Pickup advice

[Hikegsm]

We are scheduled to pickup our Oliver on Thursday morning next week.  I know the first night will be at Fall Hollow.  Should we plan on 2 nights there or is one sufficient?

 

Thanks,

 

Yvonne

[John E Davies]

While I haven't been there yet, my plan is to spend just the first night there with all systems plugged in and running, to make sure it all works. Then move on to a hookup-free site to test the solar and water systems in a "primitive" setting. As other threads here indicate, if you don't test _everything_ how can you be certain it will work when you need it in a week or a month?

 

Meriweather Lewis is FREE and a short distance away but is heavily shaded, so I hear, so it wouldn't be a good place to test solar, but you can do that anywhere the sun shines..... Another option is to explore the surrounding area for a few nights, staying at different places and putting some miles on the Ollie, to make sure it tows as it should. That's my plan.

 

BTW I dislike paying $30+ for a site, especially for one with lots of amenities that I neither need nor want. There are a very few non-commercial places to stay, but they are hard to find in TN and sorely lacking in numbers compared to ours West. All the state parks are heavily commercialized. I guess the government quit spending on them?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[topgun2]

I think that the answer to your question depends on how much time you have and how you prefer to do things.  After a rather full delivery day, it would be nice to simply relax in your new Ollie.  Settle in, get your belongings, bedding, food, etc. in some sort of order, pop a bottle of wine and simply enjoy.  Then, the next day, you can set about testing systems and re-learning all the "stuff" that you thought you would remember when it was mentioned during the delivery.  As long as you stay in the area much like John plans to do, there will be plenty of time to test all the systems and get back to the factory in the event something needs adjustment.  So, you can "do a John", spend two nights at the first camp, or wing it.

 

For what its worth, we spent only one night and then headed to Florida for a week worth of testing.  The things that we found that needed adjustment were not found until three or four days after delivery.  However, I would still have preferred to stay another night at Fall Hallow (even in the rain and mud) in order to simply be a bit more relaxed.

 

Bill

[KarenLukens]

We spent 3 more days at Fall Hollow only because we drove solid for 5 days to get there and we were worn out from the long days on the road and then Karen got the flu the next day, so full hook ups made a difference plus it was like monsoon season there in February, so we just kicked back in the heavy rain until it quit a few days later and her fever broke.

 

So just play it by ear, especially if it's your first trailer.

 

We were at OTT all day on delivery day fixing, finishing, and adding things on the trailer and then we got to Fall Hollow and set up right at dark. Then Karen spent the next day nursing a fever (Valentines Day) while decorating and setting it up the inside her way. I did what I could outside in the rain and went to town for supplies and took a drive just give her some space to get the feel of her new kitchen, etc... That was over 2 months ago and we are still on our maiden voyage. We've enjoyed it so much that we never made it home and opened the house back up. The one nice thing about full hook ups with the Truma AquaGo Water heater is that you just need to pull the handle on the gray tank and then go shower as long as you want with no limits and no need to worry about running out of water or filling the tanks. It really is our favorite mod with endless hot water :)

[Mike and Carol]

I planned for an extra day at Fall Hollow.  We ended up needing it.  While we were testing the Andersen Hitch at the factory we discovered an electrical short preventing trailer back up lights from coming on which required replacing the furnace.  If you have the flexibility I would build in an extra day.

 

Mike

[cptgringo]

By all means,  if you can at least two days. I'm six months  into mine and I  still don't know how to set the clock. We we're three days before we realized the water hook up in the  galley was reversed. Like someone said  too bad you can't camp at the factory.

 

 

[bugeyedriver]

Back in the Day when there were only a dozen or so owners, we used to be able to camp inside the factory if we were having some work done on our happy little 17 footers (which are now called 18.5 footers due to the tounges we extended).  It was surreal being able to wander amongst the crates of supplies and the handful of Ollies that might be in gestation.  It was during one of those wanderings that the Technomadias came upon a box of silver support poles which were clearly marked "Stripper Poles", letting us know someone indeed was reading our cavalier banter on the forums.

 

Well, things have moved along and tightened up a bit (which they probably should have) so alas, those serendipitous finds are not in the cards anymore.

 

Sigh.

 

It would be prudent to stay in the local area two nights so the rapid response team could help ensure your Ollie is the best it can be before you roll home.

 

 

[Hikegsm]

Thanks everyone.  It seems 2 days at Fall Hollow would be the prudent thing to do.  That way we can take some time and enjoy the experience, settle into our new nest, and test our systems unrushed! Hopefully any problems  we find can then be resolved while only 5 minutes away from the factory technicians.  After that, I think we will stay the weekend at Fall Creek Falls State Park and do some hiking.  John, I thought I could test the solar system there by just not plugging in.  I know we could  boondock some where for free but I  like having the option of using the air conditioner while in the South.  We have already had a few 80 degree days with significant humidity and our pups will be with us. Ironically, we are Southerners who can't take the heat ????!  We do most of our camping in the high Rockies for that very reason.  Rarely need air conditioning there!  Anyway if we find something over the weekend we will only be a couple hours from the mother egg ????.

 

Thank you all  for sharing your pickup experiences with me.  It really does help to learn from those who have gone before.

 

Yvonne

 

 

[SeaDawg]

Pete, I fondly remember those early days.

 

We didn't do any of the above, though I certainly would recommend it. As it turned out, the hitch installer on our Volvo drilled into the battery, creating a mystery of why our rear lights didn't work at pickup. The Oliver team figured it out, we got a new battery at Walmart, with a ride from one of the guys.

 

We left late, my brother had plane reservations the next day,vso we booked it for the panhandle at nine at night, or so. Btw, the rocket rest stop near Huntsville AL is really a sight to see.

 

Fortunately , pretty much all was well with our trailer. We however camp several times a year within 300 miles of the factory, so not a big issue for us.

 

If it were a three day drive, I'd hang within a hundred miles or so for the first four days, and check it all out.

 

Honestly, I love camping in Tennessee, anyway. Beautiful state. Enjoy it.

 

And, take tick meds for your dog. Same as in North Carolina. We don't have problems in more urban Florida, but you may find them in the middle states.

 

Sherry