Mike and Carol

I enjoy the newsletters and appreciate the effort put into them. Interesting travel story in this edition! We tend to “cook simple” while camping, mainly grill and occasional crock pot. There’s an interesting thread on Instant Pot cooking over on Airforums that’s got us wondering if we should try them. Mike

Dean, thanks for posting these. I’ve enjoyed RVFTA podcasts and a number of YouTube channels on RV-ing. Will you be at the Oliver Rally this year?

I was wondering what the smiley face was all about! I did pick up a 1-1/16 deep socket at Home Depot last week before I changed out my anode. I think I’ll be cleaning out the tank much more frequently based on the amount of crud I cleaned out. Camco has a flush wand that fits on your hose that’s about $5 on Amazon. I’ve also been looking at portable water softeners. They aren’t too expensive but not sure they are worth the trouble. Mike

Carol and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Camping in the new year! Mike

I was able to remove the aerator at the end of the faucet with a pair of needle nose pliers. Opened the pliers and seated the ends into two of the indents in the aerator. Turned slowly keeping pliers engaged in the slots. Mike

After our “clog” event I drained the hot water tank to replace the anode. I was surprised how much “stuff” was in there as I gave it a good flush. Mike

We recently had no flow to the toilet and just a dribble at the bath faucet. Both were clogged with hard water deposits. Cleaning fixed both. Mike

Sage sent me a new hitch after my noise issues earlier this year. I haven’t experienced any noise issues after several thousand miles. I pulled my Ollie over to the house Monday morning to do some maintenance (hot water heater anode and flush, new kitchen faucet) and it’s still quiet. We’ve had rain the last couple of days so we’ll see how it does when I take it back to storage this afternoon. Mike

I have the things I’m responsible for and Carol has things she is responsible for. Then, we check each other! For us, it’s important to have a routine that we do every time both on arrival and departure. I’ve had to politely tell folks that we would be glad to show our trailer as soon as we’re done setting up -please come back in a half hour or so. Mike

What a nice gift and great idea!

Isn’t it amazing how fast things become second nature? We were like you, first trailer and weren’t campers. Traveling in our Oliver is like being in a second home. Welcome to the group and looking forward to meeting you at the rally! Mike

Brad, there will be a number of Olivers there in January. We will be there (Dome Rock) the first week in February for the fiberglass rally. We’ll be in Nevada the week before. There’s another thread on Quartzsite events in Jan/Feb: http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/quartzsite-az-gathering-february-5-11-2018/ Mike

Hi Mary, welcome! A lot of us struggled somewhat with what options we should get. As a life long Camper you probably know your camping style and what you might use or not use. I’m sure you will get some advice and also some questions. Are you getting the Elite or Elite II? We did get the solar not knowing how much we would use it. As it turns out we are glad we did. We have been visiting national parks and they have great campgrounds but usually without any hook ups. The solar allows us to have electricity as long as we’ve got some sun. We use the inverter quite a bit too. Since we use our phones as hot spots, the cell booster gets quite a bit of use. We did not get the WiFi booster and haven’t missed having one. Big options not available when we ordered are the Truma on demand hot water and the composting toilet. Folks seem to like both. We’re happy with what we’ve got. Don't hesitate to ask your questions, you’ll get plenty of advice and recommendations! Mike

Pete, new TV! You got a lot of good miles on the Tacoma. Mike

Snow here in south Texas is rare but we had some this week, I even saw there was snow in Big Bend NP. Having lived where it snows a lot, this is not much. But, it’s a big deal down here! Mike

Welcome! Quite a few Oliver owners in Texas. Hope to see you out on the road.... Mike

I guess “old” is a state of mind, but yes we are all chronologically old! And, we all wanted to get on the road early. The only noise was traffic driving by, but that slowed at about 9:00 - bedtime..... Mike

This is a small campground in central Tennessee. We stayed here Friday night after some upgrades and maintenance. On the other side are two more sites. Scubarx and Hardrock were there. We had a mini Oliver rally. It was a wild Friday night and we were in bed at 9:00! Mike

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