Steve Morris

This thread is very timely as we wait for our Oliver to be ready March 28th. I’ve been reading every thing I can, watched videos, asked questions, etc. but, having only camped in a 5x8 squaredrop with zero systems in it, I’m sure I’ll still be overwhelmed come delivery day. I already have a Dropbox folder with PDF files of brochures, manuals, diagrams, mods from the forums DIY folder and more. This forum and the Facebook group have been amazingly supportive and a wealth of experience and knowledge. A few of you have contacted me directly, and we’ve had wonderful phone conversations. I’m sure when the day arrives, we’ll be fine! Thank you all!

Anita told us they a soft start option is not needed with the Truma, nor would one be offered as an option with the Truma package.

Yep, but pretty common with Toyotas these days. I got my 2021 Land Cruiser $9000 under sticker. Three months later, they were selling ( not asking) for $30,000 over sticker, until every last one in the US was gone. Crazy time! Which is why used cars are going for more than they cost when new.

w00t!! I just called and Lake Guntersville has a few sites reserved for situations like this. So, instead of one of the spots back in Section B, we will have a corner spot at site G23 (BINGO!) Thanks for the suggestion to call. I've been watching to reservation site every day to see if anyone has cancelled for some reason.

Thanks gang. I knew some questions were probably a longshot since no one knows what the new Victron setup will be. I read through John’s Natures Head thread, so I knew some of the problems. But that was before wiring harness standardization. I’m sure hoping wires are where I’ll need them! Some of these questions *were* asked during our visit, which is why I’m asking here… Perhaps Jason will know when I call.

Uh oh! The pile has already started! Yesterday FedEx delivered a TeakWorks4u shower mat, and tomorrow UPS is delivering a Redarc Tow Pro Elite brake controller. Monday a set of Firestone air bags will arrive. I know delivery isn't until March, but I don't want to be working under the truck in February in 10" of snow!

Vent and power for composting toilet in standard model? What's there and not there if I want to switch to a composting toilet? Neither Deb nor I liked the seat on the Nature's Head, and think that we might get an AirHead instead. Currently, we have the standard toilet on our order. If, down the road, we decide to switch to an AirHead, is there power available nearby for the fan? I know I'd need to "T" into the vent, plus close off the drain for the OEM toilet and cap off the water feed line. I've searched a *lot*, and can't find where anyone has swapped toilets from the standard to composting, except John Davies' who's conversion was done by Oliver. What am I missing? And, that's four days worth of stupid questions, taken directly from my list of questions to ask Jason at Oliver if I can't find prior to contacting him.

Is the trailer pre-wired for cell or WiFi boosters if I don't order one? Is the trailer wired for a rear camera if I want to put my own in, and are all the switches, fuses, etc. there and accessible? Technology changes so fast, that it doesn't make sense to me to order an expensive system that might be obsolete in a year or two. If I find down the road that I want to add my own WiFi or cellular booster, are the wires already installed and easy to get to? I know Oliver has changed to a standard wiring harness, but that doesn't necessarily mean that every option is prewired, or that I might have to drill somewhere to find a buried cable. Same question with the rear camera. I've read complaints about the quality of the OEM one, but according to Anita, I can't supply my own camera and have Oliver install it. So I either use the optional one, or add my own after the fact. Thanks for any input!

Is there an external port for auxiliary solar panels that goes directly to the solar charge controller? If so, are there limitations? We've ordered the largest lithium package (which cost about as much as my first five cars combined!!) I know there's a Camp outlet, but I think with the current electrical package it goes directly to the batteries, so it assumes using a panel with an inbuilt charge controller. MY 200W panel does not have a charge controller, instead, using the MMPT controller in the Bluetti EB70S. I'm hoping that I can use the panel as is once my Oliver is ready. Thanks for any input.

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" 👋