SeaDawg

The jacks are awesome. We still carry some 2 x 8 cutoffs to stack under the jacks for extended throw. Our jacks in the older models may be shorter, I don't know, but we don't like to take the jacks to the limits. So much nicer to touch a button than crank, crank, crank. Sherry

Seadawg... We're sailors. And Paul worked at sea for a long time. It's a family nickname. Sherry

Welcome to the board, Ed & Marsha, The Midwest has some beautiful camping spots. We did about have the great River Road one summer. Loved camping in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I've been in Florida for a long time, but lived in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas before moving here. I miss the open spaces and big sky, but can't say that I miss shoveling the white stuff in the winter. Hope you get to see an Elite II soon. They are beautiful. We've enjoyed our Legacy for seven years this month, and I think it still looks pretty close to brand new. The fiberglass is so easy to maintain. Sherry

We've loved our Oliver 17 for 7 years, 60,000 plus miles, and countless camping nights. If we can help with any specific questions, just ask. Sherry

I don't think all the truck manufacturers have yet adopted the SAE tow rating standards (pretty sure several have not, actually), though Dodge Ram has, and Toyota Tundra adopted it years earlier. I'm not sure at all about the SUVs. I'd ask about the documentation with the dealer if I were looking for a new vehicle right now. Most new trucks have a pretty nice, car-like setup, and a decent ride. But they're a lot bigger these days than they used to be. Today's equivalent of my 2005 Silverado seems enormous to me. Several of the manufacturers are coming out with smaller models of trucks again, and I'm glad to see it finally happen. We really enjoy the extra cargo capacity of a truck with a bed topper, and the four passenger capacity of our Ram 1500. My daily driver Silverado used to be our tow vehicle, and we loved it too, as a tow vehicle, but with only two seats, it was a bit limiting if we wanted to take a passenger or two along to dinner. We're looking forward to a smaller, four passenger diesel pickup in the future. The Ram is 7 years old now, and going strong, so we can wait awhile for the US vehicles to try to catch up the the European and Australian versions of smaller, tough, economical we've seen for years. If I were looking today, I'd probably look for a used pickup like my Silverado or Pete's Taco, or one of the newer smaller pickups, with a good bed cover like our UnderCover. Sherry

Welcome to the board, and congrats on your decision to purchase an Oliver. We love our solar, and how it helps to extend boondocking time.Making our own power also allows us to choose sites without hookups in state, provincial and doe parks, which are often nicer. Or, just good leftover sites because we rarely make reservations when we travel. If we had to choose again, three things I would leave off: the microwave (can't use it because we mostly camp without hookups, and don't use the one at home very much), the quick connect/disconnect for bbq (because we primarily cook on the fire, and often don't even take the bbq grill with us anymore), and the KingDome (cancelled the satellite service after the first year, and never looked back.) I like the antenna idea a lot. We bought a small flat internal antenna just to be able to pick up the local news and weather. Everyone has a different camping style, so my recommendations might not be as helpful for your style. I'd say when in doubt, pre-wire, and add later. Sherry

If you do decide to travel Florida, make sure to pm us. If we are around, we'd love to meet you. We are not far from Tampa. Sherry.

Google says you're 46 and rain right now. Hope your weather improves. it was chilly, but sunny, around 66 here awhile ago. Wishing you safe travels. Sherry

Welcome to the board, Steve. The Ollie is a great addition to your lovely classic travel family... the bus, the Mooney... Wishing you many happy travels. Ask any questions you may have. We're here to help. Sherry

Moving right along, aren't you? Happy travels. Looking for your reports along the Dixie Highway. Sherry

Hello, and welcome to the forum. Sherry

Honestly, Tom, there were more campers this year than I can ever remember at the SuperShow. However, I didn't see much in the way of new and revolutionary. I was curious to see the tiniest molded fiberglass camper, the Little Guy MyPod. Basically a bed on wheels, it looks like a stasis pod from a scifi movie, but on wheels. Perfect for someone moving up from tent camping, I guess. The sales rep said they were mostly sold to people who wanted to tow with a super low capacity tiny car, or a motorcycle. Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBAHLvQHTMk I was also pleased to see that Little Guy has brought the T@b trailer back. I always thought they were a cute design, and LIttle Guy has upped the craftsmanship and layout possibilities. They also make a smaller, "crawlin" version called the T@g, again for folks with practically zero towing capacity, but some creature comforts available... even an outdoor kitchen available. Our neighbors are looking for something really, really small, so I picked up brochures for them. Another brand that was featured, same concept, but no kitchen available, was manufactured in Florida. Sherry

I agree, Steve. Or, just figure out a way to apply some backing in an area to allow use of the table support. The support and the tabletop are sold separately, anyway. I picked up one of the new fibergranite tabletops that Oliver is making for the new models. Sooo light. And so attractive. I love it. Our back tabletop is so heavy that I have a real struggle moving it around by myself. Maybe next year's Christmas gift to the trailer will be new tabletops. Sherry

I know you're looking forward to your pickup date. On the login issue, check to see that the box "log me in automatically on each visit" is still checked when you log in. If it's checked, and you're still having problems, clear your cache, and try again. Ice chest is a big help when we're camping. Beverages stay cold, within reach, as we usually keep the cooler outside, and saves a lot of refrigerator space. We also have a big orange water dispenser from Home Depot that we keep outside. As the ice melts, it becomes cool drinking water. Neither item is necessary for a trip of a few days, but for more than that, it's really helpful. And especially when we camp with tenters who have no refrigeration. On the way home, empty coolers just become storage crates Sherry

