SeaDawg

I just got a flyer in the mail for Camping World's 50th Anniversary sale. Some things aren't much better than their normal "sale prices," but a number of items are 50% off. 8 x 16 patio mat in win/cream or navy /light blue is only $49.97. Our eight year old mat is giving up the ghost, so it may get a replacement next weekend. The sale is January 15-16, in the stores only, members only. If you're a member, you probably received the same flyer. They're also running a buy one, get one free sale on certain items. Not always the first place I shop, but if they have items I need on sale, CW has a far greater selection in its stores than Walmarts. Sherry

Linda, I don't think you could run the heat strip during the day from the battery power. I think it would drain the battery--very quickly. Heat strips operate from major resistance. I've never run my furnace while driving. Don't know if it's recommended. I'd leave the trailer winterized til I got far enough south to avoid hard freezing weather. Use a bit of water from a gallon jug to flush if you use the facilities on the way down, as you said "dry camp". No point in pushing it, and creating problems in your travels. We don't fill fresh water when we come home from North Carolina in November, till we're in Florida. Have a great trip. Sherry

Looking forward to seeing you and Carol again in February, Stan. Hope you have a great trip. Sherry and Paul

Welcome to the forum! I'm originally from Minnesota (but tropical southern Minnesota... you know, the pineapple belt, a hundred miles south of you...) Lots of great camping in Minnesota, and just across the border in Canada, too. Several years back, we took our Oliver over the top of the lakes, coming back into the US in Minnesota. Grand Marais is a great place, especially in July. Spent some time with my brother in Brainerd, and near friends in Minneapolis, along with a few great state parks on that trip. Sherry

Beautiful new Oliver! I love the fabric you selected for the cushions. Looks really sharp. Happy travels, and many miles of smiles, in your new Oliver. Sherry

Mike, I'd put a film on my trailer any day before I opted for bedliner sprayed on my shiny white, eight year old Oliver trailer. Maybe I'd do the film if we took it to Alaska and drove the Denali highway both ways... We've driven that 100 miles of gravel twice in rentals, without incident, but we were in rvs, not towing trailers. We don't have quite as many miles as Pete, but way over 70k, and a lot of gravel roads in our rearview mirror. We slow down on gravel. We also have the big RockTamer mudflaps on the hitch, and they're pretty great. Sherry

Things have changed a lot since we started the forum. Facebook is a much bigger factor now. I don't visit facebook much, though. Thanks, for the link. Sherry

Merry Christmas (eve), We've towed our Oliver about 80,000 miles now, with the oem Bulldog hitch, and factory, standrd electric brakes. We normally tow with a half ton pickup (4x4 Dodge or Silverado), but occasionally with our Volvo xc90. The Volvo we feel, with the 2.5 , 5 cylinder engine, isn't the best choice of our "fleet", since we camp a lot in the mountains. Both trucks are older, but great tow vehicles, and take us where we want to go. if you decide to add a different hitch, and different brakes, I'd be interested in your experience. Most of us change up if our camping experiences doesn't work with the (highly varied) factory lineup we bought. As far as mods, we have a fairly extensive collection on the forum already. Some have been adopted, others not, others as an addon at additional cost. I will say that the Oliver folks are far more receptive than most in the rv world. But don't be disappointed if they don't get excited about ta new hitch, or new brake idea. You can always change it, for a fairly decent cost, and report back. If other owners haven't asked for the same mod/idea, they may be reluctant. The two you have posted about are fairly inexpensive changes, for you. Changing hitch or brakes for Oliver, would require, I think, some engineering (costplus time) involvement on their part. I don't work for them, so.... Maybe , maybe not. Bring up your ideas, if you like the trailer, and see what they say. And, you can always be the pioneer. We've been there. Sometimes, its cheaper to mod on your own, than ask the factory to do it. You'll just have to see what the outcome and response is for your idea. A one=off is always more expensive than a standard option. Sherry

Ruby, Two-sday? Sherry

Congrats on your new Oliver! What a great early Christmas present. We wish you many happy miles, and wonderful camping experiences. Sherry and Paul

Merry Christmas, Larry and Betty! And a very Merry Christmas to all our friends on the forum. Sherry and Paul

We'd love to do that some year, but have company coming into town that week. Sherry

"...rusting metal sticking up out of the harbor, with tiny droplets of oil coming to the surface, much like the remains of the Arizona was sobbing quietly in grief" Beautifully stated. Thank you for sharing the memories, and help us to honor this day. Sherry

Looking great!

