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Now to find some warmer weather 🙂

A new product, the Tri-Fold Cockpit Table uses the Lagun mount on the driver side bed rail. More new products are coming in a few months. In the works – Upper Kitchen Cabinet Organizers, Wood Drawer Fronts, and a Rear Dinette for the twin bed configurations. If you would like me to craft an upgrade for your Oliver, just PM me. You can download my new PDF Catalog HERE:

! - always keep those portable containers in the back of the truck as full as you can unless you know there will be water available at you next stop or along the way. 2- Get creative on your water sources - get one of THESE so that you can turn water "on" from almost any spigot. Gas stations, WalMarts, convenience stores, many town water treatment plants, fire stations, police stations, etc., etc. You may have to pay a small fee or at least offer to pay for the water. Same thing goes for commercial camp grounds. 3 - Get one of THESE so you can get water from spigots that do not have a "normal" threaded end. 4 - Don't forget that while you do not want to drink it - mountain streams are reasonably clean water which certainly can be used for bathing. And, with the "winterization port" on the Ollie you can draw water directly into your fresh water tank from that stream/lake if you have a long enough hose. Bill

Update: Jan 19, 2022 Due to a shipping damage issue a second replacement unit is on its way by Jan 24. It appears the packaging was not adequate protection for the unit and the case was bent in a way that the burner box punched into the tank (copper). When we remove the old unit next week, I’ll take detailed removal pix and of the failed components as possible. Truma has now requested that I ship the failed unit back to them directly. They are in discussions with Oliver and wanted another failed unit for dissection. Truma service said they’ve only seen this on Oliver trailers…and are trying to see if there’s a mounting change required. The current mounting method seems pretty sturdy.. At this point I’ve paid Oliver for a replacement unit as the Truma is past warranty. Truma said they would refund shipping costs for the defective unit. After their assessment, then we can discuss any refunds from Truma. More as it transpires. Winegard DtV Fail: On another note, my Wingard DtV antenna failed at the antenna head (shorted main board) and Wingard sent me a new style antenna as a lifetime warranty replacement no charge ( I will do a separate post on that when I do the repair in March.

We're among those who carry drinking/cooking water from home, and use the tank for flushing and washing. We supplement or refill with purchased water. At a dollar a day (or less, if you find a machine to refill carried 5 gallon jugs,) it's just one of those safety factors. Some walmarts and other places, have machines with purified water for 20 cents a gallon, or less. We used to refill drinking tanks at parks where we thought the water tasted good. Giardia and other contamination doesn't always affect taste. Many parks test sporadically. As we've gotten older, I'm more careful about drinking water.

Our last night in western NC mountains before heading home to coastal South Carolina. We’ve been in the low to mid 20’s each night since pickup on the 19th. The furnace is wonderful, keeping the thermostat at 61 degrees has kept us plenty warm.

The most fool proof, easiest, least expensive way to monitor propane tank levels is to simply leave one tank's valve closed. When the cooktop will not light then switch to the other tank and get the first tank refilled. 😇 Bill

We have moved on from Florida. We had lots of stops as we worked our way north and west. A very cool Harvest Host stop in Tallahassee, a collectible car museum. Wow, the cars, motor cycles, outboard motors and other memorabilia was amazing. They had Batmobiles. Yes 3 of them! It is loud at night as it is on a busy road at the junction of I 10. There were 6 other campers parked with us spread out on a large grassy area. It was definitely worth the stop. Our last Florida stop was Fort Pickens National Seashore near Pensacola Beach. The campground is nothing special but the fort and seashore was amazing. You are on a road driving miles in the dunes along the gulf. It is like you are on the moon! If you go try to get loop A. We met some nice folks in that park. We also spent 4 nights at Dauphin Island Alabama. We are finishing up a week in New Orleans. We splurged and are staying at French Quarter RV Resort. The park is a 5 minute walk to the French Quarter. Great location and they keep the bathrooms and laundry room very clean. It is located adjacent to I 10 so it can be noisy. The park is fenced in with a gate. We feel safe. The park is all pavers with some grass. Lots of big rigs. They also have a hot tub and pool. We haven't tried these as it is cold but some campers are in the hot tub most evenings. You walk by a police station on the way to the quarter. Beyond the usual quarter attractions, we have done a swamp tour, a walking tour of the Garden District and today the WW II museum. Wow we were there for 6 hours today. I wish every child could visit this museum. I would hope the magnitude of what transpired is not lost. We learned a lot. Very impactful. Saturday we start toward Austin Texas. It has been cold here at night. Low 30s tonight. We will get to Austin on Sunday.

