Mattnan

Nice idea on the film. I may give that a try. Those lights can be bright. Mcb. How is your trip going since you picked up your Ollie a few weeks back? Have you installed your graphics yet? We are due for first significant snow inland tonight. Safe travels!!!

I am just over 6ft and too short for my weight. No problems at all getting in and out of the trailer. I do need to pay attention exiting the bathroom. Very happy with our trailer.

Enjoy your journey. Please keep us updated on your travels. Photos always welcome!!!!!

The clam is so quick to set up. We like ours. Some models hehe optional floors. Probably not a great idea if you're using a fire pit!!!! Check their website I believe they also make some versions for Cold weather ice fishing!! I think they may have a small square one.

It has been just over a year since we spent our first night at David Crockett SP after our delivery. I think Oliver usually tries to reserve the same few spots. I noticed from photos we were in the same spot at those that picked up before and after us. We had never camped in a travel trailer and had very limited towing experience. We had almost no experience backing up a trailer. From experience, just take your time with everything. A check list for set up and departure are a huge help. Folks at David Crockett in the sites near us had seen other new Oliver's in and out of the campground. They were understanding, nice and helpful. By taking our time we were able to get our Elite II parked pretty easily. If in doubt when backing up stop, get out of the truck and look!!! Good luck and don't rush.

Hi congrats on getting an Ollie! I can't speak to the fabric we got the standard fabric. We ordered mattresses directly from Southern Mattress. Very happy with the service. They have Oliver dimensions and put curves in the corners etc. Pricing was lower than Oliver. You can save additional on shipping if they ship to a business address. We did purchase the moisture prevention pads that go under the mattresses from Oliver. You might be able to source something comparable elsewhere for less. I would get moisture guards. We didn't have a choice on awning brand. I agree on the manual valve. Manual is easy and less to break or service. Good luck! We like our 2019 model. We purchased an inventory model so it was pretty loaded with options.

Awesome Thread!!!!! I have never been to these areas and we are hopeful to go explore west Texas, NM, AZ, and Southern UT starting in mid February through April. The covid conditions are making us hesitant this year. This is great inspiration thanks so much for sharing these photos!!!!

Hi we are planning our winter escape to the south west starting in late January. We are planning to stay out west through April. We have a 2019 Elite II with solar and agm batteries. We plan on doing a fair amount of boondocking this trip. I did try to look this up unsuccessfully, do we need additional plug in solar or is that not really necessary? If it is needed what do folks suggest for plug-in to the Ollie? I would be looking for good value. I think our electric use would be fairly low. However I do have a small coffee pot that is an electricity hog, and we might eat to use the microwave for popcorn. Yes I am aware of other ways to make both using propane. We won't be watching tv but charging phones and computers is on the list. All advice appreciated!!! Thanks

Good advice by ShallowGal!!!! We had our 11 year old dog Marley with us last year in our Tundra. Unfortunately, Marley (part pug part Shar pei) passed away in June. We miss him so much. He was an awesome dog!! Our lives are not complete with out a dog so on November 14 our new puppy will arrive. He is a medium-sized Labradoodle. He will likely be named Baxter (after the Maine State Park) He will go on our journey with us this year. We have a lot of training ahead of us before we leave in Late January or early February. We like traveling with our dog!!

Thanks, being a newbie last year we did not realize how full the campgrounds in Florida were. We ended up driving from Savannah to the Cracker Barrel just south of Homestead for the night before we went to the Keys. That was a long drive with the Ollie in one day. That Cracker Barrel is parked full much of the time with campers coming and going to the Keys. Traffic around Miami was not fun. The Keys were great. We had never been to the Keys. We stayed 10 days at Collier-Seminole State Park in Naples. We had been to Naples/Marco Island a number of times on business when I was working. Collier-Seminole was also a nice park. We met up with a local friend that winters in her Airstream in one of the Naples RV parks.

Huntington Island was nice as well. A little more remote. We stayed there to tour Beaufort area. The light house and park just past the campground was nice. We liked James Island just a little more. Both good spots. From Huntington we went on to Savannah. This was an area of the East Coast we have always wanted to visit. From Savannah we went to the Florida Keys and then to Naples/Marco Island area.

