rideandfly

Bill, Don't know if any Griz or Buffalo passed by at night, but Larry mentioned listening to sounds outside the camper at night in his article, so here's another one. One night we were camping next to a swamp in SC. Something was out side making odd snorting type of noises. Figured it was some type of wildlife, so did not go outside until morning. The next morning the family in the campsite beside us said a very large alligator had been in our campsite during the night. :)

Larry, Very useful information about the heater and LP bottle weight. Know what you mean about camping and hearing noises outside at night. While camping in MT & WY, we always wake up when Elk and Coyotes come through the campground, looking out trying to see them on moonlit nights. Thanks,

Welcome from North Carolina and Congratulations on your future Elite II !!!!!!

Steve, Wow, beautiful work!!!!! Very creative and will get the job done!

Scotty and Donna, Congrats on the new family member!!!!!!! Hull #75 was the only experimental Ollie built with the "Saturn" option. Bill, Yep, It generates a little extra heat accompanied with poor fuel economy :( , but the view is "Out of this World"! :) Happy New Year!!!!!

Wishing Everyone a Safe and Happy New Year!!!!!! Blasting off to 2017!!!!!

John, We camped in the Tellico Plains TN area a few times over the last couple years, SW of the Smokies. Hopefully these links will help with questions about the area. http://www.tellico-plains.com/places-stay.html http://www.cherohala.org/ http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/road-trips/cherohala-skyway-road-trip/ The private campground we stay at has a nice gazebo for outdoor gatherings: https://www.cmtrails.com/ Photos from past camping trips to the area: I know you will not be riding, but it's a nice place for Street and Dual Sport Riding, too! Gathering at Tellico Plains last October. This was one of the groups heading out for a ride: Hope this helps,

John, Congrats on your Oliver purchase!!!

Agree, They took care of work on our Ollie when it was past warranty and we purchased our Ollie used. When I told the Oliver tech how much I appreciated the work done for no charge, he said "When you purchased an Oliver, you joined the Oliver family!"

Dean, It was great to meet you and Laura at the 2016 Oliver Rally. Liked your Casita, too!

Like the idea of a "quick start reference and safety guide". We purchased our Ollie used. The original owner probably covered as much as the factory would for us, but it was a lot of information to remember. Found myself going through the owners manual and equipment guides to find some of the information previously reviewed with the original owner. I'm slowly going through our owners manual and updating with photos and making notes, too. Going to keep a log book of maintenance and upgrades, too. Speaking of Oliver tractors, while camping in Illinois, a family camping next to us invited us to an antique tractor show and took a photo of a row of Olivers behind this Case:

Canoe 12, We fish at a wildlife club in NC with a small private lake where a fishing license is not required. Sometimes we purchase an annual SC fishing license while camping in SC. Is there a national fresh water fishing license? Read about a petition for a Seniors National Fishing License. Would be nice to have so we could post photos of fish caught around the nation in front of our Ollie. Thanks,

Wishing Everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Just returned from camping at Lake Wateree State Park SC. Took our Kayaks for the first time while camping with the Ollie. High temps 60s and 30s at night.

Reed, Checked/tightened the hose clamps on the black and grey water lines under the dinette seat this morning. Saw a couple drops of red RV antifreeze under the grey water line and a clamp was loose. Guess this is a good reason for using red RV antifreeze in traps and pressure lines, making it easy to spot leaks. Thanks for the tip,

John, We're big fans of ACE campgrounds. When visiting ACE lakes, visit their headquarters and ask for maps and CDs. Also use this recreation/ACE website: https://www.recreation.gov/campgroundDirectoryListByAgencyID.do?contractCode=NRSO&agencyID=70902 Here's a sample of free handouts, the website address on the CD has changed: Hope this helps!

Reed, Here's some old file photos. Photo of what Bill describes, black water drain line on left and grey water drain on right: Here's the back flow valve top left, and black tank valve: Hope this helps!

Grayson, Will post photos of ramp while loading CB on the Tundra when I'm set up. Next, will need to take the rig somewhere camping in SC before spring!!!!!! Thanks, Here's the CB500X, you can also see the smoke from fires in Western NC when the photo was taken:

Mike, Good point! Will be sure the ramp is shaped like Grayson's!!! Will check to be sure the next bike purchase (FJ-09) will clear, too. Thanks! Grayson, Appreciate the information! Don't want to mod the the Tundra suspension, if not needed. Sounds like 12' ramp is the way to go. We're retired and age is always a consideration, so will be going with the overkill approach, too! :)

Grayson, It's a fine little bike that gets up to 70MPG & serves well for solo twisty and fire road riding (no single track). Had a SuperMoto that was a Hoot on twistys, but the CB is easier to stay out of trouble with. It has tubeless 120/70/17 & 160/60/17 tires, works better reducing air pressure for off pavement duty and pumping tires back up for the ride home. Did not consider taking the CB camping until looking at the CB weight and how the CB would fit in the back of the Tundra. It does not have much power for two-up duty, but probably will not ride more than 100 miles per day while camping and will have a better seat built, if needed. Curious if you needed to install air bags or Timbren blocks on the rear differential when hauling the Strom while towing the Ollie? You sit on the Strom while loading & unloading, I always walk beside the bike on a ramp and have not tried sitting on it, yet. Thanks,

Bill and Grayson, We considered an ATC aluminum Toy Hauler before buying the Ollie. In the end our first priority was camping with the Ollie and second priority was taking a motorcycle while camping. We have a Vstrom, but want to transport our smaller Honda CB500X on the 6.5' bed for two-up riding while camping. It's less than 450 pounds wet and should be able to close the tailgate with the CB loaded at 56" wheel base, axle to axle. When I was a teenager, standing in a automobile pit next to a small HD leaning on handle bars while changing motor oil. Pulled too hard on the drain plug wrench and the bike came over on top of me in the pit. No one could hear me, but managed to get the 270 pound HD 250 Sprint up out of the pit off of me. Safety lesson learned! Will check out both ramps posted so far. Thanks,

Bill, Thanks.

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Our first camper was a used Chalet A-Frame camper. Purchased it during 2010 and really enjoyed camping with it. We were camping on Mount Pisgah campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway during 2010 when we saw an Oliver. The owners gave us a complete tour and we really liked it. At that time, Oliver had stopped production and used Ollies were not easy to find. Our Chalet had floor rot, so we decided our next camper would not have wood floors. Purchased an all aluminum 2010 LivinLite CampLite 11 travel trailer next with aluminum sheet interior/exterior walls, aluminum ceiling/roof, aluminum frame, and aluminum tongue & groove plank floors. The 2000 pound CampLite was rugged, but small, so we wanted to move up in travel trailer size. Oliver started building the Legacy Elite II, so we were very interested in buying a Oliver. We scheduled an Oliver plant tour last May 2016. Before heading to TN for the tour, a used 2015 Elite II in MO was posted in this forum's "For Sale" section earlier that week. We went on the Oliver tour on a Thursday, headed to SE MO that afternoon and camped in the used Ollie that night on the owners farm. Purchased the Ollie from the couple in MO the next morning. Chalet A-Frame: CampLite 11: Ollie Rig:

Mike, That's an excellent installation! Nice job!