tumbleweed

Hi ya'll!! Having just traversed this beautiful country from FL to CA again, I hit a little of everything, weatherwise. Ollie did good!!! The Oliver and my 2 previous Casitas handled very well in some very VERY heavy rainstorms with and without nasty cross winds. I passed two recently turned over stickie travel trailers on I-40 and 1 commercial trailer this trip and all three were in areas of valleys or gulches (openings in the terrain) that allowed the wind to funnel across the roadway. Having ridden motorcycles for more years than I will admit, bikers know to watch for these and compensate for the gusts or at least be ready for them. I think that the Oliver handles so well because of the longer tongue. My full sized Chevy 1500 has a cab high camper shell and handles the side gusts well without the trailer but is better with Ollie behind!!! I also towed with EarthDancers Chevy TrailBlazer (6 cyl SUV) and it towed it even better. Hope this helps to answer your question! Chuck

Hi ya'll, As Geri said, made it to CA in one piece! Just got back from the Lake San Antonio Rally, 3 tried but the fish stayed well hid. Ollie was well received with about 40 tours given, even 2 from another campground! This was a Fiberglass Rally put on by Mike and Lori Sanders, owners of that forum and is VERY well run and ya'll gotta' hit a Rally they're at to see and then taste, her Dutch Oven cooking!!!! Now I don't know if ya'll kin cook catfish in a Dutch Oven but Butcherknife would know, she is one great cook and Mountainborn, please don't call her ' Deckhand' again... the consequenses could be disasterous...4 U !!!! Anyone who would like to see catfish jugging has got to see this team do it, talkin' about a well oiled machine!!!! We gotta' get together again soon!!!!Now that I see how they catch 'em and clean 'em, I wonder if I caught one n' filleted it, if Butcherknife would cook it???? Wish I'da had enough time to try it....well a good reason to take I 40 back!!! They are GREAT hosts, THANK YOU!!!!!! Chuck

And this displays the 3rd Unofficial, Unsanctioned Oliver Mini Rally!!! i believe this is a FIRST for Arkansas!! The proof is in the photos!! And with Butcherknifes cooking it shows elsewhere!! UMMMMMMGOOD!

Notice the COOL matching striping on the truck!!!!!!!!!! Is that a 1st trailer/truck combo or what????????????/

Northwoods! I am so sorry I missed ya'll. You had that great tailwind and I was afighting it real bad. Ollie handles a lot better that the Casita..this was a good test and they let the hitch out a notch which I really think improved the tow! Thanks for having the intestinal fortitude to build this great trailer and assemble the great crew in Hohenwald!!!! Chuck

Where did ya'll find the last jug???? Did I tell ya'll I had a great time....wishin' it was longer but there will SOON be another unsanctioned, unofficial Oliver Mini Rally at a lake near you!!! 10 # on there, how far did he pull the jug? And then they got me hooked on geocaching!!!!!! What a day!!!! Thank you!!!!!!

Geris' Naggin' already!!!!! Eating with Butcherknife n Mountainborn is an epicurian delight! See, ya'll didn't know I knew that fancy talk. I put on 10 pounds in two meals!!! My vote is for Butcherknife to be OFFICIAL Hostess cook at the 3rd annual unsanctioned Oliver Mini Rally. This short one was a HUGE success!!!!! And Mountainborn be official Catfishman though be it known, Betty does all the work, he jist drives the boat!!!!! This campground/Lake is gorgeous and the hostess n host make it perfect!!!!! Thank you, Chuck

The cat that Denise is holding is the FAMOUS Jerry of national Casita fame. I am priveleged to be counted as a friend of Jerry and his family. Jerry has his very own chariot ably handled by Carol and Jim Upton of Canyon Country,CA and where he goes, they go. He has seen more fiberglass trailers than most people and loves them all. At night he can be seen on top of his stroller stargazing and taking accolades from his throngs of admirers! So if you see the flag that you can see on the Casita behind Denise and Phil, be sure to stop by and meet Jerry! FYI, the Uptons are pretty nice,to!!!! Chuck

Oh, this could be Heaven! Por' ole boy from Calif only knows sturgeon and halibut fishin' to fall into this!!!!nyeah, got the info, tumblwede@yahoo.com iffen' ya'll need to find me!! Any recomendations for enrte campsites???

