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Steve Morris

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Everything posted by Steve Morris

  1. #1360 was delivered at the end of March 2023, and they are now over 1500 a year later. So, year over year, that's at least 140.
  2. @JEssary I think this is a terrible decision by Oliver, and a disappointment to us. We took delivery of Curiosity one year ago tomorrow, and have had zero problems during the 7700 miles since. However, there was always that security of Oliver's famed customer service in mind in case something did occur. And that service was a large part of our buying decision. Oliver's reputation was built on the care after the sale, and that set it apart from any other manufacturer. Now, with no factory sales or service, it would appear the same as any other builder to a prospective buyer. Look at every YouTube review of Oliver, with clickbait headlines of "Is It Worth It", or any RV blog review of Oliver. The praise of Oliver's service is always highlighted and almost as legendary as the quality. Any time a prospective buyer comes to this forum or the two Facebook groups and asks about Oliver, Oliver's quality AND service department are, without exception, heralded as what makes Oliver better than any other trailer. I think that this decision will have a sizable impact on future sales, and on resale value of current owners' trailers, and trust from those owners. From my reading, many owners look forward to their annual service trip; almost like a pilgrimage. I can't imagine looking forward to a trip to a giant RV store. Here in northern Ohio, my closest authorized service center is 433 miles away, and has stellar sales reviews on Google. However, the service reviews are fair at best, with typical complaints of long waits and shoddy work. More concerning are a couple claiming no service on trailers not purchased there, or even parts sales. The next closest is 461 miles, only 100 miles less than going to Hohewald. Color me disillusioned...
  3. We're right behind you again, so stop over any time!
  4. I thought this was a thread about Steve's Road Trip Chronicles. @shhQuiet 😂
  5. That is correct. My list is just an informal collection of sites/names so that I know who's who while I wander the campground. I did this last year for myself as a first time attendee, and several others wanted copies. So I'm collecting them again this year, from here on this forum and the two Facebook groups. I know that not everyone wants to participate. This is in no way an official list of attendees, not is Oliver involved in me collecting this information.
  6. Updated, and thanks for the contributions. That's 56 Olivers located so far.
  7. Remember, those prices do not include shipping to the US, import fees, etc. Before ordering the Oliver, we were working with the sole US importer of Kimberley Kampers, which happened to be in my home town, and were looking at the mid-size Kimberly Kruiser S3. And this was just before COVID and the Suez Canal blockage. It was a $90k trailer with about $8k of shipping and other fees. Eight moths later, it was $15-20k in shipping, and due to supply chain problems, the price jumped to $140k. Out the door with taxes was going to end up north of $175k. For the small percentage of the time we'd use it off-road far enough to need its features (air suspension, water purification, solar out the wazoo) we couldn't remotely justify it over the Oliver. One of our previous forum members, @donthompson moved to the bigger Kimberley Kruiser T3. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/6211-a-second-new-direction-kimberley-t3-kruiser/#comment-65745 Note that a lot of the Australian campers are being built in China these days. And then "assembled" in Australia (or in the US in the case of the Series Black, that used to come from Australia.) Buyer beware!
  8. That's our longer term plans, too. Get somewhere interesting, use the Oliver as a base camp, and explore areas unreachable by most trailers or vehicles. That's when a rooftop tent or sleeping area in the vehicle comes in handy. We had a big family sized RTT a few years ago, but it was a real PITA to fold up tight enough to get the cover on. So you tended to not open it at home to air/dry it out. Next time will be a James Baroud like Kirk's
  9. @Pam and David Hokanson are #1501, and just got their hull number on Monday. Maybe number 1500 doesn't know yet. Or, isn't here on the forum.
  10. Thanks! From previous posts I knew that's where you kept it for everyday use. I was mostly concerned if the attachments held the 45 pounds snugly while travelling. That's where I'll mount ours for travelling, then! That will be a lot more convenient getting it in and out than in the head. For actual use, we don't use the Jerrycan daily. We leave the house with four square plastic 1-gallon jugs of filtered water (from our home Berkey) and then refill them from the Jerrycan on the road as needed. These in turn are stored in the closet and get dumped into a pitcher we keep on the counter for everyday use. This is a carryover from how we used it in our Hiker square back trailer, with its extremely limited storage.
  11. Handy little item, there! I just ordered four. We keep the Jerrycan in the passenger footwell of the truck when at camp, and in the bathroom next to the toilet when travelling. This looks like a better option. Have you travelled with the Jerrycan full, or do you empty it? That's a lot of weight if full. I'll put the second pair on the wall under the dinette table to secure things that we stick under there while on the road. (The last trip was a box of wine and booze. I wedged it in with an empty duffle and towels. Gotta protect that precious cargo!)
