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Hi all. My name is Maleah and my husband and I just ordered our Ollie. We could not be more excited and can’t wait for our adventures to begin. We are empty nesters and are on the edge of retirement. My husband retired last year after 32 years in the Army and I will retire early next after being a nurse for 39 years with the last 20 working for the Army. We have traveled cross country several times but have always been in a hurry to get to our next duty station so now we want to see all of the beauty of this country. Look forward to learning from all of you.

It has to be a flex fuel vehicle specifically designed to allow the use of E85. My F-250 is a flex fuel engine. Flex fuel vehicles will have a yellow gas cap like this that indicates it can use E85 or gasoline.

KeysConchs, We agree with you on length being a concern. We also traveled the entire east coast last summer from Gulf Shores to Maine and never had an issue with getting a site. I personally don’t see Oliver building any thing larger than the LE2 for a lot of reasons. There is still awaiting list to order and purchase LE2’s. Anything larger would be super expensive and possibly not sell as well as the existing model. Oliver has really got a great design in the LE2 and we are thrilled with ours. It’s everything we need and nothing we don’t. 👍🏻😊

Chiming in a little late on this, but I do think it bears emphasizing that 27' is considerably larger than 23', especially in state park campgrounds. We are 4 months into a trip from our home base in the FL Keys and have been up as far as Cape Breton, PEI, and throughout New England. Many of the campgrounds we have stayed in had very few campsites that could accommodate 27'. One other consideration is that if you really intend on using both air conditioners, you will likely need 50 amp service which will further limit your options. As others have pointed out, it will be important to predefine what style of camping best suits you.

Even though my 2 years, 1 month and 23 days seemed like 30 years in the Army 🤣, I certainly know a tad about the work you have done for this great country of ours - thank you so much! Now, its time to have some real relaxing fun seeing just what you two worked hard for - the US of A. Welcome to the Family. Bill

Looks like the Highlander XLE has a 5,000 lbs towing weight limit. Based on your estimated loaded Elite I weight of 4,500 to 4,700 lbs equipped as you described (plus a loaded pantry and fridge, kitchenware, bedding, clothing, etc.) you need a bigger/more capable tow vehicle.

Mike and Carol, We live in TN but love CO. My wife and I met in Ouray on a 4x4 expedition. We have driven pretty much every major trail in that area and look to go back with the Oliver (as soon as we get it) and do some more high-altitude camping. Very nice pictures, keep it up. Safe travels! Brian

Costco regular gas $2.99 in Columbia SC, and Pooler GA. Only by a penny, but finally under $3.

The Natures Head toilet is great, not dealing with dumping the black tank is wonderful. Yes, we do carry the pee bucket to the restroom every few days, and yes I empty the toilet into a trash bag on occasion, but neither is a big deal compared to the raw sewage in a black tank.

Welcome aboard. My wife & I picked up our Ollie last month and have already stayed at three state parks and two Harvest Hosts. We are enjoying the adventure as I'm sure you will too.

Welcome and thank you both for your service to our great country. 🇺🇸🇺🇸 Congratulations on your Oliver order your delivery day will be here before you know it! Now is a great time to watch the Oliver videos read and learn as much as you can in Oliver University. Retirement and traveling and camping in our Ollie is a blessing for sure. -Patriot 🇺🇸 David & Kathy

I am afraid that you are unfortunately correct.

Welcome! I think you'll have lots of questions now, and even more after you pick up your trailer. Believe it or not, the answers to most of your questions are right here in the forum postings. You'll have to search around and dig a bit, but you'll find another owner who's dealt with the same issue. If not, create a new topic post and you'll be sure to get lots of help. There's lots to learn about your new trailer, but with patience and a good attitude you'll be a pro in no time.

