Boudicca908

King, what finish option did you use? The upgraded fabric and flooring reminds me of the midnight option -- but the 'standard' counters were left white, correct?

Oh boy! I didn't know that might be an option! Thanks for the question & the photos. It looks beautiful!

Very exciting -- welcome to the forum Doug n Dawn -- and the "Chill Pill"!

Overland Pie!

I toured an Elite in Titusville whose single owner has elected to use the dinette as her permanent bed, so that she can use the couch and table in back full-time. I asked her about this, as I was trying to decide between LE1 and LE2 -- and thinking about my past experience sleeping on a narrow inflated pad made me realize that I would NOT want to try to sleep on that narrow surface full-time if it was elevated. I roll frequently -- side, back, side -- a narrow surface is okay" on the ground, because there's not too much fear in falling off. But the few times I've been elevated on a narrow surface, I am constantly wide awake when I need to adjust. No bueno. Sorry I don't know the Titusville owner's Hull # -- or if she is on the forum -- but maybe someone else here knows. She might provide good feedback for you -- her name is Dr. Marsha Ely.

Merry Christmas everyone! It's a beautiful, warm and sunny day here in the swamp. And the morning air had enough chill to warrant a sweater.

Studying hard and still totally undecided.... I visited a local dealer today (barely made it in the door and they wanted me out because 'closing early' YAY! HOLIDAY!) but I had enough time to touch and open/close the two models on the floor and to see many samples of tonneau covers as well as LOTS of other fun stuff (Decked, BedRug, etc). Then I had a text come through from my fellow birding friend in Minnesota with his current TV and cap (loaded to the gills with lumber sticking out the back) and he talked to me about how he can't see at all with his rear-view mirror because 3 layers of glass and more concerning the layers of dirt on that glass stuck up against the back of the truck cab. This makes me want to reconsider the need for a high-cab and reconsider the tonneau. Especially as a person new to towing and one who was raised to always be checking the rear and side-view mirrors; it's all going to be an adjustment, but maybe I'd be more comfortable with the high visibility. And less $ and weight. Still thinking.... this has been great to see all the different solutions and hear individual experiences.

This is good to know for others of us who are / will be solo travelers. Thanks!

In Florida, every time a hurricane takes the power out for days (weeks) at a time, generators prove useful.

Yes -- we have all kinds down here in the swamp!

Very interesting. Learning!

Thank you all for great feedback and ideas -- no decision made yet, but I'll sleep on it! ;-D

Exactly. My conundrum: I've decided to give up my beloved Subaru Outback and only drive (license, insure) one vehicle, so this heavy duty truck will be my daily driver as well as my tow vehicle. I plan to be on the road for months at a time with Oliver, so it just makes more sense. It's a crew cab, so a lot of things will fit in the back seat area (maybe even a bike with the front wheel removed). But I dislike the loss of clear visibility out the back. I'm a neat-nik too, yet I manage to carry my touring bike (whole, laid out flat) in the back of the Subaru without touching any interior surfaces -- but @VBistro makes excellent points both in terms of travel bumps and stowing during cooking/sleeping hours. When I was in high-risk (theft-ridden) areas and bike-camping, I learned to stow my bike inside my Marmot Swallow tent with me at night -- a trick I learned from a fellow Adventure Cyclist. But I don't really want to be doing that with Ollie. So, the pros of high-top covers are: increased storage area, height and security. And the cons are: loss of clear visibility in the back, weight and cost.

What is that structure -- I like it!

Carrying bikes is a priority for me as well, though I've considered how I might carry one inside Oliver. I really wanted a single cab truck with an 8 foot bed, but choices aren't an option right now.

Little did I know what little I knew! Since I live in a restricted community (rules rules rules) I will have to order a bed cover for my truck, pronto! I've seen hard canopies (toppers, shells) that looked really nice, blended well with the truck and allowed taller storage space, but I never realized how many different styles and options are out there. As I study, it's hard to say whether I'm narrowing in or just growing overwhelmed by the selection. I'm not wild about the tonneau covers; the one we had years ago (a rolling soft style) was difficult to open and made access a real pain -- meaning that we rarely used the cargo bed. However, it looks to be the cheapest selection. *My truck will be a 2500HD Silverado Crew Cab, standard bed; the cargo bed is about 6'-10" if I'm reading the stats correctly.* So I'm throwing this out to the Oliver Owner's world -- what do you prefer, and why?

Congratulations -- what a great way to spend Christmas!

Merry Christmas -- I love seeing your beautiful and fun artwork! Thanks for sharing

I have a mac, but maybe can use my tablet.... I'll try it. Thanks!

Fantastic! Thank you!

Who is Foy?

Nevermind! I see that there are different links on the Oliver Home Page -- I was looking at Upcoming Events (sorely out of date info about cancellations for 2020 Covid) and didn't realize there is another page that shows the Rally info. Learning...

Can someone help me find the right place to look for Rally info? I'm missing something -- I see pinned posts (out of date) about cancellations for past rallies, and I see new posts talking about future rallies, but I can't seem to find the actual RALLY page or posts where one can register, learn about details, etc. When I go to the Oliver Home page and look at Events, it reads (also out of date) like this: "Attending Rallies Have Been Temporarily Canceled. Due to the concerns with COVID-19, we have not planned to attend any events or rallies. We hope to add events and rallies at some point 2021." I do see the survey for votes about a possible boondocking rally in Colorado.

I'm having difficulty getting the webpage to come up. I keep seeing error codes, both on Firefox and on Brave web browsers. Any suggestions?

@SeaDawg -- the road less travelled has made all the difference! When I drive north from southwest Florida, I typically head inland and go "up the gut" as I like to say -- meandering on Rt 17 through the small towns of Arcadia, Zolfo Springs, Wauchula, Bartow (home of FL DOT), at which point I either stay easterly on 17 or hook westerly on 98; I always try to dodge I-4, "the beast" of metropolitan Orlando. Most of my treks to the west did not involve camping, but I seem to remember a nice park on the barrier islands (if not booked already) to the north of Crystal River. And I've camped at Manatee Springs several time in winter. I will begin to study that Hohenwald to Tampa jaunt, since most of Tennessee will be new to me. I've tent camped many times in western sections of Georgia and North Carolina, close to the Tennessee border, but didn't pay attention to the trailer access because tent camping is so easy I never thought about it (haha - the joke's on me). And I love your idea about booking something close to Hohenwald for a spell, as I break my brain into the flow of different habits and routines. This will be a totally new adventure, in so many ways! Thanks for the great suggestions, always appreciated.