Steve Morris

Is there an external 115V AC outlet at/near the front of the trailer? Is there an external 12V DC outlet at/near the front of the trailer? I keep my fridge/freezer in the back of my tow vehicle, with a 115V AC pigtail hanging under the rear bumper. At home, or when at a campsite with electricity, I keep the fridge plugged in via an extension cord. So, one cord from the trailer to the power post, and one from the truck. It sure would be nice if there was an outlet near the front to plug the fridge into. Same with 12V DC. I forgot to look when at the factory, and I haven't seen any mention of one on videos, so I'm assuming not. Am I going to have a problem adding a 115V AC and/or 12V DC outlet up front? Thanks!

(Stolen directly from the Land Cruiser 200 subform over a iH8MUD, with regards to JamesC, the author) There are a lot of little things that I wonder about but I don't feel merit that I start a new thread. Still, I'm curious. Maybe this can serve as a repository for those misc questions that are still searchable but don't necessarily fit elsewhere? If no one else sees the value I'll just post mine here.

I have no experience with this specific battery, but I have bought three different Mighty Max AGM 12V motorcycle sized batteries. All died within a year. They would take a charge and show as full, but wouldn't crank a small 150cc scooter, Honda generator, or 50cc scooter. I'll never buy one again. (Which begs the question as to why I bought three. I bought the two scooter ones at the same time in spring when the 6 and 8 year old OEM batteries finally croaked, and then the generator one that fall before the scooter batteries failed. All were maintained on Battery Tender Jr full time.)

I have some experience with a portion of the Geyser System. I ordered a replacement hose, valve, and two sponges from them. Then I bought a 10 PSI pressure reducer and garden hose to 1/4” hose adaptor. I assembled these bits and use it on my RoadShower, with its 65 PSI water pressure. ( Remember, I’m still in my Hiker squaredrop, not an Oliver yet. ) We used it last week for the first time while doing dishes, and it worked great! One sponge for soap and scrubbing and the other for rinsing. Easier to get the dishes really clean, and used maybe 1/4 of the water that we’d normally use by washing in a sink of water and then spraying off to rinse. We haven’t used it to shower, as we use either a campground shower or 12” x 24” Shower Pouch body wipes. Here was my Instagram/Facebook post for the pieces. https://facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02gbFvTnmQ52vQxS12nonuVTLNJT7AZgRtaniH1ZGQr6Yujopv4B4PE3xNYn4FRGoNl&id=100064448631768

We were there on a day visit in 2017, and thought the campground looked great, although absolutely zero shade. Definitely going back some day!

I guess we'll be back in the cheap seats. 😉

Interesting to see if it generated any sales. I was chatting with Bob while you guys were out there. I was in his Kimberley S3 before he was while visiting family in Bellefontaine. He had the Land Cruiser at the time, and I was disappointed that the two were a poor combination without a weight distribution hitch. So I was letting him know I'd ordered an Oliver. Anyway, I'd mentioned that it was sort of an odd thing to bring a trailer with a mostly retired ownership to an off-road event mostly attended by young #vanlife and truck campers. Seemed an odd choice. He'd said that you all wondered the same thing! 🤣 I guess we'll see if anything comes from it!

This is a bit disappointing. The switch to Victron for 2023 models was one of the three improvements (depending on your point of view) I was glad to see; the others being the Truma AC and the 12V compressor fridge. After seeing a bunch of Victron/Battleborn conversions the last few years on vans, off-road trailers, etc., I was hoping that part of Oliver's big cost increase for 2023 was the full Victron suite, incuding their smart shunt and inverter/charge controller. I'm sure it will work fine, just not what I was hoping for. I didn't ask during our tour, because I don't think Anita was familiar with what was coming, but also because I was going to order, regardless of the components.

Both, on the live version of Tobacco Road! 🤘🤘🤘

I almost never get bit, and if I do, I, the bites only itch overnight. If Deb gets bit, hers lasts days or even a week. We use citronella candles, and Cutters or Off pump spray. But on the last two outings, we both got clobbered! I must have had 20-30 bites on each leg, and I had what looked like a rash for at least a week. So when we got home, I ordered a slew of things, including the Thermacell linked above, along with the three refill pack, a pack of 100 cheap citronella sticks, and a pack of 36 better rated citronella sticks that last 2.5 hours each. And, two tubes of After-Bite, as ours must be 20 years old. If that doesn't work, I'm staying inside! 🙂

Since we will be picking up our Oliver in March, we would like to attend the 2023 rally. You all took most of the spots already, and there's only a few available in section B. Is this more or less a parking lot? Can't seem to find any photos of the area, and any drone video I find online looks like its over the ridge from the rest of the campground. What's the best area in section B if we end up there? For some reason, site A01 has been open for a long time. Something wrong with it? It is the closest site to the entrance, but is it worse than section B? We can always wait until closer and hope to snag a cancellation, but that might not happen, and we'd be out of luck. Thanks for any input, Steve

