Mattnan

Wow. Amazing. We have not been to Norway or any of the Scandinavian countries. We need to do that as soon as this covid thing dies down so we can travel internationally easily again.

Thanks our plan is to definitely get to the caves. I am good in tunnels, not sure about caves. I guess we will find out. My wife is not as good in tunnels and she is a little nervous about caves. We are going to Kartchner Caves in AZ next. I really struggle with heights so high bridges and high overpasses are very difficult for me especially if they are narrow.

Thanks Mike. We are at the KOA north of Carlsbad and staying at Karchner Caverns after a Harvest Host stop at a winery in Deming on the way to Kartchner. The folks at this KOA are terrific and the park is well maintained and clean. Too bad they are remodeling their kitchen as we have heard the bbq smoked on site is terrific. We were planning on some. Thanks for the info, we are hoping to stop at White Sands Park on our way to Deming. We may check out that middle range!!! We were told about Karchner by a camp host at a State Park in Destin FL. Thanks again!

I thought I had posted my most recent post last night. Evidently l neglected to hit "submit reply" button. My wife since found posts on the Oliver Facebook site from a camper that was in the teens for 5 days and another that was in single digits. (I don't do Facebook) I know from past experience we would be fine in the high teens. We have done this. I also called Oliver's service department and explained our situation and that temps would be in the low single digits. The response from Oliver was if we are heating with the propane furnace, we are keeping the trailer above 60, and running the Truma on econo mode, and on tank water we should be fine without doing any thing. From Facebook I learned from someone that had camped below 0 and in single digits the water intake fittings and outside shower might, and would likely freeze. Theirs did and their outside shower head cracked as it had water in it. The recommendation was to pump just a little pink antifreeze into the fittings. I checked this with Oliver and they indicated this is fine. Just 1/4 pump. Oliver also reminded me when I flush the system to make sure I bypass the water heater as the pink stuff can ruin the water heater. So I guess we are doing a partial weatherization! So this is what we are doing. It was in the 40s today. Tonight down to 17. Tomorrow high 26 or 27. The next 2 nights 7 and 8 degrees. I disconnected the city water. We ran our sinks to empty out any remaining city water. I unscrewed the outside shower head and drained the hose and emptied the head. I left the head disconnected and stored it. I pushed the hose inside after tying a string so I can retrieve it later. I pumped a 1/4 pump of the pink antifreeze into each of the fittings. I started with the black tank flush first figuring if l made a mistake l pumped too much this wouldn't be a big deal. I secured some r19 insulation batting and folded on top of its self. I placed it in a plastic garbage bag and placed it inside the opening to the basement outside door. I used my storage crate to hold it in place from the inside. I purchased a thermometer that I can use to check temps under the bunks and basement. We will heat with the propane furnace and it will be set at 63 - 65 at night. We will open the door in our nightstand and place the Vornado electric heater to blow into the basement. We are at about 75% of our propane capacity in the 30lbs tank. The park sells propane and has plenty so a source is near by. I also picked up 18 feet of electric pipe heat wrap, that if necessary, I can install on the pipes. We brought a number of throw rugs that we used early in the trip and stored when it got warm. They are now back on the floor to help. We will use tank water for our toilet and dishes. We normally use RV park showers provided they are clean and this park is exceptionally clean. There are others here in SOB trailers that seem to be taking less precaution. This includes some of the park employees. Winds could go as high as 50 mph tonight. At just before 4pm mountain time, temperatures are dropping, it is 35 and winds have picked up into the mid 20s. This is all part of the adventure, and we are having an adventure!!!! We will let you know how it goes! Thanks for all of your feedback and suggestions. Stay warm!!!

Thanks everyone. We arrived in Carlsbad this afternoon after leaving Fort Worth this morning at 4:30. We left our campground early as we didn't want to be in the Dallas area during the storm. The weather here was going to be comparable to Dallas and we do have reservations here and going forward. Going back south wasn't in the cards. Oddly enough our next, longer stop, in Benson, AZ wasn't going to be much warmer. We knew when we planned this trip we would face some cold temps and some below freezing. We don't mind that. We knew there was a chance we might face single digits this far south but were hoping to avoid it. 20s and high teens at night yes. We drove 475 miles today to get here. Our temps tonight are above freezing and during the day tomorrow will allow us to winterize if we can find antifreeze, the local Wal-Mart doesn't have any. I hopfully we will be able to keep the trailer and our selves warm. We bought our Ollie to travel like this and see parts of the country we had not seen yet. This is part of the challenge and learning we are experiencing. Because we are traveling in the off season we are able to get into lots of sites with fewer crowds. The Stampede in Fort Worth was cool and even the gunfight was fun. We are seeing different scenery. The Silos in Waco and Austin nightlife. The drive across west Texas was cool. Oil and gas fields, wind farms in Sweetwater, solar fields and some incredible wide open sky scenery. Once the snow and ends we are going to Carlsbad Caverns and up to Roswell. We will hopefully stop st White Sands on the way to Deming and Benson. Our pup Baxter goes with is most everywhere.