Hi Maleah, Welcome!! We are both retired AF, 25 and 15 years ago. We love this life and hope to meet you someday. Thanks for your service as a nurse and your husband in the Army. This is a wonderful, informative forum and I hope you gain much information here. John

I will also be in Quartzsite in early-mid Feb. Coming from altitude in CO so will arrive Winterized. Sounds like we may need to start a new thread to coordinate a mini rally in the Q this Winter? I have stayed at Dome Rock, La Posa South, Scadden wash and Hi Jolly. Each has its pros/cons but each was a nice stay. Have fun! Hope to see some of you in AZ again this Winter!

Mike - yes it is! We especially like the Ouray Brewery. Where are you going in TN? If you are up near LBL (Land Between the Lakes), let me know. We are about 10 miles from Paris Landing State Park and really enjoy LBL. The have a drive-through Bison and Elk preserve which is amazing. Also, plenty of NFS and COE camping. Safe Travels. Brian

Waiting for the leaves to change. The dogwoods are changing, a few tulip trees are yellowing, the cicadas are more quiet/less numerous. If we didn't have appointments at home, in Florida, we'd be out exploring. But, it's still four to five weeks til peak, around asheville, usually. Growing up in the Midwest, I love the leaf change, and fall. It can get cool/cold, but we're always snug and warm in our Ollie .

Yep, that's interesting about running full tank of regular when oil is changed. Never ran E85 in our 2016 Tundra and our 2022 Tundra is not flex fuel, it uses regular 87 and has 10,000 mile oil/filter change intervals except for 5,000 miles when towing. Finally achieved my 17MPG goal towing on hills and flat-lands yesterday four lanes and interstate, it's happy at 2200RPM towing Ollie around 61MPH in 7th gear with cruise on the interstate. Just washed Ollie, getting ready to put in storage until next adventure! 🙂

Happy birthday! 🎂🥂🎂🌺

Just had to share these adorable gifts collapsible tote bag and garden flag I received today (it’s my birthday today🎂🎉😜) Adding them to my “favorite camping accessories” list!!

Have not seen regular gas that low yet! 👍Best I've found is $3.13 for Regular 87 in NC.

I’m interested in Frank C.’s comparison test from a performance & economic value perspective. I have a similar truck, but haven’t tried E85.

Yes all aluminum

Thanks! 🙂

That's good to hear, we are definitely leaning towards getting the composting toilet. We "think" we prefer the Air Head so we have to look at the pros and cons of just getting the Nature's head option from Oliver, or standard toilet and I then install the Air Head.

My wife is 115 pounds but she has the largest suitcase.

Welcome and Congratulations on your new Ollie and retirement! There are many folks here with vast experience camping in Ollies! We love camping in our Ollie! Bill and Debbie

Hey Brian, with our son and family in Durango we have a strong pull to Colorado in addition to the mountains, weather and scenery! We also like Tennessee and will be camping there next month. Ouray is quite a place…. Mike

We’ve gone to Quartzsite from San Antonio on I-10 in January a number of times. Never winterized. January could be cold in west Texas, but more likely well above freezing. If you go west on I-20 there’s more of a chance for colder weather. We’ve spent January in AZ the last 6 years. No need to winterize if you stay south of Flagstaff and NE AZ. Even if you venture north, the probability of really cold weather is slim. We’ve camped around Flagstaff and north, all the way up to Page, AZ and Lake Powell. Cold at night (below freezing) but nice during the day. Last year we went to Zion National Park in southern Utah on our January trip and it was perfect, high 20s at night and 50s daytime. Quartzsite is almost always pretty nice. That’s why so many folks head there in the winter. This January we’ll be camping way south at Lake Patagonia, at Kartchner Caverns near Benson, north of Tucson, several spots around Phoenix, north and about an hour east of Payson, and just south of Sedona. We’ll be visiting Flagstaff from our campsite near Sedona for a weekend hockey tournament that our grandson from Durango will be playing in. Maybe we’ll head over to Quartzsite to see who is there. There’s a certain peacefulness about picking your own spot out in the Quartzsite desert and watching traffic on I-10 from a long distance! We will not winterize for any of this trip. Actually, we’ve never winterized our Oliver. Mike

