Mike and Carol

Our eyeballs are pretty close….

I just went out and measured. I just layed the tape measure at a point as close as I could to the back bumper, then did the same for the hitch. More exact would have been to crawl under the trailer with the tape measure attached to either the hitch or bumper but I’m not crawling under the trailer tonight! I don’t know if Oliver has these measurements on their web page anywhere. 79” back bumper to rear axle centerline, +/- an inch or so. 168” end of hitch to front axle centerline, +/- an inch or so. Mike

Ours is 23.5”. Pictures in the thread Bill provided above. Mike

Welcome Kevin and Rebecca! We have friends in Duncanville, small world. Texas state parks are a never ending adventure, tall pines in the east, sandy beaches on the coast, desert canyons in the panhandle, mountains in the west and rolling hills here in Texas Hill Country. Look forward to meeting you at the rally. Mike

We camped in Kartchner Caverns a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy Cochise County (Tombstone, Bisbee, Sierra Vista). We lived there for many years. Our site last month at Kartchner Caverns…

That looks like exactly what we do with the same pots. We have the same percolator pot that we use to heat water then pour over into an insulated carafe. On days we’re on the move, the insulated carafe goes into the truck for refills as we drive! Mike

Nice mod! It always bothers me when I turn on the hot water either at the kitchen or bathroom sink and see all that fresh water go down the drain while waiting for hot water. Mike

I tent camped as a kid. We had a big canvas tent that my parents and four brothers camped in for several years until my dad could afford a used pop up camper that we pulled behind our Ford Fairlane 500 station wagon. Boy Scouts too. My camping partner doesn’t like tent camping so we’re in a luxurious Oliver! Mike

We carry plain white Corelle too, same as we use at home. When we don’t have a water hookup we use paper plates and cups. For cookware, we grill or griddle mostly so there’s not much to clean cookware wise. Mike

Maybe it’s generational, but I don’t understand folks that leave trash and waste when they leave. We always try to leave our site (whether dispersed or campground) better than how we found it.

I think most of us built up immunity to cooties while in grade school. I never worried about cooties after I got to high school. Mike

30lb propane tanks are nice to have but they are heavy. I have to stand on a step to lift a full one over the lip of the trailer enclosure. A 30lb tank has about 7 gallons of propane. A 20lb tank has about 5 gallons. An option would be to carry an extra 20lb tank that you could swap out if one on the trailer runs out. I carry an extra 20lb tank for our fire pit and grill (if I don’t use the trailer quick connect). Like BIll says, an important but often overlooked feature on any potential half ton truck is payload capacity. You’ll need to add your tongue weight (around 500-600lbs), people weight, tonneau cover weight and anything you carry in the truck cab and bed. We always run our fridge on propane while traveling. Once we had to pull over to turn it off for a tunnel, there was a pull off space to do that. Most tunnels don’t seem to require that. Mike

Does the sound change if you turn the overhead lights on/off?

Entering Zion from the east requires driving through this tunnel. Last month we purposely drove south to Hurricane, UT and then up into Zion to miss this tunnel. The next day we drove the highway without the trailer and it was well worth the time. The tunnel was one way traffic, so waits are normal depending on which way you are driving and which lane has been stopped. Large trailers have to go down the middle of the road due to the rounded sides of the tunnel. It’s 1.1 miles long if I remember right. Mike

Agree that this highway is a humdinger. Very scenic but should be approached with caution. We’re becoming more familiar with it since our son and family live in Durango at the southern end.

We saw our first Oliver at the Bluebonnet rally in the spring of 2015. We drove over for an afternoon (40 minutes from home), got a great orientation from Steve Creed from Fort Worth, TX. Mike

It sounds like you’re taking precautions. It’s a good test to see how your Oliver does and the rest of us will be interested! Thanks for the updates. Mike

I’ve been reading Ray’s posts over on Airforums for a while now. Always interesting and thought provoking. Mike

Hi Kim, welcome! You’ll be able to find help and answers to some of your questions here. As someone new to the RV life have you given thought to how you think you’ll camp? If you stay in commercial campgrounds with FHU (Full Hook Ups - electric, water, sewer) you might not need solar, a lot of batteries or a composting toilet. If you think you might be a bit more adventurous and go to national and state parks or public lands that don’t have those amenities then you’ll want to go with solar, a decent amount of battery and maybe a composting toilet. We were new when we ordered our trailer almost 7 years ago and really didn’t know how we would camp except we knew we wanted to visit as many national parks as possible. We got what was available then as far as solar and batteries. We’ve ended up spending almost half our camping time dry camping or boondocking (no hook ups). We’ve found some of the most scenic campgrounds are primitive. So, advice will depend on what you think you might do. Mike

When you are at Kartchner Caverns if you don’t have time to do a caverns tour (reservations only, ranger guided) go to the visitor center and watch the video. It’s very interesting. Mike

Carlsbad Caverns is fun. We stayed at the KOA there for a couple nights several years ago. If you have time, there are some good sites to see at Guadalupe Mountains National Park not far away. If you are staying overnight in Roswell, we like the Red Barn RV Park. Small, owner is very friendly (Leigh). Just outside of White Sands Missile Range is Aguirre Spring BLM campground. You drive up from about 2,000 feet to 5,000 feet in just a mile or two. The views are tremendous, you can see White Sands National Park from there. We were just camping in Benson a couple weeks ago, at Kartchner Caverns State park. If you don’t have a place yet it’s worth a look. If you like wineries, there are several good ones in Sonoita, AZ about 35 or 40 minutes from Benson. Callaghan Winery is our favorite. Mike

Spam. Meat in a can. Tuna and Sardines, too. When I was working, part of my job was tent camping. OD Green canvas tents in Germany, Netherlands, and west Texas mostly. Sometimes I attached my OD Green canvas to someone else’s and we had a proper tent. Sometimes I just attached it to the side of the small trailer being towed behind my Jeep. Sometimes the tents were big enough for more than a couple of people and there are memories of sitting around on the ground or the side of a cot eating Spam, tuna, sardines on saltines, maybe some baked beans. The little C-ration can opener shared the chain with your dog tags. Some of those camping trips were pure misery but the Spam memories are all good. Mike

Tent camping…. I took my camping partner tent camping once right after we got married. We laugh about it now, but didn’t then. After that trip it took 40 years to talk her into looking at a trailer, initially aluminum but ultimately fiberglass. Now she’s an experienced, enthusiastic camper. Mike

We haven’t lost anything and we haven’t had anything taken. Neither do we carry anything of value. We feel pretty safe in a campground with leaving chairs, table and grill outside. When isolated I put the grill away at night in the truck to prevent curious wildlife. A thief isn’t going to drive around BLM land looking for an isolated camper for something to steal. They are interested in higher density targets with an easy get away. Memory is a different subject….. Mike

If it’s going to be single digits at night and not above freezing during the day then I would winterize or go somewhere else. Last year when we had the big freeze in Texas (single digits for several days) and I couldn’t find antifreeze I brought my trailer home, turned on the furnace and electric heater, opened all the hatches, put a drop light in the basement near the outdoor shower, aimed the electric heater at the vent under the curbside bed, turned on the hot water tank and did some close monitoring. No freeze damage. Also, no way to camp! It shouldn’t take long to winterize. The KOA should have shower and bath facilities. Mike