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No question - covered storage is the best! Having that kind of storage at your home has to be absolutely wonderful. Unfortunately, I've got neither close to me. However, several years ago I found a place 10 miles from the house with fenced storage and 24 hour camera for $200 per year! The CalMark I bought for the Ollie 8 years ago is still going strong. Can't complain too much. Bill

We store ours in an old warehouse, converted to RV and boat storage. Paid $90/mo in 2022 and $100 for 2023. Just had it washed and coated with Magiar's ceramic coating. I can plug in to keep the batteries full, and the battery warmer on in the winter. No room to build and strict HOA rules

Two summers ago my wife and I took a trip back into the Green River Lakes area of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. This is the headwaters of the Green River that connects with the Colorado River further south. Had a great time, gorgeous place comparable to anything else in North America so we just had to endure the trip again a couple of weeks ago. When I say endure, its the road into this place, calling it a rough ride would be an understatement and this year was no different considerably worse in fact. Literally took us just over two hours from where the paved road ends and the dirt begins to arrive at the USFS campground. Figure about 10-12 mph the entire way in. As one local puts it, "what isn't tied and strapped down will break". Knowing what we were getting into this time we came better prepared. At the end of the paved road we deflated the tires by some 15 PSI on the Ollie, took the window shades off and laid them on the bed and made sure everything else was secured and shut. Yes the shades came off the windows on the previous trip among other things. I purchased a portable battery powered inflator for the return trip out to inflate the tires back up to their normal highway pressures. Money well spent, but one wouldn't confuse one of these devices with a real air compressor by any means but it works just takes extra time. Posting a few photos below, hope everyone can at least vicariously enjoy the trip, even if you never decide to embark on this journey. We took our kayaks this time, those lakes are just too irresistible not to paddle them. Thanks for looking. Paddling the lower Green River Lake, fortunate this morning to have glass smooth conditions, such a treat. My wife Trudi, cutting a path to the beach on the south end of the lake As we approached the south end of the lower lake a view to the east at Clear Creek Canyon comes into view Incoming, low flying clouds once we hit the beach on the south end of the lower lake, time for a quick lunch before hiking down to the upper lake further south Once we beached our kayaks on the lower lake we hiked up to the head or south end of the upper lake. This lake is much different in color due to the glacial silt and yes it really is this color but maintains a somewhat milky appearance. From the head of the lake you can attempt to summit Square Top Mountain seen in the upper left corner. Maybe someday but not this time around for us. On the return trip back to camp on the lower lake there are some dramatic cliffs on the west shore that come right into the lake. The boats were disrupting the reflections though. All images (except the upper lake) from an iPhone 13 Pro, using RAW capture mode for those interested in hobby, upper lake from a Nikon Z7 & 24-70 F4 lens.

Try THIS stuff from WalMart. Either order and have it shipped to a store near you or shipped to your home. Its good to 50 below! Bill p.s. another hint - in order to keep your toilet seal from drying out (assuming that you have the standard toilet) pour a couple of cups of this stuff in the bowl and then use "plastic cling" material (Saran Wrap) over the top of the ceramic bowl to keep it from evaporating.

Forgot to include one image of our Ollie in the campground, so it's attached below with Osborn Mountain providing the backdrop. BTW the campground is actually fairly nice about 35 or so campsites, each one spaced far apart and some of them quite huge by comparison to many other public USFS or BLM campgrounds. In two different years of being in there I am fairly certain we have not seen it fill up and this in mid July. Suffice it to say the road in is a deterrent but make no mistake RV's are in there everything from 5th wheels to tents.

John D. Thank you for the above response. Great to know that there is a path forward. GJ

JD, that’s a deal compared to the Portland area. In the little town of Aurora, we were paying $380/mo for two covered back in open spaces. I’m so thankful we now have our own storage barn.

If you are thinking of adding a shower curtain as seen above, I just installed the rod like described by Overland but used 3M VHB tape to secure to the wall. I cut the threads off the screws and glued them in place to make it appear to be screwed to the wall. Came out real nice and the wife is pleased, so I'm happy.

Imo, any good -50 pink rv antifreeze is fine. Concentrate may be convenient to carry, but, whoah, that price? Autozone, camping world, even walmart should have it soon. September is winterizing time, in many parts of the country. Autozone often has it year round, near us.

