Leaderboard

We lived in Washington state for 26 years before moving to Colorado. I also agree with EurekaJ's comments. There is so much to see and do in the PNW! I hope you are allowing lots of time. If you have flexibility, I might suggest you plan for September as the crowds are a little less and the weather is still spectacular. After Labor Day, you may find it a little easier to find availability and a little more elbow room. The Oregon coast is really special with amazing places I would put on your list (from South to North) - (these are just a few) Cape Kiwanda - hike up the sand dunes on the North side of Pacific Beach for unbelievable views, especially at sunset. Cape Mears Lighthouse Oswald West State Park - from the parking lot, take the paved trail under 101 highway to Short Sand Beach Cannon Beach/Haystack Rock - great beach town, Haystack Rock is an Oregon icon. Ecola State Park - Drive all the way out to Indian Beach for fantastic views and scenery As a side-note, the coast of Washington is really not worth visiting except from Klaloch north into the NP. I might follow EurekaJs suggestion of visiting Fort Steven's at the mouth of the Columbia River and then heading east back to I-5 and from there up to Rainier NP. While in Olympic NP, make sure to take the drive up to Hurricane Ridge. I would plan to do this in the evening. All the tourists head down the mountain around 5pm but it's still light until almost 10pm that time of year. When the crowds are gone in the evening, the wildlife comes out. I've seen marmot, bears, fox and deer. Drive along the ridge to the end parking lot and take the short hiking trail for incredible views across to Mt. Olympus and the whole Olympic range. Go early or late for Rainier NP as well. It can be an absolute zoo around the visitor centers and nearby trails mid-day. Mt. Rainier is considerably more stunning in the early morning light or at sunset. I would recommend the Paradise visitor center area on the South side over the Sunrise visitor center on the North side. If you are a hiker, one of my very favorite hikes, ever, is Pinnacle Saddle. https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/pinnacle-saddle If you are going all the way up to North Cascades NP, you might also consider a side trip out to the San Juan Islands. You could leave your trailer and take the ferry across from Anacortes. The ferry ride is beautiful and you could get lucky and see the resident Orca whales or take a whale watching boat from San Juan Island. I've rambeled on enough. Hope this is of some help and happy answer questions if I can...

Several of parks you mentioned, particularly Lassen and Crater Lake and the North Cascades can be difficult to get reservations at that time of year. This year in particular may be dicey due to probable park shutdowns. Forest Service and BLM may also be hit hard so keep an eye on it. The Redwoods don't have a ton of campsites available and they tend to be smaller, older campgrounds. Don't miss that park though as the hikes are otherworldly. Yosemite and the other West Slope parks are also pretty tough to access late summer. Don't miss the coast of Oregon - tons of campgrounds and truly spectacular country - ditto for the coast of Washington although it is thinner on camping opportunties. The volcanic high lakes country just South of Bend, OR is spectacular and tends to have available sites in the FS campgrounds or, failing that, boondocking areas. Fires, particularly on the East slope of the Cascades in OR and WA can be a challenge mid to late summer - very weather dependent. I have spent my whole life in the Northwest and travel it extensively every year. I do not hesitate to just wing it and that generally works out but be ready to deploy plans B, C & D. Make it a habit to try to get into your site early in the day or, better yet, reserve well in advance and you should be fine.

