Mike and Carol

Good info, thanks. When you say “garage” do you mean “basement” (storage area at the rear of the trailer)? Mike

Welcome and congrats on your upcoming trailer. You will accumulate tools as you go along but it would be good to start with the basics. Hope to see you out on the road! Mike

I don’t have grease like that on mine. If you wipe it off does it come back? Mike

No, we do not let the bathroom window just drop. We slide all the windows “normally” and don’t slam the door. Things last longer when treated with care. Mike

We were camped near Asheville and were meeting @topgun2and his wife for lunch in Brevard. We checked the GPS which showed that the shortest route was also the most scenic, mountains and back roads. BIG MISTAKE! Besides being way late for lunch we had some very frustrating moments when small back roads didn’t match GPS and cell coverage was lost. Out came the paper atlas. Lesson learned! Mike

7 years and our windows are fine. Mike

I want wing windows back.

We camp mostly in public campgrounds. National Parks are generally the most restrictive, size wise. Most have some sites that accommodate big rigs but an Elite II size camper can fit in most any site. State Parks vary but usually have larger sites. COE and USFS campgrounds also vary, the newer ones can fit about anything, but some of the older or more remote campgrounds can be restrictive. It’s not just the size of the campsite to consider but also maneuvering truck and trailer during the back in. There have been a number of times that the site was just long enough for our Oliver, but backing it in proved to be challenging due to the narrow road or obstacles. I watched a guy trying to back in a trailer, probably 28’ or so, into a spot at a Tennessee State Park and it took him a couple of hours. He tried everything, to include going around the loop several times to change his angle and also going the wrong way to see if that would work. His frustration was evident. Mike

We almost always plan our trips (unless we travel with Tali and Steve!!). We like to go to Arizona in January and if you want to get into one of the state parks or regional parks there you have to make reservations a year in advance. We also like to go to Colorado in June and July (son and family live in Durango) and the situation is the same. Other than that, we have done trips on the fly and found spots in popular places (Glacier, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and others) same day. Since we mostly do public campgrounds (state parks, regional and municipal parks, COE, USFS, BLM, etc) we use Ultimate Public Campground App. It’s no longer supported or updated but it still works well. You can get the same information from Allstays or Campendium. I’ve looked at RV Wizard but never used it. Mike

I still have my slide rule. I still like paper maps. I also like my iPhone with all the nifty apps for camping and traveling. Like Steve, we pick up maps at welcome centers too! Mike

30 years of land navigation in the army, usually with at 1:50,000 folded map sheet, trained my brain to be comfortable with a paper map. I like my GPS’s for turn by turn directions, but we also carry a big atlas with us for planning and exploring alternate routes. Mike

It does look like the trailer held together well. The welded aluminum frame helps, I’m sure. They must attach the exterior and interior fairly securely. Was there any information about what caused the roll over besides sway? Mike

It’s not as easy as it used to be, but I can still do it!

I’ve been using Zerk caps for quite some time. Cheap and effective. I didn’t have to remove wheels to put them on or to lube. Mike

Vic, I have a different inverter so I don’t have any input on that. Do you have a 3 way fridge that can run on propane?

For our bathroom window I put up a couple of small, clear on command clips. The microfiber towel we use to wipe things down after a shower gets hung there to dry, also serving as a curtain. Mike

Twenty years from now I will look like this guy sitting in the door of my 28 year old Oliver. Mike

Renting out my Oliver is not going to happen.

Sorry to hear about the accident but glad to hear you’re back in the saddle! Looking forward to seeing you around the campfire for the latest version of the incident! Mike

I discovered this last fall when we were somewhere with no cell service. My phone prompted me through the connection process to the satellite, then I had a little satellite icon where the cell bars were. Could come in handy, both the 911 feature and the location service. Mike

Last time I was in our local TS I didn’t see any RV section. I’ll be sure to check the next time I’m there. Thanks for the heads up. Mike

Yes, we tried it. We were camping at Cumberland Mountain State Park just outside of Crossville this past fall. Typical Buc-ee’s, lots of pumps, cheap fuel, lots of clean restroom areas, plenty of food to eat, good BBQ, etc. What’s not to like? We’re getting a Buc-ee’s where we live (Boerne, TX) soon. Mike

I’m speaking for myself here, not the other moderators. If an owner, Oliver employee, or even a prospective owner wants to post a general interest RV or camping article I don’t see any issue. We’ve had owners sell their Oliver and purchase other brands (Black Series, Airstream and Kimberly) and have posted about them with discussions and questions that followed from current owners. If a post or article has grammatical error that’s okay, too. We have members who join and don’t have a clue about camping or RV’s (like I was 8 years ago) and what Jason posted would be educational to them. I didn’t know what a Toy Hauler was back when I joined the forum. I learned a lot from the Fiberglass RV Forum, Airstream Forum and this forum. I don’t see any marketing of other brand trailers going on, just general interest educational, pros/cons, etc. What is not acceptable are offensive posts and posts that are soliciting business. Unlike the Facebook group, we do allow links to products and information that owners post to be helpful to other owners. If a thread or post is not of interest to you, don’t read it. Mike

Yep. That’s what I was referring to in my post above. For me, turning the pump on, running a little water, then turning it off resets it.

First, we usually travel with a full fresh tank. If you have to stop along the way or if for some reason you end up camping with no fresh water hookup it’s nice to have water on board. Traveling with a partial tank is less weight but increases the sloshing around. Second, a couple of times a year what you described happens to us. Overflow from the fresh tank while connected to city water. I was not aware of a valve that could be set to fill the tank from city water. I always thought it was a check valve not “checking” from time to time. My solution has been to leave the city water connected but turn on the water pump and run a little water. Turn the pump off and the problem is solved. This has been happening a couple of times a year for the last 4 or 5 years. I don’t think much of it since the solution is easy. It’s also been discussed on this forum before. Mike