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After nine years, finally had a problem with the SMEV cooktop. The bigger burner (of course) lit with a full, beautiful blue flame, but wouldn't stay lit. Not after multiple tries (with longer hold times, finally up to a thirty count.) I cleaned the burner, and the cover, and the thermocouple pin. The igniter ceramic coated pin, for good measure. Still a no go. So, I figured, likely the thermocouple was bad. Making coffee, pancakes, and sausage on the little burner, for a group, was not a fun prospect. I tried lighting again, looked at the position of the pin vs the flame, and thought the pin was out of the flame. I let everything cool, and applied moderate pressure to the pin with my thumb to get it back in the flame. Tried again. Got my burner back! I'd probably bent the pin at some point cleaning the cooktop, over the last nine years. My thumb pressure probably moved it 1/64 to 1/32, but it was evidently enough. Glad of it, as replacing the thermocouple requires disassembling the top... Plus a new thermocouple, which I did not have. Sherry

There will always be buyers that want the biggest thing they can tow or afford. And that's fine. I just have to laugh now when I see a huge trailer going down the road, practically blocking out the sun. There is no way any of those large trailers could get in to my favorite places and the difficulty of towing them around would be very tiring. I keep forgetting mine is even back there. Not to mention most of them are very poorly built. All that effort and money for short term comfort. I certainly didn't compromise on size to get an Oliver. No way. It's plenty big enough and it has already been able to get into sites that larger units could not, with no compromise on comfort. I lived on a sailboat for many years and the trick was having everything I wanted, in an efficient manner, that let me get underway on short notice. If a boat or a trailer isn't easy to use, sooner or later, it won't get used. Size has already been an issue in places like the Grand Canyon, Bristlecone Pines, the eastern sierra area and, my all time favorite, Saline valley. In all of those places, it was getting out to see the sights and having friends over to sit outside that mattered. But inside an Ollie is a very nice place to spend time and we even have movie nights in ours, out in the garage. Oliver might be able to sell lots of bigger trailers to folks with different wants, and they are in business to make money. So, it will be fun to see what they do. Just like with boat manufacturers, you can look at different models from the same company and decide what suits you best. Cool. A larger Oliver would probably be more luxury oriented and have to compete head to head with AS as a luxury apartment. Less practical for camping and exponentially more expensive.

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/bit-early-oliver-history/

Get in the OBX Rally Loop While You Can Only two sites remain open on the resort’s sound side where all the events are being held. We’ve now added the 20 closest oceanside sites in the "Pelican Playground" loop for rally-goers. Make your reservations ASAP to be included near the rally fun. Register through the Eggshells in The Outer Banks Website: http://www.rvcompass.com/OBXrally/reserve.html

Just installed this nice faucet we found at IKEA. Easy to reach handle (right in front and on top) and it splashes less on the counter.

I didn't want to struggle moving the mattress every time we needed to turn the water/pump valves for filling our water tank while boondocking so I asked Oliver to install an access door. It required them to move a duct for the furnace but they did it. In my opinion it should be a standard option but is not listed in the build sheets. It works great I highly recommend getting it. We also had an acesss door placed under the nightstand for easier access to the far end of the basement storage. I think it will be handy.

Just more proof that we are all different, and how wonderful to be able to choose that which suits our lifestyle. God bless America for giving us the freedom to pursue the lifestyle we so enjoy. "Hail to the rest of the road"

The access port also allows easy access to the Suburban heater's reset switch located on the right side of the heater...

You could do that, or you might just pull it out and put a clothespin type clamp on the hose at the faucet to keep it from retracting. You might also put a bungee cord on it below to do away with the weight. That would also steer it away from other stuff it might tangle on and keep it from beating on things down there. The inside of the outer hull, with it's delicate insulation is right there below the faucet. Also, the microwave plug is directly below the faucet.

My wife is the genius, not me follow the Link below to see pictures http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/custom-made-mattresses/

Most everyone seems satisfied with the size of the bath. I suppose you could argue that bigger is better, but people much larger than me seem to have no problems with it. I think the only complaint I've seen about water getting out is that the shower door opens out and so can drip water on the floor if it's wet. Some people have installed a shower curtain over the door for that reason. Everything I've seen is that it's a cinch to clean. Fiberglass FTW. I think the AC 150 is way too much AC for the trailer personally. Talking to the people at Oliver, I think they'd say that the current unit is somewhat oversized. My personal take on heat pumps is that they have such a limited temperature range in which they work that it's not worth the extra. If I have power to fun the heat pump, then I have power for an electric heater that will work regardless of the outside temp. Getting a charge from the tow vehicle is tough - the distance from your alternator to your batteries is so far that you need to run really big cables on both the vehicle and trailer to make it work. Then you also need some equipment to make sure that your alternator doesn't burn up or overcharge your batteries and that your camper batteries don't drain your car battery. It can be done, but it will take work. We're swapping out to lithium right after we take delivery. Oliver isn't quite ready to do that yet. You'll need a different charge controller, and might want to consider relocating the batteries to the inside. We're going with a Victron system. Oliver keeps telling me that one other person is doing the same thing but they're getting AM Solar to do the install. I don't think that owner is on the forum, and if so, they haven't spoken up. I'll end up doing the work in my driveway. edit - here's our Lithium Shopping List. There may be some additional wiring, etc., but this is the bulk of it. The "Oliver Savings" section are items that I would otherwise purchase if I didn't go with the lithium. At the moment, though, there's no actual savings from Oliver because they aren't leaving off any standard equipment.

