Mike and Carol

Organ Pipe, January 2017. #50 and #135.

Joe and Janet, welcome to you too! Hope to see you out there on one of your adventures! Mike

I don’t know the answer but I would rather test my batteries when I could be present, at least some of the time. It does get cloudy in Southern CA from time to time, I’d check the forecast! The fridge uses very little propane but can drain batteries in the right circumstances. Good luck! Mike

Yes, indeed! We spent five days there and need to go back. The Taos Big Barn Dance music festival (lots of Bluegrass) is in September, might be a possibility. Plus it’s close to Durango where our son and family live. Mike

We stayed at Monte Bello during our last visit to Taos, what a great area to visit.

In addition to @donthompson, @Raspy also sold his Oliver and went to a Black Series HQ19. After a couple of years he sold his Black Series and got an Xplore, another Aussie trailer. Now he has a Roamer1. I think he said he was coming to the rally and I’m sure he’ll be available to talk about it! Mike

If you have the 3 way Dometic it runs the most efficiently on propane. When we’re boondocking it goes on propane and stays there, never had any issues. Mike

If demand is greater than your supply, I have one too, free for anyone who wants it!

We only have the front quick connect and I use it all the time. We opted not to get one in the rear, but the line is run and terminates in the back, it just doesn’t have a connector on it. I don’t know if everyone gets lines run whether you opt for the connection or not, but it might be good to double check. Mike

We’ve driven by “The Thing” probably 20 or 30 times over the years, the latest on our way to Quartzsite last month. I always say that we need to stop sometime. Maybe it’s best we don’t and keep it a mystery? Mike

Oliver=Durability

We’ve stopped by Princess Craft several times. They are dealer for Intech and also Outdoor RV and usually have something interesting to look at. They also have a YouTube channel and do reviews, usually by PJ. I need to check to see if they’ve reviewed their Oliver’s yet. Mike

Most campgrounds that say 50a also have a 30a and 20a right in the same box.

If the previous owners were not diligent with their black tank maintenance, you may be dealing with their deposits that have become a part of the tank. Yuck. As Jason suggested I would add before filling the tank I would throw in a detergent pod and some liquid Calgon water softener. Also, drive around a bit to get some agitation. If you’re going to leave it sit for a while you might try some Happy Camper, we add it whenever we’re home and our trailer is going to sit for a month or two. After every dump we add a laundry detergent pod (whatever is cheap) and some Calgon water softener. We usually dump at our destination, driving with some level of fullness in the black tank. The only time we dump before we leave is if we’re going to a location where we won’t be able to dump. When dumping, I always fill the tank to 80% or so and then do a couple of additional fills/flushes until what comes out is clear. Good luck! Mike

We always use a pressure regulator. I carry the simple brass non-adjustable as a back up, but use an adjustable regulator. Why a backup? We were camped in AZ and the weather was only supposed to get down to the mid 30s so I left everything hooked up. When we got up it was 28 and my hose and regulator were frozen solid. The hose thawed out fine but the regulator was stuck at what it froze at. If we’re only going to be someplace 1 or 2 nights and I need to connect to city water I usually just use the big blue filter. If we’re staying a while, I use the Culligan filter and our water softener. BTW, some campgrounds require/recommend a pressure regulator due to high pressure water supply.

We don’t have the Truma (not available in 2015) we have the 6 gallon hot water tank, which is what Jason Foster was referring to in the post above. When I leave the hot water tank on during freezes there is no water running to the trailer, just a full hot water tank. Mike

Same here, if the temps dip below freezing I turn on the hot water tank and the heater.

Great pics, Ray. Glad your Oliver is working out so well! Mike

“14 years later…” 😳 Mountainborn and Technomadia no longer have their Olies, although Bugeyedriver Pete still does! We have also boondocked at 9,000+ feet in State Forest State Park, CO. Dometic fridge, Suburban furnace, hot water tank and cook top all worked fine on propane. Weber Q and Outland firepit also did fine. Mike

We ordered a box and two pouches that we’ve been using for some time. Car thefts are up around here, they get close to the house, do a scan for the key inside the house then drive your vehicle away. Our car and truck are in a locked garage, but the faraday box is extra insurance. We use the pouches when traveling. Mike

We were there over the weekend but have moved on.

Good luck with your new camper! Hang around here whenever you want. As Sherry said, once in the family you’re always welcome! Mike

If you’re doing model too, my 2500 is a Laramie.

I’ve had 4 tow vehicles. Below is the latest.

Service sent me a couple of drawer slides when I had one break several years ago. Easy to replace. The strap method for each bank of drawers solved our drawer-opening-while-driving issue. Mike