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I’ve secured something to our rooftop of our Toyota Sequoia. It is an essential for us. What do you see in my rooftop Rorschach Test? it isn’t a body, believe it or not… it is a Clam Quickset Pavilion shelter. We’ll be at Mt. Pisgah campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway from 7/1-7/10.

I recently installed a Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5G cellular router on our Oliver. It was part of the ‘Speed Demon 5G Mobile Internet Bundle’ that we purchased from Mobile Must Have. We’re just completing our first trip with it from Washington State to Minnesota and back. So far, we’re very happy with its performance. This is a fairly expensive setup and definitely not for everyone (or the faint of heart with required hole drilling in the Oliver roof!) However for us, with my wife’s need for a high speed and consistent connection to the internet for her work, it makes the difference between being able to travel or staying at home. On this trip we spent 2 nights in a campground in North Dakota where my regular cellphone kept alternating between 1 bar and no service. Using the Pepwave, my wife was able to work and have conference calls on both Zoom and Teams without any problem. The Wi-Fi also works while driving. Until my recent retirement, I was captain on a ship that had both Cradlepoint and Pepwave equipment onboard. Both companies make very good, professional grade equipment. There were two reasons I went with the Pepwave over the Cradlepoint option that Oliver offers: 1) Cradlepoint no longer seems interested in supporting individual users. Their focus seems to be almost exclusively geared toward enterprise solutions. 2) I wanted a router that was capable of utilizing 5G as it’s now being rolled out around the country. The Cradlepoint option offered by Oliver does not have 5G capabilities. The MAX BR1 Pro 5G accepts two SIM cards so we have a Verizon as our main data plan and a T-Mobile card as a backup. The sloped area behind the air conditioner seemed like the only place I could go through the roof with the antenna wires and mount and have a clean installation in the upper back cabinet. Because the antenna works best if it is above any metal obstructions, I fabricated the mount so it was just proud of the air conditioner and adding as little additional overall height as possible.

Shades of Chevy Chase? 1980s vacation?

Looks suspicious to me! We'll be at Mt. Pisgah later in July. We really enjoyed it last year. Had to walk across the road to the chairs behind the Mt. Pisgah Inn to check our email... Did some great hikes and also rented a canoe from Lazy Otter Outfitters in Mills River.

I find these strangely satisfying. They work great on flies and mosquitos, but maybe not gnats. https://a.co/9jomJiJ

John, our biggest one we get dinged for is Braking and Speeding second. Our Speeding since we started using the Cruse Control on the freeway/interstate as been under control, but braking just under normal driving is still a little touchy. All being said, our scores are around 90-95%, so SF thinks that's very good and I'm not going to work at being better, that's it. trainman

I will add that a 5 to 10% hit on your fuel economy might have been acceptable with cheap fuel, but with today’s prices, it isn’t OK at all. Pardon my language, but keep the cr@p off the roof 😬 With this exception, I saw one of these last month and it is super cool! https://zoomroom.space/ John Davies Spokane WA

Agreed, why not simply call the Service Center or email them. Jason or Mike will surely give you an accurate quote. It won’t be cheap, but it will surely be done right. I have had nothing less than excellent support from Oliver Service.

I have no idea on price but the final result will be very welcome and it will increase the resale value and also make it a lot easier to find a buyer. Once you start using “free power” that keeps your batteries constantly charged while towing, and sometimes when camping, (depending on shade) you will wonder why you waited so long. If you have lead acid batteries older than three years you should plan on replacing them or upgrading to lithium. But the latter requires special chargers, though your hull may have a “lithium capable” converter board already installed. My Hull 218 did not. Jason should be able to tell you about your board. Take a look here: … https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4812-how-to-progressive-dynamics-pd4045-lithium-upgrade/ If you can’t do the work yourself I do suggest a factory installation, there are a lot of shade tree RV “mechanics” who would do a very poor job. Why don’t you just open a Service ticket and ask for a quote? If you don’t already have a portable panel, buy a 100 watt or larger one and try it for a while to see how you like solar, adding a side electrical port is cheap and very easy. John Davies Spokane WA

We went with the State Farm Drive and Save program, now I know that many don't want that "Big Brother" thing looking over you, but if you don't think they already have that info on you, your kidding yourself. All new vehicles are recording your driving, if you don't think so, just ask Tiger Woods. As far a State Farm goes, it's saving me 20% on my premiums every 6 months, but this doesn't include the travel trailer as that program is just for autos. The app is on your phone and it will post every drive that you do and give you your results of each trip, we have been able to keep our rating between 90-95% and it does reset every two/three weeks. We find the hardest thing to do is stay within the speed limits on freeways and interstates as you know the traffic moves faster then the speed limits. I will say I have to set the cruse control at times as you will find yourself speeding rather easily. The SF agent says SF will not cancel you because of the driving recorded and you can stop the program at any time. I realize it may not be something you might want for many reasons, but for us it works. trainman

We purchased a new trailer this spring and wanted the newer panels, solar controller, and different charger/inverter. I tried to get Oliver to just mount the brackets but they were still unsure (at the time) how the upgraded panels would mount. I want to say the price was around $2k for them to pull the wires and mount the panels (you provide). The newer panels and victron controller is around $600ish. Still haven’t upgraded our trailer, too busy this year.

