JWalmsley

I really like the ambient light it gives off as well. They look great!

Thank you for sharing your picture Karen! We love it. Please share with us more of your wonderful pictures. :)

Fall creek falls is a great place. My daughter and I go there at least once a year.

Welcome y'all, sounds like you have quite the adventure planned. Come back and share your stories :).

We're working on performance/functionality and will have something to show shortly. There is still some work left to do before we're comfortable with the release. This will include a new forums. Better user experience and moderation tools for moderators.

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 When we think about some of the mechanical problems we have experienced out there on the open road, we tend to think in terms of flats and fuel filters. This time however, it was a bit different! The laptop is a critical component in our travel trailer for our travels around Americas heartland. We mount it in a RAMLINE bracket in the tow vehicle and run a navigation program on the 17 inch screen. It is the way we communicate with friends and family. It gives us face to face time with the grandkids and great grand kids, via SKYPE. We order things and pay bills on the laptop. Campground reservations and cancellations as well as searching for cool stuff to see, are often managed via the laptop. And most of all, that laptop contains those important, memory evoking trip photos, like the one below from the sugar beet harvest up near the Canadian border. We are pretty careful with the laptop and put it in a padded place when not in use. But, when putting on lots of miles, sooner or later it will take a hit. A screen hinge broke on ours, during the latest episode. It continued to work, so I just opened it up carefully, until the day that I heard something go into the cooling fan. It wasn't long before this message came up upon boot up. It was time to do something alright ! I should have known that I was headed for trouble when the broken hinge caused the case to start to separate, here is a look. Knowing that the fan was likely damaged, I had one mailed to our location. A quick check of youtube let me view a fan replacement and hinge repair video. It seems as though a broken hinge is pretty common and there were some good tips and hints there. Placing a small fan near the case separation kept the laptop from shutting down due to overheating and I gathered up these items before opening up the cases. I was not prepared for so many tiny screws of different sizes, but other than that, the disassembly was pretty much straight forward. On the left are the plastic pieces that jammed the fan. Using the epoxy to put the threaded brass ferules back in place for the hinge and putting in place the new fan, I was soon ready to re assemble. Here is a look at the epoxied in place ferules and hinge. You may notice that I managed to get some epoxy over on to the power switch, but a little alcohol on a Q tip, cleaned it right up. One of the hints from the videos that I had watched was to wear thin cotton gloves, but I was staying clear of the circuit boards, so I did not use any. Hehe, I hope I do not regret that decision later. An emergency repair with a little video instruction, tiny screwdrivers and my trusty old pocket knife. I have to admit that mine was a kind of a shade tree repair, yet so far everything is working well. Now, I just wonder what our next laptop adventure may be. Here is a look at the video that I used, just in case it might come in handy for someone: Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Unhinged appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

We did not intentionally remove the sidebar, however it is now back and working again! That was my fault. Sorry about the confusion for the last few days!

