SeaDawg

We have a little guy at home, but don't carry this great ladder on the road. We carry just a small folding three step ladder... Helpful for reaching items in the truck bed, or cleaning windows. Steve (scubarx/outlaw Oliver) has a great telescoping ladder he carries in the closet. Maybe he'll chime in. We've always been able to borrow a taller ladder if we needed it... Which was once, I think. Sherry

Btw, overland, which brand 12v did you select?

We've never owned a danfoss or swing arm compressor 12 volt refrigerator, but have used them in rentals in Australia, and were very happy with the results. Ours used very little battery power. Very common in the boating g world as well. I'll look forward to hearing your comments after you've used yours for a year or two. As for our 3ways, I have found the separate cooler for drinks to be very helpful. I also organize the 3way the same way all the time... Lightweight stuff on the door, leave breathing space near the fins, produce near the bottom, in plastic containers to minimize freezing lettuce, etc. I go into the fridge only a handful of times a day, if possible, to avoid dumping cold, and taking in humid air which hastens the ice buildup. Btw, Reed, Oliver trailers have always had the plastic vent grates. Never had a problem with the hinge. (But then, I don't put heavy items items on the door, and use the counter, not the door, if I need support to get up off the floor on days when my knee acts up.) The bottom tray Reed mentioned would be nice when defrosting and cleaning, too. I use a dishpan, but it doesn't catch everything. Sherry

I'm so sorry, Buzzy. A home without your dog is just so quiet and lonesome. Our four-legged pals bring an abundance of joy to our lives. Sherry

John, thanks for the link. I love vintage trailers (though I love the modern amenities of our Oliver!) Isn't it fun to see how everything old is new again? The poptop teardrop could be a precursor of the Safari condo Alto. The campinia must have been an early relative of the T@b... Tabbert waggenwerks? At any rate, a great way to use a few hours on a chilly winter night.. Sherry

Timing is good... It follows modernism week in palm springs, when special events geared to fans of mid mod architecture and design include special small group tours of mid mod homes. http://www.modernismweek.com/event/249690/ Fans of mid mod homes and trailers could spend a couple weeks there...

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new Oliver, from Florida... Happy travels!

We've camped at Pickett's landing, too, though it was several years ago. Nicer and bigger campsites than Fall Creek falls, but fewer amenities for the non campers. The Ozarks were fun when I was a little girl, but that's decades ago. Too much like Branson now for me, minus the abundance of major entertainment. Too much traffic. We move through there, and on to a coe camp.. If you're thinking about the Ozarks, I'd look at Ouachita in Arkansas. Beautiful lake, a number of campground choices, and not as crowded in may. Nor, as commercialized.weve been to several CGS in that area, state, private, and coe. Nice people, for sure. Snakes in the lake not in abundance, probably, in may. Send Larry a pm here, or tag him as Mountanborn on Facebook. That's his stomping ground. He's been to just about every good place in that neck of the woods. Sherry

I don't know how long it's been since you've seen Fall Creek falls SP, but it has it all.... Huge campground, cabins, hotel rooms, pavilions, amphitheater. We attended a free and awesome bluegrass concert there on a weekend night. That said, camping sites are smallish, and not a lot of privacy. It's pricy compared to a lot of Tennessee state parks, because of the many amenities... Buffet breakfast, restaurant, etc. But, it affords a lot of handicap accessibility, too. A number of years ago, we, too, heldva family reunion at Letchworth in new York. One of our very best gatherings. some stayed in campers and RVs, some in cabins, some in the rental homes, others in nearby hotels. All 75 or so of us enjoyed the cookouts in the rented pavilion. It was great. Sherry