I am not sure if this is the best thing to seal it with, but like I mentioned earlier, I removed part of it, then cleaned it really well and used Gorilla Heavy Duty Construction Adhesive. It has held up just fine for over a year and a half now.

Wow! That’s a very nice installation and your antenna mount is exceptional. I do love your creativity. Does the PEPWAVE antenna require a ground plane or is it built in? Thanks for posting your successful modification. Mossey

I bought some of these for my wife for Christmas. After a small amount of derision from her (she's the plant person and I'm the hole digger, mulch totter and all around grunt in this regard) she agreed to give them a try - they worked and worked well! Score one for the husband!🥰 Bill

We have taken them on 3 trips so far, including one with about 10 miles of forest service road. Lids didn't pop off, containers stayed put, and I haven't noticed any drips. The only issue we do have is that my soap of choice (castille) can get a little cloggy if it sits for a while. You just scrape off the "scab" and make sure to "cup" the outlet in case any remaining crust causes the soap to spurt out to the side. Worth the convenience factor in my book. https://a.co/7DbYhtl mb

Or, if you have a Harbor Freight close you might try one of THESE and save yourself a few bucks. Whatever you do - DO NOT test these things with your hand, foot or even someone else's body part. Don't ask me how I know this.🤪 Bill

Ouch indeed. Roof racks are useful, but they make noise (sometimes very horrible noise), destroy your truck’s carefully engineered aerodynamics, wreck your fuel economy, and are difficult to access for older folks and those with a disability. I used to climb up onto my rear tire or the door sills effortlessly, but at 68 I have some neuropathy and that is no longer the case. I took a tumble because my aggressive Vibram sole had an intimate attachment to my aggressive All Terrain tire, and I was literally flipped onto my back onto asphalt as I tried to step down. It was astonishing and eye opening. Now I only use a small STABLE three step ladder to access the roof, life is too short to not take better care of your bones. If you can find an alternative solution, do so. Small tow vehicles may require roof storage, but most full sized trucks should not. If you really have to carry a ton of toys buy a different vehicle like a van or buy a tall canopy for your pickup. If you want to carry watercraft, consider switching to foldable ones. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree with your way, I will pass it on to those wanting to know, thanks, trainman

I personally never cared for roof racks other then just for looks and not actual use. Being a retired Body Shop Mgr. we repaired several roofs where customers miss used there roof racks, of course many didn't use them correctly. trainman

The plastic comes off so you can install longitudinal rails. For example,, https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Rhino-Rack/JB0733.html Edit: Kirk beat me to it, here are the installation instructions. https://assets.rhinorack.com/Instructions/Parts/FittingApplications/RF2B2.pdf I tried the Yakima type that grab the door frame up top, on a 2006 Ram 3500. Garbage! Kirk, how in the world do you get your bike up onto that 1-Up tray??? John Davies Spokane WA

No way, that's a body.

Wasn't it hard to focus on email, with that view? So amazing, especially before noon, from the pisgah inn.

Hull 505 - 2019 never had the seal.

This wasn't mentioned in the walkthrough but make sure you use UNLEADED FUEL ONLY when you gas up your Ollie! 🤔😁

A while back, I had an idea for a hack to my Andersen Hitch to simplify hookup. The modification involves putting a chain binder in the two chains which adds slack in the chain when doing the hookup. If you're interested in it's operation, I attached a brief video explaining.

Sure am glad about that - given the "camo green" color of the pool noodle I'm sure you could miss it.😁

Wow! That's some serious sticky pad coverage. At first I thought that you were trying to compete with Foy & Mirna for some kind of acoustic panels for enhanced decor of the ceiling.😆 Ever have one of those pads come loose during the night?

