SeaDawg

I saw a reflector oven baking featured on a cooking channel segment the other night about cooking class at the Jack Mountain Bushcraft school. I've never used one, though it looks like it could be a great addition to the campfire cooking gear. My friend Lois makes awesome biscuits with her dutch oven, but the oven looks like less cleanup, and faster. Also seems like a possible way to cook fish, and roast meat or chicken. The campfire is going most days anyway, and we usually do most of our cooking over the fire. I've seen folding versions for sale on the web, and photos of one a guy built himself from sheet metal and hinges... Has anyone used a reflector oven? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFba_dGyfp8my Disclaimer: my posting this video in no way endorses barefoot campfire cooking! http://poleandpaddle.com/merchandise/reflector_ovens

Most stuff in our trailer is selected for double duty, and simplicity. We rarely have electric hookups. We cook most of our meals on the campfire, retreating inside only in bad weather. Except for coffee. For the last six years, I've been making coffee on the gas stove, with hot water from the teapot, an old stainless steel carafe from a defunct coffee maker, and a one-cup Mellitta pourover. It's a labor of love, but the best coffee. This spring, I got a new pourover cone, a whopping 16 ouncer, with prongs that sit inside the lid of the coffee carafe, making it a much safer, and faster operation. Coffee still has that same great taste, but done in half the time, so I can be outside sooner, with the rest of the gang, enjoying that first cup of coffee while the birds sing the morning songs, and watch the sun move up the sky and burn off the morning dew. It's not Mellitta, but it works the same way as the little one cupper, and manages the normal size cone filter more easily. At less than six bucks, I feel like it is a real bargainhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S3B9F8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Sherry

Love the license plate, Allenand Pamela! The spare tire cover could make a good spot for a log plate with the number... I could go for that. Commanche, I totally agree with the oversized Airstream numbers for their caravan club. I sure wouldn't want anything that size anywhere on the trailer. Sherry PS Pamela, you should be #1 Oliver TravelRRailer, right? One and only.

A month or so back, someone asked me where I got the fabric for the cushions in our trailer. I promised to post the link, and then, well, life got in the way, and I sort of forgot. The fabric in our trailer came from Winter Beach Modern, an online retailer of upholstery fabrics used by major seating manufacturers. Usually bolt ends or remnants, the amount of each fabric in stock is listed. Also in the description is fabric content, finishes, cleaning instructions, and the rub count test, which tells you a bit about the long term durability of the fabric. They will send free samples. Six years ago, I found them very good to deal with. They specialize in fabrics with a midcentury modern flair. http://www.winterbeachmodern.com/ Our fabric was made by Momentum or Maharam, I think Momentum, with a hospitality finish. It has held up really well, six years and 50,000 plus miles, looks like new. And, Oliver's upholsterer did a beautiful job. Two years ago, we had our boat cushions redone. That time, I used two fabrics from a similar company, Toto. They were also a pleasure to deal with, free samples, and good shipping time. I chose two fabrics recommended for the hospitality industry, one Momentum with a Crypton finish, and the other was a faux leather by UltraLeather, recommended by a friend who works for a luxury yacht company. It feels and looks like leather, but breathes better, and doesn't mildew, etc. It's polyester, not plastic or vinyl, with a special backing which helps keep it cooler to the touch. Nice looking stuff. Toto stocks more styles and types than winterbeach. Again, they do free samples, so you can see and touch before you buy. They don't always list the rub test, but you can look it up by googling the fabric on the manufacturer's website. A lot of top quality stuff for commercial and hospitality applications at discount prices (like Momentum, Maharam, Knoll, ArcCom, Luna, etc.) http://www.totofabrics.com/ I'm looking again for fabric for a mid-century Yngve Ekstrom chair my brother gave me, so I'll be ordering again from one of them. Sherry

Hmm, that's an interesting idea. Any idea where you think you'd want the number applied to your trailer? We're hull number 12. Our boat is number 12 too. I think it was just meant to be.... Sherry

