Patriot

Bill, I just spoke with Deanna at CalMark who basically said everything you mentioned above. She also added that Oliver TT has opted to no longer stock and sell CalMark covers. Deanna also said that they are “in a restructuring pause right now”. My SWAG is that there will be a price increase. -David

Bill, With no frost in the ground the big melt on is On in beautiful Western NC!!😄 It was beautiful winter scenery while it lasted and now all this snow melts away into our water table. Just an FYI Matt and Rodney were with out power for several days. Their area got hit pretty hard. 👍🏻 Onward David

@ripple963 We have used a Calmark cover since we took delivery of our Oliver in 2020 and still do along with our “Ollie Hangar”. Keeping the weather and especially the UV rays off the ceramic coat treated gelcoat and caulked areas is highly recommended when storing your Oliver. We have never experienced any gelcoat damage using our cover. The Calmark cover with a zippered entry door allows us quick and easy interior access where shrink wrapping your entire Oliver may or may not. If you opt not to cover your Oliver, you may want to consider buying a cover for your Truma AC to keep birds from nesting in it. I will say that it sure is nice to remove the cover in the Spring to a clean and polished Oliver. All the best with your decision. We use the Little Giant ladder/plank system which makes covering and cleaning our Oliver much safer and easier than hanging off a ladder.

Woke up to a gorgeous Western NC winter wonderland sunrise this morning. (Photo off our back deck). A chilly 14d! I think we received well over 10” of snow as it continued to snow here on Blueberry HIll until midnight.

About an hour ago we measured approx 9.5”. The snow is now suppose to stop at midnight.

Will Prowse update.

I think they look really nice as well Bill, I wish they provided more fresh air circulation. The new awning style windows only open 3” when fully extended. We really enjoy the cross breeze our present sliders allow for. I am not a fan of the old time retro look of interior roller privacy shades. Air Screams and SOB’s use this same shade design. Just wonky looking IMHO. It will be interesting to hear the field experience of those with the new window design. 👍🏻 I noticed when watching the video it appears Oliver eliminated the reading light (behind the blue tooth speaker) at the foot of the bed on both sides or maybe my eyes just missed it and its still there. 🤷‍♂️

Bill, You won’t regret moving forward on installing the Alcan running gear, and as you pointed out, its not the same HD shackle installed on our Oliver. (Apples to Oranges). The rig in the vid appears to be a “custom home built” I question the engineering even at a glance. I could not be happier with our Alcan running gear. Lew and his team are product knowledge experts in shackles and springs in my experience dealing with Lew and his techs. Alcan has manufactured and sold thousands of springs and shackles to very happy customers. Zero reported issues with Oliver’s using Alcan products that I have heard or read about. Just an observation. 😊

A neat advertisement for the 2026 OLE2 Platinum Edition. Saw this and thought I would share it. https://www.rvtravel.com/2026-oliver-legacy-elite-2-platinum-fiberglass-travel-trailer-2828/

Round #2…..coming up this weekend. Stay safe, stay warm, stay prepped.

Gotta love that garage, well done! Are those 8 or 9 panel doors?

That is amazing, Very nice Bill! 🤩

Always been a fan Bill!

Another…Park

So glad I grew up listening to the Doobie Brothers. No flash, no glamor, just incredible rock musicians laying it down.

💯The best and only corn bread is in a piping hot skillet, gotta have that light crunch! 😋😄

How fast can you both get here? We love sharing food! 😄

Looking really good Chris, way to go staying ahead of it. Your home looks really festive brother! Regards to Stacie and you guys stay safe and warm. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🏻👍🏻

Very well done Ron! Gotta love a neat and clean install! 👍🏻

My bride has been fairly busy this morning crafting up more winter comfort food! A nice size pot of spicy black eyed peas and iron skillet corn bread with local crafted mountain molasses. I think we need to make this a staple when camping. 🤔 Very grateful for home cooking and taking time to just “pause” and give thanks. Our friends never leave hungry, if they do it’s their fault. 😄

John, ‘That’s a fair amount of snow. So sorry to see your mail box was damaged. I would hope that your neighbor would step up and cover the entire replacement including install. The right thing to do. Hello to Susan and a big “woof’ to Fiona your gorgeous brown lab. 🐾. Stay safe!

Please to report we had very little snow and mostly sleet and freezing rain. Grateful this is all we had. Our “Ollie Hangar” did exactly what it’s designed to do. Today we woke up to a gorgeous sunrise and Carolina blue sky off our back deck. Can’t ask for more than that! Our Carolina Sapphires will bounce back, after taking a bow in today’s bright sun shine. 👍🏻 XPLOR in deep hibernation in the “Ollie Hangar”.

I have no experience traveling with our Norcold in below freezing temperatures. Our Oliver has never seen winter or salted roads and never will as long as we own it for so many reasons. Mainly safety, we don’t pull XPLOR in the winter and we avoid the corrosive salt used on the roads. Here is a quick open source AI answer that may help with your question on the Norcold three way fridge. Hope this helps! Travel Safe! Norcold 3-way RV refrigerators generally struggle to operate properly in extreme cold (below 32∘F 32∘F or 0∘C 0∘C ), often failing to maintain safe temperatures because the absorption cooling system requires a specific heat balance to function. While they may not break, their performance will likely degrade, leading to warmer internal temperatures as the outside ambient temperature drops, often requiring intervention to work properly in freezing weather. Key Considerations and Tips for Cold Weather Operation: Performance Drop: Below 25∘F 25∘F , cooling performance declines significantly, as the mechanism that circulates the ammonia mixture is less efficient. Propane Advantage: Using LP gas (propane) mode is often recommended over electric, as the heat generated by the flame helps keep the boiler/cooling unit operating better in cold temperatures. Ventilation Management: In extreme cold, it is often helpful to block off roughly 75% of the outside refrigerator vents to trap heat, though manufacturers often advise against this for safety reasons. Cold Weather Kit: Some models, such as the Norcold NA7LX, come with or are compatible with a "cold weather kit" (a heating element for the boiler) that allows operation down to 0∘F 0∘F . Preventive Measures: Ensure the fridge is not in direct wind, and keep the interior, especially the freezer, relatively full to help maintain temperatures.

Thank you, very kind of you to offer Chris. We are in really great shape here. Our roads are really iced over and we are well prepped. My bride made a huge pot of black-bean soup with lots of Kentucky Legend smoked ham and a super loaf of homemade double cheese bread. We are set, let the weather roll in!! 😎 Immersion blender in the soup for the finish!