Leaderboard

Recently, we stopped by a local RV dealer to get some supplies. As usual, there was a salesman out front and asked if he could show us something. I said, no, we are just here for supplies then I pointed and said you should sell those. He said tractors? And I said, no, Oliver Travel Trailers. He said, I have never seen one, heard they were really expensive and they only sell direct. I replied, I can confirm two of those! I then commented about the tractor. I have never seen one of these before but heard they were very expensive and hard to find. He agreed. Brian

Without a doubt, the factory campsites are great. While I was there last week everyone (6 out of 7 sites were taken) gathered for conversation and the trading of mods and possibly a beverage or two. Its been a number of years now since Oliver used the Fall Hollow campground. As I was told, someone was stabbed there and the facilities were not exactly the best. While Oliver does require reservations for the company campsites and normally a site is available for only one night at a time, be sure to ask if a site is available and you need to stay for a day or two more. If they have something available there is no problem getting it. Certainly Megan is happy to help. Bill

In total agreement with Bill. We had the trailer and truck done by CGI, in June, and are totally pleased with their work and the fact it only took 2 hours total to clean and dry the Oliver2 AND truck. That feat would have taken me 7 hours easily after waxing the 2. John

For what it is worth to anyone considering a ceramic coat - Matt Duncan and Rodney Lomax happened to pull a new Oliver into a spray wash place in Hohenwald not 10 minutes after I did the same thing. They were returning from a trip out to Colorado and I was just getting back from Wyoming. We had both driven Interstate 80 and 70 and therefore had about the same amount of bugs, dirt and krud on the nose of our respective Olivers. I would not have believed it unless I actually saw it with my own eyes, but, all that "stuff" on the front of the ceramic coated Oliver came right off. By contrast, even though I have a good wax coating on mine, I still have some work to do to get those critters off the nose. Bill

@Hokieman that sounds great and very much like what I would do too. Unless it was a major issue I would keep going. We are mainly picking these sites to measure batteries while boondocking and then charge time when hooked up. We sold our Airstream 30’ Flying Cloud in 10 days and now we are going through camping withdrawals so when we pick it up we plan to camp! Brian

Yes, I am a Hokie, College of Engineering, 1985. Sounds like a great plan! FWIW, after my delivery, I couldn’t find anything worth a trip back to the factory. All minor stuff I fixed later myself with help by phone or email with Oliver Service. My delivery was a pleasant experience.

I've camped there a number of times and enjoyed it each time. Plenty of shade and the restrooms are decent even though they do not have showers. But, they do have water available - it is located right outside the restrooms where a spigot can be found on the side of the drinking fountain. No electric and no dump but quiet and plenty of hiking. The water can be located at - 35.524117, -87.454628 Bill

When you get over near Pigeon Forge there is a gem of a private campground called Buddy Bear in the Smokies. Give it a try, great people. Brian

I don't really remember, as we use the radio so little. And, our early trailer (2008) has a,switch by the door, which us usually set to off. Just a suggestion to check out, as most radios with a clock have that feature , and it can sometimes be set accidentally. Back in my college days, my roommate and I intentionally set the radio alarm to a polka station, to be annoying enough to make sure we got out of bed, on time. 🤣

Try this, you may not be turning it off, just to Standby. Push and HOLD the power button. Once off it should stay off until you press it again. This is the same as my six year old model, it took me five years 😳 to figure out how to kill the night mode display and its associated parasitic draw. John Davies Spokane WA

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have ask to stay two nights at Oliver if possible as we want to go over everything to make sure there are not any problems and that we understand how to operate mainly the solar system as we have had campers for years and fortunately my husband is very knowledgeable on rvs.

I found part of one!

