SeaDawg

Looks like you and Reed started a grand adventure when you picked up your Ollie. Have fun, and safe travels. Thanks for your posts along the way!

So small, and so insignificant, til you need them. Like fuses and spare bulbs. We always carry a few. Thanks, Larry.

By mid August, we are somewhere north of the Mason Dixon, seeking relief from summer heat and Florida humidity. North Carolina, or Canada. Thanks for the map. We'll try to be close to the track. And, happy birthday! ? What a way to celebrate!

Thanks for the map. By mid August, we are usually done with with the Florida heat and humidity, and already moved north. Sometimes in the Carolina mountains, sometimes Canada. We'll try to be in a spot on or near the track. Sherry

Honestly, if you can, go. I would offer to help. I love camping in the down under. Been there twice, and I can't wait to return. No, we didn't float the Oliver over. where we camped, our rented , very basic, Apollo camper van, was enough for two. I looked into it , but too expensive, and impractical to ship the Oliver, plus , the door is on the wrong side. With the shoulder season rates, and 35 plus days discount, there is absolutely no reason to try to bring a foreign camper to down under. Not to mention, all kinds of things we take for granted don't exist in Australia. That would be a much longer post. I m just going with, go if you can. And spend at least six weeks.

This may be old school, as I'm older than many here. A friend who worked with propane told me that propane, like gasoline, is tempered to the climate. If we camp at higher elevations in NC, we fill a bottle locally at tractor supply and work off that. Unlike many, we don't use the automatic switchover. We like to know what we have, like the old days. Here in Florida, we camp at close to zero . In NC, we camp above 3000. We live off the local gas for the most part. Do any of you know better?

One more thought. Our TST system gives us a temperature readout for each tire. Probably most of them do now, but it's a great feature. You'll normally see a rise in temp as the daytime temp rises, and road friction raises the air temp in the tire, but a very sudden spike could indicate a bearing problem. It's reading the air, not the hub temp, but it at least can make you aware before a major issue.

As an example, Quartz Lake, south of Fairbanks, on midsummer's Eve was uncrowded on a weeknight. $15, I think, so close to free. Pit toilets, very clean . The locals use the boat launch on the weekends, so I would try for an early summer weeknight, or you'd be sandlot, side by side. No other amenities. The lovely camphosts live there in a dry cabin. They have a huge water tank in the back of their truck for their use, and sell cheap firewood. They drive 40 miles each way for showers. I told them about our portable ecotemp shower unit that we use on our private camping acreage in the woods.

Well, let's call it a leave of absence. I'll be back, after the next two big trips. And I'll post enough photos to bore the heck out of everyone. Wish I could be in Melbourne on Saturday. I can't even explain my emotions when watching the big ships take off.

Top gun, kind of a leave of absence? I'll be back. I truly have some big trips ahead, sailing and camping, that will take me out of the loop for months. I promise I'll be back, and post enough photos to bore the heck out of everyone. Sure wish I could be at jetty park on Saturday! Sherry

Great video, John. Thanks. You'll easily be able to up the average on free or almost free nights from 1 out of three to 2 or 2.5 out of three with shared pointer from other travelers and park rangers. In Alaska and the Yukon, you'll only have to stay in an RV park if you want to. The Milepost is helpful, but tends to ignore a lot of free places, with much better views than the RV parks. A few items I'd throw into a miscellaneous category would include travel health insurance if your policy doesn't cover you in Canada, ferries if you want to see part or all of the inside passage with the locals, and for those of us who partake, the high prices for alcohol. Sean was right, the grocery prices in outlying areas are really high, and not a very great selection. Stock up in the bigger towns. Canadian superstore s and Fred Meyer stores are pretty reasonable, and Canadian beef is excellent on the campfire. Looking forward to this year's trip. Sherry

A very good video, surely worthwhile to watch if planning a first trip to Alaska. A few items I'd add to a miscellaneous category: insurance. Make sure your insurance policies cover you in Canada. If not, travel medical insurance can be purchased very reasonably. Ferries can also be pricey, and, reservations often need to be made ahead of time. Not that you have to take the inland passage ferry, but it is a beautiful ride. You can easily beat the 1 out of 3 nights of free or low cost camping. Especially in Alaska and the Yukon, and the views from some Alaska pullouts and almost free Yukon territorial parks will be much finer than high priced RV parks. Sherry

A belated happy Valentine's day to both you. Your Oliver looks good on you. Hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed ours, for nine years Safe wandering, and happy travels. Sherry

