Mike and Carol

Over 6 years of towing our Oliver we’ve gone from a Tacoma to a half ton to a 3/4 ton. The Tacoma was marginal, the half ton was the sweet spot, the 3/4 ton is such a comfortable towing experience. We had over 100K miles on our Ram 1500 and had no issues at all. Just routine maintenance, oil and filter changes. Your local mechanic might have some old experiences back when Ram was Dodge. From what I’ve seen over the last few years all the major pick up manufacturers are making quality vehicles.

It’s not ours!!

No negotiating. No military discount (I’m a 30 year military retiree). We like to go off grid, so solar and inverter were important. I could do without the cell booster for as much as we use it. You can do without lithium and the composting toilet if you are going to be in campsites with full hook ups. Mike

Many good memories of our years in Sierra Vista!

My windows are pictured above with the gutters applied. It’s been several years and no issues. I haven’t tried to re-caulk. In fact, I’ve never re-caulked. Going on 7 years now, no leaks. I’m a “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” guy. If I get window leaks, I’ll just peal off the gutters, caulk and put new gutters on. Mike

Yes, any faucet can work. The original faucet on our Oliver had no sprayer. Not sure when they started putting those in. This is what I installed: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012I44QG4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 It fits the same as the old one. Has a pull down sprayer and looks original. Mike

Interesting. I’ve done real clay bar work on cars, but not on my trailer. I think I’ll check out the synthetic clay. Mike

I replaced my faucet 3 or 4 years ago. It’s just like a residential faucet, so there should be many YouTube instructional videos. I replaced mine with a Delta bar faucet that could be pulled down with a sprayer. Or, any plumber should be able to do a repair or replacement. Mike

No door leaks on our 2016. Do those look like original seals? Mike

I can turn the charger on/off independently of the other electrical things. I just flip the breaker for the charger in the fuse panel under the dinette. All the other 110 stuff stays on. Mike

We got AGM’s because that was what was available back then. They did fine when we boondocked. If lithiums weren’t available I would have replaced them with AGM’s and we would still be happy campers. But, since it looks like we’ll be camping a while longer I thought it was worth it to spend the extra money on lithium batteries. No regrets. Mike

Nice looking Oliver! Keep up updated on your camping news. Mike

I got $0.00. They did unload them from the back of my truck, though!

I took my AGMs to our local Napa Auto Parts for recycling.

There are three jacks. One behind each rear wheel and the front jack is on the tongue.

Wow! Sorry about the aggressive fence post. I have no experience in fiberglass repair so I will be very interested in responses from those who do. Mike

We were just in Zion in January. Some snow, but roads were clear. A couple of spots in the park were closed due to snow. Weather was high 20s at night and high 40s to mid 50s during the day. No crowds. We did the other four parks during Sept/Oct. Weather was good. My son lives in Durango and I can tell you they’ve had a lot of snow to date. The roads stay pretty clear, though. Mike

We’ve been using a Vornado heater in our Oliver for over 5 years. No issues. It has 3 settings, 750W, 1150W and 1500W. It’s usually on the low setting, maybe the middle setting. Even on high, 1500W, it has never popped the breaker by itself. We do turn it off while coffee is being made. Mike

Our experience is with the older Dometic 3-way fridge. We’ve never had an issue with food staying cold or frozen while traveling on propane. Size-wise there is enough room for food for the two of us. Someone with the new refrigerator model should have a better answer. Mike

Would you recommend the GPS device you are using? There’s been discussion on various brands, it’s always nice to know when one gets a user recommendation. Mike

I have a 12 foot collapsible ladder that I carry in the truck bed when we travel. It’s pretty lightweight. I also use it when I wash and wax after a trip. I also have a really tall one, probably 18’ or so. It’s heavy! I use it to clean out gutters and such at home. Mike

I’ve been towing a lot of years and a lot of miles with the 2” ball. No horror stories here, either with the Andersen (around 70,000 miles) or without (around 15,000 miles). If I was ordering a trailer today I would probably go with the bigger ball, just for the added robustness and, as Steve says, the cool factor. Mike

Like Bill, I’m not sure I understand either. When we ordered in 2015 we paid extra for our four AGMs, it was the top battery option to go with the solar. We were very happy with them for 5 years, in all kinds of weather. I only replaced them because the hooks on the hold down straps had worn through the casing causing some leakage. Even then, they were performing fine. Mike

I ensure there is water in the toilet when we aren’t using it. I periodically check and if needed I had more water. I also periodically put some water down each drain. Mike

I’m getting inspired to plan a fall trip north through the Dakota’s then west to Wyoming and Idaho then south to Colorado to visit our son and family…. Mike