SeaDawg

I'll have to admit, I smoked a few "puros" in Spain, as a college kid. After dinner, pretty much as a challenge. Glad I didn't turn green....though I felt my stomach revolting. The memories are great. Thanks, guys, for the thread and responses .

@Kirk Peterson, I hope we get to share that campfire. And, you and Paul can enjoy those cigars. 😃

My husband enjoys a campfire cigar occasionally. I have no idea what kind. My beloved fil enjoyed them on our sailing trips, back in the day. I just tried to stay upwind. I don't think his choices were very "aromatic." If we ever share a campfire, I'll tell you a long story about a tropical storm, a small airport, innumerable flies, and almost landing on a coral reef that didn't show on the (hand drawn) charts. Plus, hunting down cigars on a very primitive village off the coast of Honduras. And, bread. It's a very long , but funny story. Years after Tommy (my fil) passed, we'd still find little cigar stubs hidden on fence post joints, corners of the garage, etc. Thank you for the memories. He was my pal, and a great guy.

I could see doing a low country boil on a big pot on that burner. My turkey fryer burner has a ton of btu, but I would be hesitant to put a big pot of oil on the ammo box. Its a great idea, and if the burner is easily adjustable, it should work in wind.

You'll deal with frost heaves. You'll deal with construction. Construction zones, with gravel thrown up, are the major hazard for windshield damage, unless you decide to travel the gravel roads like Denali. We've made the trip many times. Great memories. Imo, go early. Late May. Get out early. I totally agree with @Jim and Chris Neuman, just do it, if you can. So much to see!

15th season, and still feel the Ollie is a great purchase. Pros: 15 seasons, still looks new. (We do take care of it, but its outside, 24/7/365. It has everything we need, and nothing more. Life in miniature suits us, as we spend a lot if time outside. No wood. No wood. No wood. So, no rot. No rubber roof to rot. (See above.) You do need to recaulk at openings periodically. Tows like a dream, tracks with the truck tires. Very comfortable in shoulder season camping. (We're not winter campers, so can't speak to that. Teens and 20s is it for us.) Great marine gelcoat, fit and finish, and quality marine components. Oliver support, and the forum community. Cons: It's double hull construction makes it heavy for its size. Not an ultralight. For the most enjoyable tow experience, you'll need a 250, or an andersen hitch with a 150. Unless, you have the shorty like us. Dometic ac is noisy (but you probably know that. Your trailer likely has one, too.) Price. It's not cheap, by any means. But, longevity is there. Do spend some time exploring here. Ask good questions, and you'll get good answers. Good luck with your decision.

$3.49 today at the Costco gas stations in Pooler, GA (Savannah), Columbia and Spartanburg, SC. Nearby sams were similar. Murphy, higher. Yes, I use GasBuddy, and have for years. And, we have both sams and costco memberships. Gas savings pay for the cards, easily. Everything else is a bonus. 😃😃😃

Shoutout to the Ollie Elite 1 traveling southbound on I 95 at mile marker 28, South Carolina a few minutes ago. Blue truck.

Thanks, Steve. That's how we do it.and, many times. But, your explanation will help a new owner of a pre-loved 2008, someday, I'm sure. As you know, our older trailers have no intake in the bumper. I have sent photos of the original manual to a number of second owners of our older elites. No 2008 manual in University.

I agree, @John E Davies. Go for the simplest way. Definitely needs a lot of thought.

Modifying the line from the bath sink to the toilet would probably be pretty simple, imo. We brush teeth outside, whenever possible. So, it's just water and liquid soap. Like I said, still an education issue. And, something to be acutely aware of. Our bath faucet is limited to (I think) .25 gpm or .5 gpm. I don't remember. In the house, all bath vanities are .25 gpm.

Our sailboat sends handwash water from the sink, to the toilet. It's ok ; but we always have to educate new users. It does save water. But, can overflow, if uninitiated don't comprehend the system. A successful grey water recycling system, imo, requires many filters, and a separate tank. And there's a lot of room for error, imo. We spent extensive time on this concept, building our leed platinum home. Hair, soap, kitchen sink debris, etc., just didn't make sense to make it worth the extra plumbing, tanks, and filtering. And, history has shown many issues with grey water recycling. We opted for extra low flow faucets and toilets. (Toilets are the big siphons of clean water, honestly. We opt for if it's yellow let it mellow. Brown, flush it down, plus the lowest flush toilets we could buy.) There are many ways to skin the water conservation cat. If the grey water recycling works for you, I'd love to see how you accomplish it.