Check out Captain Q yacht hunter on YouTube if you want Dingy Moore!!!

We are heading to Carlsbad, NM in the morning. We are leaving Fort Worth area a day early, before the forecast of cold temperatures and ice arrive. Everyone is taking about how bad it was here last year when ice hit. Temperatures in Carlsbad are forecast to be 7 degrees at night and a high of 29 later in the week. We are at a KOA with full hookups, electric, water, and sewer in Carlsbad. Our 2019 Ollie has the Truma water heater. We have boondocked for a night with a temperature of 19 and wind. We had no problems with any of our systems. We keep the trailer around 64 at night using propane when temps are going to dip below 32 for extended periods of time. Obviously the water hose will be disconnected. We have about 80% in our fresh water tank for dishes and conventional toilet use. My concern is the lower temperatures and the pipes and anything else. I am hoping I can avoid winterizing for what will be 36 to 72 hours. I will winterize if needed. We have not made any modifications to our trailer for airflow around our AGM batteries or street side bunk. I an not in position to make those modifications before the cold hits. I can open the interior door in our nightstand to the basement. We have the twin bed model. We also have a Vornado heater that we use when plugged in and temps stay above freezing. We have the 30 lb propane tanks. 1 is 100% full and the other is approximately 50% full. We will keep an eye on the propane!!! So---- from someone who has done it! Do I need to winterize? Are there good, safe alternatives to avoid winterizing? What else should I be thinking about? We will continuously run the Truma in econo mode per instructions in the manual if we don't winterize. Sound advice needed and appreciated. Thanks

Thanks, Yes Baxter would love to play with most any critter. Last 2 weeks have been cool. Low to mid thirties last night. Couple high twenties in New Orleans. It briefly made it to 60 today. We had a nice day at Magnolia Silos and Market. Supposed to warm up a bit over the weekend in Fort Worth. Our home in Maine is expecting up to 20 inches of snow this weekend and temps have been in the single digits, The power company and cable company have already contacted us to prepare for outages at home.

We had a nice visit at McKinney Falls State Park in Austin. Nice Park with easy hiking trails to a couple of small waterfalls. We got in to Austin for some music and beverages last night. Out first time to Austin. The Capitol building is really impressive. We arrived at Speegleville COE park on Waco Lake in Waco, TX today. Really nice park. We have a nice lake front site here. The grounds are terrific and we have brand new electric. We are here for a few days before we head to Fort Worth. Lots of wildlife in this park. We saw 3 armadilos. First time for us seeing one. One of them lives just below our camp site toward the lake. Our Tundra needed an oil change and tire rotation. I got that done this afternoon . It worked out well!!!! We will do some site seeing including all of the Mongolia stuff the next few days. We head west after our upcoming stay in Fort Worth. So far it has been a terrific trip.

Most half ton trucks should have the Andersen Hitch. We have it on our 5.7 litter gas Tundra.

I am certainly no expert. But the battery technology will continue to improve and they are already working on electric trucks to haul trailers (tractor trailers) autonomously. It looks like electric may replace most of the gas and diesel over time. TFL just released a video of a Rivian that tows 11,000 lbs drag racing a Ram. So for a while Diesel will be the way for heavy equipment and trucks but I see this changing. Both ford and Chevrolet have sold out all of the pre orders on their yet to be released electric trucks. These trucks will become more capable over time. Ford and GM are betting their futures on it. In 20 years when the next thing is replacing electric trucks we will look fondly back at them just as we look back fondly at our diesels now. The Marine industry is also looking at electric. Most commercial and large personal boats and ships run diesel. We have a very reliable John Deere diesel in our boat. It will out live me by a lot!! But there will be new technology and right now it looks electric.

