topgun2

I will be there on Thursday and I think that most of the people are arriving then also. I'm in site A-28 - stop by anytime. Bill

Mike & Carol, I can just feel your wheels turning as you head toward the Mothership. Its actually REAL now. Good luck tomorrow and Tuesday. It sure is a fun experience. Bill

Dave, Since one is pulling the water out of the tank anyway with the onboard pump, I think that your idea just might work. Emptying the tank for storage could have a similar arrangement but I'm not too sure if that last few gallons would siphon out with just gravity. However, if it didn't work, it would be fairly simple to just use the onboard pump to get it out. So, either way I think that it would be a bunch better than the way it is now. Bill

This is the t-shirt design that Johnny M did for the Hiawasee rally. I understand that there are still a couple of sites that are available. Fish fry Thursday night, pot luck Saturday night, camper open house on Saturday, nice creek running through the property. Bill

We got Twist with a modified twin bed design. Originally we wanted the curb side to be a regular bed with a regular mattress and the street side to be like the one in Ron Merritt's (Windcrasher) YouTube video - a couch without the little fiberglass extension piece that is put on to hold a mattress. However, because either my wife or my fishing buddy will join me on trips, we elected to have both sides setup to hold a mattress. We still only got an actual mattress on the curb side and the regular standard cushions on the street side, but, we added "back" cushions on the street side in order to be able to use this like a couch with a fairly wide seat. Since both my wife and I (and even my fishing buddy) are not very active sleepers, the relatively narrow nature of the single bed doesn't bother us. We sleep with our heads toward the rear and with the nightstand there it really makes one feel like you are in a quiet little nest. My wife, 5'4" and 118 pounds says that the standard cushions were very comfortable. I'm right at 6' and 165 pounds and get a great night's sleep on the firmest mattress that Oliver sells. Note that all three of us like very firm sleeping surfaces. I can assure you that all other "activities" associated with this area of the camper are no problem at all - especially watching TV. I should also note that we got the reading light option but instead of the "usual" locations we had two placed in the dinette area (as usual) and the other two placed on the street side - one in the back corner and the other near the pantry. This way we have two positions for reading on the couch. With this arrangement I do not have to sleep in the same bed with my fishing buddy, we don't have to crawl over each other to get in or out of bed, for the 80% of the time that I camp alone I have a couch to sit on, read on, watch TV on, etc. In addition, I don't have to change over from a dining area to a bed and back again and I think that visually this arrangement helps open up the camper even more. Good luck with your decision - this is why they make choices! Bill

Ed & Marsha, For what its worth - mine do not work either. I've already got an appointment back at the mother ship to get this fixed in early July. Matt - in case you forgot what you did with your sunglasses - they are on your head. Bill

Sorry for the "bubble" hijack! Back to the original topic - I just took a look yesterday at Twist's fresh water tank. I thought that I had emptied it prior to storage a month ago. Yes, I did the tilt thing but the reading still says 13% full. Going to have to work on that! Sure would be nice if the drain could just be shifted to the bottom. Even a small valve on the exterior of the hull would not bother me in that if it was done right it would still be at or even above the stringers. Bill

While I'm a bit shorter than either of you, I'm right at six feet tall. I find that the interior of the Oliver appears to be very open due to the clean look of the gelcoat and mirrored cabinet fronts and I can easily walk anywhere without fear of hitting my head. One of the reasons I got my Oliver was that I could stand straight up in the shower. However, even though I got a twin bed model, I would not recommend the twin bed for anyone much over my height. As has been said before, the only real way to know if it is right for you is to go look at one. Bill

Just read in this morning's paper an article about next year's solar eclipse. According to the article many hotels and camps are already sold out for a week or so either side of August 21, 2017 in Jackson, Wyoming. Apparently the path of this eclipse will pass through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinoi, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, North and South Carolina. The largest city under total eclipse will be Nashville. Just something else to keep in mind when planning next year's trips. Bill

Mike & Carol, OK, how 'bout you start that thread with a shot of your new Ollie on Tuesday? Here's 135 in the sales office? Bill

I too was having "troubles" with that small round bubble level. Once I got it set by using a four foot carpenter's level near the fridge on the inside I simply put two of those larger "stick-on" levels that I got from WalMart on the front and the side of the Ollie near the belly band. This way I use the little round bubble level to get things basically level and then refine this with the larger levels. Or, if I forgot my glasses, I simply use the larger stick-on guys. Bill

Sucbarx, Love those shots of your Ollie! What's the stalk at the rear on the roof? Bill

Your plan of going over to the Sales Office the afternoon prior to delivery day is a good one. We did this and it sure did help us. Assuming that they are not too busy, you will get a chance to meet the "players", meet you new Ollie, re-confirm the times for delivery day, and, take some of the edge off your anticipation. I know that we could have benefited from a video prior to getting Twist. Certainly this would be a great project. However, I certainly could not have done it. You will be very busy on delivery day. Having owned several RV's prior to Twist, I'm very familiar with basic RV systems. But, I also had to learn the new systems that are specific to Oliver, make sure that all of the things I wanted on Twist were there, complete the paperwork (actually this part takes relatively little time because Anita is soooo good), make sure that the fit and finish is up to your standards, and make sure that everything works (something as simple as a broken buckle on a battery strap is easily overlooked). Perhaps if there was a third party along they could do the video? Having lived in St. Louis for 25 years I know that is some very nice country you are traveling through on your maiden trip. Have fun, take lots of pictures so that we can enjoy the journey with you. and finally, please give Anita a big hug from both Twist and me. Bill