While we are planning to install an ARP Fridge Defender this winter, here is what we did for this summer using stuff we had from other projects. We used 3 little 80mm fans mounted to a piece of scrap aluminum. We mounted everything using some heavy duty hook/loop fasteners. We also used a little normally thermal switch that cuts on at 85F and placed the switch at the top. We just taped into the power leads going to the standard fan unit. Given the fan option for the Fridge Defender, it would likely be cheaper than this set up - but since we had this stuff sitting around we used it. Not sure how long the adhesive on the fasteners will last. The fans are not rated for external use. Not sure how long they will last. There is enough room up top for a fourth fan. Current draw is extremely low and they are almost noiseless (the standard fan makes more noise). Made it so it can all be easily removed. So far, we have noticed a significant cooling improvement and the adhesive is still sticking! Lots of rain and a couple of washes with high pressure sprayer and no fan damage...but it's still new. I will need to replace the splice connectors with something more weather resistant but just wanted to make sure it worked.

Ok, further reading in the manual confirms that pressing and holding the power button actually turns the unit off. Simply pressing the power button puts it in "Standby" mode. Also, there is an "Alarm" function which is also described in the manual. I somehow missed all that when looking through the manual yesterday. This stereo has a hell of a lot of functionality. Thank you all for helping.

Your plan is excellent, go camping, but stay in the area a few days just in case you need a part, or, go back to the factory if necessary. When I picked up, they had no factory campground, so I booked 3 nights at David Crockett, Oliver paid for the 1st night. I was traveling solo, because my wife couldn’t get off work, so I spent 2 days checking everything, everywhere I could crawl, or climb. All was working well, so I got bored and headed home early, dry camping a few nights at Harvest Hosts.

We did HH at Amber Falls Winery, it was very nice. We always stop by anyway so it was nice to camp there. We’ve also stayed at Panther Creek State Park in eastern TN and Fall Creek Falls State Park. Both were nice parks. Next month we’re going to try Cumberland Mountain State Park near Crossville and Natchez Trace State Park. Fall camping in Tennessee is great. Our first night after pick up was at Fall Hollow in Hohenwald. Not sure when Oliver quit using them but the factory campsites must be much better. Mike

@Hokieman Did you go to VA Tech? My father and two of my brothers went there. I broke tradition and went to Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach. It wasn’t near as cold in the winters! We did our second factory visit last week (we live less than 2 hours away) and scoped out ML State Park. Very nice and quiet indeed. Looks like @topgun2 has actually camped there. When we pick up, our plan is: First night at the factory, second night at Amber Falls winery (Harvest Host), third night at MLSP and fourth night at Mouse Tail Landing SP, TN. That should be a good shakedown before heading the remaining 1.5 hours to home. Brian

If you want to try camping without hookups soon after delivery, you might try Meriweather Lewis Campground, close to Hohenwald on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It’s an NFS campground, first come-first serve, and free. We haven’t stayed there yet, it’s on our list, but Campendium reviews give it 5 stars and there is a photo of an Oliver in the reviews. Comments welcome from anyone that has camped there! Camping Along the Natchez Trace Parkway

@dewdev You are correct! It was sold in October of 2021 and I had not heard that. Talked to the new owners and they sound like great people too. I have updated my link in my post. Thanks! Brian & Brandelyne

Brian and Brandelyne: I tried googling Duvall in the Smokies. It looks like Duvall in the Smokies is now called Buddy Bear in the Smokies RV Campground.

The idea is that if moisture builds, it will form between the hull and the air gap on the bottom of the underlayment. The underlayment is a vapor barrier so that no moisture can penetrate through to the bottom of the cushions. I have a dehumidifier that is always on set at 50% or below so that should quickly remove any condensation that forms. If not, I'll add another section along the walls behind the upper cushions to increase airflow and give any moisture another route to escape. This underlayment is also a thermal barrier so moisture shouldn't ever build in the top pockets. "Shouldn't", we shall see..

