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gatorewc

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Everything posted by gatorewc

  1. We had been with AAA for probably 15 years and they were great. We always paid for our plan and both our kids. Even though we had road service with our regular coverage, we felt like with 2 teenage drivers we wanted as little action on our policies as we could. (My son ran out of gas and locked his keys in the car in 30 minutes time is one example of multiple call outs) Last month we went with Good Sam because it had better RV coverage and was around $60 less. I got the 3 year plan with a 6 month $20 add on for traveling benefits. ( covers some airfare issues and what not) for I think $379. This is the premium plan. Over the years with much travelling on the road we have used AAA numerous times and they were great. I also went with GoodSam because our Oliver coverage is with their sister company, It covers all our cars and trailers.
  2. If you want to go into the Smokies on the TN side you have Elmont and Cades Cove campgrounds. Both are great stops. Cades Cove has a great loop to see wild life and old settler posts but can be crowded at times. Wednesday is a closed day only for hikers and bikers (the non motorized bikers). If you drive through the park Smokemont Campground is near Cherokee and about an hour from Asheville. Stay on the F Loop if you can. About 4 miles south of Smokemont is the NC Side Ranger Welcome Station with a old settlers village which is great. There is also Mingus Mill about 5 minutes away which is a place to purchase stone ground grits or flour. Each day around 4 pm a herd of Elk wander to the open fields around the Ranger station and is very impressive. The elk were reintroduced about 15 years ago and are awesome to see. Wild turkeys are usually spotted in the fields or along the road. A drive over to Cattaloochee is a great afternoon drive which has a old homestead and pastures where the elk were originally released before spreading throughout much of the park. There is a campground at Cattaloochee but to camp there you would have your first adventure on a gravel road with your Ollie. The entrance for this road is right at I-40 and 276Hwy exit to Waynesville When leaving the park heading south on US441 take the Blue Ridge Parkway and not US19. The drive is gorgeous and much less congested than going thru Cherokee and over to Maggie Valley then to I-40 to Asheville. The Smokies are my haven. We have a mountain cabin about 1/4 mile where the Blue Ridge Parkway crosses over US 19. Even being close to the house we love camping in the mountains. I know all the restaurants in Bryson City, Maggie Valley, Waynesville, and Asheville. Asheville is a great city with numerous things to see! Sounds like you will have a great trip whether going north or south around the GSMNP!
  3. Congrats!!!! You will love it! The info from the forum is invaluable and the people are the best!
  4. I received my 2 Hondas last week within 4 days of my order from Northern Tool. The had both the 2200 and the 2200 Bluetooth models which are just out. I ran the Campanion with my Ollie hooked up to the 30 Amp plug in. Using my Bluetooth function the soft start pulled right at 1000 watts starting and then settled down to around 600 or so. (Didn't write it down ). Once the compressor cut off it drew around 300 - 400. The newer model has a magnetic flap that covers the outlets and the fuses have a clue rubber cover now for protection.. There is a UTube video that shows the guy unscrewing the front cover and disconnecting the CO safety device to see if it would still crank if the device failed while out camping. Yes it would crank. Of course this is not advisable but sampling testing to see if the CO would prevent a start. I hope to get my parallel kit in the next day or so and will try that out. Really pleased with the running of the Honda! Also the oil dipstick cap is much larger which benefits adding oil. The Yamaha was also tempting as was the Honda Handi 3000. My final determining factor was weight. I can handle lifting 2 Hondas 2200 but the 75+ pound on some other models was just too much with. a bad back. There are a lot of great models and really you probably could choose several. But after the one failure with the Sam's I just went with Honda. Not sure if grounding was an issue with the A1 from Sams but I was working with Jason on the phone as we tried different things and it was apparent the load rating was not accurate with the actual generator I had purchased.
  5. Well, I broke down and bought the new Honda 2200 and the companion this past week. I had purchased the A1 from Sam's and was hoping that would work but every time I tried running the air with the soft start the relay in the Oliver would trip. The code was showing the voltage was dropping to 104. Thought seriously about the 3000 Handi and several other models but just kept coming back to the Honda 2200 because of quality and weight. In summer if I needed both I can run both and other times of the year I can take 1 and keep the weight down. My days of wanting to lift the 75# Handi are gone. This new Honda has the Bluetooth feature that is pretty cool. You can see output and a few other informational readouts using your cellphone ap. It does allow you to turn off the generator remotely if need arises. They did implement some weather protection on the upgrade and supposedly 10% more output. I struggled a little paying the premium but to tell you the truth Honda engines never have let me down.
  6. We were signed up but had to back out of being in Guntersville. We will be at Smokemont in the Smokies with family staying at our Maggie Valley house. I guess we have it good when our kids run us out of our house but we get to stay in the Ollie. Looking forward to a normal year sometime in the future and being at the Rally!
  7. Andy Carter (@andycarterphoto) on Instagram. My son says the new phone cameras are incredible and the average person does not need a high dollar camera.