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 Although we were totally excited about our delivery of the new Oliver Legacy Elite. Even though we were knee deep into the item by item check list. Even though various plant workers were hooking it up to our Jeep’s hitch, making sure that the driving lights were correctly operational before pulling out. Even in the midst of all that hustle and bustle, it was hard not to notice the commanding presence of a distinguished gentleman that had quietly arrived from another part of the plant. It was clear that he was standing a bit apart so that he could observe without interfering with the delivery process. With the tan of an outdoorsman, the hiking boots and jeans, topped off with a plaid shirt jacket, it might be pretty easy to assume that he was a plant worker. Yet as the plant crew noted his presence, their subtle shift in demeanor told me that he was the owner of Oliver Travel Trailers. From time to time his hands would seek his blue jean pockets and he would seem to be deep in thought. Obviously it was a very private moment for him and was a powerful emotional experience. Though he didn’t say anything, it was clear that he was taking in every detail, as he savored the proceedings. It was a milestone event. After a bit I asked the sales manager who it was and he introduced me. A firm handshake from a hand that stayed busy doing real world things, backed up by a greatly infectious smile, and I had met Jim Oliver. Now I knew why he had been quietly and reverently observing the first delivery, he and his twin brother John had spent many hours dreaming about this day. Though it was quite an emotional occasion, Jim spent time talking with us about the path to this day with his brother John. Yep, that’s just the kind of guy that he is. You might note that this first Oliver has great ground clearance that matches the Jeep’s. It didn’t start off that way, and that is a whole different story, one that points out Oliver’s unique capacity to listen to the needs of their customers. Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Milestone appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 One year, almost to the day, had passed, since Betty and I laid eyes on the first Oliver Legacy Elite that we had ever seen. That had been at the first River Valley Egg Rally, in Van Buren Arkansas. On this particular day, we were at the River Valley Egg Rally number two, with other new Oliver owner's. Our campground was located just off of interstate 40, with lots of great Casita folks, and other molded fiberglass owners, as well as fellow new Oliver owner’s. Present were, Chuck and Geri, Steve and Tali, Paul and Sherry, Pete and Oscar as well as Betty and I. This was likely the first Oliver mini rally, and there were five Oliver's present at this gathering, back in October of 2008. ARCTIC AIRBORNE RANGER’S PATHTAG It was a rainy part of the day, at RVER II, ( River Valley Egg Rally ) in VanBuren Arkansas. The rain had eased up to a slow drizzle and the barbeque grills were smoking under molded fiberglass trailer awnings. Some folks had started a domino game of Mexican train in the meeting hall, some were involved in needle work and chatting. Some were just napping. I had other plans, however. Before leaving for the rally, I had loaded several nearby geocaches into our Magellan GPS. Though we had been very near to one of the geocaches while eating a meal at Rick's Ribs barbeque place, we had not had a chance to look for the cache. I was going to look for the cache in the rain. Everyone seemed to be busy and I had just checked email on the laptop, the time seemed right. Sitting at the small dinette in our travel trailer, I turned on the GPS. When the GPS had "found it's self", it indicated that we were within a fourth of a mile of the geocache. Though it was raining, it was a gentle rain and wasn't too chilly. I grabbed the Jeep keys and pocketed the GPS. Being dressed lightly wasn't a problem, I didn't even take a rain jacket. Placing the GPS on the dashboard so I could monitor it, I noted that I was within one eighth of a mile of the cache when crossing the Fayetteville Highway. Navigating in towards the geocache, I turned in by the barbeque place. The name of the cache was "pass the barbeque". And I did. Soon I was as close as the Jeep could get me, to the cache. I waited for a bit of a shower to pass. The GPS began averageing over and over, becoming more and more accurate about