topgun2

ScubaRx has a screen porch that he attaches to his Oliver. Perhaps he will chime in with some details for you. Bill

That thread is "Where's Ollie" and it is now here! Bill

I'm one of the ones that suggested extending the EZ Gutter down the sides of the windows. There is noting wrong with what FrankC did but probably half way down the sides would more than do the trick. On the other hand - if any of the gutter lifts, the easy fix is to use a product called "E-6000"to re-stick it. Bill

Mine is in the bed of the truck usually propped up on its side. I've never had one hint of a leak - but - I really don't use it very often either. Bill

The Oliver Travel Trailer Company is unlike ANY other company with whom I've ever dealt. They are honest, hard working and go above and beyond in trying to help when things go wrong. Unfortunately, these words are so hard to believe until you experience this kind of service for yourself. Only then will you really understand what has ben meant by many of us welcoming you to the "family". Bill

Ouch! And, that looks like one of those "cheap" chairs too. Bill

I've always wondered why I felt the need to eat a danish while I communicated via Bluetooth. Now I know. Thanks David. Bill

Probably not that big check but I'd bet you'd look great in an Oliver golf shirt. Bill

It looks to me like you two (Patriot and Katanapilot) will be coming down the production line together. Congrates! Bill

Certainly it was MY pleasure to show David and Kathy "Twist". Again, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! Bill

Thanks Maverick for posting since observations from the owner of a specific vehicle are usually better than from someone that doesn't have first hand experience. Having said that, I believe that all of the current late model 1/2 ton trucks in the USA can make good tow vehicles for the Oliver II. To be within the manufacturers recommendations, all require a weight distribution hitch for the big Oliver. And, as has been discussed on the Forum previously, one should be careful of the payload being carried in the truck. Even though I currently am driving a Ford, I really do not have a brand loyalty. For me, the decision on which truck I own comes down to which truck do I feel currently (at the time of purchase) has the best price and features to do what I want it to do. I've found that given how competitive the 1/2 ton market is in the past number of years, if your "preferred" manufacturer doesn't presently have what you are looking for then (if you can) wait a year and they will not only catch up to the competition but probably surpass them. Bill

For what its worth: I'm hull 117 and most of my 90 degree elbows are plastic. Even though I've never had a problem I do carry two three foot sections of pex, two 90 degree shark bite elbows and two shark bite straight connectors just in case. The current Oliver production system is not only more robust but I'm guessing that it saves a little money in the construction too. On the left side of the picture, note the fresh water tank mod (where the white pipe joins the blue pipe in the foreground) that was done by the Service guys and they used the "sweeping" bends for the 90 degree to the tank. Bill

With all the expensive electronic equipment onboard most Ollies it is good that the surge protector is now standard equipment. I'm not sure where the electronic readout for the protector is placed. But, if you are sensitive to light (flashing or otherwise) make sure that the readout is in a place that hides that flashing screen from view while still being easily accessible so you can read the codes that it displays. I'd have mine placed inside the first overhead cabinet right on the pantry wall. In this location all one has to do is lower the cabinet door and you can see the readout from the entrance door - assuming that you have not filled that cabinet so full as to block the view of the readout. Bill

See above posts from the beginning - It appears that Oliver didn't have much choice - at least on the tires. Bill

Back when Oliver had the 4 Trojan lead acid batteries as "standard" with the solar package I decided to get those versus the AGM's. Plus I got the Trojan watering system. This watering system has worked very well and makes that project extremely easy. However, in hind sight I wish that I had simply ordered the AGM's - the total cost would have been about the same and the extra amp hours that the lead acid's have given me were really not needed. I've never been below 82% full on my batteries! So - particularly since you are "bad about keeping them watered" plus my experience I would simply go with the lead acid's. Regarding the Brightway's - I have no experience. I'd love to get lithium batteries but I'm going to wait until my Trojan's die before seriously going down that road. Bill

djpinaz - Drop Matt Duncan an email at - mduncan@olivertechnologies.com - I'm sure that he will be able to help you get your hull # plate. Bill

Maverick - You'll like that Grizzly campground - clean, nice showers, nice people. Hopefully you will get a spot over in the southeast corner in that it backs up to NFS land and you can take a hike, walk the dog, and its a bit quieter over there. However, there really isn't a bad spot in the entire place. If you get bored with YNP or are looking for something a bit different then take a look at driving north/northwest to the Hebgen/Quake lake area. Last year in taking a short hike out of the Cabin Creek campground there was a mother griz and her two very cute cubs climbing the west side of the canyon not 50 yards up the trail from the campground. There is a decent laundry in town with free WiFi and the coffee shop right across from the larger of the two grocery stores has good pastries and coffee. Bill

I believe it is 1/2 inch.