Bummer about losing the tire. We discovered how valuable tire sensors are in one of our first trips with the Dodge 4 x 4, which has sensors. The sensor light came on, and Paul pulled of the road immediately. We found a huge bolt in our rear tire, but the local tire shop was able to repair it because we caught it early. Those big tires are pricey, and we were really happy. (Also lucky to find a tire shop where the owners spoke English.) After that, we installed a tire sensor system on the trailer tires. I have a thread on here from years back. We've had great customer service from them over the years. We do carry one spare sensor in case one fails. The factory swaps it out, but you have to send yours in to get the replacement. (Free under warranty, I think about $20 or so after warranty.) I also noticed that Northern Tool has their system on sale right now for only $99, but it has only two reviews. One five star, one 1 star... a real split there, and I've never seen it, so I can't recommend. At least Northern Tool has a good refund policy if it doesn't work out of the box. (And, if you buy something else for $1, there's a free $10 gift card on a $100 purchase.) Sherry

LOL. Wish we had a like button. How'd the smoked turkey turn out? We've done turkeys in a fryer, smoker, rotisserie, and the traditional home oven. Never tried the trash can turkey, nor the chain over open fire, but maybe one of these years. Hope everyone had a great day. Sherry PS We were at home, and did a traditional oven roasted turkey.

To all our friends, old and new, on the forum, we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving Day! Sherry and Paul

As much as the tours are tempting, we love the Oliver we own. We'll probably be the guys on the forum ten years from now, telling you how great an almost 20 year old Oliver still works. (Ours turns 8 in three months.) Lots of miles, hundreds of camping nights, and we still love it like we did the first night in Alabama. Hope you feel the same, eight years later. It's a great little trailer, and a great little company. Sherry PS on our way home this year, we retraced much of our path of picking up the Oliver in February, 2008. Kind of nostaligic. The rocket is still at the Alabama welcome center on 65. The Oliver still towed great. 3rd tow vehicle, same trailer.

Linda, at 40 or higher, you really don't need to do anything. However, I lived in northwest Iowa, and southern Minnesota, most of my early life. If I were storing my trailer, even in a heated facility, I would winterize, just to be sure. It doesn't take that long to drain the lines and pump a little rv antifreeze through. Maybe 30 minutes in our Legacy Elite. We live in Florida, but leave our trailer in storage sometimes in North Carolina. If we are going to be gone after September, we winterize. (Obviously, in Florida, we don't bother...) Sherry

"Twist" (love the name) is going to be amazing. Just got home from a camping trip to NC and TN, and stopped by the factory. Wish I had known... I'd have asked to take a peek. We had a few tweeks done on our 2008. New water heater, and got to add the new "fender skirts." Love the look. We took a tour of the newest models. Great new ideas, and great execution, too. Truly beautiful. Hope you, too, enjoy thousands of miles of smiles in your new Oliver when it "hatches." Sherry

We probably had our trailer a year before I picked a place for the paper towels. Over the bed, it's out of range of the cooktop flame, and doesn't get in my way. Let us know how the popaplate works out. Looks like a cool idea.

We used wikicamps extensively on a camping trip in Australia. It's a crowd-based app, runs without internet access if downloaded, and the Australian version is great. The US version has only recently been launched, so it's usefulness as of yet is not as great. Hopefully, it will catch on here as it did "down under." Sherry

Aubrey, Your installation looks awesome. Love the solar. I like the idea of your water purification system, too. Thanks for the photos and info. Sherry

We don't have a pop a plate, but we attached our paper towel holder to the underside of the cabinet next to the stove, over the large dinette/bed. It has worked out well. Only the edge of the cabinet is curved. The bottom is flat.

topgun, that Camco pop a plate is pretty cool. I see they have some stack-a-plate options for real plates that would be great if you wanted to carry melmac or other plates, in a drawer, or in a cabinet. I use something similar for my dinner plates at home, in my drawers for china and dishes. I'm going to check into those next time we stop at a Camping World. There are a few (very few) microwaveable melamine dishes out there besides NordicWare. Zak makes some, though limited colors, they'd probably mix and match with some of their prettier patterns. I'm not crazy about corelle in a trailer, as it disintegrates into a zillion shards when it does break. Sherry