Mike and Carol

Cathy, Carol and I are both native Kansans (Pittsburg and Leavenworth). Carol graduated from Emporia State so we know the area well. This forum is a great resource to help in your decision process. Mike

Welcome to the Shackelfords! Tennessee does have some great parks. We’ve been trying to see as many Texas State Parks as we can. So much to see... Hope to see you at the rally. You’ll meet a lot of nice owners eager to share knowledge and experiences. Mike

Hi John, welcome! I highly recommend a factory tour. You will learn a great deal and understand why Oliver’s are more expensive. A Nissan Titan should do fine as a TV. We’re currently camped just south of Durango, CO and it got down to 15 degrees last night. We were quite warm, we are not winterized and had no issues. Four seasons verified! Mike

We frequented IKEA and Aldi when we lived in Europe. There are no Aldi’s in San Antonio and the only IKEA is a 45 minute drive. Camping World is about an hour away so we’re Walmart and Costco shoppers, mostly. HEB for food. Most camping stuff, though, comes from Amazon Prime unless we’re on the road.

We used regular twin sheets for a couple of years. Just tucked them in good and used the elastic fasteners Bill mentions above. For the past couple of years we’ve been using custom sheets from AB Lifestyle. We got mattress pads, fitted and top sheets. They are a perfect fit for the twin beds. You can do a search on this forum for ablifesyles and you’ll see a number of threads. Or go to their web site and look at what they have available for the Oliver. Welcome! Mike

Agree with Bill and John. Options depend on how you camp and how you travel. Solar/batteries is the big one. If you do any dry camping, boondocking or even overnighting at Walmart, Cracker Barrel, etc, solar is very useful. The regular hot water tank has served us well, but the tankless is popular. Same with the Natures Head toilet, great for boondocking. It sounds like you are seasoned campers so you know your style. Mike

I’m glad you’ll get to see a nearby Ollie. A factory tour really gives good insight as to why it’s such a good trailer. Anita will steer you right, they are all good folks. Good luck! Mike

It’s very nice. Right across the highway from a new, upscale shopping center but you wouldn’t know it. It’s quiet with nice hiking trails. This was our site: Our site here at Lost Dutchman State Park near Phoenix. Also nice.

Welcome and congratulations on your upcoming Ollie! You’ll get fast answers here, lots of experience ready to be shared so ask away. Hope to see you on the road! Mike

Welcome! Congrats on your “new” trailer and ask as many questions as you need. Mike

A couple of recommendations around Phoenix: Lost Dutchman State Park on the north east side and White Tank Mountain County Park on the north west side. We’ve been here at Catalina State Park since last week and are heading to Lost Dutchman this afternoon. We stayed at White Tank Mountain last year. Mike

I have a hat hanging on the wall to cover my holes.

Interesting story! A good repair shop is nice to have. We go to a local guy who is very good and at least one other Oliver is serviced there. Too bad we all don’t live close to Hohenwald when it’s service time!

Welcome to the group! Your delivery date will be here before you know it. Lots of time to plan, buy accessories and ask questions! Mike

Not much to add to the lists above except to say welcome to the group! Mike

I installed this around all my windows before our fall trip north. You can see it around the back window in this photo.

I’m happy I did. It was just collecting dirt, leaves, pine needles, etc. Much easier to keep clean. Mike

Yep! Just head for Dome Rock and look for Olivers. There is plenty of open space to park.

We’re leaving Monday to head west ending up at Quartzsite for the RV Show and maybe the rally after. Dome Rock is calling. It could almost be a western Oliver Rally. Who else is going? Mike

Yes, happy new year! Best wishes for great travels and camping in 2020!! Mike

Drove over to the trailer today to adjust my Andersen hitch to the new truck which sits over an inch taller than the 2016 Ram. With no adjustments it was 25.5” to the top of the ball. I was in the bottom two holes in the ball mount so I had to remove the ball assembly and flip the mount over to use the top two holes. That made the top of the ball sit at exactly 23.5”. When I lowered the trailer the truck went down about 1.5” without the Andersen. With the WDH it was just above 22.5” at the top of the ball. When I used a level on the trailer, it was right at level. That is with an empty truck. Once I load the bed with camping stuff I should be very slightly nose down. We’ll load up this weekend for a Monday departure to points west for Jan/Feb and should get a better idea if any adjustments are needed.

Ray, good info. For those of us less experienced in navigating off-road it’s good to learn from those who know. I’ve also followed your latest thread on Airforums. Always learning... John, good info as well. I assume you don’t need cell service to use the apps you discuss? I carry an older Garmin to use when we’re out of cell coverage. I’m thinking the paper maps discussed above might be worthwhile to have on hand. Mike

I use 10’ too. If it’s lower I’m going to get out and check. Some of those RV owners in the video don’t seem to have a clue. I can cut a little bit of slack to the rental truck drivers, but not the RV drivers.

Your muddy boots will fit in the bottom of the closet. As Overland points out, it depends on what else you have in there. If I’ve taken shoes off outside due to mud and leave them under the step they are normally brought it at night and left on the mat by the door. I don’t like cold wet shoes either.

There have been a number of Oliver trips to Alaska. There are also some different ways owners have protected the front of their trailers. Do a search on “Alaska” and you will get a list of posts that should help with your questions. I’m sure those who made the trip will chime in too. Mike