Hull 806.....from near Winston Salem! We camped in Wyoming with lows around 15 degrees for a week, not winterized, with no problem. Altitude was about 7,000 feet. I have three SensorPush HT1 Wireless Thermometers to monitor the temps. Sensor # 1 was located in the cabin attached to the rear most driver side reading light. Sensor # 2 was located between hulls under the passenger side bed near the tail lights & water lines. Sensor # 3 was located between hulls under the driver side bed next to the shower outlet. On the outside of Ollie I removed the shower head and pulled the water line inside the hull. I set the furnace to mid/upper 50's and monitored all three temps....adjusting as desired. The driver side had the largest variance to the cabin temperature.....about 15 degrees. I have two 30 lb propane tanks. We were boondocking. After 5 or 6 days with ice/snow cloud cover....the batteries got down to about 50% SOC. At that point, I used the generator to recharge....not risking the furnace fan operation. We consumed one tank of propane and promptly got it refilled. (This was a portion of a five week western trip..we had been running the refrig on propane so we did not consume the whole tank in this one week). I also carried anti-freeze and pump ..... just in case. We operated the water system/hot water heater as normal. (((BTW...I have move one of the sensors to inside of the refrigerator. We adjust the temp setting according to the readings. Early on in our experience we were having veggies and eggs freeze because we did not monitor and adjust....now, not an issue.))) Steve

Fritz, that lone tree and the big Carolina deep blue sky is amazing. Thanks. I wondered what it would look like in b/w. Totally different mood. Much more stark. And lonely. Love your photo.

I bought two of the dimmers you linked to and swapped them for the Porch Light and the Outside Courtesy Light switches. The dimmer switch requires a ground wire. When I pulled the panel out I found that each switch had its own ground wire. For the time being I am using a couple of brass washers on the front panel for the switch nut to tighten against. The dimmers do a great job dimming the outside lights.

That might be the reason but 15% is acceptable, although heavy. There are plenty of posts here on Nature’s Head - do a search, if you don’t find what you want, start a new thread. Best, Brian

Thanks all for the responses! Brian, the 26' has a great layout and tons of storage but unfortunately also a very high tongue weight, I suspect that might be the reason why it was discontinued in 2020. From my CAT scale results...trailer weight = 6820lbs and tongue weight = 1040lbs (15.2% of trailer weight!). I believe I can convince my wife to go with the wet bath, but it will take a lot more convincing her that the small fridge will be ok when we go semi-full time! It is good though to hear some folks can go 1-2 weeks without having to restock the fridge!🙂 Any comments on the Nature's Head composting toilet, I should probably start a new thread for it? Thanks again!

Welcome, Richard We have Hull#996, twin beds, optional aluminum tray on the tongue and the standard ceramic toilet. The only thing we use the tray for is to store chocks and hoses. As full-timers we are pretty well loaded up and sit at 6800 lbs with a 675 lb tongue weight. We started our journey after many trips to the CAT scales to make sure we were legal. We are just below our truck's GVWR, by 150 lbs, after taking 120 lbs out every time we travel and putting in the Oliver, which takes the Oliver to 6700 lbs. And that's with empty tanks! But with everything we need including a full fridge and pantry. That does leave us the opportunity to fill the fresh water tank before heading into boondocking territory. Pretty much we now have to get rid of something to get something. I think you will be getting the newer 2 way fridge. We have the 3 way and, although small, it suits our needs. We saw the 2 way at a demo during the Oliver rally this year and saw the size of the freezer in that unit. We did not like it for sure....way to small for us. So I would definitely be in the market for a portable freezer. Then again, we full time. You might not need the room. When we started looking at buying a trailer, the wet bath was a no-go for us but we couldn't find a dry bath trailer to suit us. I found the bigger trailers were nice but we would need a bigger truck. We gave up looking for a while and then started looking at fiberglass. Long story, we bought a new Casita, with the wet bath of course, and just hoped it would be ok. The Casita bath is quite a bit smaller than the Oliver. We were definitely fine with it and I laugh at myself now for so much worrying about it. Don't hold me to this but I think you would get your investment back should you decide you can't live with it. Best of luck with your decision. John