I totally agree with all the recommendations above, except I'd also skip the WA coast past the Oregon border! If you want to continue North toward Canada, and see the area around Port Townsend, then that's worth it and little more complicated for a short discussion. I was glad to see that Lassen Volcanic Park is already on your list, it’s one of our favorite National Parks with lots to do and see in the area. Lassen’s Manzanita Lake campground, surrounded by snow capped mountains, is spectacular. If your a fisherman, there is premier fly fishing in the lake, and nearby Hat Creek. And since you will be that far south, then come 4 hours West to Eureka! South of Eureka is the famous Avenue of the Giants (Redwoods) and many great campgrounds. North of Eureka, Hwy 101 goes all the way up the CA and OR coast with lots more redwoods mostly on the CA side. As mentioned, most of the state parks are typically booked six months in advance during the summer, and it’s best to reserve if you can. But we travel the coast every summer without reservations, which is doable if you're willing to hit a few different places and shop around while exploring. Many of the local camps are still first come first serve, and there are always last minute cancelations and private campgrounds. Some parks have un-reserved ADA sites, and you can usually stay there after 5:00. We like the flexibility of not being on a reservation schedule because sometimes the rain totally sucks, and other times it's gorgeous. Patrick's Point, recently renamed Sue-Meg, is another of our favorite spots just minutes north of Eureka. There is whale and seal watching from the cliffs, a Sumac Indian village, Agate Beach, scenic Trinidad Harbor, nearby Elk herds, and great walking trails. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park is another great spot just east of Crescent City. It's a lessor known park on the beautiful and sparkling clear Smith River. There is a recently discovered ancient redwood groove within a short walk that is protected with elevated walkways. Yes, it’s true! We also recommend taking a scenic jet boat tour up either the Klamath or Rouge rivers. Oh, and stop at the giant Paul Bunyan and Oxen attraction near Orrick, CA. It looks like a kids place, but it’s well worth stopping for the museum and the gondola ride above the old growth redwood canopy. If you get in a pinch near Eureka, give us a shout. You can alway hook-up in our yard under the redwoods, next to a massive 1500 year old stump. There might be some bears around, and there might definitely be snacks! Cheers! Geoff

I have lived in Oregon my whole life. You have planned an awesome trip. I second the recommendation to visit the Olympic National Park in Washington with a day trip to Victoria (and Butchart gardens) via passenger ferry. As for the Oregon coast, I would seriously consider the incredibly scenic Southern Oregon Coast instead of the much more crowded central Oregon coast. Since you are planning to visit the redwoods, afterwords you can just continue north on Highway 101 from Crescent City California through Brookings, OR and north to Reedsport where you could loop back east to interstate 5 if you wanted to. Some of the nicest coastal State Parks in Oregon are in the remote south coast stretch and there is less tourist pressure. The other thing I would share is that if you only see the western part of Oregon and Crater Lake, you will miss some of the best of the state. Over half of Oregon lies east of Crater Lake and is high dessert and canyonland country. Much of it is very remote with few lodging opportunities and only the lucky folks with a good trailer can easily take advantage of it. If you have time, one of the most remote and spectacular places in Oregon is Steens Mountain. Should you decide to make just one stop in Eastern Oregon along the way, I would suggest making it Steens Mountain and surroundings. (Steens Mountain is the first place I went after I brought my Ollie home from Hohenwald). You can reach Steens Mountain by traveling west from Interstate 84 at Ontario, OR, or west on Interstate 80 out of Salt Lake City and cutting north at Winnemucca on highway 140 to Steens Mountain (Frenchglen, OR). There is a wonderful BLM campground outside tiny Frenchglen called Page Springs, and it is close to the start of a gravel road that allows you to drive to the top of spectacular Steens Mountain itself at over 9.000 feet. Your timing will be good for a visit to Steens Mountain as it is only accessible a few months out of the year due to late snow melt (July) and closure when the first snow falls in late September or October. (bring insect repellent) The surrounding area is rich in history, much of which dates back to the mid-1800's, the Oregon Trail, Cattle Barons and gold and silver mining. From Steens Mountain, you can continue on to Crater Lake via Bend, OR and then south down to Lassen and then west over to the Redwoods. Something to consider if you have the time.

