DavidS

I dont think this will work with the winterizing/boondocking water inlet port at the back of the trailer, because this inlet is blocked off the inlet valve (Valve B) before the water pump. It will work if the valves are set to the winterization configuration. My method is as follows. With the air compressor hooked put to the Fresh Water Inlet, I put the valves in the Boondocking Configuration. Blowing air into the Fresh Water Inlet should blow water of the winterizing/boondocking water inlet port at the back of the trailer.

I emailed Tommy on October 3 about the missing winterization video. He replied that "We took the video off because something wasn't right in the video." I emailed him on October 11 that I really need the video, as I was planning to use an air compressor, and the written instructions do not cover that. I asked that he email me the old video, and I would be happy to review the old video despite errors. He replied on October 12 " I don't have any video or manual instructions for blowing air through the system. I think they are working on that."

Here is the manual. http://www.asaelectronics.com/7-digital-wireless-observation-system-514.html#product_tabs_manuals_guides

We pick up our Oliver next month. This is our first RV, and I did a fair bit of research on both insurance and emergency roadside assistance. We have had our cars insured by Allstate for 40 years. I never checked around for a better deal. Either pretty stupid, or inertia won out. As I learned, it pays to shop around. My research started with forums, and an especially good thread on Fiberglass RV http://www.fiberglassrv.com/forums/f94/travel-trailer-insurance-63515.html. People there really liked Good Sam. I also looked at Consumers Reports, and I will try to attach their report. I found the Consumers Advocate web site VERY useful on RV insurance. https://www.consumersadvocate.org/rv-insurance Also the JD Power customer satisfaction survey. http://www.jdpower.com/press-releases/2015-us-auto-insurance-study I also found a web site, thezebra.com that allows you to do two-way comparisons. https://www.thezebra.com/geico-vs-aaa/ USAA Insurance was clearly the top ranked company. If you are a US military veteran, I would check them out based on their top ranking. I am not a veteran, but both of my parents were veterans, and even though their web site says children of veterans are eligible, their web site would not provide me with a quote. I got quotes from a seven insurance companies: Allstate, Good Sam, AAA, Progressive, Geico, and Hartford (AARP affiliated). Costco uses Ameriprise, but they do not cover RVs. I asked for a quote with coverage for two vehicles, a 2010 Prius and a 2017 Audi Q7 (our new tow vehicle), and the Oliver. Here are the quotes, all on a 6 month basis. Allstate $1488 Good Sam $1701 AAA $693 Progressive $725 Geico $734 Hartford $1850 All quotes are for similar policies, what the industry calls 100/300 (Bodily Injury $100,000 each person, $300,000 each occurrence) with high deductibles ($1000 Collision/ $500 Comprehensive). Not all of the policies are the same. Good Sam is really attuned to the RV community and so its policy is Full Replacement Cost Coverage, while others are not. See the Consumers Advocate webpage for an understanding of Full Replacement Cost Coverage. Some of the quotes gave me a break down by vehicle 1, vehicle 2, and travel trailer, while others did not. Some links to their info pages: Good Sam http://www.goodsamrvinsurance.com/rv-insurance/why-choose-vip.asp Geico https://www.geico.com/rv-insurance/ Progressive https://www.progressive.com/rv/ Hartford AARP https://www.thehartford.com/aarp/rv-insurance AAA does not have a single page, since there are multiple, independent entities. Utah is part of CSAA (California State Automobile Association), which also covers Nevada. We decided to go with AAA, even though they do not have Full Replacement Cost Coverage. Mostly it was price, but I also liked dealing with them on the phone. Progressive was awful on the phone (hard sell), but they had the best web site. All of them give substantial discount if you have multiple vehicles, and additional discount if you also have homeowners. Our homeowners policy with Allstate expires in December, and I will compare costs once again. Emergency Roadside Assistance Geico: https://www.geico.com/auto-insurance/emergency-road-service/ Good Sam: https://www.goodsamroadside.com/compare/ Good Sam: https://www.goodsamroadside.com/findaplan/ Note that the Good Sam price is for the first year only. Price goes up substantially in the second year. Complaints about that on the forums. AAA is separate for each state organization. Google with AAA roadside assistance YourState. (Digression: I found that the MidAtlantic AAA covers Bicycles. In case of an accident or mechanical breakdown, they will pick you up and bring you home! There have been a few occasions I would have liked that!) We have had AAA Emergency Roadside Assistance for 40 years. Inertia again. Apparently some years ago they created multiple levels, and we had the Regular at a cost of $56 (first driver) + $34 (second driver) = $90 per year. What I did not know is that when the made multiple levels they downgraded it to only 5 miles towing. We have now upgraded to the AAA Plus RV plan for $85+$45=$130, which covers 100 miles towing and the trailer. They also have a Premier Plan ($119+$75=$194) which covers 200 miles towing and other goodies, mostly discounts at retailers. Hope my research is of use to you. I had read on this forum about how hard it is to wait for my own Oliver to be built, and I now understand! Only 26 more days! David Car-insurance-Reliability.pdf Best-Car-Insurance-Buying-Guide-Consumer-Reports.pdf

