SeaDawg

We're excited for you! Congrats. You'll like what you saw even more after a few years of camping. I'll bet on that! Sherry

That was truly a great looking rig, Larry. The coolest part of looking at the photo, though, is a brief trip down memory lane, thinking about all your great posts as you and Betty traversed our great country. So glad you and Betty are back in the Oliver, giving others a glimpse of what fun can be had in a small, well-equipped trailer like our Olivers. Just got back from Asheville. As we drove down NC9 thru Bat Cave and Lake lure on our way home, (via a specialty lumber yard in southern NC) I was thinking of our stop at the ice cream shop in Lake Lure. Sure wish you were around NC and FL more! Sherry A couple shots from our delivery day of Hull #12

If you want to weigh your rig, you can go to a CAT scale. We did, years ago. I'll see if I can find the link on instructions, but it wasn't too tough. I asked for two weighs, to determine the tongue weight. Here's a link to locate a public scale: http://www.publicscaleslocator.com/ Sherry

Pam, we did finally have our Norcold 412 replaced at the factory in July. With the current Dometic model they're using in the bigger new Oliver Legacy II. Servicing dealer said our cooling unit was shot. The cooling unit for the Norcold comes in two different pieces, and is really expensive. There is no aftermarket version available like the Dometic models. Quotes on getting the cooling unit replaced rivaled getting a new refrigerator, and we are only about six hours from Hohenwald when we camp at Asheville. Plus, the new refrigerator comes with a factory warranty. (Besides, we like camping in Tennessee. Some beautiful parks there.) Sherry

You betcha!

I'll bet we could work something out... Sure would be nice to see you and Oscar again! Sherry

Finally found the photo I took of the Denmark, SC water tower.

Thanks, Larry, I think Paul did a great job, and they look like factory issue. We got the UltraWhite. It takes about 17 or 18 ft to do the whole camper, including the tiny bathroom window. So, we have a little left from two 10 ft. rolls. Sherry

And, well, since this is going so well, a few more: The tools of application. (minus the beer..., optional, but recommended...) The roadside windows Nope, not moldy. Just reflecting all the green on a beautiful July afternoon... Take a break and enjoy the rhodos! Rear window reflecting the trees. Nice job on the gutter, Paul. All the windows are done. A little relaxation time around the campfire later! Sherry

Well, that worked, so we'll try a couple more: Paul working on curbside window. Curbside window complete

Well, let's see if the resizing worked and this will upload: this is the rear of our Oliver with the new EZE RV gutter. Resizing didn't work for me. I resorted back to photobucket free account. Sherry

I just crawled under the Silverado and the Ram, with garage lights and an LED flashlight. I didn't find a tag, or stamp, on either receiver-- bottom, side or front. Of course, neither is a new vehicle. 10 and six years old, respectively. Could have fallen off, I guess, but I don't see anything like a blank sticker space, either. Did see some dirt, as they're work trucks, but nothing popped out when I wiped the bottom or sides of the receivers. It will be interesting to hear what your dealer has to say. Hope you'll report back after your conversation with their service department. One would think that anything of that importance for your truck (or anyone's) would be clearly noted in the manual and specifications. Sherry

Thanks, Rob, and i will take a look at his blog. As you may know, our solar pv system is six years old, so technology changes, actually, quite rapidly in the renewable energy systems. Best to look to those with the newest gear for the best advice. (As we did, six years ago. A lifetime in solar technology, probably.) All that aside, we're extremely happy with the performance of our system. We did our research, talked with our friends, and in the end, modeled our system after the technomadia Oliver system. Chris and Cherie put a tremendous amount of time into research on their system, and eventually, we followed in their footsteps, as theirs worked for them. We felt we were using the best gear available, at an affordable price, at the time. Still feel the same. True believers in solar power. Silent, no exhaust fumes, constant payback. Solar for our home, too. It's a big decision. Sherry

Is that stamped on your hitch? I've never seen that on our three vehicles (Dodge Ram 4x4, Silverado, Volvo xc90), all of which have towed our Oliver admirably. Sherry

Not familar with Angry Bob. However, I know that our controller continually steps down as the charge goes up. The last few steps take the longest. I understand that this is to preserve the batteries. Don't know for sure, but I'll go with it, since we're working on old batteries, and happy. Sherry

We replaced the lights over the stove, and over the dinette, with LED long ago (maybe six years). Haven't gotten around to the rest, as those are the two we use all the time. If you can't find a lot of g4 replacements locally, or they're expensive (as they were years ago here), you might want to just try those two at first. Big impact for a few dollars. one of these days, we'll get around to replacing the rest, as they burn out. Sherry

