bugeyedriver

A good source of campground reviews can be found at: http://www.rvparkreviews.com It gives you a general idea of good and bad things about the park. it is easy to sport the delve serving, over-the-top reviews by owners, etc and to spot the disgruntled individuals that require everything to be perfect. I find most reviews useful, though.

Dale, My 2008 Tacoma has a V6 4.0L with towing package and it has pulled The Wonder Egg (single axle Ollie) 94,000 miles so far. I've crossed the Rocky Mountains 5 times without an issue. I tow it the way the manual calls for, in 4th gear. The Taco has 197,000 miles on it and is still going strong. The 2016 Tacoma has a V6 with a slightly smaller engine which produces more HP and torque than my 2008. Pete

Charlie, Your hull number should be found as the last two numbers in your VIN. Yours is likely 12 or earlier. It looks like the Water Pump switch and Master Light switch are the ones affected. Did you go from twelve volt batteries to six volt Trojans? Were the switches functioning normally prior to getting new batteries? Have you confirmed they are wired together correctly? Could it be two old switches with under-volt protection that are overly sensitive (since the others did not quit working) Has Dustin or anyone else gotten back with you yet? Pete

Topgun says - "I thought that there were a couple of "problems" with the floor in the bath. First, given that it is white, it will eventually get dirty from simple foot traffic and I'm guessing that over time this will be harder and harder to keep clean. Second, for those trips in the middle of the night, the floor is a bit cold on the toes. And, third, even if the floor is "dried" after a shower there is still a bit of moisture that lingers for awhile." 1- The Wonder Egg's shower floor is as white as it was on delivery day after 93.000 miles and over a thousand showers. (2x per day - Quit laughing Scubarx!). 2- I leave the shower door open in the night so the temp is the same as the main cabin, = no frozen toes in the winter. (You new folks with ducted air to the bathroom wouldn't understand) 3- After the walls and floor have thoroughly been wiped down with a microfiber cloth, I open the bathroom window, turn on the bathroom fan, and close the door for ten to fifteen minutes. The bath is totally dry after that. No mesh/mat/rug thingy for me, I'm doing just fine, thank you very much.

Early Elite models were often very unique from on another due to our personal requests or production line changes. What is your hull number? Could you post a picture and tell us what the functions of your two malcontent rocker switches might be? This might be a question for our resident electronic guru, Scubarx, to handle.

The Furrion works well with my iPhone, iPad, and MacAir laptop on Bluetooth.

I believe Alicia's husband took a job in another town which is why she left. Robert moved to Hohenwald to raise his boys in a small town, family friendly atmosphere. It worked well for them, and the boys are off to college. I think his decision to depart involved his long term plans for his retirement years . . .

E-mail sent. Asked if they could be narrowed and about group discount. Will let you know.

If a meteorite punches a hole in the outer shell on my rig, the rain the water will simply drip down an inner wall between the shells to a low point and exit one of the numerous protected weep holes underneath the trailer. I guess I'd simply call it a fresh water spring until I patch the meteor damage. The most likely way you'll have moisture between the shells is with two people closed inside for a long time, moist air close to the dew point, and rain causing you to close all windows. That's a good recipe for condensation. You can easily avoid this by opening your roof vent (with its protective cover) and turning vent fan on low exhaust. The trailer is not perfectly airtight. Outside air will invariably find its way into the bottom weep holes, into the trailer, and out the vent, taking the moisture with it. (If it's only a vertical drizzle, consider opening the bathroom window some) But all of this worry about holes in the roof can be avoided when Oliver comes up with the optional meteorite shield. ps During the winter when your heater is in use there's no need to turn the vent fan on because warm air naturally rises and finds its own way out the vent.

Here is another, less expensive option. It is built to protect 8' wide trailers. Perhaps a minor modification would make it suitable for us. Elite II owners may even choose to it as is . . . What do you think? http://protectatow.tripod.com/trailers.htm

John, Something like that would be fantastic. I'd give up my Rock Tamers in a heartbeat for one of those. There is a similar product here in the US used to protect a towed vehicle behind motor homes. I wonder if it could be modified to go under the A-Frame. Pete

John, I've had my Gen1 Spot Locator for about 7 years and it has been helpful for family and friends to know where I camped. To overcome the shortcomings you mentioned, I now also have the Spot Trace, which connects to a hidden 12v connection in a cabinet and has backup batteries in case of 12v outage. Small, easily hidden, family can even track me as I head down the road during the day. It does not, however, have the 911 feature. Because of that, I've kept the Gen 1 Locator as cheap insurance. Steve, What is the name of the gizmo you are now using? It sounds interesting.

With the Elite, if you have your awning extended, tied down, and some sort of screen room attached to make an exterior bug free room, it is possible to sit outside during a mild rain and enjoy the sounds and smells without getting wet. But, it the rain intensity ramps up and becomes a downpour, some of the water cascading off the top of the trailer may find a pathway over or around the rubber seal that Oliver placed between the outer shell and the bottom of the awning. It is then able to run down the outside of the trailer and may splash onto a chair that is sitting very close to the trailer. The cause of the most common water leak that may make it inside an Oliver has been failure to keep the channel under the sliding dual pane windows free of debris. This blocks the pathway for water to exit the weep holes. This is easily prevented by using a small brush and a can of compressed air to remove the tiny twigs and seeds which will inevitably find their way to the water channel when camping with the windows open underneath pine trees and the like.