Just checked into the Commodore Hotel in Linden…I keep thinking of the lyrics from the song “Dixie Chicken” by Little Feat. We ordered in March 2021, this is our 4th. RV, I think we got it right this time. We have delivery at 8:30 on 1/19/22, and plan on staying in the area for a few days afterwards.

I can report on a few aspects of traveling in the T3. First, the handoff in Bellefontaine, Ohio was very thorough. I spent two full days with Dave Bates learning about the T3. When I planned my first trip from there, I thought I’d be able to drive south for a day and find warm enough weather to escape freezing temperatures at night. This is my third night out and I’m near Dallas, Texas. It’s been cold and windy with lows in the low 20’s. Last night, the wind was blowing 20 mph with higher gusts. After consulting with Dave, I winterized my drinking water tank and filled the general water tank 3/4 full. The general tank is located near the Elwell Timberline diesel heater that provides both forced air heat and hot water. I’ve been running the Elwell system using the diesel burner (it also has an electric burner) on hot water, not heat mode to concentrate the heat near the general water tank. The T3 has a separate diesel heater under the bed which has kept the cabin very comfortable at night. I have used the Elwell in heating mode to warm the cabin up quickly when I arrive at camp at night. Compared to the Oliver, I don’t have the same level of confidence at 20 degrees as I did in the Oliver. But, the comfort in the cabin is better in the T3 because of the two diesel heat sources. One of the biggest differences towing the T3 is the effectiveness of the disc brakes on all four wheels. They are amazing. Not only do they add a great deal of stopping power, they are also much easier to modulate and control. They feel more like the brakes on a motor vehicle than a travel trailer. I also like the ease of leveling the T3. Rather than power jacks, I have airbags that I control from inside the camper with a key fob. When I arrive at camp, I lower both sides completely and then use the key fob to raise the side that needs to be raised to level the trailer. With the Rhino Hitch on my truck, I can raise the front of the T3 quite a ways without unhooking from the tow vehicle. I’ve done this on 2 of my 3 nights out so far. Nice to be able to level fore/aft without unhooking. I haven’t used the outdoor kitchen yet—way to cold. Hopefully in a few weeks it will be warm enough where I plan to travel to cook outdoors. Don

It should be obvious - but - if you ever need to resort to using water from streams and/or lakes, be certain to re-sanitize that fresh water tank. On the rare occasion that I've had to resort to using water from lakes and/or streams, I've simply filled my "solar shower" (like THIS ONE) or just jumped in. Be a bit careful on that jumping in thing since at altitude the water is usually VERY COLD. Also, if at all possible, do not use soap in the lake/stream even if it says on the label that it is environmentally OK to do so. Bill

We take bottled water to drink, so the onboard tank is for showers and dishes. That helps consumption and eases most concerns over questionable water sources. You’ll find that a lot of owners do the same. Some people connect an inline filter even if they aren’t drinking from the tanks, in an effort to reduce the potential for mineral build up in the lines and faucets. I should probably do that but don’t. As for where to find water - typically, even if the water is shut off in the campgrounds, parks will keep a functioning tap at one of the ranger stations, so that’s our default water source. We carry a couple of large 7 gallon jugs that stay in the truck and we’ll make a few trips if needed. Even if we’re not camping inside a park, we’re usually near one, and have never had problems popping in to get water. We plan ahead and know how long our water lasts, so we’ve never been without. You might download the Allstays app and under the advanced settings you can have it display water and propane availability. It’s not always accurate and definitely not exhaustive, but it’s a start. Truck stops with RV lanes are a good bet. Some tourist areas will have water vending machines (last resort but we’ve used one once). We’ve also gotten water from commercial campgrounds that we pass. If you ask nicely at the desk they’ll usually say no problem. I think we had one charge us a few bucks.