All this discussion about storing our Olivers has me re-thinking things again. For the first 5 years of ownership we kept ours in a covered, not enclosed, RV storage facility until they raised their prices to absurd levels. We pulled out. For this winter I am thinking about leaving our Ollie down in the SW probably Utah. Have a trip planned to rendezvous with an old buddy for some adventurous hiking and just might store for the winter rather than bring it back to MT.

I ordered a decent marine paste wax; I'm waiting on the marine cleaner to wash again. I've been lucky during my volunteer stint with US Fish & Wildlife because the big boys have toys -- I use a wash bay and it's better than my normal situation. However, I'm not allowed on a ladder for the time being (post hip replacement) so... I feel the pain that is expressed by everyone here. I've used gentle methods of cleaning, to avoid taking off the finish, and I do it by hand. It's a labor of love, is it not?

I still wash and wax the Oliver and actually do not mind doing it even though I am old and retired. It is easier cleaning and waxing the Ollie than some of the boats I have had that had serious chalking Gelcoat. I use Boat Zoap by Sudbury Co. I started using it when I was washing my boat when it was in the water. It is a non-caustic cleaner and is safe to use when the boat is in fresh or slat water. It is biodegradable. A cap full of soap and a couple of gallons of water in a bucket is the formula. What makes the washing easier is I use and extendable pole with a soft bristle brush on the end. Had it from my boating days and bought it at West Marine. The extendable pole makes scrubbing down the Ollie very easy and gets the Ollie very clean. I can even get the brush under the solar collector. So that is my procedure along with using Maquires Professional wax after washing.

Gelcoat is fiberglass , without the mat and roving. It doesn't look like it, but it's still porous. And, brittle, without the glassmat reinforcement. As we're aging, I'm also becoming more ladder adverse. I know a bunch of people have opted for the longevity of ceramic coating. I'm still on the fence. And, still on a ladder, from time to time. Our Oliver is 16 seasons young, so.... yeah, we're not as young as we used to be, either.

@Wandering Sagebrush, if I were going to change to a liquid wax, I'd study practical sailor tests, which would probably lead me to a Starbrite, or Collinite, product. I think the woody wax likely requires multiple coats. Since we store outside, I really need the uv protection built into the wax. If you like it, all good. I'm not at all familiar with that particular product. Woody wax for nonskid deck applications is highly rated, on all the sailing forums, where you don't want to slide barefoot on the deck! In 2009 (I know, a long time ago), practical sailor tested both liquid and paste waxes in the florida sun, near me, in Sarasota. I tend to follow their recommendations from testing, as they don't take promotions from advertising. Kind of like the consumer reports, of the fiberglass world.

Old topic, but have to say waxing these things is a PITA especially the roof. Just finished doing mine for the year and each time I do this swear I'm going to buy one of those scaffolds rather than up and down, move, up and down over and over again. At my height of 5'7" it's an almost unsafe stretch at times too. Like others on this thread have spent quite a bit of time looking into the various methods and products but for the last few years have used the Maquires Marine wax. It works but have to admit due to the slow and arduous process for the roof the finish can look less than ideal, sides are fine. Getting the thing chemically clean helps and by that I don't mean the standard car wash. So far the best method I have found is using glass cleaners but not the windex variety, but rather products like Glass Doctor, Invisible Glass and a litany of other companies that produce these streak free glass cleaners. It's almost as though the gel coat allows dust, dirt and debris to become embedded within the surface and a simple wash just doesn't cut it. Surprised to hear some of you do not like the Rejex method and products. Another company is NuFinish with similar system for about 1/3rd the cost. First I've heard of DuroGloss too. Need to look into that one. In the meantime there has to be a better safer way to do the roof area. FWIW have been using the articulated type of A frame ladders, heavy and cumbersome but work for the job.

Mossemi put me onto a series of audio books by C.J. Box. The main character is a Wyoming Game Warden by the name of Joe Pickett. These are easy listening and if you have ever spent time in and around the Buffalo, WY area you will recognize a number of the places. I've tried to listen to these books in order but there really is no need to do that - each can stand on its own. Bill

Looking for wax, I found this… Cheap at twice the price…😳

We live in Carmel, IN. The storage place is up I-69 in Muncie, IN. This was a very lucky find. There wasn't one open spot come winter. Also, you can't just come and pick-up or drop-off your trailer. I text the manager a couple days ahead and he has the bay doors open and is waiting for me. I can have it at home for a few days before or after a trip. The hour drive each way is a bit much, but I would be paying $300+/- for just a covered roof and no shore hook-up.

