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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/19/2020 in all areas

  1. @ Renagade, first good luck with your trip up here to Big Sky Country. Welcome! I have lived in MT (Bozeman) for well over 40 years and have been to Glacier countless times during all seasons and have watched the tourism in the park explode since the mid 70's. With that in mind while I agree with some of the responses here I also have a somewhat different perspective on a few things. Weather: come prepared for winter. Montana weather is extremely volatile and at times just as unpredictable, and the park itself on any given day can have dramatically different weather compared to just a short drive out of the park. Given that you are from southern FL, your idea of winter and ours is on an order of magnitude different. On the other hand you might experience days that are sublime and think my suggestions are an empty threat, they are not. For instance just over a year ago, late May-early June, I left home in low 80 degree weather here in SW MT. Arrived in Glacier and the next day the weather turned upside down and stayed that way for 5-6 days. It was what most people would refer to as dead of winter or near so. Heat of the day, 42º, down to near freezing at night howling winds, some snow and often rain. This past fall, winter came early. Perhaps the 2nd or 3rd week of Sept, fall color died on the vine sub zero temps for a week or two with plenty of wet heavy snow. The day before the storm hit my wife and I were hiking in tees and shorts. This is not uncommon at these elevations and latitudes. The closer we get to the shoulder seasons the more volatile the weather can be. Campgrounds: You can get RSVPS at Fish Creek just across the lake from Apgar as well as St Marys and Swiftcurrent in the NE section of the park. John is correct Two Medicine is beautiful but it fills in the short summer quickly every day. It also closes fairly early but don't recall how long after Labor Day, sorry. East Glacier is on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation so laws regarding many things including alcohol can be very different and for what ever unknown reason can change from day to day. Supplies in the area are limited at best IMO. Most hikes from Two Medicine campground tend to be quite long, some with serious elevation gains. In addition to Apgar, Fish Creek, St Mary's (by far my least favorite) consider Swiftcurrent as well as Avalanche Creek which also closes earlier than most. There are size limitations at Rising Sun Campground but you could probably squeeze an Oliver in to one or two of them the rest are far too small. Its also first come first serve. Avalanche Creek does not afford much in the way of views, it is deep into the forest but still a very nice campground centrally located for day tours, hikes and what ever your'e up to for the day. Travel, The route into Glacier: Most are beautiful drives. However I do not recommend the route from Missoula to Kalispell. While there is some beautiful scenery along this route the traffic is VERY HEAVY almost the entire year. It's become more trouble than its worth to me. However I would be remiss if not mentioning the state park campgrounds scattered along the shores of Flathead Lake, all are nice with awesome views and fairly good facilities. My preferred route at least from Bozeman is a trip up the Seely-Swan River Valley that terminates in Big Fork and from there about another hour (towing speed) up to Glacier. There are a slew of very nice USFS and BLM campgrounds along this route as well. The Front Range route through Augusta and Choteau Highway 89 are also very nice but the closer you get to the east side of the park count on steep narrow winding climbs and descents. Its a slow go after Browning assuming you continue on to St Mary's. Camping along this route is virtually a no go unless you decide to head due west into the Front Range where you can find some awesome USFS camps there. This would be a detour however. The southern perimeter route highway 2 will be an easy cake walk though a bit more exciting than what you normally might drive in FL. From Mid August on tourism tapers off considerably both in Yellowstone as well as Glacier, due to kids/family back in school. However the weekends assuming really nice weather will experience quite a bit of day use and some camper influx from the locals out in Flathead Valley. It is worth noting, not once have I ever been able to get a drive up camp spot in Glacier even during the peak of summer season including but not limited to the 4th of July weekend. Bowman Lake can be overwhelmed with local day users during the weekends with nice weather. However don't miss this place, its about an hours drive up there from Apgar but not to be missed. Take the outside road. There is a nice hike along the north shore of Bowman Lake that will take you to the far end of the lake about 14 or so miles RT, but very little elevation gain a rarity in this park. That should be enough to digest for now, good luck on planning your trip. Let me know if you have questions.
    4 points
  2. Very nicely done to all involved! Who do we have to bribe in order to see the out-takes and/or bloopers?
    2 points
  3. Yes, a big thank you to Jason and Oliver Service. The videos are extremely helpful.
    2 points
  4. I haven't watched them all, but the one on cleaning the window tracks is well done. I hope they continue with more of these. Great job Jason, and of course everyone else involved. Here's a link for anyone who hasn't seen them - Oliver YouTube Channel
    2 points
  5. routlaw, Your mention of Swiftcurrent, reminded me of my favorite hike in that area which took us to the Ptarmigan Tunnel. Tried that hike again years later, but the trail was closed do to a moose kill, so we had to try a new hike and went up to the Swiftcurrent Fire Lookout. Thank you for the memories. Mossey
    1 point
  6. The Oliver Travel Trailer family has once again demonstrated their commitment to all OTT customers by increasing the knowledge base available to not only today’s owners, but tomorrow’s as well through their YouTube channel. I wonder how many RV manufacturers would post a YouTube video discussing the possibility of their RV's leaking! And then providing guidance to prevent and or correct such an issue. Wow, it’s refreshing to spot a bit of frankness in the world today. Thank you Oliver Travel Trailers! Mossey
    1 point
  7. I found a source for stainless hardware cloth at Amazon - 2 sq ft of 1/8” mesh with 0.024” (0.6 mm) wire, with 60% flow rate, for $23 and free shipping. https://smile.amazon.com/Woven-Wire-8-Mesh-12-X24-30cm-X60cm-x2-5mm-Beekeeping-Varoa-Varroa-Apiary-Steel-60-Open-Area/dp/B01N7VKM8G/ref=cm_wl_huc_item My wonderful local specialty metals supplier has the same stuff but with heavier 0.028” wire for about the same price. Some suppliers offer it in finer sizes but I do not think they would sell a small quantity.... I think the Amazon cloth is a better choice for an Ollie owner, unless somebody knows of a better source for a finer wire product. John Davies Spokane WA
    1 point
  8. Looks like the previous owner of your trailer removed the classic molding, squared off the openings, and replaced it with some kind of trim. Like trimlok? Looks great, imo. If you don't like the tambours ( and I can see why, they do take up storage space, and have a tendency to jam), you could easy return to the original sliders. A couple of pieces of track, cut new plexi, drill the thumbholes, pop in the grommets, and done. I actually like our sliders in our 2008. They're smoked plexi, which maybe someday I'll replace with some patterned plexi. And, probably not. When we took out our microwave, we built a new cabinet in the space. We used a couple high gloss white Ikea drawer fronts, and their hinges, and our added blocks. I love the upward opening door. Just like my home cabinets, the door swings up, stays put til I'm done, and closes easily on the Blum for Ikea hinges. You might want to look at that idea. But the sliders would likely be a lot easier, and less expensive. Imo. Congratulations on finding an Ollie classic. We hope you have many great adventures. Sherry Hull #12
    1 point
  9. That vent pipe you see behind the drawer has an air admittance valve on the top. It allows air to go in to vent the system, but doesn't let air out, for obvious reasons! Kind of like a back flow preventer in a water line. These valves have been known to fail now and again so that could be a reason. If Oliver installed it right, it should screw off for easy replacement, haven't checked mine lately. For what it's worth, I also always add Happy Camper black tank treatment to the gray tank as well, especially in the summer, it works great for both tanks. Follow the pipe down to the tank, check all the connections, the problem could also be as Mike described above. Good luck! Dave
    1 point
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