Newbies Looking for an Oliver and Camping Mentor

[Mike Spies]

Hi, everyone. My wife and I, both in late 50’s and recently retired are looking for life’s next big adventure. We are considering an Oliver Legacy Elite II in the hopes of exploring as many National, State and here in Canada, Provincial Parks as possible over the next 10 years. We come from a boating background, so we are not complete newbies when it comes to onboard water, grey and black tanks and power management, however, we are 100% newbie campers. Beyond this incredible forum, I was hoping to connect directly with someone who would be willing to be both an Oliver and camping Mentor for us as we embark on this new journey.  Ideally, a contact who we could have the odd Zoom call with and who would be willing to help us navigate all there is to learn when one is starting out.  We enjoy hiking, biking and kayaking and are hopeful that we might be lucky enough to connect with another like-minded Oliver owner who can share how they transport their bikes, yaks and gear, and how they set up their Oliver to best meet an active lifestyle.  Any help or guidance on this idea would be appreciated.  Cheers from Kingston, Ontario (Canada)

Edited 6 hours ago by Mike Spies
Added more info about our lifestyle

[Ollie-Haus]

Hey Mike and welcome to the forum. I have to say that you are making the right choice for extensive exploration, as the Oliver will open doors that most other campers will not. The size and overall design are most conducive to state and national parks that often have size limits. Coming from a boating background you will very much appreciate the design of the Oliver as it lends itself more to a fiberglass boat design than a traditional stick built camper. Once you own an Oliver the rest just never measure up in quality and construction. 

There's a lot of discussion about tow vehicles, and for many reasons. I personally come from a background of towing larger trailers, horses and other livestock and equipment haulers, so I'm in the camp of get as much truck as you can afford. Lighter trucks that are properly equipped can be satisfactory, but come with the need to be more precise in loading and also limitations due to weight distribution needs, etc. With a heavy duty truck the Oliver is just something you hook up and tow with little complexity. Even adding extra gear in the truck has little effect and no cause for worry. 

As far as mentoring, I recommend your choice of YouTube camping channels. One that I highly recommend is one of the longest running camping channels on YouTube, Sean and Kristy's channel, https://www.youtube.com/@LongLongHoneymoon . They have covered everything imaginable from getting started, avoiding common problems, planning trips to understanding the dynamic of living in close quarters for extended trips. They even have great playlists that help you learn about specific topics over several videos. 

I hope you do make the leap to Oliver traveling, we love ours and can't wait for our next voyage. There is a Facebook page just for Olivers for sale that is a good place to find a used one if that interests you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/OliverforSale . Otherwise I highly recommend going to the factory if that's possible for you and taking the tour. It will lock you in on the quality and value of the Oliver campers and you will meet some of the best people in the RV manufacturing industry. 

Good luck with your journey and please participate on the forum to seek out answers to your questions.

[mossemi]

@Mike Spies

Welcome to the Oliver TT forum!  I think that asking questions here will result in lots of answers to your questions and the relationships will follow.  
I will say that one mistake new owners often make is the choice of a tow vehicle.  I don’t like helping people spend their money, but I think we all spend a lot of time and thought when considering the purchase of an OTT and not enough on how we will use it, so you are off to a great start.  It sounds like y'all are very active and if you just hike, you can travel fairly light.  But adding bikes and Yak's and the associated equipment will increase the load on your TV.  It’s often cheaper and always safer in the long run to oversize your TV.  Some OTT owners travel very light and 1/2 ton trucks work well and others live in their OTT'S  or they take extended camping trips and their loads are much greater and 3/4 or 1 ton trucks are better choices.  
Mossey

 

[Cameron]

I always recommend that people rent a trailer for a trial run before dropping the $$$ on the Oliver. Try to rent a trailer that would have a similar size, layout and accessories as an Oliver. Take that rental out for a week or two and many things will become clear to you. Try to do at least a couple days boondocking also. I rented three different trailers (including and Airstream) during three different summer vacations and I can tell you that when it came time to put down my deposit on the Oliver, I felt very confident in my decision to buy a camper, and to buy the Oliver. I also learned that I needed a better tow vehicle. During those three rentals some mistakes were made (I'm not confessing) and lessons learned, which I'm glad weren't with the Oliver.