SeaDawg

My set didn't come with the carrying case, but I see one is available separately. For those of you who have the case, does it allow you to nest the full set without the useful but annoying bungee cord, and still zip the case? It would be very nice to be able to use the pans without fighting the cord each time. I often use these twice a day on the boat, but they have to be nested to fit in the cabinet behind my stove. Also, I see a wok/omelet pan available on amazon, that supposedly nests with the rest of the set. My deep wok skillet is one of my favorite skillets at home. The magma version looks like it's not very deep, but at least it could supplement the single saute pan included in the set when cooking breakfast. Anyone have this skillet?

We also have the Magma nonstick version, which usually stay on the boat. To protect the coating underway, I used to separate the pots with thin microfiber cloths from Harbor Freight. Then, I picked up sets of asterisk shaped felt pot protectors on a camping trip to Iceland at the IKEA. A set could easily and cheaply be made from a yard of polyester felt, sized for your specific pots.

Yes, it can be very normal. In 40 plus years of fiberglass hull ownership (boats and trailers), we've seen a lot of gelcoat cracks . Gelcoat doesn't have the same strength of the underlying mat and roving plus resin. Gel's both more brittle, and more beautiful. Stresses like a rock dings, dropped tool, excessive flexing from standing in the wrong spot, or overtighted fastener can cause a spider crack in gelcoat. On a rare occasion, a tiny void pocket beneath , in the fiberglass, can cause a crack above with flex or extreme thermal expansion. The good news is, it's almost always just cosmetic, and doesn't really affect anything. And pretty easy to repair, especially where yours are, on the roof, out of sight. Unless it's really deep, or you live in an extreme climate zone, (or, it's below the waterline as happens on our boats) it probably will never cause any underlying issue. It's disappointing, I know, but pretty easily repaired. I'd probably get a gelcoat repair kit, and do it myself, if it's on the roof, out of view. Unless you're still under warranty. Then, call Oliver Sherry

There are some smaller trailers and boats out there with only one waste tank. I believe Airstream's nest is one of them, probably because it was originally designed to carry a portapotty or cassette toilet, though it now has a standard rv toilet, flushing to a very small combined grey/black. My understanding is that in these joint systems, the single tank is designated as black, and has to be dumped in a designated dump station. I don't know what the argument would be for you, with solids directed to the composting nh, but I can say I probably wouldn't welcome grey with urine in my garden. Yes, I know human urine is supposedly 99 per cent sterile. 😁 The other thing is, over the years, I have found grey and black tankage capacity more limiting than fresh water capacity. I supplement the fresh tank with potable water in several square, stacking 5 gallon jugs with a spigot for refilling water bottles, making coffee, cooking, even heating water in a tea kettle to do dishes. With these methods, and navy showers, using cg sinks, and using the cg toilets and showers when possible, we can really stretch time between dumps, and taking on fresh. Just my thoughts. We don't (as yet) have a composting toilet in either the rv or the boat, so still just thinking/pondering. Looking forward to seeing what you decide to do, and photos of your implementation. Sherry

Fwiw, if I had a composting toilet ( and I don't), and I wanted to utilize the black tank, I think I would look at directing the urine to the black tank, along with the grey water from the bathroom sink. Understanding that I would run the risk of voiding some warranties, i think it would likely be the simplest plumbing, and most hygenic use of a tank designated and situated for black contents. A number of rvs dump vanity sink to the nearby black tank, as do many boats. Adding the sink water to dilute the urine could possibly minimize the odor. Keep the vent. Dump less frequently. My thoughts. Sherry

6' meets the cdc guidines, from what i have read. we'll probably all keep a bit more distance, for awhile.

Anywhere but Walmart is often best. Got that. 😁

We have several kinds of marine latches on the boat. The kind that you have to put your finger into are scary on a boat, underway, as you can break a finger with a lurch from a breaking sea or crazy wake from a passing uneducated boater. All of them work,properly installed. Especially in a trailer, where no one is operating uderway. The ones that have given me the most problems, in Australian campers, are the exposed push buttons, in rvs. Little knobs that pop out. And seem to do so on bumpy roads, without human intervention. Sherry

And, uv light (sunshine) is the great sanitizer. Open air is very healthy. Just another reason I love camping. With or without corina virus. My pioneer relatives lived mostly into their 90s, without benefit of modern medicine. Country life is good, or , at least, so said my grandfather. He was probably right. Sherry

Added a small canister of wipes for gas pump handles to the cab, to supplement the hand sanitizer that i always keep in the door pocket. Camping in your own trailer is probably the safest way to travel today, I think. Sherry

That mod makes a lot of sense.

I'm one of those who cooks mostly outside, on a wood fire whenever possible. It's what we like. We've also used a gas grill, and a pocket rocket. We don't usually have power, so microwave is a nonstarter, and reheats and sometimes toast, are done on the fire, or in a lidded pan on the stove in the Ollie. For us, the original Ollie three way fridge could hold food for two, for about two weeks, if I stored things like tomatoes, onions, potatoes etc., outside the fridge, which is actually best, anyway. I process (clean and cut) celery and carrots, etc. and store in smaller containers or bags in the fridge. It's not that hard, really, in my opinion. The smaller freezer ( shoebox size) in my replacement 12v truck fridge makes frozen veggies and meat/ fish a bit of a challenge. But still doable. We shop whenever in town. I also carry shelf stable boxed milk and tinned cream, so that helps, on longer camping trips. Sherry

I think Good Sam's is underwritten by several companies, depending on your state and policy type.

