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Tank you Bill, actually Tanks a lot! 😂

Agree, New Year's Resolution, will focus on learning to relax more during 2023! 😁 Hope you & your Family have a happy & safe New Year!

https://www.thedrive.com/news/broken-ram-3500-dually-shows-a-camper-can-still-overload-a-big-truck Idiot.. John Davies Spokane WA

I didn't realize that they would be able to see posts. Thank you. Happy New Year everyone!

bhncb and dewdev.. have been without a computer as well as heat. just got my pc back on line. thank you for your thoughts. we are still on the road and have been relegated to camping when we can have power. we have a small oil filled heater that does a good job keep the chill away. I'm tapped and have this repair exceeds my skills. we are headed for the barn and will be home next week. the trailer is already repair slot booked. I will let everyone know what was wrong when i get it back from the shop best to all

Wishing everyone and their family a safe and wonderful New Year! Bill and Debbie Ollie LE2 #75 .

I have used CB on the trails in CO, GMRS is becoming the de facto standard as they are easier to use and you can get hand-helds just about anywhere. I am also a licensed amateur (ham) operator and fully endorse getting a license if you plan to use GMRS. The use of the spectrum is gauged by how many people get licensed, not by how many people use it and that spectrum can be auctioned off making the service and all the radios go away. I mostly use VHF/UHF (2 meter and 70 cm) while mobile but carry an HF and antenna to communicate long-range while camping. There is an activity in the ham world called POTA (Parks on the Air) where people take radios to state and national parks and monuments and set up radios. Others call in and “log the park”. This does several things. It gives you a good idea of how far you can talk on your radio, what conditions are like that day and it generates a tremendous amount of interest in radio. The annual Oliver rally is held at a State Park! Does anyone ever talk radios/communications at the Rally? Would anyone be interested in a CB/GMRS/FRS/MURS/HAM discussion/demonstration?? I think this would be a great topic. Especially for those looking to caravan up to Canada (different rules) and Alaska. My Amateur Callsign is AF1US (Air Force 1 United States) - see you on the radio. Brian

Don't kid yourself - those people are really only interested in the health and welfare of Bosker! 😉

Moral of the story - never take the word or advice of a salesman trying to sell you a truck or RV as to its true capacities or capabilities. Know your equipment. Educate yourself to what you will need in the real world conditions you plan to use the equipment. And most of all, always build in a margin of safety. It's never worth trying to find the breaking point of your equipment.

rideandfly - From the pictures above it is obvious that You two are working too hard. You just got to learn how to relax! In any case - A happy and safe New Year to you and all of the Oliver Family too! Bill

Yup! And the front tiedowns assisted in the constant flexing of the frame during all those miles in which there was "no problem." Charlie.

And to add to what you stated above, If the owner would have taken his loaded truck including the motorcycle hanging on the back to a scale, he would have discovered his rear axil was grossly overloaded. With that much weight hanging aft the rear axil and the diesel engine in the front end with that extra long frame, it broke the frame at exactly the point that one would expect in those conditions.

Happy New Year to everyone. We’ll be camped in Davis Mountain State Park near Fort Davis, TX on New Years Eve. Should be a lively evening! Mike

Yup. That's how we get rid of expired old tanks. We also search through the cage, for more current dates, which sometimes doesn't make the attendant super happy, but they're usually patient. Tractor supply and others will refill a blue rhino, with a good date.

Almost to a New Year! Working on our traditional New Year's day brunch. We're pretty much past staying up til midnight, so we enjoy ringing in the new year with 35 to 40 of our neighbors and friends, on New Year's day. Happy New Year, Rideandfly!

Thanks for posting the follow up article. It’s pretty clear that the truck was overloaded, even though the owner thinks otherwise. The owner was using the wrong payload numbers for his specific truck. He was going by the absolute max payload number advertised (regular cab, gas engine 2 wheel drive, base model) and not using his actual payload number for his crew cab diesel 4x4. I’m glad the article pointed that out, but that owner still seems either unable or unwilling to accept the math. I’d love to see the owner post a picture of his door jamb payload label on his truck. That one simple picture would speak volumes. This also makes it pretty clear that the manufacturers don’t use a huge safety factor multiplier in designing for their payload ratings. The limit is the limit!

As some of you may already know CGI Detailing will be in Florida again come late January. We will be attending the 2023 RV SuperShow along side Glidecoat (Our Ceramic Coating Company) We will be at Glidecoat's booth on the 20th and 21st hopefully talking to some of you guys but none the less meeting some amazing people in the RV community. With that being said, we will also be planning to apply some ceramic coatings as well. If anyone is interested in getting their Oliver Ceramic Coated in Florida please visit our website and submit a quote request so we can contact you https://www.cgidetailing.com/ As for pricing, we start at $2,800 for the LE2 and $2,000 for the LE1. There will be a travel fee added to the price as well which will be divided evenly between each person, the more we have the cheaper the travel fee will be. We appreciate everyones ongoing support over the past year and are truly blessed to be where we are at today. Thank You!