Overland said: " . . . The pop-up caravan is similar to the 18' Ollie, maybe a few hundred pounds more. That's a neat trailer, and without my wife's input, would be my choice." What? Are you CRAZY?!?! Didn't you ever hear the old Happy Marriage Secret? "Happy wife, happy life." Move with caution, buddy. It sounds like an Elite II pulled by a shiny new Raptor sporting an on top pop-up tent camper would be the best of both worlds. You'd have the happy wife thing covered and your Raptor could whisk the two of you away to places even a Kimberly could'nt go. My two cents, Pete.

Wow, the Kimberly Cruiser single axle looks like you could take it beyond places I'd want to take The Wonder Egg. Quite impressive off road suspension system for sure. What sort of tow vehicle do you have?

Steve and Tali were the ones that first had the vision for that . . .

Overland, The Big Bend is not to be missed. I've been on a few unimproved roads there with no problem. However, a gullywasher of a rainstorm can wreck havoc on them, so I'd go with caution. Check out the Chisos Basin boondocking campsite up inside the volcano cauldron of the National Park! No unimproved roads, but great vistas and hiking is to be found. Pete

Overland, The spring over axle setup came that way from the factory. I did make one mod, myself, which was to add one more leaf to the curbside spring. This was accomplished at a spring specialty shop here in San Antonio. The reason was to beef up that side's suspension to compensate for the extra weight right of centerline. Somewhere around 65,000 miles I noticed a minor lean to that side, so I replaced all four shock absorbers (it was time) and had that leaf spring strengthened. Realizing the center of gravity (CG) is raised a bit with this setup, especially with my 16" wheels and Michelin light truck tires (personal preference) I always travel with my water tank full. The 32.5 gallon fresh water tank is shallow, wide, long and located within the frame, right of centerline. The extra 260 lbs of weight at that low point lowers the CG somewhat, and the CG shifts slightly left as I consume water and it goes to the gray and black tanks which are left of centerline. I may take a hit on gas mileage, but I prefer it this way. My hitch has the perfect rise and my Tacoma has a Timbren suspension enhancement system. The trailer and truck ride perfectly level without a weight distribution hitch and I've never felt the need for a sway bar. The Wonder Egg tracks very well, and the couple of times rapid maneuvering was needed, there was no discernible problem. Eighteen wheelers passing and strong wind from all directions do not result in swaying. My double step is bolted on with 4 strong bolts. No welding. And you're right, the step is a "beast". It has impressed several engineers with its stoutness. It is much stronger than the Airstream's "erector-set" looking steps. Pete

John, thanks for the picture. I see where a fully articulated coupler would come in handy on a road like that. About tearing off the double step . . . On my single axle Elite, while it does descend lower than the single step, it does not extend any lower than my 5200 lb axle. My spring over axle setup was done by the factory. Any obstacle my axle can clear with the 16 inch wheels and tires will should clear the steps. While I don't use my high lift trailer for off roading activities, it has come in handy to back into the perfect campsite settings occasionally where a log or a large rock may be residing. I also appreciate the high lift for the rare campsite on a rather steep incline. It permits me to lower the front of the trailer enough for leveling the unit. (with good wheel chocks in place) and I never worry about steep dips in the road for low water crossings in the Texas Hill Country. I think the tandem axle Elite II normally comes with two 3500 lb axles and 15" wheels unless you specify otherwise. (I believe Steve & Tali may have two 5000 lb capacity axles and larger wheels) Ask the factory to check the ground clearance on those axle, wheel setups with the double step. Mike, the ham with orange marmalade and toasted pecan glaze was very well received last evening. It shall be revisited during our leftover meal in a few hours as it turns into ham sliders . . . mmmmm, mmmmm, goooooood.

Mike, I enjoyed visiting with you and Carol as I was getting ready for my camping trip (BTW greetings from Brozos Bend SP) Like SeaDawg, I use the RockTamer mud flap system, which is in addition to my Tacoma mud flaps. Stop by again after I get back next year (Saturday) and I'll show them to you. ps The Wonder Egg is Hull # 14 . . . . way older than that youngster # 18 . . . Bwahahahahahahaaaaa

An off road coupler? Where do you envision taking your Oliver that a Bulldog would not accommodate?

John, That looks very interesting. One of the things I've appreciated about the Oliver family is their willingness to listen to customers, within reason of course. In the past, if you could imagine it and your wallet was deep enough, they would do their best to make it happen. Some of our wonky "way out there" ideas were so well received that they've been incorporated into the options list, or have become a standard feature on the production line. But it needs to be something that will add value to the Ollie before it hits the options list or normal build process, and it must be properly engineered for safety. This cool idea might be one that catches on . . . can't hurt to ask Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As blogs, social media, and "all that stuff" have morphed over the years, so have my travel postings. This year's 6 1/2 month wander had sporadic postings on my 7 year old travel blog since I would often simply post a nice picture of our location at the time on Facebook. There were two impacts of this behavior . . . 1- Folks who had enjoyed "Pete and the Wonder Egg" over the years and were not on my "friends list" could not see the latest exploits of Oscar . . . 2- The postings on FB usually were quick looks into where we were at the moment and they did not have the goofy story-line coverage that a blog entry could show. I've been intrigued by the fact that folks totally unknown to us watched the adventures of Oscar the Smiley Dog as we've traveled across the land and I hope that it would bring a smile to their day. His girlfriend "Isabella the Italian Greyhound" had her people bring her to meet Oscar as we travelled along Route 66. Bob and Bonnie emailed Oscar while we were in Florida years ago and now we are all good friends and share time together as they winter-over in Texas. How do you share your travels ?

Congrats on your delivery of "Tripple One". It sure looks nice behind your 405 HP Cayenne. Your about to embark on years of joy and pleasure as you traverse this great country in your OLIVER. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas Poco, Betty & Larry !!! Oscar & Pete