bugz

We are going camping again tomorrow so I thought I would post these latest mods before we head out. We wanted a flashlight within easy reach from inside or outside the Oliver so we mounted one near the closet with some flashlight clips. http://oliver.hewus.com/Mods/Flashlight_Clips We also noticed that our trailer came with an automatic changeover propane regulator (very cool!) and saw that there was an optional remote propane changeover indicator available so that we can tell when a tank is empty. It came on a box that was much larger than we wanted to mount conspicuously so Andrew re-soldered the LED light to the other side of the circuit board and then mounted it inside one of the benches with only a hole big enough for the light to fit through. http://oliver.hewus.com/Mods/Remote_Pro ... _Indicator Lisa

We tow with a two door V6 Wrangler and have no trouble at all so you will be just fine. The Highlander is a really nice choice. We hope to get one someday. Lisa

Sherry, I don't drink coffee but my husband does. Our friends brought a Coleman camp stove drip coffee maker with them on our camping trips and apparently it worked really well. It would work on the stove inside so we may get one as I have become a fan of things that do not need to run off of a generator or battery. It is on the large side though so that is another consideration. Walmart carries them. http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school/rev ... offee.html Lisa

That is very cool. I want one! Lisa

If you get one you will not be disappointed. You will be getting a LOT more than a travel trailer let me tell you! Lisa

Sherry, I wish I could take any credit for these mods but Andrew has thought of them all as we have used the trailer. He has more ideas too so who knows what we will end up with next. I love our Oliver. If I could move into it I would! Here is a link to the knife block we used http://www.amazon.com/Mundial-Solid-Dra ... 447&sr=1-1 and a link to one he thinks is a good choice too http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RA ... 47&sr=1-11 He is going to put some foam above the rack inside the cabinet and make it thick enough to just clear the blades. This way if they bounce around while towing they should stay in place. Lisa

We recently installed a sliding knife block in the large drawer under the kitchen sink. Our utensil drawer was very full and it just seemed like a good idea for the knives to have their own place. We don't keep tall stuff in the drawer so this was the perfect spot. http://oliver.hewus.com/Mods/Knife_Block Lisa

Chuck, Actually yes we have been messing with the LED bulbs. We tested out a white and a warm white. I really like the G4 warm white even though it isn't as bright so I think we are going to go with those. We got them from http://stores.ebay.com/LEDwholesalers-Inc We posted some pictures so you can kind of see the difference between the two. http://oliver.hewus.com/index.cgi?mode= ... r%20Lights Hope that is of some help! Lisa

Chuck, My husband, a former glazier, said to check with a glass shop because someone does make a silvering sealer, We are going to hold out for the vinyl backing just to see how that works. Lisa

Sherry, Yes it's really beautiful there. I wish I could stay longer than a weekend but I have to pay for it somehow My brother-in-law was supposed to come last weekend but his wife was hit hard with allergies so they didn't make it. He said he was going to take our door and send it to a glass manufacturer and have a vinyl backing put on it. He also said we could try and do that ourselves but it would not look as nice and would probably have bubbles. He's going to try and get out this way to go camping with us within the next month or so and I will get him to look at it then. Lisa

Chuck, Wayne says he barely feels the trailer towing with the Jeep. He does have to downshift on steep inclines of course but it pulls really well. Last Sunday we were towing uphill in the wind so our gas mileage wasn't the best but there wasn't any sway. We made up for the heavy use of gas on the way back too. I hope you make it out this way. You would love it I am sure! Lisa

Congratulations! I am so happy you have your wonder egg. It has been so interesting to watch the progress. Thank you for your update and I can't wait to see your pictures. Lisa

We went back to the property last weekend and it was completely different weather in just a weeks time. The snow really was sort of a freak thing but really nice. Here is a picture from Sunday. http://oliver.hewus.com/Trips/2008/2008 ... 070694.JPG It was in the mid 70's and no wind. We were up there checking out our new driveway and pad which by the way will give us plenty of room for a rally! Lisa

rvngal - We have lived in AZ for about 20 years and have never been to the White Mountains. It is my dream destination in Arizona and one I insist we go to this summer. Any tips and suggestions are more than welcome. Maybe we could even meet up! buffalobob - Our friend owns that trailer you saw in the pictures. It's a 1974 Ideal travel trailer 22ft. He has put a lot of work into fixing it up and has done a very nice job. We are having a driveway and pad cut on the property this week so we can get the trailers up on the ridge as well. I would imagine we have plenty of room to have an Oliver Rally up there! SeaDawg - One tent was just a place to put extra chairs and such and my husband, niece and nephew slept in the tent because they were pshhh. They said it was nice and warm in their little igloo so that's good. We can all fit in the Oliver but they had never been tent camping before and are having a blast.

