topgun2

Mark, The Oliver doesn't have a gravity fill port. The only two ways of getting fluids into the Oliver are either via the "winterization" suction port or the water tank fill port (via a pressurized water source). Of course there is also the "city water" port but that bypasses the onboard fresh water tank. Bill

Cash - I happened to be talking to Matt earlier this morning and he mentioned that including owners, guests and Oliver personnel (mostly Oliver family) there will be upwards of 200 people. The number of Oliver travel trailers registered is in the mid to high 70's. Most of the Owners that are registered have a spouse with them. Hope that helps. Bill

Why make removing the spare tire cover easier? I enjoy the heck out of getting my hand slapped by that overgrown mouse trap. Bill

Bill - I'm not sure about "a cleaner installation", but, I would think that it is a bit stronger. Those four small screws holding the handle on in the typical installation are screwed into such thin aluminum. I always try to remember to tell "guests" to not put too much pressure on that screen door handle - the aluminum door simply is not strong enough to handle any real weight. At least your design helps spread any weight over a larger area. Besides, it is simply cool. Bill

Overland - I put a dot of black paint on my green lights. Bill

Townesw - Have you tried calling Oliver "parts" at 1-866-205-2621? Bill

Townesw - Hopefully someone with direct access and experience with an iPhone will chime in here shortly. Obviously you can always download your pictures to a computer and then to the Forum, but I don't think that is what you are trying to do. Even with my Android phone I usually go the computer route as opposed to direct - hate typing on those small keyboards. Bill

Thanks! I never even thought to check and hope that I never need to actually use that crank! Bill

Yep - I take a dry kitchen sponge and place it in the door of the freezer. This holds that door open and, in turn, that door holds the fridge door open plus, I always know where that sponge is. Along this line, when I'm storing Twist for more than a month or so at a time, I crumple up seven or eight sheets of regular old newspaper and place those in the freezer/fridge. When I bring Twist back out of storage I simply recycle the newspaper and the freezer/fridge has no odors at all. Bill

I do three - kind of like turning off the lights. Just becomes habit after a bit. Bill

The next closest place is the air conditioner, but that would leave the wire showing from the attic to the air conditioner. Tom's got a good idea to try first or try just putting it in the window

Rumline - tried that but it doesn't work for me. As I said - Weird!

AW - I like the way you think. Perhaps the WD hitch is not strictly required, but, I think that it helps balance the load and gives a bit more peace of mind. A quick call to either Jason Essary or even the Sales office at Oliver should let you know if they have the necessary parts to get you to the correct height. This would both ease your mind and make things easier for you being so close to the start of your trip. Bill

Boy! That's weird! I click on that link and am taken back to another topic. GJ - can you simply post you "link" without trying to make it a link. That way , as Randy said, we can simply copy and paste. Bill

Pete - As has been said many times before - when (if) you see a used one for sale, be prepared to make a move quickly. There are even fewer Elite I's around as compared to Elite II's and they really do not stay on the market long. Good luck! Bill p.s. stay in touch with the sales office at Oliver. Many times they will know of a unit that is coming to market before you will see it posted here or over on FGRV Forum.

OK, sounds good - no sense in beating the heck out of yourself. Don't know either of your plans for the exact route, but, I'd avoid driving straight through Kansas City - especially with the camper. The southern route around KC is better than the northern route and really only adds about 10 to 15 minutes to your overall time, but, it is a much more relaxing route. Of course, when you are heading west with the camper, you will probably take Interstate 70 to just east of Kansas City and then I-29 north to I-80. As you approach the western edge of Saint Louis your GPS or navigator will have you take the southern belt interstate (I-255 I think) to interstate 55 south. Basically you will then parallel the Mississippi through what is some fairly uninteresting landscape. All of this is a fairly easy drive, but a bit boring. Heading back West, if you take either I-64 or I-70 you will basically have no choice other than driving straight through the center of Saint Louis. Not too bad as long as you time your arrival there at something other than rush hour (between 9am and 3 pm). Most GPS units will want to keep you on I-70, but, a simpler and easier to drive route is the following: Once you are on the large bridge over the Mississippi get in the extreme left hand lane as soon as you can and DO NOT MOVE from it. A good view of the Gateway Arch and downtown Saint Louis is had from this bridge. At the end of the bridge your GPS will want you to take the ramp on your right (two lanes over from where you should be) onto I-70, But, with you being in the extreme left lane, you will automatically be placed on I-64 and the baseball stadium will appear very close on your right. Stay in the extreme left lane. Within about a mile or so you will clear virtually all of the "downtown" stuff - yes, the road will curve around a bit, but there are NO turns off of it. With other lanes being added and subtracted, you will automatically not be in the extreme left lane by the time you are about two miles from the bridge. The next thing to pay attention to is the left hand exit back onto I-70. This occurs 20 to 25 miles out from the bridge. Once back on I-70, sit back and relax - you will be in Columbia, MO in about 2 hours and then KC in another two hours. See my notes above regarding a couple of places to camp along I-70 in Missouri. Bill

