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wdw0528

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Everything posted by wdw0528

  1. We are registered for the rally both with the campground (Site e-38) and on the Oliver site. We are both up for some golf and look forward to seeing/meeting everyone!
  2. Hi Ray & Betty Jo, My wife Kathy and I are on a similar path as you in that we just placed our order and will pick up in April also. We made a stop by Hohenwald on a trip out west a few months ago and although the trip was great, it was clear to us that traveling in an Oliver would be a much better experience. We spent 7 weeks on the road then and have much more to see out there and while we wait for Ollie we are making plans. We also have a 3/4 ton truck (F-250 diesel, not 4WD) that is probably an overkill but since we already have it we will at least start our Oliver journey there. I agree with Reed that if you have back problems you may appreciate a smoother ride. Hope to see you at the rally in May!
  3. First, I'd like to say thank you to all the forum posts, videos, etc...both here and the Facebook group - your input helped us make what we think are the best choices for our Elite II configuration. Based on our needs and what we learned from you we placed our order this morning and have a tentative delivery date of 9 April 2018. The options we've included in our Elite II twin bed model are: AGM Batteries Solar 30 amp connection 2000 Watt Inverter Omni Directional Antenna Wifi & Cell Booster Flooring -still undecided Fiber Granite Mattress upgrade - gonna purchase separately from Southern Mattress in Rocky Mount Basement Access Cabinet Compost toilet - still undecided (monitoring forum for comments from current users - comments welcome) Truma Water Heater Anderson Hitch - opted out - don't think I need with a 3/4 ton diesel truck (comments welcome) 30 lb propane Propane Quick Disconnects A/C Easy Start Storage Basket Bike Rack We still have a bit of time (about 10 weeks before production starts) to fill in the blanks on the undecided options and pick our colors. We look forward to joining the group at the rally in May of next year. Darrell & Kathy
  4. I am following this (and many other threads) with much interest as we are close to placing our order. I called the Oliver business development director (Brent Robinson) today to confirm if the Blue Sky was an option that they are offering and he said it is not and they have no plans to return to it. While I appreciate (and respect) Reed's opinion on the subject - I'd like to hear from some folks using the current Zamp configuration and if you are satisfied with it? While we do intend to do some boondocking, I don't expect it to be more than 10-12 days at a time maximum and I think/hope that with a generator for back up we would be fine with either? - thoughts.... We appreciate all of the valuable input from all of you and look forward to joining you on the road soon. Darrell & Kathy
  5. You may want to take a look at Cloudland Canyon State Park in North Georgia near the Tennessee border. We camped there last year on our way out to Alaska...spent a couple days and did some hiking. We also like State parks - while we didn't do any biking there, they advertise a lot of bike trails ad the scenery is nice. It is only 25 miles from Chattanooga.
  6. Nice looking rig - I'm jealous. Since our plant tour in August we have been looking and are getting very close to placing an order. I visit the forum almost daily to read and learn what I can about options and camping in an Oliver so we an make the best choices for us. We just returned from a trip out west in our 5th wheel and plan to put it up for sale as soon as the slide out is fixed AGAIN! Our normal routine is camp for a month and work on it for a month.....hoping for better quality from Oliver and we are really looking forward to not having slides :-( Enjoy and maybe we'll see you on the road soon. Darrell & Kathy
  7. Thanks - we've just returned to Atlanta from a trip out west pulling a 30ft 5th wheel and I can tell you I am looking forward to downsizing. I don't have any trouble towing or backing the current rig but we saw some amazing places to camp if we had an Oliver....not to mention bumping my head under the camper. We have decided to get an Oliver already, just a matter of new or used and when. I am spending a lot of time on the forum learning what I can to make informed decisions.
  8. Outside is my most likely viable solution and it’s good to know that it can work.
  9. Thanks....a storage/boat storage place is something I hadn’t thought of if available near me? Assuming you have electricity there? If not, how do you handle battery charging and maintenance?