We just did our first CAT scale weigh in this past weekend. I've attached a pic of a spreadsheet I use to see what was going on. Where does all this weight come from LOL! We do not use a WD hitch, given that our vehicle does not need it as defined by the Ford's RV and Towing spec sheets. Finding this fine print is not the easiest thing to do!

Had my first chance to do a long range experiment of gasoline vs. E-85 in my flex fuel F-250. Recently towed the Ollie about 1500 miles so I had a chance to compare mileage over several tankfuls each of both gasoline and E-85. I typically get about 11.5 mpg towing the Elite II on regular gasoline (which can still contain up to 10% ethanol). On E-85 the mileage dropped as expected (due to the lower energy content of ethanol) to about 10.0 mpg. But now to look at $/mile, with gasoline at $4.49 per gallon here in my area of PA, and E-85 at $2.99 per gallon. So on gasoline it’s costing me about $0.39 per mile. On E-85, it’s about $0.30 per mile. So the E-85 wins on cost per mile, but a downside is the loss of range of about 50 miles on a full tank. I’ll keep using E-85 when it’s available, but now that I’m looking for it I did discover that it’s hit or miss at gas stations if they have E-85. It’s nice to have the option of both though. We can have a separate debate about the environmental impact, the government incentives for ethanol blending, etc. 🙂.

Don't forget to take a camera with you and use it! These are individualized guided tours. However, do not be hesitant or afraid to ask to see something in more detail, touch it, walk over to get a closer look at it, etc. Certainly get your monies worth. With regards to the wet bath - think about exactly how much time you spend in the bath versus what that square footage of space costs in terms of not only money but in terms of square footage value to you. When I'm camping/boondocking in the Western States I most often shower outside and use a solar shower. This saves on propane (the sun heats the water) and grey water tank space. Let alone giving me all the room I could ever ask for!😃 Bill

We had the same intent for use of our Ollie as Dave and Kimberly. We used our Ollie in most every possible way. We boondocked. We stayed at full service high end parks, State Parks, COEs, National Parks, Harvest Host and Cracker Barrel. We looked at Airstream 28,27,26,25 and 23 all international trim. I admit I liked the floor plans and the interior. The quality control issues were evident each of the 3 separate times we visited the dealer (5 hours away from us). Those quality issues the roughly 30% additional cost and the fear that I would dent the Airstream led us to Olliver. We were brand new to camping other than some tent camping 35 years ago. For Nancy, our dog, and me the Ollie turned out to be a great choice. Our plan was to do some extended trips South and West during the cold Maine winters. We did that and camped in temps from 5 to 95 degrees. We camped in urban locations like the middle of New Orleans a 5 minute walk to the French Quarter. Our concerns with the Ollie were; the wet bath, inside storage, and refrigerator space. The wet bath turned out to be a non issue. We like it fine. Clothing storage also turned out to be a non issue and we has to pack for both winter and summer clothes on the same 4 month trip. The fridge space was tight at times but worked great and is bigger than it seems. The ease of towing was huge. We had a plan to do 2 long trips over a couple of winters and then sell the Ollie and do some foreign travel and spend time with our new grandson. We did 2 longer winter trips and 2 short summer trips. The Ollie was perfect for us. We just sold our Ollie when we returned a month ago. Great choice for traveling, camping and boondocking!!!! We had also toured the factory and seen 2 before we purchased. Good luck with your decisions.