We have moved on from Florida. We had lots of stops as we worked our way north and west. A very cool Harvest Host stop in Tallahassee, a collectible car museum. Wow, the cars, motor cycles, outboard motors and other memorabilia was amazing. They had Batmobiles. Yes 3 of them! It is loud at night as it is on a busy road at the junction of I 10. There were 6 other campers parked with us spread out on a large grassy area. It was definitely worth the stop. Our last Florida stop was Fort Pickens National Seashore near Pensacola Beach. The campground is nothing special but the fort and seashore was amazing. You are on a road driving miles in the dunes along the gulf. It is like you are on the moon! If you go try to get loop A. We met some nice folks in that park. We also spent 4 nights at Dauphin Island Alabama. We are finishing up a week in New Orleans. We splurged and are staying at French Quarter RV Resort. The park is a 5 minute walk to the French Quarter. Great location and they keep the bathrooms and laundry room very clean. It is located adjacent to I 10 so it can be noisy. The park is fenced in with a gate. We feel safe. The park is all pavers with some grass. Lots of big rigs. They also have a hot tub and pool. We haven't tried these as it is cold but some campers are in the hot tub most evenings. You walk by a police station on the way to the quarter. Beyond the usual quarter attractions, we have done a swamp tour, a walking tour of the Garden District and today the WW II museum. Wow we were there for 6 hours today. I wish every child could visit this museum. I would hope the magnitude of what transpired is not lost. We learned a lot. Very impactful. Saturday we start toward Austin Texas. It has been cold here at night. Low 30s tonight. We will get to Austin on Sunday.

Yup we use blocks all the time when we set up and and park. This was our very first time at a dump station and our very first time with a travel trailer. Good learning experience. Hind sight is 20/20. I share the experience in hope of saving someone else from the same experience. Lots of folks on here are very new to camping with a trailer or RV like we were. We are learning lessons all the time. I learn on this forum and by doing. To me it is part of the experience and growth learning new things and solving new problems. We are seeing lots of new places.

Just please don't do what I did the first time we dumped. We raised the trailer at the dump station, emptied the tanks stowed all the hoses. We got in the truck and started to leave. Terrible noise!! We forgot to lower the Ollie and raise up the jack. The lower shaft was badly bent. Fortunately some of the guys working at the state park had a portable saw with a metal blade. We had to cut the shaft. We called the jack manufacturer directly as Oliver didn't have an extra in stock. We had it sent express to our next campground. We stayed hooked up that night. The jack arrived the next day and I installed the new jack. PIA but we learned a lesson early on and fortunately it only cost us a day and some $. No one got hurt. Embarrassing for sure. I was able to keep the barley used jack motor so I have a heavy working replacement with me if needed.

I am not sure about the vizio tv. We have the Jensen tv and we have to make a decision on doing the search on cable or antenna. Once we make that selection we do the scan. We did have an issue in Tampa RV park that park had cable box that we had to hook up and the first box was bad. Hope you can get it sorted

I am not sure about Mike and Carol, a number of us have used Banana Banners in Bowdionham, Maine. Good materials and good to work with at a fair price.

We have reservations at Dead Horse in about a month. Looking forward to it. Thanks for sharing these pictures.

We use about 3 ft of hose. The shorter the better.

We carry a 5 gallon portable plastic 5 gallon tank. It is not collapsible. I had this tank long before we got the Ollie. I would look at collapsible tanks. There is a boondocking port on the back of the trailer and it uses the pump already in the trailer to suck water in from the container. You just have to position the water flow knobs in the boondocking configuration described in the manual or under the curbside bunk. It works well.

We also used Banana Banners. We referred by Mainiac. Followed their instructions to apply the graphics. Very happy. We also put small images on the side and spare tire cover. I recently used them for some boat lettering too.

