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After having more than my fill of the latest “state of the art” weather forecasters, here is what we know so far. 🙄 😂

For those camping in chilly conditions, here’s what we did to avoid bumping a bare leg, butt, or shoulder against the trailer wall. I got a 30”x84” yoga mat, cut it in half lengthways, and tuck it between the mattress and wall. This is more comfortable, and has the added benefit of allowing any moisture from condensation on the window to run between the wall and the mat, and then under the Hypervent, keeping the mattress dry. The 84” length doesn’t quite cover the entire side and end of the wall, coming up short by about a foot. We have that gap next to the nightstand. https://a.co/d/eJCYCXD

It was a great week at the Q. Thought I'd share some pictures! 😂 First couple of nights everyone was over by that odd looking trailer with all the lights (actually VERY comfortable inside), where Art @MAX Burner generally has his famous Blackstone cooking away! Wednesday night was dinner at our camp where Chris cooked an Italian feast. Pasta and meat sauce, salad and cheesy garlic bread were a big hit! 😎 In attendance were Steve & Tali, Art, Lance and Gary, Rhonda and Ruth (towing some nice older hulls). Don't forget the pups; Rocky, Oscar, Hessie and our Charley. We all made new friends when just a few hours prior Steve & Nancy arrived from northern Indiana towing Hull # 166! Barely a mention of their furnace not working and @ScubaRx was off to their rescue, removing the sail switch on their Atwood furnace which needed cleaning and alignment, soon it fired right up! Later their younger dog Buddy made a stir with the old dogs! And we kept some up past their bedtimes! 🤣

Yeah, I have announced to my company that I'm done with the "norm" in December. As some of you may know, I'm considering doing more "physical" stuff, not sitting at the keyboard as much. It may somehow involve helping others with minor stuff on their own Fiberglass campers. We'll see. I have good PTO and may not return too quickly after the October Oliver Rally. One of the first things I want to do is get one or two official RV certs, travel, have fun, learn, share, and help. In that order maybe. I do have some holes in my knowledge and usually a scaredy-cat to try new things on my own. I want to dive in deeper into the electrons of campers. LOL

I have no clue to what you're saying but it really sounds neat!😅 Bill

Great pics!! Lots of familiar faces, brings back memories of our many days at there.

It can be scary -- but if you are prepared financially, there is nothing more glorious than the freedom to busy yourself with whatever suits your fancy every day!

Nice Thanks for sharing.

Been through 3 barn burner storms. January 27, 1967, 23"+ and 50 mile winds with 20' snow drifts. January 1978, 36"+ with over 50 mph winds and drifts reaching 20', and 1979, 23"+ and drifting. Looking like 8"-10". Hoping they are wrong.

Probably most members and readers of the Forum are aware of the "brewing" winter storm that is forecast to hit the southern states this weekend. But, for those that are not - it is forecast to start Friday over in the mid to northern Texas area and move through Oklahoma and Arkansas. Then on Saturday morning it moves over Tennessee, the northern part of South Carolina, and North Carolina. Continuing through Saturday and well into Sunday the storm then moves slightly north before exiting off the coast in the mid Atlantic region. While totals of snow are as high as 18 inches, it is the ice that will cause many problems - downed power lines and roads that are very difficult to clear. For those not familiar with the southern States - many simply do not have the equipment to deal with either the ice nor the amount of snow that is forecast. If anyone and or their Ollie is in this area of the country, NOW is the time to prepare for this storm. Be careful and best of luck to everyone in dealing with all that is to come from a winter wonderland. Bill p.s. HERE is one forecaster's take on the storm

Returning to the Oliver Rally -- the right place to begin to learn more! Lots of Oliver owners show up and are happy to answer questions, plus the seminars. See you there.

Have Oliver, will travel!

FYI We updated our web page with pix and campground maps from our Fall trip (Sept-Dec): Sept-Dec 2025 Trip on Loneliest HWY, Alcan Springs, Grand Canyon & More We've also started planning our trip (Red Lines) to the Oliver Rally in October along with stops at NP and Quilt Shops (Missouri Star) and Ft. Wilderness. Craig & Rose

I love your map with all the various trips!

We turned the fridge on DC one full week ago, the old absorption fridge running on DC 24x7 since. Courtesy Lights on 24x7 too. Coffee water heated daily with 1100W electric kettle. TV and soundbar on morning and night. Cooked on the induction plate, fired the Emeril Air Fryer and ran the new Chill Cube A/C three times just to play with it! It’s been winter hazy, smoke at the Q with fires in the distance and all the dirt RV’rs stir up, not much solar, say +6A on average. We just got back home. If we were camping longer, I could have setup the Renogy 400W suitcase. Still running the fridge since by Monday we’re “on the Road Again!” Might be time to plug in! Though we still have 128 Ah available! 🤣 Looking at the app, it’s so cool LiFePO4 batteries can be down to 14% SOC and still have 12.9V potential! I can tell the fridge isn’t cooling at this moment, since we are charging net +7.3A. My new 3rd battery is again lower than the others, but not the major delta as before. It’s nice not being in a hurry to switch to LP or plug in! 😎

theOrca

It’s an old Emerson basic WiFi thermostat with the Sensi app.

