earthdancer

Chuck and I are in Apalachicola (eastern Panhandle area) with our Oliver. I know that's a long way from Fort Lauderdale, but if you have the opportunity to take a short vacation to see the "Forgotten Coastline" we would love to show you our beautiful town and our amazing Oliver, we will be back July 8th. As far as I know, Sherry and Paul in Clearwater and Chuck and I, are the only owners in Florida at this time. Chuck and I will be headed down to the middle of the state on June 30-July2nd at the Withlacoochee River Park in Dade City, that would take about 6 hours off your journey. But if Sherry and Paul are home and not in NC, they would be your closest bet to visit. If you read the posts by Chris,Technomadia, he took a tour of Sherry and Paul's Oliver and even test drove it with his tow vehicle. At the end of all his posts is a link to his blog showing the trip, the trailer, and now the building of his Oliver. Look under "Seeing an Oliver in FL??" and you will find his post and the photos he and Cherie took of Sherry and Paul's Oliver a few months ago Radven.livejournal.com/tag/oliver will take you to Chris and Cherie's blog adventure to the Oliver search and ordering and all thoughts in between. Prepare to fall in love with this great fiberglass egg! It's something you need to see, walk around in and be touchy feely with, before you understand our passion for it! Geri and Chuck

Steve and Tali, I'm so excited for you! Too bad we will be missing you, Chuck and I are headed north for a few days and plan a short visit to the factory! Folks there become like family and you just wanna "drop in" every once and awhile and see what's going on! We will be there the 23rd! So if you are still in "the neighborhood" get in touch! We also have 3 dogs and a cat! YIKES! We shoulda called it "The Ark" LOL! Geri

Mountainborn, howz about we put a "sticky" on this thread too? I know I will be going back often to see folks photographs! This flickr site is a very good idea by the way! Geri

I have used flickr for a few years now, and just regular Yahoo Photos before that. It's one way of showing off my art but it also introduced me to HDR photography which is my main interest now. Good Idea Chris and Cherie, to start one Link where we can all share our Oliver adventures. Geri

As many years as I have spent camping, I don't believe I have done any "campfire cooking"! Well, other than smores of course! I'm looking forward to trying some of your recipes later. Chuck and I plan to do more camping, but here in FL, it's so dry that no open fires are allowed in the camping areas. Keep us posted on your new Oliver!\ Geri

Hi Ugojoe! Welcome to the Oliver forums! If you want to see an Oliver up close and personal, let us know where you are..... maybe one of us lives near you and we can arrange a "tour". I hope you aren't shy, because if you have spent much time here reading the posts, you will find out that we "are a lively bunch" as we were recently charged. Geri

Ahhhhhhhhh Stuart, this Oliver Family is something else. (Not quite sure what yet, but I love the happy attitudes!) Welcome aboard! Cherie...... I think Mountainborn is ready for his first pole lesson! You better head to the Fort Smith Arkansas rally with us.. and give the poor man some help! I'll hold the camera! hahaha

On the travel channel, Chuck and I watched a show called "Tin Can Travelers". It was all about vintage travel trailers and even a few home made ones. It was on again the other night so apparently they re-run it often... keep an eye out for it, it's worth watching! Geri

Way to go guys........ Chuck you are a real glory-hog! You got to be one of the participants in the documented First Unofficial, Unsanctioned Oliver Rally and now you are in the First Unofficial, Unscanctioned Caravan! Way to go Old Man ! Great photo..... we hope to see lots of them. Show of your Oliver off to all those not so lucky campers! Grin... I am proud of you both, Pete and Chuck for being the first caravaners, sanctioned or not, official or not....... you two will always be #1 with me! hahahaha! Geri

Bet it would be fun to have a metal detector along ! No telling what those old miners left behind!

Chris, I just want to tell you how much I appreciate your posts! I have learned more, since you have joined our forum, than I ever thought I would be interested in knowing! You make learning about this technical stuff interesting and fun! Usually when I start reading anything technical, I develop brain freeze and then the brain teflon kicks in and nothings sticks! I just wanted you to know this old lady appreciates you! Actually, I imagine everyone who reads your posts is just as appreciative as I am! Geri

Buffalo Bob, this info was on their website, these are the owners phone number, might wanna give them a call......... a lot of inquiring minds want to know! "Not having a background in manufacturing evaporative coolers, we believe in this product and we've had great fun putting it all together. If you have any questions we can help you with, please give us a call and we'll do what we can to help you. Stay Cool with TurboKOOL!! Ben & Barbara Bachman 775-265-3003 "

