bugeyedriver

Then there is always this photo of Larry The Masked Chainsaw Madman to consider . . .

Happy Pick Up Day, Mike and Carol!! Let the wandering begin . . .

My attempt at elk calling was a poor imitation of the hellacious guttural sound you summoned from the depths of your being that actually resulted in the bull elk below sending a resounding challenge back to you. I was impressed mightily.

Well we must be related 'cuz we have a bit of the same facial features, Larry. That guy waking up from a fish-coma in the camo overalls is YOU buddy!!!! My glasses are similar and we both have an ability to readily show our surprise, but I DO NOT OWN A PAIR OF CAMO OVERALLS!!!!!!!!! Back at ya buddy . . . hehehe BTW, that is one of my favorite pictures of Oscar, with the wind in his face, on Betty's lap. Wooohoooooooo!

Bubble "Stuff" Be sure each screw is screwed in far enough so that it rests against the tension of the spring below it. Use an actual LEVEL to level the trailer front to back and side to side. (I use the flat top of the stove as a reference) Adjust the three screws to center the bubble. This adjustment should last several months before you may need to repeat. Don't be surprised in very hot sun if the bubble has shrunk to the size of a pinhead ... It will grow again when it gets cooler.

My cameraless, solo parking method requires no camera at all to position The Wonder Egg on a new site. 1- Walk the site first to note obstacles (to include overhead branches) and location of any hookups. 2- Use side mirrors to line up trailer and back about 3/4 of the way into the site. 3- Get out and physically step off distance from the back of the trailer to where I want it to finally end up. 4- Step off that same distance from my driver's seat, towards the rear and set down a marker (rock, twig, leaf, etc) 5- Back up trailer until my shoulder is abeam my marker. Camera, Schmamera! I find this simple method works best for me.

Buzzy, No Tent campers here . . . Pinnacles Campground, WY. Bear country. Look closely across the wetlands, onto the opposite shore of the high mountain lake. If you see the bright white "dot" slightly above the lake (30' or so above it in reality, but just a bear's whisker in height above the lake in this long distance picture) that's The Wonder Egg, in all its boooooondocking splendor. My all time favorite boondocking camping spot so far. Pete

When I brought The Wonder Egg (hull #14) home in 2008 it had a single 100w solar panel and my batteries only held 110AH reserve energy. I did an experiment and ran the Fantastic Fan 24 hours a day for a full month, no hookups, just capturing solar energy. In the end, the batteries were at full charge and asking to keep on going to prove the trailer was like the Energizer Bunny. "In the early years" my interior and exterior lights were halogen . . . energy sucking devils. Now with all LED lights, a single, 160w panel, and 200AH of energy in my Lifeline batteries, I'm set for indefinate boondocking unless I find the never ending fog bank in the deep woods for extended camping. I recently traveled to Pennsylvania. While boondocking and using the furnace at night, I never woke up with fewer than 12.7 volts on my batteries. As soon as the sun was above the horizon, they slowly increased in voltage and by mid morning they were getting a super deep charge with 14.7 volts. Personally, I feel my current energy package is perfect as long as the tempurature is not stiffling and there is no need for the A/C. In those extremely rare instances, the generator gets to exercise. The beauty of having a rolling castle is the ability to seek the perfect climate by going high into the mountains or high up the latitude ladder. Both are fun.

Jaque, You've made the right decision about getting an Ollie in lieu of a bunch of condos all over the place. With your Ollie, you'll be able to experience an infinitely large number of vistas throughout this beautiful land. A long bed Silverado 2500HD attached to an Elite will be just over 37' in length and if you attach it to an Elite II, you'll be over 42' in length. As far as living in the smaller Elite for and extended period of time, my pup, Oscar, an I spent 6 1/2 months straight in The Wonder Egg last year and never felt constrained by space. From the inside, the numerous windows, polished fiberglass interior that gives a sense of "depth" when you look into it, and the full length mirror on the bathroom door add a mental sense of space that makes it feel much bigger on the inside than would otherwise appear from the outside. Besides, the outside sitting room is absolutely huge! Owning a heavy duty work truck, I take it you have experience maneuvering trailers around into spaces. An Elite II with your truck might preclude you from parking in line within a smaller camping site, but you could simply disconnect and park the truck sideways, like many do. I believe the main difference would be maneuvering the entire 42+ feet around a parking lot whenever you fetched the groceries, etc. but you could always park on the fringes and enjoy the exercise as you hiked into the store. Perhaps some Elite II owners can chime in on any issues of maneuvering in campgrounds with a large truck. Pete

Dale, The Casita Spirit Deluxe and Oliver Legacy Elite are surprisingly similar in the living space size. But there are major differences that tend to give the Oliver a larger feeling, psychologically. First of all the differences in the walls, carpet covered or smooth glistening white fiberglass (as you look at the ceiling, you see a reflection of the cabin and it feels like extra depth). Next, the Casita's solid partition next to the bed vs the Oliver's stainless steel pole/cushion back support. Lastly the Casita's woodlike door to the bathroom vs the Oliver's full length mirror. All of these combine to give the Oliver a feeling of being bigger on the inside than the Casita. One space that really is larger in the Oliver is in the size of the shower. Oliver brought the wall of the shower further into the living space. It makes for a slightly smaller gap between the corner of the shower and the corner of the refrigerator. They put the space where it really counts! I spent six and a half months straight living in my Legacy Elite last year and never once felt clostrophobic. Have fun making your decision. Pete

Looking under my Tacoma's Class IV hitch, I see a statement that says to refer to the owner manual for towing capacities and procedures. The manual "recommends" a WDH . It also says to not exceed any weights listed of the total trailer weight, gross vehicle weight, gross axle weight, and trailer tongue load. In lieu of a WDH, I use a Timbren suspension assist system which keeps the truck level while towing. Here's The Wonder Egg going down the road in Virginia a couple days ago with a level trailer and level truck. For towing capacity, it doesn't say anything about a reduced capacity without a WDH, only without factory towing package: Towing capacity without a factory installed is only 3500 lbs. Towing capacity with a factory installed towing package is 6500 lbs. It also says that if towing more than 2000lbs, it is necessary to use a sway control device. In my experience of towing The Wonder Egg through all sorts of driving conditions, heavy truck traffic, wind, and a couple radical maneuvers, I have yet to experience any swaying of the trailer whatsoever. I think that may have something to do with the unusually well designed suspension of leaf springs combined with four shock absorbers.

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.