and backing in no time flat. 😉 Safe travels.

Yeah - fully agree with points above. A key point is that if you can "self insure" - ie if you can afford to replace some items if they prematurely fail, then you will in the long run almost certainly do better than if you'd gotten all the extended warranties. The folks selling those have a much better sense of mean time between failures and have actuaries doing the math to determine a profitable price for the extended warranties - their profit equals the warranty purchaser's loss (again, on average).

I agree that there are a bunch of nice state parks in the Tennessee system. We’ve stayed at those mentioned and recently a couple that are a little further from Hohenwald, Fall Creek Falls State Park and Panther Creek State Park. Both nice. Also near Nashville and closer to Hohenwald are Cedar Creek COE and Seven Points COE, both also very nice. Water and electric. Good luck! Mike

Tennessee has a wonderful state park system. There are probably 3 within an hour of Hohenwald, and three more within 2 hours drive, a couple more in 3 hours. We've visited most of them, and others that aren't state campgrounds. Around Nashville, there are a few campgrounds on Percy Priest lake. Not state parks. Maybe state recreation areas. Your plan to hang around, trst everything, enjoy Tennessee, and return to the mother ship if necessary is exactly what I recommend. Enjoy a week or two, if you can. Tennessee is a beautiful camping state.

If you really wish to test those boondocking systems then the Meriwether Lewis campground over on the Natchez Trace Parkway might be of interest. It is only a few short miles from the factory and you can get water there - but - there are no electric or sewer sites. Bill

We have stayed at Henry Horton State Park (Lewisburg, TN) and Montgomery Bell State Park (Dickson, TN), both within an hour or so to Hohenwald, TN. Both pretty good, check out the TN State Park website.

Congratulations, Enjoy your Oliver and Safe Happy Trails.

Sure do hope you never "forget" to chock those tires before unhitching! Really nice view though. Bill

John - Really, the best way to get up to date "factual" information of this sort would be to contact an Oliver Sales agent and ask. They do not pressure you or bug you. They really are there to help you. Good luck! Bill

I ditto what is said above. And, would add a proviso that you consider what your own financial situation can handle. Once the original components are out of warranty can you afford to quickly replace an air conditioner or fridge? These extended warranties are basically insurance policies. If you can afford to self-insure it is highly likely that you will gain in the long run. Bill

OPINION ONLY. I personally am not generally a big fan of extended warranties. I am more a fan on new electronics that are not as proven. I don't purchase them on new vehicles and personal feeling is the fine print in the warranty seems to never provide coverage for what is needed. Again personal opinion. I didn't purchase the warranty on our Ollie as I felt Oliver's warranty on the trailer was pretty good and it would more likely be the components like fridge, ac, water heater that would fail. I also figured if those components failed it would likely be early on. This proved true in our first 6 months with the fridge. We had a tech solve the problem and no issues since. So far no issues with the he Ollie in 100+ days of use and 7000 miles. I would look carefully at what the extended warranty covers and how long, specifically on appliances etc. Of course, each person needs to make these decisions for themselves. Others may differ in opinion and that is ok. Just sharing our decision and rationale. We also live 1400 miles from the factory. Congratulations on your new Ollie. Enjoy your camping and travel with it. Be prepared for folks to ask questions and want to see your Ollie. Safe, healthy, and happy camping.

Everyone is different. It’s nice that you camp as you did in the 80’s. A lot of us like to explore our National Parks and Monuments. Most of the campgrounds in these areas have no hook ups. We’ve discovered the capabilities of our Oliver allow us to spend time in some very scenic areas without being concerned with power requirements. Like you, we do like FHU commercial campgrounds, occasionally. But, nothing beats being out in a National Park or some even more remote areas, with no other campers nearby, enjoying a quiet sunset with a nice glass of wine. Life is good! Mike