  10. We are considering a purchase and I am curious about storage and care when not in use. Best we can do (I think) is open storage in a secure lot....full sun. I’ve read where some use a cover.....wouldn’t that defeat the solar battery charging? Or do you remove the batteries while storing? Just curious how most of you store and care for the exterior of your Oliver. How do you recommend maintaining the exterior and would continuous exposure to the sun be detrimental? All input appreciated! Darrell
  11. Mike & Carol - we are on a similar trip and have been looking for you.....well not you specifically! We left Atlanta headed for Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico (many of the same places) but we did a plant tour in Hohenwald on the way. We have been trying to spot an Ollie on the road ever since we left the plant but no luck. Currently in Albuquerque and headed for a grand kid visit in Fort Worth on the way home. Sounds like your trip was as good as ours-thanks for sharing and we’ll keep an eye out for you :-) Darrell & Kathy
  12. Thanks John - If I buy new then going with them installing the Zamp option is most likely what I would choose to do. I have not ruled out buying a used one so I am trying to get smart on all options at this point. Appreciate your experience and advice!
  13. Thanks - if we could get by for 8-10 days at a time I would consider it a success.
  14. Thanks for the information....very helpful. While I seem to be tapped into electrical experts (not my strong point) let me ask another power question or two.... I have a couple Honda 2000 inverter generators mainly to run a/c but hope to be able to use only one with Ollie and the soft start capacitor added to the a/c. Does that work as advertised? What controls whether the electrical demand is satisfied via shore power (if plugged in), on board inverter or generator? I am not clear how it all works together.
  15. Thanks....I had obviously gotten confused between the Elite and Elite II :-( how difficult would it be to add your own solar to a unit? I have been reading about this recently but not sure how confident I'd be. A system added after production would not/could not be roof mounted I assume?
  16. We are very interested in the solar capability of the Olivers but I have little experience with it. I've read a bit and asked a few questions but have one for this group. When we began looking at Oliver a couple months ago they advertised a 320 watt solar set up that someone I met in the business said was pretty good. Now on some of the 2018 ads I am seeing 200 watt with an ability to supplement it with another external panel. Why the change and what is best in your opinion.....understand it depends on what your power requirements/useage are. Some of the 2018 literature still shows the 320....guess I should ask the sales team if there are choices. Darrell
  17. We toured the plant last month and are pretty much sold on an Oliver Elite II.....keeping an eye on this forum to learn more from you guys & gals & decide on new or used. In the meantime I have a couple of towing questions I'd like input from owners out there. 1) We have an F-250 diesel so towing capacity is not an issue - wonder if I need the weight distribution hitch? Anyone towing without it in a similar set up? 2) We are downsizing from a 5th wheel and while I am happy to get the bed of my truck back, I am not thrilled about needing help backing onto the hitch. I understand there are products out there to assist a single person hitch up - anyone using one and how does it work? I have many more questions also but will periodically post them in the appropriate topic area (hopefully). Thanks in advance for your thoughts! wdw0528 aka Darrell & Kathy
  18. My wife and I did the Alaska trip (and much more) from Atlanta and back last year. It was a great trip but requires much planning and preparation in my opinion. We traveled with another couple who almost didn't get to go due to illness. If anyone is interested, we kept a blog of our trip to share with friends and family as we traveled and you may find some stories and/or photos to help pique your interest. The blog can be accessed at https://culpepperwaters.blogspot.com/ and the chapters are identified by the different towns/stops so you can focus on the Alaska only parts if you wish. It was a great trip and recommend it....and hopefully our next one will be in an Ollie.
  19. Hello, We are Darrell and Kathy Waters and are currently on a western states trip (from Atlanta area) and on our way out we made our first stop in Hohenwald to tour the Ollie plant. I had done a fair amount of reading on the web so I was pretty interested/curious but had never seen one close up before then. Actually the first we'd heard of an Ollie was when we went to Alaska last year and we saw a couple on the road during that trip. Needless to say we were pretty impressed with what we saw in Hohenwald and have decided to put our current rig (Forest River 5th wheel) on the market when we return and hopefully we will be getting in the production line before long. We are spending time now reading and researching some options but at some point I may begin lobbing questions to some current owners for their input/suggestions. The Ollie is a considerable downsize from our current camper (30ft with 3 slides) but all of the maintenance issues I have dealt with on this rig have been engineered out of the Ollie.....slides, bad tires, and roof challenges. I am prepared to sacrifice some living space for less maintenance! We hope to be joining the ranks soon :-)
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