A recent update on the weather. I wonder if this guy providing the forecast actually breathes? 😄🤷‍♂️😄 Be Safe!

Actually, thinking back to when we had the heat pump installed, it could not be under any structure. The original heat pump was installed on the edge of a patio, and then some time later the owners added an aluminum awning. When we replaced the heat pump, we couldn’t put in in the original location because code said it couldn’t be under the awning several feet overhead, even though it was right at the edge of the awning. So we had to pour a pad to the side for installation.

Agree, planning to have 3/12 pitch (new at this) and making it easy to set up/take down along with compact storage. Will see! 🙂 Thanks,

My OLEll has the new style, which solved much of the problem with trays coming loose in older models and causing damage to box doors. However, one should take care and ensure both catches are fully engaged when closing. Occasionally upon slamming the tray into the secured position, only one of the catches will fully latch correctly. It’s easy to overlook, so owners with this type tray need to visibility verify that each spring-loaded catch is properly seated. A second ‘slam’ usually gets it done! Because these catches are horizontally mounted at each side of the battery tray, it is more difficult to further lock them in place in such manner as @jd1923 and @mossemi have successfully achieved. Has anyone figured out a way to deter theft with these new style battery trays? Early in ownership I replaced the stock 12V Bright Way SLA/AGM batteries with 6V Trojan T-105 flooded lead acid batteries. In time the off-gasses from the Trojans deteriorated the battery securement straps, both the webbing and plastic buckles. This caused the tray hooks to loosen and require vigilant inspections. When upgrading to LFPs, I made a new set of straps which have held tight thus far!

Just checked our forecast here and it appears freezing rain and a chance of a wintery mix forecasted with no significant snow fall accumulation. Certainly all subject to change. 3 years ago when we had our 24KW Generac installed, I still remember a few neighbors thinking it was sorta crazy to spend money on something we hope we never have to use. 🤔 The power does not go out that often which is true however, when it does it sure is nice to have a backup/contingency plan. The freezing temps are predicted to be diving down into the lower teens for the next week or so at night here in Western NC. Suffice to say, during extended power outages with no heat it does not take long for a home to cool down and pipes to freeze. Eventually food in freezers with no ⚡️will expire. For times such as these we are really glad we got our LNG fueled Generac installed. Stay Prepped, Stay Safe and Stay Warm!

@Chris Scarff I will add that if you have your finances in order, retirement will be the best job you ever had! Mossey

Here's the old & new style battery tray:

Good luck to all in the path of this storm from your friends up north.

Retirement was a great decision for us. If the finances are right and you want to get your Oliver on the road maybe there will be less “Erggg” in your decision making! Mike

I just confirmed my dates and site for October rally. I'll be getting in early, thankfully. 19 - 26 October, Site G33. This will be a critical time for me to decide whether I will be retiring this year or not. If you see me sitting on the dock early mornings, as usual, you'll know what I'm thinking about. Erggg.

Li'l Ollie because it's a Hillbilly from the mountains of East Tennessee.

Just had Alcan redo our Hull 505 with new springs. Here's a video showing how they make the springs...starting at 1:14 mark for about 2 minutes. After a spring replacement with an Alcan 4spring pack we need to retorque nuts. Q) What size sockets are needed to tighten all the nuts after a spring replacement from Alcan? A) Here is the detail from Alcan: You need a 22mm or 7/8” socket and 150ft-lb torque wrench for Ubolts and inside shackle bolts Use a 21mm or 13/16” as backer wrench or standard depth socket on nuts outside of shackle. Mileages: Retorque u-bolts & shackles at 50mi, 100 mi and 500miles after installation, then yearly check. Torques Values: U-Bolts 90 ft-lbs Shackles: 65 ft-lb (Note - use 21mm or 13/16” backing wrench on outside of shackles) Also check lug nuts to wheel specs at each interval as well.

Craig, besides the 7/8” deep socket Ken mentioned, a 13/16” socket might be needed to hold the front side of the shackle wet-bolts if they were to slip. A deep-well socket may be needed here too to fit over the Zerks. The other day, the bolt holding the equalizer to the center hanger was spinning on mine. Using 13/16” socket and short extension, the breaker bar hanging between the tires, I was then able to tighten/torque while the tire held the bar in front! 😎 (thought at first, I would need to ask Chris to hold the front side). Nice for Ken, 7/8” works for all! I need 15/16” for Dodge wheels and 3/4” for Oliver wheels. I bring all sizes from 1/2” to 15/16” in deep-well 1/2” drive impact sockets and the same sizes in short sockets 3/8” drive. Also have 1/2” to 3/8” and 3/8” to 1/2” drive adapters to use any socket in any ratchet, ratchets in all sizes, and a 1/2” breaker bar that fits into a 2 ft cheater bar! I want to be able to make repairs like replace a water pump/serpentine belt on the road, change Nev-R Lube bearings (see thread on that with tools listed), most auto repairs. That should do it! 🤣