Mark - I got rid of my R1200GS for the same reason. I did keep my 2001 Kawasaki Super Sherpa (250 single dual sport) for around town, trails up in the forest and to satisfy the occasional "need for speed" (translate that - "for when I need to scare the hell out of myself"). Usually fishing is a bit safer - unless of course the river is too swift and/or a griz decides that he wants your spot on the river. Those four wheel things do look like a bunch of fun but the damage that is being done to some of our forests and the area above the Taylor River Reservoir near Gunnison, CO is a bit much. Around here in North Carolina there a simply too few places to use them in the manner I would prefer. Certainly around Moab and just about anywhere in the desert they would be a hoot. How many days are you planning on taking getting from Montana (or Alaska respectively) to Hohenwald? Bill

Mark - You might already know this but .... The current fridge in the Oliver has an "automatic" setting. When using this setting it will default to 120v and then to propane if no 120v. AS soon as 120v is available again it will automatically switch back. In order to get to 12v you must move the switch to that setting and once placed there it will stay on 12v until you move the switch back to "automatic" or to "propane". Bill

Alex - Just to the west side of Hohenwald there is a better donut shop than what you will find at Walmart. However, to find it, you better ask for local directions. On the other hand, Walmart is on the south side of the major drag going right through Hohenwald. The factory is about a 1/4 mile to the north northeast of Walmart and the Oliver sales office is on the north side of the same main drag as Walmart but about 1 mile east of Walmart. Hohenwald is not (obviously) a big town and not hard to get around in or through. If you will be spending any time with the guys at the factory (you might want to take the tour if you have not done it before and have the time), donuts and/or a few Budweisers (seriously, that's what they like) will make them your friend for life. John is more than correct in that Anita is a real sweetheart. If you need anything she should be the first person you should ask. I'd say the same thing about a couple of the guys over at the plant, but, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea! I'm so excited for both you and Mark - please enjoy the entire process and let us all know how things are going. Bill

Mark - specific to #3, just make a note to check the zerks for evidence of grease. During your delivery, the guys will be more than willing to do most of anything you ask - like add grease if not done before. Depending on which set of batteries you got, another thing for the notes is to ask that the batteries be topped off with distilled water. Bill

Yvonne & Doug - I assume that you use some method of reminding yourselves that you are on DC for the fridge. The cost of forgetting can be fairly expensive let alone maddening - the food in the fridge plus the batteries plus inconvenience. Bill

Enjoy the heck out of both the trip and the Ollie! The whole deal sounds like a bunch of fun. Hopefully you will have a chance to stick around long enough for the Owner's Rally, but, its a long trip. Since you will probably be doing a bit of driving on Interstate 80 in one direction or the other, make note of: Cabela's in Sydney, Nebraska - they have a fairly decent campground there that is within walking distance to the store. Plenty of restaurants and a Walmart nearby too. Big Lake State Park, Craig, MO -off Interstate 29. Very nice campground with clean showers, dump and good water. Located right on a "oxbow" lake. However, there is no shopping or food here - St. Joe, MO has plenty of restaurants and shopping about an hour south on I-29. Blue Springs Lake Campground, 5400 NE Campground Road, Lees Summitt, MO (816-503-4805)-off Interstate 470 and Bowlin Road- Bass Pro Shop, restaurants are nearby. Easy to get to from Interstate 70 and very close to Kansas City, nice showers well maintained park. Lazy Days Campground, 1351 Hwy H, Noel, Mo (417-223-3498) - 1.5 miles off Interstate 70 a little over an hour west of St. Louis, MO. Very nice commercial campground, clean showers, well maintained. No food or shopping here, but about 45 minutes further west on Interstate 70 is Columbia, MO (Cracker Barrel restaurant on the right of interstate for breakfast). If you need more send me a PM! Bill

Spike, I was a bit surprised by the $11 directly from Oliver, but I too didn't think about the spare bearings until after delivery. I don't know how the bearings that one gets from Oliver are packaged, but the ones from Red Neck Trailers are in a nice sealed package with all the parts you need. I've now gone over two years without needing to break open those packages and I hope that I never actually have to break the seal. But, I believe that camping and RV'ing should be relaxing - this is simply one less thing to worry about. Bill p.s. Happy Easter!

The fridge is much more efficient on propane as opposed to either AC or DC. Like you, I tried it once on DC just to see what would happen. Unfortunately, I got a bit busy doing other "stuff" (like fishing) and forgot that I still had it on DC. Thankfully I caught it in time before the batteries were totally depleted (50% lead acid), but, other than using it on DC for places where the use of propane is prohibited or perhaps while driving if one is opposed to using propane while going down the road, what's the use? Bill

Pete, Welcome! Perhaps you have already taken a look but if you click on the "See An Ollie" tab above and then click on the referral program tab you will be able to locate any Elite I's that are near you. Certainly seeing an Elite II should give you an idea of the build quality and general design of all Oliver's, but actually seeing the unit that you are interested in should really help. Good luck! Bill