Albert - That is a cool hull number and a great time to pick it up. I do think you'll be impressed with the solar on the Ollie unless you are a major consumer of electricity. With your delivery so close - are you coming to the Rally? Attendance would certainly help you prepare even more and would also give you more ideas than you can handle regarding mods that everyone has made to theirs. Hope to see you there! Bill

Hopefully you do understand its not the size of the wet bath so much as how much water you are carrying around and how fast the gray tank fills up. Understand you will NOT be taking Hollywood showers unless you are in campground with full hookups. You will be amazed at how fast you can empty a full fresh water tank and fill up a gray holding tank. 36 gallons does not go far in the boonies. Glorified bird baths is closer to what you will be doing if boon docking or camping without full hookups.

The only time we wish we had more room is when we camp during periods of lengthy bad weather and can’t spend time outside. We spend a lot of time outside. If the weather is cold we set up the Clam and fire pit and have a nice outdoor living area. Otherwise, we’re out under the awning enjoying the weather. Mike

Dave, Thank you! You have definitely made me even more exited about my upcoming trip to Tennessee. I really going to enjoy the tour and looking them over. I keep telling myself, even when I tent camp, I don't "hang out" in my tent unless the weather turns bad (then it is pretty miserable lol). I do realize I will be spending a lot more time on the road and camping with a trailer when I retire but, I still will want to sit out and enjoy when possible. I am 6'2" and not a "small individual" it has served me well in my career but, not always fun in tight spaces. At first I was concerned about the "wet bath" idea but, I keep hearing how much room there actually is so, I am looking forward to seeing that in person as well. I do appreciate all the feedback from everyone and I do realize everyone has there own reasons for choosing and ultimately it has to be "right" for each person. I am learning all I can in the meantime! 🙂

GSDK9Dad... I hear you on some of those concerns. I was looking at many different models... in the campgrounds passed thru. I was always looking at the pros/cons of each model... even toy haulers. I KNEW we required a quality unit and I was looking at AS because they are built near my home and many of my friends spent their careers with them. The wet shower is a concern for me (I'm a shower taker). Many went into Olivers with at least some concern on shower size. Most have since decided it now is non-issue. We are travelers... not so much campers. We want mobile comfort but don't need a rolling house. One of the attractions (for me) of Oliver is it's reputation for towing. Virtually no one with experience will dispute that point. I had to reign myself in when looking at RV's. What did I really need to be comfortable in while traveling? There are bigger units... and personally I fell in love with some of the AS floor plans. The very first time I saw a trailer with two twin beds in it was a vintage AS... probably around 1955 model. I never forgot that. The LEII allows me to chill, read a book in bed... watch a bit of tv... go to bed, wake up and have a cup of coffee at at the table while my wife sleeps in later. I can go to bathroom, shower and step out to greet the world when I'm good and ready. It's enough. Cooking for most part is a combination of stove top, microwave and grill outside. I quote someone else that said "Ollie is everything I need and nothing more". Ultimately cost has to be calculated. What is a reasonable long term resale value?? Because $90K and fuel costs will buy a lot of hotel rooms! So then when we toured the factory at Hohenwald and decided to spend this kind of money... I had to give AS one more look while Oliver was fresh in my mind. I still liked the floor plan.... but the quality of an AS was beyond disappointing to me. On many levels... AND it was about $30k MORE... for roughly the same length and one foot wider. This may be a unique point in time... but the re-sale value of Olivers is pretty incredible. Ultimately... the cost of any unit is just the difference between purchase and resale... and whatever maintenance cost in between. That's what you paid to travel around. On after the sale service: I'm in Ohio... so Hohenwald isn't exactly close... but their service has proven to be stellar. I learned the hard way before that the "warrantee and service" that you might think is similar to owning a new Honda... it's NOT that way in the RV world in general. Not even close. I expect to educate myself enough to manage 90% of my own service and maintenance on the Oliver. When I can't... I'm confident the factory will be there for me. In two days we are leaving to pick up our new LEII... and we will be doing a shake down trip and then hanging out with others at the Rally. That was really nice of Oliver to schedule a get together just for us so we could meet everyone! 🙂

I'm seeing this more often these days, 26-27' travel trailers with 2 ACs. I don't get it. We were in the Badlands and AZ in mid summer with our travel trailer that size with 1 AC and got by. Even our 32' fifth wheel has only 1 AC and it's been fine from the mid-West to the east coast. All this will do is lower the line voltage in campgrounds even more.