My very first shower in my Casita found me ankle deep in water! I bought my trailer used and they didn't tell me about the pull thingee out front UNDER the LP tanks! I had to get online to the folks at Casita Club and beg for help! They were quick and polite (and I was thankful that I wasn't able to hear all the snickers and laughter) and told me exactly where it was. Groan.!! .... my knees didn't want me to have to kneel on the ground to look for the pull, but I finally found it. When I got home, the first thing I did was add an extention to the pull thingee so I wouldn't have to get down on my knees anymore! I love to shower in Chuck's Oliver! Couple of reasons! I love the moulded sink built right in! The free standing sink in the Casita is something I am always afraid to lean on, afraid I will pull it off the wall. The pull up stick that switches from the sink to the shower in the Casita only works with much exasperation and cussing. No such problem with Ollie! Geri

Yep, you guys are right at home! That looks like Chuck and I, with both laptops set up and internet bound! Geri

Welcome to the Oliver family. Since I am a Casita owner (Oliver wanna be owner) I'm sort of a second cousin the the family, but I can welcome you anyway! The Oliver is something that needs to be seen, walked around in and experienced before you can fully appreciate how amazing it really is! Sherry and Paul are pretty cool too! Geri

I've never tasted a crawdad or crayfish, and the term "mudbugs" makes it unlikely I'll try 'em anytime soon! But the pictures on your blog were great! Keep up the good work! Geri

My boyfriend, Chuck... or Tumbleweed has an Oliver. I have a 2004 Casita Spirit Deluxe. This weekend I am campimg in my Casita until Wed in Dade City, FL and Chuck is camping in his Oliver in California. I have towed both with my Chevy Trailblazer within the last month. The Oliver tows better by far. I don't know the technical reasons why, but the Oliver just follows behind like and obedient puppydog. The Casita bounces and jerks going over bumps etc and constantly reminds me that it's back there, like a bad puppy pulling against it's leash! That's as technical as I get folks! I love the privacy shades in the Oliver, I hate the useless blinds in the Casita. I love the clean white walls with the Oliver! With all my allergies, the last thing I need is a room wrapped in carpet! I love that Oliver takes all the guesswork out of knowing how full the gray tanks and black tanks are, how much battery power you have left etc.! That panel is readily accessible right under the sink to tell you what you need to know. With my Casita, I never know! I can only make educated guesses about when I need to dump, unless I want to spend big bucks to have a similar panel installed! Ok, I'm an old woman! I love the pushbutton set up of the Oliver. 3 buttons pushed and it's level! I gotta pull out the hand crank, get down on my hands and knees and go around at least once dropping all the stabilizer pads, the back around all of them again to get level. I'm sorry, but that sucks! It gets old real quick! Then when you break camp you gotta do it all over again, in reverse. My knees hate it, my back hates it! To check the water level in my Casita battery is another battle! I have to fight to hold the battery door open while I struggle to slide out a battery that stubbornly refuses to move unless much force is applied! With Chucks Oliver, the 2 batteries (not 1 as per Casita) slide out in a drawer! You can do it with one finger, no cuss words and no broken nails! Don't even get me started on the wonderful entertainment system Oliver installs. Casita owners entertain themselves at night planning their next "mods"! The surround sound effect is amazing. If there had been an Oliver on the market when I bought my Casita..... well.... I wouldn't be camping in this Casita! That it from my perspective. Geri

From the Chicago-Sun Times: May 13, 2008 BY BRAD SPIRRISON The "battle lines" are being drawn in the race to provide faster wireless Internet access across Chicago. Technology giants including Comcast, Intel and Google last week committed more than $3 billion to fund the deployment of the WiMAX mobile Internet network in Chicago and other markets. The deal, which merges a unit of Sprint Nextel with Clearwire Corp. and new investors to form a new company called Clearwire, could bring the highly touted XOHM WiMAX mobile network to Chicago and outlying suburban areas by year-end. WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is an emerging telecommunications standard that promises uninterrupted broadband wireless Internet access to subscribers anywhere within a given coverage area. It works for personal computers, mobile phones and other communication devices. WiMAX differs from the commonly used WiFi standard as it provides much broader coverage for access and a better quality of service. AT&T and Verizon Wireless currently offer a competing wireless Internet access to more than 130 million national subscribers and plan to roll out a faster service to compete with WiMAX by 2011. "They are just kind of leapfrogging each other," said Chris O'Brien, a partner with Diamond Management & Technology Consultants. "We have seen a real definition of what the battle lines are going to be in the wireless world." O'Brien, who previously served as chief information officer for the City of Chicago, is interested to see what the company's investors bring to the table in addition to capital. "The really fascinating thing about Clearwater is who is backing it because you can sort of get a sense to what the thinking is," he said. Three cable companies -- Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks -- ponied up a combined $1.7 billion for a minority stake in the company. The conventional wisdom is those companies will want to provide their subscribers with mobile alternatives to land-based access. Intel, which invested $1 billion, makes the computer chips that enable WiMAX access. Google's $500 million commitment will also allow the Internet search giant to develop applications and advertising services within the WiMAX Network.