Where do you live, and how far a drive? That price is crazy cheap compared to major cities. That looks like a really nice facility. I assume it has security cameras? One reason we added an RV bay when we built our house seven years ago was the cost of secure INSIDE storage. It is $350+ here. I figured the bay paid for itself already, it was a $30k option, but that charge included fully sheet rocked walls there (and in the garage at no extra cost.) Add the cost of fuel and lost time in traffic for going to a storage place, those factors can really hurt. Thanks, John Davies Spokane WA

@topgun2 Thank you!

David & Paula - I'll add another "thing" to watch for: If you use a USB stick for music (and I assume for video), the older units are limited to something between 2 and 6 gigs before they can no longer handle any greater capacity. Yes, you can still use a larger USB stick, but, you can put any more than something between the 2 to 6 gig on that stick and have it work/load properly. To help get around this issue, I bought a bunch of 8 gig USB mini sticks (like THESE) and placed different types of music on each one (i.e. country, pop, classical, movies, nature, spa, etc.). Depending on my mood I get the music stick of choice, put it in and then hit the random button and rock on. Bill p.s. larger amounts of data will not actually "hurt" anything - they will simply not load thus leaving the player and TV just sitting there looking at you until you take that USB stick out.

We use the cube style boxes from kleenex expressions tissues for our grocery bags. They get stored in the upper cabinets at the back curved section of the roof line. I start the summer with three full ones and add used ones every shopping visit. GJ

As I get close to 70 this is sounding good to me. Washing and waxing is the maintenance I don’t like to do! I’ve looked at buying some portable scaffolding. Right now I climb the ladder, clean, climb down, move the ladder, start again.

Thought I would add my completed curtain rod project. I used Overland's style so the rod would be a little higher to decrease the chance of another mark on my bald head. I drilled a 1/16 inch pilot hole, used a countersink to smooth hole to a little bigger that 5/32 inch. Then drilled a 5/32 inch hole in center of countersink. 5/32 inch is the suggested pilot hole for a # 10 machine screw. Sealed everything with 3M 4200. The machine screws worked perfect with no cracking of gel coat and everything pulled up tight.

This is what we installed. It has worked out very well. The wife is happy so I am happy. Hope this help. Greg

Unable to find a previous thread about what books you listen to on the road, I'm starting another. Please share any audio books you recommend to help make those long days on the road fly by. Here are some of our favorites, most of which were suggested by fellow Ollie owners. (Thank you!) Ordinary Heroes The Boys in the Boat A Man Called Ove Michener's Alaska (especially if you're going there) A River Runs Through It Beartown Girl with a Dragon Tattoo The Way I Heard It The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Floating Twigs Where the Crawdads Sing

Some nights, after a long day of adventures, I don't feel like slicing and dicing. One of my favorites is Idahoan Red Mashed potatoes, as a side for something on the grill. Two cups of boiling water in the tea kettle, a big dollop of sour cream and a bit of butter, stir, cover, and stir again, good to go. So easy, and tasty. I also love the microwave rice packets, though I don't have a microwave. I just add a little water, and heat. Both store in the pantry, and require no refrigeration.

@dewdev, and others, we use the west marine pink soap because it's economical (in proper concentration), it doesn't strip wax (in proper concentration), it's biodegradable and safe to use for boats in the water, and it has worked for us for a very long time. Any quality boat soap, labeled to not strip the wax you worked so darned hard to apply, is fine, imo. Don't be a bad bartender/boat tender and "overpour." The best soaps become harsh in high concentration. And, don't use anything labeled "degreaser" like dawn, awesome, etc., unless you plan to rinse, rinse, rinse, and rinse again... maybe even neutralize with a mild base solution, and then spend hours applying layers of wax to replace what you've lost. Washing frequently, with a clean soft bristle brush, like @dewdev stated, is the key. You can't expect perfect results if you wash once a year, with any product. (Use an extra bucket with just water to rinse the brush, as you go. You'll be amazed at the grime released. That grime would otherwise scrub your wax and gelcoat.) Any good wax, with uv protection built in is good. Liquid waxes tend to leave a thinner layer of protection, requiring more frequent application, or multiple layers to build up. Paste waxes are more work. Higher carnuba content sinks more "into the tiny pores" of gelcoat, for a better seal, imo. The hybrid waxes with high carnuba,,and polywhatevers, are a win win. The marvels of modern chemistry. Routine cleaning, and waxing, is really the key. Imo.

