rideandfly

Coy, That's a great way to store chains & 7 pin cord. :)

Just returned from a camping trip at Stone Mountain State Park NC. It's a nice campground, they have RV sites with electricity and water. Also have tent and RV sites without electricity and water. Their restrooms and showers are nice, too. They have many hiking trails with a few water falls and trout fishing, too. The campground has paved roads throughout and paved parking for RVs.

Don, Enjoyed the photo trip report!!!!! Looks like the Touareg is very capable TV for the Elite II! Hope to camp in this this area during the fall of 2017 or 2018! So many places to camp in the lower 48! Thanks for posting!

Buzzy, Thanks! Currently transport Kayaks on the pickup fiberglass shell with Thule racks. Not planning to install a fiberglass shell on the next pickup. Like your idea about a Thule rack on the cab with cover over the pickup bed. The Thule racks should work OK on a Crew Cab, too. We want to transport a 500lb motorcycle or bicycles in the rear bed of the pickup. Like Bob & Camille said, have to keep the TV within the load capacity with TT tongue weight, too. Also like David's idea about the van, but we will go with a pickup. Been reading about 2017 vehicles, but still rumors on some models about gas/diesel engines and transmissions to be installed. Here's the Thule racks we currently transport Kayaks with:

We want a pickup truck for a TV ( we currently drive two pickups), so waiting to see all the 2017 model changes to make our final decision. Would like to be able to take a motorcycle in the back of the pickup and install racks to transport Kayaks, too. My main focus is on gas powered pickups, but will not rule out diesel powered pickups. Understand the idea about towing the Ollie with a van or class B, could even put a motorcycle in the back of the van, but in the end we will go with a pickup truck. Debbie likes pickups, too!

Makes two of us that are curious! Will post project photos. :)

Here's another Ollie Sunset, time to gather around the campfire shot:

Like listening to picking around the campfire! Here's another Ollie Sunset, time to gather around the campfire to listen to music and travel tales:

Plan to inspect brakes & wheel bearings on our Ollie during "Dexter E Z Flex Suspension System" installation. Have about 9000 miles on our Ollie.

Sherry, Thanks!!!!! We always enjoy spending time in the Blue Ridge Mountains! :) :) We also like visiting area water falls, here's one close to Mt. Pisgah, Skinny Dip Falls:

Mike and Carol, Thanks! Linville Falls is about a 2 hour drive from home, fine area to camp and ride motorcycles. We're heading to Mt. Pisgah on the Blue Ridge Parkway later this month or next month. It's 5,000 feet above sea level and high temps in the 70s when it's hot & humid in the lower elevations. Same campground cost as Linville Falls.

We camped last week at Linville Falls Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina. This campground has restrooms, but does not have electricity or water at the campsites and no showers. This campground has a dump station. The area offers cooler temps to get away from the lower elevations heat, plenty of places to hike, Linville Falls, Linville Caverns, Linville River, and the Blue Ridge Parkway. The regular camping rate is less than $20 per night and half of that if you have a Senior Passport (Golden Age Pass). The campground sites have paved parking and roads throughout the campground are paved with several sites that can handle RVs larger than the Ollie. This camping trip gave us the opportunity to use the Ollie on-board systems for the first time without a water and electricity connection. Also tried out a 100W suitcase solar panel system connected to the 7 pin trailer connection. It's not the most efficient way to use this solar system, but had plenty of 12V power to run everything need after the sun went down every night. Only one way to say it, the Ollie is very pleasant to camp in! :) NC Rt. 181 on the way to Linville Falls: Duggers Creek: Campground: Blue Ridge Parkway:

I may have misunderstood the systems in my observations, also. Between the folks here on the forum and at the factory, I'm confident someone will shed light on your question.

Even though I'm not interested in installing this type of toilet, y'all have me interested in learning more about black/grey water tanks. Looked at our Ollie and the bottom of the black water tank is level with the top of the grey water tank. Does not look like gravity flow from the grey tank to black tank will work between tanks. A drop suction tube with check valve could be placed in the top of the grey tank, 12V water pump placed in line to transfer water from grey water tank through a drop tube placed in the top of the black water tank. The closest valve is the black water tank, the black water tank is to the left of the valve with 2 to 3" of fall to valve. The other valve is the grey water back flow valve:

I may be misunderstanding the video in Laps post, sounded like by installing the valve on the combined black/grey tanks drain, you can auto level from grey to black tank on his RV. Description starting at 1:45 into the video using his method.

Here's the combined black/grey water tanks outlet in the Ollie bumper connecting to the drain hose: Don't know if the drain valve has enough room be rotated/secured to the existing outlet fitting, like in Laps video, without removing the top top diamond plate aluminum cover. If the cover has to be removed, the rivets can be drilled out, cover lifted, valve installed, cover with rivets installed. Edit: The more I watch Wynns video, looks like the top diamond plate cover will not have to be removed. Hope this helps! :)

Appreciate the link. Started using a 100W suitcase solar panel (two 50 watt panels) while camping with the Ollie, need to learn more about batteries!

We were going to order an Elite II at the beginning of 2017, until one came up for sale in the classified section on this forum last May. We had a Oliver tour planned that week, so we went for the plant tour on a Thursday and continued on to MO to look at the Ollie that afternoon. The previous Ollie owners have a farm in MO, so they had the Ollie connected to full hook-ups on their farm so we could camp in it to see how we liked it. Purchased the Ollie the following day and headed home with the Ollie that afternoon. We are very impressed with this Ollie and the folks at Oliver. Had someone offer to buy our Ollie last week! Oliver will work through other RV dealers for warranty problems. Happy Ollie campers, here! :)

Scotty, Hope the electrical problem is resolved. Attached the following Air Forum threads about the same issue: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/ford-f150-trailer-disconnect-warnings-143245.html http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/trailer-disconnect-with-2015-ford-f150-137280.html Hope this helps.

Matt, Appreciate your efforts! Good job!

Just returned home from camping at Linville Falls Campground NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). This campground does not have electricity or water at the sites, and no showers. This was our first camping trip at this campground in a camper equipped with shower and restroom. It was a treat to camp there with the Ollie!!!!!! Plenty of activities in the area for those that like to hike, photography, Linville Caverns, or go for a drive on the BRP. http://www.recreation.gov/camping/linville-falls-blue-ridge-pkw/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=74042 NC Rt. 181 on the way to the BRP: Duggers Creek NC: On the BRP:

We camp at Hunting Island SP SC on the ocean front annually in the fall or winter. It's hard to get a camping site on the ocean this time of year. Insects are a nuisance when not camping on the ocean front this time of year. Here's a few photos.

Looking for some blocks to set jack-stands on yesterday. The Ollie rear jack blocks work fine and a great motivator to finish the job quickly so we can go camping! :) Jack-stands on rear Ollie blocks supporting motorcycle while replacing steering head bearings: Jack blocks in use under rear Ollie jacks:

Congrats on the new RAM and also nice looking rig. Will put RAM on the list to "check out" during our search for a new Ollie TV at the end of the year. Safe Towing!

Is there an existing thread here for photos taken while on camping trips other than campground reports? Thanks, Badlands SD: