Mike and Carol

Buzzy, couldn’t agree more! Mike

Mid 60s here in Hohenwald this afternoon. We camped in east Texas, Louisiana and Alabama on the way here. The weather has been very nice. If the meander includes San Antonio again this year we’ll have an Oliver get together with some owners in the neighborhood. We plan on meeting you in Quartzsite! Mike

We dropped our trailer off at the factory this afternoon for some Christmas upgrades. Dexter EZ Flex, fresh tank fix and accumulator, AC easy start and some minor maintenance. Christmas for us is at the Ryman Auditorium tomorrow night for the Vince Gill/Amy Grant Christmas show. Will head home Friday. Mike

We’ve been to many Texas state parks and have enjoyed an adult beverage at every one. As Bill notes, most rangers are not going to bother you by inspecting what you’re drinking. Just don’t put a keg on the picnic table. We’re at Fontainbleau State Park in southern LA tonight. The ranger drove by when I was grilling with the rest of yesterday’s wine in my hand. He waved. Mike

Had to use real glasses for the photo! We’re at Village Creek State Park and there is only one other Camper here besides us. I did put the bottle away after the photo. The Ranger drove by twice while we were sitting out but our trailer is between us and the road so it’s pretty private. Mike

Total Wine has it if you have one close. We have one in north San Antonio. Mike

Bill, it’s not bad, very clean taste, not oaky. It was a gift so we saved it for this trip. I googled the winery and they do a Chardonnay, a Merlot and a Cab. All are under $10 a bottle. I’m going to pick up a couple of reds when we get home to see how they are. Mike

I’m no expert, but I did stay in an Oliver Travel Trailer last night.... I think the short answer is that you don’t want to engage the brakes on your trailer when stopped. The breakaway cable is for emergencies. The brakes are electric and if you pull the breakaway cable the brakes would activate and would start discharging your batteries. Not sure how you inactivate them once you do that, or if the activator is adversely affected. One of the technical experts will know. We use regular chocks on all wheels if we’re level. If we have to raise one side on our legos, we use the “between the wheels” gadget on that side. Works well. Mike

Happy campers should probably drink a wine with a name like Happy Camper! Enjoying a glass this afternoon at a state park outside of Beaumont, TX. Mid 70s, quiet. Oliver camping at its best.... Mike

Peter, it is AAFES on line, not on base or on post at the physical BX or PX. The link above has all the info. Mike

We spent September in Colorado camping from 6,000 to 10,000 feet. We’ve also camped during cold weather, low 20’s. No window issues. Mike

We also had ours showing all green then two changing to red. That’s caused by feedback between the inside and outside antennas. Jason moved the inside antenna to the sidewall which cleared up one. Then he took a piece of metal backed insulation (about 12X12 inches) and we put it under the mat in the overhead storage right above the inside antenna. We’ve had no issues since. All green. Ours does help when the cell signal is weak. Mike

Just outside of Rocky Mountain NP on the Grand Lake side in September. Rainbows seem bigger there! Camera can’t really do justice to the scenery. Mike

Oliver owners should know that warranty issues can either be addressed by the factory or a local repair facility. I had a plumbing issue repaired locally and was fully reimbursed by OTT. I had an issue while on the road 1,000 miles from home and Jason told me to find the closest facility I could find and get it fixed, OTT would pay. Oliver owners are not on their own, unless they choose to be. From what I have seen and heard Hull 200 is an anomaly. Wouldn’t we all like to know why they have had so many issues.... Mike

Welcome Peter and Patty! We were just in Black Canyon NP and visited Gunnison and Crested Butte. I wish our timing would have been better, we would have enjoyed showing you our trailer! Mike

We’ve been in heavy rain before and didn’t have any leaks. My only suggestion is to keep the weep holes clear so the water can drain. If you’re living in a forest they probably get blocked pretty fast. I found that in heavy rain the awning doesn’t do too much, water runs down behind it. I installed rain gutters on my windows last year but pulled them off when the ends came lose. It was my fault, I did all the right cleaning, did the install in warm weather, etc. the problem was that temperatures went from mid 80s to mid 30s overnight before they had set. So, then ends popped lose and flipped up. I will probably do it again, but will ensure there will be hot weather for a few days after! I think they would help in your situation. Mike

I would caution against taking the comments of one owner and and assuming those problems apply to everyone. Hull 200 has had an unusual number of issues. As far as stripped screws, I had one on my bathroom window. I found the head on the bathroom floor, clearly over tightened. My understanding is that these windows are received by OTT already assembled so the issue would be with the window manufacturer. I’ve had no other stripped screw issues. Bill makes a good suggestion on a factory tour. Many of your concerns could be addressed directly. Mike

That’s a great illustration of how weight distribution affects sway and why it’s important to know the weight measurements of the trailer being towed. Mike

Mark, the two owners you mention have, at times, been very critical of their purchase causing some potential buyers to look elsewhere. You may join that group. If you’ve read through some of those threads you should have noticed a response from the Oliver company and also a number of owners that expressed satisfaction with their trailer and the company. As far as regrets, I believe the Lukens are the only owners expressing regrets on their purchase. There is also no shortage of owners who are very happy and will go on record saying so. I recommend you contact Reed and John directly to get their views. They have both been extremely helpful on this forum and also personally helpful with other owners. They will give honest views and assessments. This will probably need to be moved to a new thread so this one can stay on topic. I expect there may be a number of replies to this. Mike

Happy Veterans Day to all the vets out there. If you are an honorably discharched veteran, starting today you can shop at AAFES (PX/BX/Exchange) online. Just go to vetverify.org for information. The background story is at: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1049503/department-of-defense-extends-online-military-exchange-shopping-privileges-to-v/ We do most of our online shopping at Amazon, but do some shopping at AAFES Online. More than half the profits from PX sales go back into programs for soldiers and airmen. Mike

Wow, quite an adventure! Glad to hear the Oliver folks went the extra mile on this one. I’m also interested in what is discovered about this as I was going to add one of these myself. I’ll also go with the KISS principle for now. The key has never failed! Thanks for giving everyone a heads up. Mike

David, good question. We were there the end of September and the nights weren’t too cold. One morning we used the furnace to take the chill off. We did not use the vornado, although on low it’s only using 750 watts so we could have used it for a short period. The furnace heats things up quicker. As Bill notes, a good blanket is also useful! Mike

Plenty of time to get it broken in! Mike

While we were camped at Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, Colorado in September, we came across this Casita while on an evening walk. Hmmmmm..... Mike

We spent September touring Colorado with a short detour into Utah from Mesa Verde to visit Canyonlands NP and Arches NP at Moab, Utah. We stayed at Horsethief Campground, one of many BLM campgrounds in the area (recommended by Scubarx). With the senior discount it was $6/night. It’s open all year with 60 sites. There are no hookups, no water and no dump station. Each site was level, nice picnic table, fire ring and views. Vault toilets were clean and odor free. It’s a half mile off the highway about 5 miles from Canyonlands NP and about 12 miles from Moab and Arches NP. It’s first come first served and filled up by the time it got dark. We arrived around 1:00pm and had a good number of sites to choose from. Sites are well spaced so you’re shouting distance from your neighbors. We will definitely stay there again. Our site. You can see our neighbor, not too close Quiet site, good view, adult beverage, relaxing after a day of hiking in Canyonlands NP Mike