Boudicca908

I can tell you that since I made my 50% payment, nothing can wipe the smile off my face!

A couple of years ago I applied for (and landed) a position as a volunteer working in the Badlands on a dig site. But I backed out because I was planning to tent camp and they warned me that there was: nothing on site to 'tie' the tent to, 65mph winds, frequent hail the size of baseballs and lots of rattlesnakes (with a 1/2 mile walk to the pit toilets from the approved camping spot). I started reading about that weather and learned about hail storms totally creaming parking lots full of cars. If you spend a lot of time there, I'm wondering if you have encountered that type of weather, and if it's caused damage to your Oliver or your TV?

Does this mean every penetration on the roof?

Thank you John -- this is am important thread for me.

@Rivernerd -- I found a decent price on REI.com -- they ship free to members for purchases over a given value. It was a better price than other places I found online, and they had both the "new" and "old" sizes (I'm assuming that there was a shift at some time from the rectangle to the square format. I went for the 8' x 14'

I'll repeat what SeaDawg said -- THANK you for posting this. It's all new to me!

Home of Robert Earl Keen!

I was eyeballing astroturf at Lowe's last month, but it feels heavy to me and not as easy to maintain. The CGear mentioned above looks nice. Notice that the sale CGear Sand-Free mats at Camping World shows a good price -- but Camping World's version marked "Medium" is 8x8, whereas CGear Store on Amazon "Medium" is 8x14! https://www.campingworld.com/cgear-original-sand-free-outdoor-camping-mat-629925.html https://www.amazon.com/CGEAR-Original-Camping-Mat-Water-Resistant/dp/B08LMNKBJL?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1

I need to search and find that long list someone made of things to "look for and check on" at pick up... this needs to be added to the list! Ground wires missing? I wish I were more savvy with electrical. The wiring diagrams are definitely needed for the owners. I'll ask my sales rep and make the suggestion to them. More Thanks for the heads up.

Here is the NP web page that lists current Open / Closed status today: https://www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/what-is-open-what-is-closed.htm Also note that more closures are to be announced soon: https://www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/conditions.htm

Just a general FYI -- a LOT of the Natchez Trace Parkway and amenities are closed for various reasons. The NP website isn't extremely clear until you reach this page that lists "What is Closed. What is Open." I might wait and do that parkway when more of it is available. https://www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/what-is-open-what-is-closed.htm

Congrats and see you in May! By the way -- is that Duncanville Texas? I used to have family there.

USB over the kitchen but no USB in the dinette area? I would have expected USB at the dinette for phone/tablet charging.

Thanks for all the great feedback! I'll check that out -- I have downloaded quite a few apps, from reading in the forum pages. Haven't actually tried to find parks or make reservations with any of them yet. I had not thought of this, and I like the idea -- I'll take a gander at my calendar and the potential routes! Yes -- the truck was supposed to be delivered on Jan 4th; now I feel lucky that it's finally on the train! My plan was to make a road trip to the Appalachian mountains with the new truck and the old tent -- my last hurrah sleeping on the ground -- to put a few thousand miles on before towing. Now I'll probably drive around Florida -- maybe visit parks and check out camping spots. Back in January I downloaded the truck manual and started reading; it would be more interesting if I could put my hands on the truck! It will be a learning curve, but I'm fairly studious. Luckily a friend with a landscape trailer has been generous enough to meet me a couple of times and let me practice backing it into [abandoned] parking lot spaces for a few hours. He says it will be easier with the Oliver's double axle and more weight. Huntsville Space Museum will be of interest -- also there's a super-big radar installation somewhere up in that area of lower Alabama/Florida panhandle that I'd like to see (if they allow visitors). Thanks for the reminder -- someone else suggested Huntsville to me as well. The slow road -- I take the slow road so I can go slow! Not too slow, but not too fast. Thanks for the warning.

My sales person noted that it also can be used as a nighttime security camera....

Greetings to the Oliver family! So.... After waiting since mid-November, I finally have word from my auto dealer that my new truck is now on the south-bound train to Tampa (!) and while he anticipates a "slight delay" for transport from Tampa to Ft Myers, he thinks I'll have the truck by 3/10. My Ollie delivery date is at the end of March! So instead of hunting for temporary storage space near Hohenwald and transport from the factory to storage, I am finally feeling confident enough to make campground reservations for my first Oliver journey. Normally, I love trip planning, but this late start might land me in a pickle. Any recommendations for places between Hohenwald and SW FL are greatly appreciated. Meandering is good, I'm looking for the slow roads and practice practice practice. I really don't like the interstate, and would rather take extra days on the slow road than reduced hours on I75. I can spend about 3 weeks to get back home. Then I plan to head to the Rally (yay!) so I'll be reversing course in May. So far, here is what I have: RESERVED: Oliver camping 3 nights at Davey Crockett SP Thanks in advance for ideas, suggestions, and DOs and DON'Ts.

I'd be interested in hearing what you find and decide in that direction, as it's on my list and a *never been* for me as well!

I toured both models and the height was the thing that hit me hardest -- I must stand tall, because I'm only 5'7 but I felt claustrophobic due to the lower ceiling. If it had the height, I might very well have gone with the LE1.

I'm a newbie too -- don't have my truck or my trailer yet. Since I was shopping the truck with the trailer already set in my heart, I had great advice and suggestions through my Oliver Sales members. Since that time, I've discovered this forum and the many excellent members who provide so much great advice. A LOT of it is already organized -- I'm still learning where to find information about topics, whether on the Oliver website or here in the forum. My tour wasn't at the plant but here in Florida, and it blew my socks off. After drooling over the website photos and videos, the in-person tour with owners model really did put the cherry on that float!

I'd love to come! I'm around the bend, way way down the west coast of Florida!

... and no Anderson hitch necessary .... as recommended to me by my Oliver sales team, for my future Chevy HD 2500.

As a matter of fact, it is featured in the Museum of Modern Art for it's beautiful and functional design! It's extremely easy to use and more than a pressure cooker. I was lucky to have a friend give me some very useful tips. Reach out before you buy, if you want to hear more. I saw your Nordicware wok in another (food related) post; very nice. As to dish-washing (our topic), I like your idea of gathering utensils and plates for less frequent washing. Where do you stow all those dirty dishes? I've been trying to find the good ol' fashioned Rubbermaid Tub and I can't find one locally.

My Oliver salesman also pointed out that you can often find 20# tanks for sale at places -- gas stations, 7-11, etc -- but will rarely find the 30# tanks at these places. Between that knowledge and considering that a 30# tank weighs 75 or 80 pounds when full, I decided on the 20# tanks. I will carry an extra if necessary for boondocking, etc.

This is good to hear, since this is my newbie experience. It's a matter of fractions of an inch on the steering wheel and suddenly my 'great' alignment is all out of whack on that landscape trailer. :)

This is what I've been doing -- practicing with a friend's truck and his medium sized landscape maintenance trailer. Practice practice practice.