Pete, It is easy to right click on a Mac. Hold down the Control key, and then when you click on the link you will see the Contextual Menu, which includes Open in New Tab or Open in New Window. I do most of my web surfing this way. Another shortcut is Command-Shift (holding down both the Command and Shift buttons) and click with the mouse; the link opens in a new tab and you taken to the new tab. Holding down Command when clicking will open in a new tab, but you remain in the current tab. Two links from a google search with Right Click On a Mac. http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/how-right-click-on-mac-3610351/ https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18768?locale=en_US I tried adding Robert's target="_blank" at the end of the links, but I am not sure that I did it correctly. David

Coy, Please share the link of this website. Thanks, David

My solution to this potential problem will be to test the electricity before hooking up. There is a great web site that explains RV electricity: http://www.myrv.us/electric/ They describe a simple device to test both the circuit and the voltage here: http://www.myrv.us/electric/Pg/tester_30amp.htm I ordered all the parts for this device from Amazon for $27. https://www.amazon.com/Camco-55233-Electrical-PowerGrip-Adapter/dp/B00192QB3I https://www.amazon.com/Globe-Electric-46505-Single-Tap-Grounded/dp/B007XQORTO https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Products-12-4055-Voltage-Meter/dp/B002P48KLK https://www.amazon.com/Sperry-Instruments-GFI6302-Outlet-Tester/dp/B000RUL2UU I plan to use this simple tester before I hook my future Oliver up to shore power. David

A man after my own heart! My wife often kids me about my lists and the List of Lists!

Like Buzzy, I am an inveterate reader of instruction manuals. When Buzzy provided a link to the OTT manual here (http://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/buzzys-delivery-day/#post-34684) [Thanks Buzzy!), I went to work. The OTT manual includes the owners guide for a Jensen JE2412LED TV, and it says that the Jensen JE2412LED has TWO HDMI inputs. Hmm.

We started researching trailers months ago, and I was very impressed when I first found Olivers. I really liked the twin bed layout. Clean look, good access to the overhead storage, and the nightstand is a big plus. When Susan looked at the plan she said “A 30 inch wide bed? Too small. A regular twin bed is 39 inches wide.” Beds were a major consideration for us. We did not want a climb over, and for us that ruled out the 18 foot Oliver. I could not believe that the Airstream 23D has a bed that is only 48 inches wide, where you have a climb over at the foot! After all, a standard double bed is 52 inches wide. After all of our research we decided on the 23 foot Oliver standard floor plan, and we ordered our unit. As I perused this forum, it seemed the vast majority of posters had twin bed units. On one of my phone calls with Anita at OTT, I asked what fraction were twin bed vs. standard layouts. Anita said probably 85% of the Elite IIs sold have the twin bed layout! Susan and I talked about this, and we read thru the forum postings whose links I had saved on this topic, both at this forum and an Airstream posting. (This thread started just after we decided on the 23 foot Oliver with the standard floor plan.) My son has moved out, but there is a 39 inch single bed in his room, up against the wall. We covered 9 inches of the bed with books, and we each lied on it and it worked for us. We also realized that a 30 inch bed is exactly half the width of queen bed. So two weeks ago we changed our order from the standard to the twin bed floor plan. And then came wave1127’s posting We are happy we changed our minds, and maybe our tortured logic will be useful to others as they research Olivers.

Actually the Fosmon splitter I linked to does not need power. It must get enough power from the HDMI cable to light the bulb displaying which input is connected. There are other splitters that have a remote control, but those need external power.

The first picture on Amazon shows two HDMI inputs, i.e. for the Furrion and the Roku. On the other side of the unit is one output HDMI (see third picture on Amazon. You push the button on top and it switches between input 1 and 2. There is a light above the numbers 1 and 2, and the input that is active has its light on.

Dave, I was also concerned that the HDMI output from the TV would be used to send the audio to the Furrion and the Speakers. But I looked at the thread about Sound From the TV, and it sounds like there are separate Audio Output cables from the TV. How many cables are attached to the back of your TV?

