topgun2

John - they say that drying time is 5 minutes! Certainly the weather did not slow that down very much - 80 degrees but the humidity was fairly high. Life is tough in the mountains of Western North Carolina! Bill

OK, so, first observation on this stuff is that one must read and follow the directions exactly. Yes, I do read and I do follow (unless there is some "valid" reason not to) but part of the instructions say to remove the tape from the masked off areas immediately while the product is still wet. Well, let me tell you - this stuff dries REALLY fast. I would suggest that when it comes time to remove the masking tape, two people get involved. While one person continues to spray to "wet" the edge, the other person follows directly behind quickly removing the tape. If you do not do this, the product film will start to lift off the surface of the Ollie. Don't ask me how I know this! Bill

John - basically the answer to your question has to do with money and looks. At the Owners Rally I did see an Elite II with bed liner sprayed on and interestingly it was done in black. It didn't look as bad as I had imagined. But, this stuff is less than $15 a can and I used one can to do the areas noted in the pictures. Certainly I don't believe that it will do as good a job as the bed liner stuff, but this stuff can be peeled off after I'm done with the dirt for this year. We'll see! Bill

This past winter I saw a product called "Custom Shield Coating" by ArmorAll. This is a spray on, peel-off paint and body protection product that is supposed to help prevent rock chips. Since I will shortly be hitting the road and plan on traveling on my share of dirt over the next two months, I thought that I'd give it a try. And it sure is a bunch cheaper than a set of Rock Tamers. Application is fairly easy once you have the area taped and masked. When dry the surface of the Oliver has a "rubber like" texture to it and it is not shiny like the rest of the camper. However, on a test area the shine was back when the product was peeled off. Once I get back - mid September or so - I'll report back here as to how well this stuff held up and if it prevented and rock chips. Bill

Reed and Karen - I truly am sorry for the issues that you have had with your Oliver and for the lack of "speedy" response by the plant personnel. But, you have made your point. If you have not already done so, I'd suggest a letter to John and Scott Oliver. Bill

Recently I was told about a fairly simple one time use fire extinguisher - Tundra by First Alert. I know that there is an extinguisher by the Oliver entrance, but, what if a fire happens in the kitchen and I'm back in the bed? Amazon had a two pack of these for $22.49 and I ordered them. https://www.amazon.com/First-Alert-AF400-Extinguisher-Aerosol/dp/B001229JCU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499709044&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=tundra+fire+extinguisher&psc=1 Since they don't come with any kind of mount, I took a piece of 2 inch wide "industrial" Velcro I had in the workshop and figured that it would work nicely in the corner below the nightstand. Hopefully I'll never have to use it. Bill

My post concerning "screaming" was intended to be "cute" and not in anyway disparage anyone's ability (or lack thereof) to drive mountain roads. By taking the railway both people can look around without the hassle of also having to watch traffic. Both people can look for wildlife, both can look at the view, both can relax. Certainly it gives you another alternative. Bill

In my experience, it is those that have been wronged (or perceived to have been wronged) that voice opinions in the strongest manner possible. At the same time, those that are satisfied (or at least think they are) go merrily on their way without saying too much. I've tried my best over the years to write letters of thanks and gratitude when I have received good products or service, but, am usually amazed when I hear that this doesn't happen too often anymore. There have been voices on this Forum that have documented their displeasure at the quality and/or service received from Oliver. And, there have been others that have praised Oliver not only for the initial quality but for the long term commitment to making a better camper plus fixing any problems that customers may have with their campers. Rarely have I seen a company publish a public note explaining its position on this subject and then actually "do it". Olivers are not for everyone, but, from what I've seen and heard and experienced they are the best (by a long shot) out there. I know that I'm a happy camper even for $60,000. No, mine is not a Rollie - not that I've ever actually owned one - but, for me, it sure beats anything else I've been able to look at. Bill

I used the TowMaster yesterday when I towed Twist home from the storage facility and there were no "disconnect" messages. However, the distance towed was only 10 miles which doesn't give a very large data sample. So, I think that I'll leave my foil hat on for now, continue to use the TowMaster and see what happens with longer distances. Bill

Yes, at $40 a pop its not cheap, but, it sure beats hearing you and Carol taking turns screaming - depending on just which one of you is on the outside of that turn. Bill