@dewdev, we didn't have a laundry in our dorm, in Pamplona. It was handwash, or lavanderia. I remember one time, shopping while the laundry was in cycle, finding American ketchup in a small shop. It was so exciting! Our dorm made the most amazing French fries (papas fritas) and ketchup made everything so much better/ normal/ American. (At least for us. Mayonnaise was the condiment of choice, if any, in those days in the 70s. I kept the ketchup in my room, and brought it down on fried chicken/French fry days. I've yet to find better fries than those fresh cut potatoes, fried in olive oil, in our dorm. ) In those days, it was very inexpensive. Just the hassle of carrying a laundry bag, both ways. Again, thanks for the memories.

@rideandfly, I was excited to see $3.85 here in Florida at a Costco. That's awesome. Well, as awesome as it gets, these days.... 😁

We've been fascinated here by tooletries for years. A lot of folks use them. Great products from two Aussie brothers. Glad you like them. Several more owner experiences here if you search "tooletries " . Have you seen the shower beer video? It's quite entertaining. 😅

One of my favorites (and there are so many!) was on the Gaspe peninsula, Quebec. Most of the Provincial and national campgrounds were closed, so we "settled" for Camping Griffon. Simple rv park, we were one of maybe three campers there in early October, and we watched whales from our campsite. The owners were so very nice, even though we spoke little French, they spoke some pretty good English. Our camper was so small, they gave us a seaside tent site. The showers were older but clean and heated, and a very short walk in the brisk evening! Things have possibly changed. That's 12 or 14 years ago. But, the Gaspe is a beautiful drive.. do it north to south, if possible, as you generally are on the land side, not feeling like you're hanging out on the edge of the cliff (though you are, sometimes. )

Wow. Are there still laundromats that do that? When I was a student in Spain, many years ago, we'd drop off our clothes at a wash/dry/fold lavanderia, and go for tapas and vino. Thanks for the memory!

Liana, til you get it all sorted out, and your trailer tanks are approaching full, you could line the Ollie toilet with a wag bag, and use the camper toilet like you do the one outside. Certainly safer if there's a mountain lion prowling your property.

You might like took at this thread: You could also post something in classifieds-- looking for a front basket for Ollie Elite II. You might get "lucky" and find someone who no longer wants theirs.... I actually think the box is nice for a Honda 1000. It'll stay clean, and out of sight.

Kadey Krogen builds beautiful boats. I had the pleasure of helping on a shakedown cruise, with a friend who worked for them, several years ago. Your manatee is an ultimate, stable trawler for a couple, with its great design. I'm sure you have great memories of a lifetime.

What is the bumper water connection?. 2008 owner here. Only discharge, in the bumper compartment.

Well, there are people like us who literally use the ac once a year, if that. Sometimes, just to test it. I would prefer to keep the price difference in my pocket, if possible. We did install a very quiet houghton in place of the 2008 dometic (roaring) dinosaur, a few years back. In retrospect, we would have been fine with a $100 vent and fan, but I do enjoy the quiet ac in the driveway, setting up for the season. The slimmer houghton still allows us to adjust our now much larger 200 watt solar panels. Main reason for changing up our ac. We rarely camp with hookups, and carry only a Honda 1000, so we have not used our ac much ... We tend to move when temps rise, rain is coming, etc. (I don't mind snow. Actually, we enjoy it, if it melts in a day or two. 😁 We Just avoid heat when we can. Trailers have wheels, for a reason.)

I know. I have friends who carry gens in their suvs, others who won't even consider it. It's all a personal decision. I'd personally discourage anyone from trying to carry a generator on the Ollie bumper, though... @Margaret, what batteries do you have now?

@John E Davies, I think I remember from another thread that she tows with an suv. A number of my friends don't like to have a generator in the back of an suv. I could be wrong... I absolutely agree, the rear bumper is a lousy place for a generator.

The Honda 1000 weighs approximately 30 pounds. The 2200, about 50. I can lift either. If you can leave it on the tongue, in a basket, it's kind of immaterial, except for changing tongue weight. And, having to have the bathroom window and vents closed to eliminate the station wagon effect. (And setting off your co monitor...) Call Oliver about the basket, or you can get something fabricated locally. There have occasionally been some for sale on the forum. If you routinely camp with electricity, it's pretty irrelevant. I know your trailer doesn't have solar, but I'd suggest a portable solar panel, if you only rarely boondock.