We have the Luminoodle string lights, and I added the optional dimmer. I hate bright lights around camp, and especially the folks in campgrounds that leave them on all night. Might as well camp at Walmart. 😁 With the squaredrop, we hang a string inside the outhouse tent for those middle of the night excursions. We won’t need to do that once our Oliver is ready!! inside our Clam, we use either Luci inflatable lights at the lowest setting, or, more likely, citronella candles. @Katjo that’s not my bag holder. I was just noting that we use one of my old tube socks. 😉 Steve

That looks a lot more elegant than mine, made from an old tube sock with the toes worn through. 😂

My Midland MXT115 GMRS radio has several National Weather Service stations programmed into it, so one is usually available. I also have one of those windup emergency radios in the truck that the girls gave me many years ago.

Thanks for the link! Yea, I don't think the awning would support any weight without poles, from what we saw at the factory. Just looking at various options. I'm thinking the Clam might fit strapped to the top of the rear bumper, but I'll need to wait until March to find out. Gonna be a looooong winter's wait!

Ahhhh!!! *That* KenB, from MUD! No wonder the handle sounded so familiar in my time here! Hi from "Slow Paddler" 👋

It looks like it has a bolt rope slot in the bottom, so it should work. (Assuming the G2000 is the current model offered by Oliver.) And looking the wiring, it looks possible to add a toggle to the hot side of the switch to disable. Seems doable if I ever wanted a sunshade. The Clam is great, but it sure gets hot inside!

Probably a silly question; to override the automatic retracting in much more than a mild wind, is there a power switch to disable it? Or simply pull the fuse? I'd prefer a manual awning, but that's no longer an option; both are fully automatic.

Our style of camping is still a little primitive compared to what it will be when our Oliver is ready. 🙂 We too really enjoy the benefits of the CLAM shelter, since we don't really have any indoor space in the trailer. Our biggest complaint is how hot to gets inside due to limited airflow with the fine screen material. If you ask Deb, she'd probably say the changing room with CleanWaster folding toilet for the middle of the night needs. One that's really been handy, and probably will still be in the Oliver with its limited storage, is a pair of GCI Pico folding arm chairs. Much more comfortable than cheap bag chairs, and roomier than our Helinox Sunset chairs that are always in the Cruiser. They're sorta like directors chairs, but they fold up the size of a brief case. Pricy, but very convenient (wow! pricier than I thought. They were $89 when we bought ours last March) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N71DDXW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When we bought our fridge/freezer in 2016, there were very few choices, and all of them expensive. The "in" fridge was the ARB50 at $850 plus $150 shipping. We were visiting the Conqueror trailer importer in our home town of Bellefontaine, Ohio, and he was swapping out the National Luna 90 Twin fridge that came in the trailer for another combination fridge/freezer. At the time, the NL 90T retailed for $2700, and we got one from him for $1000. That's a lot today, but a steal six years ago. National Luna is what is in UN vehicles, and what the Red Cross uses to transport organs in Africa and other remote areas. They have since designed their own more efficient version of the previously used Danfoss compressor, and reduced the price by about $1000. If you want the best available, check them out at the sole US importer, Equipt1.com Their custom service is second to none, and owner Paul May goes out of his way to accommodate your needs, often at his own expense. Mine has been running in the back of my black Toyota 4Runner and now black Toyota Land Cruiser for 24 hours a day, March through Christmas since early 2016. We've not had a single regret. https://www.equipt1.com/collections/fridges

Shrimp, pineapple, onions, snow peas, and broccoli with a home made teriyaki sauce. (This was last night)

Thanks for the frozen corn on the cob tips!! I had no idea this was possible. I too grew up on a farm until I was about 12. Grandma canned everything, though. I don’t recall a freezer other than what was in the fridge.

That works!?! I figured the thawed cob would get mushy. Gotta try this!

Coincidentally, I received an email reply today for my inquiry to KTT: I replied that I was likely the reason for the latest bunch of requests, due to posting about Oliver not giving the customer a choice in suppliers. I also got the following from Southern Mattress yesterday: I'm heading out tomorrow camping with my brothers, but when we get back Friday, I'm going to contact The Original Mattress Factory, who made all of our current coil spring mattresses, about a custom mattress to match Oliver's spec. The drawing that's been posted is 29" wide, 74.5" long, with a 15" radius. But I've read 30"X75" Is that the tray dimensions?

@Kirk Peterson Cool, what brand? Wrappon has been unavailable for months.