I never run my jacks all the way down. I have 8” blocks for each jack and 20 big yellow legos. Total jack movement for any of them is just a couple of inches. Saves battery and reduces any damage if I decide to drive away without raising them. Hasn’t happened, but you never know. Mike

First, I stand corrected. The Fairview regulators operate as described, which may explain why the BTU capacity is reduced once an auto changeover occurs and why the lever must be pointed toward the active tank before the opposite one can be disconnected. If the lever has to be manually switched to regain full BTU capability, and shut off backflow to the other port, it seems to me the Fairview regulator is more semi-automatic in operation. The BTU reduction could explain some of the reported propane delivery problems at low temperature and/or high altitude. I routinely experience both and never had a problem prior to replacing my original Fairview. But then, I generally start looking for a refill before an auto changeover happens. It's somewhat moot now but in response to Trainman's question: Generally the lever would be moved after the reserve tank is opened. The sequence may not matter but the regulator relies on pressure differential in determining when to switchover. A sudden surge from opening the tank valve may fool it, causing an unnecessary and undesirable switchover.

There is no reason air needs to pass around the fridge into the cabin. In fact, it shouldn't. That's a propane burning appliance. The rear of the fridge should be exposed to the exterior vents but the front of the fridge should be isolated from that service area. Take photos and start a service ticket.

I like the Truma LevelCheck. Link to YouTube video. Mossey

This is the parking lot for Horseshoe Bend just outside of Page, AZ. I have a collection of Carol holding our Oliver in the palm of her hand at various spots around the nation! A nice fellow tourist offered to take our picture. It’s worth the stop and 15 minute walk to see this. It was a bit cool but pretty spectacular.

Agree with everything Overland said. We also use bottled water for drinking and cooking. We fill from sources we can find, usually at a campground or park. We haven’t used Bill’s mountain streams method even though we’ve been near some very clear running mountain streams. Mike

What a good suggestion. Thanks. I'm getting one. I already have the Water Bandit, which is also a good suggestion.

Yes, filter functions and at the top it will say ‘advanced filters’. Tap that and there’s a whole list of things to add. I don’t know if we have the pro version or not - I assume if you paid for the app, you’ve got it.

In our first camper we drank the water from the fresh tank for years with no problems. Then, while doing some maintenance, I saw the inside of the clear tank overflow tube and the green stuff in there. Even though it never caused us any harm, it put the idea of what could be lurking in some other pipes in my head and we've been drinking bottled water ever since. The fresh tank is for washing and flushing now.

Sorry to hear about the issues on your first voyage! We have a different refrigerator, but a gap that lets in cold air does not sound right. A propane tank, 20 or 30 lb should last longer than a couple of days even running what you were running. Question: if you have electric hookups why don’t you use electricity for your hot water and heat? A small space heater that runs quietly is much less annoying that the furnace cycling on and off. I leave the switch on the hot water tank in the on position when we travel so that when hooked up to electric it is always on and we always have hot water. Propane is only used for dry camping. Yes, it takes almost forever to drain the freshwater tank. That’s why I rarely do it. Question: If you are traveling why are you draining your fresh water? I try to travel with it full. I would hate to get caught in a dry camping situation with an empty fresh tank. We’ve been camping in below freezing weather at night this month so we have been using our fresh tank for water. Here at Zion there is no water hook ups at sites. I top off the fresh tank when I can so it remains as full as possible. I’ve never winterized. We regularly camp when the low gets into the 20s and a few times in the teens. When at home in storage I keep a space heater on during cold spells. I would have service check you propane system. You shouldn’t be getting an alarm like that with everything so new. Smoke detectors can be finicky. I replaced ours last year and it went off in the middle of the night last week. We hit reset and it didn’t come back on. Weird. We sleep with the vents open unless it is super cold and then with just the bath vent open. Mike