Randy, Sounds good. We'll be going to Death Valley and the Saline Valley Hot Springs later this summer. It's a lot of miles off the highway and takes about three hours from the last paved road to get there. It's famous for thundershowers wiping out the road. I've been there myself when I couldn't even find the road after a storm or had to drive way out into the desert to get around a new alluvial fan or washout. Fun place to visit. The burros and coyotes wander around through camp. In the quiet night, sitting in one of the pools, the bats will dip down and get a drink as they swoop silently by. It's an oasis with plenty of hot water and beautiful hand built pools. Mysterious in its intense silence. Just when you think it's totally peaceful, some fighter planes will come by practicing. They like to show off, away from the city. Put a wing down and circle the hot springs a hundred feet of the ground. You can wave at the pilots! We went there a couple of years ago and came in from the east with our toy hauler. We were very careful on the rough roads and took our time. But the trailer suffered anyway. I realized it wasn't worthy and sold it shortly after that trip as my search for an Ollie intensified. This year there has been so much snow in the Sierra mountains that we haven't been able to do very much. We did have a very nice trip to Yosemite, but 120 is closed from the east and one of the roads from the west was closed too, so it took along time to get there. Their internet had been down for ten days and intermittent flooding made the whole place unpredictable. Best time to go! The falls were spectacular! Reed and Karen Lukens were there too and we had a very nice time. Reed knows Yosemite very well and was sure we could get a spot. He was right. We'll be in Bandon Oregon in July with the Cassita group, but I don't expect any off roading. My best times are in the desert and we'll get there later in the year. Most people won't go to the desert in summer, but that's the monsoon season with powerful rain, and it's not crowded. Excellent.

20 l / 5gal Scepter CARB compliant cans at COSTCO $13.99

They started incorporating the access hatch when more people asked about it to reach just the gravity drain valve easily for breakdown, so I believe it is now standard, asking for anything else just gets you more in addition.

Using a spreadsheet to compare diesel to gas powered vehicles really misses the point. It's true that diesels cost more to buy and service. And the new ones have much more complicated emissions equipment, but the appeal is the lower cost to drive on trips and, this is the big one, they tow much better. I can't imagine justifying a diesel with a projected breakeven of 8 years out. Way too many variables. I'm very glad I paid the extra for my Ram diesel, but it mainly shows up in towing ability and cost savings on fuel while on trips. The spreadsheet says nothing about the ability of the vehicle and the ease and pleasure of using it while towing. You might also have some other needs for a truck that could play into the decision. The point is, you either get what a diesel is, or you don't and it doesn't matter. If you've never had the pleasure of towing with one, it's hard to factor in the added initial cost as an argument for buying one. Then, you should also look at the reliability of some models. This is very important and not mentioned in your analysis. Mainly with diesels, but gas engines too. And it might lead to looking at pickup brands other than Ford.

Well we just completed our first mod. I can't stand wasting valuable space especially in a small trailer and to me the flip down sponge drawer was a big waste. It barely opened and I never use them anyway. Not sure why Oliver stopped putting in a short drawer! Anyway bought some drawer glides and had a friend make a drawer to fit. I plan to use it for my spice storage.

Looks great - there was some talk at the rally this weekend that Oliver is going back to the short drawer there. I agree that the flip out isn't very useful and is a potential ongoing maintenance issue.

The drawer is 7 1/2 inches deep. My friend said he could've made a "L" shapeded drawer to give greater depth on one side but this size fit my needs nicely.

Pictures of nightstand access

Hey Gang! I just completed two small... very small ... mods on the Flying Sea Turtle. I added a second Ruggid RV Rug to the steps and installed EZE Gutters. EZE Gutters - These have been very extensively posted about and Thanks to all who shared their wisdom. I can add that I chose to run the gutters all the way down the sides for each of the three big windows. I ordered two 10' pieces and cut the needed length from each to do the windows above the bunks with a single piece. For the window over the dinette, I used two pieces with a splice in the middle top of the window. Not enough left over to do the bathroom window and that was just fine for me... Bathroom gets wet anyway. Alcohol to clean before putting the gutters on, and now they are on tight! We all know what they look like so i wont post pics on this. Ruggids RV Step Rugs - We bought one of these on the road and liked it so much that I sent away to Camping World for another. They install easy with the provided LARGE Zip Ties. We all know how easy the steps on Ollie get dirty and how hard they are to clean. These look nice, help keep dirt in the trailer down and even reduce the noise of folding the steps a bit. Pictures attached. They are about $19 each from CW. Safe travels everyone! Scotty .... and Donna who is napping on the couch... and the FST... and the Blue Whale. Later!