Mike and Carol

If it was being pulled by a white F250 I know who it was and where they are going! We just spent most of a day a few days earlier making sure all their systems worked and answering questions before they headed north on their first long trip. Maybe someone should start an "Oliver Sightings" or "I saw an Ollie on the Road" thread! Mike

We are planning a month in Colorado (September). We've spent time in Denver (flew in/out) and drove to Durango once from Arizona. That's the extent of our Colorado experience. The plan is to drive to Colorado Springs (overnighting in Amarillo) for a few days to do Pikes Peak and the other area attractions. Then head up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a week or so. Next we will head down to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to do the canyon, Gunnison area, Crested Butte, etc. It looks like there is a nice campground in the park that is very close to the canyon. Next, we'll head down to Mesa Verde National Park to explore the ruins and see the area sites. Last, we'll head over to Great Sand Dunes National Park for a while before heading south to Santa Fe and then home. We are trying to hit as many National Parks as we can and we can do all four in Colorado plus some national recreation areas. I think we should be alright weather wise but am a little concerned about driving from Rocky Mountain National Park down to Gunnison. Any thoughts or advice on driving, where to go and what to see would be appreciated! Mike

We aren't camping right now but we've spent a lot of time in the Oliver. We had three showings this week, two requested through Oliver and one just a drive by who left a note on our trailer door. We also spent the better part of a day with some new owners who had some questions before they left on their first long trip. All interesting people; a custom home builder, a physician, a clinical pastoral care provider and a State Dept person who travels in the middle east a lot but can't give any details about what he does! While it is fun to show our Oliver it's also fun meeting the interesting people who are interested in our interesting trailers. Mike

Hmmmm. Oliver egg roll? Sounds like fun!

I printed out Bill's chart and taped it inside the pantry door. I've used it quite a bit. Mike

That's a great idea and it looks nice too. I also like the access door below. We had our drawer open a couple of times early on, but not recently. Mike

13.2V is usually what I see after being on shore power for a while. Mike

Sherry, good advice. As a Boy Scout we were told to leave the campsite in better shape than you found it. We continue that today. Sadly, others are not as considerate. Mike

The Lone Star Oliver.

John, that is at the upper end price wise, but looks very nice. Mike

Sorry to hear you couldn't get reservations. It is a nice park! Mike

The Weber is a Q1000. I removed the regulator so I could run it off the propane quick connect on the trailer. We got the flat grill pan on Amazon. I measured the top of the Weber and found one that fit. Mike

Rodney and René, welcome! We are retired military too and have been enjoying our Oliver as we travel the country. All questions are good questions here, so ask away! Mike

Welcome to the family! Great story, you'll get used to folks asking for tours and slowing down to look. Mike

Leigh, we did some research on this earlier this year and I believe Dish has an RV package where you pay only when you are using it. Someone should know for sure. You have to purchase the receiver and dish. We use our Omni-direction TV antenna that came with our trailer for over the air TV, but it is only useful when near a metropolitan area. Mike

We use standard twin sheets. The bottom fitted sheet is a little too big and we use those elastic straps that connect to the sheets under the mattress which provides a nice tight fit. For the top sheet, it's no big deal - just a little more to tuck in. We have standard twin blankets that also tuck in nicely. For the top quilt, Carol did cut off some material and hemmed the edge. We also have a queen bed at home and find the narrow twin beds fine while on the road and camping. We got the 6" optional mattress and have a 2" foam topper on that. We've had some of our best sleep on our Oliver twins. Mike

ShallowGal, congratulations on your upcoming retirement and welcome to the Oliver family. You are right, it is a great company and Oliver owners are a great group of folks. Someone here should be able to answer your upcoming questions. Mike

A DD214 is your key to VA benefits, different than DoD benefits for active and retired. This is not common at all. I've been on many different military installations of all branches of service with my trailer and have never been stopped or searched. Mike

We have the Winegard antenna and have used it whenever we're near a metropolitan area to pick up local news and weather. Mike

Let's have the next rally in Nevada and John can do us all! I have a big router but doing this would make me a little nervous.

Normal twin beds are 39" X 75". The Oliver twin is 30" X 75". Interesting that a Queen mattress is 60" wide. We use regular twin sheets, there's a little extra to tuck in. We got twin quilts and Carol cut some width off so they would tuck in better. We also got twin foam toppers that I cut to size with a bread knife. The upper outside corners on both mattresses are curved to fit the contour of the trailer. This picture is without the 2" foam toppers and before I relocated the TV. Mike

John, I agree with one clarification: the pay and benefits I listed are provided by DoD for active duty and retired. Once someone separates from the military these benefits stop and new benefits are then provided by the VA, not DoD. Some VA facilities are on military installations but most are not. Unfortunately, the VA doesn't run any campgrounds but the Army Corps of Engineers does for the benefit of all! $50/night in metro DC is not bad, comparable to commercial RV parks there. In more rural areas they are cheaper but generally comparable to whatever the local KOA is charging. We stayed there for convenience, close to a DC metro stop and because it is one of the nicer military RV parks. Mike

I cleaned and sealed my gaskets a few months ago and haven't had any bleeding since. I actually removed the screws from the light to get better access to the gasket. It didn't take long and solved the problems. Mike

In general, military installations provide facilities to active and retired as a part of their benefits package. This includes the commissary, PX/BX, golf course, RV park, craft shops, lodging, etc. Active duty usually includes military, national guard, reserves, DoD civilians (civil service) and sometimes contractors. Retired is usually just military, DoD civilians are excluded. DoD civilians are also excluded from using the PX and commissary except overseas. Individual installation commanders have some flexibility, but their priority is to soldiers, sailors and airmen. Excluding veterans who served honorably, but did not retire, is not meant as a slight - upon ETS or resignation the pay and benefits stop. The benefits part of "pay and benefits" has eroded significantly over the years due to funding cuts and changing priorities. Our local supermarket has a better selection than our commissary and comparable prices to the commissary. We use Amazon, Costco and Walmart over the PX. Most golf courses are either closed down or open to the public. Officer Clubs and NCO Clubs have mostly closed down. Even the military RV parks are no bargain, they have to be self sustaining and so their prices will mirror what other parks in the area are charging. Most state parks and COE parks are cheaper. For example, our stay at the Fort Belvoir RV park was $50/night. Hope this helps to clear up some misunderstandings. Mike

This is how we do it, fingerprints are not much of an issue. Same here on both - makes it seem a bit more open and provides just the right amount of light when it's dark. As far as looking at yourself all the time it really isn't the case unless you are deliberately trying to check out your good looks.