SeaDawg

Happy new year, and congratulations! Love the name you chose for your Ollie! We have friends in the valley (Rockbridge county), and we've spent a number of weeks camping in Virginia and the Shenandoah. It is so very beautiful. Lucky you to have so many great places to visit, right at the doorstep.

I might still consider the electric bilge heaters an additional option. The furnace doesn't run continuously for us, even when it's in the 20s, so the bilge heaters should just kick on when you need them, at 40 degrees. Especially if you camp with electricity when it's really cold, it would be a nice alternative. The xtreme is pretty quiet, imo. As I said, we've only used ours once or twice, but they're really well built, above uscg specs, and very well regarded on boating forums. The price tag is kind of painful, but so is plumbing repair.

Oops, I was posting at the same time as Minnesota oli.

There have been a number of other owners who've made modifications to more efficiently heat the space between the hulls. Here's a link to one if Nceagle's discussions: Minnesota Oli documented his extensive mods really well in this thread.

Maybe if you get a set like Ina Garten's lockdown shaker and martini glass?

There are several owners of older Elites who installed the Xtreme heaters back in 2008/2009. (We also have one, but have only used it once or twice.) I think @bugeyedriver has two of them in his Elite.

Wow! He even got the snorkel. What a wonderful gift.

Christmas goes on for several days in our family. Christmas eve day brunch included ham, fruit, smoked salmon, eggs, and vaffler, those norwegian heart shaped waffles that we all love. Dinner used to be traditional fish, or oyster stew. This year, prime rib on the smoker, perfect medium rare. Tomorrow, brunch/early dinner at my Florida sister's. I'll bring the quiches. We'll not do lutefisk and lefse, but I'm sure that's on my Minnesota sister's menu . We feel blessed to enjoy tradition and new, and, more importantly, enjoy the company of family and friends.

This is a pretty special song for us. It was on our tree decorating cd for years. This was the "dance break" song for me, my mother in law, and my daughter. Every year, the tree had a heavy amount of ornaments at my mil's height/ reach. A few got dropped. No big deal. We had so much fun, and I really miss those days. And I miss my tiny, sweet mother in law, with her big spirit, and beautiful smile. Merry Christmas.

This was taken several years ago, in WNC.

That really depends on the person. The small dinette is roughly 24 x 72, so physically possible, yes. This is about the size of the seat (not arms) of a standard 4 seater sofa, or a standard sleeping bag. Someone who sleeps restlessly, or starfish sleeper, would have a hard time. I'd personally be ok with it. I would, however, likely make a quilted pad and velcro it to the side of the hull at night. Back in the day, Oliver offered a twin bed plan for the Elite, with a slightly wider bed at the rear, and the 24" side bunk, which allowed for an additional cabinet, and a fold down table. I knew two couples ( @ScubaRx and a couple from Texas) who had the twins. Scubarx upsized to the Elite II. The couple from Texas kept theirs a few years, and traded for a 5th wheel. His wife was never a fan of compact campers. A friend of mine converted her Casita (similar floorplan) to two twins to take her handicapped friend camping. She adapted the full size bed in back to a 39" twin for her friend, and took the smaller bed for herself. This opened up the cabin space a little to make it easier on her friend. Maybe scubarx will chime in with his thoughts.

I saw the levelmate pro on @Mike D.'s trailer. Pretty sweet gear. If I were traveling alone, I'd probably get one.

Great if you post it here. Have you been happy with the Thule hullavators? It seems like a great solution for those who are shorter and/ or older. Love to hear your feelings.

I think you realize from many posts, this is actually untrue. And, probably, just a kneejerk reaction to your post being hidden. It was not deleted.. We look for improvements, through honest reviews and comments. We have never, ever deleted or hidden a "problem with a trailer" post. We have, from time to time, hidden posts for moderator discussion that we felt could possibly trigger a firestorm of political commentary. We're here to share ideas on improvements (as you have, many times) , share camping sites and fun, and sometimes, joke around, as well. Your many posts have been very valuable, to me and others. I would like you to reconsider @katanapilot bowing our of the forum. We really, truly just try to avoid politics on this forum.

Awesome setup, @Time2Go! I'd love to see a photo of your truckbed, loaded for camping. You two are definitely prepared for adventures.

Actually, yes, at least some of them. I've heard some can even manage a ladder, with enough incline. 😯 Every year, there are reports of Floridians finding a gator in the pool or patio. (They can also dig under fences.)

That topper looks really nice, @Mountainman198. Is it an ARE?

We love the Bed Rug in the ram.

I think that's an excellent point, for those who carry expensive bikes.

@Boudicca908, will the truck also be your daily driver? How much "stuff" do you want to carry? I have no bed cover on my Silverado. Paul has an undercover, easy on, easy off (for two people) rigid cover on the Ram. As a daily driver, I'd dislike a cap, though it looks really good, and gives a lot of storage height. It also weighs more than a rigid cover like the undercover .

Yeah, but sometimes you've got to bring in the big dogs. And most parks frown on that...

Today, it's a view of the back yard. Here's a shot from 2009. Ontario. Superior park. Our first trip through Canada with the Ollie. (We have an awning rear window in the older Ollies. ) I wouldn't ever want a trailer without a rear window.

@Kirk Peterson, I don't have a portable gas oven, so I can't really recommend any particular brand. Please let us know if you find something you like. My idea has always been gas is extremely reliable, and doesn't draw down batteries. This past year, I've been studying small wood stoves for our cabin, that I could cook on in cool weather, and we could still enjoy the ambience of the flames on cool nights. When I was a little girl on the Minnesota farm, my neighbors had a kitchen wood stove. Marie made amazing meals on that big stove, and many years later, I still remember them. (They were stubborn, and still farmed with horses, long, long after everyone else bought tractors...) I'm kind of thinking something like the UK built Salamander little range. Might be a tough 🤔 convincing job, though, as it's pretty pricey. But, I love cooking with fire, and, well, my husband loves to eat what I cook.