Mike and Carol

Just finished ours!

Carol and I have been together since 1969, married 49 years this year. For someone who wasn’t very enthusiastic about getting a trailer and camping, she has become the best camping partner ever. SInce I retired in 2016 we’ve been pretty much joined at the hip, we do everything together. Mike

We go where we go, no gentle treatment here. You should see the front of my trailer, there’s enough chips and rock gouges to qualify it as a replica of the surface of the moon. The rest is pretty shiny. 😎

John, despite my efforts washing and waxing on a regular basis our old trailer was looking a little dull. The CGI guys made it look better than the day we picked it up. Much easier to clean now.

CGI does great work…

We haven’t tried them either, they just came out a month or so ago. We’re using the same as you.

Hey Jay, congratulations and welcome! As you get to know your trailer don’t hesitate to ask questions. Mike

Ours originally was going to be delivered in December 2015. But, due to my work schedule I asked to delay until May 2016. They had already started building it in the fall of 2015 and just set it aside, finishing it in the spring. So ours is a mix of 2015 and 2016, not that it matters any since there wasn’t too much standardization then.

Congratulations on your new Oliver! It is a good looking trailer and does tow like a dream. Wishing you many happy travels in the coming years. Mike

My valve installation looks very different than yours. Bends in the cable will definitely cause binding. My cable was straight with no bends at all. Interesting because our hull numbers are so close. Mike

I think we were at Quartzsite some years ago camping next to Steve and Tali @ScubaRx and I was complaining that my black tank cable was getting difficult to pull out. Steve said to take it out, lube it and stick it back in. With that bit of technical instruction I did exactly that and problem solved. Mike

I will just add my experience with the long black tank cable. It is very easy to lube. Loosen the set screw on top of the black tank valve and the cable easily pulls out. Wipe down with your preferred lube/grease and it goes back in as easy as it came out. Tighten down the set screw and you’re done. I’ve done this 3 times over the years since 2016. A shorter cable run would probably be better and an electric valve better as well, but the current set up has been fine considering how many times we’ve dumped! Mike

Art, have you tried the new ceramic Berkey filters?

Hi Jay, welcome to the group and congrats on your “new” Oliver! You probably know about the Texas Oliver rally that’s in the fall. Hope to meet you there. Mike

Maybe we should start a thread on managing resources while boondocking. When we had AGM’s we did a lot of no hook up camping, mostly at National Parks, COE and FS areas, Harvest Hosts and of course Quartzsite. No 30a hookup meant fridge on propane, hot water on propane, boil water on propane stovetop for pour over coffee, etc. The only electrical load on the batteries was the furnace fan, lights and water pump. We seldom use the inverter, an occasional minute or two of microwave and maybe a blow dry after a shower. Keeping an eye on where the battery charge was happened frequently. If we weren’t back to near 100% by mid-afternoon the generator came out (happened at Glacier and Grand Teton, some dark cold days!). Our AGM’s lasted 5 years and got replaced because two were starting to leak. Now with Lithiums (just 300ah) we still camp the same when boondocking and rarely get down to 80% charge by morning. It’s a mistake to think that solar allows the same kind of camping off grid as with FHU. Mike

Sage advice, for sure! Like most folks when one tank runs out we switch to the other and start looking for a place to refill. It takes a while for the big tanks to run out. When we lived in Belgium our home was an old (200 years) farmhouse and hot water was propane on demand, one in the bath and one in the kitchen. Propane was supplied by two tanks outside that didn’t switch automatically. More than once my not water stopped in the middle of a shower on a cold Belgian morning requiring a trip outside to switch tanks so I could finish my shower. That was better than when the well ran dry, though. Sometimes living in that house felt like we were camping. Mike

Paul, welcome! Nice looking setup. There’s great camping in Colorado! Mike

We were driving east on I-10 in Arizona and New Mexico today (no trailer ☹️) and saw 1 Scamp, 3 Casita’s and 1 Oliver (blue and gold stripes) heading west on I-10. Everyone must be heading to Quartzsite! Wish we could join everyone there this year. Mike

We’re a bit behind Steve and Tali, we only have about 110,000 miles and somewhere around 750 nights. I’ll have to check my spreadsheet. We’ve slowed down a bit this last year or two, 92yo mother next door and daughter with 4 kids nearby has been keeping us closer to home than before. Mike

I have to agree with Bill, here. Over 9 years on our 6 gallon tank and the only maintenance has been changing out the anode, a simple 10 minute task. Noise isn’t an issue either, we run it on electricity when we have hook ups and it’s pretty quiet. 6 gallons is enough for two showers in a row with some left over. If you need to heat water quickly you can run it on both electricity and gas. I know the Truma is new technology and offers some nice features, but our good old hot water tank and good old gas furnace have both been simple to operate and maintain. Mike

Some historical perspective might be useful in the discussion of standardization of the early trailers. Those of us who ordered our trailers in 2015 recall that a small number of trailers were being made by a small group of workers. The production of trailers had just started back up after being shut down for a number of years. Most trailers were ordered by the future owner, with different features and options. It was common to call and request installation of a desired accessory or to change the installation of something else. You could call and ask that electrical outlets be moved or added here and there. Oliver was trying their best to accommodate buyer desires and requirements which resulted in some “one off” work and installs and prevented the standardization that is being discussed today. Mike

Stay warm! If you are sleeping in your trailer you should be nice and cozy.

He gives a pretty fair review. I’m not sure the comments about being a lightweight trailer because of the aluminum frame are real accurate but it’s not a heavy trailer either. Your interior looks great ! Mike

That’s us, usually done with evening meal by 5 and don’t eat again until 10ish the next morning.

We’ve been using liquid Calgon and a detergent pod since new. Happy Camper goes in when we’re back from a trip while our trailer is waiting for another adventure. Mike