Welcome! There sure are a bunch of us here on the Forum that are jealous of how close you are to Hohenwald. Since you are getting your Ollie in April, you will be seasoned veterans by the time the Owner's Rally rolls around in mid May. Certainly you should have a bunch of questions for the presenters at the seminars and for the rest of us around the grounds. It really is a good time in a very nice location. In the meantime - let us know if we can help. Bill

Hobo et al - When I first got my Ollie I purchased two 90 degree and two straight Shark bite couplers (and a Shark bite de-coupler) along with two 3 foot long sections of Pex to be used as an emergency water line repair kit. I placed all of this down in the bowels of the Ollie near the water pump area and haven't looked at it since. However, it is really nice to know that its there if I ever need it. Bill

I'll also jump on the "stop at the Badlands" wagon - every time I'm there I can see the pioneers coming across this for the first time. As David's pictures show - simply stunning. Yellowstone NP is wonderful - but - a camping and traffic problem. My favorite campground in YNP is Peeble Creek in the extreme northwest corner. All sites are first come first served, there is central water and pit toilets - no electric or sewer. The Lamar Valley sits right at the campground's western door with wolves, elk, bison, deer, antelope, coyotes and bear (both black and griz). Early in the morning the traffic is lighter because most people will be coming from the WEST into the valley and/or stopping at the other attractions which are mainly on the western side of the park. Unfortunately, as with all of the campgrounds in the park (see Mike's comments above) camping sites are hard to come by - the last time I was there I arrived at 5:15am to get in line for a site and I was THIRD in line! Another way to attack YNP is to head on over to the town of West Yellowstone. The Grizzly campground in town is very nice with full hookups and the Baker's Hole Campground just north of town is also good (central water and pit toilets - no electric or sewer) (site 53 is the best). All sites here are first come first served and to insure you get a site you should be there no later than 9:30 - 10:00 am. Be aware though that getting into YNP can have very long lines - up to a 90 minute wait if you arrive at the gate after 8am. Or, you could try to get a reservation at the Madison Campground inside YNP. Again, central water and no electric but the toilets are flush and there is a central sewer dump. From here you can avoid the entrance gate lines and be closer to the sites that are on the West side of YNP. Another "benefit" of the town of West Yellowstone is that there are restaurants, laundries, grocery stores, etc. if you need these types of things to re-provision or as a break. As I think John said - with the time you have, you simply can not "do" YNP - there are too many people/traffic and there is too much to see. Bill

Mainiac's idea is a good one - I use a sleeping bag. However, I also have a fitted sheet under the sleeping bag and even a mattress pad under that. There are a number of "posts" here on the Forum that discuss various sources for sheets that fit. However, mine was just a plain old twin mattress sheet that was altered slightly to fit the slightly smaller size of the Oliver mattress. With the mattress pad I use four ( one on each corner) of those elastic sheet tighteners to take up the slack. https://www.amazon.com/Suspenders-Adjustable-Fasteners-Grippers-Mattress/dp/B07BLPWKDS/ref=sr_1_9?crid=NJ12MPTHLHXQ&keywords=elastic+sheet+corner+fasteners&qid=1579357449&sprefix=elastic+sheet%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-9 Bill

I don't mean this as a "cop out", but, your answer mainly depends on exactly how you plan to use your camper. If you never camp without electrical hook-ups then you may believe that the solar option is simply not necessary. If you don't plan on extended Boondocking trips then a composting toilet is questionable. If you don't "need" the instant gratification that an on-demand water heater gives you then the standard water heater will do just fine. If you don't do a fair amount of winter camping then a 30 pound propane tank is probably not necessary. If you never listen to the radio or watch "local" TV then the standard antenna is OK. I could go on but only you can decide the "need" for a particular option as it pertains to how you will plan to use your camper. Of course there is the re-sale value of the camper to consider also, but, I would not let that sway my thinking too much. Finally, for most options, the cost of adding options later is higher than including them in the original build. If there is an Oliver owner near you then I'd recommend sitting down with them and go over each option you are considering. Listen to why they did (or did not) get that option and determine if the reasoning makes sense for your situation. Good luck! Bill

Patriot - If you have trouble getting to see an Oliver, you can virtually always see mine. I'm located about 30 minutes southwest of Asheville. Just send me a private message here on the Forum. Glad to help! Bill

Mark - In reverse order - I agree with Seadawg and David - TPMS is virtually a must. Obviously, there are several good systems on the market and Ford's just might be one of them. I certainly understand wanting to reduce the number of separate systems and/or screens in the tow vehicle (both for the TPMS and for the backup camera) and I don't know what Ford's system costs. However, I'm guessing that for what Ford will want for its system, you can get a very nice TPMS (note here that if you go this route you should think about getting 6 sensors which will take care of the four wheels on the Oliver plus the spares on both the tow vehicle and the Oliver). In ordering my Oliver I thought that the camera being sold by Oliver was expensive AND I wanted to reduce the number of screens inside my truck. Bottom line is that I had Oliver pre-wire for the camera during the build to include an on/off switch by the camper entrance. As with all other things that they have done for me the result was very professional and complete. Heck - at delivery, they even installed the camera for me. While hardwired into the electrical system of the Oliver, the camera does transmit it video signal to the tow vehicle via WiFi. This has never been a problem and I can view that transmission on my tablet or my phone (or both). Since I usually have one or both of these operating as I drive anyway, there is no additional screen. And, I can have it on or off any time I chose. My total cost including the camera, WiFi transmitter and Oliver install was right at $250 (note that this was a bit over four years ago). Again, I'm guessing that Ford's system will be somewhat more expensive than this and if you ever change tow vehicles you might have a problem. Bill