BoondockingAirstream

John E. Davies... we were camped Off the Grid thirty miles NORTH of DuBois, Wyoming about August 21, 2016. Just a year too early. Two of us from our 2016 Wyoming Adventure scouted the high country to the southwest of DuBois for an Off the Grid site, only to discover very few campsites offered a great view of the Eclipse due to the trees and lack of open areas. The ENTIRE State of Wyoming is promoting this event. You can even pick up Wyoming Eclipse 2017 stickers from any Wyoming Welcome Centers and State Parks. We drove from DuBois to Moran Junction, Wyoming which is on the way to Jackson, Wyoming. When you come into Jackson Hole country, the Grand Tetons fill up your entire view from north to south when driving west. At sunrise, it is a view you will never forget. Many years ago we took our 23 foot Safari to a National Forest site that required some skill to navigate, but it was high above Jackson Hole and would be near the CENTER of the ECLIPSE path! Maybe we could have a contest and have one to five Oliver trailer owners WIN the GPS Coordinates. There is no doubt of others knowing of this obscure area, as I did camp there myself... but the 'early Oliver gets the prize Base Camp Site'. Any ideas? One campsite has room for 8 trailers. Other sites in the trees and two possible access roads of questionable quality today.

I appreciate your comments. There appear to be a good number of Off the Grid and Base Campers owning Olivers.

I was having difficulty posting the previous post and am deleting the duplicate. Those of you who presently own an Oliver... you are being noticed. Not only by other individuals but other RV manufacturers. Be proud that you are among a small but expanding group of trailer campers. You might prefer being camped at National Park campsites or in the National Forest by yourselves... but make no mistake. If Oliver backs up its promises to you... you are the few among the... many. The hospitality of the Western USA within the Rocky Mountains is all yours to explore. Welcome. Even if I am not able to greet you myself, post your experiences under Boondocking so we can all live through your experiences.

I am very impressed with the responses from Oliver owners and those of us who find this website welcoming to those that have a different approach for the uses of their trailer. Obviously some serious Base Campers and Off the Grid travelers! I am very familiar Base Camping with a 23 foot Airstream after eight years of the learning process from 2006 to 2014. There are no books that will provide actual 'experience' on the real reasons why my wife and I went directly from Tent Camping to Trailer Camping. Anyone... and some of the previous posts are from those willing to learn or already hard core former Tent Campers... are going to Oliver Trailers for several reasons. 1- There is a very positive atmosphere at Oliver. Their Sales and Promotion people give out their office phone numbers, email address and make themselves available. I cannot do that at Airstream, easily. 2- Oliver owners are much like Airstream owners. Proud of their trailer and the utility of their trailer in many travel situations. IF my Airstream, which is set LOW on the Dexter Axles, can travel some of the most remote roads on the Rocky Mountains... Oliver's need not add lift kits. The 16" wheels as standard is a huge PLUS. 3- Oliver owners out in the Western USA are a bit bashful. None have come out to have a Some Other Brand (SOB) sniff out the plus and minus between two very road worthy trailers. Olivers and Airstreams. Airstreams can be found everywhere. Olivers are just getting a following that is working their way to the West. Although after Four Airstream Adventures... my wife and I agreed that we would not do another. There is a lot of background work required and no matter how you stress this is not for Tea Time campers, and the weak hearted... they come and leave as soon as they see a RV Park in town. There is no 100% perfect trailer for Off the Grid camping. None. I have been replacing hardware and adding bolts, where wood screws once were to hold things together. I have a thousand or more rivets... of which seven have popped and I installed Lathe Screws to secure the inside aluminum... forever, I hope. With use, you will find the weakest parts of any brand of trailer, upgrade them the best to your ability and go at it, again and again! After two years of camping trips, you will possess the BEST trailer you will ever own. If one of the two local Front Range Colorado Oliver owners, either one, want to sponsor a 2017 Oliver Wyoming Eclipse Adventure, I would be willing to assist in the planning from my experiences. This would be a July 2017 or August 2017 Adventure as the best time to be in the High Country is during June, July and Augsut. I am an optimist among the Oliver owners on this Thread. If YOU have only half of what I consider required experience... when you are finished you WILL be a Off the Grid / Base Camper.