Lost my front one last year on the way up to TN. We were in Nashville, were leaving the trailer at CGI Detailing, went to put the front jack down and saw that the foot had departed. My immediate concern was the potential for causing damage, injury, and general mayhem behind me after spitting out a fairly good chunk of metal at high speed on a crowded freeway. Secondarily, did a thorough inspection of the underside to make sure it hadn't put a hole in the fiberglass, much to our relief it had not. Popped over to Oliver since I was in Nashville to pick up a replacement and applied blue Loctite to hopefully avoid any future incidents. Now part of my regular inspection, both front and back. Sounds like this is a recurring event that necessitates repeated close inspection.

Never tire of this campground. Aguirre Springs, site #18. Campground was nearly empty so finally got what I consider to be the best site. Organ Mtns, NM. White Sands on plains below to left

John, Hoping all goes well with Lou and his staff with your install. Maybe post up on how the install goes? I think you will be very happy with the Alcan leaf pack, HD shackles and wet bolts. Oliver Service might be able to ship you a jack pad/steel foot or for the bottom of your stabilizer or front jack. Or better yet a local RV shop may have a spare. I would consider using a little blue locktite on the fastener to secure it. Safe Travels!

OK, so I broke down big-time and spent a lot of money on hose fittings. This is getting to be too much, but thank you @Patriot as I am looking forward to future ease in watering... I added quick connects to the 3 water inlets (not the black tank rinse), the 25' and 10' hoses we travel with, our water filtration system, the 35-gal tank in the TV, other hose attachments and I believe we are good-to-go. Nice that I can get everything connected and torqued down, knowing these connections should be mostly permanent. I could not spend another $50 or more for fancy hose endcaps, but got these instead: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SKXR0C?ref=fed_asin_title&th=1 They fit just right, like the price and the retro look! 🤣

GJ, yes certainly. The relevant charging specs are the battery manufacturer's specifications. Most chargers are configurable. I spent time programming our NEW Victron MP2 and our OEM installed Blue Sky solar charger to configure per Epoch LiFePO4 parameters, voltage settings for bulk, float, etc. This is a must, however... For secondary chargers like the DC-DC charger, or for example a 30A MPPT solar charger, connected occasionally to a suitcase, it is so much less important! These chargers are temporary, so does it matter if the charge rate is somewhat off the specs? NOT. Your not using these secondary chargers to bring the batteries up to 100% SOC periodically. We use these secondary chargers when SOC is low enough to care and take the time to connect. Use your LI batteries to their potential. It's crazy that one 300AH Epoch at $900 today would replace the 3x Battleborn batteries. But as long as yours are working and satisfying your needs, @MAX Burner has talked to this, just keep them charged! Another consideration is the charge rate (Amps). our Victron MP2 can charge up to a 120A rate. The Epoch batteries can handle up to 200A, but they suggest 50A as a conservative charge, so I set my MAX charge rate to 50A. When you park at a campground and connect after a few days disconnected, a 50A charge rate will always get you back to 100% SOC by the time you leave the next morning. 😂

We pulled into a campground for the night in Ft. Stockton Texas, I started to unhitch and noticed that the front jack foot was loose. I tightened it and checked the other two. The rear ones were tight. I checked them all right after we purchased our trailer in 2017 and haven’t thought about them since. Probably something to check periodically and will add some blue loctite to each bolt. Probably not good to lose one, at least I’d hate to run over one.

Jason said there will be an Oliver Rep at our rally. I am also in talks with Lippert who is the Girard Awning folks.. they may consider attending but may also provide a door prize for the BBQ night

Thanks for posting. It would have never occurred to me to check this. Looks like lock tight is in order.

We just arrived at Alcan for our axle replacements and noticed that one of ours had "left the building"...we're looking for a suitable substitute for the jack pad. I think ebay is a possibility. We just passed 53000 miles on "Bessie" and suspect our full timing is a little more demanding on a trailer than many experience. GJ's comments make a lot of sense...check tightness periodically and maybe a safety chain :) John

JD I'm finding this to be be true for us...

Was it colder than 40 degrees overnight, because a Truma will come on automatically to prevent freezing in the closed loop portion of the water heater.

