Mike and Carol

Yes, there is a connection for the black tank flush on the street side of the trailer toward the front. My understanding is that there is a back flow valve installed to prevent any black water leaking back down to the connection. I might have an on/off under my dinette seat but have never opened or closed it. I’ll look next time I have the space opened. If I have one it came open from the factory. I routinely use the black tank flush and have had no issues with back flow. Mike

It is a great photo. I need to up my photo game!!

24” works well.

I had a hard time pairing my phone to our Furrion. I have an iPhone and the older Furrion, but maybe this will work for you. When I tried pairing I got the same kind of message you did. On our Furrion if you push the on/off button it goes into a sleep mode, dim lights. If you push and hold it goes completely off. Once I completely powered down and then turned it back on it paired easily and has stayed paired for years. Now, whenever I turn on the Furrion it automatically starts playing whatever I last had going on my phone. Worth at try. Mike

Darryl and Kim, congrats! We haven’t tried David Crockett SP but will put it on our list. Hope to see you on the road! Mike

I bought a 25’ fresh water hose and keep the 25’ that came with our trailer in reserve. I’ve had a couple of sites where I needed both to reach water. I also have a 10’ and use it when we’re close to water. I bought some heat tape but have never used it. We’ve camped in cold weather and usually just disconnect the hose when it gets in the 20s and use the fresh tank. Mike

We’re going to run over to Houston for a few days to be with our son and family for Christmas. We might take the trailer and camp at Stephen F Austin State Park. We were there earlier this month, nice and peaceful. Depends on the weather. Agree that the Riverwalk here is magical this time of year with all the lights! Mike

Amazon or Camping World.

Oliver’s intent for paying for your first night nearby is for them to be able to address any issues you might have right after pick up. Your awning sounds like something that would have prompted a phone call to Jason for resolution. As Steve mentioned, the black tank issue is not difficult to adjust. I had the same problem a year or two ago. Before I fixed it I did what Stan mentioned, lift the back dinette seat and manually push down the gate. It started again last month so I’m back to a manual push after dumping and rinsing until I adjust again. If you’re having issues don’t hesitate to call the Oliver service guys. They’ve been quick to respond with instructions and parts. Mike

Bill, looks nice! I have a snow shovel in the attic from when we lived in more snowy places. Haven’t ever needed to use it here though. Enjoy it while it lasts! Mike

Tom and Holly welcome! That’s a great looking trailer, too bad it has to sit all winter! Look forward to meeting you and seeing you out on the road. Mike

We’ll be watching for pictures!

Ours is printed on a single piece of vinyl, locally. Oliver couldn’t print mine due to size nor would they install the one I brought. I had a local shop do it and they charged $50 for two big and a dozen small graphics. I did the installation myself. I don’t know if I’ll ever need the extra big one for the front of our trailer, but I have it! Mike

Travis and Kim, welcome and congrats on your Ollie order. I agree with Bill that a factory tour is worth the time. As questions come up don’t hesitate to ask, lots of smart people here. Mike

Thanks to all for the great input so far. If you have anything that you’ve done that you might think worthwhile for us to discuss at the rally, let me know! Thanks. Mike

Here’s a pic as we sit out this morning drinking coffee. It looks like it should be the larger one. I just measured the other side and it’s almost 5” between tires as they sit on the ground. This side on legos looks to be about 4.5”.

Frank, yes, it’s a Camco. I assume it’s the smaller size if there are two sizes. It fits nicely. It’s the one you see frequently in Walmart. I mounted an aluminum box on the tongue to store my chocks, blocks, leather gloves, flashlight, level and an old towel in. It was about $100 on Amazon and has held up well. Mike

I made three of these blocks out of scrap 2X6 pressure treated lumber, screwed them together and put some exterior stain and rope handles. I have one for each jack. The little yellow pad is just to provide a flat surface and keeps them a bit drier during wet weather. Next time I’ll make them a bit taller. We use the big lego blocks under the wheels to level. This is our current site and we were just off level a bit so I drove up on one lego and then just had to tweak with the jacks. When up on legos I use a scissor brace between the wheels and regular chocks on the other side. Mike

We’ve had these magnets on for a couple of years now. The only additional modification has been to put a couple of felt bumpers on the dinette magnet. It still holds well but is easier to detach to close the door. Mike

Carol and I volunteered to help Coy and Mary Kay during next years rally by serving as program leaders for the “Best Practices” session (or Camping for Dummies 101). The idea is to gather up all the good ideas out there that folks have come up with to make their Oliver (or even other brands) more comfortable, efficient and useful. This is not a technical session (how to convert to disk brakes, solar installation, etc.) but more about simple things that we can share to enhance our camping experience. Sort of “why didn’t I think of that” things. Specifically, we’d like to talk about storage ideas, loading ideas, small modifications for things like keeping drawers shut, bathroom door open, hooks, towel rods, etc. We can also discuss favorite apps used for finding campgrounds, dump stations, trail maps, etc. Another potential topic is overnighting at Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Pilots, Rest Areas, etc. Also, what accessories you have that could be recommended (chairs, grills, screen rooms, tables, etc.). I am going through the forum looking for good past input from owners. I’m also soliciting any good ideas you may have that could be shared during this session. We’re going to PowerPoint the presentation and make it available to everyone. After almost three years, a bunch of miles and nights we are still discovering “why didn’t I think of that” items from fellow owners. If you have anything we could include in our session please email me at mike7t6 at me dot com. Thanks. Mike and Carol

We’ve had a couple of good trips since this and we’re getting ready to go out again next Thursday. The mod has worked well. It’s important that the density of the middle cushions match the mattresses, otherwise it’s a bit uncomfortable. We found this out on the first iteration just using some high density foam for the middle. The new dinette cushions are a very close match to the mattresses and are much more comfortable. The larger back cushion on the dinette has not been an issue. The new bottom cushion configuration does move more when you get up, but it’s easy to straighten back out. The only thing I would do different is to make two plywood pieces instead of three. I did three because I had some scrap cabinet grade plywood pieces that weren’t big enough. All in all, we’re happy with this modification. Mike

The older models have the “off white” frames. They didn’t yellow, they came that way. The newer models have white frames and they should stay white. Mike

Your inverter should have an on/off switch somewhere. Keep it off until you need to use it. Glad you make it back safely! Mike

Trainman, based on your post I would say you definitely don’t need solar. I think you would be surprised how many boondocking Oliver owners there are. We’ve camped with many of them in primitive locations. We got the solar because many of the places we wanted to visit (National Parks and Recreation Areas) do not provide any hookups. We’re about 50/50, we like hookups when we can get them but have no problem boondocking when we can’t. It gives us enormous flexibility. If you will be in campgrounds with hookups all the time don’t waste your money on the solar or the inverter. The other option we got that we like is the cell phone booster, it has helped us keep in touch with kids while we’re out on extended road trips. Mike

Michael, congrats on your Oliver purchase! We saw an Elite II for sale on our way through Marble Falls in October, is this the same one? You’ll get good answers here as you can see from David’s post. Again, welcome! Mike