I like the Oliver shower curtain rod and the shower curtain. The shower curtain drys very fast. We have been camping lately at campgrounds that charge for the hot water and if they are clean and have a changing room we use the campground one. If not, we just use the Ollie shower. Yes a little cramped but always clean and we do not take long showers.

So very beautiful, @routlaw! Worth the time, and extra preparation, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing with us.

I must be living under a rock! On the drive back to North Carolina from Wyoming I heard the song below and had never heard of this lady.

I assume that the small bottle is liquid wax?

Paraphrasing Groucho (with considerable license), any neighborhood who would allow a resident like me, I wouldn’t want to live in anyway. At this stage in life, any town with a stoplight is far too big. Here’s another soap/wax that does a reasonable job. Far easier than Collinite.

For years I've used dark colored towels that had seen better days for camping. Obviously, the color was to hide any real dirt they might come into contact with and being a bit fraid around the edges or having a couple of small holes really didn't hurt the function or my fashion sense. Unfortunately, even when camping in the relatively dry western mountains, these "normal" towels would tend to "sour" and during the occasional periods when it might rain for a few days in a row, they might never get dry. In talking about this with Shallowgal it was recommended that I try towels like THESE. I was warned that these towels would not be as soft and fluffy but that they would pack down to a very small size and would dry me and wouldn't "sour". I don't know (and really don't care) if it was the pups or the humans - but - Shallowgal was right. These towels are exactly as advertised. The smallest of the three in the set linked above I use in the kitchen. The middle size is about perfect for the Ollie bath while the largest size is good for the beach, campground bath houses or my shower tent. Bill

Do you think perhaps you accidentally set an alarm, causing the music to play "on its own?" My husband does this occasionally on his phone. Or, forgets to turn off the daily alarm setting, and I'm up at 3 or 4 am, searching for his phone...

We're on DAY-3 of a 14-day MC tour up the spine of the Rockies to MT and today we saw our first OTT of the trip... The Ollie in question was traveling north on CO 145 between Dolores and Rico at approximately 1345 today 10AUG. Tried to get a pic, but was a little busy at the time negotiating a few turns at a rather good clip... Anyone know who this might be? It's a small world so we won't be surprised if someone sees this post and shouts out, "It's us!" HA!

You can extend any thermostor/aka temp sensor a reasonable distance, just use HIGH quality connections (solder and heat shrink) and use an equal or heavier gauge (smaller number) wires. Then no worries - you won’t see any significant resistance increase. Especially for a sensor that has a range of 15,000 to 30000 ohms like the Zamp solar one!. Adding a few ohms to those figures is irrelevant. NO, NOPE, NO WAY: If you do anything in terms of splicing or repairing, always test the sensor before and then after the operation, in equal environmental conditions.. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/4205-how-to-check-your-zamp-battery-temperature-sensor-for-proper-operation/ John Davies Spokane WA

This is an exemplary, and prompt, response from Oliver Service. Such responsiveness is one reason we chose an Oliver.

More than likely - so were they!

We used 3m marine ultra paste wax for many years, boats and trailer, early spring and fall. Amazing uv protection. It's been, sadly, discontinued. When we used up the last of our 3m ultra marine, we switched to another Practical Sailor tested, and highly recommended paste wax, Collinite. Collinite is definitely more difficult to apply, but great testing and reviews. There are other products from Collinite, and other brands, available in a liquid form, for easier application. We're old school, and hate to mess with success, but, we'll consider those, as it gets harder to do the paste wax. Check out Practical Sailor testing and reviews. Imo, it's important to remain consistent with product. And,xthere are many great products our there, today. Ps, you asked about wash. We use the west marine pink soap. We don't want to wash the wax away. I don't remember the name, but I can look it up in the bills. Edit to add: it has a very fancy name, so I didn't remember it. "boat soap," lol. This one. It goes on sale several times a year. It's quite concentrated, so a gallon lasts a long time, even with regular washes. You can carry a pint or quart in a small container when traveling, instead of the whole big jug. It's biodegradable, and doesn't strip wax like some cheap soaps (and dish detergent.) Maguire's, Starbrite, and other big names in the marine world offer really good options, as well. We've found the West Marine to be pretty cost effective for our little "fleet" of fiberglass vessels and trailer.

