topgun2

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

When ordering my Oliver I considered simply adding on the rearview camera option. However, I had a couple of problems with this in that I felt the price of the unit Oliver had was a bit steep and I didn't want another screen on the dash of my truck (I already have a GPS - 7 inch screen, the Ford F-150 screen, and my 8 inch tablet). So, it was off to Amazon to see what might be out there. On Amazon I found a cheap camera and separate WiFi transmitter from a company called Sunroadway. After reading the mixed reviews I thought that for the total of $70. I'd give it a try. But, first, I called Anita at Oliver asking if they would install the wiring and a switch near the door. As usual, Oliver came through and for $125 they did a very nice job including installing the camera and transmitter on delivery day. But, I'm a little ahead of myself. Long story short, the WiFi transmitter that I received from Amazon didn't work. After a couple of weeks of testing, pictures and emails to the company, they stated that the unit "they" sold me was counterfeit. Not sure just how that happened, however, I sent the entire order back to Amazon and they, nicely, refunded all my money. I then found a company called Rearview Safety (http://www.reviewsafety.com). For $130 they are selling what appears to be exactly the same thing. But after a phone call and asking multiple questions in this regard, they convinced me to give their unit a shot. It arrived a few days later and I tested it in my workshop with good results - see picture below. Right from the start I was concerned that the WiFi sending unit for the camera would not have enough power to get the signal from the rear tire area, through the camper and up to the dash of the truck. Since I was ordering the Oliver option of the WiFi Ranger anyway, I figured that if there was a weak signal, I could use the Ranger to boost it and would be OK in the cab of the truck. And, if that didn't work then I would simply run enough wire in order to re-locate the WiFi sending unit from the rear tire area to the front of the camper. The next thing was how and where to exactly mount the camera. I didn't want to drill through the shell of my new Oliver for what I think are obvious reasons. Even though a higher camera mount position is generally more favorable than a lower one, I thought that mounting the camera in the spare tire cover would be sufficient for my purposes - general backing up procedures and a quick monitor of what was behind me (tailgaters, etc.) while going down the road. From pictures of the Oliver I noted that the spare tire cover was not at a 90 degree angle to the ground. With a quick call to Anita I found out that the angle to the ground is 84 degrees. I decided to make the back of the mount for the camera have a cut at 5 degrees which would allow for a 1 degree downward slope to allow rain water to run off - given the 130 degree view range of the camera I would change that to a 4 degree cut if I were to do it over again in order to get a slightly reduced view of the sky. So, here is how I made the camera mount - I took what is a Crystal Light Drink Mix container and drilled a 9/16 inch hole in the bottom for the lens. In order to give solid support to this light weight plastic and to give the lens some additional protection, I took a piece of Styrofoam, traced the container's outline onto it and then using a band saw Cut the Styrofoam slightly too wide for the container so that there would be a slight squeeze in order to get it into the container. Before inserting the Styrofoam into the container with a 5/8 bit I hollowed out a small area to allow room for the camera body in the Styrofoam and drilled a 7/32 inch hole through the Styrofoam to allow the camera cord to pass through. After test fitting all parts they were assembled. Blue tread lock was used on the camera lens cap and latex caulk was used in the camera recess and in the cord channel to both seal and hold the camera in position. Obviously when putting this together I made sure that the camera was set in the proper position for both orientation and level. All that was left at this point was on the delivery day, another 7/32 hole was drilled in the spare tire cover, the camera wire fed through, the WiFi transmitter was attached to the inside of the spare tire cover and the power wires were connected. Initially the WiFi sending unit did get a good signal to the cab of the truck. But that signal seemed to be dependent on weather, traffic, and "who knows". Therefore, I now use the WiFi Ranger to boost the signal of the sending unit and have had no problems getting a good picture in the cab. Given the location of the camera, if it is raining, the lens gets dirty, thus hurting the view. Also, there is about a half second delay between what REALLY happens and what I see on the screen of my tablet in the cab of the truck. All in all, for a total of about $250, I'm very happy with the results. In the pictures are the mounted camera, the switch that Oliver installed so I can turn the camera off/on, the workshop test with grid lines showing - these can be turned off if you do not want them. Bill camera switch mounted camera camera view with grid lines

OK, I've been at it again. This time I've installed a clothesline in the bathroom. I got the idea from similar lines that I've seen in the bathrooms of a number of hotels. The install is fairly simple. For the plate that the line hooks into I used a couple of stainless steel bolts through two holes drilled through the bath wall and into the closet. Inside the closet I used washers and nuts also of stainless. For the main unit, again two holes were drilled through the bath wall and into the bathroom cabinet. Again, stainless bolts, washers and nuts were used to attach a bracket to the wall. Then, as per the instructions, the main unit was placed over the installed bracket, a set screw was tightened and I was done. A simple twist of the knob in the center of the main unit, pull out the string to the bracket on the opposite wall, tighten the knob and hang up the wet things. Reverse the process to take down the line. I purchased this from Amazon - $11.99 - Kingsuper Stainless Retractable Clothsline. It will hold up to 11 pounds and will extend up to 8.2 feet. Bill Note that in the left side of the picture one can see the bracket on the opposite wall that the line gets hooked into.

Coy, We did the Trace some 25 years ago which is partly the reason we want to do it again - but, this time with Twist. Hard to be that near New Orleans without staying there at least a few nights. Hopefully Horace and Diane will let us know how they did BEFORE we hit the road in that direction. Bill

trumphetguy, We should talk in more detail while in GA next month. I know nothing about Ash Grove, but Davidson River is not bad and there are a number of free spots (boondocking) not far up into the National Forest just off 276. Bill

Welcome and have a good time reading! Don't forget to go over to YouTube and view Ron Merritt's Oliver video. It's fairly long but is well done. Finally, don't be afraid to ask questions. Bill

Do you think they might get upset if one would ask to "pick" their nose cone?