Stan, I'll look for the photos and try to post something tomorrow. Thanks for the reminder. It's monsoon season in Florida. We've had some pretty good rainstorms, and I do think the EZE RV gutters are a keeper. (Good thing, as that 3m adhesive is major sticky stuff.) I've gone in to check the big window after a storm, and the tracks are dry. We especially have an issue if our sidemount solar panels are tilted in a pattern that sends the rain down like a mini waterfall. Congrats again on your decision to become part of the Oliver gang! We wish you lots of happy travels. Sherry

Charmaigne, Please see my response to this under your "Interested in an Oliver " post. Thanks. I can try to combine these two topics later..if you wish. Sherry

Chamaigne, I took the time to look through the certification process grid listed on the TRA verification section of their website. Here's a link: http://www.certifiedgreenrvs.com/grid/ The grid doesn't show the entire process, I'm sure. (The LEED certification process checklist is a small book.) But it does go through what a manufacturer must show to be certified as Green Capable, but not how many points take them to whatever level, from bronze to emerald. An accumulation of points, for good practices and material selections, added up, lead to a level of certification for the applicant if all conditions are met. The indoor air quality section would seem to be the most important to you, and to many people. It is to me, as well. I'm adversely affected by a number or adhesives, paints and some building materials, especially contact cement, some sealants, and a number of oil based paints, and most types of nail polish. Even some low voc paint latex paints can give me a headache. And, that's true of many people, though probably not as bad as someone like you who has been identified as chemically sensitive. From what I've read, most of the vocs in fiberglass and composite products, are emitted during the manufacturing process. All the trailers listed on the certified page are fiberglass panel, aluminum panel, or composite panel, except Airstream, of course, so I'm guessing that TRA believes fiberglass is ok. For a number of the items listed on the TRA air quality section, Oliver scores very high in my opinion: No wood, so no worries about vocs from plywood or particle board, or cabinetry finishes or paints. Hull, benches, walls, cabinets are molded fiberglass. Frame is aluminum. No wood, so no treated wood. Good natural ventilation with the windows and skylight/fan. Zero carpet. Not on the walls, not on the floor. No wallpaper. No automotive headliner stuff. We were even allowed to pick our own tile when ours was built. The rest of the floor is, you guessed it, fiberglass. Mechanical ventilation from the FantasticFan No ductwork in ours (2008 17 ft model),and I think the new ones have ductwork run thru the lower cabinets, so I'm guessing no ductwork on the floors. Easy enough to seal off ductwork during the manufacturing process, even easier than in a home, so that shouldn't be an issue anyway. Carbon Monoxide detector is standard, and an RVIA requirement. And probably the law now, so that's kind of a gimme for everyone who applies. You can pick your own mattress, seat cushions, upholstery fabrics, etc., so you can control a lot of the indoor environment thru materials choices, (and pay for the upgrades....) I know that one of the sealants Oliver uses is 3M4000, which is a low VOC (<1%) marine grade sealant/adhesive, but I don't know about the others. You'd have to ask. No paints applied by Oliver in ours. Probably still true in the new ones. That said, all RVs (including the Oliver) contain a lot of components made by others. Water pump, gas stove, refrigerator, a mile or two of wiring. Batteries in a compartment sealed from the inside of the cabinet, vented to the great outdoors. Plumbing. Insulation. Lighting. Television and stereo. AC unit. The list goes on. Not many of these items are touched on in the TRA list of vetted items on their website. Still and all, when you asked about formeldehyde and mercury, off the top of my head, I couldn't think of any components in my trailer that would likely contain them, with the exception of the tv and the stereo, which often do, and why municipalities charge more to dispose of them when they quit functioning. Those are optional items, of course. Looking through the grid, I'd guess if Oliver wanted to be certified green, they'd have no problem. But, how many certifications does one small manufacturer need to have? Even though I'm very committed to green building, I'm not sure I'd encourage them to go for it now, as I know personally how much time and paperwork goes into LEED for homes certification. Sherry

