topgun2

For me, the scary thing is that I just might be the one driving beside or behind those people when that axle decides to let go. Bill

Weather forecast is still good through Sunday - a 20% chance of showers on Friday though, highs in the low to mid 70's lows in the lower 50's. Bill Edit: As of 6pm Tuesday evening the forecast for Asheville is now for 30% chance of rain Friday and 20% Saturday with up to 30 mph gusts. Still highs in the low to mid 70's and lows in the lower 50's. Virtually anywhere south and east can expect higher winds and much more rain. EDIT: Last edit from me as I'm headed to Hohenwald tomorrow morning. Latest forecast as of noon Thursday is for light rain Friday morning and clouds on Saturday. Sunday is clear. Friday afternoon and Saturday there will be wind gusts up to 30mph. Temps are still forecast to be in the low 70's during the day Friday through Sunday. I spied several obvious hardcore off-road vehicles near the Asheville Airport this morning that I assume were headed north towards the Biltmore Estate. Please note that hotel/motel rooms are hard to come by due to people moving inland from the coast due to the storm. Bill

Mike and Elizabeth, Welcome to the family! Get used to people asking about your "new" camper. A call to the sales staff will result in your receiving a stack of little postcards that you can hand to people asking about the Oliver. All you have to do is put your hull number on them. The person you give it to just fills out the rest (address, name etc.) and drops it in the mail (postage free). They get a brochure in return and if they buy an Oliver you get a nice little present from the Sales staff. I've found it a nice way to politely get on my way while still giving the interested party the information they need to get more information. Since you are admittedly "not mechanically inclined" I highly recommend that you use a checklist for setting up and taking down camp. This should help make sure that you do not "forget" anything that may be important. Congratulations and lets get that camera out so that all of us can enjoy your Oliver travels. Bill

Yes, in my opinion there is simply too much "stuff" that is valuable or sensitive to risk not having surge protection. Besides all of the protection it offers there is one other thing the Oliver on board system has that most of the portable units lack - not having to remember to plug it in. Bill

Weather forecast for Asheville is still good through Saturday. Bill

As of six this evening the weather forecast for this coming Saturday in Asheville, NC is for sunny skies and highs in the mid-70's. Of course everyone knows just how accurate weather forcasters are even for two days in advance let alone 6 days! Bill

I've never been to this event and, unfortunately, I'll be in Hohenwald on the 7th and 8th of October. However, I have noted that the event is being held on the grounds of the Biltmore Estate. Even if you were to choose to not take a house tour for the additional $46, it should be noted that the grounds are beautiful. And, you can always go over to the Winery for a free taste test! Bill

For those with inquiring minds (and for what its worth) the three measurements of the Legacy Elite II from the front of the propane tank cover to the rear of the spare tire cover that I have so far are: Rideandfly - (244") Wave1127 - (243") plus something for the spare tire cover? Tommy Staggs - (247 to 249") Since one must "eyeball" the measurement (unless you want to go to more trouble than it is really worth), all of these measurements are well within the limits necessary for the purpose of either ordering or buying a ready made cover for the Oliver. As it is said on the CalMark measuring sheet, "Ever try to measure an egg?". Thanks to all for the help! Bill

Bill and Wave1127, Thanks so much for the help - exactly what I needed. There is a difference between the two overall measurements - 20' 4" versus 19'. I suspect that is mainly due to not including the spare tire cover on one versus the other. But, in any case I do not think it has material impact on an RV cover of this size. Wave1127 - If you were to order a new one from Calmark what would you do differently to make it "perfect"? Do you have solar? If yes, did you use something to pad the edges of the panels prior to putting the cover on? I was thinking of using "pool noodles" or simple pipe insulation. Also, do you have a wineguard TV antenna? Did you do anything to it prior to putting the cover on? Bill

Unfortunately I store Twist at a storage facility that is basically a fenced in field. Security is OK but there is no cover. Therefore, I'm looking to purchase a cover and my problem is that Twist is presently at the Mother ship and I need a measurement. Can anyone give me the distance from the spare tire cover to the base of the propane tank cover? Thanks in advance for the help! Bill

The tankless water heater was not yet offered when I had Twist built early in 2016. However, I still probably would not choose one. Unlike in a usual residential setting where the water heater is either in the lower level of the house or tucked away in some other dark corner that is not easy to get to and there are multiple people wanting hot water at various times of the day, the water heater in most RV's is easily controled by a switch and is not called upon quite as often (at least by me). It does seem wasteful to heat 6 gallons of water simply to do a small job, but I normally do not heat water until I'm about ready to take a shower. It so happens that event is normally right before or right after dinner. Therefore, the shower (probably using about 3 to 4 gallons of hot water) is basically combined with cleaning dirty dishes (another gallon or so). Once the water heater does its thing I simply shut it off. I guess that I use just about all 6 gallons doing these two chores. Not being famaliar with the tankless units I'm not sure what normal maintenance is involved, but the maintenance on the tank varity is certainly not onerous. Perhaps when is cost of these units comes down they may be worth considering, but, for me, it simply doesn't make sense at the moment. Bill

