Mike and Carol

Kayrae51, your graphics idea sounds like fun. An Oliver is a blank canvas for each owner to personalize. Whether it's left blank or not, you can still tell it's an Oliver! Mike

Jason, thanks for the great work on the forum! We'll see you at the Rally. Mike

Stan, it wasn't us but we will be in Leavenworth next month for my nieces wedding. Mike

Looks like fun!

Stan and Linda, it was great meeting you at West Point last fall. Glad to hear you had a great trip home. Hope to meet you on the road sometime. Mike

L&P, nice looking trailer! I know it will serve you well wherever your travels take you. Hope to see you out on the road - Mike

Congratulations! Great looking trailer. Hope to meet you out on the road - Mike

When we built our home we chose a quality custom builder with a great reputation. Before we took possession we did a walk through with him and found a number of things that needed to be addressed. After we moved in, there were other issues that we found. In all cases he took care of the deficiencies. He lived up to his reputation. When we picked up our trailer we found a few issues during our orientation with Tommy. Once we had a few weeks and months of camping we found some more issues. In all cases Oliver has taken care of the deficiencies. One last item is scheduled to be addressed while we're at the Rally. To me, Oliver has lived up to their reputation of building the best fiberglass trailer on the market and standing behind their product. I think it is unrealistic to expect every trailer to be perfect. I do think it is realistic to trust Oliver to correct deficiencies. In our case, they paid for our extra night at Fall Hollow B&B, mailed replacement parts to our home and paid a local RV repair facility to work on our trailer. Never any disputes. I don't know the inner workings of the Oliver factory, but I do think a dedicated QC person with authority and clout could prevent some of the issues we're seeing. But, considering that they've only built a couple hundred trailers I think they're doing pretty well. Mike

Yvonne, when I was looking to convert my Weber Q1000 I found how-to threads over on FiberglassRV and several how-to videos (with parts required) on YouTube. I was able to use the YouTube video as my guide in the conversion, which was very easy. I bet there is something there for Coleman stoves. Mike

We used the big pour over for many years while living in Europe. We have the smaller, single cup pour overs now in the trailer. We also like our Nespresso machine - it makes a great small cup of coffee or espresso. We have a big Nespresso at home and picked up a small Nespresso Pixie at Costco for the trailer. Mike

Don, good to know - I enjoy good jazz. We were looking for trips this summer, this would be a good one. We have lots of family in the Kansas City/Leavenworth area so we'd have another reason on our way to Iowa! Mike

One of the first things I bought before picking up our Oliver was a water pressure regulator. They are not expensive and, well, simple to use. When I remember I do turn the water off. I don't always remember, so I'm glad I have the pressure regulator! Mike

Yes, there is a military version. I downloaded it when I bought the regular version - the military campground version is free. It will be helpful when just looking for military campgrounds. After I emailed them about the discrepancy I thought I found, I had a nice conversation with Ted. He thanked me for my input and asked that if there was anything else I noticed to let him know. I also had an email from Bill, saying the same thing. All within an hour of my first contact with them on a Sunday morning. Not bad. Mike

Towing: 2016 Elite II, 5100lbs factory weight at pick up (full 30 lb propane tanks but no water, no cargo) Current Tow Vehicle: 2016 Ram 1500, 5.7L V8 with tow package, rated for 10,300 lbs. Past Tow Vehicle: 2012 Tacoma 4.0L, rated for 6,500 lbs. Mike

Thanks for the tip on this app. I also downloaded the military version. I thought I found an error on one of the Texas state parks and I emailed the developer - within 30 minutes I had a reply and an explanation. The app was right and he explained where to look for the info I thought was missing. Good support and worth the $3.99. Mike

StoicJim, bigger is better, no doubt. While I am glad I have the additional capabilities in my Ram 1500, the many miles I towed with the Tacoma were trouble free in all kinds of conditions. It was a fine tow vehicle and great daily driver. I'm sure a new Tacoma would do the job, there are others out there towing the big Ollie with a Tacoma. Mike

No shower curtain for us either. Shower, squeegee and wipe down with a microfiber. Bathroom stays clean all the time.

Malcolm, congratulations on your retirement! I retired 7 months ago and we are really enjoying retired life. We'll be interested in your pick up experience and first few days in your new Oliver. Steve, a new forum platform would end a lot of frustrations. I frequent Fiberglassrv and Airforums and the exerience is much smoother. I know this forum is integrated into their company website so it seems like they either have to change the entire platform or break the forum away from the web site. Like Buzzy, I appreciate Jason's technical bulletins and would like to see a technical/reference section where you could find videos and bulletins along with troubleshooting information. Mike

I got 12-14 mpg towing with my 2012 Tacoma with the 4.0L six. I also had the TRD supercharger. My mileage with the Ram with a 5.7L V8 is about the same or slightly higher.

StoicJim, welcome! I have owned two Tacoma's, a 2009 and 2012. We picked up our Oliver with the 2012 Tacoma. It did an adequate job of towing, we put 4K+ miles on our Tacoma towing our Elite II. Hills in the Ozarks, freeways, and backroads - no real towing issues. I don't tow fast (60-62mph) and am generally pretty cautious. When I went over 100K miles we decided to go with a bigger replacement, our current Ram 1500. Going in, our main reasons for going bigger was to get a bigger fuel tank and a bigger truck bed. With the Tacoma, I was constantly looking to refuel due to the small gas tank. I also didn't want to always be "full to the brim" cargo wise when we traveled. Now that I've got many more miles on the full size Ram, there are other things I appreciate. Besides the big gas tank and larger bed, I like the integrated brake controller and the "tow mode". I also appreciate the additional power and braking capacity. Gas mileage is about the same. You might consider any cargo/supplies you would want to carry when you tow. As Buzzy points out, with some water in the tanks you are pushing the upper weight limit of the Tacoma which can make hills more challenging in both directions. Hope this helps. Mike

I hope this gets worked out with both Oliver and Ford. I'm drooling a little over the thought of a 2018 Raptor.... We ordered our trailer in September and set a pick up date in May. I might just tell them when you will be there to pick it up and let them figure out the invoicing and build schedule so they can give you a final price. Mike

I got mine from Charlie (RV Widget Works). He makes them and sells them to Little House Customs. He's easy to work with. We got ours after someone leaned against the fridge and turned it off. Fortunately, it wasn't off long. It's a good, cheap investment! Mike

After braking hard one day we found the nightstand drawer out and off the tracks when we stopped. I had 3 books in the drawer that must've been enough weight to cause the drawer to open when I braked. I got it all put back together, but we always found the drawer open after driving, finally resorting to duct tape. I removed the mechanism and found that an internal plastic piece was broken. I called Tommy and explained the situation and he sent me a new set. Haven't had any issues since - I also don't have anything heavy in that nightstand drawer. I haven't checked our kitchen drawers but will. We've had no problems with them. Thanks for the heads up on this. Mike

Post pictures of the results! An awning over the dinette seems like a good idea. Mike

John, good questions and nice map. When we picked up we headed north to LBL/KY after a couple of days in Hohenwald. When we go to the rally, we want to come from the south and have been looking at places in MS - Tishomingo SP is on our list. We want to do the Trace up to Hohenwald. Steve lives in Tupelo and might be able to offer us some advice. Mike