Stan... you have great taste in reading material! I will use your reference to pull up some of my favorite topics that Airstream owners find important. Airstream owners have several major topics they consistently bring up: Typical Question: Toilet Paper clogging up their Black Tank, what should I do? Answer: Put all toilet paper used into the trash can next to the stool. No paper down the hatch, you do not have to get your arm into the Black Tank to find the problem. Typical Question: My Marathon trailer tires keep coming apart, wear irregular or have blow outs. Answer: Buy an Oliver. It has 16" Michelins. E Rated. Or replace your D Rated 15" with 16" wheels and 16" Michelin LTX M/S2 tires... like Olivers. Typical Question: Should I have my propane refrigerator operate while pumping gasoline? Could I cause an explosion? Answer: More people die from Food Poisoning. Not from exploding refrigerators near a gasoline pump. Your trailer's refrigerator ignition system is 20 feet or more from your vehicle's fuel tank entry. Maybe you should stay home and worry about meteorites impacting your swimming pool. Typical Question: My tow vehicle is a converted riding lawn mower. Do I need a license plate on my riding lawn mower while towing my 30 foot trailer? Answer: No. You do not need to put plates on your riding lawn mower while towing your trailer. What you do require is an AM/FM radio while you are towing and I include a photograph of my tow vehicle. This is what Ethanol can do to your paint job, while pumping gasoline. ... and please. Detach your trailer when mowing your yard. Been there. Done it. Of course, some of these Q&A's are spoofs... some are not. Let you serious Boondockers figure it out. And Stan... this is our secret. OK?

John, thank you for your interest. Oliver is 7 feet wide, while the narrowest Airstream is 8 feet. All other Airstreams are a bit under 8 feet six inches. This gives the Oliver an advantage to slip through those tight spots where larger trailers would have to spend time and clip overhanging branches. So you want to see 'no other campers within sight'... Check these out. Both taken in Nevada... I do not see any Desert nor other campers out here! Oliver owners... Nevada is wide open for camping, if you have a Nevada Atlas to navigate to these locations. We were looking for Cambrian trilobites and had to squeeze through some Juniper Pines. This was our 23 foot Airstream which is the narrowest Airstream at 8 feet. Both photographs were taken the first week of MAY. See the snow... plan your trips well as you can run into last Winter's snow drifts in Nevada and Wyoming!

I added two photographs of the Wyoming Adventure. One is in the National Forest near Lander, Wyoming and the second is on Bureau of Land Management near Jeffery City, Wyoming. Both extremes of a National Forest site and the other on the Wyoming High Plains. Now... it is your turn to provide YOUR photos, YOUR definitions and tell everyone how your Oliver provided everything you would have needed in such remote locations. Camping with your Oliver and my Airstream has come a long, long way from your Grandpa's days....

I took a group of Airstream owners on an Off the Grid and Base Camp caravan into western Wyoming. If you take the Teton/Jackson Hole/Idaho State Line area and go East to Cody for the top and south to Alpine on the west side and Farson on the east side... this large square... sorta. Ten days. Five campsites. From 6000 feet to 9,000 feet elevation. National Forest and Bureau of Land Management sites. Eleven started and Five finished the ten days in the Wyoming 'wilderness'. The 'Adventure' was for myself to guide everyone TO the five locations, explain over a period of one year on a website what to expect and had a detailed Itinerary of where we were going and WHAT they could do... if they wanted in these areas. - Some had a mental vision of Boondocking as a catered event with flushing toilets, showers and a camp staff available for touring the area. - Some had a mental vision of Boondocking as a tour guide taking a large group to visit specific sites and entertainment at night. - The 'Five Survivors' as I call them understood what a Boondocking Adventure was and made the best of the trip. Mind you... this was at NO CHARGE, I provided maps, designated campsites I was familiar over a period of ten years as the Best and provided Hospital information, Dump Stations and National Forest Service offices for local maps... if needed. FREE. Yet... some expected the top two options. HERE is your assignment. There are no trick questions. We want to find where we agree and disagree as to the definitions of the next FOUR camping options: 1- Boondocking: 2- Base Camping: 3- Off the Grid: 4- Boondocking Adventure Off the Grid / Base Camping: Olivers are 100%+ capable of doing all of the above. This is not RV Parks, pay to camp with a picnic table and pit toilet, Walmart parking over night (as this can be as good as a RV Park), and catered events you pay $150 a day and get someone with a banjo sing to your for an hour each evening. What are your definitions of the above four camping options? There are no wrong answers... or even right answers. This is a 'learning exercise' at my expense of tent camping and now hauling a 25 foot trailer behind my pickup truck. What would you expect on each option? Where are you in the spectrum of using your Oliver... as of this moment? Have you taken your Oliver out and camped #'s 1 thru 4? IF the brave step forward and make this a Thread worthy of discussion... I will also post a series of photographs of WHAT each of these kinds of sites that fit MY definition. This is for FUN. There is no Final Exam. There are no Quizzes. We cannot have 'mountainborn' do all of the work here. Some of you need to step up and get Oliver's out there where they belong... ANYwhere and EVERYwhere.

