SeaDawg

Great photos! Looks like everyone had a wonderful time.... I know I've said it before, but I think one of the great joys of camping is meeting so many interesting and fun people... Thanks for sharing! Sherry

I'll have to watch for that TV show... I'd love to see it. Here's another collection of albums of some great vintage trailers.... http://vintagetrailercrazy.com/index.html At least one of these trailers has been featured in the TV show you mentioned, Geri. My favorite of this collection? Tough choice... The little yellow and white '57 Corette is so me .... love the geometric linoleum and the cracked ice dinette.... But that '55 Boles Aero Ensenada would look pretty cool next to the Oliver, too.... Sherry

Chris, The bulldog hitch, though pricier than a standard hitch, is widely used by other quality trailers, especially utility trailers carrying expensive tools and equipment. There's a wide variety of locks available specific to the bulldog. We use two locks. One is used only when detached from tow vehicle, and is a heavy duty device that goes into the receiver and then surrounds it. The second is a collar lock that goes around the neck of the hitch, used both when hitched up and as a second lock when detached. Makes it difficult for anyone to mess with your hitch when parked. Stays locked even if hitch wire is cut. I don't remember where we ordered it, but you can see it in this amazon photo: http://www.amazon.com/The-Collar%C2%AE-Trailer-Coupler-Lock/dp/B000LRNTLO Sherry

Hi, Chuck! So good to hear from you! How's California? We're still trying to figure out schedule for June... Hoping to catch up with you and Geri either in Withlacoochee or NC for after-4 paws... (We have other commitments the weekend of 4 paws...) Paul emailed the guy with the plans to make the motorized tow dolly. (I think that guy also has an ebay outlet for the plans and prewelded frame..., at significant cost plus shipping, but don't make me swear to it... we've looked at a bunch of websites this weekend for motorized systems....) Though the plans -only, build it yourself motorized dolly looks great, according to the designer it involves 14-16 hours of welding time alone, minimum(if you're in practice.... more, if not). We do have access to a welding machine, and Paul knows how, if necessary. Though it's a good looking plan, parts and materials alone are more than the EZ Tug, ready to install, without the major personal time investment, as well. If you're still out camping in the big parks out west, could you ask around about the EZ tug? We've never seen one around here.... Looking forward to catching up with you and Geri sometime in June.... Teryiaki steak, here we go!!!! Sherry

Our Oliver has a nifty little parking pad that we built beside the garage, paved in turf blocks. We have a little manual tow dolly that we use (with considerable effort) to maneuver it into place, uphill off the smooth driveway onto the rougher turf blocks (about six to eight inches higher than the drive), around a sharp corner, all the while, trying to miss the tree branches and garage overhang while pushing on the trailer.... We've been looking for something to provide some extra mechanical or 12 volt power advantage to our tow dolly and "biochemical" engines. The European remote controlled "Truma" is very cool, very expensive, and not easily available. An American product is a motorized tow dolly, the Powercaster, but it works in conjunction with the tongue jack, and doesn't seem to be a smart solution with a power tongue jack. The EZ tug (also made in USA) mounts to the tongue with a retractable wheel, and 12 volt battery power moves the trailer into place.... Plus, like the Truma mover, it's always on the trailer, so it could, in theory, be used to maneuver into tight campground sites as well.... If it works, sounds like a dream come true. Plus, it's on sale for Father's Day at Garage-toys.om for $100 off, plus a "mystery per centage" off when you place your order... Anybody have any experience with the EZ Tug, or any of the other motorized trailer movers? Thanks. Sherry

Dave & Julie, Thanks for the kind words... but the pleasure is all ours. A big part of the fun of camping and Oliver ownership is meeting so many nice people (including you two!). Camping seems to attract a lot of interesting folks, with interesting stories, and a little sense of adventure. We really enjoy our time giving tours of the Oliver, and especially enjoy our time in the state and county parks. We hope to see you both at one of them soon... Or, stop by any time you're in the neighborhood! Sherry & Paul (PS Our four-legged Oliver the cockapoo sends his greetings, too... He seemed to develop a special attachment to Julie right off the bat .... and yes, he was a member of the family long before we bought the two-wheeled Oliver. He's almost three now.... A very funny coincidence, don't you think?)