Btw, we've seen some of the Aussie extreme campers, as well as a few German built extreme campers, and the California built xp truck camper, which is amazing molded fiberglass, and unbelievably expensive... Several Times more than an oliver. Those vehicles, built to go Patagonia to the Arctic circle, are pretty much bulletproof proof, but even tinier than our small elite I. Not for me. I don't like truck campers. Hat said, truck campers dont have rear tires kicking gravel on the front face. I've read some of your posts. If you want to take an Ollie totally off road in the Yukon or Alaska or similar, you'll want to protect the glass. We have a few minor chips, even with rock tamers and protection. I know you're aware of that. Did you ever find a USA source for that great rock guard someone posted about last year with the full flap? Sherry

Nine years with ours in February. We have replaced the norcold original refrigerator with a domestic. If I had it to do over, I'd have replaced it with a danfoss compressor marine type refrigerator, but we needed a fridge... Next time. And chances are, some time in the next two decades that we hope to keep camping, we will need to fix or replace the domestic... We replaced the original Atwood water heater with a Girard instantaneous. Our choice. Happy there. The original microwave is dead, probably from lack of use. I think I used it three times? We rarely have AC power hookups. Was dumb to order one in the first place. I plan to replace it with a cabinet one of these days. All other systems are go, after almost nine years. Oh, the shroud on the AC unit has some cracks, which we covered with permanent tape, but our unit sits in the sun 24/7/365. I'll order a replacement shroud sometime this summer. By this time, in a sticky, with our miles on mountain roads, we'd be past done on loose cabinetry, leaked EPDM roof, etc. We have delivered brand new RVs that rattled like crazy, and had loose screws rolling on the floor on smooth highways. That said, an Oliver is a high price to pay per square foot, and I'm sure there will never be a slide. (Have to say, I like slides when they actually work, and don't leak, or allow major dust intrusion, or freeze you out at night when it's a bedroom slide, uninsulated, hanging out in freezing air.. I've experienced all the above.. What we got, what you will get, is an incredible handmade, US product, plus an incredible caring US company that does stand behind its product. Tennessee is a long drive for you, but there is so much to explore within a few hundred miles. Worth the trip, if you encounter something odd you can't fix yourself. We go back every year or two or three just to check in, revisit, and see what's new. Good luck on your decision. It's not easy. Sherry

No experience with the Elite II. We have towed our 2008 Elite I with a Volvo Xc90, a short bed Silverado, and the most miles with our current Dodge Ram 1500, a 2008 4wd. We have weighed our trailer and tongue, long ago, at a cat scale. All the vehicles are up to spec. Best towing experience in the mountains is the Dodge. The Volvo was just OK, and wouldn't want to do any challenging mountains with it and the trailer, honestly. The 2005 Silverado was the most nimble, and fun, but no 4x4 , and only two seats. Hence, the Ram. Sherry

Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2017 to you, as well. And, the same to all our Oliver friends. Sherry

We have camped at many sites within 100 miles of Hohenwald. This (Laurel hills lakes) isn't one of them. Their site says primitive camping, which sometimes means just tents. Have you spoken to anyone there? I'll look forward to your review, as experienced campers. Closer to town, and Oliver sales office, is the campground by the Meriwether Lewis monument. Free, big sites, often empty.right off the Natchez Trace parkway. Long walk from one section to the tiny brick lavs. No power or services, but it's free.and, quite beautiful.

We leave a small plastic bin, with a divider, for our friends. Other than obvious grocery store flyers, etc., They throw nothing away. But, first class stacks in front. The prepaid envelopes work well. I got a jury notice in the mail on one of our trips. I was glad that someone I trusted collected our mail. I was able to ask her to open the envelope, and read me the instructions, so that I could defer ( one time automatically accepted here.) We call our mail collector at least weekly, and go through the batch. Since we are set up for electronic payment on most items, it's pretty quick to go through a week's mail. Sherry

Our daughter, or our neighbor and friend of 25 years picks up our mail. We have a large locking mailbox. They both have keys.