I can see your dilemma, and I understand your unease about the storms. When I was camping in AZ, I lived for 5 years in a cab over camper in the back of my GMC pick up truck. I was full timing it and had no home out west, just in FL. I was in several very strong windstorms that rocked me so strongly, I felt that I was going to turn over. I stayed in the camper part the first time, but the second time, I stayed in the truck cab. Once, because it was a weekend, I pulled under the drive through teller section of a bank and parked. That gave a lot of protection. I think with my egg camper, if I find myself camped in a strong wind situation, I will attach my tow vehicle to the camper and stay in the camper and hope the weight of the tow vehicle plus the extra length will be all I need to stay in the upright position! We need to be prepared in our minds and souls for such disasters, but we don't need to dwell on it. That just causes fears to control us and allows less room for good times to happen. Life is what it is. I can handle storms with some fear, but not sheer terror. Sheer Terror for me is driving through a big city on an interstate~! I just cannot do it. I stay away from interstates as much as possible. LOL! We all have our nightmares. interstate city driving is mine! Geri

Great srory Mountainborn! You had me right there next to you. It's been a long time since I have heard a whiporwill ! Thanks for sharing your campsite with me! Geri

Wow Andrew, very nice sunset photos! This one was taken after Chuck and I had a perfect day, picnic at Indian Pass where about 9 dolphin were playing in the pass between the mainland and St Vincent's Island. We had a great time riding on the beach and me just showing him my neck of the woods from Cape San Blas, FL to Eastpoint, FL. On the way home, I noticed this sunset in my rear view mirror.... pulled over at 10 mile road and got one quick shot before the mosquitos ate us alive! Enjoy. Geri Sunset at ten mile.jpg

Welcome Ghostrider! It's always interesting to read how people come up with their online handles. Welcome to the Oliver "family". I don't have an Oliver, I have a Casita, but I dream of one day owning an Oliver! Awesome little escape pod. Geri

I bought my little Casita after Hurricane Dennis did a lot of damage to the Florida Panhandle Coast a few years ago. I named it "My Escape Pod". Life is what it is. I know Chuck's Oliver pulls better in a wind storm than my Casita does, I have pulled both through very strong winds. The Oliver just seems to be much more stable on the road in that situation. From my personal experience of having pulled an Oliver through some pretty strong, gusty winds just last month, I think it handles very well. Of course it probably helps to have a heavier tow vehicle up front too. Geri

All right! Good to meet ya Mountainborn and Dillon! Wow, what a mess of catfish on that table! You all are very serious about your catfish eating! I like catfish a lot, but as many pounds as ya'll catch in a trip must last you a long, long, long, long time! When I lived a few miles east of here, there was an old black man that sharpened knives and lawn mower blades etc on one of those wheel thingees that you pedal like a bicycle and the sharpening stone, set vertical, went around and around and the faster you pedaled the faster the wheel went. Well, he was sharpening something for me and I remarked about his very interesting necklace. It looked like it was made out of dented pearls about the size of the average marble. It had a yellowish color and a definite patina from being worn so long. When I asked him about it, he said it was his catfish necklace. ????? I had never heard of such a thing. He says in the brain area of the catfish head are those stones. Every time he cleaned a catfish, he saved those stones. When he had enough, he drilled holes in them and made necklaces! Now this wasn't the kind of necklace you would wear to a fancy ball.......... but ya know... it was one of those necklaces that was real interesting and you kept looking at it. Especially after he told you that story. Now Mountainborn, I have believed that old man's story for over 30 years now....... is it true? Do Catfish have pearl like rocks in their heads? This inquiring mind wants to know! I always felt like that old man wasn't quite telling me the truth, but yet I had no reason to disbelieve him. Thanks. Geri PS this is a long way from discussing Olivers........ but.....

When I bought my Casita, I went to the NAPA auto parts store to buy a hitch. They suggested the adjustable hitch because then I could adjust it to whatever size I needed for the TT. This would also come in handy if I were to trade vehicles and end up with one that was taller or shorter than my Chevy Trailblazer. The adjustable hitch and ball were on sale and only a couple of dollars more than the regular ones, so I bought it. Then I took it to the local welder and had the smaller ball welded on for the stabilizer bar and I was set. I have never had a problem and never been sorry I went with the adjustable version. Geri