We stayed at James Island State Park in late February this year . We really enjoyed it. We had a spot that was very close to the beach. You could hear the waves and walk on the beach. It was pretty convenient to Charleston. We did a carriage ride and trip to Fort Sumpter among other things. Pre covid Charleston had a street fair one Sunday per month that was awesome and very dog friendly. We also stayed at Hunter Island a little further south. James Island was nice and was not very crowded in February!!!. It was our first campground after David Crockett. It was one of our favorites on our trip. Enjoy your stay.

We would be up for this! Hard to plan around our 16 days of summer. Of course I am all for avoiding mud season!!!!! Perhaps right after Labor Day right before the first nor'easter. I don't know why I live here with so few good weather days??!!. I guess the record number of folks moving in due to covid are in for a rude awakening!!! Or just a long cold winter followed by never ending mud season. Maybe I'll just take up smoking pot to pass these cold winter months now that it is legal and I can buy it without meeting some guy named Zombo behind a random outhouse!

Thanks everyone and thanks for the condolences for Marley. Great information on the elevations and weather in northern Arizona. I would not have anticipated that. We prefer National and State parks if possible. Boondocking is fine for a few days at a time. Being from the east we have not yet had opportunities on public or blm land and want to try that as well. Based on some of this feedback I may push the northern Arizona portion into late March. Hopefully by February and March NM will open camping. Thanks for the responses so far.

Hi folks, BACKGROUND I am looking for some advice as I begin to plan our winter get away this year. We live in mid-coast Maine and picked up our Oliver last October. We stayed one night at David Crockett park and then headded home. We put the Ollie in the barn and winterized it. We are new to camping and have never owned a camper or travel trailer. Our plan for the winter of 2020 was to head south for Febuary, March and April. In early Feb this year we drove to Aiken, SC to my sister-in-laws and de-winterized the Ollie there. From there we headed to Charleston, Savanna, and had planned to work our way south down the east coast of Florida and end up in the Keys. First big lesson learned-- You need reservations in Florida and the Keys in Feb and March!!. Fortunately we did get some reservations in the Keys. We headed up the gulf coast of Florida to Naples, and Tampa. Our plan was to cross the panhandle and go to New Orleans, Nachez, up the Nachez trace to Nashville, to the Rally in Alabama and then head home. We had to head home because of Covid mid-March. We made it to Panacea Florida when it became evident we needed to go home. We were on the road for about 45 days. We had a great time and we learned a few things about camping, and needing reservations in some areas. We learned planning to stay in each place a day or two longer than we planned to really enjoy each place. We also learned that I do not really like driving in city or urban traffic with the Ollie. I am not crazy about narrow winding roads with very poor surface or visabiility. We learned we are ok and enjoy boondocking for a few days at a time but also like full survice hook ups. We learned we like space and privacy between camp sites. We learned that 10+ hour days of driving/towing are not what we want to do too much. (we will to get out of Maine for a more temperate climate to de-winterize). 3 to 4 hours is about all I would prefer to drive per day but realize some times more is necessary. I am not especially fond of coming down steep winding grades. I also am the guy in the slow lane going 60-65 on the highway. We learned that our 5.7 litre Tundra with the Anderson hitch is more than adequate to tow our Elite II. NEEDED HELP and SUGGESTIONS!!! This years planned route has us headed to the Southwest. I am not familiar with this area of the country. I am looking for suggestions on routes, weather, sites, ideas, feedback on dealing with covid, needed reservations, and how busy these areas may be in Feb, March, and April. We do have solar and just the regular toilet in our Ollie. Your feedback is needed, and appreciated! Here is our planned route and rough timing: Arrive in Honnewald TN for service, bearings etc around Jan 21. Nachez Trace south to Nachez. We were going to New Orleans but with Covid are questioning this stop and a few others. Head west to Austin, Waco, Ft. Worth, I am also questioning those stops due to covid. West through Abiline to Roswell, Las Cruces, Tucon, and Sedona. We plan to arrive at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon around Feb. 25. Then on to Moab in early March. Then to Albuquerque via Route 66 headding east to Oklahoma City. Then continue East to Memphis and Nashville. I am questioning Memphis and Nashville due to covid as well. From there in early April head to the Blue Ridge Parkway and head north back to Maine arriving home around April 20. It is my wife and me along with our new mid-size Austrailian Labradoodle puppy. He will be 16 weeks old when we leave Maine. (our traveling compaion for the previous 11 years, Marley, sadly passsed away in June). We welcome your feedback. We are learning and do not have the experience in this area. We will do mild hiking and site seeing. We are not mountain bikers. We want to see some of the west. What should we see, what roads should we totally avoid, what will the weather be like, how busy this time of year, places to stay, etc. I have done a ton of reading and research but nothing works as well as direct feedback from experienced folks. We look forward to your feedback. I will take it all in. Look us up if you get to Maine in the summer or fall. Much appreciated and thanks, Matt.

