Boudicca908

At Denali, I highly recommend the End of the Road bus tour with the guide -- it was one of the highlights of my 3 weeks in Alaska (sans Oliver)...

My water was flowing fine (using city hookups) and then, after visiting a particular campsite it wouldn't flow at the next campground. At that previous site, I noticed that the water started out muddy at the spigot -- I flushed until it was clear before hookup, but I believe that the hose was clogged. Good pressure from the spigot but nothing through the hose (and I tried the filter on its own and it was fine). Bought a new hose and it worked.

My friends sighted an Oliver I in a KOA campground near DesMoines Iowa either 7/10 or 7/11 -- the next morning they walked around and it was already gone. I'm wondering who it was?

Thanks to all for the examples of calculations -- We have to be mindful that some people's Olivers might have different tires (am I right, that they had to switch during tight supply chain issues?)....

I took my Oliver in for service at the highest recommended local place (I'm so far from Oliver).... and when I got home I found that they had inflated the tires to the max. This is just a reminder to check the pressures, if you've had your Oliver serviced 'elsewhere'.

Yet another excellent post for learning! That closet is where I stowed my telescoping ladder, tool box, tackle box, a portable fan, bucket, dirty laundry bag, shoes, extra peat and TP. All my clothes fit in the rear-most overhead compartment above the TV. I'll move those tools out of there. I've carried several 1-gallon jugs of water on the floor but I tucked them under the dining table, and they stayed put. I don't tow with water in the tank, and I have a composting toilet so I don't carry black water either. I do have the solar lithium batteries. What makes the starboard side heavy -- is it the appliances? So this is all new to me for consideration, the caution of keeping weight off the tongue (in the trailer, and I'm assuming ALSO in the rear-most part of the truck bed?) but ALSO not letting the tongue be too light? What? I've already started weighing my gear etc and have it on a spreadsheet, organized by where I had planned to carry it all (for ease of finding it as well as keeping tabs on my payload and overall trailer weight). Is there a recommended tutorial on this topic?

@SeaDawg thank you -- I decided on the Blackstone, all things considered, and after all my research, I feel sure I'll be very happy with it. Though I love cooking and do bring my own carbon steel, cast iron, Futura pressure cooker, etc, I can see advantages in simply cooking directly on a griddle much of the time. I can't wait, because it will be moving all that heat and grease splatter out of my Oliver! And part of the beauty of the Blackstone is double-duty during powerless hurricanes and other emergencies.... I also ordered the conversion kit from propanegear.com (hat tip to Oliver Owners Forum for the BEST information and links!) -- those people were very helpful and I'll have it by next week. Campstoves -- I have my favorite backpacking stove (Trangia) that I kept from my cross-country bike-camping days. For Hurricane Ian I bought fuel for it. Regards Hurricane Ian, thanks for the kind words -- I feel pretty darned lucky, actually. Many friends are still homeless, and lost everything. Many households have taken in family and friends. We must be in the same general vicinity. Thanks everyone!

From living on sand bar (Florida) it might not seem too bad, but it also depends on the bugs. Thank you so much for keeping us posted on this fabulous journey!

