Maiden Voyage and fully joining the clan

[Zodd]

I have been on this forum for many years as my wife and I researched, learned, and awaited when it made sense for us to join the clan of Oliver ownership. First, I want to thank this group for all you have shared and knowledge over the years. My wife and I were introduced to Oliver a few years back. Like many of you once we saw the quality, community, and how Oliver conducts themselves we had a hardtime accepting anything we saw in other places. We have camped with our kids as they grew up and camped in many different ways including car camping, tent camping, yurt camping, popup camping, teardrop, and renting a few different types of TT. We thought it would be a few more years before we jump into Oliver ownership since we still have one at home for 2 more years. But all the stars aligned this summer and we decided to pull the trigger. 

We are now the owners of hull #1305 after working with @Snake River Idaho who were great to work with and had a wonderful trailer they had decided to part ways with (such great people to work with and a great reflection on the Oliver community). We just got home from a one-week trip to bring her back home. There is certainly a lot that goes into anyone making this decision. For us, we had heard stories on this forum about health issues making it hard or impossible to do things like this. We have also been personally close to a number of these stories with quite a few of them happening recently. So since we found ourselves in a place financially to do it we decided we were not going to wait any longer even though we have to account for a 3rd sleeper for 2 more years (which on the week trip home she did wonderfully on via the dinette setup each night). 

The trip home was wonderful. Despite spending a few years learning and researching, doing it for real still had me learning and trying to figure things out. We did have a few minor events on the trip home we had to figure out like the overly sensitive LP/CO2 sensor that woke us up in the middle of the night the first two nights. Or that leather cushions on fiberglass don't stay in place and slide right off (does anyone have a remedy for this?). But we got to experience things on the trip home we have always wanted to but never had before like Bannack State Park Ghost Town one of the most well-preserved ghost towns in Montana and a beautiful sunset in the middle of nowhere outside Dillion MT. Or the Atomic Museum (way cooler and more educational than my wife, I, or our girls expected) outside Arco Idaho along with Craters of the Moon (meeting up with some friends who just happened to be passing through). Not to mention and most importantly having some dedicated time with our youngest laughing, talking and playing games (she is in the final two years of High School and missing her older sisters so getting her away from all the teenage struggles and into a quiet place allowing her to connect with mom and dad and nature and history was wonderful!).

We did the showering in the Oliver and I have to say it was easier than I thought. I am 6 foot 1 and while tight it worked great. We had a couple of nights when all our girls were able to come meet up with us and we spent those nights in the Ollie playing games, and eating dinner while watching the Olympics. I have to give a shout-out to @Foy_Mirna for his lagoon table as it was a major win for those nights being able to get all 5 of us around the table again (I expected it to feel more cramped with 5 in the trailer but it did not)!

Towing the trailer was also a great experience. I am glad because my wife towed pretty much the entire trip given I was on a business trip the day before pick up and lost my wallet so no driver's license for me. We live in North Idaho so going up and down mountains will be a thing for us no matter what direction we head. It and the truck did great up and down passes, construction zones, and passing semi-trucks. We even had a day driving where we saw 20 MPH wind gusts and my wife did not even realize how windy it was until I told her. My wife did great (she even backed us into a camp spot on the last night and did great!). 

We head out on the next trip in a week and are very excited! Thanks for letting me learn and take part in this community over the last few years. We hope to see some of you on the road in the coming years. 

 

[Mike and Carol]

Glad to hear you found your Oliver!  Sounds like a great trip home.  We’ll see you out there!  Mike

[John and Debbie]

Welcome to the family from #1290.  You will enjoy yours.

John

[John Dorrer]

Welcome from Hull #1045, Jolli Olli

[Zodd]

We just washed and cleaned up the Ollie for the winter nap. Makes us very sad to put her away for a while as we have loved this first season of camping. We at least got a fall trip knocked out before the end of the season. I have been dreaming of a fall trip in the Ollie for years so we very excited to finally do it. It was fall in the inland northwest so nothing much for those of you back east (I will get there someday). We got 5 trips in this season though and have to say we are very happy with our Ollie. Including 7 days with no hookups in a state park. We made it 7 days with power to spare and even a little water left even with a few showers (we used the boondocking port to add a little more just to learn how to use it and I think that will be a wonderful feature in the years ahead!). 

I have been worried about the sound of the heater as in past campers we have rented the heaters have been loud and wake me up in the middle of the night. Not with the Ollie and the Truma! That thing is so quiet we could nearly even tell it was on. 

Everyone has been nervous about the composting toilet. Been a fan in theory but it is another question when it comes time for real-life use. So glad we have it! I just emptied it for the winter and there was zero smell! It is so easy to use and empty plus no black tank smell and a huge water savings. It is a must IMHO. 

The amount of storage has also been a surprise. You all have said it but was never really sure until we got one. We even did half these trips with our 16-year-old daughter and had plenty of room for everyone's clothes and food. The pantry holds way more stuff than we thought and I always thought the size of the refrigerator would be an issue. Nope! We always had room for more in the refrigerator and we always came up with more than we needed. 

She has performed perfectly and towing her around the mountains has been no problem. Grateful for the tips I have gotten from you all over the years leading up to this. Looking forward to more adventures next season!

 

[mossemi]

@Zodd  It is a great feeling to sit outside in a nice campsite admiring your Ollie and thinking we must be the smartest people around!  Most of us have enjoyed the same thoughts while sitting around our Ollie!  Congratulations for sticking to the Oliver Travel Trailer plan y’all put together.

Mossey

[ScubaRx]

Todd, I have logged you into the official owner's list as the new owner of Hull #1305. Wishing for you and your family, many happy future trips.

Steve Landrum, Hull #050.

 

[Cameron]

Congrats! You went through the same process as me (and probably a lot more owners) of researching, thinking, renting SOB trailers and ultimately deciding to get it now rather than wait.

The learning curve on the Ollie with all the various systems can be steep but don't let it ever get you down. Think of the glitches as steps to becoming a master of your trailer. I've got around 15k on mine and I'm still learning plenty of how to keep it up and running, thanks to the forums, the OTT service center and of course, trial and error! lol

[jdmmtx]

You sound like us. We also travel with a work schedule and a teenager, who was 11 and considerably smaller when we purchased 4 years ago! 😁 There has only been one trip of many where I had to get creative with finding places for all our stuff and it was a 3-week trip. Love that you decided to go ahead and go for it!

[johnwen]

Welcome from #996...hope to "see ya'll out there" someday.

John