DavidS

After John's posts, I have read about the Gaia app, and it sounds very cool. I decided the annual cost was too high for our needs, and I have an old, less full featured, app that allows me to download topo maps for offline use. The cell phone coverage feature is very cool, and if your are interested in that there is an excellent app called Coverage?, which provides that functionality, but the app is a one time $2.99 purchase. We use this app regularly when looking at campgrounds. Too many campground reviews say "no cell service," but the review is old and in fact there is cell service. It could also depend upon cell provider. BTW, this app was made by Technomadia, former Oliver owners and tech gurus. They have other apps including a GPS-enabled app that map out public lands (good for boondocking) and one listing state laws, such as whether it is legal to overnight in a rest area or which state has lower gasoline taxes (used that one!). Below is a screen shot from Coverage? of the same region of Idaho that John posted about. Both apps are probably accessing the same data source.

1. I agree with Mike and Carol that you only get a boost close to the antenna above the dinette. 2. The company that makes the cellular booster also makes products for cellular boosting in a vehicle. A little pricey. 3. One option that would work is to have the cellular booster and the WiFi ranger in the trailer operating while you are towing. You would need to have a JetPack or a MiFi placed on the dinette, in good proximity to the booster antenna, and connected to the WiFi Ranger. Finally when in the tow vehicle you would also need to have your phone connected to the WiFi Ranger rooftop antenna, and have the Calling Over WiFi option turned on. More info on this at this post.

We would love to go to Australia. Also New Zealand, where your posts have convince me we should rent an RV for our travels. Our planned trip to Japan this past April was cancelled due to covid. I will reach out to you when we start planning! Thanks, David

I am a big fan of keeping notes in a document; in my case I use an outlining program that syncs between my laptop and my iOS devices. In addition to my notes, keyboard shortcuts allow me to quickly copy/paste a URL from my browser or to drop today's date into the notes. Of course, the program has a search function. In addition to saving URLs from the Oliver forum, I keep URLs from a variety of sources: FGRV, Airforums, Amazon, YouTube, blog posts etc. I don't think I could do all that with browser bookmarks or by Following content. I used this same note taking strategy when I was researching what type of RV to buy. Being an RV newbie, I watched a lot of videos and read blog posts on how to hitch up, to level, to empty the tanks, etc, and I saved the links to the good information. I also take notes when planning a trip, whether an Ollie trip or a trip to another continent (next year, I hope!). I have a big list of campgrounds recommended from various sources, and I have them sorted geographically.

Interesting idea. You are suggesting that with the sun shade tied down strongly and the support legs staked to the ground, there will be much greater resistance to the wind. Probably true. Additional resistance to the wind could be achieved with anchors from the top of the support poles, as in @Overland's photo in this post. Overland, how do you attach the tie-down straps to the top of the support pole?

I have read about security solutions for a generator. One type of security is the LowPro LockDown system, which could be bolted to a pickup bed. The major problem with a bike locking cable is that once can cut though the generator handle, and this bracket system prevents that. If you do go with a cable bike lock, be aware that the cable can be cut fairly easily, and that a larger diameter cable makes them harder to cut. Good cables here and here.

If you unzip the shade screen and roll up the awning, does the 10'' piece with the zipper interfere with opening or closing the trailer door?

Yes, you can convert the Honda generators to propane. At the beginning of this thread, @theOrca mentioned using a Hutch Mountain conversion kit, and @rideadeuce posted about using a MotorSnorkel conversion kit. I used a GenConnex Conversion Kit, primarily because with the Genconnex the propane regulator is inside the generator (replacing the gasoline tank), while for most conversion kits the the large propane regulator is on the outside. The Genconnex also has stellar reviews on other forums. My previous posts on the Genconnex are here and here. Also be aware that you will need a Neutral Grounding plug to use a generator.

We were planning to visit Jordanelle State Park, near Park City for three nights. The angle of the strong afternoon sun means limited shade protection under our awning, so we got the Tentproinc sun shade screen (the 6' X 14'3" size) that Overland recommended, and it worked well to increase our area of shade. We were worried that we would not like looking at the world through the mesh, but it was actually pleasant, even cooling, to look through it. There can be gusty winds, and we always stow our awning when leaving camp or before bed. While it was not hard to attach or remove the shade screen from the track in the awning front bar, I did not want to have to do this once or twice each day. So I left the shade screen attached when I rolled in the awning. Unfortunately, the hanging shade screen creates one serious obstacle, at least if I want to open the trailer door. So I used these 10 inch mini bungee cords to attach the shade screen to the awning front bar. And, I can open the trailer door. Jordanelle State Park was really nice, and we will visit again!