Paul and I are, coincidentally, watching a TV show on "Noodling" on PBS.... I had no idea that 1. "Noodling" has been a documented style of fishing since at least 1775 2. "Noodling" is legal in at least 4 states (conversely, I had no idea it was illegal anywhere... just that I wouldn't want to try it...) 3. "Noodling" probably originated with the Indians... I now know that: 1. Mountainborn's videos are more entertaining than PBS... IMHO 2. He and Tumbleweed are not just joking around.... it's a real sport 3. I still don't want to try noodling!!!! Sherry PS Great looking fish!

Every forum contains many threads on choosing the best tow vehicle.... This website is really interesting... Lets you choose a trailer (or enter your own specs), and look for the best tow vehicles for you.... or allows you to check your matchup in your rig... Wish we had an American equivalent! Check it out just for fun, anyway, and notice how small many of the European cars and SUVs are that are "perfect matches" for an Oliver! (At least by European standards on this website...) Sherry

Wow, Phil. That's a beautiful car!!! Sherry

Chris & Cherie, Best of luck in your newest adventure! We'll be following your progress on the blog(s). Thanks, also, Cherie, for the necklaces. We'll think of you and Chris and wonder about your latest "technomadventures" each time we look at them.... Sherry (edited to correct spelling)

Cherie and Chris, The pleasure was all ours! Stop by anytime you're in town.... The beer garden opens around the same time each day!!! (Selection changes seasonally....) Looking forward to camping with you guys when you head north, or any time..... Thanks for the technical tips... you two are both so bright and tech knowledgeable. Paull's still trying to talk me into Burning Man.... The desert just isn't my kind of place... but, who knows? Sherry & Paul

We looked at generators at wisesales.com At the time, they offered free shipping on Honda and Yamaha generators... and really good prices. We wound up buying a never used Yamaha 3000 here in Florida from someone who had bought it from, coincidentally, Wise sales, who installed a whole-house generator system. We also bought a little Honda 1000i from Northern Tools for a very good price (and at the time, they offered price match if you found it cheaper elsewhere). We use the Honda 1000i when boondocking to top off batteries once or twice a day. It won't run the AC, but we can use the furnace, inverter for computer and cell phone chargers, water pump,fans, electronic ignition on the refrigerator, etc. (And Paul watches a DVD almost every night...) The 1000i is small, very quiet, and I can pick it up with one hand. I think it weighs less than 30 pounds, seems to run forever on a gallon of gas, and it fits under the ATV in the pickup bed, which the 3000 won't. The 3000 is very heavy, but powers everything. Sorry, can't give you info on the 2000 specifically. But, I think some people on the forum have 2000 or 2400's with smaller A/c units... I'm sure they'll read and chime in. Sherry PS Wise Sales had an ebay store, too. Might try there.

We are having a graduation party next month.... Will you be available to cook???? Looks wonderful!!! Thanx for sharing. Sherry PS Geri, they're not muddy.... think tiny langostino...

Chris, Thanks for the info. I saw posts on other forums regarding the LIberty diesel. Have you taken yours into the mountains? It looks like a great vehicle. Sherry

