Mike and Carol

For you Harvest Host folks we are spending the night at Bee Happy Farm in Brashear, TX. It’s about 10 miles off of I-30 between Dallas and Texarkana. Grass fed cows, free range chickens, horses, etc. Very pleasant!

This morning while we were headed north on highway 281 just south of Lampasas, TX we spotted on Oliver heading south. It had a red Oliver logo.

Sherry and Patty, welcome to the group! Mike

I have this exact set. I use them around the inside of the Clam and to anchor bungees to hold down the shade that attaches to my awning. For the rug, I use big nails 5-6” with a large washer. I also carry a set of heavy duty 12” Galvanized Stakes that anchor the straps that are attached to the middle of each of the Clam sections. I have a small sledgehammer with a short handle that I got at Home Depot to pound them in and a hikers claw hammer to pull them out. All of this (bungees and tie down straps included) fit in a small canvas tool bag. Mike

Leaving this weekend for a month in KY, TN and AL. Then in July we’ll be in CO all month. Thinking of a UT, NV, CA trip in Sept/Oct. I’ll let you know if the fall trip to your neck of the woods happens! Mike

Hey John, glad to see you pop in and update us. I also see you over on Fiberglass RV forums. Glad you’re still enjoying your HQ19, I bet Shane is selling a bunch of them. Hope to see you out on the road again. Mike

Kevin and Theresa, welcome! We like pictures, so post away. Northern AZ is one of our favorite areas, our daughter graduated from NAU a couple of decades ago. Glad to have you here. Mike

I like the Drivin’ and Vibin’ videos and Kyle makes some good points on why not to get solar. I disagree with his first point... we’ve found that camping in National Parks is usually a dry camping experience. Having electrical hookups is the exception rather than the rule, especially in the west. I agree that if you like campgrounds with hook ups then solar is not necessary. That’s what we thought we would do when we got our Oliver 5 years ago, I got the solar package “just in case”. As it turns out, we camp a lot in BLM and FS campgrounds, so I’m glad we opted for the solar. Mike

I close everything when we’re on the road. Especially in the west, dust can pop up quickly. If it’s hot outside it will be hot inside even with a vent or window cracked. If it’s cold outside, same deal. Mike

I feel confident that after I park and spend the day away hiking or site seeing my roof top panels will still be there when I return. Unless I’m in deep shade they will provide some charging during the day. I wouldn’t want to leave portable panels out while we were gone. Portables would be a good supplement. As John points out, charging while on the road is a big deal too. Mike

We’ve been using TST for about 5 years. Works well. There are others out there that also work well.

WVHills, welcome! Hope you’re in an Ollie soon. We’ve camped in the WV hills and need to go back for more wonderful scenery and friendly folks. Mike

We’ll be staying at a couple of HH next week as we head to KY. One farm and one winery!

Most folks think he’s just a country boy that sings about muddy trucks but I’ve seen him really wail on his paisley Fender.

Congratulations! Sometimes size does matter and I’m sure you will enjoy the extra room in your new Oliver.

Interesting to see Brad Paisley in there....

Glad to hear you are able to get out and do some camping! Enjoy and let us know if you find good spots to stay.

Tows ok. Fuel tank and payload much too small.

I’ve got a bunch of photo’s from our tours. Taking pictures during a tour is no problem. Some of those photos have come in handy for troubleshooting.

I’ve been doing the same with good results.

Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, Zion.

We store our trailer in a covered space but otherwise open to the elements. It gets pretty hot here in the San Antonio area during summer (April - September, 90’s to low 100’s). The other 6 months aren’t as extreme, but we still have some hot days. After 5+ years we’ve had no heat damage. I would not worry about the Louisiana heat.

I used an Andersen when towing my Elite II with a Tacoma and Ram 1500. When I got my Ram 2500, I removed the Andersen from my trailer. I’ve done several thousand miles now without the Andersen and have not had any issues at all. On the positive side, it is much easier to hitch up. Weight distribution is not necessary with the 2500, I only get an inch or so of drop when I hitch up. Sway has not been an issue either.

I had two Tacoma’s, a 2009 and 2012. Both were excellent. The 2012 was well north of 100K miles when I traded it for a Ram 1500. It just wasn’t cut out to tow an Elite II.

We saw Lyle Lovett at a George Strait concert in Las Vegas a couple years ago. He’s eccentric but good.