Wow! I am impressed! Do you have a website with your butterfly photos? Is there a website that provides info on butterfly migration and locations for viewing? I have seen the monarch butterfly overwintering site at Natural Bridges State Park near Santa Cruz, CA, and it was amazing. I saw this butterfly in my garden week before last, and I took this with "the best camera I had with me," my phone. Any idea what kind it is? I am certain you will enjoy the upgrade from Airplanes, Rental Cars & Hotels to an Ollie!

Oliver put me in touch with prospective buyers, and ten days ago I showed them my Ollie. (Yes, we all tested our temperatures before meeting, and we all wore masks and used hand sanitizer.) The prospective buyers said that their Oliver sales rep told them that lithium batteries would be a factory option quite soon.

Don and Jan, Welcome to the Oliver Forum! While most Oliver owners tow with trucks, there are a number of us that tow with an SUV. A truck would not work well for our everyday driving, and it certainly would not fit into our garage. Earlier thread on SUVs here. We tow with an Audi Q7 SUV, which has been a wonderful tow vehicle. Plenty of power on hills or when accelerating. It has a tow rating of 7700 lbs. I did a quick search for BMW X5 35d tow rating, and came up with 6000 lbs. That might be marginal for an Elite II with water and all of your gear. The tow rating I found might be for gas, and not diesel, so you should check out the Trailer Life Towing Guides. Like you, photography is one of my passions, especially when camping. The Oliver is the only RV we have ever owned, and we have loved it. Rather than a Class C or a truck camper, we have been glad we made the choice of a detachable trailer to leave behind as a base camp when we take the car for day trips. While I have never towed on a severely potholed road, we have driven on plenty of dirt roads and camped on BLM land. My all time favorite campsite was on BLM land in Valley of the Gods, where we drove seven miles on a dirt road. It took us half an hour, so we must have driven slowly. You should also be aware that many European SUVs prohibit the use of a weight distribution hitch. Check your owner's manual. Yes, but I think he had his vehicle modified to permit the use of a WDH. See earlier thread here.

I have to agree with the comments about Brevard. We have some close friends who lived in Salt Lake City for many years, and then they moved to Brevard several years ago. We have visited them several times, and it is a wonderful area. The old fashioned business district is really nice, with interesting stores - no chain stores. I particularly liked this store called Architectural Antiques, so much so that I had to take a picture of it. And the waterfalls were amazing! We did bunch of hikes, and each time to a different waterfall. Pictures of Triple Falls and Connestee Falls.

Chuck, I don't know what video you mean. I solved this by getting a hose with quick connect on one end and a regulator that connects to a 20 lb propane tank on the other end. This adapter is not designed for the small, disposable, propane bottles. I bought the adapter hose for $26, but it is currently listed for $42, so you might want to follow it on camelcamelcamel.

Four years ago, when we had ordered our Ollie and were awaiting delivery, we had our neighbors over for a backyard bbq. We talked a lot about the trailer, and I mentioned how I really liked the CampChef stove that Buzzy had posted about on the forum. My neighbor said "I think I have one of those." He had won it as a door prize at a golf tournament, the box had never been opened, and he then gave it to me. I offered to pay him the Amazon price, but he said no, noting that for years I had fixed problems on their phones, computers, and internet routers. Cus that is what friends do!

I posted about modifying my Weber grill some time ago. The YouTube videos I found useful are HERE and HERE. I bought the Weber Q RV Quick Connect Kit from propanegear.com for $49.99. The SKU for the model I got is not currently on their web site, but they have two versions available with eight foot or twelve foot hoses. Connecting the Outland bowl is easy - just change out the hose. I bought this adapter hose. If you are going full propane quick connect, be sure to get a couple of extension hoses so that you can position your devices where you want at your campsite. A friend gave me a CampChef stove, and we love it. Sometimes I want to have the CampChef and the Weber connected simultaneously, and so I bought a Y-adapter.

Thank you! This is awesome! You have a gift for accurate technical writing and precise documentation. This will be big help to a bunch of us. Thanks again.

