Mike and Carol

We have a family reunion to attend near Kansas City in early October. I think we’ll head north after the reunion to continue our National Park exploration quest. We want to spend some time around Badlands NP, Wind Cave NP, Custer State Park and Mount Rushmore. Any advice or lessons learned would be appreciated! Mike

Bill, that looks like a good idea. I’m going to stop by Tractor Supply in the morning. Thanks! Mike

After reading this I was trying to think of what of value we kept in the trailer while gone. I suppose someone could disconnect the TV and my old Apple TV. We have a coffee maker and a toaster. Clothes and bedding. A cheap guitar. We always lock the door but routinely leave a window cracked or open. I carry a couple of credit cards and drivers license and military ID but never leave them in the trailer when gone. If someone wants my television I would rather they gently slide the window open, climb in and take it out the door rather than break a window or jimmy the door. We leave chairs, small camp table, Weber gas grill all out when we go hiking or run to the store. I guess we are either naive or too trusting. Mike

We’ve stayed at Gunter Hill COE, it’s one of the nicest campgrounds we’ve experienced. Mike

Reacher = ultimate trailer security!

Kevin and Kathi, welcome and congrats on #413! Glad you’re planning on attending the rally so we can all meet you and your new Ollie. Mike

Looks like Florence is going to be a major storm event! Best wishes to fellow owners in North and South Carolina, Virginia and the east coast in general. Also, it looks like more storms are following. Stay safe! Mike

I do a a thorough cleaning after each trip. When we got back from CO and NM in June I pulled the outside seals to all the windows to clean but also to ensure the window tracks and drainage holes are clear. An air compressor is handy for blowing out debris that accumulates when camped under trees. The seals are easy to remove and put back in. I’m also a believer in 303 protectant. Mike

Kevan and Dara, congrats! Welcome to the group, it sounds like you’ve been reading and learning like a lot of us did. Maybe we’ll see you at the rally? Mike

Bill, good question - one that we’ve asked before. Maybe Jason has an update on where we are on this. Mike

Marybeth and Neil, welcome. Looks like we’ve made it into the 400’s! It will be a great Christmas present. We lived in Carlisle and sure enjoyed central PA. Mike

I just changed your display name and nickname to Kenny & Penny. Let’s see if that works. Mike

Hey Paul, welcome to the group! I think the Elite I is ideal for solo travel. I’m sure Pete (Bugeyedriver) will agree. Ask all your questions, there’s no shortage of folks who can help. Mike

Water pump, AC and Refrigerator are all components used in travel trailers of many brands. It’s good to hear the water pump was taken care of quickly. The refrigerator can take a while to cool down if you are starting out in hot weather. As Reed points out, switch to propane until it gets cool. We leave ours running all the time, even when in storage (we have electrical power in storage). If you can’t do that, fire up the fridge a couple of days before your trip. There are a number of things to check with the AC - temperature setting, fan on high/low/auto, which vents are open or closed. If it is cool around the bed it must be cooling. I’d check the vents on all four sides. We keep them mostly closed on the sides and back and fully open in the front. We were camped in 100+ weather in June and had the fan on low and we were plenty cool inside. There are lots of folks here willing to help when you have issues and questions. Mike

The way it should work: push the TV up until it engages the latch. To let it down, push up on the TV and the latch should release and the TV can swing down. If the hinge is too loose then the TV could bounce around on rough roads and release itself. Maybe your latch isn’t positioned correctly? Mike

Kenny and Penny, welcome and congrats on your almost finished Oliver! Hope to meet you sometime out on the road.... Mike

This thread caused a lot of consternation for a lot of folks. Now that it has been resurrected it looks like it is having the same effect on current future buyers. The really negative comments were from one owner. Most everyone else, even with some initial problems, were happy campers. I listed the initial issues I had and my total satisfaction of how they were addressed by the Oliver company. There’s much more positive in this thread than negative. Mike

We had a corner mount TV. I wanted to move it to the center and used the mount Steve recommended. We like the center mount much better. There are two hex screws on the sides of the hinge. If they are kept tight it prevents the TV from moving around. We did have it come unhooked once after a rather large bump. Lots of other things moved around too. Once in well over 20K miles is acceptable... Mike

If you tighten the hex screws on both sides of the mount it will significantly decrease the potential to come unhooked while on bumpy roads. I keep mine tight enough that the TV will stay stationary halfway down. Mike

You won’t even notice a trailer behind you until you look in the rear view mirror! Nice truck... Mike

When we visited Moab last year we stayed at Horsethief BLM campground. They have 60 sites, no reservations. We were there last September driving from Mesa Verde, CO and arrived around noon. We had our choice of campsites. It’s just outside of Moab in between Canyonlands and Arches NP’s. Nice level gravel pads, picnic table. No hookups. Very clean vault toilets. $15. We would stay there again. Mike

I think there would be a market for a larger Ollie with a dry bath and permanent queen bed. It would be a heavier trailer and not quite as suited to go where we can currently go. The extra weight would require a capable tow vehicle. The wet bath was an initial hesitation point for us and probably turns some folks away. After over 30K miles I wouldn’t want anything different, what we have is just the right size for us! Mike

I would think that it is not necessary with an F-250. I have one and use it on my Ram 1500. It is not a pain to use and I like the extra margin of safety. Mike

Steph and Steve, welcome and congrats on your order! The rally should be a great event, last year we had a great time. If you have any questions or issues there will be a line of experts ready to help! Mike

Mike, Was it the $129 total or was shipping extra? Thanks Reed Reed, it was $129 plus $15 S&H. Total $144. Mike