  12. Insert between steps two and three: "Open a hot water faucet to relieve pressure." Otherwise, you may be sprayed with pressurized scalding water when opening that yellow lever! For in between situations, we opted for the Truma anti-freeze kit, which keeps the heating vessel warm to avoid freezing. We've used it frequently when it is close to freezing before leaving home or when we're on the road and can't run the trailer heater.
  13. Thanks, that's good information, and will save me a step whenever I get around to doing this.
  14. That came out great! It almost looks like it came that way. You mentioned that newer cameras came with hoods, but the one on my 2023 did not. This project will be added to my long list of modifications I want to make once it warms up. For material, Kydex might be an option. It is a moldable sheet frequently used in custom holster/sheath making. I've never fiddled with it (I like leather), but it should be a good option. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=kydex+sheet&crid=DUJIHI52K2HN&sprefix=kydex+sheet%2Caps%2C156&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
  15. I'll be curious to see if you shielded the bottom as well. Those three amber running lights make the camera nearly useless at night; especially in the rain.
  16. The agenda has been posted on the rally page and the link has been added to the first post. There are currently several TBA slots, so it looks like the schedule is still fluid. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/events/oliver-owners-rally/ Also, for any of you on the Facebook group, Aaron Wolters has added a post requesting information on owner-led seminars folks want to have. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OllieOwners/posts/1616240385447743/
  17. Airhead had a connection kit on their options page last year. I just looked to link it, and it is no longer there. All they offer now is a fitting for the bottom of the urine bottle. https://airheadtoilet.com/usa-shop/
  18. Several have modified the toilet to drain the liquids into the black tank. The folks that showed us their trailer before we ordered ours had just completed the job that day. I remember that one member here had changed the bathroom sink to drain into the black tank, as well, to avoid urine crystallization problems. Plus, that saves some of the gray tank space. If/when we switch to an AirHead toilet, those are the modifications I plan to make.
  19. You'll want the graphics on before they do the ceramic coating, else it won't stick. Plus, the ceramic coating over the graphics helps protect them. If you let them know ahead of time what you're doing, I'd imagine they would polish the top front first to give you time to apply the graphics before coating.
  20. Updated as of noon Sunday, February 11. We're up to 52 contributors so far this year. There were 75 by the time the rally rolled around last year, so I'm hoping for more as it gets closer. Thanks for participating.
  21. Please check with your region's representative and let us know what you find. What is disturbing if true, is that I could be travelling through a region where two tow trucks would not be sent, and I'd be up a creek!
  22. For what it's worth, the RV Miles camping news YouTube channel is reporting that Camping World, the owner of Good Sam, might be in the process of selling off the Good Sam brand. That may or may not be a good thing if true. I'm a 54 year member of AAA, getting my original coverage from my grandparents for my 16th birthday. Over time, I added Deb to the account when we got married, bumped up to the second tier when we got the MG (and used it twice...), added, then removed, driving age kids, and a few year ago added the RV/Motorcycle coverage. The latter for my herd of motor scooters more than for my tiny 5X8 Hiker trailer. Somewhere I have a photo of a 90cc Vespa (not mine) on a big rollback tow truck. 😂 Over the years, I've read/heard good and bad reports about AAA's RV coverage. Most frequently, they involved leaving a trailer behind when getting a truck towed, or vise versa. In December I called AAA Central (which includes Ohio) to find the answer, and was told that different regions have different rules and coverage. Some will send two trucks and tow both vehicles, some only the disabled vehicle. At that point, I called CoachNet, which now covers towed RVs as well as motor coaches, and posed the same question. They told me that they would send two trucks if the tow vehicle was disabled, never leaving a trailer behind. Several questions later, and I signed up for CoachNet before leaving for Florida in January. I'll remove RV/motorcycle coverage from AAA at the next renewal, and seriously consider cancelling completely, since CoachNet covers all vehicles driven or owned by the policy holder and/or spouse. They just won't cover my MG or scooters. But it's hard to break a 54 year habit.
  23. Yep, the GX is a great vehicle, but not for towing the LE II. The LX is actually better than my Land Cruiser, due to the self leveling system and height adjustment. No need for the Firestone airbags with the LX.
  24. Paging @Mike and Jill Here's your opportunity to move closer to the lake.
  25. Done! Thanks for everyone who contributes.
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