SeaDawg

Also, have you considered adding solar to your new trailer? We love ours. Really extends our stays in many places, eliminates most generator use. I don't do well with noise and fumes, so we run the generator as little as possible, even our tiny, low db, low fuel consumption 1000 Honda. We leave the big gen at home for hurricane/power source interruption for the house. Sometimes, we've managed 60 days without generator. And I have to say, that's just awesome, for me. We did ours as a retrofit. My husband Paul figured out that we had the space on the side, when most people who added solar at that time did it as original equipment, on the center line of the roof. Oliver did an awesome job with the saddle brackets to sidemount the panels. 200 watts of solar, with the two batteries, has been a pretty good match for us. Sherry

The Wynn "running dump" with the urine collector also left a weird tmi video in my head as well....lol. Hope it all works out for you. I think from looking at all the drawings that it should fit nicely in the space. The shower doesn't "normally" drain to the black tank in the Oliver, so you might want to ask for that change. It would give you some extra collection space for grey. I don't know. Grey water is the least of the hassles for disposal... Hope you have a great holiday weekend. Sherry

Found this video of a composting toilet retrofit. The owner was self-admittedly not a handyman, but apparently loves the results from his comments: http://www.gonewiththewynns.com/install-composting-toilet Obviously, a factory install would be neater. Would you use the black tank for extra grey? Actually, the Wynns have done several very informative posts on installing, and using, a composting toilet. Quite informative. A link to a page of several videos made by them: This one, on prepping and dumping, really answers a lot of questions. Of course, they're working on a brand new, unused toilet, so the ick factor is minimized: Sherry

It was really a fun time. Especially since the "gathering" happened by chance. Wish that happened more often.... Sherry

Awesome. Are you going into DC? We've camped several times in the DC area, took the metro into the city. Twice, for the Solar Decathlon before it was moved from the National Mall. Enjoy!

We love our Dodge Ram 1500 hemi. Overkill, sure. It's also great as our work vehicle. (Dents and dings show the story...) Looking forward to the new Dodge offerings. We're still waiting for a smaller, tough diesel, as offered pretty much everywhere but North America. bah. I think Dodge will bring it on soon, with the Fiat influence. A pickup with a bed cover is a great tow vehicle. We upgraded from the step-side short bed Silverado to the Dodge for the 4x4, and the four seats of the extended cab. I still drive the Silverado as a daily driver, Paul drives the 4x4 Dodge. The pickup bed gives us a lot of hauling space for the "stuff" we (think) we need... We have a locking cover on the bed, and find that it meets our needs. Towing capacity far exceeds our needs, but I'd rather be on the plus side, than on the margin, when the going is a little tough. Sherry Full disclosure: I'd wanted a hemi from the time I was 15. Finally got one.... several decades later.... Retirement does have some benefits.

We bought the composite tanks for our boat several years back. Local suppliers have been a bit unfamiliar, though the composite tanks have been used for a long time in Europe. They check carefully on the dates, hem and haw, and eventually fill. When we bought ours, composite tanks couldn't be recertified. They are much lighter, don't rust (so important in our salt water/salt air environment), and I think, safer, as they won't "explode" in a fire--theoretically, they melt and burn. However, we stayed with old school steel tanks in the travel trailer. Can be exchanged in a pinch, don't get the stink-eye when refilling at suppliers, and fit neatly in the space we have. We might look at that again with the advances in tanks in the last few years. I see that some of them, like the Vikings you're looking at, can be re-certified. Propane lasts longer than you might think in the travel trailer. We rarely had to refill in 60 day trips, not even 60 days in Canada in the late fall. We run on propane and solar most of the time. No electrical hookups, usually. The refrigerator doesn't use much, and we usually cook over a campfire, if we can, other than morning coffee on the stovetop, perhaps soup for lunch. Unless temps dip below 40s, we don't usually run the furnace much, either. We look for Tractor Supply locations with propane fills when we travel, if possible. We feel we get the best fill and best deal. Metered, and we pay only for what we get. Don't care much for the unmetered places. I'll be interested in seeing how the composting toilet works for you. I think it's a wise idea to rough in the usual plumbing for resale, or change of heart. I've looked at composting toilets, and incinerating toilets, for the offgrid "dream cabin in the woods", someday. Hadn't really thought about the travel trailer, but it could be an intriguing option. Sherry

