Mike and Carol

Dave, nice site. The missions here in San Antonio are nice. Enjoyed the Oliver purchase photo's and narrative! Mike

Welcome Marc! We're a pretty friendly group. Lot's of good information and expertise here. I spent time in Huntsville doing Army stuff years ago. Mike

Looks nice and sturdy. There has been a conversation (often heated) over on AirForums about a guy that put a rack on the back of his Bambi with four bikes and had some serious sway problems. I think the bigger Elite II with two axles won't have the same problem, but it's worth keeping in mind that extra weight on the back could change the weight on the hitch. Will be interested to hear how this works for you. I'm thinking about getting a couple of bikes! http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/out-of-control-sway-152451.html

Randy, thanks. We plan on being in DC 14-19 Oct, then north to NY. I will check out the link to the campground - hope to see you on the road sometime. Mike

Stan, if you are talking about the shower drain in the floor, we leave it open when we drain. No odor issues. If it is the handle on the lower wall, we keep it open too, with no odor issues. We tried draining once with it closed and it seriously slowed the draining process. As soon as I pulled it out, whoosh, gray tank drained! What I remember from our orientation was that it should be closed for travel, but open the rest of the time.

Randy, congratulations and welcome to the group! Mike

John, great information - thanks! I want to get to the point where I can adjust brakes and repack bearings. I've done it before, it's just been a few decades. Looking forward to retirement the end of next month so I have more time to get my hands dirty.... There sure is a wealth of information, knowledge and experience in the Oliver community!

"East coast" is a bit general! We're heading east from San Antonio the beginning of October and will spend a few days in Nashville (we like going to the Opry), then Gatlinburg for a week. Then we head to Washington DC for a week followed by 5 days at West Point, NY (it's my 40 class reunion). After that, weather dependent we will either go up to Nashua to visit my cousin or to Watkins Glen, NY to visit friends. We have no set plans for the return trip. We've heard great things about Asheville and won't be far from there while in Gatlinburg. We want to do the Blue Ridge Parkway but thought it would be a separate trip so we can take our time. A rally/meet up is a great idea.

We keep taking weekend trips to learn and figure out our camping "style", all in preparation for our month long October trip to the east coast. It's good to know that tube is to the AC, it was hot and humid this past weekend and we ran the AC during the day. Two things I still haven't done/figured out - the solar and all the data, and draining the fresh tank. We have learned that the tank level readings are relative. Especially with our gray tank, 80% is pretty much full! Your wild boar solution plus a big crock pot would yield enough pulled pork to feed the entire campsite!

Buzzy, yes - my hat matches my trailer. Had some patches made from our trailer graphic. Am I going a little overboard?

Pete, I will take the Lone Star Oliver over to The Brake Company. My trailer brakes do feel a little anemic. Seems like with my brake controller at max boost I should feel some kind of abrupt braking. The water draining out of the tube at the back of the trailer was the same today as you saw when we were at Fair Oaks Automotive getting our inspection. If it's condensation from the AC, no problem. I need to look under the bed and see what's going on. We'll do Big Bend during the cool weather so we don't have to contend with thirsty boar!

Any RV park that has "Resort" in its name means it's going to be something other than rustic. This is actually a Class A resort park where folks own their site and often build permanent structures next to where they park. It's got almost everything - a store, workout facility two pools (one adult only), a small theater, putting green, party facilities, cabins to rent, and on and on. What's missing are trees. There are some, but for a Texas RV park many more are needed. Level concrete pads, full hook ups, picnic table and cable TV. Kerrville is a great little town to visit (home of Johnny Manziel, failed NFL QB). It's about 90 minutes north of San Antonio on I-10. There's a great city park and hiking trail along the Guadelupe River, a nice antique mall, lots of shops in the old downtown area and many seasonal events.