I will agree, to the extent, that Oliver has never let me down, in nine years of experience with this amazing family owned company. I can't blame current and future owners for anxiety. That's totally understandable. An Oliver then, and now, is a significant chunk of change. However, I can tell you that in nine years, I have never seen a problem left unresolved. Not one. And I m not talking about my own. I've been a mod for over nine years. I have seen it all. It may not be a quick as we would like to see, but especially when it's not an Oliver manufactured subsystem, it can take some time. I'm confident you'll get a resolution. The gaskets weren't theirs. They make an amazing trailer, but some components aren't theirs. That's true of any rv. I will go out on a limb, and tell you, I have never seen this company leave anyone less than satisfied. It's the way they work. Once you're in, you're part of the family. Picked up my trailer nine years ago, next week. It's still beautiful, sturdy, good for several decades more. Frankly, I had opportunies to sell it for my purchase price. And , honestly, I have never worked with an RV company with more integrity, and heart. I'll tell you another small story. My cousin's major brand 300k motorhome had a list of over 100 warranty items just to put it into perspective. None of them drivetrain or engine related. PS, I too am thinking of dropping out of the forum for awhile. I love my 2008 trailer. I love many of the contributors, but I have a lot going on in my life besides virtual friends and forums. And, when I travel, keeping up with the posts is expensive for me. I travel a lot beyond the US borders. I would like to travel without spending my mobile data on the forum. That's if I can access data..... We love the wilderness. The Canadian Yukon is one of our favorite camping territories. I honestly love the tranquility of no cell, no service. No offense. We will spend a month or two there again this year. Sherry Sherry

I will agree, to the extent, that Oliver has never let me down, in nine years of experience with this amazing family owned company. I can't blame current and future owners for anxiety. That's totally understandable. And I would never minimize their experience. It's annoying, today the least. An Oliver then, and now, is a significant chunk of change. However, I can tell you that in nine years, I have never seen a problem left unresolved. Not one. And I m not talking about my own. I've been a mod for over nine years. I have seen it all. It may not be as quick as we would like to see, but especially when it's not an Oliver manufactured subsystem, it can take some time. I'm confident you'll get a resolution. The gaskets weren't theirs. They make an amazing trailer, but some components aren't theirs. That's true of any rv. I will go out on a limb, and tell you, I have never seen this company leave anyone less than satisfied. It's the way they work. Once you're in, you're part of the family. Picked up my trailer nine years ago, next week. It's still beautiful, sturdy, good for several decades more. Frankly, I had opportunies to sell it for my purchase price. And , honestly, I have never worked with an RV company with more integrity, and heart. And, I've been involved with RVs since 1977. I'll tell you another small story. My cousin's major brand 300k motorhome had a list of over 100 warranty items just to put it into perspective. None of them drivetrain or engine related. PS, I too am thinking of dropping out of the forum for awhile. I love my 2008 trailer. I love many of the contributors, but I have a lot going on in my life besides virtual friends and forums. And, when I travel, keeping up with the posts is expensive for me. I travel a lot beyond the US borders. I would like to travel without spending my mobile data on the forum. That's if I can access data..... We love the wilderness. The Canadian Yukon is one of our favorite camping territories. I honestly love the tranquility of no cell, no service. No offense. We will spend a month or two there again this year. Sherry

Back in July, 2011, my husband and I got up at 2 am to drive across Florida to see the last space shuttle launch from pad 39a at Kennedy space center. Saturday, a little after 10 am our time, SpaceX is scheduled to launch a shuttle supply rocket from this pad. First launch on that pad, I understand, since 2011. If you haven't seen a launch, it's really an amazing, awe inspiring experience. You don't have to be at the space complex to see it. Lots of people line the roads in a few miles radius. We never experienced it, but I've been told by camping friends that the view from jetty park campground is especially awesome. In the old days, we could often see the rooster tail from here on the west coast on a clear day, when the shuttles launched. I'll be watching the sky from the boat deck Saturday morning. Sherry

Explorer/Buzzy, We all miss you. Enjoy your sabbaticals from your work, and the forum. You've been a great friend to many here, including me. All of us have tremendous regard for your contributions. Enjoy your time with your new puppy, and time with your family. :) All my best, Sherry

Personally, I've had a few emergencies in places where the major language isn't English, Spanish, or other languages I have studied. Like our blowout in French speaking rural Quebec. We're getting ready for a long trip, and most of our friends traveling with us only speak English. I was so happy to find that Google translate now works offline. I tested it in a couple languages that I read, and it's decent. I'm helping all our friends traveling with us download it, free, and set their phones up to use it. Without data or wifi. Speech to text, or text to text.. Also, I can hold my android phone over a document, and I see an immediate approximate translation. This can be a huge help, when you have no wifi, and don't know the local language. If you are thinking about traveling to French speaking provinces, or Mexico, and don't speak the language I would definitely look at it. And, did I mention, it's a free app? Sherry