the location of the cache. Stepping out of the Jeep with the GPS in hand as the shower let up, I noted that the 100 foot proximity alarm went off. I was getting close now! The geocache was a .30 calliber ammunition can and it was full of geoswag. The log book was in a ziplock baggie and it was clean and dry. Geocachers from all over the United States had visited the cache. The log book was a good read by it's self. Spreading the swag out inside the jeep so I could sign the log in the dry, I found a rare thing. A PATHTAG, loose in the wild. At first I couldn't believe my eyes ! But there it was. Pathtags are highly sought after trading coins that usually are not found loose in the wild ! Though we had only time for one geocache at VanBuren, it was a sure nuff' deuzzie' The PathTag belonged to a Retired Army Airborne Ranger that was Artic trained. The PathTag wasn't logged in the log book. It had just simply been dropped in the cache amongst the geoswag. Later I talked to a couple of the cachers that had been there just before me. Somehow they had overlooked the articabn pathtag. Back at the rally in the campground, we passed the pathtag around and talked about geocaching in general. Our five Olivers were in a cluster and because of their maneuverability we all had our awnings facing each other to facilitate easy visiting around our common campfire. The 5 O'clock hour was filled with animated conversation and our little group of Oliver's were in the process of making some wonderful life long friends! Later that night as we prepared for bed and we rehashed the events of the day, Betty and I noted that our group of Oliver's seemed more like family than friends. Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Our Early Oliver History appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 Just how many do you want to deal with? Over the years, as we came out of the work a day world and into retirement, our RVing style changed to suit our needs. And, usually, it simply came down to just how much “stuff” we wanted to carry with us. Now “stuff” readily translates into weight and weight means more axles, tires, brakes and so on. Well, it doesn’t take long to realize that all the wheels, brakes and axles is where all the hidden expense and labor is located. Especially if you should hit a piece of steel that had been lost from a 18 wheeler and because of traffic, could not be avoided. We have been fortunate to have experienced a few different types of travel trailers and thinking back on just which setup gave us the most enjoyable for trips. Here is a quick look at a few. You can nearly count the axles and see how much fun we were having. Our first night away from the Oliver Factory in our new Ollie, Hull #3. Seems like this may have been in the winter of 2007. We were headed for Nashville and overnighted near Waffle House in Columbia Tennessee. Easy parking, easy in, easy out onto the highway. Our goal was to get away from most of the traffic noise, have a bit of grass for our dogs and be close for a hearty breakfast before hitting the road early. Being highly maneuverable with good ground clearance gave us that ability. Photo by Bugeyedriver. Years pass and in this photo we are meeting up with Bugeyedriver and are enroute to a molded fiberglass rally. This was one of those landscaped shopping center parking lots with all the manicured tree and grass covered islands. We were towing like this and needed to park much further away from where we were buying supplies. A little more length and another axle made a difference. While work camping, we experienced all four seasons and didn’t have the luxury of going by home base to reload the camper with seasonal clothing, food and bedding. Count these axles! Fourteen tires,wheels and brakes on six axles! As you might note, we are parked way out on the fringe of a restaurant parking lot and had to circle a bit while looking for a place to park. Yes we are pulling double, with a long wheel base one ton Dually, 38’ fifthwheel and a Jeep on a tow bar. Carrying more “stuff” on a higher axle count was draining our “fun factor”! Fuel cost, wear and tear, and just ever so many other factors can be viable issues in your equation, but for us, when we lose our ability to “whip on in to check out a roadside attraction”, we are just having less fun! Axles, yep, we count em’. Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Axle Count appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