Good Sam's gives us a credit if we notify them that the trailer is off the road and in storage at our home. I think this is limited to once a year, but not sure of that.

Jo, from some of your other comments on other threads, I'm guessing you boaters. We are , too. And, weve camped in tents, vans, and a variety of motorhomes. The Oliver ( and we have the little one), is both big and small enough for everything we want to do on two week to three month trips. Cozy and warm on crummy weather days, it lives really big on the outside. Inside, we have everything we need, in a compact floorplan. It's been a great 12 years traveling with our Ollie in the US and Canada.. Looking forward to the next 12. I would say, if you plan to camp in buggy areas for extended periods, a good quick deploy screen room would be nice. Sherry

The ac in pretty much every rv we've ever used is "noisy". They're all roof mounted, so the vibration travels. I don't think the ac in the oliver is any noisier than it is in the rvs we deliver to alaska. Though the location of the ac, over the bed, may make it seem so. Some people call it good white noise for sleeping. We rarely use ac, as we don't camp where we have electricity to run it. The furnace is more important to me than ac. 🙃 Sherry

Looks like Lucas and Joie had a great time. Glad you did, too. Happy travels! Sherry

Mike, I saw a Nexgrill today at Costco, about the same size as the Weber q1000, but two 304 stainless burners, shielded by horsehoe shaped covers, piezo ignition, cast aluminum body. Cast iron grates, which weren't super heavy, but probably close to the weight of the Weber's. So, theoretically, two zones, 6500 btu each, much higher btu than the q1000. $129 in my store, $139 delivered, including shipping from costco. Com. Recent reviews were overall good, even from Weber owners. Older reviews complained about the unshielded burners, and food sticking to the grates, primarily. I suspect they've made some changes to the product, at least for Costco. With Costco's generous return policy, I don't think I'd be afraid to give it a try. I didn't look, but I'd guess it's made in China. Or elsewhere offshore. Anyone bought a Nexgrill Fortress portable grill recently? Sherry

As to the question about lines at the dump station, that's usually worst on Sunday, around checkout, when weekend campers are leaving . And other days, around checkout time is lighter than Sunday, but busier than early morning. Leaving on a weekday, early, is pretty much golden. And, seriously, no one has ever, ever honked or acted impatient, that I've seen. Honestly, if in doubt, someone behind you will probably help you. Just ask. My mother in law told me that when she and poppy flew to California and picked up their Dolphin camper in the 70s, they were surprised at how helpful fellow campers were, as they knew "zero,". I don't think much has changed. We're all pretty willing to help.

Hi, Nan. I want to find a way to do the lagun mount in the small dinette, that won't be in the way, and will allow me to use the small dinette tabletop as a standup , counterheight, foldout top for prep and work. I think i may have figured it out. The issue is the small space, and no access for backing plate and bolts on an older trailer on the street side. Our south side compartment is chock full of electronics,chargers, etc.. I may be able to mount it on the north side, outboard, and still have room for our legs under the table. We keep the big dinette set up as a bed. The small dinette is our only indoor table. Maybe, Another few mornings of coffee in the trailer, thinking and sketching, will get me there. And then, time . This year, we're upgrading 200 watts of solar on the trailer to 400, and adding 600 watts solar and a hardtop bimini to the boat. We've exhausted time, mostly on the boat, with solar and a dozen other repairs and upgrades to our 40 year old fiberglass boat. And, weve had dozens of northern houseguests-friends and family- very welcome visitors who have interrupted the processes, but we wouldn't have it any other way. I'll look forward to your photos of Foy's table top. He does such beautiful work! We're so fortunate to have him in our group. Sherry

We keep a dozen or so lengths of 2 x 6 lumber in a milk crate in the bed of the truck. Along with our chocks.

The Oliver has wonderful electric jacks, at the tongue, and stabilizer jacks on each side at the rear. Many of us use Andersons, or lengths of 2 x 6, to drive onto to keep the wheels on solid ground if the site is off level. (Which is many/most sites). Many of us also use some spare 2 x 6 stacked chunks, or maybe 6 x 6 chunks, , or purchased plastic bits, to shorten the throw of the electric jacks. Saves battery, saves some time setting up and leaving. Sherry

If you're totally new to the dumping procedure, you might try a suggestion I've made to a few friends. Spend your first few nights at a full hookup site. Get set up, rest a bit, then fill both tanks at least halfway with clean water. Then, try dumping for the first time, at your own site, and at your leisure. We've camped the first few nights with a few new owners ( my sister, neighbors) of different brands, and this has been very helpful to them. Trying out your new dumping procedure with clean water is a bit wasteful, but a heck of a lot lesss intimidating. Should you fail to get the hose on right, oh well. It's all clean, anyway. Jo, full hookups means you have water, sewer, and electric at your site. So, you can dump where you are parked. Newer owners, is the black tank rinse feature standard now?

We won't be at the rally (another Alaska delivery), but we do spend a fair bit of time in western NC. Hope we'll catch up one day. Congratulations . Sherry

Welcome, and hope you find your dream trailer. Found ours 12 years ago, (2008 Oliver Elite), and haven't changed our minds. The Elite is big enough, and small enough, for all we love to do. Sherry Ps, Do you still have horses?