No problem. We were happy to bring it with us, as we had planned to visit with you. Great to see you and Betty again, too! Sherry

Dave, this is the water bladder we carry. We bought it several years ago, and I think it was on sale for forty or fifty dollars. I would not try to carry it rooftop as the photo shows, unless I were driving three miles an hour in a campground, level ground. It has worked very well for picking up water in a park, driving home with the bladder in the pickup bed. http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/Portable-RV-Fresh-Water-Tank-45-Gallon/1605/&?&affiliateid=5193&gclid=CN3e56SlksMCFURo7AodgQQAJg I see it's a bit more expensive these days. Sherry Here's our 2008 post after using the portable tank/bladder several times:

Nice detail. I like it. Sherry

Dave, The water bladder we carry is empty, unless we need it. Looks like a crib sized water bed mattress. If we need to refill the fresh water when boondocking/drycamping, we put the bladder in the pickup bed and go to a freshwater source (usually a local park), and fill it and use the switched-over pump to refill the tank in the Oliver. I'll look for the thread where I show how we do that... I posted some photos five or six years ago. There is a switch on the pump system to make it easier to fill from a tank or bladder. And, you're so right... there's an amazing amount of storage in our trailers. It takes awhile to figure out where to put the things you use every day, and where to store lesser used items, etc. I just follow the same principles I used in my dad's rv and trailer, and in our sailboat... heavy items low, light items high, and it all finds a spot.\ Sherry

We have a small rubbermaid trashcan that we keep under the table, like Pam does. Before we travel, I empty it, and place all the cleaning supplies that I keep on the floor by the toilet (windex, black tank deodorizer, lysol, etc.) in the can, and keep it in the shower floor. I wedge other lightweight items on the floor to keep stuff from sliding around... hiking boots, etc. I store mostly lightweight and softer items in the upper cupboards. Clothes packed in soft cubes, paper goods, etc. The back cabinet has black Ikea skubb fabric contrainers, and I keep cereal, chips, crackers, and baked goods up there. Plastic ware goes in one of the small overheads. Heavier items go in the sturdy drawers (canned goods, pots and pans, silverware, etc.). My plates (melmac) and glasses (plastic) go in suction cup shower containers affixed to the wall behind the stove. In the bins under the bed/large dinette seats, I keep only items we rarely use, as they're kind of a pain to get to once the bed is made up. Extra coats and raingear, the water bladder for refilling fresh water, etc. Manuals and a small toolkit are under the small dinette set.Two or three large bins hold extra bedding and towels, and folded clothing items, under the bed. You'll find lots of places, and eventually a pattern so you're not always hunting for an item.

We had directTV for a year, but didn't use it, so cancelled. We bought a small, flat antenna at Walmart that we keep in the big cupboard above the large dinette, and use that if we want to see the local news. There are a surprising number of antenna only channels here in our county. One plays movies all day. We can usually at least get the news wherever we are. Sherry

I got another pm from a member about this campground today. I love this place. And, we continue to take friends and family to the lodge for breakfast for the amazing views. (Go early in the day... view at lunch and dinner is not as good even with the floor to ceiling windows....) If you're thinking about driving and camping the Blue Ridge, this is one stop to not miss. In my opinion. The campgrounds are basically all the same along the Blue Ridge, lots of rhododendrons separating the sites, plenty of privacy, no servces, which is part of the joy, honestly... Lots of quiet, and amazing scenery. Here's a link to more info on Mt. Pisgah cg: http://www.recreation.gov/camping/mount-pisgah-campground/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=75021 Though this is the reservation website, we did not make a reservation anywhere on our tour of the Blue Ridge. We just went. Never had a problem finding sites. Most of the sunblockers want services, and we don't. This site says that showers are now available at Mt. Pisgah. That would be nice. http://www.blueridgeparkway.org/v.php?pg=19 And, finally, here's a link to the National Park Service info on the Blue Ridge. http://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/camping-on-the-blue-ridge-parkway.htm If you do camp at Mt. Pisgah, spend a few days and visit Asheville. Our favorite city, honestly, for food, fun, music, and well, just a lot of energy and old time feel. Along the Blue Ridge, you'll want to stop at the visitor's center near Asheville, where you can enjoy a fifteen minute movie of the building of the parkway, a lot of info on the area and the construction, and tour a very green, modern building on an old, wonderful site. The Craft museum, just a few miles away, is awesome. The Craft guild has rotating and permanent exhibits, showing some of the best of woodworking, quilting, glass blowing and other Highlands crafts. Definitely worth a stop ad an hour or two, Sherry Sherry

Paul and I have decided to dry camp again at the RV Supershow in Tampa, at the Fairgrounds, in January. The show is open to the public 14 to 18th. We really enjoy the comraderie of the dry campers after the show closes. $20 a night for dry camping. An attendant comes around and collects after the show closes. Anyone interested in joining us? We'd love to make it an egg enclave. Especially love it if some more Olivers joined us. Sherry

Steve's link looks like our Harbor Freight tow dolly. Should work to move it around the garage. Works ok on the level parts of our driveway. Our 17 won't fit thru our current garage door. New garage/new house was built with the trailer in mind, 10 ft door, so we can park the Ollie inside if necessary. Sherry

Merry Christmas, and a very Happy 2015 to all our Oliver friends.

We often dry camp there and enjoy the two day pass for the show. We'll see you there. Let us know if you're coming, and when. Sherry