SeaDawg

Dusty... I remember back when I first tried driving the family's stick shift, '62 Rambler station wagon... it wasn't a pretty site...but my Dad took me to the local empty parking lot on a Sunday afternoon.... and what can I say...after a few hours of practice....I was...a little better... it took me many more Sunday afternoons before I was halfway proficient...I never quite understood why we went thru so many clutches on that 'ole Rambler.... Once you practice turning and backing up in a isolated area, you'll eventually get the hang of it. Basically, just allow a little more turning space when you do corners and try to avoid driving in big city rush hour traffic unless absolutely necessary. Backing up requires a little more practice, but you'll eventually master that, too. Pulling the Oliver is like a dream... you'll need to allow a little more space when you pull out to pass and more distance to accelerate and brake. Just keep in mind that you have an extra 20' behind you. It tracks great and I never had any problem with sway or whipping when a semi passed me. Frankly, I think it's the easiest trailer I've ever pulled. As far as disconnecting and reconnecting to gas up or planning your fuel stops... its unnecessary. If you have a gas station thats pretty tight getting into, stop at another station... or just go into it slow, swing a little wider and keep an eye on your trailer. Pulling a trailer is not a hereditary instinct... it's just a matter of practice and getting a feel for what you and your trailer will do together. I find it a far greater challenge these days dealing with the multitude of drivers that believe they can talk on the cell phone, IM, navigate blindly via the talking GPS navigational units and still drive 'safely'... but that's another topic...

Thanks for the website. 25 pounds!!! My suitcase for a two week vacation could be suspended from that suction cup! Amazing! Still checking out the big box stores for locally available products... Had some fun organizing the kitchen and bath area with a few today. Pix in the next few days... I'm really happy with the kitchen results so far. Note.. Target is the one with the positive action, clamp down hooks we talked about earlier. In clear or white (cheaper, 2 for $1.99 in clear, which actually looks nicer against the shiny white of the Oliver (IMHO) than the gray/white 2 for $2.99 hooks....) Walmart has double hooks by Duck that seem to hold a lot... we'll see how they hold up on bumpy roads! Sher

So, it took me a week, but I have my brother's pix from Howenwald, picking up our new Oliver. Sorry it took me so long to get these posted All these smiling faces spent the afternoon with us, loading up, finetuning, teaching, and helping us get on the road! Paul's got the new Oliver hitched up and ready to check out the electric brakes in the warehouse delivery bay. Loading up the Oliver for the first time!!

I have a Casita, not an Oliver, but apparently it had the same slippery cushion problem! Hi, Geri, I'm personally so glad you have found the board. It's really great for a lot of us to have another insight, from a different brand. We all share a lot of the same problems, and the same joys, in owning a fiberglass camper. I looked at some of your photos on your website. You have an amazing talent with a camera!!!! My favorites (so far) are the vegetable stand and the nymph done with infrared film... Can't wait to meet you! We wanted to spend a few days in the panhandle on the way home from Tennessee, but it didn't work out due to family/personal stuff... Still looking forward to a trip to NW Florida. Sherry Sherry

Hi, Bugz, Nice to have you on the board. Congratulations on your new Oliver... we hope you love it as much as we love ours!! Sherry n Paul

We all wish you and your wife a good and safe trip. Thanks for all your comments and input.... Sherry n Paul

Chuck said: Oh, yeah, I see that you have chosen the same nick name for your coach that we have. It usually goes like this around our house. "Honey, wil you carry this stuff out to OLLIE ?" I makes me wonder if owners will just refer to their camper as "Ollie" instead of giving them a speciffic name as Casitan's often do ? I havn't seen any one posting a name for their Oliver TT yet. Well, our dog already has the name "Oliver" in our household..... Do you think maybe we should name the camper "Rover" or "Spot"? Sherry