As Cajun cook Justin Wilson used to say, "I am what dey call a Safety Engineer. I wear a belt wit my suspenders." This is similar to what I do with surge protectors...I use Southwire Surge Guard (Model 34931) at the power pole and have the standard Progressive Industries Electrical Management System (EMS-HW30C). It's a case of we have it, might was well use it logic. We do not use any autoformer or voltage boosting equipment. The stated low voltage limit for the Southwind is 102 VAC, whereas the limit on the Progressive is 104VAC. A couple of weeks ago, we had our first power problems at a camp site. Highly variable voltage that would drop over time as the air conditioning cycled on. No other sites seemed to be having this issue and the park rangers said they knew of no problems. The problem disappeared until the middle of the night after a storm passed. As pole voltage would drop, the Southwind at the pole would trip off before the Progressive, which I found interesting given their low voltage specs. (Of course, I left my voltmeter at the house so I could not investigate this further.) The Progressive was indicating a low voltage event which makes sense. Strange part was when the Southwind at the pole would trip, the inverter (Xantrex Freedom XC 3000) would not transfer over to battery power. I was concerned about impacts of hard power shut-downs that were occurring. Additionally, when pole power would come back up and the Southwind would turn back on, the Progressive delay function would seem to kick in. So even though power was available, we were waiting for the delay function to help save the A/C compressor from short cycling. We ended up using battery power for the rest of the night. Next morning with low voltage still coming and going, I removed the Southwind at the pole thinking maybe it was having some problems. This left us with just the Progressive Industries surge protector. Now, when the power would drop below 104VAC, the Progressive would trip and the Xantrex would switch over to battery flawlessly even with air conditioning running. I have not spent much time trying to figure this out, but given the different limit voltages, surge protectors in series may be a case of too much of a good thing is not always better? We are going back to the same site this weekend and my voltmeter is already packed! The state park has told us the site is now working perfectly so I may not be able to get more info on this.

Apologies for the click bait title, but we really do have Grubby Feet and like them a lot. The recent thread Stabilize Oliver II suggestions reminded me of how well our Grubby Feet have worked and thought I would pass it on. Initially our Oliver was in a storage lot infected with Nostoc, a cyanobacteria. When dry it was crisp and dead looking but add a little moisture and it becomes a slippery slimy mess that spreads everywhere it is tracked. It even created a mat of slime on the bare steps making them slippery. I tried one of the carpet wraps on the steps, but it just became a slippery and slimy mess. I came across Grubby Feet while searching for something that would give us more confidence when using the steps. After installing ours nearly two years ago I can say they have performed and lasted better than expected. Here in the southeast it has rained a lot the past two years and I've worn many types of shoes and can say I feel confident when using the steps now. The mats have worn well, looking and feeling nearly the same as they did when I installed them. The only sign of aging is a slight wear pattern and a couple strands that separated on the edge.

Cooked greens My very sweet neighbor and friend, Mellissa, brought me a huge (washed, even) bag of her organic greens today, mixed kale, collard, and mustard. I often go down mountain and help her in her huge garden, and she sends me home with a bounty. I cook up enough for both families, and send her share back. 🙂 So tonight, I'll be making her favorite, my greens. We'll have them with shrimp. Last month, she asked for my recipe. This is a copy of the text I sent her. You can adjust at the end with a little more vinegar, or lemon juice, or apple juice, according to taste. Substitute veggies broth and 86 the bacon, for vegan. Add a pinch of sealant, maybe, if you ditch the bacon. A plastic grocery store bag of greens (stripped from the stems and ripped or Chopped into small pieces), plus 1/2 a big honey crisp apple (or all of a small one.). About 3/4 tsp chopped garlic. Olive oil. 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper. 3 strips precookrd bacon, diced. About 1 tsp white vinegar, or apple cider vinegar. A little bit of diced sweet onion. Maybe two slices, diced. I cook the onion, garlic, apple and bacon together in olive oil first. Then add the greens and a bit more olive oil. My pan's not so big, so a handful of greens at a time. Then add the crushed red pepper, a little black pepper, and about 1/2 cup of chicken stock or water, and stir. Cook maybe 8 minutes. Then I put on low, cover, and cook til tender. Cooking time, overall, 25 to 20 minutes. Add vinegar near the end. Stripping out the stems, and adding stock, reduces the normal cooking time for greens, imo. Used to cook for 40 minutes.... I do this on a burner with my wok skillet, but could also be done on the fire with a cast iron Dutch oven, or even a good sized skillet.