Dave, agree 100%. Normally I slow down as I reach the peak of a hill so I start the down hill slower and keep it slower. I know this particular stretch of I-10 and wanted to see what happened on this long downhill with the cruise control on. Based on what happened today, I think I will use a combination of the manual shifting and brakes with cruise control OFF to keep my speed down. Think I'll check with the factory on the AC. It's only and occasional drip, but a little worrisome. Thanks. Mike

We are just back from 4 days in Kerrville, TX. Hot weather, great time! We have some random questions and would be interested in everyone's thoughts and opinions. 1. Brake Controller - On my new Ram, the brake controller has settings for "light electric" and "heavy electric" trailers. I have tried both settings and on maximum boost on either one I'm not sure I'm getting enough. To test, I get up to about 20mph, take foot off the gas and manually engage the brake controller. The trailer brakes engage and slow the truck to a stop, but it takes a good distance, about the length of the truck and trailer. Is this what I should expect? 2. Water leak? - This morning when I raised the front jack to hook up some water drained out of the white tube at the back of the trailer on the drivers side. Not a lot, enough to make about a 12" puddle on the concrete. It did this once before when I was stopped on an incline with the front higher than the back. Is this normal? I haven't looked under the bed yet, if it is a leak what could it be? 3. Bathroom fan - I always pull it closed before we tow, when I stop it is always open. I can't see that there is any way to secure it other than friction. Am I missing something? 4. AC drip - We get an occasional drip from the AC that drips down between the twin beds. Not a lot, maybe a drip every 10 or 15 minutes. Just condensation? 5. Gray tank - We try to keep food particles out of the gray tank, wiping dishes before washing. We were talking about draining canned beans, doesn't seem like that liquid would be an issue. What kind of things does everyone keep out of the gray tank? Are we over thinking things? 6. Braking while going downhill - The Ram has a Tow/Haul mode. 65mph is what we usually do. Coming home today on I-10, I used cruise control set at 65 in Tow/Haul. On downhills the truck downshifted to maintain 65. I didn't need to brake. On one long 7% grade it downshifted a couple times and we still got up to 70 at which point I started to brake for short periods to stay under 70. Is it preferable to use brakes or the engine to maintain downhill speed? I assume the trailer brakes are not activated when the engine is used. Seems like a big load back there pushing. We learn something new every time we go out. We had a bunch of compliments this weekend. One guy said he had never heard of Oliver and was going back to his rig to do some googling! Mike

Like Pete I was towing with a Tacoma, but I have the larger Elite II. The Tacoma did a respectable job and I never had any issues towing in all kinds of conditions - strong winds, rain, interstates with trucks passing, ups and downs in the Ozarks. I would think a bigger F150 and the Elite would be a good combination. Bigger truck, smaller trailer. My big push....!

We are out camping so I just grabbed my tape measure and took a couple of pics. It is not adjustable. Looks likes about 38" from the center of the hitch to the jack.

This was on my desk when I got to work this morning from a thoughtful co-worker. Need to find a place for it in the Ollie!

Stan, great story and happy anniversary! Mike

Robert, the Andersen shouldn't be making any noise. Like Buzzy, mine is quiet. After a couple of months and about a dozen hook ups I've never had to get in the dirt or adjust the chains. Once you get it adjusted right it is pretty easy to use. Post some pictures and I'm sure one of our more experienced users can help. Mike

Sherry, as new Oliver owners we appreciate the willingness of the old timers to help and give advice/assistance online (and in person - thanks Steve/Tali and neighbor Pete). I hope as the "community of Oliver" grows it stays that way! Might need to have an Oliver Rally sometime....

Bill, great pictures. Looks like an interesting and economical place to camp! Mike

I have to agree. For its small size, Oliver has been very willing to incorporate new features into its production line. It wouldn't surprise me if their R&D folks are some of the same guys assembling these quality trailers.

Sherry, 150K miles is good news. I'm a firm believer in preventive and regular maintenance. Mike

Stan, I hope to get better mpg as we do some longer trips. 13+ would be good. 12-13 is what I was getting from my Tacoma, but was running premium due to the supercharger. My past trucks have all been Fords and Toyotas (and one International Harvester!) so this is my first experience with Ram. So far I'm really happy with it. Steve, your bed slide is something to be envious of. Once we get more experienced and know what we will be carrying in the truck bed it will be a consideration. After last weekend I've added a stand for my Weber gas grill and a small table.

We pulled in to our site last week and I started putting down the jacks. Front and road side jacks went down, curb side jack just went click, click, click. After a quick text to Steve (Scubarx) I lifted the bed and forced the jack down back on the track with the manual handle. I always try to stop before I hit the top when retracting the jacks, but not being able to see them requires a second set of eyes or constantly stopping and looking. Lesson learned, you might hear that click, click, click when trying to put the jack down if you heard the click, click, click when you raised it! Thanks to Steve for quick advice to help out a new owner.