  8. Great shots! Covered tables. Never seen those before.
  9. Thanks John, Next time pulling I will take notice of 4th gear at 60. My son took the pic with a Nikon Z6 with a Nikon 24mm 1.4. He shoots for several online auto sites and writes articles. He wants to do a photo shoot with my camper and I will post the pics when he does. Who knows, Oliver may have to use them in the ads. 😀 Maverick.... I do like the color ...Concrete is the official color. Never seen concrete that color. Whistletop Cafe from Driving Miss Daisy is located in Juliette. It is still open until 4pm daily I think. We didn't get try try their fried green tomatoes this time
  10. Little late showing but time flies when your having fun. Spent 4 nights at David Crockett State Park and then 2 nights at Cloudland Canyon State Park in North Ga and the Ollie was great. 2020 Tundra really did a great job towing. Nice having the V8 on a few hills and didn't feel stressed at all. Only hiccup we had was leaving Davey Crockett the street side awning would not close completely. Came to about 1 inch on the front end from totally closing. We called Jason and dropped by service to check out the problem. Seems 2 acorns had fallen in the front track and was preventing it from closing completely. So I chalked up some experience and we were on our way. I guess this would make a case for carrying a ladder. These pics are from 10 days later staying at Juliette State Park in GA and Hamburg State Park in Ga. Really love the camper and really surprised with the amount of storage. Yes, the air conditioner is loud but 93 degree days were handled with no issues. Spending 20+ years in a power plant loud noise is something I am a little familiar with. After a couple of nights it was no problem even though we are looking forward to fall camping. Erv & Sherry
  11. 6'3". 295#. The twin works fine for me. I sleep with my head to the front which gives me room to hang over a foot if I need to. Shoulder room has not been an issue. sometimes I turn to face the side and bend my knees. The first night or two I did have a little adjustment but I compare this the same as getting a new mattress. After about 12 nights total I do not even think about it. I have not tried sleeping with my feet at the rear yet. Maybe I will try that sometime but I like my head near the end I use a CPAP and I put the machine in the top cabinet and the hose just hangs down with the door left open. This set up seems to work. Erv
  12. My 2020 Tundra did a very good job towing my Elite II last week. We did not have to traverse too many steep climbs but did have a few pulls in N Ga. back roads. I know the 2020 Tundra is obsolete in many ways but the engine was what I wanted. I have the same V8 in my 2011 Lexus 570 and it never misses a beat and just runs, runs, and runs. I am interested to see if Toyota catches up with the 2021 model Tundra. I have had a Jeep Rubicon that stayed in the shop (3 radiators and resurfaced heads from metallurgy issues with 111,000 miles in which Jeep gave me a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty) and a Ford 150 that was problematic have steered me to Toyota. If we could get Toyota to come out with a 2500 series I would be thrilled.
  13. Yes it is John. I tried to copy and paste with my MacBook but couldn't copy. I am sure operator error was in play. I used it for about an hour or so with my Ollie and was satisfied. Connection was warm but not hot. 90 degrees led to some of the temperature. Thanks for your help!
  14. Actually I ordered one from Amazon. They have several for sale, I try to always stay away the the cheaper ones and go with a reputable company. $44 NEMA. L-5- 30. 30A/125V. 10AWG
  15. Picked up our Ollie last week with the additional 30A plug and it does NOT come with an additional cord. I purchased an additional 10' cord for generator use if needed.
  16. We picked up our camper yesterday! (Monday). Phil Andrews and James Oliver did an excellent job answering all our questions in 3 hours. We are planning on staying till Friday morning then heading to Cloudland Canyon State Park in Ga for 2 nights before returning home in Palmetto Ga Sunday afternoon. I had no idea there is a 80% chance of rain tomorrow. Not sure I will change our plans but will continue to just learn our Ollie. We had another Oliver that pulled into the campground this afternoon for a 1 day stop before heading out for an another trip. It was great to stand and chat for awhile 6 feet apart of course. If you are well seasoned campers then I understand not camping, but of course you never know what little problem you may have when you get home. Have a safe trip! Thanks for all the post and excellent answers from all these past 9 months or so. All the information made our walk through seem less intimidating. I will post a few picks when I get home
  17. We are planning on attending. Hopefully things will calm a little by September dates.
  18. 6' 3" 295#. We pick our Ollie up Monday. The 2 times my wife and I were in Hohenwald the bathroom was a concern and the bed length. As others have said in reply that the shower is adequate. I had room to shower and maneuver just fine. Of course I would like a little more room but to me it is all part of the experience of camping. My last 2 campers have been a 32' motor home and a pop-up. The Ollie has a huge bathroom compared to the pop-up! The bed length is fine because I do not sleep in a straight line. The king size bed would have been nice but the trade off of having access to cabinets and the hall way made the twin option better for us. The best option is to make the trip to see an Ollie in person. They are a unique camper in function and craftsmanship.
  19. Congratulations!!! Welcome to the family.... Erv & Sherry
  20. Congratulations!!!! Welcome to the family! We pick ours up on the 27th. The time will fly by and you will be driving away soon with a big smile!
  21. Welcome!!! Hope. to meet you. We pick up our Ollie in 3 Weeks! Erv & Sherry
  22. have to pay Georgia sales tax. My came to the tune of $4200.00 to get my tag. I had to pay a similar amount of sales tax in Utah when I registered my Ollie at the DMV We are in Fulton County GA about a mile from Coweta County, so I guess my price for my Ollie just got bumped up a bit. Oh well, the price we pay! In my mind I figured that was going to be the case, but with taxes you just accept the fact and move on. We may not like it, but we are blessed to be able to buy an Ollie! Thanks for the comments guys and gals.
  23. I will let you know after I get mine home after July. I am not thinking it will be that much. Is Montana the state people use for registering exotic cars? I guess I may have to do a little research too. Maybe some Montana residents can chime in. I always assumed you had to register where you lived or had property. I do have a house in NC, what is the tax basis there for Ollie owners?
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