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Generally, people are nice to a fault and the Ollie provides good insulation against the few who aren't. We'd have a much greater chance of encountering annoyances in a hotel than in our Ollie. But we only go where the mosquitos do not. Deserts and high altitude. No people, no towns, no bugs, and no pets unless you bring your own or adopt a ground squirrel. We still lock our doors - keeps alien abductions to a minimum.

If your business depends on connectivity, then I’d spend some time on rvmobileinternet.com learning what else is available. Chris and Cherie who run the site we’re once Oliver owners and they’ve made a business out of keeping people connected on the road. I think Oliver’s kit is fine for most, but there’s always better stuff out there, if you’re willing to spend the money and time. Personally, I’m not a big fan of Oliver’s new packages - are individual components still available, or are you forced to buy an electric door lock if all you want is a WiFi booster?

That’s no good. From my searches of fomoco products, if it doesn’t have the pro trailer backup assist knob, it probably doesn’t have the tow package. Whether it be f150, expedition, or navigator. Rather than relying on dealer descriptions, I just looked at every car’s pictures to verify the options I wanted. Then confirmed with Ford ETIS build sheets. I would see what the 2021 trucks have. Either it will be compelling or the 2019/2020s on lots will be heavily discounted. That or find the HDPP unicorn. Trust car salespeople as far as you can throw them.

You didn't mention lahar! 😉 I like where we are up in the Hollywood Hill neighborhood - now the "close in country" that is so much more rare than it was when we moved to WA in '94, at which point many natives were already saying the region was ruined. I still like the area for many reasons but yeah the growing population is not my favorite either. I like the moss and grey though (repeat skin cancer, thankfully only basal cell) and the mild climate. We had fun a few weeks back camped in our van in a backyard right on Lake CdA about an hour from Spokane, and though it was a lovely scene it reminded me of how hot it always has been when we visit our formerly CdA, now Spokane friends in summertime. Thankfully we don't all love exactly the same things or we'd all want to be in the same places!!

Lock doors? Yes, I guess we do sometimes, depends on where we are, not all ways. We have found one Interstate looks and sounds pretty much like all the others, we avoid them. In these small towns we can usually find a parking lot that we fit in. Farmers markets and small grocery stores provide all our needs. We did find you can get some of the best meals at the local diner. You know the diner, the one with the sparkly purple vinyl seats that has duct tape on it. The biscuits are the best. And the locals you talk to can tell you about some of the prettiest places to visit or stay. Bugs? Really haven't had too much problems except maybe blood sucking, dive bombing salt water mosquitoes in the early spring...

Why not rent an RV to try it out? That would give you an idea about both worlds. What I like about TT is you can set it up at a campsite and you are "home". You can spend the day watching the buffalo roam, or watching salt spray off the tops of waves near your new favorite lighthouse, or eagles soaring over a mountain top. When the day winds down you pull back into your campsite and nothing to do or hook up. Light a fire, uncork the wine, watch the fireflies...

Our daughter, who had an RV before we did, told me that people in campgrounds are “salt of the earth people”, very friendly. We’ve found that friendliness is everywhere we’ve camped, whether it’s in a formal campground or out boondocking in the middle of nowhere. Small towns are great. We also try to avoid areas with bugs, just returned from Colorado and Northern Arizona and had few bugs, low humidity and cool nights. We do lock doors just because we lock doors. Our Oliver is truly a second home, it just travels where we do. Mike

In my experience, visiting a dealership in a rural location and asking right away to talk to a fleet salesman or manager gets better results, 90% of the time. These guys deal with businesses and farmers and understand the actual capabilities and limitations of the trucks WAY better than your average “Brochure Reader” (completely untrained) sales droid, who could have been selling furniture a month ago. A big city truck dealership, not so much. That dealer might be more useful at buying an SUV. Buyer beware, indeed! John Davies Spokane WA

So far, after 30 days, Dexter appears to be stonewalling me on this topic. Despite repeated calls, they have not even acknowledged the issue, or graced me with any sort of reply I have a list of four Oliver Owners that have had this problem. As mine is a two time failure, so we have six incidents. Once I get back to Hawaii, I will have the time and resources to work this "more vigorously". In the mean time, if other owners have had this issue, please PM me soonest. Thank you GJ