We have lived near Wasilla for over 18 years and it is our permanent residence. We have been trailer camping there since 2017 and have spent about 180 nights in our Escape 19 all in Alaska. We have only spent one night in a site with partial hookups. Our typical trip is about 2 weeks and we tend to stay in one place. Our two favorite places in Alaska are the BLM campground at Tangle Lakes on the Denali Highway and the Valdez Glacier Campground which is operated by Fort Greeley for the City of Valdez. We typically have a purpose in mind for our trips such as fishing, berry picking or hunting. The uses of the new Oliver will be similar as we like to find a good place and stay there. The Creelake handle is based on past life, have not been to Sask in over a decade. We will not be leaving Alaska during the summer months at all if possible. So the Oliver will be stored with a friend (who owns an Escape 21 and a Scamp) in Colorado for use in the lower 48. We are westerners at heart with roots around Walden, Colorado. We are interested more in the off grid places such as we have found in Wyoming, Nevada, and eastern Oregon and the like.

Fwiw, in the early days, only Pete got Solar, as original. (Scubarx was a bit later, I think.) We added it 5 or 6 months after picking up our trailer, with Oliver's help, when we realized we actually needed the energy from the solar to camp the way we do. Since then, we've doubled the panels , and changed up other equipment, but stayed with BlueSky. We've used victron on the boat , and had a few issues, a few years later. The Zamp system that Oliver installs is pretty much bulletproof, and easy for new users. I can see the reasons why they chose it. usa built, stout, simple. Those of us who went a different (unwarranteed ) path of choosing, live with our own results and resources. Not everyone has the same skills, nor the same desires to do the research and work, or live without warranty. It's all good, either way. We're still living with agm on the trailer, and making do. Not sure we'll make the upgrade to lithium. My husband wants to build his own lithium battery pack. We'll see. I'm not as enthusiastic. It's really all about your comfort, and skill level, and risk level. We went sailing this weekend on our 45 year old solar powered boat. I hope I'm around to see the results of our 45 year old Oliver. And its experiments. Only 30 years to go...

Well I have a growing stack of Victron boxes in my closet and will probably be the only delivery this year without solar. So I will be working hard to make my trailer the way I want it. Still can’t understand why they won’t install the solar panels without forcing two more indicator panels cut out of the interior… I’m going to beg the service department to help on some of the upgrades, hopefully they’ll have some extra time to assist.

You can write anything you want in the Comments section near the bottom.. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/surveys/future-model-features-and-options EDIT, this is for current owners, not the general public. John Davies Spokane WA

Example pix in survey. 1) One concern we shared is that for shorter people that puts the Conv/uW too high for safely taking out hot foods. 2) We would be fine with an under counter compressor fridge as it has little more cu ft than the existing fridge. 3) We carry a ARB ac/dc compressor chest fridge in the back of our truck for extra space and it’s been a great combo on our 7 month road trip. 4) As to the quieter a/c would be great in hot locations. Doubt if we would upgrade immediately, long way to Hohenwald from WA.

Wow. Interesting. Now we're wondering if we should pull back and wait for the 2023 model. 🤔 The (presumably Truma) A/C would be great. Was hoping they might switch to those during the 2022 model run, but that survey makes me think it won't be this year after all. Don't know about the bigger fridge. My wife thinks the current 4.5 cf fridge will be ok for the two of us, I think it's a little small. Who knows what the 2023 prices might look like, though...

I sure like the Cummins diesel in my Ram 2500. Makes towing so much easier than with my previous gas V8’s. I also get better gas mileage, both towing and not towing. Mike

I think there was a mis communication between you and Oliver. I think that they thought you were suggesting covering the inside of the vent covers or the hole (openings) that they fit into. I think that you were referring to any gaps in the insulation (as I was) that seal the refrigerator to the hull.

In addition to cold air, plan on mosquitoes too. I was up late one night trying to find where they were coming in when I noticed one fly out from behind the refrigerator face trim plate. I taped up the opening inside, swatted the rest of her buddies, then went back to bed. Next day I pulled the outside refrigerator cover off and found a bunch of the foil tape had come off in the heat. It’s not only cold air that can blow in through the openings. Bugs will be attracted to the heat and refrigerator combustion gases and eventually end up inside with you too.

If I felt a draft, I would seal around the fridge opening inside the trailer. Duct tape is fine, wherever you feel a draft. I wouldn't mess with outside venting. As others have said. Open a service ticket.