I think it depends on how you like to camp. Our solar package (with 340 watts of solar and 390-Ah batteries) typically produces between 100 and 120 amp-hours per day (Ah/day) in the summer, depending on exposure, shade, etc. Late fall and early winter (with sun at a low angle) we were gaining about 20-30 amp-hours. Maximum summer charge rate is about 15 amps. Of course, hourly and daily charge rates are less if there is shade. In the summer when boondocking we use about 40-50 amp hours for lights, water pump, CPAP, jacks, awning, etc., and more with abundant furnace use. A microwave (which we don't have) uses a lot of electricity; the amount of electricity it consumes depends on how long you use it and the power setting. The A/C uses about 100 amps per hour, so it works fine for rest stops but it can't be run very long with the expectation that it will charge quickly with solar. Here are typical draws (per Oliver User's Manual): When traveling, the refrigerator uses about 15 amps when switched to 12 volts (and it generally runs continuously when it is switched to 12V). Thus, even in full sun with the panels producing 15 amps, the batteries are not charging when the refrigerator is on 12V. This is why some have installed DC to DC chargers for the lithium batteries: it lets you drive down the road with the refrigerator on 12V and provide additional charging capacity for the batteries. Here are some simple scenarios to illustrate the number of days before an external charge from shore power or generator is needed. I calculated the number of days before a charge is needed based on an assumed useful capacity of 312 Ah (80% of 390 Ah, the rated non-platinum lithium battery capacity). Clearly, a 600-Ah battery set will let you boondock longer in the shoulder seasons, under shade, or with greater power demand, but perhaps the 390-Ah battery set is sufficient for your intended use. So, whether you need 390-Ah or 600-Ah batteries depends on how and where you intend to use your trailer. Good luck!

And, you've wasted a lot of propane. I've read about that happening on Forest River forums. I've been watching this since it was introduced, five or six years ago. Like Overland, I thought the exposed length of blue thetmal color changing tubing was ugly, and looked like a shoddy install. You'll find a wealth of comments on forest river forums. Some are happy, many say it doesn't work well with an instantaneous water heater. That, i don't know. As much as I think it's a plausible solution, correctly installed, I'll stick with collecting cold water in a kettle, and use it for dishes . (Heat it on the stove.)

Many states are decriminalizing calcium. I'm worried it will be a gateway mineral and lead our camper to harder stuff. 😁

I'm King Moon from Knoxville, TN. On 11/11/21 I took delivery of the last trailer produced for the 2021 model year - Hull #948 - Legacy Elite II - Twin Bed Floor Plan Delivery was great and the new camping spots right beside the factory are very convenient. The quality and attention to detail in my unit exceeded my high expectations. I ordered the trailer with the standard tops so that I could install the custom wood tops created by Foy Sperring. I ordered pretty much all of the pieces that he produces - in Black Walnut. I also ordered the Mega size for the dinette top (which is the largest of the 3 sizes he produces). I can't say enough good things about Foy, his communication with me, and his amazing wood creations. I would highly recommend working with Foy if you want to add beautiful wood products/tops to your Oliver. I have attached several pictures. I am looking forward to meeting fellow Oliver owners.

Mark and I were thrilled to finally welcome 953 into the family. We spent 2 great days in Hohenwald getting to know Ollie. Super experience at the factory - only very minor issues that were fixed immediately on-site. What a great company!

This is Westport-Union Landing State Beach Campground on the northern Mendocino county coast (CA) shortly before 101 heads inland and uphill to the north tp reach the awesome Avenue of the Giants State Park. This is a primitive but super well situated campground, actually a series of three little campgrounds in a row, set right on the bluff between the highway and the Pacific, with a nice small series of sea stacks right there. But as you can see in the photo of our friends setting up the tent they were using on this trip (we were in our van), it was WINDY as the coast is apt to be. I watched one tent that hadn't been staked out well (or at all) blowing and tumbling down the beach as we were setting up.

This is not a great shot of the campground, but this is from Needles Outpost just outside the edge of the Needles unit of Canyonlands National Park. I was making my itinerary up as I went in late October 2016, and the campground there inside the National Park was full when I got there in mid afternoon, but I was able to score a site just a few miles back here at the Outpost, which is off the grid. Remember to bring your own water though they do truck in tanks for the showers. This private CG is carved out from a very pretty setting up against some red rock cliffs and buttes, and looking out toward the features of Needles. I was happy to be situated very close to the entrance so I could start a looong and potentially hot hike very early the next morning so as to mostly beat the heat. The hiking there is just tremendous - I did the Chesler Park/Joint loop which I can highly recommend. You overlander types might like the road to the back side of this hike from Beef Basin - looks like a pretty remote feeling 4WD venture from what I could see on my edge of it. The twilight picture is from my camp site at the Needles Outpost and the rest from the sweet hike the next day.