Now I'm curious, too, though our original water heater works fine. Looks like the Atwood and Girard are both designed as direct replacements for a typical 6 gallon Atwood water heater (what we have). The Precisiontemp is designed as a 10 gallon replacement. I don't think it would fit in the space molded in for the water heater in my 17 ft. Oliver, but the other two would. I don't know if that's different on the new, longer Legacy Elite II. I found good reviews, and mixed reviews for the Atwood and Girard. I could only find 1 review of the precisiontemp, and that was on their site. Couldn't find any on Amazon, my "go to' review spot. It's a lot more expensive than the other two, as well. Sherry

Another well-planned, useful mod, DC Kiefer. We only use the under-the-bed intake when we are boondocking for an extended period of time, and when filling the tank completely from a 40 gallon bladder . It is a bit of a hassle to take up all the cushions, etc. I can see this mod would be seriously useful for easily adding five or ten gallons at a time to get a few more days at camp. Sherry

Skip, thanks for the great post! Welcome to the group. Boondocking is awesome in an Oliver... almost enough to make you feel guilty... Are you adding solar? Just curious. We've found it really extends our ability to remain off the beaten path. Towbert, the jacks are so much easier to deploy than our heavy anchors. We're sailors, too. Sherry

Skip, thanks for the great post! Welcome to the group. Boondocking is awesome in an Oliver... almost enough to make you feel guilty... Are you adding solar? Just curious. We've found it really extends our ability to remain off the beaten path. Towbert, the jacks are so much easier to deploy than our heavy anchors. We're sailors, too. Sherry

DCKiefer, that looks pretty darn bulletproof. We use a collar lock like this while towing: http://www.amazon.com/Collar-Trailer-Bulldog-style-Couplers-Including/dp/B00HL2V3SI/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1397565351&sr=1-1&keywords=collar+lock+for+bulldog+hitch That little lock flap on the bulldog is useless, other than to open and close. Hitchpin lock like this: http://www.amazon.com/Bulldog-580405-Stainless-Steel-Hitch/dp/B004R35MG8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_12?ie=UTF8&refRID=1Y4HR8VBK9ED76H5GN9C

TX Ruby, Did you know the demo Oliver 22 is in Texas? I believe they are in Boerne right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2eLQPehLyo Thanks for the memories, Larry. Sherry

Congrats on your new Oliver! And, welcome to the group. If you're every planning a trip to Florida or North Carolina, make sure to send a message! Happy motoring with your Ollie in tow! Sherry and Paul

Hi, Towbert. We have several locks. The pin lock for the hitch, and a collar lock, and the lock that looks like a tow ball. They all work. I don't believe they were bulldog brand. I'll see if I can find the info. Six years old, now. Sherry

Well, the neighborhood gang just left. We enjoyed our corned beef and cabbage dinner, and lots of fun conversation. Hope you all have a great weekend. Everyone is Irish on Monday, right?

Welcome to the forum, Lowrider. Any questions we can answer as Oliver owners, ask away. Sherry

That's hilarious, ScubaRx

Never camped near Cincinnati, but I'd be dubious about camping on the other side of the river. Traffic can be horrible during certain parts of the day. Last time through, we sat in traffic for a really, really long time in rush hour.

I'd say save the money for the Mich LIte. We tow most of the time with a 2008 ram 1500. No special mirrors. Nor with the 2004 Silverado. But then, we have a 17 ft Oliver. I'd at least wait and see how it goes before I bought new mirrors. Sherry

The electric instantaneous water heater we had in our house kept up with the demand ok, but it had to be sent in for repair every 12-18 months. And it took a lot of power. That's why we eventually replaced it. For the relatively small demand of a travel trailer, I'm sure a tiny electric would keep up, but would be useless for us most of the time, as we usually camp without hookups, and make our own power with the solar panels. Based on our experience with the home hot water heater, and its high power demand, I doubt we could power an electric instantaneous water heater with the inverter. Honestly haven't recently, either, except for the larger gas models for our home. Sherry

I've seen no on demand water heaters in Olivers, but perhaps someone retrofitted. We use a tankless gass water heater/shower combo at our camping property in NC, and it works great, but it's an outdoor only (unvented) unit, hooked to the water supply and an LP tank. We love it. Installed a tankless in our new house. Had an electric tankless years ago, and I'd give that a big huge thumbs down. Gas is better for tankless, in my opinion. Sherry

I've only read of a few (very commendable) composting toilets in fiberglass trailers. Never an Oliver. Perhaps you'll be the first? Sherry

Thanks, Pamela, I think the Thermarests are memory foam. Did you use them in colder temps? Just curious as to whether the old advice on memory foam being hard and uncomfortable in cold temps was still true. Sherry