I know we touched on this before in another topic, but I think the idea may have been lost in other discussions. A lot of the stick built campers we looked at have a pop up outdoor kitchen, or a set of clips to attach a grill, but I'm not crazy about heat and smoke next to the camper. On the boat, we've used a Magma propane for over ten years. Small, lightweight, easy to clean and store... but we don't have quite the same situation here. On the boat, we always have a rail to attach to, and (at least at anchor), the smoke always blows away from us. (You haven't seen billowing smoke till Paul takes over as grillmaster ! What do you use, or what have you seen that you like? We don't want to do the charcoal semi-disposable grill again. as we have with rental RVs.. charcoal is a pain, and we bought the quik disconect for the Oliver propane system. Really don't want a heavy grill, or have to carry a camp table, too. We've thought about installing a socket on the side of the aluminum frame near the bumper and then using a swing arm with the grill mounted on it, so its about a foot or so away from the side. Ideas? Comments? Please? Paul n Sherry

Very cute kitchen area. I like the protector under the canisters being a cutting board too... very functional. This question may actually be for Butcherknife... I looked all over Wally World and a few other stores today for a suction cup paper towel holder. Did you make yours, or did you find it at a specialty store? There seems to be a wealth of suction cup devices out there, but no paper towel holders. So far, I've found (KMart) toothbrush holder, shower organizers, soap dish, corner shelf, sink caddy, many kinds of hooks... Wally World: several kinds of hooks, cute sink organizers for brush, washcloth etc. in three colors, including red (you might like that one, cause it's really close to Coca Cola red), soap dish, wall bins about 4x 6 inches. But... no paper towel holder. Very reluctant to drill into that prisitine gel-coated fiberglass! Thanks. Sherry

Thanks for the input, MountainBorn. We decided on the Good Sam insurance (actually GMAC under their group.) It was reasonable compared to the others we checked, and customer service reps were friendly and responsive. Sherry

Hi, Those awesome little suction hooks are now available in the big box stores. I think we bought the ones for our daughter's dorm room in Wally World last fall... or maybe Target. They work the same way... open it up, pull the hook down, and the suction cup attaches like glue... but no glue. The one that mystifies me is the variety of hooks at the home depot that claims to hang with no mark. From small picture frames to big, towel size, you positions them, slide a little piece of paper out, and they stick with no suction cup or no hole or mark. And, they're supposedly reuseable/repositionable. Haven't tried one yet. Any experience with those? I'm thinking they might be good for pix and pot holders, etc. in the Oliver. Sherry

I have to agree with MountainBorn... The Oliver is just a really easy tow. One of the reasons we started looking at Olivers and similar trailers is that we travel a lot to North Carolina, and we spend a lot of time on little narrow mountain roads. My husband liked the idea of a trailer that was not a lot wider than the tow vehicle... there's not a lot of shoulder or forgiveness in some of those little mountain roads. The added bonuses of light weight, low center of gravity, plus the narrower body just make for a really nice tow. We drove our new Oliver home from TN via Destin to Tampa Bay, about half small two lane roads and half interstate, in Florida tourist season traffic, and never had a problem with the Volvo's standard side mirrors. But, you may want to check out the tow mirrors just for added security if you're not used to towing at all. Especially, because the Oliver trails along so lightly behind, it's easy to forget that it's there! Sherry

My husband is about your height, and the Oliver bed is very comfortable for both of us. No problem with headroom inside the camper, either. Because the tanks are mounted low on the frame, there's no problem for him with headroom in the bath/shower combo. At 5'4", I have no problem in any camper or boat . Aside from the extra headroom/storage area, we think the low mounted tanks give us a nicer tow. Water weight is down low, and spread evenly. Even towing with the car instead of the truck, we barely noticed the trailer was there. Sherry