You can get an HDMI splitter from Amazon, an A/B box switcher. I got this one for use at home, and it works great. http://www.amazon.com/Fosmon-HD8024-Bi-Directional-Switcher-Passthrough/dp/B00LFX1UDM You run a short HDMI cable from the TV to the Splitter, and then insert two cables into the splitter. This splitter does need a separate power source. They also have some HDMI splitters with remotes. David

Scotty, I hear you about reading the manuals. I am definitely an RTFM kinda guy. I met with the head of the service department at the local Audi dealership, who regularly pulls trailers with a truck. He did not know about the Audi prohibition on WDH hitches. I learned about that from the online owners manual. Don, I pick up the trailer in September, so I won't be able to test the Weber grill until then. I saved web links from my research on the Weber and quick connect. The Weber is designed to hook directly to a propane tank, which is high pressure LP, and it has a regulator to step down the pressure. The quick connect is low pressure propane. The solution is to remove the regulator from the Weber. Here are some how-to videos from you tube: The videos mention parts, but here are some other sources. The first one also has a how-to video http://propanegear.com/weber-q-rv-quick-connect-kit/ http://caloreequipment.com/products/cl/weber-q-1-20-conversion-kit-for-travel-trailers.html Hope you can get the Weber working! David

Thanks for all of your comments! Don's experience pulling an Oliver with a VW Touareg is very reassuring! This had been my major concern. After I posted this, Susan and I talked again about the Truma AquaGo, and we decided to get that option. Buzzy's comments here reinforce that decision. I had read the reviews on Amazon for the WiFi Ranger, and they were decidedly bi-modal. Some people absolutely loved it. Many of the 1-star reviews said it works intermittently, well in one location and poorly or not at all at a different place. I have dealt previously with WiFi repeaters and routers, and sometimes there can be signal interference, and this can sometimes be fixed by changing what wireless channel it is using. So I will take my chances. Besides, the WiFi Ranger does give my trailer its own local network, and this is useful for us to be able to connect between our devices. In terms of the propane quick connect, I have a Weber Q1000 Grill and a Primus 200 stove. From my research, I think I can get adapters that will allow connection. I do like the look of Buzzy's Camp Chef Professional stove, which has a stand! David

Hello, We are ordering a new Oliver Elite II with the standard bed configuration. I have been reading posts on this forum, and the information here has been very useful! Thanks! We have done a lot of tent camping, but this will be our first RV. We anticipate staying mostly in places without hookups, so we are getting a bunch of options that should work well for boondocking: Solar, Inverter, Surge protector, Battery upgrade. Also Wifi Ranger, Wilson Cell phone amplifier, Reading Lights, Rearview Camera, Bike Rack Mount, Propane quick connect. Are there any items you special ordered for your trailer that you highly recommend? For a tow vehicle we are getting an Audi Q7, which has a maximum permissible trailer weight of 7,700 lbs. I know many of you pull your Oliver with a pickup, but for us an SUV will work better for our non-trailering needs. I have read a bunch of posts on Audiworld and Airstream Forums, and the Audi Q7 sounds like a great tow vehicle. In terms of tongue load, the owners manual says the maximum permissible load on the ball hitch may not exceed 770 lbs. Tongue load is a new concept to me, but from what I have read about the Oliver Elite II that should be fine. I was planning to get the Anderson No-Sway Hitch that Oliver offers as an option. Many of you folks on the Oliver forum say the Oliver pulls so smoothly that a weight distribution hitch is not needed. However, I read on the web that a WDH is needed if “your trailer weight (GTW) is more than 50 percent of your vehicle's weight (GVWR).” That applies here, as the Audi Q7 is only 4938 lbs. But when I accessed the Audi Owners manual online, I found that it says “Never install a weight distributing or load equalizing trailer hitch on your vehicle. The vehicle was not designed for these kinds of trailer hitches. The hitch attachment can fail, causing the trailer to tear loose from the vehicle.” Wow! Sounds serious! More research on the web says that this WDH prohibition also applies to Porsche Cayennes and VW Touaregs (similar to Audis) as well as to many Toyota SUV models. From what I can understand these are weight carrying (WC) hitch receiver, as opposed to weight distributing (WD) receiver, and that From what I have read, some people permanently keep their dinette in the bed position, and many get a full time mattress or a heavy memory foam topper. Our plan, at least initially, is to shift from dinette to bed and back. We plan to use sheets, blankets, and a microfiber fill topper. We would appreciate any suggestions on bedding from Oliver users who regularly switch between the dinette in the bed setup, particularly on storing the bedding. This forum is an amazing resource. Thanks for any input! David Salt Lake City, Utah