So far. We just got back from our second trip in our Oliver. We went back to our property in Hackberry and had the most wonderful time. I know a lot of you will probably groan but it snowed! It's was nothing short of a miracle to me being from a city that never gets snow and barely any rain. Pancakes in the snow- http://oliver.hewus.com/Trips/2008/2008 ... 070479.JPG Then when we were just about frozen we warmed up in our toasty trailer- http://oliver.hewus.com/Trips/2008/2008 ... 070504.JPG The furnace kept us nice and warm day and night. My husband said it was too warm but he's crazy We liked the non-carpeted floors when we bought the trailer but loved them after having snowy, muddy shoes coming in and out all day. It was so nice to sit at the table and eat lunch while looking out the window at the beautiful scenery. The snow was such a novelty that we took about a million pictures. If anyone is bored feel free to check them out at http://oliver.hewus.com Lisa

Yikes! That is definitely a hard way to earn a handle! I am glad she is ok though.

mountainborn that poem is beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing it. I ended up with bugz in a fairly boring manner. Years ago when I first got Internet access I ran home with my disks, a set of floppies I believe, and loaded everything up. It finally came time to enter this strange new land and I couldn't proceed until I picked a username! I sat there forever trying to think of something the whole family could use since I didn't realize everyone could have their own. I ran through names of cartoon characters and thought of bugs bunny and from there chose bugz never realizing I would someday be answering to it.

Chuck, Thank you for posting your pictures! It's nice to put a face with the name I hope to make it back that way with our trailer someday. Lisa

Hi Robert! We picked up the in the sink dispenser for the kitchen area at Lowe's. The product in the package is here: http://oliver.hewus.com/Mods/Under_Coun ... 6.JPG.html The dispensers for the bathroom area were purchased through http://www.dispenser.com and are nice because they can be removed and used in the house as well with only an additional mounting bracket needed.

Thanks! Now we just have to remember to put some soap in it before we leave on Friday!

Since we are first time trailer owners our opinion might not matter as much as others but I still wanted to share the reasons we bought an Oliver. We were not actively looking for a trailer but we did think it would be nice to have one someday. They just seemed so expensive though and I am fairly frugal by nature so spending a lot money just didn't make sense to me based on what I would end up with. Towing was another issue as we only have a Jeep to tow with. I knew if we got anything at all it would probably have to be a pop-up tent trailer or a tiny fixer-upper trailer. As fate would have it however I happened upon the Oliver trailers on a vacant lot right next to my office. They looked so tiny on the outside so I just had to see what they could possibly fit in there! I stepped inside and was just blown away. Everything was so well thought out and efficient. It had everything I would ever want in a trailer and more. It was truly as if I had given someone the detail of my dream trailer and Oliver built it just for me. It is not cheap but I believe it is worth every penny and then some. Oliver customer service is second to none and that is probably the most valued part of owning our Oliver. We were not treated as customers but as new members of the Oliver family. Maybe that sounds a little corny but it is the truth. Oliver is a good company run by good people. I wish them nothing but the best. Sincerely, Lisa Hewus (bugz)

We installed a soap dispenser in the kitchen today and have pictures posted here http://oliver.hewus.com/Mods/Under_Coun ... he_Kitchen. It required more drilling but I think it looks like it was meant to be there.

Sherry, The dispensers you see in the picture with the glass block are in our home shower and were purchased from http://www.dispenser.com. We love them and knew they would be perfect for the trailer because they are secure and don't take up counter space. We didn't want to fill them up with soap though and have them sitting in the trailer for extended periods of non-use so Andrew came up with the idea of just buying an extra mounting bracket and grabbing our dispensers before we hit the road. Problem solved.

mountainborn, Do you have a mirror over your sink? I was thinking of putting one there but wasn't certain of the best way to go about it. We are installing a soap dispenser next to the kitchen faucet today and will post pictures of that when it is done. We are having such a good time making our trailer just so.

That's a really good question. My brother-in-law is a glazier and just happens to be coming for a visit in a week or so. I will have him take a look at it and see what he thinks. I can't wait to show off our trailer! (again)