topgun2

Just to make absolutely sure that everyone is clear on this subject - John Davies is absolutely correct with his statement above with regards to the battery compartment door! However, additional insulation and weather stripping can be applied to the basement door in order to improve the seal around both the outside shower, the dump valves and the basement compartment itself. I simply used another layer of Reflextix on top of the layer that comes standard and then added window weather stripping around the entire outside shower/dump handle area. Many owners will have to adjust the length of the door lock when doing this. Bill

Sounds to me like you could use a bit more weather stripping around that basement door?

A couple of things I've recently observed about the 890 - 1. Just yesterday I found that Garmin has released BOTH a software and a map update. These do not take too long to download and install but if you have an 890 you might want to think about getting these updates. 2 - The 890 has a "red light or traffic camera" alert feature. I don't normally pay a bunch of attention to this - particularly when towing - but a recent article I read said that some locals are using Covid relief monies to purchase and install these types of cameras. Apparently the logic behind this is derived from statistics showing that during the Covid pandemic fatal traffic accidents have increased and these cameras would be a way of slowing or stopping this trend. Bill

I've never before seen those parts - and hope that I'll never have to see mine. However, it appears that in the top photo the bottom of the flange has been cut off and then "filed" down. Is that correct? If yes then is that so the flange will "slide" into that rubber gasket in the top of the black tank? Bill

If you live in an area of the country that is FLAT and will never tow outside that area and will never load things in the Oliver that cause it to exceed that towing limit, and never have an emergency situation and always keep EVERY SINGLE THING in the tow vehicle up to date and are one of the most careful drivers on the road and ........ All will be fine. But, you still will not have any fun. Bill

Sorry I didn't mention the brand/model of my dashcam above. It is: Apeman 4K Touch Screen Dash Cam Front and Rear. This used to be sold on Amazon but a link to it is currently not working. Bill

Since I don't know exactly what you were asked to sign - I can't comment. However, I will assume that it is some sort of standard contract language that was written by some corporate lawyer from the viewpoint of "protecting" the corporation and not the buyer (counterparty). I do remember when it came time to sign my Oliver contract I balked at several areas to include language that said something like Oliver was not responsible for delivery delays and there was nothing in the contract about what was to happen if they could not or would not actually produce a trailer. I "demanded" financials, a clearer understanding of what happens in the event of ...... , and in general for all parts of the contract to be adjusted to more "fairly" be written so that what was good for the goose was also good for the gander. Well, basically, those demands were turned aside (stonewalled). Luckily I used to be in the investments business and was able to get financial data on the Oliver companies that most people would simply not have access to. This plus keeping copies of ALL email correspondence where I received assurances that I had nothing to worry about somewhat assuaged my nervousness. So, here I am 7 years later not regretting my purchase one bit. You are right to feel that these contracts are (usually) very one sided. But, there are at least two things on your side - 1. consumer protection laws, and, 2 - history. Bill

At the end of my 2 month western trip late last summer I tried a Blue Beacon truck wash. Not bad for the price but if I do it ever again I'll only have them wash the Ollie or wash the Ollie and the tow vehicle separately. The reason for this was that the "soap" that they used dried on the tow vehicle before they got a chance to wash/rinse it off and this left a very difficult to remove film. Previously I've used those do it yourself spray washes and even though they take time and some effort I personally prefer them. Particularly if I have my own cleaning pad which I almost always carry. Good luck! Bill

Try THIS thread for starters. Note that Mike & Carols dimension post is down a few posts from the top. Bill

Yep - me either. Remember, while the standard water heater "only" has six gallons of water, any "new" water that is added to the tank is being heater as it comes in (depending on the pre-set sensor on the heater). So, as you use hot water it is being replaced by cold water which is then heated. The only problem with this is if you use up the water in the tank faster than the heater can heat up the new water coming in. This is possible by two people taking back to back showers while using a fairly hot shower or in other similar situations. Bill

My dashcam(s) have a couple of things built in so that battery drainage isn't a problem. First, there is a low battery cut off so that when/if the dashcam senses a low vehicle battery it will shut itself off. Second, when the vehicle is off and the dashcam hasn't detected either movement or noise for a set period of time (in minutes) it will shut itself off. However, it will continue to monitor for sound or vibration and turn itself back on record mode when disturbed. Bill