For what it worth - I've got both the Andersen and anti-sway control on my 2011 F-150. I have never turned off the anti-sway in the truck and have never had ANY sway with the Oliver. Note that I had not read Andersen's message on the Forum about turning off the truck's anti-sway until after I had returned from my Western trip. During the long boring interstate travels this summer when there was no other traffic around, I even tried to see what would happen when trying to induce sway by moving the steering wheel quickly back and forth. The answer is - NOTHING. This action didn't upset either the truck of the Oliver and I never "felt" anything that seemed "strange". Given that this Western trip included over 5,000 miles and two months of travel with cross winds, passing semi's, rain, gloom of night, etc. I'm thinking that most "normal" situations were covered. However, (thank goodness) I never did have what I'd call an emergency situation where I had to take evasive action which might induce serious sway. This really doesn't answer Bill's question but .... Bill

I have a good friend that used to live in Austin that did a canoe race each year down the Grande through Big Bend. Great pictures! I'm sure that Buzzy is licking the screen for that bacon. Bill

I had a email notification yesterday from Oliver that someone wanted to view Twist. Even though this notification was obviously computer generated, it contained all the information needed to contact the interested party (name, location, phone, email). Clean, simple, fast and efficient. I understand from Matt that the computer also notifies the Sales Office so that they can also keep abreast of this activity. Looked like a good job to me. Bill

Bill, Good pictures - particularly the one showing that a Tundra can tow an Oliver PLUS a rocket. Bill p.s. Sent you a PM regarding trip details.

Bill, Just took another look - the stand is still very nice, but, that vise sure could use some work. Bill

And I always thought that those were good words - since I seem to say them soooo much. Bill p.s. I agree, nice design on the one handed stand.

John, It certainly was not my intent to discourage anyone from either making reservations, traveling nor boondocking in Wyoming during the summer months. However, I am a firm believer in both knowledge and planning and that is all I was trying to convey. Those traveling to areas such as this for the first time are more than likely to want to visit those areas that are well known. And, frankly, I think they should - once. Bill

Having just spent two months in Wyoming, both on and off the grid, I can confirm John's analysis of campsite availability. Where possible, I made reservations in advance and in those places with established campgrounds that didn't take reservations I always tried to arrive prior to 3pm (these are camps that usually had no hook-ups but did have a pit toilet and a central water location. In places like Yellowstone you MUST plan on arriving MUCH earlier. I arrived at Pebble Creek Camp in Yellowstone at 5:45am and was second in line. All non-reserved sites in Yellowstone were taken no later than 9:30am for the two weeks that I was there (mid-August). If one plans to stay in a place like Cody or West Yellowstone in order to do laundry, restock, take a bit of R & R (read that as being able to have a meal cooked by someone other than myself), etc. then you should allow at least three months prior to arriving to make reservations and/or get to the national forest campground very early in order to get a site. Even places that one might expect to be empty for boondocking that are as much as 20 miles up a dirt road will likely have others in the area and the nicer sites will probably be taken even though no people will be there (during the week). Having said this I must also say that I never had trouble finding a site for the night - all it takes is a little planning and getting on the road a bit early in the morning. Bill

John - You might want to PM Hardrock (Coy) as I believe that he was investigating this issue of bunk beds. Also, a call to the factory might be in order in that there was some discussion on this topic with the factory way back in 2008 (do a "search" on bunkbeds here on the Forum). Good luck! Bill

Sorry guys and gals but I'm not able to supply more info at the moment, but, take a look at an app called back country navigator. For a one time fee of $10 you get several different types of topo maps for basically the world that can be downloaded to your computer, tablet, phone and then using the GPS hardware in that device, etc., etc. TG

John, As Randy said - all you have to do is ask for more referral forms and they get sent to you quickly. These referral forms are fairly simple and all the owner has to do is place their hull number on the form, the interested party then fills out their name and address and drops it in a mailbox. As far as I know, the current referral incentive is $250, however, I've never actually received anything so far. You are correct about people stopping you to view the Oliver. During my recent two months on the road there were a number of occasions that people followed me into gas stations or rest stops and it was very rare to be able to get in or out of a campground without someone stopping me to ask about the camper. There were even people waiting for me in a WalMart parking lot to return from shopping so they could ask about it. I don't know what happens when there are multiple viewings of different campers, but, I trust Anita and the gang to be fair. Bill

John, I just stumbled upon this forum post and I will take a look at those wires in the back. I believe that the "catch" on my tray is already in good shape, but, I'll take a look at that too. I have noticed that when moving the tray in/out that one must be a bit careful to not pinch the wires that are on the side(s) on the batteries. I'm guessing that the "split loom" solution will also take care of this. Thanks! Bill

Nick, Thanks, I go West fishing almost every summer to either Colorado, Wyoming or Montana and always have a great time. I had a number of movies that I took with me. Even with the WiFi Ranger downloading while on the road is an iffy proposition. I also have a DVD recorder that can burn to disk. Therefore I can watch almost anything that I have previously recorded directly from my home TV. This is really great for those nights that I don't care to read, listen to music, or simply sit under the stars. Bill

francy, There is no time limit (as far as I know) for the factory tours. Certainly when I did mine a bit over a year ago I was there for closer to two hours plus another hour or so in the sales office looking at the two that they had there. Since you are at least a bit familiar with the RV industry and the way that most RV's are built, I'm sure that you would find Oliver's approach very refreshing. However, if you are set against making the drive then I would suggest a call to Anita in the sales office to see if she can arrange a local Knoxville viewing for you with an owner that happens to be passing through. Bill