Here are some shots from Bridger Bay Campground in Antelope Island SP on the Great Salt Lake near Layton, north of SLC. I've used it as a stopover a few times when doing the long haul from near Seattle down to canyon country in southern UT and northern AZ. By this point in the drive - my second night in - I'm ready for a not absolutely full day of driving and want some exercise and beauty. This fits the bill quite well. The camp sites have stunning views across part of the lake, and there's a little unofficial trail up to a headland/ridge that has amazing views out over the lake, and enough walking to feel like I've gotten some exercise and have worked the kinks out from sitting so long. The first time I was there, in mid-late May, there were SO many bugs hitting my windshield and the rest of the front of the van while I drove out the loooong causeway that connects the island to the mainland. Don't say I didn't warn you ;-). There are pit toilets and not much else - possibly some water spigots but I forget. There are showers down the road at a day use beach area that you can drive up to and use at night. On my second trip there, some of the island's buffalo herd were grazing not far from camp. When I came back down from my evening hike up to that ridge and its views out to amazing thunderheads building on the Nevada side mirrored in a super glassy Great Salt Lake, they had moved in across the trail. I have no interest in being charged by a buffalo so I walked cross country through the sage and other brush in a wide arc around them back down to the campground, watching them warily as they watched me warily. I fortunately passed their test. It was fun to wake up to them chowing down fairly close to my van the next morning. One of these years I'll stay two nights and do some longer hiking on the island, which has many miles of trails.

Boondocking, and remote FS campgrounds usually have wildlife nearby, So, how about some wildlife - these were in the area of our camp, in the camp, or on the entrance access. the Bison were somewhat intimidating - leaving the campsite, we had to wait for the herd to move on - they had no concern for the big white thing next to them. Free range cattle drives too!

Here another of those breakfast spots. On this trip I'd camped the night before in a very nice FFS campground way out near one of the points in the Island of the Sky unit of Canyonlands NP. This is a nice pullout with a killer view in Deadhorse Point State Park. The second shot is what I got up bloody early to go photograph - the clouds and morning colors cooperated nicely on this morning (it doesn't always work out like that - kind of like fishing). Both are lovely parks. On another trip there I camped for two nights in a reserved site in Deadhorse Point SP in a campground that had hookups. In both cases all my breakfasts were out and about.

Here's a shot of a "dry camp" site at one of the established campgrounds in Valley of Fire State Park in NV. It was really sweet, tucked into a very private alcove with the only sign of nearby campers around the corner being the light of their fire glowing on the red rock pillars as you see in the shot of the site. I arrived at the park early enough on a Friday to get one of the more sweet (for me at least) sites, even though the CG was already well more than half full. I'd just been in some more remote parts of UT so the busy-ness of VoF was a little startling at times though I could quickly get away from all that just by heading out on some of the great trails there, and even more so by going cross country (with GPS app and downloaded maps just in case!) across the lovely sandstone there. This site was also a lovely refuge from the LA crowds.

I'd always thought "boondocking" referred to dispersed camping - i.e. using places where it's legal to camp but not in an established campground, and campingin a campground w/o hookups was "dry camping." But I'm happy to go with the local flow here on this forum and thread - the point in this threat being places where you'll be happy you have a camper that lets you break free of hookups! Here are a few views from a sweet dispersed site on BLM land just east of Capitol Reef NP off of the Notom Road. There are SO many spots like this near CR and also the Grand Staircase Escalante NM.

FullSizeRender.mov Our hull 505 in service Aug 2019 has a major Truma burner fail at 29 months. (2 yr wty) The burner box no longer contains flames on startup and we smelled burning plastic before we shut it down. Pix from video shows symptom of flames engulfing wiring and controls. We will try to get a whole new unit for install and send dead one back to Truma for analysis. I’ll be asking Truma for some adjustment to warranty. we are lucky this happens while daylight and I could take action immediately.Any one else had the same promlem? Is it a design flaw? Doesn’t seem like an Aging type of failure.

One thing for sure, the 2023 price is going up. I will say here our 2019 Elite II was purchased for $55,000 with all base options with the exception of the convection oven, it was a steal at todays prices. Options and features just don't change enough on an Elite II to warranty paying more for not much more trailer. trainman