Well that is obviously strange! What was the email that sent it?

I love hearing stories like this! They sure were blessed to have you find them and give them a place of peace to rest for the night. Moments like that remind me of the olden days when people were full of courage and integrity. Not that I am old - barely pushing 35 here, maybe I am just an old soul. Thank you for sharing.

I will be honest, I did borrow some of y'all's informative posts from the past! :D So many great suggestions and wanna thank you all for the them! I did post a link to this discussion at the bottom of the blog post as well! If I get some time to do some writing I will update the blog or I just may write a whole new blog about something else using your suggestions!

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 10 Steps to Help get Your Travel Trailers Ready for Spring and Summer! The days are getting longer and the temperature is rising, our thoughts are on spring and you know what that means for so many of us travelers! It is time for inspection and the summarization of our RV travel trailers to get ready for some fun in the great outdoors! Whether you like going on caravans or camping, there will always be comfort in knowing you have covered all angles with the travel trailers preparation guide we have prepared. Let’s get started, shall we? Cleaning and Wash I find the best place to start first is with a thorough wash and detail after the winterization of the RV, there is just something about having a clean camper that gets my motivation pumping! I preferably use a gentle soap or RV wash and wax soap. For the awning many owners are using a product called Reliable, washing 3 feet at a time. After the wash, some travelers use 1 cup of Murphy’s Oil Soap in a pail of warm water and wash over the awning with a brush and finish with a rinse. This will make your awning look brand new and make cleaning next season a breeze as you will see the oak drips, pine pitch, and needles, along with fine dust will rinse right off. Next, I am going to be looking for any damage and wear, making sure everything is up to standard for any planned road trips. Tire and Wheel Inspection Look for any cracks, leaks, wear or dry rot. If you notice wear on the tires there is a good indicator of what may be the problem. I'll check each tire's air pressure, you can find the PSI (pounds per square inch) usually written on the side of the tire in small print. Tire Wear Patterns Center wear is caused by over-inflation of the tire. What you can do to prevent center wear is lower the tire pressure to recommended PSI. Wear on the outside is caused by under-inflation, raising the tire pressure to recommended PSI will solve this problem. Tires are a crucial part of traveling and keeping them well maintained is an important task. We recommend checking tire pressures monthly and wear even more often. Balance is the key to getting the most out of the tires on your vehicle and RV travel trailers. Next, we will inspect the RV camper appliances like the water heater, refrigerator, propane gas tanks, and batteries. If you have solar panels on your RV trailers then those will also need to be checked to ensure they are in working order with powering the RV and charging the connected battery. Propane Tanks Make sure all propane tanks are turned off and there's no open flames, sparks or smoking nearby. Does your RV have a leak detector? Make sure it is turned on inside the RV. Let's open the propane valves, do you smell any leaks of propane? If you smell propane have a professional inspect and repair the tank for you. Occasionally the seals will dry out over the winter months causing new leaks that did not exist before. Battery Maintenance I am going to inspect the battery first for cracks from where the battery may have become frozen over the winter. If I find any cracks then it's time to replace the battery. If I find the battery in good working order I will disconnect and clean the battery connections with corrosion-resistant cleaner and lubricant, check the fluid levels and charge the battery until fully charged. Re-connect the battery and we're all set. Our Legacy Elite and Legacy Elite II models come with a battery monitor to make checking battery levels an ease. You can always check your battery levels from inside the comfort of your Oliver. The monitor also reads water levels in all tanks. Water system Time to test the water lines before filling the travel trailers with water. Make sure the water heater bypass valve is in the normal position and all faucets are closed. On the outside: to fill your tank use the freshwater connection found on the left and to use city water without filling the tank use the city water connection on the right. Turn on a hot and cold water faucet, this will allow the air to escape while the water flows and fills up the tank. Now I am looking for any leaks from faucets and pipes. If you used antifreeze for your winterization of the camper RV then you should run water through it until all of the antifreeze is removed from the system. Make sure the water pump runs by starting it and wait 30 minutes to hear if the pump cycles on again if it does this means there is possibly a leak or pressure drop. If it does not cycle on the water system is ready to use. If you are not sure or have questions about this you may join our Oliver Travel Trailer community forums and gain many new insights in the care and use of your RV. Stovetop Gas Burner and Refrigerator Turn on the propane tanks and light the stove burners. Turning on the gas-burning stove will release any trapped air in the lines. After you verified they light and stay on you can now turn them off and move on to lighting the refrigerator. To do this press the gas button on your refrigerator panel and ensure that the led stays lit. We do not recommend leaving the refrigerator running while driving, in some states this is illegal. You can run the refrigerator by switching to D/C power, thus powering it from the batteries, the last thing you want is to get to your destination and the food has spoiled because the light went out halfway to your destination. Water Heater At least twice a year, you want to inspect your water heater for corrosion and loose connections. On a well-traveled RV, we recommended changing the Anode rod (pictured right) once a year. If you find any problems you should have it fixed by a qualified service technician. When it comes to propane gas or electrical connections, this becomes a very serious business. Furnace Inspect the outside furnace to make sure there is good airflow and nothing is blocking it. Sometimes insects, birds, mice, and other critters can block and interfere with these furnace vents. For the Oliver travel trailer we recommend getting the round Valterra Bug Screen for Suburban RV furnace, these fit right over the vents and help prevent intrusion of unwanted guests. Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Detectors Last but not least, I always install new batteries every year, this way I always know my batteries are good and that is one last thing to worry about. After installing new batteries do some testing to make sure they are in working order. On the Oliver RV, we have a propane gas detector as well, be sure to check this is working. Be sure to check your fire extinguisher, make sure the needle is in the green and full. When I was young I learned from Boy Scouts "Be Prepared", this invaluable information still serves me today. Building an emergency kit for our travel trailers is just as essential as our inspection. When we're out in the wilderness or even roadside and something happens staying prepared will help tremendously. Here are a few of my top necessities to get started: Emergency Kit Canned, food bars (2400 calorie)Drinking waterWater purification tabletsFirst Aid KitSolar Radio with NOAA / FM / AMFlashlightBatteries (Flashlight)USB Mobile Phone ChargerHand WarmersWaterproof matchesCandlesWaterproof PonchoLightsticksCoast Guard whistleUtility KnifeShop rags and Paper towels Emergency Roadside Kit Emergency Roadside Triangle ReflectorsRoad FlaresBasic tool kit (4-way lug wrench, socket set, pliers, screwdrivers, crescent wrench, wire cutters, tire valve stem tool, etc.Blue Tarp (5x7)Fix A Flat TireHeavy Duty GlovesLatex GlovesIce and Snow Window ScraperJumper CablesTow RopeDuct TapeExtra Fuses (variety) This sums up our travel trailers' preparation guide. If you wish to participate in the discussion you can join in on our forums here: Travel Trailer Preparation Forums Discussion. Now I know what you're thinking... we're all a little spoiled and I love it. Happy camping everyone! Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post The Simple RV Preparation Checklist appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