T2R.... Thank you, I did not know about that Thread. Just finished reading it. One thing about fiber glass is that you put a fabric that vibrates against the surface, it will dull it. The Airstream 'stainless steel' rock guards are mounted so that there is a gap between the trailer and the guard. Often the fit to the curve is not the best, so you have to tinker with it after getting your trailer. Rocks can get caught in between the rock guard and the outer aluminum skin of the trailer. Like I said on another Thread... Oliver and Airstream owners can think outside the, trailer. Most would not want to drill to insert hardware and fabricate a permanent 'rock guard' but if the factory begins to catch up with this... they will, why not you? About any metal can be painted to match the Oliver finish. Maybe even some art work of your own. Once the original finish is blemished, it might be very difficult to restore it to match.

It is a wonderful moment to pick up your Elite or Elite II. You attach your tow vehicle to your new trailer and have to look into the rear view mirror to make certain this is... not a dream. But, as a Boondocker my Airstream needs some protection from the... nastier elements of owning a trailer when not on concrete or asphalt roads. Gravel and Sand tossed up from your rear tires. Many new trailer owners also found a tow vehicle to replace a vehicle that lacked the power and cargo capability to tow. Your Oliver Elite II weighs more than my old 23 foot Airstream! The new tow vehicle also has new and deep tread, that picks up rock, mud and sand and by design... toss it all to the rear. Drive behind a pickup truck or an 18 wheeler... and what was your first reaction? Whoa... back off and let this rock and grit kicker get way, way... ahead. Gone is better. Your tow vehicle is also tossing debris back into your new shiny fiberglass trailer. On both my 23 foot and current 25 foot Airstream... the dents prove how effective my 'Rock Guards' are protecting my trailer's body. I also have plastic framed tinted guards to protect the large flat window and two curved windows from being broken, by road debris. My 23 footer had a big 'star fracture' in the plastic protecting the large center window, no doubt from a stone being tossed over my tow vehicle. THIS stone would have easily broken my tempered glass window, had I not the protection. I do not know if insurance would repair 'star cracks' in my case, but probably would. Oliver does not have any windows exposed to rock debris in front... which is also a good design to take into consideration! I do not know if Oliver offers 'Rock Guards' for the sides as optional equipment... but you may want to take a look at your fiber glass finish after reading this post. At least if you get 'fiber glass star fractures' on a pair of rock guards, like Corvettes do from impacts of stones, they can be removed when you find that the future holds a NEW 25+ foot Oliver Elite III is your next Home on Wheels. I have not had any rock debris hit my Propane Cover which is placed like the Oliver's. I have had stray stones hit the top curved front section leaving dings... but you cannot protect your perfect trailer with a huge cocoon covering, either. We want our trailer to look nice forever. Having 'Rock Guards' is a great investment. Maybe Oliver will have those available in the near future, if not already. It is a smart investment. Had you seen the Rock Guards on my 2006 Airstream after eight years... you will understand why I purchased a spare set of rock guards. Once you are on any road... loose mufflers, bolts, rocks, tire debris and an occasional Moose could impact your and my trailer.

Rideandfly... thank you for the Oliver Tour. Seeing the skeleton that holds the sleek shell is the heart and soul of each of your trailers. Thank you.

The spirit of innovation will tweak each Oliver and Airstream owner's trailer for the uses they want theirs to travel. At the Airstream factory at Jackson Center, Ohio the smell of Aluminum is not apparent. The curing of Fiber Glass I am familiar, when repairing damage on older Corvettes when no body shop in the State of Wyoming understood fiber glass... other than bondo. Several cars in an alley in Cheyenne, Wyoming and lots of advice how to approach the repair. The majority of Airstream owners and Oliver owners are NOT those who push the limits of their trailer's tires and suspension. When comparing my Airstream to an Oliver... we both share Michelin 16" M/S tires, but the Oliver has leaf springs on their Dexter Axles. I am very curious as to the benefits of the leaf springs setup. For those who own an Oliver... the seven foot width, leaf spring suspension and 16 inch Michelin tires are your Personal Ticket to the western USA Rocky Mountains. The campsites beyond the paved roads await your presence. Do not be intimidated by the all season Forest Service roads... they have been used by wagon and trailer traffic for generations without failure. I only know the Rocky Mountains and the millions of acres of public lands. For the cost of a National Forest map... you have your ticket of admission, paid in advance of your arrival to explore with your trailer which is fully capable to travel anywhere a tow vehicle can travel. After years of towing our Airstreams into the depths of the deserts and forests... I await the time when your Oliver is camped even further up the road that I dared not to attempt. Be the first one of the Oliver family to test the possibilities. I have with our Airstreams and have been considered... using our Airstream for what it was not intended. Well, sir... let me decide what my current trailer is capable. Paying $35 or $75 at a RV Park of a view of fifth wheelers and traffic is not why we have our 'Sisters in Tow'. Do it. Post it on this thread. Give others the encouragement that Off the Grid camping is not only possible, it is an investment of the money wasted at a campsite with a flushing toilet and three trees as your view...