Thank you everyone for the great input, and also to other's questions about alternative uses, the use of pots and pans, weight, ease of storage, etc -- I am looking for one device that can grille and/or griddle but also cook in a pot. Unfortunately, I lost my father's 60-year-old gas Coleman and an inherited Weber Q-style in Hurricane Ian; I hadn't personally used either of these, so I'm starting from scratch. I keep thinking that I want a camp stove (for smaller size and weight, but mostly because burners are more conducive to using pots and pans, including a cast iron skillet). Having read this review https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-many-btus-do-you-need-334918 I see that BTU measurements don't tell the whole story... For those who use the Blackstone, is it enough heat to truly sear a steak? Do you recommend it with or without the hood? Is it really carbon steel without a nonstick coating? That would be great -- oddly, I can't find that information on the website. The Coleman Road Trip also looks interesting; it produces 11,000 btus. I do see on the website it appears that the burners are adjustable to use either one side or the entire length; maybe it's only showing that one control is for the center burner and the other is for the outer ring? https://www.coleman.com/grills-stoves/grills/roadtrip-225-portable-tabletop-propane-grill/SAP_2000033047.html Someone mentioned a CampChef (in a related post) -- is it this? https://www.campchef.com/rainier-2-burner-grill-%26-stove-combo-|-camp-chef/CC-MSGGX.html or this The Partner Stoves are very nice looking and light weight, but sadly out of my budget. I love that they are made here in the US. My brother suggested I could just buy a one-burner outdoor propane ring... I see that many of those are high-output only, so might not be suitable for simmering (there are online complaints that the flames go out unless full-bore)... I looked at a Weber Traveler yesterday and it appears to be one burner across the entire section (all on or all off?) - I feel it would be too much for me as a single person. It's also a lot larger and heavier in life than I imagined; I would probably struggle getting it in and out of the back of my truck, with the current limitations from my hip replacement. Thanks @dhaig for the great photos of your hose assembly setup. I'm hoping that I can figure this out, whatever device I end up buying! There is one trailer supply place, about 45 minutes from me, and I'm gathering my info before I make a call and a trek out to them.

Greetings All -- I'm shopping for a camp stove, mostly to move the heat and mess outdoors. I love to cook my own food, and often like to grille (meats veggies fish) so outdoors makes more sense to me. I'm curious what other Oliver owners have found and liked (or not) in the way of camp stoves. So far I've looked at the Weber Q series (needs a table), the Weber Traveler (mixed reviews due to length of time to get hot and lid popping open when moving), and the old basic Colemans (though I discovered this morning on Amazon that the "Coleman 1900" series, supposedly based on the old fashioned ones with cast iron grilles, describes the main material as PLASTIC). If a table is needed, I'll have to buy one of those as well. I'm also focused on compatibility of the camp stove with the Oliver Quick connect. Please feel free to move this if the General Discussion is not the right place for this post. I did try to search in the forum; only found a few posts about changing out hoses. Also, I will mention, I've been offline tending to things here since last summer's Hurricane Ian, and then the bother of a hip replacement. Now that that's done..... I'm itching to hit the road! I hope everyone out there is having a good time.

Has anyone worked out a way to LOCK the batteries down or equipped the battery storage with a different type of lock?

As in -- replace the entire lockset with something different? I've been wondering about this as well, especially for my batteries.

I can't seem to find anything on the website about "auto renewal".....

Hats off to your blog for the great information and maps. Also for your list of things to buy for the Oliver on Amazon, also helpful.

Some favorite books in audio format: The Third Policeman, by Flann O'Brien (as read by Jim Norton) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (and all the related Radio Plays), by Douglas Adams The History of Tom Jones - A Foundling, by Henry Fielding

John, Thank you for all your great information and help here on the forum. I've read so many of your posts and really value your considered opinion. I'll be sure to share your ad with friends who are searching -- whoever buys it will be happy campers. Best to you going forward -- I hope you stay active here in the forum community. Toni

Thanks for the great instructions! I'm hoping that the price will come down....

Any chance a photo could be added to this thread?

Thank you so much! I'm always learning useful information here, so I appreciate the questions and the immense knowledge shared by other owners. :)

Is it possible to amend the title of this post to reflect what is being discussed?

Has anyone tried making a Google Map (to share) with all of these 3rd party Service facilities tagged on it? Might be useful in a pinch, on the road...

Can you pin this to the topic (top or bottom)? I totally missed your explanation before my last comment.

This sums up my thoughts pretty well. I just showed my Oliver, for the first time (and it was prior to receiving that new notice that I thought was maybe a scam). I'm not interested in another credit card, either; it's too much hassle. I'm not showing it to gain anything personally, anyway, but I'll say this -- the whole conversation here about liability as a private owner vs as a paid professional really makes me take a step back. Entirely not worth it. One other thought, though -- Oliver might also be getting some kind of negative feedback/pressure by their own insurers about this program, and that might be what prompted the changes.

I'm interested if -- in the 5 years since this original post -- you've located anything in the state of Florida, and especially the southwest section. It's a really long haul to Hohenwald. Thanks!

I was afraid that the season was slipping from me. I'm determined to get out there but will likely be doing more boon-docking than I initially hoped.