I hate bugs and they love me. I have only met a few people in my life (my dad being one of them) where bugs will pick on them instead of me. One of the first things I did was replace all the screens with no see um screens, but inevitably bugs still get in through the open door, etc. I chased them around with a fly swatter, had zapper lights (that attract lots more bugs!) and various other methods all mentioned - as well as some that could probably have made America's Funniest Videos. One thing I noticed (after wiping up hundreds of splats) is that they tend to fly straight up to the bright white ceiling, so I put some sticky pads up on the ceiling and viola - I don't get attacked by bugs in the cabin anymore and I don't have to chase them around. I just replaced mine prior to our last trip, so these are still pretty "clean":

I only have a few months and about 1500 miles with a hanging shower head, so for me it’s just an excuse to use another noodle. Mossey

"Eggcelsior" is home and soaking in a CT rainstorm after a week-long odyssey in 90+ degree heat following our delivery last Monday. We arrived on time for our delivery Monday morning (Steph was worried we'd hit "rush hour traffic" in Hohenwald, LOL) and were met by Ryan, who did our walkthrough. The walkthrough went fairly quickly, both because we were experienced RVers and because we had studied so much about Olivers on this forum and Oliver University. The only issue we spotted in the walkthrough was a blemish in the gelcoat on one countertop - which they addressed immediately. We then moved to the Oliver campground for the night. The plan was to run with shore power and water connected until the evening, then switch to boondocking mode for the overnight to test all the systems. While in the Oliver campground we met the new owners of Hull 1149 - who were camped overnight, too - and the owners of Hull 77 (Kathy and ? - forgive me, there was a lot going on...) who were there for service. We found a few more issues with Eggcelsior while we camped. We had a bad 30A shore power cable (it wouldn't twist into the locked position) which Oliver replaced. We also had a jumper set wrong inside the Xantrex unit that caused a 5 minute delay in delivering power to the camper after connecting to shore power. That was fixed onsite. Finally, the toilet was rocking on the flange. That which was fixed onsite, too. The next day we moved to David Crockett State Park. The site we chose (Campground 1, Site 1) would have been impossible for a larger rig, but the Ollie and our big dually were able to squeeze in. That night we noticed our air conditioner short-cycling so we filed a repair ticket and returned to Oliver service the next day. Jason was unable to replicate the condition after a morning spent in Service, but I think we found the issue later. The details are here: The next stop was a KOA in northeastern TN. (We booked commercial campgrounds for the entire trip home just in case there were any systems issues that would interfere with dry-camping.) The trailer pulled very well behind our 3500 gas dually, as expected. Steph did some towing driving for the first time in many years (she wasn't comfortable towing the fifth wheels), which was nice. Towing mileage ranged roughly from 9-12 MPG, typically around 9.5 at 70+ MPH and 10+ at around 65 MPH. The next day took us to MD. We have the Lithium Platinum package and ran the fridge on DC while travelling. On a full-sun day we saw the batteries drop to 99% after 7 hours of travel. On a partly cloudy day they were at 97% after 7 hours. On a 4-hour cloudy run we saw a drop to 95%. The third travel day brought us back to CT, where we experienced the worst traffic (and drivers) of the whole trip. (This is our usual experience when we come home.) A quick run to DMV the next morning to get registered, then the truck and trailer got a bath and we loaded up the rest of our stuff for our next trip. All in all, the staff at OTT were excellent and it was a successful venture. A few other observations: Tanks: The trailer is happiest slightly nose high with a slight tilt up on the curb side. After one day with no sewer in the state park, including 2 showers, the black read 19% and the gray 25%. Smart TV: This is really nice. We ran it off my 4G tablet's hotspot and it worked pretty well. There was a some buffering, but the signal strength wasn't great, either. Brakes: Braking was good, but one brake seems a little more aggressive than the other three. Something to watch.

We don’t use that space at all for storage - things pop out the minute you hit the road. Here’s our solution. Shampoo/soap, conditioner, lotion and sunscreen. All at the ready

When we purchased our Oliver Elite II last September we ordered it with the Lagun Table. We liked the table but didn't like taking it down when going to bed and putting it back up in the morning. So I made what is a drawer top for the large drawer under the TV. Not as large as the Lagun but gives us a place to set things while watching the TV, etc. The top is a cutting board I purchased at Sam's. The wood is poplar.

I never had one of those seals either. Mike

I bet combining the above would be fun and work best: String a set of LED lights in a tree by your neighbor's trailer. Hang the lights in a circle around a bug zapper, plugged into your neighbor's outdoor outlet. While wearing full dark cammo, it would be fun to watch in the dark under the cover of the Oliver Shade, armed with a "Lawn and Garden" Bug-A-Salt adapted with night vision sights. So that my wife can have some fun, we would need an Elucto Electric Bug Zapper hot wired to two 9V (in parallel of course) for any bugs that were blind and unlucky to wander into our Bug Controlled Airspace. Once our batteries run out, we would retreat into Ollie, open wide the window that we had converted the screen to "Mosquito No-see-um Netting" and turn on the Ollie Flying Pest Capture System (AKA, the MaxFan). After a few minutes, we give the flying bug collection trapped on the MaxFan screen a few spritz of 90% rubbing alcohol to dispatch them directly to Bug Valhalla. LOL!!!

OMG Bugasalt looks like sooo much fun! But I can imagine sitting outside the Ollie with the one that kinda looks like an assault gun-might draw some attention. I still want one