Earthdancer has a close, daily look at both... My observations from looking at Casitas and Oliver,,, (bear in mind, we bought Oliver, not Casita) 1. Carpet and particle board... The Oliver has neither, the Casita has both in abundance. I'm not partial to either. I live in the land of allergens in Florida already and take allergy medicine daily... Carpet is hard to clean, never really dust free. Particle board expands with water, which we have in abundance, even in the Florida air.... I love being able to clean the all fiberglass and gelcoat interior of the oliver in 15-20 minutes with a portable vacuum or a soft 4" paintbrush "broom", a spray bottle of vinegar windex, and a soft cloth. (Ok, the bathroom takes a litttle longer,.. but that takes longer at home too... in the Oliver I just turn on the garden hose and use a little spray and a scrubby when we get home.... ) I admit it. I'm a neat freak. Can't help the way I was raised. I'm just thankful to own a trailer that accomodates my needs and neat freak passion. 2. Storage. .. Casita cupboards are a lot smaller... Oliver cupboards have a lot of depth and height. The "curve" on Casita ceiling is incorporated into Oliver cupboards, and then some. I still have empty overhead cupboards in the Oliver , waiting for the "big trip[". Our Oliver has three great drawers.... my friend's casita has one. Doesn't seem like a big deal, till you start making dinner.... then it is. Speaking of making dinner, no carpet next to the tiny kitchen in either means no odors lingering to remind you of yesterday's dinner.. 3,Comfort & ease.... Double hull, and we have thermo pane window option. Toasty and comffy for us, even with the overhead vents open. Lots of tankage... very helpful when boondocking. Setup? 15 minutes, less if we don't want the awning up. Those electric leveling jacks are amazing. Ditto breakdown. Shower/grey water stop valve is in the shower, where it belongs. Tank & power meters are great for us... We spend a lot of time off the grid. I could go on and on with this topic... everything is just too easy... For me, that means I spend more time doing what I like to do, and less what I have to do .... Sherry

Hi, Chris, We just got back from about a week of boondocking in the Carolinas. Sorry we missed your eariler post... We don't have aircard (or much of anything else) on our trips up to Carolina... by choice. We love the quiet. We're in Tampa Bay... so about 3.5 to 4 hours from you. You are certainly welcome to see our Oliver any time we're home. If you haven't already made the trip to Tennesee, let me know and I'll pm you phone #'s etc. We'll be home for at least a week and a half before we get on the road again. Sherry

Hi, Tom, Thanks for the reply. We haven't made it to the Honda dealer yet, tho it's in the plans. Is your truck a 4x4? If so, have you tracked mpg yet? I've seen the view from your "backyard" photos, so I know you understand what I'm discussing here. Sherry

Hi, CarolAnn, Every region has its hazards.... I'm originally from the wonderful Midwest, so I'm no stranger to tornadoes or straight-line winds in excess of 60mph. As a survivor of two homes destroyed by tornadoes (most people can't claim that one...), I have a great respect for wind and its power... and gee, I live in hurricane land, now... None the less, I have respect, but not fear. Buy a good weather radio, and leave it on alert. It will wake you up. When you camp, check around you... dead trees, old limbs, stuff likely to fall...especially if a storm is in the forecast. Most parks, including state parks, have concrete block bathrooms or community centers you can use as an emergency shelter. Know where you will go if troublesome weather approaches. Think ahead. .... Perhaps I'm more cautious because of my early years in the Midwest, and I can certainly understand where you come from. Even so, your chances of being involved in a major incident with a tornado or major straight line wind are just not that great... even in this freaky weather year. I go where I want, with an eye to the sky and an ear to the radio once in awhile. If you hit bad weather on the road, pull over in a safe, sheltered spot and wait it out. Get behind the storm, unless you truly have room to stay ahead of it. Listen to the local radio and weather radio. Most brutal storms move pretty quickly... nature of the beast. Mother Nature is what she is, but I'm going to keep on traveling and visiting my great home state of Minnesota as often as possible.... I love that big blue sky and the rolling land.... I'm from "tropical" southern Minnesota... the beautiful part that the glaciers didn't scrape clean. Hope you'll find time to swing through and visit "God's country" someday... Sherry

Paul and I got home from a couple weeks boondocking in the mountains of North Carolina, and we're thinking about a different tow vehicle with 4 wheel drive and 4 seats for the dirt roads on the mountainsides. Our 2wd/5.3l Silverado does great on the paved mountain roads and on the interstate. Likewise, the Volvo does great on the interstate but is a little underpowered with its 2.6l engine when used in the mountains. We feel that we really need a 4WD to take the Oliver to the best views on the little dirt back roads with steep grades. The Volvo is 4WD and heavy (6000 GVW), but its small 2.6l engine doesn't have quite the guts for towing in the dirt and gravel. We get about 14-14.5 mpg towing, with either the Silverado or the Volvo, combination of FL/GA /SC flat lands and North Carolina mountains. Better on the flat land only... We'd like to be able to at least match the 14.5, or do a little better. So far, we've test driven a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, the new restyled Jeep Liberty with tow package, a Toyota FJ,and a 2008 Silverado half ton with extended cab, all 4wd. The local dealer let us hook up and tow the Oliver with the FJ yesterday. Unfortunately, it looks like we only got about 11-13MPG during our test drive of 125mi with a mix of hwy and local driving. We lack mountains here to really get a feel for any of the vehicles in its intended environment... We spend quite a bit of time on the mountains. Any ideas from any of you would be appreciated. We'd really like to stay with an SUV this time, and not a truck, but the Silverado 4x4 is always a fallback... or another brand.... Sherry