Mountainborn is right on this being a great bugout or bondocking outfit. Fridge, furnace, stove on gas. Everything else on solar, if camping in the right exposure. We added solar (200 watts) six months after we bought our trailer, (side mount) and have always been very happy with our decision. If you don't do it now, at least ask about an option to prewire, if you anticipate camping without services in your future. We run the FanTastic fan or furnace fan, the electrical controls for the fridge, interior lights (sparingly, if camping without electric.) The solar won't run the ac, nor the microwave, but we try not to camp where we need the ac, and rarely use a microwave at home or camping. The furnace fan in cold weather is probably the biggest draw down on power, since we also limit our online time to an hour or two on each computer if we camp without power. Honestly, I'd have left off the kingdome, but it was already there, as we bought a unit that had already been partially built out. The tv is nice for dvds and local weather/news with an antenna. We run the radio for weather, more than the tv. And these days, it's on your phone, probably. We're not big tv watchers, especially when camping, but Paul likes to watch a dvd every other night or so. We charge our laptops and cellphones off the twelve volt system as well, or off the car inverter while driving. We love the solar on our Oliver. Silent, easy, extends our time away, no exhaust fumes. We don't have six volt batteries. We stayed with what we had. From new, that's a good question, better answered by those who have changed to the deep storage batteries. We carry a very light, gas=sipper Honda 1000 to charge the batteries when we encounter a string of rainy days. We use non ethanol gas exclusively in the generator, and all our yard tools, as well. Sherry

Karen, Ditto if you go southeast rather than southwest. We'd love to meet you. Chances are, sometime in the next few years, we will get to the UP. You are so close to the beautiful Canadian provincial parks. ONe year, we did a top of the lakes trips, crossing over above the Thousand Isles, and coming back thru Minnesota. The next year, we travelled thru Ny (Adirondacks and Catskills), up into Quebec, and a circle thru eastern Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, back thru NB, and home thru Maine and New England. One of our most memorable trips. We loved Lake Superior Park. Hope you do too. Sherry

My husband and his friend reset the rear window and one of the side windows with butyl tape, and I think that's what you mean by gasket material. It's been around forever, seals up tight, and lasts a long time. It comes in a light grey, along with black. We used the light grey. It's available online, or just about any rv shop. It is definitely a two man job to remove and reset the big windows. The rear window doesn't have weepholes, and not much overhang from the small eyebrow, so we feel the eze rv gutters are a good addition there, as well as on the windows with weepholes that can be overcome by really heavy rains. Where's the next BIG trip? We'll be off to North Carolina later this year, and going to western New York for a wedding, camping along the way. Not as far as we'd like to go, but further than any trip the last couple years. Sherry

Karen, our CampingWorld only stocked 10 ft rolls. We used all but about 3 feet of two rolls to do all our windows, including the tiny bathroom window, so about 17 feet. The UltraWhite (as opposed to white, which is really kind of off white) matches the gelcoat just about perfectly. I've seen it on Amazon in varying size rolls, if your campingworld only stocks the big motorhome sized rolls. It is cheaper in the longer rolls, however, if you know someone to split a big roll with. Sherry

Welcome aboard! Sherry

Larry, thanks for the memories. Paul's discovery of your Oliver videos online is what led us to Oliver in our search for our trailer in 1007/2008. Glad you took the time to put this online! Sherry

Why did we choose the Oliver? After looking at everything available (including two full and exhausting days at the RV Super Show in Tampa), many visits to RV dealerships touring bumper pulls and fifth wheels, looking at other fiberglass trailers, and yes, the Airstreams, Paul found a post by Mountainborn online. We took a sidetrip from a visit to Asheville to Hohenwald, and it was just the right thing to do. Three hours with Robert in the factory, touring several Olivers in progress, and lots of questions and answers later.... we were pretty sure that one in progress in the middle of the row had our name on it. Paul and I had seen just about everything available, i think, in 2008. On the ride home, we called Robert and made arrangements to buy that beauty in progress in the middle of the row. Love at first sight... after shopping, and evaluating, extensively. Six weeks later, we towed our Oliver home to Florida. Lucky us. A perfect fit. And just to make it more perfect, our Oliver hull is the same number hull as our (then) thirty year old sailboat...#12. It was just meant to be. Six plus years later, we feel the same way. Sherry

Re: a bike mount on the back bumper... I don't know if this is true on the new larger Oliver. On our 17, the back bumper is held in position by two pins, and drops down to expose the storage area where most of us keep our dump hoses and a few miscellaneous items. It's long and low, perfect for the hoses in a bag. Wouldn't be perfect for a bike rack, imho. Might be different in the newer trailers, and I'm sure Steve would chime in. The tongue weight on the 17 is about perfect for balanced weight throughout, but adding an appendage in a bike rack might mess it up. I don't know. I don't know anyone who has tried to do that, even with all the mods. What about adding a bike rack to the tow vehicle, or roof mount bike rack on the tv, or folding bikes like sailor love, if you want an suv tug? Sherry

Hey, Commanche. Welcome back. I wouldn't really want a window behind the sink/stove area, for the same reason I wouldn't want one at home. Ventilation, cleaning and window treatment issues. Breezes thru there will interfere with the stove flame. Always a cleaning issue, with splatters, etc., and then there's the window treatment... too close to the stove for my comfort. I use that back area behind the stove for suction cup mounted racks for dishes, spices, and accessories. Has been awesome for six years. Right where I need the plates, spatulas, salt & pepper, etc., and yes, they're a cleaning issue, too. But used all the time, so cleaned all the time. I know a few of the older molded trailers had windows in that area. I just don't find the idea of a curtain and window to be personally appealing there. I get plenty of light most mornings to make coffee from the window across from the stove area. All the Oliver windows have at least some sort of an eyebrow molded into the trailer to help direct water away from the flat surface. I'm sure that's what Robert was talking about in nixing the idea of a window in a pretty much flat vertical plane, no eyebrow, would likely be asking for issues. Just my two cents. Sherry