Love your ideas, Justin. I'm a big fan of the TinyHome movement, and a fiberglass RV like an Oliver is a truly portable choice, especially for a single person with a scrubs work uniform. In 2008 or 09, I looked into the economics of shipping our Oliver to Europe. We have the original smaller Ollie, so it would fit in many of the European small roads. Our idea was to ship it, not our truck, buy a Volvo xc90 on the European delivery plan, and leave the camper near one of my relatives in Norway. Repeat the next year(s). Also looked into a French made lease tow vehicle, which is quite economical. (See ideamerge) I actually spent a lot of time on tracking down insurance, licensing, and retrofits (different propane fittings, cassette toilet, etc), and finally said no. Better to rent a cabin, and lease a car, or cabin camp and hostel our way around .... Our Oliver has been wonderful in the USA and Canada. When we camp foreign, we rent cabins, hostels,houseboats, apartments, or, in Australia and new Zealand, small motorhomes, or camper vans. By the time you get to that point, your trailer will be paid for. With the money you save by living small and debt free, you will have choices. Best of luck. Oh, and thanks. You now have me looking at Iceland camping sites. Only spent two nights there in cabins, on a stopover to Norway, and so beautiful.... Sherry

So, a brief update. I contacted the admin, who said he built a generous 48 hour editing window into the perameters. Doesn't explain why my first test post didn't show edit under my user only alternate profile... It works for me now. I did, however, build that user profile on the first day of the new board, and updated it last night after my first test. Perhaps that made a difference. If the post you wish to edit is older than 48 hours, you will have to ask a mod to change it. Canoe12, will you look for the edit button on your next new post, and let me know if you see it? Thanks. Sherry

I think John's idea of the remote thermometer is very good. A friend of mine uses one in her refrigerator in hot weather. At least you would know what you're dealing with, allowing you to stop and run the furnace. My biggest concern would be the outdoor shower area, and the water heater. Sherry

And for those of you with privacy concerns, I cannot, as a mod see your password. That is protected. I couldn't even see my own on my secondary account. I still had to go through the forgotten password protocol even on my own account. That is the same . Even mods cannot read your password. Sherry

I don't honestly know, Reed, since I haven't logged into my alternate non mod test account in months. I know what I saw earlier this evening. Quote, thanks, reply, right after I posted my test post. As of about an hour ago, with a new test, I got edit, quote, reply. With which, I am happy. I see a different screen under my mod account. Happy camping. Sherry

As of a few hours ago, i believe canoe12 was correct. Thanks, quote, and reply were the only buttons available to me when I posted a test under a user / not moderator account I created. I emailed our admin, and i believe he added edit, in place of thanks, I guess, as none of us thank ourselves. I requested editing for 24 hours, as many of us make a few typos, and would like to correct ourselves. 24 hours is the limit on most boards on which I'm a member, and I think that's fair. If you experience a true duplicate post (as many of us have, especially if we hit submit several times , and impatience wins, while waiting for our posts to appear...), or wish to delete your post in its entirety, please pm me or one of the other active mods. I, at least, don't look around for delete messages in the body of a post. If your post has follow up replies, it becomes a tougher zone. My personal feeling is I shouldn't delete follow up comments without permission from all posters. So, if a post becomes a thread, deleting the starter post makes the comments confusing and irrelevant, I likely won't delete it. Please bear in mind that moderators are volunteers, contributing for the love of camping. We are not always available immediately, as we are campers, too, and sometimes, at least in my case, out of touch for days at a time. None of us receive compensation for our efforts. We love camping, love our Olivers, and do the best we can. Thank you for your understanding. Happy camping. Sherry

So, for now, those instructions are useless. I'm sorry.. under the old forum format you could edit or delete your own post for at least 24 hours. I'll see what can be done about that. In the meantime, if you need to delete a duplicate post, pm me. Sherry

Well, thanks for letting me know that. I see only my mod version of the screen. No wonder I have received a number of requests to delete duplicate posts. Thanks for the info, canoe 12.

Good info. Thanks, Steve