You should fill the tanks, 1/2 to 3/4, and work from them. Disconnect the hose before the temperature drops below 30. Keep propane heat on a setting that's comfy for you. For us, at night, sleeping, it's around 55 to 60. Daytime, 65 to 68. We have nice quilts. I don't love sleeping bags, but others do. Temps forecast for Hohenwald aren't really too bad. It's the rain and freezing temps at night, and resulting black ice (invisible) that you need to watch for. Don't try to travel early in the day, imo. Wait til the sun melts the ice. Probably 11 to 1. Especially, be careful in shaded areas, and any bridges. They ice earlier, and it lasts longer. I grew up in southern Minnesota. Same crap there, just much longer season, and more frequent icing and snow... Most dangerous times were early season storms. By midwinter, most people had regained awareness, and good driving habits. Not to be counted on in Tennessee or the Carolinas, where this is much more infrequent. Many drivers don't know how to drive in ice and snow, in the south, in my experience. Good news is, it rarely stays cold in middle Tennessee. Wait it out. We've been in Florida a long time, but I still have cold weather clothes. My most important, smart wool socks, in various levels. And long underwear. Cuddleduds and 32 degrees are great in pretty much mild temps, to me. If you don't have those, it's not a big deal. Just know that jeans aren't really warm below 20 degrees or so. I used to wear just a pair of tights,, under jeans, in Minnesota. It worked, til jeans got wet. Wet jeans are miserable. Synthetics, wool, and blends are seriously your friends in crappy rainy/sleety/wintry mix weather.

This is not the first time lately that I've heard a new owner complain about air entering the cabin around the refrigerator. Take off the upper outside cover and see if there is a gap in the insulation or the metal tape used to seal everything. Cover any holes with duct tap until you can get something better. I would start a service ticket also.

I have lived in the deep south for 22 years and it is common to see rapidly changing speed limits on main routes transiting small towns, just anticipate and slow accordingly and you will typically avoid any hassles. There are legit reasons for this, you are moving at 55 but once in the small town need to be at 35 for cars exiting/entering the main transportation corridor. However, the practices outlined in the attached article have nothing to do with public safety. This police chief and his force are simply "policing for profit". Whenever a public entity can abuse their authority to enrich their particular department without any checks, you have set the stage for corrupt practices. Let's not even get into the unconstitutional aspects of civil asset forfeiture. A dashcam is your friend and video of any unauthorized stops may limit your exposure to this type of malfeasance.

First night at camp Oliver in the books. From rainy mid-50’s to 21 degrees overnight….the steps freeze really well, with a wonderfully slick uniform coating of ice, with an unplanned fall down the steps during the 2am dog walk. I bounced well, with bruised pride being the only casualty. Our screen door binding is the only issue so far, so 997 is a good one!

I have used the Mopeka Tank Check for almost three years now. It is not perfect, but I do like it and it does give me fairly accurate readings. The two negatives for me are: - Around or below freezing, it registers lower than the actual amount in the tank. - The batteries need to be changed too frequently. About every 6 and 9 months. I did have a problem with one of my original sensors and contacted Mopeka. They immediately sent me two new sensors and said they were an improved version. No problems since. I would definitely purchase the Tank Check again. Andrew

I'm sure you have looked, but I'd run through everything again. Make sure you have no heavy unnecessary loads on batteries. Low angle sun in November might not allow you to bring batteries to 100 per cent with just solar, if it was cold, and you were running furnace fan a lot. Batteries will sulfate if charging too little, not reaching full, even agms. That shortens life. Lead acid batteries of any sort like to be charged to full, and not heavily discharged. Your pd charger runs a mild "equalizer" desulfating charge every 23 to 25 hours, if plugged in consistently, which is short, and doesn't harm agm batteries. I don't think that happens when plugged in and getting power for only a few hours. (NOTE: this is not the same as fla equalization on the Blue Sky, which you should NEVER do on agm batteries. This is ONLY for flooded batteries. ) Could be any number of problems. It may indeed be time to take the batteries out and get them load tested, as miserable as that is, due to weights. It's really the only way to know, short if investing in a load tester. Unplug. Turn off the solar, battery disconnect. Take photos, so you know how to hook them up again. Make sure all battery leads are isolated. Good luck.