Mike and Carol - You mentioned Pikes Peak. I'd recommend that you take the cog railway ( http://cograilway.com/ ) instead of driving. That way, both of you can look around during the trip up and down. Bill

That's weird but smart - with every camper I've owned, the board has been inside the exterior compartment and I just assumed that it was in that location with the Oliver. Sorry about that! - Bill

twdavid - unlock and lower the hot water heater panel on the curbside exterior of your Ollie. The board should be in there. Bill

Looks like it was a great trip home! That sure is one hefty puppy you've got there. The picture along the Arkansas is certainly my favorite. Bill

Yes, but the Oliver has that "foil" insulation between the hulls. So, unless you are trying to communicate with the "Mothership" by sitting close to the windows you still don't need the hat inside the Oliver. Bill

I stumbled on this YouTube video ( ) yesterday which shows a "hack" in which with a couple of CD's or DVD's placed around a coax cable coming from your cable TV supplier will allow you to be able to get all channels supplied over that cable without the need for a de-coder box. That got me to thinking - several days prior to my last trip when I had my "trailer disconnect" issues start happening, I placed some foil "duct" tape on the interior of my Oliver to seal around all of the marker lights and to secure the wires from those lights in a better fashion. If what the individual in the video says is true then it just might be possible that current in those wires is being affected by the foil tape I used. This Sunday I will be bringing Twist home to stock, clean and organize prior to my fishing trip out West. One of the first things I will do is remove most of that tape - it can't hurt! Of course, I'll post the results here. Bill

With my first cone replacement, like Mike, I too could not get the parts separated. Yes, I did the heat thing, and the dead blow, and the inverted jack lifting the back of the truck thing and the sledge and the rapping on the sides and the ...... I finally gave up and since I was going to Hohenwald anyway I figured that they could use a press. Well, after trying for about two hours even the guys at the plant gave up and swapped me for a new one. For the second replacement, Sage (at Andersen) simply said that he would ship me a new one and, again like Mike, the return of the old one was pre-paid. No arguing, no hassles, no problem. Bill

Good trip and great to hear that you had no problems. I must have looked at your picture with the stream for a solid five minutes to see if there were any "risers". Just has to be some nice fish in there! Yellowstone is just about my favorite place on earth - if one could just reduce the number of people that go there! Also, love the horses - my wife and I have done 8 to 12 day horse trips through much of the mountain west. There is simply no better way of seeing the back country up close without all the work of a backpack. Thanks for sharing! Bill

Justin - Looks like you have got a bit of a learning curve thing going on here. The whole deal really isn't that difficult, but, it would be best to try to take it one step at a time and understand just how the various systems in your camper work - separately and together. I'll try taking a stab at answering some of your questions above. 1. the 450 ah batter(ies) that you mention are really four Trojan T-105's. These are lead acid batteries. I mention this just so you don't get confused with either the standard batteries that come with an Oliver or with the "AGM" batteries that have 400ah. 2. I would not place a strong bet on the 640W option but you could always add "portable" solar panels if you needed them. 3. Propane - your fridge, cook stove, water heater and furnace all can run on propane. With the standard two 20 pound propane tanks on my Oliver I can go as long as just about two months running the fridge, cooking meals, and heating water for showers on a single tank. Be a bit careful with this information in that I do run the fridge virtually all the time on propane, BUT, I use very little heating water for showers (I use a sun shower most of the time) and almost never use the furnace. 4. A/C - Simply put - even with the four batteries there is simply not enough power to run your a/c. Of course you could always add more batteries, but where would you store them and batteries are very heavy to be hauling around. The problem really circles back to how much energy do you have and how much energy are you using. An A/C uses way too much energy for typical camper batteries to support. Therefore, you either need what is called "shore" power (regular electricity like you use in your house) or "generated" power using a generator. There are some fairly quiet generators on the market and virtually any generator can be made to plug directly into your camper just like one does with regular "shore" power. 5. Electrical power (shore power) - yes, assuming that there is an available outlet, you can plug directly into your friend's house. The only "problem" here is that most campers use what is called 30 amp service and have a 30 amp service electric cord and plug. Most of the circuits on most homes are wired for 15 to 20 amp connections - therefore, any single line (circuit) from the house will not supply enough power for you to use ALL of the things inside the camper that you might want to use (say, both the a/c and the microwave) and the design of the plug will not match. While you can easily get around the design of the plug (adapters are sold for this purpose), you can not get around the power issue without tripping circuit breakers, blowing fuses, or simply reducing the amount of power you use at any given moment. 6. Wind power is a great idea, but, there are reasons why one does not see more of this in use on campers - noise, lack of wind, size of equipment, weight of equipment, etc. Hope this gives you a start on your camper education road. However, only you can get the information you need regarding how much power you will use. Again, it appears to me that one of the first things you should do is educate yourself on a bit of electrical knowledge - the relationship between amps, watts, volts, etc. Good luck! Bill