We also use 6x6 pressure treated lumber are about 10 inches in length as BackofBeyond described for the rear stabilizers. We sanded them down and drilled a hole so we could run a line through as a handle for carrying. We copied it from Maniac. We use the Andersen bucket for the front and Andersen wedges for levelling. Works good for us.

Decisions,decisions. If you are thinking about a mattress upgrade I believe you can save some money by purchasing from southern mattress. Even more if you ship them to a business address. I would get the mats for under the mattresses either from Oliver or you may find an alternative. We purchased from Southern Mattress and are very pleased. We also have the back up camera. I really don't use it to back up, I use it as a rearview mirror while driving. We were new to long distance towing and the ability to see what is coming up behind us is something I like, and it works well for me. Good luck with all of your decisions. We really like our Oliver.

We have a tonneau cover for our Tundra and our item list is almost identical to Mike and Carol's with the exception of the generator. We also keep our ladder in the truck bed.

You may want to check with Oliver. I believe the max GVW for the Elite II loaded up is 7,000 lbs. This will help your truck towing and payload "wiggle room" numbers even more!! You would probably not want to overload the trailer either. More numbers, numbers, numbers, numbers. We tow with an old 2008 5.7 litre Tundra with factory installed tow package. It has tow/haul. I had to install an after market brake controller (very easy plug in module) The Tundra works great. That said if $ were not important I would buy a 1 ton diesel without dual wheels. (my preference) The cost difference for 1 ton vs 3/4ton is not that much. But I am sticking with my great running, no issue, very reliable, old truck. I will be the slow truck on the steep down grades. Good luck!!!

We also use Cracker Barrel. Usually a very good experience. The Cracker Barrel in Florida City on the way to the Florida Keys can get busy with all spots full and a bit loud from people coming and going at all hours. We stayed going to and returning from the Keys. Most of the time Cracker Barrel is a great stop after a long day of driving. The staff has always been terrific.

Hello dharmardr. Ann and Grayson. We (hull 537 Beacon) are also located in Bristol on the other side of the peninsula right by Pemaquid beach. I am looking out my window at the new beach pavillion. We just got back from a short 3 days to Monhegan. Just let us know when your around. We live here year round and head south after new years in the Oliver. Feel free to contact us any time. We enjoy meeting new folks in the area. Matt and Nancy Monroe or (Mattnan) on this forum.

ScubaRx, We are at Pemaquid. Please let us know if you're in the area. We could put you up for a night or two in the barn driveway and could rig up water and 110v electric to keep batteries up maybe even a boat ride on an old converted lobster boat. Lots to do down here. We can also make some recommendations if you need. As far as a rally goes, we might be up for one up here in Maine. Stay Healthy everyone!!!

Mcb. Welcome to the Maine family of Oliver owners. I like the original Maine flag!!! We fly one on our flag pole. We should have a mini rally up here!!!!

Rhino, Welcome to the Ollie family. We live in mid-coast in New Harbor. I noticed the Dickinson tee shirt. Our younger son played lacrosse at Muhlenberg College. Both Centennial Conference schools. We did a lot of driving to PA. Every weekend in the spring for 4 years. Enjoy your Ollie.

JRLE546. You must have picked up your Ollie shortly after we picked up ours #537 in October. We would not be able to add to what Mainiac (Bob) provided. Banana Banners made our vinyl graphics from Nancy's photos. Banana Banners was very good to work with. Mainiac referred them to us.