We made it across the border! What a royal PITA. We had to find a local source (Rite Aid drug store) for Covid tests, that would do a Canada approved one, and also turn it around promptly, because if it is older than 72 hrs when you show up at the border, they will turn you back. We wanted to wait a day or two at least to cross, we knew it would be a zoo the first day (Monday). Tested on Sunday noon, we had to prep completely for “a trip”, either to Canada if negative, or to Montana if positive. We were all packed up and got the good results Tuesday evening. So I ditched my firearms (I decided trying to cross with an approved long gun would be adding fuel to a fire) and Wednesday morning we booked north two hours to the nearest border crossing, getting there an hour before our 72 hour period expired 😳. The agent questioned us meticulously for a full twenty minutes, scrutinized our vaccination and covid info, asked all the “do you have anything to declare” stuff, and then said have a nice trip, adding that as foreign nationals we were being allowed to enter as a courtesy, and were required to mask up in all public spaces, regardless of the local policies, and we could incur a big fine if we were caught maskless. We also had to fill in info at ArriveCAN, upload documents and provide a quarantine plan, in case they did a surprise Covid test and we had to self isolate. That was tricky, we decided that reserving a commercial spot and using that address would probably get us by that hurdle, and it did. We went as far as Nakusp Municipal CG, a delightful resort townlet in a stunning alpine setting in SE BC. Unfortunately the wildfire smoke was horrible, with ash literally raining down at times. Visibility varied from merely bad to less than half a mile. Our window smoke filters worked most excellently, combined with a floor HEPA filter. None of the locals wore masks, not even for the smoke. Maybe they are used to it? We spent two nights there, recuperating, then went 330 miles NW to try to escape the worst smoke and the building “heat dome”, which is crippling. We found an ex-KOA CG, with full hookups, so we can run the AC and empty and refill tanks. The owner was ecstatic, we were the first Americans to stop by since March 2020. He gave us a 10% discount, just for that, and he wouldn’t stop talking. We are headed up to Prince Rupert and probably White Horse YT, we have four weeks to explore, at the end of that time we have settle down near the southern border, near an urban area, get MORE Covid testing for the US station, then cross when we get negative results. Or quarantine if they are positive. Kind of like Border Russian Roulette. We decided to not attempt Alaska since that would double the number of tests we would have to take… and pass. It is cool being among the first Americans to visit, we are getting a lot of interested remarks and double takes on the WA license,plates, and at our very first rest break somebody collared my wife to ask about the “cool rig”. I guess Ollies are still pretty darn rare here. I will be pretty much incommunicado for weeks, If I can, I will try to give a few updates in a new thread, but cell coverage will be nil the further north we get from the mid-point, about Prince George. John Davies Spokane WA

John I was by no means condemning firearms or their usefulness. If allowed, I will carry a firearm in the north woods for hunting, survival, and piece of mind. However, if i came around a corner of a trail while hiking and encountered a mama bear with cubs, I would prefer to have a can of bear spray in my hand. In my lifetime I have uncomfortably close encounters with bears, moose, bison, rattlesnakes, sharks, barracuda, and even a really mad monkey once (Africa), All of the encounters were sudden and unintentional. I am still more afraid of humans than any of the animals.

