topgun2

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)? 😇

There is a very nice little (short) hike who's trailhead is only a few yards before this tunnel starts. The hike gives great views of those "windows/air vents" that are cut into the sides of the tunnel plus wonderful views of the rocks and valley below. Bill

Regarding the a/c or no a/c question: In addition to the above discussion regarding resale and comfort - add - you can probably delete the a/c from your build, BUT, you probably will get no monetary credit from Oliver for doing so. Bill

I can't find any work by them about wind turbines. 😞 Here you go - https://youtu.be/z8JcHflQgVo Bill

An age old problem that has so many variables that I have a hard time answering. I too am currently wrestling with a related question since I'm interested in buying a new tow vehicle. My current 2017 1/2 ton has nothing wrong with it but if I were to keep this truck for another year (or longer due to the current new truck market situation) I'd want to put new tires on it. An old motorcycle saying is that tires are cheap insurance. But, that only opens up another potentially confusing avenue of this discussion. Good luck with your decision! Bill

And the 4 sided Clam will NOT fit over virtually any picnic table. Bill

Actually, Overland has done exactly this when he re-worked his plumbing in his Elite 2. If interested, do a search of Overland's posts. Bill

Kim - Welcome to the Oliver Forum! A number of years ago I had the wonderful opportunity to share a few beers and a couple of hot dogs with a traveling nurse in the little town of Meeteetse, WY. At that time I had never heard of traveling nurses but thought that it was a wonderful idea. Given that you state that you are very new to the RV world and perhaps even new to camping in general, have you considered renting an RV first? This would give you a chance to really get a better view of what is involved without making the full commitment and spending a bunch of money. Yes, renting is rather expensive, but, buying an RV and the equipment that goes along with it only to find out that its not really the thing you had in mind is a bunch more expensive - both in time, frustration and money. We are here to help! Good luck! Bill

While I've not investigated wind power for myself, I know that a YouTube poster - Fate Unbound - has been toying with this idea for a few years now. The husband of this young couple is an engineer so that there is at least some formal education behind his thinking on the subject. Good Luck! Bill