bugeyedriver

JuniorBirdMan, I can imagine Woodstock and Rascal riding shotgun with their paws in front of their eyes forming the secret BirdMan goggles. If they are anything like Oscar, it'll be best to simply go along with their directions and always remember . . . You're not lost , you're exploring I see you're from Texas. Any chance you and the furkids might be able to join us up at Lake Greeson, AR for the Catfish Extravaganza? Congratulations on your Ollie. I'm not sure if Nest Egg has been mentioned on this forum yet. I think I've seen it over on the Casita forum. But hey, the pups are gonna name it whatever they want anyhow. Might as well just to go along with them.

Look forward to seeing you guys when you're in Texas. Either at the Bluebonnet Rally or perhaps even some other "Unsanctioned Central Texas Oliver Gaggle" since we seem to be getting quite a good little population of Ollies around here. Oscar looks forward to meeting Kiki . . .

Kyle & Karen, Nice looking interior and list of options. Well done! The charging station and mounted rechargeable flashlight are especially nice. On trailer # 40 can you turn on all of your exterior lights from inside, to include those on the street side? I see you are fly fishermen. I've only been once with the Wonder Egg and found that a suction cup hook attached to the outside makes a great place to hang up waders for drying. (Something I learned from camping with SeaDawg in the Appalachian Mountains - Sherry is the Queen of Suction Cups ) Enjoy, Enjoy, Enjoy

Jam49, Oscar & I enjoyed meeting you and showing the attributes of the Wonder egg. We know your grandchildren are very lucky that you are planning ahead for many wonderful adventures! Hope to see you again soon at some egg gatherings.

Oscar & I shall arrive with the Wonder Egg tomorrow afternoon . . .

I've been using a system called "Swift Hitch" for the last year. While not cheap, it is failsafe. It works in daylight or complete darkness . . . I love it! Here's a video of it working:

Methinks yer somthin' of a crossbreed betwixt Jed Clampet and George jetson, what, withe that there satelight receever . . .

Some National Parks are pet friendly. Just at at most RV parks, your pets must always be controlled with a leash, usually no more than 6 feet in length. Also, the awesome wildlife you are able to encounter in the great outdoors may look at your two yorkies as morning and afternoon snacks. NEVER leave them unattended, even for the briefest time. Oscar was resting outside (on a dog tether) in the Sequoia National Park as I read a book nearby and "Wile-E-Coyote" was stalking him as easy prey. You can read about it on my travel blog's Sunday, October 26, 2008 entry. A good explanation about pets in National Parks can be found at: http://usparks.about.com/library/weekly/aaq042589.htm And a book with specific park information can be found at:

JuniorBirdMan, "Up in the Air!!!" and welcome to the Oliver forum. Being another recently retired and single father of a furkid, I have to tell you how great it is to have Oscar as a traveling companion. He & I hit the open road last fall for a 3 month, 12,000 mile walk-a-bout that took us from Florida to Washington state and many points in between. There are few very minor inconveniences, such as the occasional cold early morning walk instead of simply opening the back door at home and the every present "courtesy bags" . If it's hot outside and you need to run an errand, leave the a/c on for them in the trailer or take them along in the car, run inside with the car & a/c on, the doors locked, and an extra car key in your pocket. Their companionship is well worth any minor hassles you may encounter. As you hit the road in your trailer, you'll discover just how many of us are wandering around the country with our four legged friends who seem to enjoy the journey as much as we do. (So many smells to smell, so many trees to water, so many other dogs to sniff . . . ) Pete Don't leave home without them.

Cherie & Chris, Great interview! I especially loved the comment about staying at remote wilderness areas and waking up with stunning settings for your viewing pleasure. You are sure to make many yearn for the open road life, with all of the freedom and beauty that it entails. I heard Kiki get in a meow during the interview as well. Was she speaking from her cabinet hideaway? Happy traveling . . .

We know (from experience, sadly) that some of the racks whistle when not under load. Glad yours is properly engineered. Congrats on a great (and great looking...) choice. Yeah, but will Butcherknife be able to tolerate Mountainborn's whistling as he goes on down the road lookin' so "Spiffy?"

Patty, Come on by spot #7 and you'll find Oscar the Smiley Dog and me hanging out, unless we're visiting many of our good friends in the Casitas surrounding us. We JUST returned from the Miller Creek RV Resort and you couldn't find a more hospitable place to camp. When you own your own trailer, of whatever flavor, you must check it out. If you can't find me, call me on my cell and I'll hoof it back to the Wonder Egg. (830-688-9809)

Wow, Mountainborn I'm glad you & Butcherknife came through that experience with only a flat spot on your tire to contend with. Pepe-le-Pew was very fortunate you were behind the wheel. Don't know what would be worse, your harrowing "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" or doing the skunk smack-down and having to camp in one very odiferous Ollie! What brand 8-ply tires will you be going with?

Chuck 'n Gri "n 3 furkids, Are you saying you might join us? Woohoo! That'd be great. We'd have 4 Olivers; three 17' & one 22' on site with all of our other fgrv buddies. Come on Over!!

Kyle, PM on the way . . . good luck to you!