Dewdev, Any state parks in Florida especially those on the coasts need to be booked well in advance. I made reservations in March and April and had very limited choices and in some instances needed to move sites within some of the campgrounds. I believe Florida State Parks allow reservations at 11 months for out of state residents. You might want to check on this as I am not 100% sure. The State Parks have been very full. I believe Florida residents can reserve 12 months in advance. We are at Fort Pickens National Seashore tonight and tomorrow night. This is a National Park by Pensacola Beach. This is a really cool area. The dunes and scenery in this park is just so different from Maine. The campground is nothing special but the park and fort is very cool and worth the visit. We have a good site, A 30. This park is not great for big rigs due to over hanging trees and short sites. Perfect for the Ollie. I wish we had a few more days here. Florida parks fill up early. Also a lot of Canadians winter in Florida. We purchased the National Park Senior lifetime pass. This is well worth it. Free admission to the National Parks and 50% off camping at the National Parks. They also provide 50% off at Core of Engineer Parks. Our COE stays have run between $10 and $14 a night so far. Generally they have been terrific parks. We have another COE coming up in Waco at the end of the month. Our next 2 are at private campgrounds. 4 nights at Dauphin Island, Alabama and a week at French Quarter RV park in New Orleans. Then McKinney Falls State Park in Austin TX. There are a lot of websites or apps for camping. We have been using RV Parky. We try to say in parks rated 4 stars or better. I read the reviews and focus on the recent feedback. This may not be the best app but it is free. We are currently have sites booked through early February. I am concerned about the ability to get sites as we get near southern AZ, Grand Canyon, and the National Parks in Southern Utah. We will also look for some BLM sites in those areas. I just haven't figured out our literary yet. Today a park host mentioned a cool site east of Tucson where there are some caves etc. We probably wouldn't have known to check this out. I want to have some flexibility to check out some of these spots. We recently had a good night at a Harvest Host in Tallahassee. A classic car and collectables museum. The museum was awesome. The parking facility was good, 7 total RVs that night. It was a bit noisy on a busy street right near I 10. We knew about the noise when we booked it. It was a good stop and are glad we stopped there. Harvest Host require reservations but I have been making these just a few days in advance. The Oliver brings lots of interest. Lots of positive comments. 1 or 2 folks have been a little over zealous. One guy just had to stop us as we were backing into our site. We asked him to wait but the second we got the Ollie backed in he was all over us. No chance to unhook or set up. He had no clue and asked if his compact station wagon could tow the Ollie. Most have been very cool and we are handing out brochures. 2 of our neighbors here are very nice and cool. We are meeting some nice people and most have interesting stories and experiences to share.

We arrived on a Sunday and had service Monday and Tuesday. We picked up Tuesday afternoon and stayed at Oliver Tuesday evening . No fee. We found a hotel room for Monday night. We went to visit my wife's family in Aiken for a few days. Stayed at Aiken State Park. We are long gone now. We are in Destin Florida now at Henderson Beach State Park after spending time in Naples, Marco Island and Venice. Tomorrow we leave for Fort Pickens National Sea Shore. Then to Dauphin Island, New Orleans, Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth on our way to the Grand Canyon and Zion.

We just left this park yesterday after 4 days. Great park! We had wild weather with temps in the mid 80s when we arrived, severe wind and thunderstorms, then evening temps drop in the low to mid 30s with windy conditions. Mis 40s when we left yesterday. I would definitely stay here again at $12 per night with the geezer pass it can't be beat. Beautiful park and very well kept. Really becoming big fans of COE parks.

A little further and east, you could head to the Smoky Mountains. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are vey busy in the off season I cannot imagine what it is like in the summer. We stayed at a private campground in Early December, Pine Mountain, right in the heart of Pigeon Forge. Very well kept and clean and close to all of the attractions. It is not out in the country. Just 2 blocks off the main road. It is tight with full hookups. I would stay there again as it was reasonably priced for the area and offered the ability to use the pool at the hotel that was near by. It was a good value. Recommended going for a back in site. More room and privacy. Worth the small up charge. Enjoy your new Ollie.

OPINION ONLY. I personally am not generally a big fan of extended warranties. I am more a fan on new electronics that are not as proven. I don't purchase them on new vehicles and personal feeling is the fine print in the warranty seems to never provide coverage for what is needed. Again personal opinion. I didn't purchase the warranty on our Ollie as I felt Oliver's warranty on the trailer was pretty good and it would more likely be the components like fridge, ac, water heater that would fail. I also figured if those components failed it would likely be early on. This proved true in our first 6 months with the fridge. We had a tech solve the problem and no issues since. So far no issues with the he Ollie in 100+ days of use and 7000 miles. I would look carefully at what the extended warranty covers and how long, specifically on appliances etc. Of course, each person needs to make these decisions for themselves. Others may differ in opinion and that is ok. Just sharing our decision and rationale. We also live 1400 miles from the factory. Congratulations on your new Ollie. Enjoy your camping and travel with it. Be prepared for folks to ask questions and want to see your Ollie. Safe, healthy, and happy camping.