I already have the 1/2” trim lok drip rail above the windows and door! 😊

Yes, using reserveamerica.com. I tried some other dates and looked at the availability view and did see some openings, thanks. Once I nail down our dates hopefully there will be a spot for us. We are right on the edge of the 6 month reservation window, so that might work in our favor too!

We lived in the Seattle area for 35 years. It is much cooler than Texas during August and September! It is also one of the driest places in the USA during July and August, believe it or not. The Northwest does not get the Southwest monsoons that time of year. But, by mid-September, the cloudy/drizzly weather moves back in. I concur with EurekaJ's recommendations above. While you are north of Seattle, I also recommend a night or two at Deception Pass State Park near Anacortes, Washington. And, if you are history buffs, a visit to Lewis and Clark's Fort Clatsop south of Astoria in Oregon is worth a stop. Plus, I recommend a few days exploring the Oregon Coast. I would book an RV site at Beverly Beach State Park (one of the nicer state parks we have been to) and do day trips from there, both north and south, to explore the many spectacular beaches and coastal rock formations.

The Texas Oliver Rally 2025, for Oliver Owners only, will be held October 20, 21, 22. Checking in Oct 20 and checking out Oct 23 at Lake Mineral Wells State Park. For those interested in attending starting May 20 you can reserve a campsite. A potluck dinner is scheduled for Oct 21 and. BBQ dinner us scheduled for Oct 22. A hall at the campground has been reserved for these dates. Paula Ratcliff has arranged for live music for the potluck dinner. I have contacted Truma and they will have a service rep on site. If you need service, you are to contact Shelley Deisinger at s.deisinger@trumacorp.com be sure and let her know you are at a campsite during our rally. I did reach out to Girard but they let me know they will not be at our rally. A representative of the Oliver approved dealer in Ft Worth, United RV will be providing the BBQ dinner. However I had to reserve the group dining hall at $180 per day, so I hope everyone will contribute to this cost. Hopefully someone from Oliver will also be there. Jason E. Attended our last one.

I’m starting the planning for a trip to visit some National Parks and states we haven’t been to. This will be a late summer trip, August/September. Planning to visit Lassen, Redwood, Crater Lake, Mt. Ranier, Olympic and North Cascades National Parks. Would also like to work in some coast driving (101) and camping. We’ve never been to either state so if anybody has any recommendations or advice it would be appreciated. I’m sure the weather is somewhat cooler there in late summer than it is here in south Texas! Mike

This is Aguirre Spring in January…

After May 20 I will post a link to a Google Sheets so you can add your name and site and if you plan to participate in the potluck and BBQ. It will also have a place for you to put your hull #. It is the only way I know that shows you are an Oliver Owner.

I have awnings on both sides and the seal does collect stuff, but I just take a brush to it and water pressure and clean the area. I don't think much about it either. John

Yes, and thanks again Patriot. These are going to make water connections easy. @Ronbrink used Igloo caps and instead of the assembly hanging in your picture, I'm using these rubber caps for $1 ea. Three of the Eley female connectors total $50 (with 15% off) plus tax.

That reminds me that there are a few automotive designers that need to be slapped around a bit….. Having to pull an engine to change a spark plug sounds like a good reason for capitol punishment. One shouldn’t need to be double jointed and have eyes on one’s fingertips to do periodic maintenance on any device. That said your suggestion of “well you put it there” is unlikely to phase anyone.