Angler, I've read numerous ideas on propane level checks, from a stick on decal "thingy" to pouring a special fluid down the side and watching it change colors, and the good old standby "tap test". In your post, you mentioned tanks, meaning I suppose, that you have two. If this is the case, I'm sure you also have the automatic crossover valve. In this case you're all set. With both tanks connected to the auto-switchover valve, operate with both propane tanks to the full open setting (full counterclockwise on the tanks). There is a lever on the crossover valve. Place it full to the side towards one of the tanks and this will become your initial primary tank. It should last a long time, depending on use. I have 30 lb tanks and one lasted five weeks of continuous camping. (For one guy and his dog - no furnace used) Go camping and have lots and lots of fun, occasionally lifting the cover to your tanks and checking the GREEN stripe in the view window of the crossover valve. When it turns to RED, your initial primary tank has gone totally empty and you're now running on the back-up tank. Swap the lever over so it points at the back-up tank. It now becomes your primary. Close the valve on the empty tank and get it filled at your leisure, being sure to not tarry toooooo long. When you fill it up and put it on your trailer and open its valve full open, it is now the back-up. By using this method, you really don't need to know the exact level because you always have a full back-up waiting to take over. Enjoy!

WOW!!!!!! The "Legacy Elite II" - Just like the QEII, may her maiden voyage be spectacular and memorable for all involved. Well done OLIVER family - looks like you've hit a home run!

Tn girl, If your TV has a 5000 lb towing capacity you should be fine. My Oliver, the Wonder Egg, was weighed as I set out on a six week trip. With my supplies and full fresh water tank the weight was only 3900 lbs. Be sure to check the combined weight limitation (trailer + the tow vehicle) and stay under that limitation as well. Best of luck on your quest for your trailer . . . happy camping!

Phil & Denise, Count Oscar & I & the Wonder Egg in on the Miller Creek Hill-a Palooza extravaganza in the Texas hill country. Beautiful campground, and FREE FIREWOOD to take off any late evening chill in the air. It's always a pleasure getting together with you guys.

During the birth of the Wonder Egg, I did some web searching and found a good signal amplifier supplier at http://www.powerfulsignal.com / I selected the Command Post option and had it installed on the Wonder Egg. Since then, Wilson Antenna "decertified" the dome antenna I had on the inside from being dual band to being "single band only" because it did not boost the 1900 MHz frequency as much as they wanted. Since then, installations have included either a stronger dome antenna, or stronger flat panel antenna. I had the flat panel installed in retrofit. Here's the problem that I ran into . . . if you have a cell phone signal, say of one or two bars and you activate this flat panel antenna, it interferes with the front, receiving antenna and the system shuts down. It was only usable in EXTREMELY week signal areas. Here's my fix: I reinstalled the previous dome antenna which works in a small way on 1900 MHz and put an A/B switch which I now use to go between the old dome and the flat panel. Here are the pics of my current system . . . Wilson 301133RV - spring mounted, dual band cellular antenna on the outside Power supply - 12V plug mounted inside front storage bin SOHO Amplifier hooked to a DIAWA CS-201 A/B RF switch in middle bin. (You need a switch capable of 2 Gigahertz to do the job) Take it to your local Ham Radio shop and they can make you the connector cables. I have a 8 inch cable with a type-2 connection to the amplifier and a Type N connection to the switch. Two six foot cables with N-connectors to go from the switch to the antennas. Two pics of the original dome antenna, model number WE 301123 (even though they say it only does the low band, it works well enough for this application on the high band) It can be identified by the three mounting screws and the "Wilson" logo on the bottom Finally, the Dual Band Wall Mount Antenna mounted near the front dinette seat. The bracket to its left is so I can reposition it to radiate out the side of the trailer to use the laptop & cell phone outside, under the awning This should provide me with 5 bars just about everywhere I go. If I'm in a deep crater, I'll crank up the Ham radio.

A very Merry Christmas to all, from the Hill Country of Texas. Oscar & I had a wonderful time with family & friends and hope you all did as well. See ya'll Jug Fishin'!

Kitty report . . . Kitty report . . . !? How's Kiki doing during her maiden voyage? Is she knocking over the Christmas tree or trying to unwrap presents too soon?

Chuck . . . If you have TV beaming at you from outer space, you don't need a local TV antenna This is for us more simpler types

DCKiefer, What a great idea! Fit my needs perfectly. With the solar panel up topside, there's no room for the KingDome. Until the last 15 minutes, the only way could get TV was by plugging into the RV Park's cable hookup (if they had one) After reading your post and hopping on the internet a few minutes, I blasted off to Best Buy and bought an RCA Digital Flat Antenna, model # ANT1400 for $32. It is a multi-directional antenna that does not require aiming. They have one that is amplified, the ANT1450, for $49, but it would have required A/C plug in and the inverter running if I was boondocking. This one needs no power. Next, I stopped in at the nearest Radio Shack and bought a Gold Series 75-Ohm High-Isolation A/B switch for $16. I hooked the incoming cable antenna, the RCA Digital Flat Antenna, and the Jenson flat screen tv to this and POOF! I had 8 local "free" channels. I nestled the antenna amongst the wire bundles that go to the third break light (no hardware required) and wedged the A/B switch at the top left of the same area. Total time for installation - 5 minutes.

Sounds like a gatherin' of the most relaxing kind . . . fishin', nappin', walkin', dominoin', lotsa gooood eatin', story swappin', & such great company to be amongst too!! Count Oscar & I in! Sombody's gotta enjoy life . . . might as well be US!