Ray and Susan Huff

Let's say you're on the road. Daytime temps are in the 40s; you expect it to be upper 20s to mid 30s at night for a portion of the trip. Do you Winterize - 1. with hookups and heat on at night? 2. no hookups and no heat? Or is it best just to Winterize and not lose sleep over it? I ask because we will be towing our new Oliver home close to mid December. If weather is favorable, we plan to take I-40 from Tennesssee to Nevada, then Hwy 395 north to Oregon. I'm mostly concerned about traveling in higher elevations - Flagstaff, AZ, Albuquerque, NM and Reno to Redding. We aren't opposed to traveling in winterization mode, carrying water, and flushing toilet with antifreeze, but having water would be nice.

Salsa, yeah, that's it. Love it, but not enough to make me buy an Airstream! While researching, I noticed photos of used Airstreams where the ultra-leather seems to have stretched and has wrinkles. We had our Leisure Travel Van four years and the upholstery didn't do that. Perhaps it's because the cushions in the Airstream are much larger than our van, or the Oliver. Not that it matters - we're getting an Oliver - but has anyone with the ultra fabric upgrade on the larger cushions on the rear benches noticed any wrinkling?

When I checked, Ultra Leather was about $75 a yard. I haven't estimated the yardage for the 4 dinette cushions, but at least 3 yards. Not sure if that would be enough for piping the seams. When I asked Oliver, they quoted me $500 for a custom order of dinette cushions in fabric. Some of the cost is for the foam, which also is expensive. The upgrade to Ultra Leather is $299, which seems like a fair price since $300 dollars would buy 4 yards of ultra fabric (at retail price). If you purchased the ultra leather and paid someone to do the work, I expect it would cost close to $500 to reupholster a set of Oliver dinette cushions. I still would love to have red!

Dakota Black was dropped when they switched to decor packages. Personally, I'm glad they kept Mont Blanc over the Dakota fiber granite because that was my choice when decor picks were ala carte. I can understand them needing to keep a brown option, although I don't care for the Alpine. Had they not offered the Midnight Decor (Flannel or Grey Jay upholstery and Mont Blanc counters) I would have chosen the Storm Decor with Wild West Ultra Fabric and Quarry fiber granite. With our chosen black overhead cabinet doors, the Dakota would be too much black. I agree there needs to be one non-black/grey/brown/tan upholstery choice. Navy would be a nice addition, but I think red ultra fabric would be awesome! Of course, it is easy to have the cushions reupholstered. Airstream used to have a red ultraleather option - more of a paprika/chili pepper color. I don't see it offered now.

Looks like 2 LifeBlues is the limit for the battery compartment.

So when you pump antifreeze in through the city connection, it also winterizes the shower faucet? Or do you still have to open the shower hot/cold to winterize the shower hose and head when winterizing the interior water supply lines? Maybe if I watch the video it will make more sense 😀

To winterize the outside shower faucet, can't you just open each valve (hot and cold) as you do for the inside faucets? I guess I don't understand what is meant by the outside shower connection.

Oliver told me there is room for 3 of the LifeBlue lithium batteries on the current Oliver II battery compartment tray. You might want to ask them the dimensions to confirm.

Where is access to the inside of the grey tank?

How much does this increase your payload? lol

Maybe they should install a scope in the tank so you can see what's going one . . . . . you know, like colonoscopy 😱

Cheater valve?? What's that?

That would be quite a ride!

If 16' then it should have 3 arms?

Maybe you got our build date! We were scheduled for February 3 delivery, then had a call from Rodney Lomax asking if we'd like to bump it up to December 7! We've lived all our lives on the West Coast, but not until retiring have we managed to get out and see the beauty our country has to offer. Perhaps our Olivers will meet out on the road in 2021.

There's just something about the coast . . . . . the sound of the surf, sea gulls and fog horns . . . . waves crashing on a rugged coastline . . . . . . exploring tide pools . . . . . . finding treasures in the flotsam and jetsam . . . . . . . watching the approach of an incoming storm . . . . . . sunsets/sunrises. We are fortunate to live just a short drive from the beach while still being surrounded by mountains, trees, streams and country roads. I spent the biggest part of my childhood enjoying coastal living . . . . . some of my greatest memories.

Yes, RV air conditioners are noisy . . . . but we cope. If it is really warm out, try to situate the trailer to take advantage of shade or in the least, park perpendicular to the sun as it goes down. Use fans and windows strategically to get maximum circulation; use auxiliary fans when possible. We don't attempt to sleep with the A/C running. If it is extremely warm out we will run the A/C to cool the cabin down before retiring for the night. We don't expect conditions to be as good as at home with our sophisticated HVAC systems; Just thankful to have something to cool things down below 80 degrees. I might feel differently if we were full-timers.

Maybe I'm a bit skeptical, but I'm wondering why this vendor has Yamaha 2200i generators in stock while no one else does. Has anyone done business with Panthereast.com?

So, has anyone thought of replacing the CO/LP alarm under the dinette with an LP only alarm? Or, do they make such a thing anymore? Our 2014 5th-wheel had a smoke only alarm, a CO detector in the bedroom, and an LP alarm in the galley mounted on the cabinet baseboard. Maybe RV standards have changed since then.

Hey, thanks for the info. The last time I checked that site, they were out of stock. Appreciate the head's up!

Yes . . . . in our world (Oregon) it is called "Clear" fuel - meaning no ethanol (alcohol). We get ours at Pacific Pride, with a commercial fueling card, and use it in all our small engine equipment (weed eater, mower, chain saw, generator, etc.). Also in our tractor and motorcycle. Our passenger vehicles are both diesel and we do not use B-diesel, although the F350 is supposedly rated to run on it.

I say lock one . . . . . let us know what you decide as we continue to follow the Lithium discussion.

Wow! I'm glad we placed our order when we did . . . . . . our less than 6 month wait seems like nothing . . . . . and the time is flying by. The old adage, "Good things take time" is appropriate here. Sadly, RV travel is just not what it was a year ago. This has made being with an RV bearable for us. And the current RV market certainly made selling our camper van a breeze. After extensive travel trailer research, watching the Oliver factory tour and finally seeing an Oliver in person, our view of mass produced travel trailers has changed forever. Get the Oliver; you won't regret your decision.

I envy you living in Colorado. We had a great trip through there last year . . . . part of our "Heritage Tour" that took us through places where some of my ancestors were born and are now laid to rest . . . . .Casper, WY; Canon City, Penrose and Sargents, CO. Saw some beautiful country all along our route, through Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado and Utah. Southern Colorado was by far my favorite. Maybe because I can feel my roots there! We had hoped to return to Colorado this year, but . . . . . . well, "you know what" put a Kibosh on those plans! Next year . . . . . Wishing you the best in your pursuit of your perfect Oliver. Keep us posted. Susan

Where is the LOLOHO video?