topgun2

Yep - I've stayed there - you can't beat the price (free). This would be a great place to really test the solar, fresh water tank and all boondocking related systems. And it is only about 7 or 8 miles from the Service Department if you should need them. Bill

I've camped there a number of times and enjoyed it each time. Plenty of shade and the restrooms are decent even though they do not have showers. But, they do have water available - it is located right outside the restrooms where a spigot can be found on the side of the drinking fountain. No electric and no dump but quiet and plenty of hiking. The water can be located at - 35.524117, -87.454628 Bill

A nice campground east of Nashville and only about 5 miles off Interstate 40 is Edgar Evins State Park. About $35/night with water and electric at the site plus a dump on the way out. Clean bath houses and many sites are right on a lake. Its about a two to two and a half hour drive from Hohenwald. Bill

For what it is worth to anyone considering a ceramic coat - Matt Duncan and Rodney Lomax happened to pull a new Oliver into a spray wash place in Hohenwald not 10 minutes after I did the same thing. They were returning from a trip out to Colorado and I was just getting back from Wyoming. We had both driven Interstate 80 and 70 and therefore had about the same amount of bugs, dirt and krud on the nose of our respective Olivers. I would not have believed it unless I actually saw it with my own eyes, but, all that "stuff" on the front of the ceramic coated Oliver came right off. By contrast, even though I have a good wax coating on mine, I still have some work to do to get those critters off the nose. Bill

Even though I'm not sure how my stair covers would do with slimly bacteria, they are made from Dollar Store (really $1.25 Store) mats. It takes two mats cut to size, 6 zip ties, some 1 inch aluminum flat stock and 24 stainless bolts. My first set of these lasted 5 years. Bill

Recently AZ Wanderer posted about the Geyser Shower System. Starting at a bit over $250 it got me to thinking about my present shower system and what it cost. Bottom line with a bit of guessing my shower system cost around $145 including the shower tent. Not only is my system a bit more versatile in that a number of the components can be used for other purposes but it also saves more money, water and propane in the long run and provides for a more "normal" shower compared to the Geyser system (particularly if someone has relatively long hair). I started with just a simple "solar shower" back in my tent camping/backpacking days. Unfortunately, the stream of water wasn't exactly strong and having to use a knob or valve to turn off the water flow when soaping up was a bit of a pain and wasted water too. So, I added a small submersible water pump to the system. I've included a water storage container even though the Ollie's fresh water tank could be used instead. The transfer pump (item with the red top) is used to get water from the storage container into the solar shower. Once the solar shower is full I either leave it at my camp or simply place it on the top of the tonneau cover on my truck where it will get sun most of the day. With a full day of sun this will heat the water to a temperature that will actually scald you and should either be left to cool a bit or mixed with cold water prior to trying to take a shower. On cloudy days either the water heater in the Ollie or heating a pot of water on the stove are alternatives to the solar shower. Normally on a two month fishing trip in the Rockies I will only have to resort to heating water less then 6 times. In either case, the hot water is simply dumped into the 5 gallon bucket and combined with cold water until it feels comfortable. Then the water pump (the blue and white item) is turned on and placed into the bucket along with the shower head. As long as the shower head remains in the bucket the water simply recirculates so there is no need to turn the flow on and/or off between soaping up and rinsing off. At the end of the shower any water remaining in the bucket can either be left there and combined with new hot water the next day or returned to the storage container. If weather permits and grey water is allowed to be dispersed onto the ground then I use a shower tent. This provides a bit more room as compared to showering in the Oliver and reduces the impact on more water going into my grey tank. If I can't use the shower tent then I simply place the 5 gallon bucket on the toilet seat in the Oliver and shower as normal. This too saves water and there is at least as good water pressure and less mess to clean up as compared to using the onboard Oliver water pump and bath. I don't think that my system saves as much water as the Geyser but it does provide for a more "normal" shower and is less than half the cost. I do save on both propane and water as compared to a shower in the Ollie and the 5 gallon bucket and 8 gallon water container can be used for other things around camp. Bill

If that stabilizer arm on the Carefree is similar to the Fiama's then perhaps the addition of an oversized washer will help when you tighten it down?

and also Reacher

Perhaps a nice bottle of wine might help?😁

the Oliver can

And one last fish picture - an 18 inch cut-throat trout landed on the Buffalo Fork River near Moran Junction, WY. Bill

Upper Horse Creek, Dubois, WY.

A bit of a fixer upper! With a nice view of the Tetons out the back window. These cabins are located on the Elk Ranch just south of Moran Junction, WY. Bill

A 15 inch cut-throat trout caught on the Wind River just west of Dubois, WY. Sure is a challenge trying to catch and land a fish while holding the camera and videoing at the same time. Bill 1409432380_VID_20220818_113639684(2).mp4

Hopefully the viewing of the photos posted above has now been fixed. Bill

The problem just might be my trying a "new" way to upload pics directly from Google. I'll work on it a bit later to see if I can resolve the issue. Bill p.s. Apparently if you try to "drag" photos into the Forum directly from Google (Android) photos they will only be able to be seen by other Android devices. If the photos are imported into a computer first and then "dragged" or uploaded into the Forum everyone can see them regardless of using Android or Apple devices.

Finally - for those trout fishermen out there - a 17 inch fat brown trout.

Lower Sunshine Reservoir, Meeteetse, WY. Be advised that the wind here can be a bit on the wild side!

Ollie really in the wild at Box Creek NFS decommissioned campground, Moran, WY. Note that this campground was decommissioned due to bear activity.

Or - A morning view of the Tetons?

How about bacon and eggs for breakfast at Horse Creek NFS campground, 8 miles north of Dubois, WY?

The view of Torrey Lake while eating breakfast.

Torrey Lake about 5 miles east of Dubois, WY

I agree that your reported figures still seem high even if your exhaust were to flow straight back. And, yes, the fresh water tank is more to the curb side and, yes, it could have something to do with the weight distribution. But your cited temp differences still strike me as a bit much to be explained by either of these two things. When was the last time you checked your bearings? Bill

and my view!