In 2011, in rural Quebec, after picking up a bolt in a truck tire ( truck pressure monitor system alerted us to the problem before we lost the tire and rim), and dealing with the issue in my very limited French, we decided it would be a good idea to install a Tpms for the trailer tires as well. We chose the early TST system. Best ratings then. We bought three of the monitors, to always have a spare. As we were replacing our 40k tires anyway, we got the metal valves. The older style monitors do not have a user replaceable battery, but have a great seal. Last summer, I had to send one in for replacement, five years later. $20 or 30 plus shipping got us a rebuilt tire mounted monitor, plus they reprogrammed the display unit, as well. Nice people, great customer service, and quick turnaround. I give them 5 stars plus, from my experience. Sherry

Roughly six years ago, we got the TST system, after we got a bolt in a Rick tire, which the truck system alerted us to, in time to save not only the tire, but the rim. We were in rural Quebec, French speaking, but a young guy in the next business managed to send us to a tire repair place in an "English" town nearby. We bought the TST system because it had the best ratings then. We bought three tire monitors, to have a spare. Their customer service has been excellent. We have the earlier sealed units, without the capability of user replaceable battery. The factory has to replace batteies. <p style="text-align: left;">Last year, I had to send in another monitor. Beverly suggested I send in the display unit, too, and they programmed for us. $20 or $30, plus shipping, and a renewed unit, including programming, in less than a week.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Im quite happy with their products, and service.</p> <p style="text-align: left;">Sherry</p>

I reread my post. I believe I need to add some clarification here. I sent the link to Jason because I know that Oliver employees rarely visit our forum, except for the forum administrator who maintains the software of our site. I felt it would be helpful to Jason to read the wealth of detailed experience of our affected members, and be able to share that information with his vendor. I did not mean that members who have a problem with the gaskets should refrain from writing letters or emails with supporting detail, and photos. On the contrary, in my experience in working with my vendors, I found that the more information that was given me by my customers, in writing, the easier it was to resolve the problem with my vendors. Email works best for me, as it's easier to group and sort, and maintain a timeline, now that I am retired and on the "other side of the desk." And, easier for follow-up. As Jason may choose to share this thread with his vendor, as he works through the problem experienced by so many, keeping our posts factual and concise, as we have seen by the owners on this thread will be of benefit. We all realize that you have a concern, bugbite. That's perfectly understandable. However, after nine years of ownership, and wonderful after the sale service from them, I am confident that Oliver will handle this issue, as well. Let's just make it easier for everyone to read the thread, and keep to the facts and details. Thanks

I reread my post. I believe I need to add some clarification here. I sent the link to Jason because I know that Oliver employees rarely visit our forum, except for the forum administrator who maintains the software of our site. I felt it would be helpful to Jason to read the wealth of detailed experience of our members, and be able to share that information with his vendor. I did not mean that members who have a problem with the gaskets should refrain from writing letters or emails with supporting detail, and photos. On the contrary, in my experience in working with my vendors, I found that the more information that was given me by my customers, in writing, the easier it was to resolve the problem with my vendors. Email works best for me, as it's easier to group and sort, and maintain a timeline, now that I am retired and on the "other side of the desk." And, easier for follow-up. As Jason will likely be sharing this thread with his vendor, as he works through the problem experienced by so many, keeping our posts factual and concise, as we have seen by the owners on this thread who have the faulty gaskets, will be of benefit. We all realize that you have a concern, bugbite. That's perfextly understandable. However, after nine years of ownership, and wonderful after the sale service from Oliver, I am confident that Oliver will handle this issue, as well. Let's just make it easier for everyone to read the thread, and keep to the facts and details. Thanks

I sent Jason a link to this thread yesterday, so that he could see the large number of people affected. I heard back from him, saying that he would respond in the forum. He is still working with the manufacturer. Sorry I didn't post this earlier, but I have such a speed issue with the forum today that it's hard to even open posts. I believe Jason is involved in the Luekens' trailer delivery today. Sherry

Thanks, John.That's really nice of you to offer. I will pm you if this years route does take us that way. It's a part of the Northwest that I've not seen. Paul's work took him coastal, and last trip I celebrated camping in Oregon and Washington states, my last two states to visit. That's really nice. Better yet, by then, you will probably have your Oliver, and we can camp at bowl and pitcher together? I'm a pretty fair campfire cook. Let's do dinner together one night, at least. Sherry

John, Your kids are so cute. 2002? I missed your photo the last post. Our daughter loves RV and tent camping, because that's how we roll... We're getting ready right now for a big sailing trip, but I will try to set up the link you requested. We've been to all 50;states, though lots of things still to see. A few Canadian provinces left. And a few Australian states to see. And half of new Zealand. There's a relatively new qantas nonstops from Dallas to Sydney on the giant Airbus. It was a great flight. So big and quiet I only knew we took off or landed by looking out the window. Yes, it's about 18 hours, but I slept at least 12 of it. Just an FYI, if you're thinking about doing the trip again. That's our bucket list, mostly. Other than camping through Iceland in a camper van. Next year? And visiting my Norwegian relatives again in western Norway.