SeaDawg

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

Here are a few taken shortly after we had the panels installed: In this one, if you look closely, you'll see the awesome saddle bracket Oliver made to match the curve of the hull. We took all these at beautiful Lake Ouichita campground on our way to the River RV Rally. Sherry

Dave, while I look for photos of our installation, here's a link to a thread by Andrew, who did his own pv installation, based on our factory install. If you go down the thread, you'll find a link to a photo album of Andrew's install. It looks a lot like ours. He did a great job. Sherry

The ingenious crew at Oliver added solar to our trailer seven months after we bought it. That included running the heavy cable that your already have, which was no mean feat, and maybe not even possible now with the new insulation techniques. Glad you pre wired. The metal shop made custom saddle brackets for our two fixed panels, based on my husband's sidemount concept, and added them to the trailer. We've not had problems with anything they did, even though it was an addition, and not part of the original build. The thin film flexible adhesive panels take up a lot of rooftop "real estate" to create the same amount of power as our racked panels. That's one of the reasons we did not seriously consider flexible panels for our pv installation on our new home. They do, however, have that great advantage of "no drilling required" on the travel trailer rooftop. The flexible panels don't really add any "drag" to the roof top, either, and I've read of a number of very happy users on other forums. You might consider boondocking a few times without any panels, but with a good monitor installed, to see what your actual power requirements are. With all LED lights, and camping in Florida weather without heavy use of the furnace fan (our biggest power draw in the mountains, usually), you may find one 100 or 160 watt panel may just be enough. A lot depends on your consumption, camping style, and of course, battery storage. Tough decision to make. Sherry

Hardrock, Congrats on your retirement. Likely you'll feel the same way we do... wonder how we ever found time to work! We have used three methods for moving our Oliver without the trailer: 1. Least satisfactory: trailer dolly from harbor freight, and lots of manual effort. Actually, on a flat surface, the dolly isn't so bad for me and Paul, but on an incline, or over grass or turf block, it's either a bear, or impossible. Or, we had to recruit a couple neighbors, as well as me and Paul, to move the trailer 30 feet. 2. The EZ Tug... Great product. Don't know if they make an upgraded model, but the tire was really small, and tended to go flat on us. Paul hooked it up to our trailer battery, so we had plenty of "power", but going even slight inclines, on grass, usually required me pushing on the front of the trailer, while watching to avoid the tree on one side, shrubs and garage eaves on the other. It worked, way better than a tow dolly, but not ideal. It really helped if my very kind neighbor sat on the bed in the back to take some of the weight off the tongue while we maneuvered the trailer. Yes, she is a very, very good friend to do that for me. 3. The Parkit 360 is our newest addition. We bought a nice barely used large or xl unit. First attempt didn't go very well. Then, we read the directions online , and watched the youtube on how to use it... (I know, when all else fails, read the directions.) Seriously important if you use this, because it has two wheels, and if not attached properly, and seated properly, you feel like you could tip the trailer on a sharp turn. This works fairly well. More power than the EZ tug, but perhaps not as much "traction." Both times we've used it have been after heavy rains, and on slick ground, we lay out old plywood cutoffs to give a better footing on the grass. I'm looking forward to using it at our new house next year... concrete and turf block over shell, not grass, and not much of an incline. We did think about adding a front hitch to our Honda 4 wheeler, briefly, but rejected that. Firgured the weight of the tongue might lift the Honda off the ground... As good as Paul is at backing and maneuvering the truck (and I do believe he's really skilled at it), there is no way we'd get our trailer into its winter spot by our garage with a front mount on the Ram truck. Just way too tight, and we'd tear up the lawn for good measure. Personally, I'd probably try a really good trailer dolly first, if you could borrow one. Then look for the Parkit 360, unless Ez Tug has upgraded their tongue weight capability. For quick use, and you can swing it up and carry it around with your, the EZ Tug is tough to beat, just a little undersized for our trailer. It's a lot easier to set up and operate than the Parkit 360, one wheel, portable, and uses the trailer battery. The parkit 360 has its own battery, and is heavy, longer setup, and doesn't feel quite as intuitive.. Big pro for the Parkit 360: It moves the trailer pretty well. Sherry

Dave, you may just want to give the factory a call tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be helpful. Glad you love your new Oliver. We love our 17 a lot. Still looks pretty great after almost 7 years, and 60,000 plus miles. Sherry