I added a new little blog if y'all wanna take a look at it. I am looking to add more ideas, steps or improvements if you have any suggestions - lay them on me. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/travel-trailers-preparation-spring/ Thanks! Jason

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 It can start by browsing through a book, or maybe the internet, at any rate, our planning seems to usually start there. We identify places of interest and figure travel distance. Now, you might notice that there is no mention of campgrounds or specific overnighting locations. The plan doesn’t even have an ending point ! Now as strange as that may seem, it is exactly the way we like it. Our travel trailers let us get into lesser traveled areas and we always find other nearby things that grab our interest. Here is a book that has started many of our meandering adventures. The great photos in this book have inflamed the imagination of many travelers and so it was with us. One handy aspect of US Highway 66 is that it spans so much of America that there are likely several cool starting points somewhere near you. It has long been our practice that any time we cross or get near route 66, we take a closer look for things that just reach out and “grab” our imagination. Heading home for the Holliday’s late in December one year we were going to cross 66 at Baxter Springs Kansas. When we arrived there, we hadn’t had time for our usual research, instead we stopped at the tourist info center. While there a name popped up that has always caught my attention, Jesse James. It turned out that he had robbed a bank in town. The bank was no longer there but there was a great restaurant in the old building. Here is a look. After a great meal, we were on our way home for the Holiday’s. It’s a good thing that we enjoyed that stop when we could for that restaurant isn’t there anymore. Here is a look at the bank back when Jesse James robbed it. If there is any underlying moral to this story, it is don’t get locked into a travel plan that may be less fun than the lesser known things you may wander across. By the way, this cool bank robbery restaurant is not listed in the book above, it is just another reason to keep your eyes open for those hidden gems of history that may lurk along your way. Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Trip Planning with our Travel Trailer appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

This is something we have discussed and are still looking into how we will go about it as well as considering the time management into a large project as it can become. At this time there is not an ETA so to speak but it is on the list of to-do's. :)

Thanks everyone, and yes Sherry you have it right, LURKING. Lol!

Hello y'all, My name is Jason and I started here at Oliver Travel Trailer about 3-4 weeks ago in the Web/IT department working under Matt. I am here to help with web development, marketing, seo and to help make the web/forums better. I figured I would come in and introduce myself and give y'all a hello since I have been rather creepish on here for the last 3 weeks! Lol. Glad to be here and excited to see what the future holds in store for us all! I hope to see you at the 2017 Oliver Rally at Thousand Trails Natchez Trace this year! Thanks, Jason

This is a neat video! I have been on the Trace a ton, from Hohenwald to Nashville but never the whole Trace. Thanks for sharing!

Congratulations y'all, many great camping trips in your future. Will we be seeing you at the Oliver Rally Natchez Trace Tennessee 2017?