You may well be getting older (glad it’s only you 😂 ) but it sounds like you’ve got a good amount of get-up-and-go left in you with that description of the work you did! On valves - We have the “Autovent” option for the gray water “fill” from the factory. Keeps the grey water out of the shower pan while moving. Oliver installs the switch in the closet with a spring-loaded open/close rocker switch. We remember to open/close it -most- of the time. I suppose even it will need seals replaced eventually. Then again, unless it’s a dramatic failure, I don’t think it’s as critical as the dump valves. Grey tank dump - that T handle moved quite easily. Short cable. Hopefully it will last us the ten years yours has. Maybe it will be the next owner’s problem. I have no plans to upgrade it to electric. Blank tank dump - I think that horse is dead. I’m dismounting. Tank Additives - We usually use an odor-control additive in the black tank. Only occasionally in the grey tank. I really miss the good old Thetford blue stuff. It was quite effective and actually made the black tank dumping smell kinda good. I think it was the same stuff they use(d?) in commercial ports-potties. Pretty sure it had formaldehyde, so mere mortals prolly can’t obtain it. My current favorites are Thetford Aqua Max “Summer Cypress Scent”. It smells nice. Downsides are I think they’re optimistic about one packet treating 40 gallons…. That, and it doesn’t dissolve completely. Leaves some grainy specsks behind. (I dissolved on in a clear container with plenty of warm water.) I’m also leery of the packets. I think they’re some kind of gelatin, and I’ve found they don’t dissolve completely either. That said, I probably won’t buy them again. The Camco TST liquid seems the safest bet to me. Nothing to clog up or be left behind. As for my least favorite, “Happy Camper” gets the nod. I can’t understand the raves on Amazon. The stuff doesn’t dissolve easily, and tends to harden like plaster! Looks like an invitation to gunked-up valves! That, and I find it has about zero odor control. I have half a bucket of it left that I’ll donate to a non-discerning RVer. As for valve lubricants and treatments, I’ve tried the Thetford valve lubricant to try to help my black tank valve - and it did nothing. Probably because it was the cable, not the valve. Anyway, I suppose you can get away with using no additives at all - but emptying the black tank (and even the grey tank) are gonna be a smelly adventure!

Roger on the locktite....will post next week on the install (so far so good). Thanks :)

These black end caps are Oliver OEM. You must be talking about the brass end caps that the black caps screw into. I attach the brass end caps you see in pic to my fresh water hose or filter connection for ease of quick connect. When breaking base camp, I just screw the black end caps and secure for travel. Agreed, the Ely fittings must have 1% gold flake in them 😄, they sure are proud of them. Looking good JD! Mod On! 😎

Wow, thanks Rich for this video! If I had seen this a couple weeks ago, I might have purchased Drain Master RV waste valves, expensive though at $635 for a 2-valve set. https://drainmaster.com/rv/product/pro-series-s3vt-kit-2-valves-6002 The design of these would allow installation at the gray valve which is flush to the floor. I did just buy a tub of Molykote on Amazon which will be delivered tomorrow. It seems better than the lube I've been using designed for swimming pool plumbing. I'll wait on reinstalling my last, most difficult to reach gray valve, until I can apply this product. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VV6QZ7N?ref=fed_asin_title

Just an FYI on lubricating dump valves/seals by Ray from ”Love your RV and boat”.

I’ve noticed ours does the same thing. Haven’t figured it out yet other than the only way to assure it stays of is to turn off the switch under the outside cover.

Did you try to reserve via the Oregon State Parks page at reserveamerica.com? https://oregonstateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/beverly-beach-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=OR&parkId=402126#sr_a I just checked for a 2- night stay on a random August 12 2025 date and found a number of RV sites available. I recommend you try again, maybe trying different dates and stay lengths. Good luck!

We hope you had a safe and dry drive northbound yesterday! Cold in Waco today, low 20's tonight - stay warm, brother!

Just checked Beverly Beach SP for availability in August. All reservable sites are reserved. It looks like a 6 month reservation window and a number of sites are not reservable, I’m assuming they are probably first come first served. Big park! Will continue to check.

I just thought of another…. If you are transiting Central Oregon (near Bend) along your route, I suggest you look into the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The campgrounds near Paulina Lake are beautiful. It is a remarkably diverse geologic region - the monument is quite large, it is just not substantial enough to be a NP. This has the added advantage of being slightly off the beaten path away from the many other popular Pacific Northwest destinations.