Most of the people on this forum have trucks, and we are part of the small minority who tow an Ollie with an SUV. For us, a truck would not fit into our small garage, and we felt it would not be a good vehicle for our everyday use, such as grocery shopping. We purchased an Audi Q7 SUV. It is the largest vehicle we have ever owned, but it drives wonderfully and has a large cargo area. The Q7 has a 7700 lb towing capacity, and it tows the Ollie like a dream. Plenty of power towing, whether going up hills or when accelerating to enter a freeway.

If you cannot go camping, you should check out the Virtual Reality experience from Google Arts & Culture. The site is called Hidden Worlds of the National Parks. You can visit Kenai Fjords NP (Alaska), Dry Tortugas NP (Florida), Hawaii Volcanoes NP (Hawaii), Carlsbad Caverns NP (New Mexico), and Bryce Canyon NP (Utah).

What do you mean by trigger? Does the Truma provide hot water thru the 0.35 GPM aerator, or not? Thanks.

Imagine being huddled together inside for months ...

Too much time at home, with too large of a toilet paper stockpile…. VIDEO-2020-04-05-13-18-21.mp4

We bought the black Vornado MVH mode with 3 heat (wattage) settings for $60. Very happy with it. Since the Ollie interior is white, I wanted a white model, but the only white one Amazon had at the time was the VH2 model, with only 2 heat settings, for $75.

Caution before travelling. We had planned to leave Friday for a ten day camping trip to the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly. It would have been a great trip, and we planned to listen to Tony Hillerman audiobooks on our drives. But several days ago we decided to cancel the trip, and to remain at home. We made this decision before the National Parks (and National Monuments?) started restricting entry, as noted by Overland. Here is the reason I am posting now. Our NPR Utah radio station covers the entire state, and in the past several days they have had several stories about how Moab is discouraging visitors because their health care infrastructure, like in many rural areas, is minimal. No ICUs, no infectious disease physicians, no ventilators. They do not want visitors getting sick and the community not be able to provide adequate health care. It is surprising that an area whose economy depends on tourist dollars would be discouraging visitors, but these are exceptional times. Then tonight, Moab shut down the town to visitors. All restaurants are closed. All “short-term lodging (hotels, motels, condos, townhomes, guest homes, RV parks, and all camping on public or private lands)" in four southern Utah counties are closed to non-residents. In other words, unless you are already there, you cannot camp anywhere. More info here. It is nice to think that our self-contained travel trailer can go anywhere, but right now that may not be true. We like to camp in remote areas, and right not that may or may not be permitted. Check before you depart. Safe travels, everyone. And wash your hands!

Earlier posts described the covid-19 epidemic as “blown out of proportion,” or “over blown,” or “media hype.” I have to strenuously disagree with those characterizations. This virus is extremely transmissible between people, and epidemiologists predict 40-70% of Americans will likely get infected. Yes, 80% of those people infected will have mild to moderate symptoms. However, 20% of infected individuals will have severe respiratory problems. Many of these people will require hospitalization. Many of these hospitalized people will require advanced interventions, including isolation, ICU care, and treatment with a ventilator. Unfortunately our health care has limited numbers of hospital beds, ICU space, and especially ventilators and trained respiratory technicians. The best estimates are that 1-3% of infected people will die. How many die depends upon how well our health care infrastructure can deal with the number of cases. In Italy they were slow to respond to the epidemic, and people are dying in record numbers. They don't have nearly enough hospital beds, and physicians are having to make triage decisions as to who gets treatment, and who lives and who dies. Read about it. It is very upsetting. You may have heard the term “flatten the curve.” Simply put, this means that if we do not shut down large gatherings and practice social distancing, based on the data from other countries, within a month we will have an enormous spike of infections, and 20% of those will have severe problems. Our health care system will not be able to cope, and many will die. If instead, we can slow the rate of transmission, then people will get infected over a much long period of time. This does not necessarily mean that fewer people will get infected, in total, but that fewer people will be infected at any point in time. That means there will be fewer people with severe respiratory problems at any one time, and hopefully there are enough ICU beds and ventilators available to meet the need. And that means fewer people will die. While each one of us is unlikely to have an infection with severe problems, it is nonetheless very important for all of us to do what we can to slow the rate of transmission.