thompsonkd

Hey Everybody It was me who developed the health situation-driving home from the rally, I developed a lesion in my stomach and experienced a significant bleed. Apparently a developmental issue-it came out of the blue. I was able to get help, and am now home recovering. It was close. But the real story starts at the rally. The night before we were getting ready to head home, I noticed that my Dexter had 'flipped'. Lee very kindly came over the next morning and fixed the Dexter so we could be on our way. Then, driving home, the medical emergency happened, and I was wisked off to the hospital. This happened right in front of REI in Chattanooga. REI staff rushed out and administered first aid, called EMS, took our cat into their staff break room (where she stayed for several days) and let Kim park our Ollie in their staff lot. I was out of the loop so Kim put a few calls in and the Oliver flood gates opened! We had numerous Ollie people that were arranging services, calling, emailing and even offering to drive for several hours to actually drive our Oliver somewhere. Rick and Vickie Lepore, Topgun2, Tom Polite and many others, including the Oliver Service Department coordinated a 'rescue'. I was patched up at the hospital, released after a few days and we were able to slowly make our way home. I really can't express how much everyone's help and support meant. Please everyone, accept my deep gratitude for helping us. Having an Oliver is certainly special, not in owning an RV, but in being part of a group of people that are so kind. Let me know if there is ever anything that I can do to return the kindness! David

Thanks John for your quick response and many ideas. We particularly like the idea of the compression sleeves to make the bolts more secure. As a point of clarification, we are working with Rob Babcock, who built Pete's bicycle rack. We want to have a 2 inch receiver so that we can swap out our bike rack from the Oliver, to our Tundra. We are planning on using square stainless steel tubes, that will be mounted onto the side of the frame rails with a plate. I think that we will likely remove the diamond plate on the sides. We think that a side mounted rack would be more secure and stable. We are really enjoying our Oliver. Thanks again John, and everyone else on this forum-it is invaluable!

Not sure if this is the right place to post this question; we are building a bicycle rack and plan on mounting it using plates and bolts onto the side of the bumper. However, the diamond plate that wraps around the bumper is not flush against the bumper, so we would need to bend the diamond plate so that it is flush . What is the best way to bend diamond plate? Is there any risk of cracking the diamond plate when it is being bent? We noticed that most people mount their bicylce rack from the top-we felt that mounting it from the side using plates would allow for a stiffer rack and shorter bolts increasing strength.

Hey John We were glad to see your post re building a bike rack. After a lot of thinking and looking, Kim and I have settled on having a bike rack built. We had originally thought that we would have Babcock Metals, LLC build a rack like Pete had made, but are moving towards a different style that apparently was first made by Oliver. After talking with Rob Babcock he also felt that the second design would be more fitting for an Oliver. We are in the process of getting measurements and design specs to Rob. For those of you that don't know, Babcock Metals, LLC built Pete's rack-Rob Babcock is based in Utah. He is very open to doing custom fabrications and does very good work. The measurement that you are looking for is one that we will need for our rack, and will secure in the next week or so. Once we have numbers we will post them. We have bought a Yakima Longhaul bicycle rack that uses a 2 inch. receiver hitch and can be used on both the RV and our truck. We plan on using the rack for carrying two gravel grinder bikes and a Serotta road bike. David Thompson

Thanks!

Hull number 366 aka: Nomads’ Nest was picked up last week after what felt like an eternity of waiting during it’s production. We absolutely LOVE her!!! We spent 6 nights camping (1000 Trails/ Natchez Trace and Cumberland Mountain State Park) getting to know all the new systems and procedures and putting the beginnings of our personal touch in place. She is home now in Waynesville NC. May the adventures begin! Again, many thanks to all that share their experience and knowledge on this forum and on the Oliver Trailer Owners FB Page - both have been treasures of information and support for us already. Finally, I just have to give a big shout out to Phil, Anita and Rodney in sales - their customer service excels! Kim and David Thompson

Buzzy Thanks for the lists. Sorry to hear you are traveling solo now, but glad to hear you are getting out a lot. Have a great time in Vermont. We like traveling in Vermont, and hope to get to the North East Kingdom soon. Thanks again, David

