Jim and Chris Neuman

Thought I saw one near Sunriver, OR but it turned out to be just a shiny dumpster!

Boudicca908 Yes, Zapata Falls was the name of the campsite I mentioned above. Failed to mention the Zapata Falls hike adjacent to the campground - really nice!

You are correct, many of the sites in this older campground are for smaller rigs or tents, however, there are a few pull-thru sites available. We reserved one two winters back for a 5 day stay and it was beautiful, easily handling our LII and F150. Great Sand Dunes is a really fine NP and at the time we showed up there (late February) it was not at all crouded on trails although the campground was topped off. Do not recall the name of the campground but about 6 - 8 miles south of the southern entrance to the NP is road leading to, I believe, a BLM campground where we stayed the night before we were due to arrive at the NP campground. A serious climb above the valley bottem (maybe 1500 - 2000' feet above the main highway turnoff) but we were treated to one of the finest views we have ever had from a campsite. Road into campground was good but steep and presented no problem for our truck & trailer. We lucked into a site but a reservation would be useful here also as it was pretty full.

Looking for input on the Sea Biscuit Metal Designs front cargo box, specifically the smaller of the two sizes offered. Design looks clean and functional but would like input from folks who actually own one as they are pretty spendy and new enough not to have a lot of outside input that I can locate. Primary use will be chocks & messy stuff in general. Our Oliver is an LEII. Any experience out there? Appreciate any input. Jim

Can anyone tell here are the Bulldog shocks are made?

I may have missed it but do you have firm reservations for any of this voyage? If not, plan way ahead as many of the areas you are heading into will be inundated with other campers. Spring, heading into summer, can be a very tough time to find camp sites in popular areas. In broad terms your plan seems doable but again, plan way ahead and keep your options open. Winging it can become an exercise in frustration as tourist season descends. Fortunately, as you make you way West into areas with large blocks of public land, boondocking becomes a viable option and your Oliver is just the machine to help you make that happen.

Usually with a nearly full tank unless we are sure of good quality water at our destination. We live in NW Washington where the water quality is very good and do not hesitate to drink it right out of the tanks (which are regularly flushed with fresh when we return from a trip). We do carry a filter pitcher for those times where the water is hard or otherwise too iffy for drinking. Always filter when filling tanks when away from home.

Is your 2023 trailer still under warranty? If so, a call to Oliver would be an obvious first step.

We received the same notice for our hull 770. Checked the rating of the hitch as instructed in the notice - stamped 7000. We are good to go. I appreciate Oliver giving potentially affected folks a heads up.

Max is right about the vanity hatch. We put one in and discovered two things. 1) Trying to remember the name of the hatch manufacturer ... Sea Dog? Nicely built, solid and very easy to install wilh only minor modification of the cut out. 2) Like like in the area behind the rear drawers under the kithchen sink, the installation of couplings was sloppy with loose and leaking fittings The plumbing in our Oliver is the only area where I am really disappointed in the QC. I advise making access to every possible failure point and checking often.

Agree completely with the hole saw recommendation. Will add that it must be extremely sharp and of high quality ... recommend bi-metal hole saws of professional grade construction. Cheap is never worth the cost as you can get hundreds of dollars worth of pissed off when a poor quality tool fails causing you to make a major screw up. Never more true than with cutting tools. It may not be possible, depending on the job, but if possible stop just short of complete penetration of the hull and then make a cut from the backside through the existing pilot hole. This will ensure a clean cut on both sides of the hull as it eliminates exit slivers.

Those of us in the West are surrounded by exactly the right type of rock to use in propane fire pits. Fresh from the volcano lava rocks are there for the picking. Alongside a central Oregon road I picked up a fire pit full of 2 - 2-1/2" lava rocks chosen for high density and low water content. Lava rock varies from extremely light to very dense ... some lava rocks float in water - you don't want that as the heavier rocks absorb and give off far more heat than the fluffy stuff. Avoid the immitation stuff that comes in some fire pits. Make sure your rock is from a genuine, certified volcano that has not been soaking in water recently. Porous rock filled with water can blow up in a surprising manner when put in a fire ... best to avoid that.

A little anti-sieze compound in the threads will make checking the shackle pins easier in the future as well as protect from corrosion. Follow that up by siezing shackle pin to the shackle with a bit of light stainless wire and the potential for having this happen again in the future will be eliminated. Shackle pins can and will back out given the opportunity unless lashed in place. Even better is monel wire as it can be re-used more readily than stainless.

Same problem on hull 770. Several slides came adrift within a few months of purchase. The #6 screws are inadequate and too few. The slide will handle #8's and there are plenty of spots along the track for additional screws in addition to the few Oliver put in. An hour or so of labor and many more fasteners will solve the issue. A small dab of woodworking adhesive will improve retention of the screw. I would not bed them in epoxy but a small drop of Titebond smeared on the threads will improve the bond.

Spent 4 nights there summer before last early in September. Really enjoyed the hiking and the relative quiet once off the main road. Many of the sites are too small for even smaller trailers - we lucked into a great pull through but they were few. Choose your site carefully and well in advance.