Brian - No, as of yet, there have/has never been a presentation of any sort regarding radio/communication at the annual Rally. I'd suggest either a PM or an email to Matt Duncan in this regard. Good luck! Bill

When on a rolling rally, I've had good success with GMRS radios. They are inexpensive and readily available for purchase, The distances involved were usually short for the 3 to 8 trailers going down the road. My truck currently has both long distance and local distance ham radio equipment on it (K2PLM). I can tune across the spectrum and have a conversation on the radio with someone in another continent or talk with folks in the local area, either directly or through repeater systems. I also have CB available, as needed. If I camp off grid, without cell service or broadband out there I can use the ham radio equipment to send and receive emails to my kids / friends so they know I'm still kickin'

I contacted Truma.....They told me they are not doing installs on Olivers from now going forward since Oliver Service Center is now doing install upgrades.

Yep - A good steel tank is a good steel tank.

Just testing! ☺️

You do have to be careful what you wish for. Our pole barn door is wide and high, and sometimes got stuck if we didn't stop it early. The company came out and corrected it, while under warranty, but big (heavy) doors require big openers, and definitely check it out while still under warranty.

Is it the New Year already?!😳 I never know what day it is anymore, old and retired does that to me..lol Ok, it’s Dec 29, whew thought I lost a few days somewhere!🤷🏻‍♀️ Happy almost the New Year!🎊

"That's" putting a new "wrinkle" on it!😃

When the bots hit it really didn't take long to see that they had found a way around the usual safeguards that were built into the platform we use. Quickly, Jason (W.) and Matt (D) went into find a solution mode - but - with the holidays not only did they have limited resources at Oliver but the software people at the platform were also down to a skeleton staff. Meanwhile, as a number of members noted, several of the moderator staff were "very" busy playing "whack a bot". That's when it was decided to simply close new registrations through the Christmas holidays and get back at finding a better solution once people were back at work with at least a somewhat "normal" schedule. Since many companies are also giving employees Christmas Monday off (December 26) I assume that any "serious" work in this regard will not begin until Tuesday (December 27). Past experience has shown that these people are very good and I would think that it will not take more than a few days to get to the bottom of what's going on. Certainly, everyone will be advised when we are once again "open for business". Bill p.s. of course, in the mean time, non-members can still see posts on the Forum. They can not see Classifieds nor can they add posts of their own but all other things are available to them.

Welcome back and glad you had minimal damage from Ian and your Oliver was not damaged. I feel sure that our great Moderators are working closely with Matt and Jason on a solution to the registration vetting. It sure is a wonderful cause helping others recover! Merry Christmas! Patriot 🇺🇸

Thanks Steve, the tech and I tried it, but didn’t have a lot of room on top. We really put some muscle into and got no movement at all. We were really afraid we’d damage the gel coat or worse. May 2020 delivery.

We just scheduled with Mike Sharpe at Oliver Service for a May 8th install of the Truma Aventa Eco. May 8th was the next available opening in Service to have the install done. We already have reservations for the 2023 Oliver Rally at LGSP so we took the early May date for install. Mike said they will need our Ollie for 2-3 days to complete the install. He also said the Truma Aventa Eco also uses the existing internal condensate drain line incase anyone was wondering. We are really looking forward to a clean fit and factory finish. Oliver Service has always truly exceeded our expectations for any work performed in the past. If you’re interested you may want to give Mike at Oliver Service a call and get an install quote and hopefully get on the service install calendar. Patriot 🇺🇸 https://www.truma.net/air-conditioning-systems/truma-aventa-eco

Or $1500 for the RecPro/Houghton 13.5k heat pump and maybe 4 hours labor? Cheaper yet and you can use the heat function versus propane if you have 120 volt power.

What has been your favorite camping spot for your Oliver, ever? This includes anywhere in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico. Thank you, Margaret This is where I've tent camped in the past, but Ollie is different, though a shorty might have made it up there. The Lost Man Campground in Colorado, 10k feet in altitude. The yellow tent was mine.

I prefer to think we are still (always) in pursuit of our “favorite” boondocks camp spot 😊 So far I’d say it’s Devil’s Garden in Arches NP. Incredible views, rock formations and hiking trails right in the campground. Sunrise and sunsets were amazing

Dog Canyon campground, Guadalupe NP. 60 miles South of Carlsbad, NM, just barely over the border into Texas. Only 4 RV sites. No hookups but potable water and flush toilets nearby. The 4 RV sites are close together but the hiking, scenery and wildlife are wonderful and the peacefulness is great. I have been there three times now and two times was the ONLY camper in the whole campground for several days. A bit out of the way but worth it. https://www.nps.gov/gumo/planyourvisit/dog_canyon_campground.htm

One of my favorites (and there are so many!) was on the Gaspe peninsula, Quebec. Most of the Provincial and national campgrounds were closed, so we "settled" for Camping Griffon. Simple rv park, we were one of maybe three campers there in early October, and we watched whales from our campsite. The owners were so very nice, even though we spoke little French, they spoke some pretty good English. Our camper was so small, they gave us a seaside tent site. The showers were older but clean and heated, and a very short walk in the brisk evening! Things have possibly changed. That's 12 or 14 years ago. But, the Gaspe is a beautiful drive.. do it north to south, if possible, as you generally are on the land side, not feeling like you're hanging out on the edge of the cliff (though you are, sometimes. )

Will be having permanently mounted HAM radio (trailer as the base station) mobile HAM in vehicle and on person, and mobile CB in vehicle for when useful. Will be relying on the HAM gear, primarily. GPS features, family groups with text/picture/location and guidance features, trailer base station as cross channel repeat (trailer as a mini repeater to extend range/horizon), digital modes, and APRS tracking make it too good to pass up for me.