Welcome Fred, pleased to hear about your interest in Oliver Travel Trailers! And sorry to hear about the 15.00 in overage fees! I am sure you may have already scoured the website but in case you have not, there is a map you can view. The map will show you where the Oliver Travel Trailer owners who have joined our Referral program are located, you can even request to see one in the area if they are close. That link can be found here: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/see-an-ollie/ Maybe it was one of them you had seen! Cheers, Jason

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 Ten years have went by ever so fast! And, it seems just like yesterday. It was well after dark as we had left the Oliver Plant in Hohenwald. The factory crew had stayed over late to finish up a few things and we hit the road. It had been a long day and candy bars and coffee lost the battle to sheer old fatigue. Jackson Tennessee was coming up in the distance and we were looking for a place to get a few winks. As it turned out it was Sam’s club and there was an I Hop nearby for an early breakfast. Much earlier, it turned out, than we had hoped for! This grainy analog cell phone video has been watched on you tube for most of that ten years and surprisingly it has accumulated nearly 43 thousand views! About the time I turned the phone off, Betty came out and said, “ I’ve rounded everything up, let’s go to I Hop”. On the west side of that exit in Jackson Tennessee, we discovered during a later visit to the factory, there is a Gander Mountain outdoor supply that was much quieter with fun out of doors type shopping. Have you ever had a Walmart or Sam’s Club wee hours wake up? Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Ten Oliver Years Ago appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 Shopping bags galore! A quick way to store, use and dispose of those pesky plastic shopping bags by putting them in the trash right away. Out of sight, out of mind. Yet, they will be readily at hand come bag replacement time! Many Oliver owners are reluctant to put tissue in their black tank and have a small trash can beside the commode for that. They also understand that it is a good place to put those thin plastic shopping bags to use as trash can liners, rather than purchase some. This method, gives storage for many bags and there is always another bag right there ready for use. Lay the bags flat and overlap bags in a 90* manner as above. Connect bags until you have a square the size you like. Here is a short video that may help. Then drop several squares in the bottom of that small trash can by the stool. They will remain there until you need another bag. Then just grab the end and pull to get your next bag. The trash can becomes the bag storage and dispenser, providing a bag at just a moment’s notice. The two squares of bags at the left will be out of sight under the liner bag that is in the trash can, readily available. If your small trash can is a bit taller you may have room for more folded bag squares! Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Shopping Bags appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article

Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 There are washers, and then there are washers, and you don’t have to own an travel trailer for very long before you figure out just which ones work for you. And, you will always keep a few spares around for emergency’s. We are talking about rubber water hose washers, the inexpensive, easily lost and just “gotta’ have” washers. They come in all colors and types and if you believe the advert on the package, one size fits all. A quick look at this handy assortment of hose washers will let even the most casual of observers see that there can be quite a difference in them. In this photo it is easy to see that the inside diameter hole, that the water passes through, is quite different. Then there is those at the bottom of the photo that has the funny little ears or locking tabs on the outside diameter to keep them from falling out every time you take the hose on or off. Occasionally, there are times when adding an extra washer or doubling up the thickness will get a leaky hose fitting to stop dripping. Now that can be important, in some Desert South West campgrounds. Screened washers in brass or stainless steel normally go at the RV end of the water hose just as it goes into the RV. During the normal process of checking and cleaning, (WHAT!) why would campground water require a screen cleaning ? Because all water is not created equal, especially in the dessert South West where Iron and alkali levels vary widely. Often the mill scale that will collect on the screen clears readily, but the screen becomes misshapen with the handling which can reduce flow and cause the need for replacement. As the need arises and you add another length of hose or replace a hose, the odds are that the fittings on the end will be just a little bit different and the washer that comes with the new hose will likely be a bit different also. When you are in the hardware store and pick up one of those green plastic “cards” of hose washers it is pretty easy to forget that a garden hose with a tiny leak at the connection may be acceptable and that those plastic washers being made of a harder material, that may not seal as well, might not be ok in a campground. As the average water hose washer ages, hardens and shrinks it becomes loose in the hose end and can fall out or not seal well, so a selection of washers in a small zip lock baggie won’t cost but pennies and can surely make the camping trip go better upon occasion! Share and Enjoy !0Shares0 0 The post Washers appeared first on Oliver Travel Trailers. Read the Full Article