Treats for Oscar and a LandShark for you! Chuck

Hi Pete, Well Earthdancer has also taken me to task for my humbling of the crockpot and therefore I will surrender my crockpotting to her. As for the moosebreath accusation, yes, I have been known to drink Moosehead Beer and will never again TOUCH a crockpot. I hope that you are happy and for that statement you owe me a Lone Star beer at our first meeting!! Happy NOT to cook, Chuck

Hi! If you ever decided to sell it, you could have a very tough time and would probably take a big loss. Casitas with the smaller water storage standard tank don't sell near as quickly but it has some fresh water storage. JMHO Chuck

Hey SeaDawg!!! Why was that speciality steak of Pauls not served at the 1st ever Unsanctioned Oliver Rally?? Sounds delicious!! The beans sound yummy but they have to be cooked. I hate to cook ! My best side bean dish only requires the brand name "Ranch Beans" and can of any good brand of Mexican seasoned chopped tomatoes with Mexican herbs, spices and/or peppers: S&W, Libbeys, etc. Drain juice from tomatoes(save for Bloody Mary later) mix together, microwave and sprinkle pre-grated cheese (preferably Mexican Taco mix) 1/2 way thru microwaving. Easy to double if ya' got a big 'nough bowl. I've been assured the microwaving is not considered cooking! Another hor d'ourves dish is good quality all beef hot dogs cut up in hickory (or your favorite ) BBQ sauce in a crock pot and heated low for several hours. I have also been assured crock potting is not cooking either!!!

Hi Rick! If Mountainborn offers to take you "noodling" for catfish, PASS!!!! But jugging for catfish looks like fun!!!!!! Chuck

If you Google or Yahoo search upholstery fabric you will find enough fabric selections to thouroghly confuse you!! Chuck

I have an Elite and enjoy it immensely!! The microwave has a browning feature to it but if you don't like them at all, delete it but get the power plug for it in the cabinet. I have both the window treatment and the double pane windows. A must have in my opinion for the reasons stated by others Outside shower is a VERY handy item for washing off sandy/dirty feet, washing off greasy items you don't want in your holding tank, washing hands and hose after a sewer dump, washing your dogs/cats/gerbils etc. Entertainment center works on 12v so if you boondock with DVDs and solar, you're set for movies. Ditto with the satelite setup. Chrome wheels are for looks but the upgrade suspension a lift kit are important in my opinion. Having had two Casitas previously, the options I wanted most were not available on Casitas or any other fiberglass trailer and Airstream was the only other $40,000 option! Hope I answered your questions. Chuck

Hi Lisa, Keep in mind if you use a generator that you will have to MANUALLY go to LP so that you can run your AC! Chuck

Hi Bugz! Nice mod! Had this Dometic frig in my last Casita and a couple of the Casitians' had done a similiar mod but not as cleanly. FYI, we have the Norcold in Ollie. Hope it is as frugal on propane as was the Dometic! Chuck

Hi Pete! The blog is great, thanx for putting it together and linking us. You give seasoned citizens like me hope to cope with this technological #$^&. Chuck

Gotta see if my jolly jump start will fit there with reg batteries vs the gels.Got the same impact wrench and a ten foot ext cord, 12v to 12v. The jump start plus Geris Dell battery gave us 5 hours of computer power the other night, FYI. Chuck

Hey Phil, those stabilizers are great! Wish Ida' thunk of that when I had my Casitas! Regards, Chuck

We also use the "rug gripper" and keeps ours on even over the RR tracks at Withlacochee River Park!!! Chuck

Just starting with the "GeoCaching". We are gonna have to meet for catfishin' n geocachin' lessons!! Chuck

YEP! Chuck

I was real happy with my Casita until I saw the Olivers in Quartszite, AZ last year. I love my new Oliver!!!