I know I saw this before but could not find the thread. Anyways, I went to grease the Ollie and found the left bolt/nut that secures the equalizer to the frame hanging by a tread - literally. I tried to tighten it - but the bolt would not hold torque, Lucky me. We were heading out Sunday, so I called Oliver too see if they had one in stock. I will be there in the morning. Glad I'm within a couple hours drive. I know I did a visual during the last long trip, but apparently not on the return leg. From now on I'm doing a full inspection after the clean up each time I use the Ollie. RB

I have a scheduled delivery of an LE II in late December. I'm still sorting out some of the options for our unit, and I want to thank many of the current owners who have contributed generously here on this forum, which is a great info resource. We currently have a 2004 Ford E250 with a (no-bath, fairly simple) camper van which has been great for use in nice weather in all seasons and for boondocking in nicer weather, but the Ollie will open up a variety of new options such as off-season coastal camping here in the PNW (when the standard sized van with a raised top can start to feel VERY small for two plus dog!), spending a few nights in local ski area parking lots with the ability to clean up each evening, and so forth. After considering a variety of RV options, I settled on this as the one that best met a mix of aesthetic and practical goals for four season camping. We will initially use the Ford (which has the 5.4L V8) as our TV, but I suspect that we will eventually buy a worthy truck or beefy SUV for the job, as the Ford won't be optimal for either winter or mountain towing. From what I've seen I have no doubt a few current forum members will be more than happy to tell me what will and won't work for the job ;-).

LOL, I wonder how many folks even know what a lahar is, it is fearful event. We always picked a house location up off those low lying, threatened river valleys, even tho we never lived in South Sound. .... https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/mt-rainier-lahar-hazard-map John Davies Spokane WA

LOL, I love your final comment, how true it is. Thanks for the compliment, and I hope your factory installed system pleases you, as will your Ollie. BTW, I like Woodinville, though I remember it most as it was pre-2004, when we moved out of the Wet Side of WA after 31 years there (Ballard, Greenlake, Mukilteo, then Monroe - we kept moving further away).... My son lives in Redmond (game software/ tool engineer) and we visit him routinely. I admire the Puget Sound scenery, love the salt water boating, tolerate the climate, dislike the grey skies and moss, feel threatened by earthquakes and tsunamis, and absolutely despise the @#$&* crowds. John Davies Spokane WA

Welcome, and I'm sure the time til pickup of your new Oliver will fly! Sherry

So much depends on your travel style and what sort of comforts you will be happy with. I have a 72 year old friend who spends a few months' worth of nights each year sleeping in the back of his Toyota Tercel Wagon from the '80s, most often in wintertime near ski areas or backcountry ski tours (in case you've ever seen the documentary "Dirtbag" about climbing legend Fred Beckey, it's worth mentioning that this friend of mine has climbed with Fred more than once and is in Fred's direction in terms of expenses and creature comforts or lack thereof 🙂 ). We have done a lot of camping in our Class B van - a standard length Ford E250 with things like furnace, fridge, inverter and microwave, but no bathroom. We've been pretty happy with it but as I've eased out of salaried life it has started to feel a bit small for the two of us on extended trips, particularly when the weather turns wet and we spend more time inside the van. I think it will continue to be my go-to choice when I do solo photography safaris to places like Utah for a few weeks, but we've decided to get an Ollie for many of the trips my wife and I will take together. As a former colleague put it, "each tool is best for something and worst for something else." The van is very maneuverable (including the ability to be parallel parked in any decent length city parking space), we can leave the dog in it with the vent fan running on most days while parked for errands etc., and it's nice to be able to transition from driving to hanging in the living space w/o needing to get out of the vehicle. But it can feel quite small at times, it is at times a bit of an annoyance to shift from sleeping to driving modes when we will be returning to the same site that evening - to the point where we sometimes defer errands or driving outings in favor of on foot or on bike explorations nearer to camp. We have strategies for dealing with the lack of a bathroom when boondocking or staying at park campgrounds that have no showers (including a "sun shower" unit etc.) that work OK enough in many situations particularly in warmer more pleasant weather. But I am looking forward to being able to use the Ollie wet bath, to have a "home base" that one or both of us can drive away from (we don't always want to leave camp at the same time!) and to just have a bit more space for some of our outings. For now I expect to keep the old camper van as it has more utility value to me than it has resale value given its age and mileage ( it still running and working quite well).