Cheesy Grilled Eggplant 1 to 2 TBS butter 1 eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick 2 tomatoes sliced 8 slices Swiss cheese Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook eggplant slices until tender and golden. Arrange eggplant on a 14” length of heavy duty foil reserving several slices for top. Layer with tomato and cheese slices; top with reserved eggplant slices. Wrap well. Grill over medium heat for 5 minutes or until hot and cheese is melted. These are so good! You can also grill the eggplant instead skillet cooking them until tender then arrange in foil.

Yep - I've stayed there - you can't beat the price (free). This would be a great place to really test the solar, fresh water tank and all boondocking related systems. And it is only about 7 or 8 miles from the Service Department if you should need them. Bill

Have not camped in this area yet, but will camp at Buddy Bear, Thanks for the info!

About 8 years ago, I had an additional fan added to the exhaust port of my Dometic fridge. Well . it blew so much air out of the hot exhaust that it was immediately inhaled by the intake panel, resulting in an increase in overall temp! Ha! I fixed that by devising a cardboard deflector, that moved the hot air away from the trailer's body.

I'll try the press & hold method.

Agree, they have beautiful falls and places to hike & golf:

Or throw yours away and install stainless caps over the axle hub nuts: I use this type so I can pop the rubber out to check the condition of the grease. Add a slight skim of clear silicone sealant to each cap before driving it in, so it will not seep oil. Paint the hubs gloss black and it looks fine. This way you can readjust a loose nut without removing the wheel and you can take a more accurate temp reading of the hub... John Davies Spokane WA

It may work. Looking forward to your comments. I just use heavy duty ikea shelf liner, but I have cushions with a mildewproof coating (krypton), not a mattress. I don't see a way for the moisture ( we all emit it, breathing and sweating, etc.) to move through the underlayment. That's the beauty of hypervent, and similar. With that liner, if you start to see moisture in the pockets beneath, I'd tip the mattress or cushions up a bit daily to let it breathe. That's what we do on the boat. No underlayment, just painted plywood, in Florida, but breathable mesh on the bottom of the cushions.

We use the same stuff on the inside as the outside. Used to be 3m ultra marine (since discontinued), now Collinite marine paste wax. I don't have the can with me ( We're camping), but I can look up the number for you. Don't use it on the shower floor, unless you use a teak mat, as it will make it too slippery. Everywhere else is good. You could probably use any decent fiberglass boat wax on the inside, as it doesn't get the same abuse as the exterior. The only year we didn't wax the interior, I got some difficult to remove stains on the counter. (Ours are white.) Understand, I'm a wax nerd. We wax our powder coated white aluminum porch railings, too. Helps shed the rain, and seed and leaf stains. I love that you've been on the road since pickup. I hope you're having a wonderful journey. Good on you, and safe travels!

I reposted your pic, this forum will not handle HEIC files, you have to change them to a more common format. Rusty water, you need to remove the wheel and see what is going on, it appears to be trapping water and then the hub rusts and the water slings out. It won’t hurt the wheels, short term, IF they are waxed, but you should fix it ASAP. Long term, it can corrode the wheel inside. It sure is ugly, eh? This is just one problem with center caps, mine are long gone. BTW I sure do like those new style wheels. John Davies Spokane WA

Even though I'm not sure how my stair covers would do with slimly bacteria, they are made from Dollar Store (really $1.25 Store) mats. It takes two mats cut to size, 6 zip ties, some 1 inch aluminum flat stock and 24 stainless bolts. My first set of these lasted 5 years. Bill

I place a scissors jack and some blocks of wood under the steps. Hand tight enough to keep the steps from dropping with weight, no jacking. This helps reduce the rocking a lot when someone is using the steps.

We have the same Furrion components and they exasperate me. Fortunately, we rarely watch TV, which, unfortunately, is why I haven't learned how to use the 🤬 components - four years later.