Thanks, that is good information. We both carry a can when we are outside the trailer in brown bear country, as a primary defense. Though black bears are actually more dangerous, and a mother moose with babies can be a real hazard. We always have carried spray, and the second one is the spare in case you have to use one, leaving you “dry” for the rest of the day. Every member on a hike has to have a can! The firearm is in case the wind is wrong (having capsicum blow back in your face with a predator in front of you is so very VERY bad …. Unbearable pain: How bear spray became a prized weapon for violent protesters). A really strong crosswind will prevent it from reaching the target. A pistol can be used to fire a warning shot at long distance, into the ground in front of the charging animal, before the second one goes into its “center of fur”. Or to use if all else fails and he is chewing your leg off or dragging a child out of a tent. Or to fire three shots to signal for help when lost, or to harvest a meal. Or to dispatch a rabid coyote. Or to defend against an armed human attacker (USA only!). Or to plink targets…. When hiking in warm weather it rides in an OWB holster, or in a cross-chest holster if I have a pack or coat. I have carried a pistol daily for four decades, where it is legal, and for me it is just another safety tool. Recently I have had to choose a less than ideal smaller caliber, .327 Federal Mag, due to joint pain and neuropathy, but it is still more functional than a sharp stick. The trailer gun is a Henry lever action .44 Mag with bear ammo. I can’t shoot a 12 gauge or .45/70 any more😥 The main reason is that it will make you sleep a whole lot better, every single night, in the wild. This I guarantee. It’s a personal decision about what type, but do not fall for the hype that “you do not need a firearm” in bear country. But it is not a replacement for common sense, survival gear and a satellite communicator. John Davies Spokane WA

@John E Davies, we always carry spray when we are in bear territory. Lucky me, never had to use it. All the experts on bear behavior say that you are better off using the spray as opposed to a powerful handgun. There are two primary reasons for this rationale. 1. easy to deploy quickly 2. it works A brown bear can cover a lot of ground really, really quick. Unless you are an experienced big game hunter (accustomed to keeping your cool while being charged by a big mean animal) it is unlikely that you would be able to manage an immediate kill shot with a firearm. If you are being charged, by the time you get off a shot the bear will be on you in just a few seconds. Even if he is mortally wounded, he may use his last breath to dispatch you. Watch some videos. I think there are some on U-tube. You don't need good aim. Just point it at the bear and push the button. We did a good deal of research on this before we went fly-fishing in Yellowstone. There were a number of fatal bear attacks there the year that we went trout fishing on Slough Creek. We carry the same stuff that the USNPS and Forest Service people carry. The big drawback to bear spray is wind direction. The spray is pretty powerful, but there is a chance you would get a face full and still not deter the bear. It would need to be a pretty stiff wind though. We practice with old cans (they have expiration dates) and they really blast out the stuff. If allowed by regulations, if I were wandering about the wilderness in Alaska I would carry my 12 ga. rifled slug gun and bear spray. The spray would be my first choice, and I would only consider using the gun if there was substantial wind in my face. I am an experienced hunter and I would still consider my odds of survival better with the spray than with the gun in the event of a bear charge.

So, I read in another thread that you're hoping to leave for Whitehorse next week. That's awesome. Whitehorse is a lovely community, and a number of nice campgrounds outside Whitehorse. There was (probably still is) a free dump station at the Petro North if 60, near the Walmart supercenter. Don't remember if it required a fill up, but we found their prices good, anyway. Speaking of the Walmart, skip it, as it's pretty small, very crowded,, and poor food selections, and go instead to the Real Canadian Superstore. It's big, clean, great selection of meats and produce, and reasonable prices, for the Yukon. It's a good stock up spot for the rest of your trip. While you're in Whitehorse, check out Alligator's gourmet grilled cheese food truck, on the wharf in downtown. It's a pretty walk along the park, too. Yukoners are big campers, so expect closeby campgrounds to be full, or nearly full, in nice weather, and especially weekends. Yukon territory campgrounds are $12 Cad, cash, with no services, spotless pit toilets, and free firewood. No reservations.