Welcome, Jim. You’re going to have a nice Christmas present in December. And, you’re right, lots of advice and opinions around here! 🤓

Yes, my thoughts are with friends and family and all those in Texas and Louisiana. Laura is an ugly big storm. Sherry

Hello everyone, we are in the market for an Oliver. We previously owned a Casita and wanting more room. We have been out of camping for a few years and can’t wait to get back into camping and meeting new friends.

Typical Dexter non-responsive response. These folks might get their attention if multiple complaints are registered. https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/

Any of the big three are good choices. Drive them all - but it will probably be mid 2021 before there are sufficient numbers to do much comparison. Should I win the lottery - ha - I would trade out my 2018 for a 2021 GMC. Just because...... but honestly, I love my GMC. RB

Thanks, Overland. I went down the rabbit hole of RV locks for some reason this morning. 😁 There sure is a lot of garbage in the RV world. Global Link looks like one of the best out there for what it is worth.

I hope you have picked a HD Crew Cab pickup. No 1500 or big SUV will work with a LE2, all those passengers, their gear, plus the rack and RTT. You need a substantially reinforced (Leer for example) “rack ready” canopy, or a metal external ladder rack, and those are heavy. Unless you happen to luck out and find a cherry old Suburban or Excursion 2500. Or one of these, my choice.... https://gofastcampers.com/ .... except their order delivery times are around six months to a year now. John Davies Spokane WA

I agree. There is nothing wrong with Oliver's setup but if you're technical or have the time to become informed, there are better options on the market. If cellular wasn't critical to me, I'd probably just opt for the wifiranger setup and call it a day. The cost isn't that much above the MSRP of the device and the installation will be clean. If you're interested in seeing what else is out there, rvmobileinternet.com is by far the best source on the internet. Their youtube channel is another place to start: https://www.youtube.com/mobileinternetresourcecenter

SeaDawg ......yeah I’m aware my Jeep is not a very good TV unless it’s a pop up or smaller camper. I have already done the math and picked the TV that I want. My plan for the past year is to wait until February 2021 to get my TV, then on the Oliver wait list for a 2022 spring arrival unless, a good used one comes up. That’s why I can’t get Hokiman’s trailer right now. Also, I’ve decided my son and I will sleep in a roof top tent and let the old people sleep inside,lol. He will enjoy the tent and I want his granny to come along so he can enjoy this time we have with her. I know there are other campers that are larger but I want minimal repairs to shell and other components due to the result of possible hail or rougher roads etc.....

Nice looking rig, and congrats on the new Ollie! Juliette State Park will be on my list now.

I guess were through with this topic. 🤐 trainman

Don't waste your money - it is inevitable. RB

Everyone thinks Rv life is cheep. NOT. But fun.

I am sorry to hear of this misfortune, but you were very, very smart to get it in writing from the salesman, even if it was just a text or email. Phone calls are a recipe for disaster. I have had a couple of nasty experiences with buying things where the verbal promises made were a fantasy. Always ALWAYS get it in writing. Bravo! I financed a home purchase in person (in the Olde Days) and the rep gave me a great deal (zero points, low rate), but it sounded a little off to me, enough to raise suspicions. I demanded and received a written/ signed rate description on their Wells Fargo letterhead. Months later I received a letter from the bank saying that the guy had been making promises they could not keep, and he had been fired, and the points and rate was going up. I sent them a copy of the letter and a comment that they should probably let it slide in my case, which they did. Sorry for the thread hijack. It is too bad you drove so far and spent so much time with this, it should never have happened with a brand new vehicle. Ford owes you some financial compensation for your miles driven and lodging (12 hrs and two nights!) and lost wages. Seriously, I would initiate a ticket with their corporate office. This is a very big deal and IMHO you should pursue it. If you have trouble with Ford, consider contacting a local tv news station, they usually have somebody who helps in consumer cases like this. It makes great stories on the local broadcast, and the threat of bad publicity usually forces a good outcome. Are you still going to get a F150? I personally would be a little wary at this point. Maybe you should swing by the Toyota dealer to look at a Tundra....;) ... Thanks for keeping us updated, and good luck. John Davies Spokane WA

Horace - I carry a grease gun with me and give the equalizer zerks a shot any time I get over 3,000 miles. Since I've always got a tarp with me too there is never really any excuse not to lay the tarp down and take care of business. Besides, after all that hard work I deserve an adult beverage - as if an excuse is really needed. Bill