Hi, Chamaigne, You CAN see and smell a new "Ollie" on the next road tour, by contacting the factory and asking to see one near you from a participating, cooperating proud Oliver owner, or by visiting the factory. Robert was on the facebook page the other day, asking folks just where they should be planning stops for the next Oliver road tour. If you're not a facebook user, just give them a call. I don't know where you are, but there are a lot more 17s out there than new 22s. Oliver is RVIA and NATM certified. I'd actually never heard much about TRA up until your post. I think it's fairly new, maybe four or five years, with only a handful of participating manufacturers. Looking at their certification process (especially with regards to indoor air quality), it looks like they base at least some of their standards on the LEED process for homes and buildings (with which I am very familiar.) Nowhere does it say on the TRA website that the actual indoor air quality of each trailer is measured. Actually, no specific testing is done in LEED for homes, either. However, the guidelines that are followed by participating members and builders in both programs help to assure better indoor air quality for the occupant. In another post, I'll look at their posted guidelines one by one. Briefly, qualifying means the manufacturer or builder is using primarily nonemitting or low emitting (low voc) materials in the construction process (no or low voc insulation, no or limited carpet, low voc paints, etc.). For the RV manufacturers, and for builders, the programs also mean that other factors are quantified: energy and water consumption are monitored and reduced, recycling used where possible, etc. Sherry

Congrats on your decision! Hope you love your Oliver as much as we love our 17! I'll chime in on the tow with a truck or suv question. We have towed our 17 with a Volvo XC90 SUV, a 2004 stepside Silverado half-ton short bed two seater, and a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 with the hemi. All of them worked, though I wouldn't really want to take the Volvo into the mountains. Loved the Silverado, but the Ram gives us 5 seats, a big cargo area, more power, and most importantly for us, 4x4 capability. We can carry the ATV and gear in the back if we want to, and the dog and passengers have a comfortable place inside. It's my husband's daily driver, as well as our primary tow vehicle. We (obviously) really like trucks vs SUVs for towing and camping. We bought a lockable UnderCover topper for the truck bed that keeps our gear out of sight and dry, and it's easily removable with a couple pins when we want to haul the ATV or something else that's tall in the truck bed. If we were looking to replace the Dodge Ram, I think we'd start our looking with the new Dodge 6 cylinder EcoDiesel. 9200 lb towing capacity, torque to spare, decent mileage.http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-ram-1500-ecodiesel-v-6-first-drive-review A step in the right direction. Everywhere in the world but North America, you see awesome small diesel trucks, not gasoline, as daily drivers and work trucks. (Ok, I will step down from the soap box now.) Bet you can't wait till October! Sherry

Hi, Chamaigne, and again, welcome to our forum. As I said in an earlier post, I think that two standard kings would about fill the entire back dinette/bed area, leaving no or just a few inch wide aisle between them. I have seen a number of mods done on Casitas/Scamps, etc., where the small dinette is fitted with a slideout to allow that bed to become a standard twin at night. Looks like it would take up about a foot of the aisle to the back, but the smaller dinette would be easier to break down into a bed at night than raising/lowering the big table, and would allow you more daytime workspace... One of my friends bought a barely used Casita, and converted the back dinette to a twin size bed, east/west, and added storage shelves to one side of the now-unused bench area remaining after she removed the full sized mattress that came with it. Is your goal two standard twins, or a queen or king at night? That might help us make suggestions. Sherry

Hi, Chamaigne, and welcome to the forum. I'm a little confused, too. Are you talking creating an L-shaped daytime arrangement, with one mattress north/south, and one east/west along the back wall? Folding table to work from? Or, two normal sized twins, side by side, north/south? Two standard twins, at 39" wide, would fill the whole back dinette/bed area, I think, and would be wider than a standard 72" king. I've seen two LegacyII twin bed models. The beautiful custom job made for Steve and Tali (ScubaRx), and a lovely standard twin that Larry and Betty took on the road a few months back for demos. The width of the twin beds on both these are "RV twin", my guess, is around 30-32 inches, like a deep sofa seat.Put together, they'd be at least the size of a queen. I don't know if the aisle between is wide enough for a table for a folding worktop table/desk... Probably a narrow one. Looked to me like there was 16-18 inches between the two beds. Is that about right, Steve? I will say the new twin mattresses that Oliver is using in the new trailer seem super comfortable. I almost fell asleep testing one out in Larry and Betty's demo trailer... We have a 17, and leave the back dinette made up as a bed all the time when we travel. We use the small front dinette for a desk or table when we need one, but do most of our dining and computer work outdoors. We're retired, though, and don't carry as much paperwork as you would if you're working full-time. The small dinette table is only about 2' x 2'. Sherry Sherry