Glad to hear you’ll be picking up tomorrow. 4th time should be final! Congrats - Mike

Yup we use blocks all the time when we set up and and park. This was our very first time at a dump station and our very first time with a travel trailer. Good learning experience. Hind sight is 20/20. I share the experience in hope of saving someone else from the same experience. Lots of folks on here are very new to camping with a trailer or RV like we were. We are learning lessons all the time. I learn on this forum and by doing. To me it is part of the experience and growth learning new things and solving new problems. We are seeing lots of new places.

Congrats from #996. We high tailed it to Tunica, MS but the weather followed us 🙂 John

Perhaps this has been around for a while, but I've never seen it before. It's a geared lug nut tool with an adjustable arm to gain leverage against the opposite lug nut. It would be a bulky single-purpose tool to carry, but it's interesting and I could see it being useful to many. I guess you could use it to install the nuts, too; though you'd probably have to be careful to not over torque them. https://garrettwade.com/product/geared-lug-nut-remover

Like Bill said, they should be perpendicular. You won’t be able to attach a quick connect unless they are. Mike

I used a thick yoga mat I picked up at Walmart to insulate the basement and battery doors. I also used it to line the bottom of my Ram Boxes on my truck. Lifting the 30 lb bottles is no easy task as we age. I need to be on a step in order to get them over the lip without rubbing the fiberglass. Mike

The Ascent is the more “designed for towing” of the Subaru line and with the towing package has the 7 pin pre wired. Have a Redarc brake controller that should arrive “any day now” 😀if UPS follows through. It’s a 5k rating overall. We loved our Outback and have towed our HC1 from Dallas to California and back through both mountains and deserts while keeping 20+ mpg. The Ascent is a new platform to us - we are hoping that is performs as well. Unfortunately not able to make the jump to a truck at this point due to daily driver and work commute requirements.

I’m okay with what we do. We drive to a location and stay a while, then drive to another, burning diesel all the way. But, if we’re home, I’m driving around town every day for errands, helping kids and grandkids, etc. The fuel I use is minuscule compared to big rigs driving across the country daily or trains and planes burning lots of petroleum. Even our wonderful windmills take gallons and gallons of petroleum lubricants daily to produce whatever electricity the wind allows them to produce. So, I’m at peace pulling my little Oliver to our national parks and recreation areas and enjoying what our country has to see. Mike

Thanks, Bill! Ice is far worse, IMO, and does a LOT of damage, when it accumulates in abundance. We will be looking ahead and plan accordingly 🙂

Hi Mike and Carol, Thanks 🙂 We are now in Tunica, MS, and will be making our way to SC in a week. We're certainly glad to have a 4 seasoner! Our Casita struggled somewhat when it got below freezing. We are officially "Happier Campers" 🙂 John

Like Mossey said, I think we were the first, and at the time, Battleborn (Dragonfly back then) was the only game in town when it came to batteries with a built in BMS. Victron was an extremely expensive option at the time, even more so than today, and then our other choice was to make our own battery pack from individual cells and add a separate BMS. We’re only talking five years ago but even then there was a lot less info and fewer choices out there than today. So Battleborns were definitely the easiest to do. As it turned out I could have gone the DIY route, which had been my first choice, but that’s a longer story. I’ve had a 50% failure rate on the battleborns, fwiw. Maybe that’s just bad luck, or maybe I’m hard on them, or maybe they aren’t as tough as people say. (One thing I’ve learned about the RV community is that they are very reluctant to admit problems with their setups until after they’ve replaced it and can then brag about how smart they are for having done so.) Regardless, 50% of my batteries have met expectations, and 50% did not. Their service on replacing the ones that went bad was less than exemplary, but they did replace them. I still might recommend them, but not enthusiastically, so I’d say weigh your options. It’s a good package and quite possible that their quality or quality control has improved since I bought mine. The risk of being an early adopter perhaps. But were I to do it again, I’d spend for the Victrons. That, or build my own, just because it would be fun to do. I would definitely not buy Oliver’s package - you’ve got to work hard to make Victron gear look cheap, so fair credit to them for doing so. But that’s me, you may find it worth the price to not have to worry about it and to have Oliver’s warranty and service.