Justin - Yes, a litter box should fit in the area you mentioned. I generally keep a closed storage bin there with cleaning, waxing, etc. supplies when I'm on a long trip. If I'm traveling solo I often keep the bathroom door open (while camped) to aid in ventilation while I'm gone for the day out fishing and hiking (the bathroom vent is left open and the MaxAir fan left on automatic. When traveling with my wife or fishing buddy that open door limits easy usage of the dinette seat closest to the bath. Bill

Pete & Boskar - just be sure that they don't confuse "Old Pete" for "Old Harry"! Have a good time playing in the sand. Bill

Reed & Karen - 12.1 would suggest that you are at just about a 50% charge level assuming that nothing is on at the moment. Bill

John - Over the 1.7 years that I've used the Andersen I have had to have the "cone" replaced twice due to noise. The hitch itself has always done what it it supposed to do and the hitching/unhitching ordeal that so many people complain about is certainly no more difficult than with other systems that I've used (on previous trailers using the Equalizer mainly). The customer service is excellent and Andersen's rep - Sage - is a member of this Forum. As far as I know Andersen only has one "model" (for the Oliver) and the brackets on mine have not moved even a fraction of an inch. I understand that the original installation is critical to this issue. Since I've never removed the brackets I really do not know about frame damage, but, a visual inspection of that area reveals absolutely nothing. There doesn't seem to be anything "wrong" with the procedure from OZ. I know that for most Olivers at the factory the starting point is to make sure that the hitch is about 24 inches from the top of the hitch to the ground. Brackets are then installed and the Andersen chains are then tightened so that 6 threads are showing at the rear. To fine tune this starting set-up one can either take before and after weights on the two vehicle axles (see Buzzy's discussion of this) and the red bushings should show a visible slight "bulge", of course, the trailer should be fairly level as should the TV. Of course this rough guide is only a starting point and the "final" settings will depend on the TV, the (changing?) weight of the trailer's tongue, the weight and distribution of that weight inside the TV, the suspension on the TV, etc. With all the "ya's" and "na's" concerning WDH, I fall solidly in the "ya's" category. Particularly with the Andersen, not only does one get the desired distribution but you get "anti-bounce" via the red bushings and the sway control that (with the Oliver) is probably only going to be needed in the event of a true emergency - I've never had my Oliver sway but I've never been in anything near an emergency situation with it (hopefully never will). Anything that I can do to increase the number of contacts between the TV and the Oliver is great by me and is fairly cheap insurance in the event of that possible emergency. Finally with regards to your #7 above - I actually not only recorded this number, but, I placed a label of the Andersen's "whale tail" to remind me. Again, while I don't usually change this number of threads showing, they can be changed easily to adjust for those things I listed above.

Justin - I really don't know just how to start to answer your question. I've been in my Elite II for as long as four weeks without plugging into shore power and the batteries never went below 95% capacity. But, the answer to your question lies in just how YOU want to live and use the resources that are available to you. I'd suggest that you become familiar with a little electrical knowledge in that assuming that you will have 400 amp hours of battery capacity (which equates to about 200 usable since you never want to go much less than 1/2 of your total or you'll risk damaging your batteries) you have to manage that capacity in such a way as to not run out - so, total usable capacity minus what you use plus what you put back in via solar or generator give you what is available to you for any usage that you may desire. And, remember that if you are not on shore power and not running a generator (of sufficient size) you can not use you air conditioner. Hope this gives you a start - Bill

Bob - Take a look at Calmark covers and/or do a search on this Forum for a review I did on mine. Same fabric as ADCO uses but Calmark uses "straps" around the camper to take the stress off the overall material. Good Luck! Bill