Hi, Chuck! So excited for you! We, too, had hoped to stop in Destin and Appalachicola for a couple days, but other cirucumstances brought us home early. As to our trip, we towed with the Volvo, not the Silverado, because my brother was with us and the Silverado does not have the extended cab. The Volvo does not have a ton of power (only a 2.4), but the Oliver towed along behind like a dream. You'd hardly know it was there! In the hills, with all our extra "stuff" for three people and outfitting the camper for the first time, we would have been happy for the extra power of the 5.3 liter Chevy, but we had zero problems, winding through the small roads of Tennessee and Alabama, and cruising down the Interstate in Florida. One of the reasons we chose the Oliver was that we were confident we could tow with either the car or the truck, and, gee... we can!!! Please post when you're going to be down in the Bradenton area. If we're here in Florida, it's a short hop, and we'd love to have the first (I think) Oliver mini-rally! Since I already know how much curiosity one Oliver attracts, two will be double the fun. I think one nice guy in Tallahasse may be next on the list for an Oliver after touring ours at the gas station... PM us with details if you like, or post on the board. Look forward to meeting you!!! Sherry and Paul

That is tooooo funny... I love British humor, but this is defitinitely "over the top"! Thanks for sharing your find. Sher

Hee, hee, hee.... There are, according to the count on all four paws, approximately 2,876 fireplugs between Howenwald TN and Tampa Bay...give or take one or two. Our trip home towing our new Oliver took a little time as we had to "mark territory" at every plug.... Seriously, we are soooo happy to have our new Oliver at home in the driveway. The real reason we haven't been on the board is we took the long route... Tampa Bay, Asheville, Nasheville, Howenwald, Destin, Tampa Bay.... and just got home! My brother Mike came along with us, and was the official photographer for the expedition. As soon as we've had time to download, we'll post some pix. Only one thing missing... Paul forgot to ask Robert to install the kegerator and beer tap! Otherwise, as our daughter says, it's totally "tricked out" and really cute. On a serious note, we really felt a sense of family when we spent the day in Howenwald picking up the new Oliver. Everybody there, without exception, was welcoming, warm, and helpful beyond description. It is evident that everyone at Oliver Technologies and Oliver Travel Trailers takes "ownership" of their work, and every Oliver is a labor of love. Our thanks to Robert, Bert, Linda, Danny, Brandon, Mike and Bill... and all the others we met but can't remember the names right now. Our Oliver camper trailer is perfect and beautiful. We promise, we'll take good care of him!!! More later, the pizza's ready and it's been a long drive home. Sherry

Great idea! We bought a little IKEA bag holder years ago that hangs in our garage, but that requires fasteners into the wall.... not something we really want to do in a new TT. We carry several durable shopping bags wherever we go, but somehow, we wind up with plastic bags in abundance anyway. Thanx for the idea!

Paul started looking for insurance today in anticipation of picking up our new Oliver soon. We checked Geico and Good Sam so far. I realize geographics make a difference, (Florida is usually pretty high), but wondered if any of you have recommendations. Thanks. Sherry

Thanks for your kind offer of being local guide, Geri. I'll send you a message when we get closer to the date! St. Georges is beautiful!!! Sherry

Chuck, Looks like we'll be picking ours up near the end of February. We'll keep you posted! Sherry n Paul

Chuck, We're planning to travel through there on our way home from Tennesee when we pick up our Oliver. We visitied the area in the early 90's several times, and loved the charming little downtown area and the laid back atmosphere of the county. If it's still the same, I can easily see why it's your favorite area! Sherry

Thanks for all the kind comments. These pictures were taken on an Olympus digital camera, 35mm, not very expensive. We've had really good luck with Olympus in film and digital... they're pretty rugged, and offer a lot of value for the dollars spent. Alaska just makes an average photo snapper seem really good...It's tough to take a bad picture when there's beauty around every curve! I'm kind of out of pocket for a few days, but I'll try to post more over next weekend. Sherry

Thanks for the info on the road wings. We'll check it out with Camperworld here.

Hi. Looks so peaceful out there... off the beaten track is where we love to be, too! A question about your "road wings" that took care of most of the mud on that long unpaved road. Did you get them from the Jeep dealer, or are they an after market product? We're looking for something for our Silverado to keep the mud and stones off the new Oliver when we pick it up later this month. Thanks. Sherry

One of my favorites... A tranquil Alaska lake We lucked out... Some people who visit the park never get to see Denali because of the clouds at the top. The weather was perfect on the day we visited. Thanks for the help with the photo uploads. I think I need a little more practice to get the sizing right before I try to post any more. Sherry