I believe that your Suburban is built on the same frame as our Silverado half-ton. If so, the Oliver is less than half the weight allowed for towing and tongue for your Suburban (check the manual, firtst). I don't believe that a WDH would be warranted .... at all. Sway control is up to you... but the Suburban is very heavy... compared to the Oliver. You might want to take the specs of both to a trusted local mechanic and discuss your options since you have a very long drive home. I think you said you added some tow package options.... You may want to beef up the springs with air bags or helper springs (my vote is the adjustable air bags like ours)... which will be cheaper to do at home than away from home. Congratulations... We know you'll love your Oliver as we do!!! We have a factory tow package on the Silverado, which includes slightly beefed up springs and additonal coolers. We do not feel we need either a WDH or sway control, and we drive a lot of varying terrain... and high speed interstates. We barely feel the trucks going by. We only added the airbags to accomodate the weight of our ATV in the truckbed.... otherwise, we wouldn't have done anything other than the brake controller. Sherry

Angler, We tow our Oliver with both our car (Volvo XC90 SUV) and our Chevy Silverado half ton pickup. We added Hellwig air bags to our Silverado because we often carry our 800 pound ATV, loading ramp, and extra "stuff" (grilll, hiking gear,tools, gas cans, etc.) in the truck bed along with towing the Oliver. The airbags are adjustable, so when we run empty in the bed, we can let most of the air out, eliminating most of the slightly rougher empty ride. With an SUV, you may not need any extra suspension help. We haven't found it to be necessary with the Volvo SUV. Probably depends on what you put in the cargo area and if you put extra weight on the tongue. (We carry only a little 35 or 40 pound 1000 watt Honda generator in the truck bed to top off the batteries when we boon dock.) Paul bought the Hellwigs on line, and had our local mechanic install them on the Silverado. Airbags, just under $300.00. Local guy, about 75 or 85 dollars... it's a very simple installation, and doesn't require removing anything standard. Both our vehicles have factory tow packages (hitch, coolers, etc.). Hope this helps. Sherry

Stirring and peaceful, so beautiful... I looked at this and immediately thought of Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled": "....And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." Thank you for sharing..... Sherry

Hi, Sacsun! I edited the twin bed thread to bring it up again... I'm so glad you remembered those photos on photobucket... and I was one of the people who asked for them... duh, blame it on old-timer's.... Thanx for the reminder. To our new friends in Louisiana, you may wish to pm BuffaloBob on this forum. He is Oliver's sales manager, and may have more photos of the storage and organizational ideas you've requested. He'd also be the best source for the name of an Oliver owner near you.... or info on any upcoming expos ... I know Sacsun would agree with me... pix are great, but the Oliver in real life is super... happy camping... and exploring Sherry

A link to twin bed version photos was posted on another thread.... A friend of mine was looking for photos, and I thought it might be helpful here, too. May be of interest to others, as well. Sherr http://s262.photobucket.com/albums/ii120/robertpartee/twin%20beds/

Hey, Chuck... don't throw in the towel or the crockpot yet.... Anybody can learn... Personally, I think crockpot cooking is a great art... one I enjoy a lot. Low energy use, delicious results... As far as Paul's steak recipe... we'll marinade one for the next unofficial, unsanctioned Oliver rally, I promise... we'll be waiting for your review!!! When are you two in Pasco next? Sherry (PS UNSANCTIONED RULES!!! )