While driving east towards Hohenwald, the sign below caught my eye. It is located about 6 miles west of the center of Hohenwald at GPS coordinates (approximate) N 35.559305 W 087.654186. Once I got to the Mothership I asked about the sign and was told that it has been there for approximately two years! Such a nice tribute to such a nice person that I was very privileged to know. And, in some small way, all Oliver owners can take a measure of pride in being associated with a company and product this man helped to create. Bill

On our July 2017 cross-country trips to take our daughter to college in Seattle, we found the crash site, and then went to Clear Lake and into the Surf Ballroom. Of course we listened to:

First time poster here. I've been following these Houghton threads on this forum for quite a while since we installed a Houghton 3400 in our class-b last summer. Last week I installed a relay to fix the humidity problem by allowing the low speed fan to get power only when the compressor is on. Auto mode works a lot better now in testing. This is the relay I used but any relay with a 120v AC coil should work. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087G6D24G Two pack because I like to have spares. There are multiple ways and connectors you can use to do it, but I used Wago three wire connector to connect the wire marked COMP to one side of the coil. Then another connector to add the N1 wire to the other coil terminal. Then connected the Fan low wire on the normally open terminal. I still have a problem where the thermostat is not at all accurate, but I'm trying something this weekend to try and improve that.

I have a Coleman 9.2k BTU in my Elite 2 and would replace with the same if/when it decides to give up on me. So far all of my camping has been in my home state of Florida and mostly during hot and humid weather conditions. Pretty much runs continuously on 90+ days, but always brings the temps and humidity down to comfortable levels within an hour or so of setup, and holds it for the duration. Uses around 10amps on AC and 16 amps on the 6k BTU heat strip.

The only person I every knew was my sister when she was young, but today I think she doesn't have them anymore. trainman

Plus you can stand under hot water a little longer!

We will use the campground showers most of the time if they are clean and kept up. We are mostly in state parks or COE. So far this last month we had good luck. If the showers are gross we have no problem using the Ollie or when boondocking. We like it just fine. The extra room at the campgrounds is nice and we can go a little longer before hitting the dump station.

Campground showers are usually ok if you are at a campground with showers. Many of us camp where there are no showers and so we use our Oliver shower a lot. Yes, some campground showers have cooties, or worse, but most are perfectly acceptable - just not as convenient as showering in the trailer. Mike

Thanks, ShallowGal, for the suggestion and the thread. Besides listening on long drives I've also found that these audio books are great for those nights when I'm a bit tired from fishing, its raining outside, its buggy outside, its ..... outside or I simply want to lay down but am not sleepy. My only problem is that I don't understand why it is that after laying there a bit I realize that the last thing I remember is something in chapter 5 and the book is now on chapter 9! 🙄

For people at the rally who asked for links to these items - Small Cargo Net (over each bed, dinette, door, and the two in the closet) Large Cargo Net (below the street side bed and under the attic) Map Pockets (by the front door and each side of the nightstand) Towel Bars (24" on the closet side, 18" on the dinette side) 1 ½" Stainless Mushroom Fitting (for running power cord into the attic) Deck Plate and Key (covers the hole on the spare tire cover) Recessed Anchors (for the bungees that hold the drawers in place) Shower Curtain Rod - Tubing (need 3 feet), Round Base (dinette wall), Lifeline Base and Clevis Slide (front wall) Shower Head (please read the separate thread on this since it's not a straight swap for the current one) Lagun Table Mount and Folding Table Top (I think I bought both from the UK store but it may be cheaper to order them separately. Be sure to check out the other style tops that they have, most of which are available in multiple sizes.) Folding Shelf Brackets (search for the counter extension thread to see how I had to modify them) Shower Door Magnet Luminoodles (pantry and access port lighting) Hopefully that's it. Thanks to all who came by - great to meet everyone. If I forgot anything, please let me know.