Thanks for the welcome Mike! 56 days to pick up - I thought making all the surfaces/option decisions was tough, but this is killing us! We are filling the time with planning a two week trip in September with #366 - headed to Michigan - Sleeping Bear Dunes and then Tahquamenon Falls and Picture Rocks in the Upper Peninsula. Two shake down weekend camps beforehand. Sure hope we will have our sea legs by then! Kim

Hi Mainiac! Your Ollie stash in the garage is exactly like us now - even down to the toaster!!! We're going to need and extra large shoe horn to get all this stuff in! I am putting the brakes on any further shopping. And you're right about red flags going up about those "new floors" in Airstreams - we so love the fact that there literally is nothing to rot and replace in the Ollie! Thanks for sharing - Kim

Hi WNC neighbor! We knew you were in our neck of the woods! Another WNC Ollie owner suggested a nearby break in camp after our delivery to help us shake things out. A tiny micro Ollie rally - maybe you would want to join in? Being new to the forum I haven't figured out how to PM yet. Kim

Hi Don! Poor Airstream - they keep losing "almost" buyers to Oliver! Hearing these similar experiences helps us feel even more confident. Thank you for sharing! Kim

Hi Rumline! Thank goodness for guest rooms! I replied back to BoondockingAirstream regarding our Airstream vs Oliver choice so I hope you are able to see that reply - being new to the forum and how it works I am still figuring things out. if not, I will repost it to you. I didn't realize Airstreams have less ground clearance - more reason to feel better about our decision. Hope your countdown to delivery day goes fast - when is it? For us, we have 56 days - sigh! Kim

Thanks BoondockingAirstream! You asked about our Airstream vs Oliver decision. For over a year we saw ourselves in a small Airstream - we loved the iconic nature of them, the quality and stylish interior - we breifly considered the Base Camp, then the 16' Scout, then settled on the 19' Flying Cloud - but in the back of my mind I realized we would in time feel the need to go further up, to the 23', for a "just right fit" for extended 3 month or so trips. But that was beyond the budget and really much more than we wanted to ultimately tow. Coming from a backpacker background, we wanted to be a little more nimble, and we also wanted to be boondockers which means we would have had to make additions/modifications (composting toilet, solar, more batteries, etc) as you know, meaning more money. When we stumbled on the Oliver and followed with the factory tour we were sold on the commitment to quality, the clean bright zen like interior, the great storage, the ability to customize for our camping preferences - including true 4 season camping which is important to us, and the perfect arrangement for two (we have the twin floor plan). It was like Goldielocks finding the "just right fit". No need to ever have to go up in size - we would be able to get it "right" the first time around. That was big. The Oliver community support and loyalty and the company's 5 star customer service were huge selling points too - especially since we are RV newbies - we really need that help! Anyway, there is no doubt in our minds that we made the right choice for our particular needs. So, when we find ourselves in Boulder City, you bet we'd be happy to give you a shout and let you take a peek! (But maybe by then you too will have an Ollie on order!) Kim

Hi! We are Kim and David Thompson, RV Newbies, from Waynesville, NC. In January we had made the decision to purchase a new Airstream 19' Flying Cloud - even had a downpayment in place. A week later while camping at St George State Park in Florida, we noticed a shiny white camper in the campsite next to us. Sitting around the campfire that night we googled Oliver Travel Trailers, then waited and waited the next morning for the owners to come out their door - I just had to get inside and take a look! Turns out the owners actually live just 25 minutes away from us in Western North Carolina! Long story short, we were overwhelmingly impressed, so we rerouted our trip home to include a factory tour in Hohenwald - then cancelled our Airstream order! After deliberating, researching, and making all the tough decisions on colors, surfaces, bells and whistles, our Ollie went into production in early May and we will be driving to Hohenwald July 29th to pick her up the following morning. We are literally counting down the days -and filling the guest room with "Ollie stuff"! Many many thanks to the members of this forum - being new to RV camping we've gathered so much helpful information already - and it feels so great to know when we run into problems we will have a great team of support at our fingertips. We are really looking forward to being a part of the Ollie Community!