Nice looking truck, Steve. Like the new topper, too. Lots of room now for gear, and seating for all the dogs with the big cab. I'll bet it makes a really sweet looking rig going down the road with your new Oliver Legacy II. Sherry

I think you'll enjoy the factory tour. Hohenwald, though a small town, has some really good little restaurants, too. My favorite is the Junkyard Dog. We love the narrower aspect of the Oliver for several reasons. The most important for us is how it tracks directly behind the truck on the narrow mountain roads we frequent. If the truck tires are on the road, so are the trailer's. It also takes up a smaller amount of space in the driveway, so I can still use my parking spot in the garage if the Oliver is in the driveway... The narrower width does come with some interior layout concessions that might bother some folks. We're not only fine with it, we love our little 17. We have everything we need, and then some, in our small interior, including a decent sized bed. Most of the smaller Airstreams we looked at had beds that were too narrow for the two of us, at 48" or so wide. The new, bigger Legacy II has a king size bed, or twins, but it's a little wider than the original Legacy 17, I think. The other thing I didn't care for in the smaller Airstreams we toured, and frankly a lot of other brands, as well, on the smaller size trailers, was the lack of a rear window in a layout with a full or queen sized bed. The Airstream Sport, as I recall, had the amazing big windows in front, but typically, that means you're looking at the tow vehicle, or across the road at a neighbor's tow vehicle during your stay, as back-in camping sites are the norm in state and national parks. I love being able to back the Oliver into a wooded or waterside campsite, and look at nature through the big back window. Even in some of the larger Airstreams, having the bigger bed usually meant the bathroom was moved to the rear, bed in front, and lack of view when indoors. I view the fiberglass interior as a big plus too. Keeping it clean is a matter of a soft cloth and windex. The mostly white interior means I can change up the look and color scheme with a new bedspread, pillows, and placemats. Plus, we were able to choose a fabric for all the cushions that we loved, not just one of a few standard colors. Keep in mind, when we were shopping seven years ago for a trailer, we were looking for a smaller boondocking camper. I've skipped the Airstream exhibits the last few times at the RV Supershow, so layouts may have changed with the Airstreams. Doesn't look like it though, from a glance at their website. Airstream builds a beautiful trailer, no doubt. Just wasn't meant for us. If everybody wanted the same things in a trailer, though, there wouldn't be so many choices out there. Sherry

I haven't kept ours completely up to date, but it's a free download available from several sites. I saved the completed map as a photo format, and added to my signature. http://www.visitedstatesmap.com/ http://www.epgsoft.com/VisitedStatesMap/ It's a matter of choice, visited or camped in. Most people, I think, include the states they've spent at least one night in. Sherry

I don't know anyone who uses the swaybar on an Oliver. We've certainly never felt the need in 50k towing with our 17 ft Oliver. The owners of the 22s will probably chime in. The factory tour is worth the trip, in my opinion. A lot of folks who see our trailer for the first time say it looks like a fiberglass Airstream. Nice compliment, but we're really glad we got the Oliver, instead. Sherry

Great photos, guys. Did you have to use photobucket or can we now do a direct upload with the img button? Sherry

It's a ways out of the way to Denmark, but, Denver is only an hour and 45 east of Asheville. Stay in touch. Maybe we could camp together if we're up that way? We're planning at least two more trips to NC this year.

Wish we had a like button. Great photo of you and Betty, Larry.

