Steph and Dud B

Aside from not draining the water tank, did you winterize the rest of the water system last fall?

We're going to the Springfield, MA RV show next weekend, which we do every year, but this year there will be an Ollie there! That's great! This is the largest RV show in New England. Really happy to see OTT doing this.

eBay: https://www.ebay.com/p/1538962234

That was our experience with them. They sent a huge flatbed for our 4x4 dually and a heavy duty wrecker for the fifth wheel and towed them both to the nearest Ford dealer - after arranging for the dealer to leave the gate unlocked because they were closing before we got there. Excellent service.

We've never met anyone personally who had a trailer stolen, but there are plenty of online tales and news items of it happening. Most stolen rigs seem to become homes for the homeless or meth labs in the woods, so they're not too worried about registration, title, etc. The Oliver group is a very small sample size, so I'm not surprised we haven't heard of an Oliver being stolen yet. We use a hitch lock and some other measures to try to avoid being the first.

Is this the rebranded FMCA? No, different company. Now owned by Blue Compass. We've had to use them several times and they were good.

We've used Coach-Net with good results as well.

Nice rig. Should suit your lifestyle well, I would think. Enjoy.

That pretty much describes just about every other RV out there. They look flashy and cool, until you look inside the walls. Ragged holes, construction debris everywhere, fasteners that missed studs, rats nest wiring. Last year we looked at a really expensive Super-C motorhome. Beautiful full body paint, leather seating, etc. Walked away after taking one look at the drawer construction.

F38 - Stephanie and Dudley - Connecticut - Eggcelsior - #1150

Definitely stick around. Looking forward to hearing more about your new rig and your adventures in it.

This thread got me thinking. We use our Verizon tablet's hotspot for wifi when there's none available at the campground, and that usually works fine. But there have a been a few areas where Verizon coverage wasn't available, so we wanted a backup on another carrier for basics: email, light browsing, etc. No need for another high-usage plan. The Solis line of hotspots now come with 1GB of free data per month for the life of the device. That's not a lot, but it's enough for 40 minutes daily of web browsing or 20 minutes daily of social media apps (source: https://3g.co.uk/guides/how-much-data-do-i-need). That should be plenty for our occasional needs. Also, any additional gigs you buy from Solis never expire, so there's no waste. The Solis devices work on both AT&T and T-Mobile here in the states (they choose the best available at your location), and they also work internationally. They're relatively slow connections (which shouldn't be an issue for our use) and additional data is relatively expensive, but we don't expect to buy much. Seems like a pretty good solution for a backup system. We just received our Solis Lite unit yesterday, so I'll do some testing soon. Here's a link to it on Amazon: SIMO Solis Lite 4G LTE WiFi Mobile Hotspot, Local & International Coverage Router, Multi-Carrier Access, No Contract or SIM Card Required, 10 Connected Devices, 1GB/Month Lifetime Data https://a.co/d/fOrM7Fv

Looks good. Our Sierra gas engine is a 6.0 Thanks for doing this.

Yes.

Posted.

That day was last Wednesday for me!

I'm stumped.

What year is your trailer?

For the truck bed, these boxes fit below the tonneau cover on my GMC 3500 perfectly, with the 10-gallons stacked on top of the 19-gallons. (Walmart also sells them in sets of 6.) https://www.containerstore.com/s/storage/plastic-bins-baskets/sterilite-black-stacker-totes/12d?productId=11007874&country=US&currency=USD&skuId=10074299&cid=cse|PMAX|Google|TCSP_X_US_EN_Storage_PMAX_X_18200107324___en|&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=pla&adpos=&scid=scplp10074299&sc_intid=10074299&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAtt2tBhBDEiwALZuhAHRScMuyTC5VPyA9q3vcq3HG_4oXtkRIWyzB46K-nYRRKmWMa-UidhoCfTMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds https://www.containerstore.com/s/storage/plastic-bins-baskets/sterilite-black-stacker-totes/12d?productId=11007874&country=US&currency=USD&skuId=10074302&cid=cse|PMAX|Google|TCSP_X_US_EN_Storage_PMAX_X_18200107324___en|&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=pla&adpos=&scid=scplp10074302&sc_intid=10074302&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiAtt2tBhBDEiwALZuhAIpghZnZ7CIGccLMj7v4AcGtset6RFfzPShb8_WRzGOb3ksfoCrdohoC7loQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

The cord that came with our Oliver at delivery was defective and wouldn't twist lock. OTT replaced it before we left.

Yes, that will be a good question. Harbor Freight has a very similar step ladder that specifically says Not for Outdoor Use. I didn't find any similar disclaimer on this one. The feet are pretty narrow, though. I did take it out onto my soggy lawn today and it didn't sink in. HD also sells a steel version, with more reinforcement and bigger feet for the same price, but it's 10 pounds heavier and I'm trying to put my gear on a diet.

Thank you @Jason Fosterfor starting this thread. It prompted me to solve this problem. I ended up getting a tiny little shop blower and a lightweight 3-step step ladder, both from Home Cheapo: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla-Ladders-3-Step-Aluminum-Step-Stool-Ladder-250-lbs-Type-I-Duty-Rating-9ft-Reach-Height-GLA-3-2/310833462#overlay https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18V-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Compact-Jobsite-Blower-with-Inflator-Deflator-Nozzle-R86043B/314241140

I like the blower idea but my 2-step step stool isn't quite tall enough to get my eyes above the Girard awning. I do have a 12' collapsible ladder, but that won't work in this application. Any suggestions for something tall enough but compact?

It's all trade-offs. We had a big fifth wheel. Living room recliners, big dry bath and shower, etc., etc. It's was nice, especially on rainy days or when one of us was sick. And we could entertain friends inside. But we didn't have as many choices for campsites as we do with the Ollie and towing mileage was about 20-25% less. When we purchased Eggcelsior we were planning on multi-month trips, which we thought it would be ideal for. Circumstances have ruled that out for now but, two seasons in, our Ollie has worked for us anyway because we can fit it into campsites that were out of the question with the fifth wheel. (And that's just the physical footprint advantage. The real game changer has been the solar and lithium package.)

Count Steph and me in. Dudley