Matt, YES! It does look good and, basically, it functions well. From a business perspective having the Forum as part of the "general" Oliver internet presence makes great sense. I agree with the posts above that the server is currently a bit slow and that makes navigating a bit tiresome. However, the ability to have more videos, pictures, etc. is a real plus. Nice work! Bill

Ed & Marsha, I live just down the road. Next time you are here drop me a PM and I'll try to come over for a short visit. Glad you liked Davidson River CG but, if you are interested, there are some boondocking sites not far away. Also, if you didn't know it, from about this time of year until September the trout hatchery puts between 1000 and 2000 trout into that section of river by the campground EACH WEEK!

Bill & Debbie, While waiting for delivery of Twist this past winter I made three "blocks" by cutting up a piece of 6x6 that I had laying around. I then put a coat of poly on them and made handles so that they would not absorb water and would be easier to pick up. The handles were made using insulated electrical wiring staples and some cheap plastic rope. In addition to heating the ends of the plastic rope I also put a bit of shrink tape in order to make sure they didn't fray. Trumphetguy, Took a look at the BAL. Assuming that you meant the BAL 28050 leveler, I don't think it will work on the Elite II. They say it is for single axle trailers only and has a max weight rating of something under 2,000 pounds. I'm still hoping that someone has used the Anderson levelers and can give an opinion. Bill

I kind of thought that this topic just might stir the pot a little. As Mrs. Commanche can tell you, I had a weld break on the "L" bracket that holds my street side jack to the frame. This was not due to too much weight or torque, but, simply a faulty weld. In any case, that got me up close and personal with the jacks and the brackets that hold them which resulted in some thinking. Certainly if I'm in a hurry or its raining or dark or, or, or... I'm not opposed to simply using the jacks all by themselves to level my Ollie. But, if I have the time, etc., I'm thinking that stress on the frame, the jacks, the "L" brackets, and, me can be reduced by using leveling blocks under the wheels and then use the jacks to simply stabilize. Certainly this method makes even more sense if I plan to stay in one spot for more than an overnight. From the responses so far it seems that (for those that chose to use leveling blocks) wood and the "lego" plastic things are being used. However, does (or has) anyone use the Anderson leveler? If yes, do you use it on one or both wheels on the Elite II? Bill

Does everyone simply use the onboard jacks to level the Ollie? Are there any reasons to NOT use these jacks? What about campsites that require greater leveling than the jacks can provide by themselves? Does anyone level using ramps, blocks, stacks of wood, etc. and then use the jacks to stabilize versus simply using the jacks all by themselves? Bill

So, it appears that ya got it fixed. Assume that this means that you are still "ON" for the Hiawassee rally? Bill

Food for thought - the factory is about a day's drive from your area. There is an OK campground about five miles to the east of the factory and then after your tour, the family can get on the Natchez Trace or head up to Nashville for a little vacation. Boone is a bit too far north - I've heard that there just might even be Yankees up there! Bill

Stan, I don't travel light - particularly since I got Twist. Somehow I can't imagine that I get anywhere near its capacity limits. However, my old camper(s) had relatively low limits and I always thought that I was well within the those limits until one day I actually weighed the "stuff". Indeed, I was about 50% over! I know that you don't have any problem pulling with that fast little red tow vehicle of yours. However, this is a good question from a general interest standpoint. Bill p.s. Rob - For some reason I thought that you were already an owner. Have fun on the factory tour and please be sure to give Anita a big hug from me and tell her that Twist misses her. Also, make sure that you take your camera on that tour - they don't mind your taking pictures and it will help you later on with both asking and answering questions.

Dave, Put that concern about Oliver out of your mind. It is a non-issue. Both from a personal standpoint and in every other instance that I've heard of, Oliver has taken care of warranty issues. And, they seem to want to take care of these issues in any manner necessary in order to satisfy the owner. Finally, I'm also aware of several issues that were not strictly under warranty, but, were still taken care of by the factory. These are fine folks to work with and seem to be willing to not only live up to the "letter of the law", but to go beyond it while being more than "fair" to the customer. Bill

Vector, Welcome to a friendly place. We lived in Clayton, MO for the better part of 25 years. Once retired (early) we realized that it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter and with no relatives in that area we decided to head to the mountains of North Carolina. In any case, it is still a nice area to raise a family. As Mike states - the Tacoma is about the bare minimum for towing the Elite II. Presently over on the FGRV Forum there is a good discussion about tow vehicles with the Taco at the center. Between that forum and this one there is certainly enough to read on the subject. Also, depending on what stage of the process you are in with the folks at the factory, don't be afraid to ask questions of those folks. Between Anita and Justin at the factory and all of the folks here I'm sure that most of your questions can be answered. Bill

I agree that it looks like shorted contacts, but would be a bit concerned about the sparks and lack of a breaker trip. Good luck with the repair. Bill

Hardrock, Looking forward to meeting you! Have a safe trip east. Bill