At the same gas station on the trip home, a guy was waiting for our gas pump loaded with watermelon... both the pickup bed, and the trailer he was pulling. Overloaded, actually. We saw broken watermelon on the road, about every 100 feet, for a mile in his trail when we left. Darn, they looked great, too. I was tempted to buy a watermelon from him at the gas station, but I already had a case of Cherokee Purple tomatoes for the neighbors, purchased the day before at the Western North Carolina farmers market. We routinely visit the farmers market on our trips to Asheville. Love the produce, and local jams, honey, mustard, pickles, and cheeses. The South Carolina state farmers market is just up the highway from the Neeses Piggly Wiggly. Guess that, and their low gas price, is why we encountered produce trucks at each visit. Sherry

Tom posted photos of the night creatures he caught on his night camera. Maybe he could help? Sherry

Paul and I spent the last two weeks camped on our property outside Asheville, NC. Among our chores, the "shabin" got a new coat of paint on three sides, Paul plumbed hot water into the bathroom, and we installed the EZE RV gutters over all the windows in the Oliver. Paul did a great job, I think, and they look really nice, as if they came with the trailer. We chose the UltraWhite color, which matches the white gelcoat really closely. In some of those heavy downpours (what Pete so poetically calls "frog drowning gully washers," ) our weepholes would become overwhelmed. Especially, when the rain washes off the sidemount solar panels, and runs like a wide open hose down the side of the big window over the dinette... overwhelming even super clean weep holes. So far, we're happy. The gutters should divert some of the rain away from the window. Haven't had one of those "frog drowners" yet since installation, though, so I'll let you know. Since it's monsoon season in Florida, I should know soon. I took a bunch of photos (Paul claimed editorial rights... probably wants to make sure I got him modeling the right beer tee shirt...) and I'll post those soon. He reported that the material was really easy to work with, after leaving it in the sun for thirty minutes or so. Sticks like crazy with 3m adhesive already applied. I think he did a very professional job. Under my supervision, of course. It's really a one person job, but he let me help. Hand me the alchohol, I need another paper towel, hand me the pvc cutters, please etc... Makes me feel useful. Probably would have been faster if he worked alone. Oh, well. Then I could get back to painting and building a campfire... Sherry

Gotcha on that one, didn't I? Really, we did drive through Denmark, Sweden, and Norway (twice) in our Oliver in the last two weeks. We didn't ship the Ollie overseas, though. We towed the Ollie through these small towns in a lovely agricultural area of South Carolina, along Rt 321. Denmark was named for a Captain Denmark, I can only guess the other two got their names from someone with a sense of humor. Tiny towns (Norway has a population of less than 300 at the last census), close together, geographically correct south to north... Denmark, the biggest, then really tiny Sweden, then Norway. Found out there is also a town called Finland off to the east on 70. Didn't go there, though. We drive the route from Florida to Asheville several times a year. A friend in Banner Elk suggested we take the 321 cutoff, to get off the interstate 95/26 route for a hundred miles or so, and see some of the real South Carolina. He couldn't have been more correct. We enjoyed the drive on the way up, and took the same route home. Leaving Norway on the way up, we followed a pickup truck loaded with beautiful canteloupe for thirty miles or so, till we both stopped for gas at the Piggly Wiggly in Neeses, SC. While Paul fueled the truck,I walked over to ask the driver if he'd a canteloupe for sale. He reached over (tall guy, 6'4" or better) picked a good one, and handed it to me. I reached into my pocket and asked him how much, and he drawled out "walk on..." I handed him a few dollars, telling him I couldn't accept when I'd asked first for the melon, and he thanked me kindly. Best canteloupe I've had in a long, long time. Really sun-ripened, like my grandfather used to grow. Selected for me by the man who planted and tended it. We traveled on, and the sense of humor in naming towns continued, at a town called North, South Carolina. Really. Cute town, all old buildings along the railroad that was the lifeblood of small farm towns back in the day. I told Paul it reminded me of a town we stopped into in Australia a few years back. A main street lined with turn of the last century buildings, now most of them empty, but still grand, though a little sad. Looking out at the rail line. The path of the interstate leaves these little towns in its wake, not so grand as they once were. The rail line is probably still important to some of the industries along 321.. Georgia Pacific, and others, but not as important as it was back in the day. I, for one, miss those days. Sherry

That's a really cool photo, Larry. A lot of stuff on that roof. Do you ever adjust the solar panels, or simply let them stay flat? Sherry

Congratulations on your new Oliver! We hope you enjoy many years of traveling adventures. Sherry and Paul