Mike and Carol

Gary, good to hear your Alaska trip was successful. We plan on going after we get a little more experience. I've been thinking about a Clam ever since you showed us yours when you were here in San Antonio. Are you still happy with it? Did you use it often during your trip to Alaska? I had a "clear bra" on my last Audi that did a great job protecting the front end from rock chips. I'm considering contacting an installer to see if I could get the front of our trailer covered. I think it would be good for traveling around the lower 48. Driving to Alaska is a different level of gravel, rocks and chipping and it sounds like the solution you and Lee used is a good one. Mike

Hey Snowlakemike, I actually first heard of Oliver Travel Trailers on the Airstream Forum. It was in a discussion about the issues new AS owners were experiencing and someone suggested looking at Oliver because of their attention to detail and quality. We picked ours up in May and the only issue we discovered was a light switch issue that was easily fixed. We've been out every month since May and are preparing for a month+ trip from Texas up the east coast. I had our trailer in the driveway this week to take care of some projects and we found ourselves going out to sit in the evenings just to enjoy the cozy feel. Ask questions and take pictures during your tour. Hope to see you in the family soon! Mike

Bill, sounds like a great trip! Nice photos too. Thanks for the inspiration! Mike

Welcome! Get out there and enjoy your Oliver. As a fellow prostate cancer survivor (surgery and radiation for me) I applaud your tenacity and desire to get out there. We hope to do a trip up through Napa/Sonoma to the Oregon and Washington coasts. You live in a great area. Mike

This sounds like fun! I wish we could make it, but the timeline is just a bit too short. Hope there are lots of pictures posted....

That is one unique Oliver! Amazing and well done. I agree that this could open up all kinds of graphics possibilities.

Len and Linda, welcome! See you out on the road - Mike

Coy, Land Between the Lakes was our first campground after we picked up our trailer in May. We stayed at Hillman Ferry on the KY side. Nice campground. There are a couple of other campgrounds inside the recreation area. Enjoy! Mike

Hey, Tom. Welcome and lurk away. This is a pretty friendly place with lots of good info and expertise. There are several Oliver's here just north of San Antonio - not too far from Victoria. Mike

This is on my list of projects. Glad to know the existing hardware can be used! Thanks. Mike

Bill, I just got this too. Had to double check the date, was it 2016 or 2017! Not a lot of planning time.... Looks like a nice campground plus we like Amber Falls wine.

Bill, great looking truck! For us it was down to a Tundra SR5 very similar to what you have and the Ram 1500 with all the same features. I wanted to go Toyota with my local dealer especially having purchased 2 trucks from them already. It came down to price and trade in with a difference of over $5K! The Ram won. Enjoy that Tundra - it will look great with your Ollie! Mike

On our Tacoma we had a solid fiberglass cover painted to match the truck (Undercover Lux). It was easy to remove, with two people, and was very secure and water tight. Looked good too. With the Ram I went with the BAKflip G2. It's a folding hard aluminum cover. It's black and goes well with the silver Ram. It locks when the tailgate is locked and is pretty water proof. After a washing there are a few drips here and there. It folds back and stands up against the cab giving almost full access to the bed. It's easy at the campground to fold back to access what's in the bed, which is important because that's where I carry our gas grill and charcoal grill that we use for the bacon. Mike

Pete, looking at the TST system. Which one do you and Aubrey use? The 510 with sealed batteries or the 507 with replaceable batteries? http://www.plugitright.com/TST-Tire-Pressure-Monitoring-System.html

Hey Cheryl and John, welcome to the group. We picked our Oliver up in May and I retire the end of this month. You'll find lots of help and information here, so don't hesitate to ask questions! Mike

John, welcome to the group! We are enjoying our trailer and I'm sure you will too. Don't hesitate to ask questions, lots of information and smart people here. Mike

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!