I recommend you look into the US101 loop of Olympic National Park. While most of the scenic opportunities (Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh Rainforest) require day trips to get up into the national park itself, they are both worth it. If you can stay near Port Angeles (north of Hurricane Ridge) you would also have a day trip opportunity to ferry to Victoria BC and the beautiful Butchart Gardens. Additionally, while this may not coincide closely with your National Park strategy, perhaps you might visit the area near the mouth of the Columbia River - Cape Disappointment, WA and the Columbia River Maritime Museum in Astoria, OR across the river. You will get a sense of why the call the mouth of the Columbia the “graveyard of the Pacific”. It’s usually quite nice in the summer (not Texas hot), it’s just plain nasty in the winter.

A bench inspection of all 3 valves showed something quite interesting. With cables detached, the black waste valve opened and closed easily yet the seals were crusty and looked more worn. The seals on the gray valves looked to be in better condition yet the valve mechanisms on both gray valves were stuck, all gunk-ed up! My thinking is soap and/or tank additives in the gray plumbing caused this and the black tank is certainly a different chemistry. I cannot be sure with 3 prior owners of our hull what was used through the years. I remember our good friend Steve @ScubaRx writing that he does not use additives, has not for years, and I believe we’re going with that plan going forward. I was so hoping not to have to replace the gray waste valve since I had installed our Victron MP2 directly over it. Last week I reached down and around the inverter and with much pain and patience. I loosed the Allen key on the cable and the two Phillips screws to remove the sheath. With the cable detached I found the valve was near impossible to move by hand. What I feared came true, and today with much pain I removed this valve. Was very happy to get the valve out and in only 2 hours, considering all. First of course, I removed the ground to the batteries and switched off the solar. I had to unstrap the inverter and pull the 42 LB beast up far enough out of the way to work below it. I used a steel bracket to hold it up. I feared I had taped the shelf down strong with the VHB tape, but it popped off with a strong pull due to the slick shelving material. The waste valve was jammed so hard into the floor that the two bottom bolts were extremely difficult to remove (see impression of the waste valve in the floor insulation in 2nd picture). They were also rusty given their bottom location. You needed two open-ended 7/16” wrenches and the back bolt is extremely hard to reach being under the aisle floor. I spent 30 min on these two bolts alone! I’m really good at wrenching in tight spots from considerable experience. Most of you reading this, I strongly suggest getting OTT to replace this valve when you feel "it’s time." If they charge more than a hour labor, a good retort would be, “Well you put it there!” There was a rubber mat installed under the gray tank which was halfway under the waste valve. I cut this rubber out in the area where the valve is bolted to make the reinstall a little easier. The gray valve was much worse than the picture reveals and the fact that this valve was installed horizontally makes all the residue collect on the lower side causing friction on one side adding to overall pull & push resistance. I replaced entire valve assembly for the gray and just the seals on the black. The gray pull cable is about 4' short and looks fine with a slight curve. I will replace the 144” black cable when it arrives. Before we travel next week, I’ll get the garden hose in the Oliver, fill the black and gray tanks some, run water into the shower drain to test all 3 valves. Tomorrow I should install the new gray valve. It will not be easy as the two flanges do not sit parallel. The two bottom bolts will be fun again! Then I need a plug and some fiberglass repair for the hole in the bathroom wall, and I'm sure I'll see other needs. Sure hope to be good very soon... and for another 10+ years!

We had our Truma burner unit replaced yesterday. Oliver is only getting 15-20+/- burner replacements every 3-4+ weeks. It is going to be a long process. As their letter stated you can get it done by an approved Truma repair company and Oliver will reimburse you. Oliver was very proactive on this and unfortunately a number of Owners have been disrespectful to Oliver Service. Just hook up and go camping. Things will get done.

Mine is on there. It fills up with crap. I clean it and I move on. Don't give it much thought really.