mountainborn

Well we just couldn't stand it ! We gotta' post another photo: Taken in Columbia Tennessee. We got a early start heading for Nashville. Parked outside of a Waffle House as the sun comes up, our early start was delayed a bit by folks wanting to look and ask about our Oliver. We didn't mind one bit, we always are ready to show our TT.

Whether or not to travel with the fresh water tank full, is a topic of some discussion on other forums. To those that travel from one campsite to another with full hookups at each stop, it sometimes makes more sense to just have only a few gallons of water in the tank. The obvious bonus of that is the fuel savings from not having to tow the extra weight. The other bonus for some brands of TT's is the water tank is well above the frame and the center of gravity is affected. Which directly affects handling out on the road. All tanks on the Oliver are down low between the frame rails, not above them, creating the very lowest possible center of gravity. That, and the extensible tongue, pretty much guarante the best possible handling while under tow. Once the handling issue is out of the way, a full, or nearly empty fresh water tank becomes mostly a matter of choice, not necessity. Because we mostly boondock, with no hookups, we only stop at a full hookup facility to do laundry, take advantage of a long, slow, hot shower, dump tanks, top off fresh water, re provision the larder, ect.. The cool thing about our TT's is that it allows us to "do it our way". Tell us please, how you do it, and as always, post those photos if you have them !

Seadawg's question about photo posting is one that most likely we all will face sooner or later. We all just love to view photos that showcase our Oliver travel trailers and those fun places that we all like to go to. Sharing those experiences with others is almost as good as getting to do it all over again ! I like to call the way that I do it, my "quick and dirty" method. It is quick alright, but the dirty part is, someone else resizes and provides the html links to the photos for me. I have used several free online photo storage programs, but am currently using http://www.photobucket.com, it completes several steps of the process for me, SWEET ! After your photo is uploaded to photobucket, there will be several ways you can use it listed below each photo. The one I use most, is the easiest, naturally, just left click the image link at the very bottom below the photo. It will automaticly copy that link to your machines RAM. Then all you have to do is right click to paste that image link into the text body of your posting and it will be there when you submit the post to the board.

Could one of you who has uploaded images already explain to me how to do this? Thanks!!! Sherry > Sherry, we are looking forward to seeing your Alaska photos ! > The easiest way I know to post photos is through http://www.photobucket.com. It is a free service and it will resize your photos to an internet friendly size for you automaticly. Now, I like that. After your photo is uploaded to photobucket, there will be several ways you can use it listed below each photo. The one I use most is the easiest, naturally, just left click the image link at the very bottom below the photo. It will automaticly copy to your machines RAM. Then all you have to do is right click to paste that image link into the text body of your posting and it will be there when you submit the post to the board. > Alaska photos ! Pretty heady stuff ! We just can't wait.

Old Man Winter is slow to give up his grip on the land. It is the middle of February and though the days are getting longer, tiny bit by tiny bit, It just can't be soon enough. We talk about trips, we plan trips, we long for a get away to break up the doldrums of cabin fever. Looking through the threads of these forums, we envy Jim and Evon out there in the desert South West. That semi circle of Olivers with the carpet and lawn chairs there at Quartzite beckons to us. Work demands preclude a trip the magnitude of Quartzite, so what are we going to do ? We scour the internet and find a couple of links that may help. http://WWW.FESTIVALS.COM Many festivals are a weekend thing and have RV parking associated with them. Maybe, like us, you don't even have a full weekend at your disposal ? Try this link then. http://fleamarketguide.com/ Most flea markets have parking and the TT is a good place to rest those tired feet for a bit before the next shopping foray into the bazzar ! Want a more solitary thing ? Into geocaching ! We love to take our TT and go into a area we have never been before to find a few geocaches. http://WWW.GEOCACHING.COM > Good luck in escaping the Winter doldrums !

TUMBLEWEED said: > Now about that second story bunkhouse............... Chuck 2002 Chevy xcab w/slider 2003 Casita Liberty SOLD 2008 Oliver ordered Chuck n 2 spoiled dogs > He, he, he, Chuck, you are ever soooo badd ! > Say, I see you have sold your Casita, buddy, you are eggless and awaiting a new arrival ! You and Pete will be spending time on the NEW BABY ON THE WAY ? Thread ! I am always amazed when I look at those photos of the development stage. A cool thing though, is having made a couple of visits to the factory, I can put faces and conversations with those workers that are in the photos. There is a great bunch of folks working out there on the production floor. They really care about the product that they produce.

Welcome Nathan Johnson !

Welcome neepawa !

Welcome TOMMY !

While surfin' your photobucket albums I came across this photo of a Jeep Wrangler towing an Elite. Since Butcherknife and I tow with a Wrangler, it caught my eye. Closer inspection caused me to ask this, what is that power cord hatch ? It seems to be shiney like stainless steel. It looks different than we are used to seeing. Tell us about it please ! Something new ? Or maybe a field test in progress ? How about it Robert ?