Thank you Buzzy- Comparing the EliteII to the 23 foot Airstream is a great comparison. The 23 foot Airstream is 8 feet wide and 5.5 inches narrower than my current 25 foot. The 23 foot Safari with 8 feet in width was nice for tighter Off the Grid sites. The Oliver EliteII is 7 feet wide. Even more flexible. Several features the EliteII has are the double axle with leaf springs. THIS is something I want to see and speak with someone about how the interior handles gravel and irregular surfaced roads. I would consider this important. The standard 16" wheels with 16" Michelin M/S2 tires has been sorely needed on Airstreams, until 2017. Many, as myself, purchased 16" wheels and 16" Michelin M/S2 tires to replace the 15" Goodyear Marathon tires that had been standard. Airstream and Oliver, also the Casita trailers all have positive resale demand. The Airstream would have a steep drop in resale price numerically than the other brands. The price of the Oliver and Casita would have a larger market for resale. Eventually I will be able to compare other trailers when opportunity presents itself. Simple things like drawer slides and door hinges are a chronic problem in my Airstream. They tend to vibrate loose and I have currently upgraded wood screws, piano hinges for some hinges that could be swapped out. With the fiber glass molded interior the number of cabinet issues are drastically reduced! The EliteII has a higher GVWR and Dry Weight, but fiber glass for the length is heavier than aluminum. Aluminum dents easier. Scratches from light scruffs to dry tree branches are more obvious. Fiber glass is easier to repair, does not corrode... so seeing how much can be packed into 18 feet x 7 feet is worth waiting for the opportunity. Some serious Airstream owners thought that Oliver would have been perfect for a take over by Thor / Airstream to produce fiber glass trailers and stick the Oliver Airstreams or Airstream Oliver logo onto the trailer. From what I have heard, another company was purchased to compete with Oliver 'like' trailers. Airstream is obviously concerned about losing the younger customer and for good reasons. Thank you for stepping forward. You have a wonderful trailer from what I have heard. Since I am more of a guy who likes to get in and under a truck, car or trailer... I can then begin to see what Airstream Inc. is missing...

Oliver Elite and Oliver Elite II are the young Boondocking Trailers that are affordable for young families and designed for more than casual camping at a RV Park in a city environment. The Oliver has grabbed the attention of some fellow Airstream owners, who spend more time Off the Grid and Base Camping, than RV Parks with full hookups. Myself, included. It just that seeing is believing. I have attempted to have the two local Denver, Colorado owners to contact me through the Sales Staff, but no response. Being able to compare how each are assembled, ease of towing, interior cabinets and appliances being able to resist the rougher roads that come with traveling Forest Service and BLM roads is a sure test of any trailer. Being able to either Boondock with a Elite II, as I had a 23 foot Airstream and currently a 25 foot... these two trailers are Sisters. Some Airstream owners suggested that Airstream should have looked closer at Oliver for the younger adventurer who depends of quality of construction with modern amenities to support Off the Grid camping. Please, if you are in the Denver, Colorado or Las Vegas, Nevada area... contact me at boondockingairstream@gmail.com. I see a permanent friendship of two Sisters of Boondocking. (The one photo in forest is near Lander, Wyoming on the August 2016 Wyoming Adventure. There had BETTER BE some Oliver Trailers parked with us if there is a future Adventure. There is nothing better than having two brands of classy trailers to compare and talk about how one can improve the other.) (Second photo is group stopped near Medicine Bow, Wyoming at the Dinosaur Cabin near Como Bluffs on the first day of the August 2016 Wyoming Adventure. Yes... some day Airstreams will catch up with Oliver technology! But, I am not holding my breath.)