"The Wonder Egg" - because 17 years ago when it was in production, an Oliver travel trailer was cutting edge manufacturing technology in the fiberglass trailer world. It was a wonder the factory was so eager to accommodate any modification I wanted them to make to hull #14. Solar power was not common way back then, I have the first 2000w inverter, they also wired it for my ham radio hobby which makes it so simple to connect my radio on the inside to a long range antenna on the outside. They placed the springs above the axle to make it easier to maneuver and park in heavily wooded areas. They added an analogue phone line connection near the dinette (hahaha). I have specialized graphics which required them to reposition the license plate. I've now gone to disk brakes - uncommon on single axle trailers, making it even more wondrous! There were perks to being an early bird.

No name, but often referred to as My COW (Condo-on-Wheels) and storage facility the COW Barn.

XPLOR - It’s what we do with our Oliver in tow. Johnson Bay, Maine today.

It looks like @Geronimo John and I were thinking alike and writing at the same time! Great minds… 🤣

OLIVER FORUM GUIDELINES Welcome to the Oliver Forum, a great place for Oliver Travel Trailer owners and future owners to interact, share knowledge, solve problems, and most importantly, to develop friendships. Respectful and considerate responses help build this community. You’ll find a wealth of experiences here, and many owners willing to share their experiences. Have fun, but please keep others’ viewpoints in mind. Respectfully state your point, share your information, or ask your question. Keep it casual and friendly. Reread your post before you hit submit. Is it helpful? Thoughtful? Please try to stay on the original topic of the thread. Confusing the issue may cause the member’s original question to go unanswered. Start a new topic if you have a new question. It’s important for all members to have the environment and opportunity to contribute in a considerate manner, and to learn. Inflammatory and trolling comments shall be removed by a volunteer moderator. We encourage members to use the “REPORT” function (bottom right corner of each post) to help us, as we’re not reading every post, 24/7. If your post is removed, you’ll receive a PM about it. If there is a continuing problem, further action may be taken, up to and including your removal from the forum. Some inflammatory topics to avoid include religion and politics. We’re all about camping, and Oliver campers. Over the years, we’ve seen a few simple topics turn into heated debates. It’s natural to want to jump in, but honestly, it’s often better to let it go, and hit the report button, instead. We moderators are avid campers. Even as we write this, we are all out camping, some with limited bandwidth. We respond as quickly as we can, and the sooner we know, the better. Some have asked why our forum is linked to the Oliver website. Valid question. Since the beginning of our forum in 2008, Oliver Travel Trailers (OTT) has paid for our Oliver “sandbox”, including our web space and an administrator who knows way more than we do about maintaining the software, for which we are very grateful. OTT DOES NOT CENSOR OR INTERFERE with the moderators’ management of the forum content. Moderators are not employees of OTT. We are Ollie owners, and receive no remuneration. OTT does have a employee designated to read the forum for the purpose of improving the “Ollie Experience” for all, but that’s a few minutes a day in a busy job description. If you should ever have an issue or a warranty claim, call tech support. Your post might not be seen on the forum by an Oliver employee. With that in mind, we moderators ask you to communicate directly with the company and afford them an opportunity to satisfy any serious needs before flaming OTT on the forum. We are not asking that anything to be swept under the rug. Just, please, let Oliver Travel Trailers have the first shot to meet and exceed your expectations. Sometimes, communications here may be misinterpreted, because the written word just doesn’t carry the visual clues of face to face conversations. Should you believe a post is a little ill-mannered, consider the poster might be trying to be helpful, but isn’t able to put his or her words together the way you might. Forums work best when our skin tends to be a bit on the thicker side. Remember as well, whatever you post will likely be permanent, and picked up by automated internet software programs. Though this is our forum, it’s still on the world wide web. Our words may very well outlive us. Please, be especially patient with newbies. Our search feature is still being tweaked, and they may not have found an answer by simply using “Search”. You may remember your own newbie questions . . . of many years ago. If you have already answered the same newbie question as many times as you care to, relax and allow someone else to step up and reply. Help foster a community of teachers. We recommend all phone numbers and email addresses be sent in private messages and NOT posted. If you must post personal data, we suggest you post in a manner so trolling automated internet programs will not grab your personal information and use it nefariously. For instance, a phone number might be “8ThreeZero, 5one5, 9 2 eight seven”, or for an email address, something like “Bill DOT Fisher at flyboy DOT com”. Please reread this, and help us continue to make our forum a great place for everyone. We hope you enjoy our forum. Thank you, bugeyedriver, SeaDawg, ScubaRx, Mike and Carol, topgun2 , Mossemi Oliver Owner Moderator Team