Though our forums are in their formative stages, it seems that many are building their dream trailer, one that suits their personal needs. It is intresting to see how each coach takes on the personality of the owners as they make the many choices associated with the building process. One of the most tech savvy trailers that I have read the description of, is that being built for BUGEYEDRIVER. His list of "cool" items is extensive, yet he has no need to be able to recieve traditional TV. Much thought is put into how your trailer will be built and equipped. There are lots of great ideas out there. How about sharing your thoughts about building your Dream Trailer with us ! Already picked up your dream trailer ? How about posting a photo ?

Welcome TX900s !

In another thread Tom brought up a good question about the Owners Manual. Here is a quick look at the package and it's contents. There is the manual in a "binder", that has all of the nifty stuff about the coach. Then there is the Owners Manual and sometimes the installation manual for each appliance in the coach. > > > Although this is an attractive package, and most informative, it takes up cabinet space and we have stored it under one of the seat storage trays. Probably the reason I didn't quickly look up the bathroom courtesy light switch location !

Welcome SeaDawg !

Welcome jerry240j !

Welcome trackman !

Welcome to TNHausKat !

Welcome to earthdancer ! Nice photos !

He, he, Our owner's manual was full of instructions and operating procedures. There was so much information there, that it was a bit large. The owners manual comes in a beautiful "satchel", about the size of a small briefcase, with a zipper closure on top and a Oliver curvy road logo on the front. It seems to be made out of some kind of heavy nylon cordura and leather. By the time we finished our orientation in the delivery bay, we felt like we knew everything we would ever need to know about out new Elite. Somehow, I just couldn't remember where that switch was !

Welcome to the forums NORTHWOODS ! We are glad to have you on the forums.

It is a 3.8 liter V6 with an automatic transmission. On a good day we get a little over 16 MPG towing, on a bad we get a little over 14 MPG. The difference between a good day and a bad day is the wind, terrain and speed as we travel.

Welcome to stratcat1979 ! Come on in, the chattin' is fine !

Thanks, Herschel, and welcome to the forums. Butcherknife and I live just over a hundred miles away, you can look for us to be there. RVER I is where we first viewed an Oliver and started meeting the great folks in the MFGRV world. Please don't be a stranger to these forums. Many of us here can benefit from the experience of "Old Hands" like Chuck and yourself.

Show us some of the "necessary" stuff that you carry, photo's please ! Does some of the stuff you carry work well ? Please show us ! Butcherknife and I are constantly culling and getting new items that we carry with us. You know, the necessary items. If it's worn, broken or obsolete, it goes in the storage shed to await a later and subsequent culling as a yard sale item. Or maybe off to the Good Will store. We recently found a thing we like really well, though we didn't at first. We also posted this on the Casitaclub forums. Here it is: > As we looked at it on the shelf in wally's world, we remembered a scarey hot summer day when a utility trailer tire blew out and shredded before we could get off to the side of the interstate highway. As I got ready to kneel down to place the jack under the axle I pulled my gloves on, a good thing that I did ! A bit of the rubber from the super heated and shredded tire brushed my forearm. We had came from the cab of a airconditioned pickup truck and weren't feeling the full effects of the extreme heat, yet. The small burning sensation from the brush with the rubber was the first hint of just how hot it actually was outside that airconditioned cab. The superheated asphalt that I was kneeling on actually stuck to my blue jeans and left a red welp on my knee that was still there and burned in the shower that evening. Years later, we are looking for a way around that event being repeated. Our electric jack system keeps us from having to go under the trailer to place a jack in the event of a flat, but kneeling on the asphalt to break the lug nuts loose was still an issue. What we were looking at was a small twelve volt impact wrench. No brand name on it, the first clue of it's Chinese Origin. Reading the label cautiously we finaly gave in and bought it. It's small size, carrying case and socket assortment did it for us. A couple of days pass and we need to run a test on the thing and see just how it measures up. After pluging it in and pulling the trigger, we were unimpressed. Then we put on the socket and tried it on a lug nut. As the trigger was pulled it made a screaming, winding up sound and suddenly gave the lug nut a whack ! There was no appreciable impact to my hand but after a couple of those whacks the lug nut started to turn and soon spun off. After getting over my initial observation that it was likely too small to do the job, I had to reassess how I felt about the no name impact wrench's performance. Final conclusion, it works well, just differently. As it winds up building energy it transfers that energy to the lug nut and soon it is loose. We now carry it with us and store it in the battery compartment. Here is the photo: > > >

During one visit to the factory, we were pleased to get a look at some coaches that really caught our eye ! There was a RED coach, a BLACK and a BLUE coach. The upholstery in each was just fabulously rich and really accented the beautiful interior finish. As we build our coach to our own specifications, fabrics, and so forth are options that we choose. But there are other choices that we make after we get home that add some flair and personality to our coaches. Please show us what you have done to enhance the decor of your coach. Photos, please ! Example: Here is Butcherknife's kitchen sink area. A mild Coca Cola theme area: ( we almost went with a Route 66 theme ) Butcherknife's kitchen is a work area, lots of cooking going on in there ! So it is simple yet functional. We haven't been able to muster up enough guts to drill any holes in the fiberglass yet, so you may note the extensive use of suction cup devices. Barely visible behind and below the cannister set is a clear PVC cutting board that can roll up if needed. It protects the gel coat finish from scratches from the cannister set.