Cowboy coffee can be very good or very bad. The longer you have been out on the trail, the more that you (and those around you) smell like campfires, horses, horse poop, saddle sweat, human sweat, etc., the better the coffee usually tastes.☺️

I too installed a dash cam - to include a rear camera - about two years ago. I did this for the obvious reasons above and for, perhaps, the not so obvious. Fairly often the places I am out West are well off the beaten path and it is generally fairly obvious that I'm fishing and/or hiking which would mean that I will not return to the truck in the near future. Certainly I realize that there are not people out there that are looking for a truck out in the middle of nowhere to break into - but. Having said this - dashcams have been used in legal proceedings to both help and hurt the case of the owner of the camera. Bill

Yep - that was the thing that got me into sharing a bit of wrong info before Mossemi came to my rescue a bit ago. It will be interesting to see what you find and while you are there - be sure to check what the "replace" date is for that unit. Bill

Interesting. I wonder just how cold it would have to get before needing to open that temperature sensor. On the other hand - if the Oliver was in temporary storage or some other reason where you wouldn't want to run the furnace this could take the place of trying to heat the entire camper. Bill

I'll add another welcome to the Family! Even though Texas is on the large side there is a bunch more that you can do with that Oliver of yours. I picked up my Oliver during the second week of February (2016) and driving over the mountains - I live east in the mountains of North Carolina - the temperatures hovered right at the freezing mark. Obviously this made driving a bit on the sketchy side because I never knew if a bridge or roadway was going to be icy or not. However, we got there and the delivery day was raining hard all day, through the night and into the next day. However, other than a dirty brand new Oliver its a bunch better than ice or snow. The temps warmed to a reasonable 55 - 57 degrees (more "normal" for Hohenwald at that time of year) and the rain stopped so touring the Natchez Trace while testing the Oliver was good. Bill

Yep - Nothing further as far as I can tell. I do know that they have had a bunch of balls in the air over this past year. Therefore I'm not surprised that they haven't taken the idea any further. You could always send them a note in this regard if you think that they could be of some help. Good luck! Bill

OR, has one or more -timed out/expired ?

AS far as I remember - the smoke detector at the rear of the Oliver is also a CO detector. So, if that is the case in your unit are you proposing to have 3 total CO detectors? Bill

Paper plates, paper cups, paper bowls, paper towels when I'm camped where there is no H2O and sewer connection - which is 90% of the time. Besides not having to wash dishes (prep pots excluded when necessary of course) I collect these "dirty" items along with all other paper/burnable items and using an existing fire pit/ring I burn them. Saves potable water, saves time, saves landfill and keeps things clean. Bill

Really? Do you have some stats that prove this or is it just your opinion? I tent camped (still do) and moved directly to an RV bumper pull/trailer. Bill

In fact - I actually started to seek them out! How an why did THAT happen? 😁

1 - if you plan on doing a bunch of cold weather camping then the 30 pound propane tanks should be seriously considered. If not then normally the 20 pound tank are a bit easier to deal with. 2 - for places where you are not allowed to run your fridge on propane either simply turn it off for a short period of time or place it on DC mode. If using the DC mode be very careful to make sure that you turn it back to propane (or 120 volt) so that you do not run your batteries down. 3 - yes, you can use a 1/2 ton pickup as long as its tow rating is high enough - some can tow up to 14,000 pounds when equipped properly. And, be mindful of your payload capacity. This is important since you will be full-timing and probably will want to carry a bunch of stuff. 4 - since you are normally traveling alone (I think) a rear camera is very helpful. I still get out of my tow vehicle to look at where I'm backing into, but, for things from traffic to animals to kids to that tree or rock to ..... etc. a backup camera is extremely helpful. 5 - you didn't ask but a tire pressure monitoring system - TPMS - is another thing that you should strongly consider. 6 - I don't have a composting toilet. Before buying one be sure to understand BOTH the pluses and minuses of them. That's a bunch of money to handle poop in a different way. Bill

Now THAT is one serious fishing pole!

For Duke or Chris (or both)? 😇