Mike and Carol

There are advantages and disadvantages to both. It would be nice not to have to deal with black water, the composting toilet was not available when our trailer was built. A composting toilet can have its own set of issues. We don’t use any chemicals, a detergent pod and a capful of Calgon water softener. Check out Geo Method, it has worked well for us the past 5 years. I’m a fan of on demand hot water. That’s all we had when we lived in Europe for 12 years. They are more complicated and can be more expensive to repair. Our 6 gallon hot water heater has performed flawlessly. I’ve replaced the anode once and the on/off switch once. We’ve never run out of hot water. If I was mainly a boondocker I would have a composting toilet installed. Our limiting factor for camping with no hook ups is the capacity of the black tank. We frequently camp in W/E only campgrounds and have to take a couple of hours after 5 days or so to go dump and then return. It can be a pain in the... black tank. Mike

That’s what was demonstrated to me as well. I raised the tongue, watching the hitch at the truck receiver. It never took more than and inch or so after that for the chains to be loose enough to pull the pin and drop the whale tail. I never had the ball pop out. I retired my Andersen in December. Mike

I’m not sure why folks are loosening/tightening chains each time they hook up and unhook. They method I was shown by Oliver, 5 years ago, was to put the trailer on the ball, then raise the ball and truck a few inches which puts slack in the chains, then attach the triangle plate to the hitch, lower and go. When disconnecting, you first raise the hitch until there is adequate slack in the chains, disconnect the triangle plate, lower a bit, then open the bulldog. Once I had my chains adjusted I never touched them again.... for years. Is this not the preferred method anymore? I did make it a habit to check the extender links and the shackles on the triangle plate to ensure they were tight. Mike

Glad you’re enjoying your Ollie! It’s a great way to get he kids out and into nature. Mike

Congrats and good luck! Hope to meet you both out on the road sometime. Mike

Agree with Sherry, let Oliver know. Part of my pre-flight checklist when I used the Andersen was to check those two links and the connecting points to the whale tail/triangle. A couple of times I had to tighten one or both of those extension connectors. Mike

We use both. It depends on your site, sometimes the small rug works best, sometimes the big one. Often we don’t use one at all. It depends on how and where you camp. Mike

Looking forward to your visit! Lots of decisions to make, many more than when we ordered. I do think it is important to consider individual camping styles to match options to. Since you aren’t first time buyers you know what your style is.... Mike

It’s not on John’s diagram. He shows the outside parts of the fan. There’s an inside assembly that attaches from the inside. You can see that in the parts diagram from Airxcel here. You can drop the inside assembly and the circuit board is on top of the control panel that is in the corner. I don’t know how hard it is to replace, but it easy to access. Mike

I just replaced the “Operator Mechanism” on my Maxxfan just as others have done. Mine shattered into a bunch of pieces. I got a new one directly from Airxcel, the manufacturer. It was on backorder for a week so that tells me it must be in demand. I had removed the fan and disassembled it to see what was going on and also to give it a good cleaning. To replace the operator mechanism you don’t have to remove the fan. You do have to get up on the roof. I didn’t open the new mechanism to see how it was lubricated. I spoke to a technical help guy at Airxcel and learned that the way it works is that when you hit open the lid lifts until enough resistance is felt then it shuts off. Closing is the same, it continues to close until enough resistance is felt then the motor is shut off. I think that pressure eventually takes a toll and the operator mechanism fails.

Music plus a math lesson....

Steve, these look better than my curly safety strings. How did you attach them to the trailer? Mike

I have thin curly cables, not chains. Their connection to the tongue doesn’t look very robust, either. I’m sure it meets RVIA standards, but not very confidence inspiring. Mike

Wow. I wonder if my safety cables would hold my truck... might need to think about an upgrade to real heavy duty chains.

To escape the summer Texas heat we like to go north. I’m planning a July Colorado trip and state parks and USFS campgrounds that take reservations are full. Some locations had no availability. Hopefully, we’ll find some dispersed or no reservation sites. I’m not sure it is all COVID. My son bought his first travel trailer this week (they’re in Colorado). My niece and her husband here in town did the same. They are all in their 30’s. Now I find myself providing lists of essentials to them and recommending good camping locations. A new camping generation is on the way.... Mike

Welcome Ollieday. Agree with Sherry on the solar! There are lots of composting Oliver owners these days so I’m sure they will chime in. Mike

Meg, yes we had Oliver install the AC Easy Start a couple of years ago. Our small 2K Champion will run the AC although we rarely do that. I believe Olivers are wired for solar but would verify with your sales person. Mike

of her Oliver

Meg, if you are going to boondock 50% of the time you need solar. We don’t have a shower curtain and it is not an issue. You shower, turn the fan on, squeegee and wipe down, done. A shower curtain is not going to reduce moisture, the length of your shower and bathroom ventilation will. We have a 2000 watt generator and it will run our AC. We tend to avoid hot weather, so we haven’t had the need to run the AC off the generator much. The generator is mainly to charge the batteries when the weather is rainy and cloudy. We use our microwave occasionally. It just depends on how you like to cook. Good luck! Mike

In my limited experience, no. There are plenty of RV’s with an exposed 20 lb tank or two tanks. They might be more of a target. I’m not sure a thief would want 30 lb tanks or go through the hassle of getting them out of an Oliver. My impression is that theft, either propane or the entire trailer, is more common when in storage, not camping. Mike

Welcome to the group! Tennessee state parks are some of our favorites. Glad to have someone with parks experience. Mike

something we should

Keb Mo has been on the Grand Ol Opry a couple of times this past year during the lockdown. I wasn’t aware of him much before but now really enjoy his music.

Angrily, but the

Classic Bluegrass. Tony Rice was a legendary bluegrass guitar player. He just passed away a few months ago.