Random Oliver Picture Thread - post what you have, make us smile.

[John E Davies]

 

 

Million Dollar Highway, northbound from Silverton to Ouray CO, three passes over 11,000 feet. Butt clenching descents and dropoffs. Way cool and I want to go back.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[Mike and Carol]

Million Dollar Highway, northbound from Silverton to Ouray CO, three passes over 11,000 feet. Butt clenching descents and dropoffs. Way cool and I want to go back.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

We did this going south, so we were on the outside of the highway. Some interesting views straight down from the passenger side. It was exhilarating and I would like to do it again. Next time we will stop in Ouray and Silverton and camp to see the sites. Last time we were going from Rocky Mt National Park to Black Canyon National Park. There’s a lot in between to see! Mike

[mountainoliver]

Snow in the desert! West of Tucson in Saguaro National Park this past February.

[SeaDawg]

John E Davies wrote:

Million Dollar Highway, northbound from Silverton to Ouray CO, three passes over 11,000 feet. Butt clenching descents and dropoffs. Way cool and I want to go back.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

We did this going south, so we were on the outside of the highway. Some interesting views straight down from the passenger side. It was exhilarating and I would like to do it again. Next time we will stop in Ouray and Silverton and camp to see the sites. Last time we were going from Rocky Mt National Park to Black Canyon National Park. There’s a lot in between to see! Mike

 

We did this last year. Also southbound. Camped in Ouray, stopped in Silverton. Pix are not on this phone, but i will try to transfer.

An amazing drive. Those of you who know me, know that i hate heights and narrow mountain roads. This one is worth the angst. Imo.

Sherry

 

[attachment file=165300]

 

 

[KountryKamper]

Ouray is a fun area. We spent a week there last June

 

 

Million Dollar Highway

 

 

Ouray, CO

 

 

[SeaDawg]

Lake Molas Campground, just a few miles south of Silverton. Some of the sites, and day use areas have amazing views. Others are back in the woods, a short walk to viewpoints.

 

 

 

 

[Newshoes]

2019 GMC Canyon duramax diesel (4cyl) 2019 Oliver Elite #431. En Route from Hoenwald TN to MD. 30 mpg not towing, 21 mpg with Oliver attached.[attachment file=165975]

[Newshoes]

 

[wolfdds]

Just returned from a two week trip down in the southwest, thought I might show a couple of campground pics. Thanks for looking.

 

What Campground were you at?

[routlaw]

@wolfdds

 

Sorry I've had some busy weeks lately and have not spent any time on any forums including this one. But to answer your question this campground is south of Moab on BLM land, called Windwhistle. It is small allowing for only about 15 sites ± and not all will fit RV's. This has to be one of the best well kept secrets in the area. Its just an awesome campground with host that have always been exceptional. Its reasonably close to many points of adventure, well as much as anything is in the deserts of Utah.

 

Happy Camping!

[hobo]

 

Somewhere along I-40 west, coming back from TN on the maiden voyage….. This is one reason we decided to call our new Elite II “Mouse”.

 

No license plate! We towed it bome without even a temporary and did not get noticed…. the gal at Oliver Trailers who was supposed to get the tag forgot. I don’t really recommend this.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

I can understand no one noticing the lack of a license plate.  When someone spots a UFO, they don't look for tail numbers.

[Steve-Gwenne]

 

Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola, Fl --- Feb 2019

 

Very near the National Naval Aviation Museum

[hobo]

Pretty cool mimicking the Blue Angels and flying your Ollie upside down.

 

 

[topgun2]

SGC - I got that nice Ollie flying right for you.

 

Bill

[DavidS]

We camped in in Goose Island Campground near Moab last week, and it was fabulous. This is a BLM campground, which means no hookups and no water; they provide a firepit, a picnic table, and pit toilets. They are also first come / first served, but we were fortunate to score a beautiful campsite right on the river.

 

One of the nice things about the Goose Island Campground that is right on the paved bike path along the river. I posted about this bike path two years ago, when we camped at another BLM campground seven miles further down the road.

 

This is boondock camping, and I learned more about power management on this trip.

Before we bought Ollie, I verified that the batteries would power the 900W microwave and our 900W toaster. These are important to my wife, and therefore important to me. There have been posts on this forum describing the microwave as a battery killer, and I was concerned.

 

We have the Blue Sky Solar system, and on previous trips I monitored battery use via the Battery reading on the See Level Monitor or the BATTERY VOLT/AMP screen on the Blue Sky remote. On this trip I cycled the controller the screens on the Blue Sky remote until I got to the BATTERY CAPACITY screen, and left it there. Now, I touch the button and I can see the battery capacity as percent remaining, i.e. 70% or 100% if full. (It sounds like you can get similar functionality with the Zamp Solar system by installing a Victron battery monitor.) When we used the microwave the battery capacity moved from 98% to 96%, which was okay by me. On future trips I will continue to monitor the batteries when we use the microwave. The sun was out for three of the four days on this trip, so solar charging was good. I did have a generator along as my “magical insurance policy,” but we did not need it on this trip.

 

Here are some picture of Goose Island Campground, as well as Arches and Canyonlands.

 

Edited February 5, 2020 by DavidS
Edit to repair links broken by website migration

[Rumline]

Last October we went to Great Sand Dunes National Park and stayed at their campground.  That late in the season we had no trouble getting a spot, and as a bonus it wasn't 100 degrees out either!

 

This was the view out our dinette window:

 

 

Good exercise!

 

[John E Davies]

 

Love that place! That is the White Rim Road down there along the cliff edge. Have you ever driven it? The east half along the Colorado River is by far the most stunning.

 

https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/whiterimroad.htm

 

Shafer Switchbacks, headed toward the east entry point to the WR, (very) downhill from the Canyonlands ranger station close to Moab.... 

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[DavidS]

Love that place! That is the White Rim Road down there along the cliff edge. Have you ever driven it? The east half along the Colorado River is by far the most stunning.

No, we have been to Moab many times but we have never had a vehicle suitable to drive into the canyon. We decided on our next trip to Moab to either rent a jeep or to go into the canyons with a tour company.

 

I have a colleague here who has ridden the White Rim Road on a mountain bike. He described it as an awesome experience. I think it took five days. I think it was Robert Pirsig who said in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance that it is always better to see the countryside from a bicycle than from a vehicle. You are closer, and moving more slowly. Walking is better than a bicycle, but maybe too slow for some things.

[Overland]

Great photos, David.  We're headed to Moab, Arches, etc. in two weeks.

 

John, we've reserved a couple of nights along the white rim trail.  Not taking the Ollie ;)

[SeaDawg]

Dave, beautiful photos! Thank you!

We were at the Arches last year, Mother's day weekend. Very long line and wait to get in.

It was very beautiful, and this is from a person who is NOT a rockscape lover. If you plan to be there on a holiday weekend, try to get a reservation ahead of time. Even the boondock/blm/free campsites outside the park were full. We had not really planned to be there over the weekend, but it worked out that way. We wound up staying the night in a town about an hour away... and glas for that.

Sherry

[DavidS]

Overland, if you're headed to Arches be aware of the long lines at the entrance station. On our arrival day, we drove past at 11 AM and there was a very long line. The week before we left there had been an article in the SLC newspaper about possibly an entrance reservation system. After arriving and setting up camp, we went for a bike ride and went into the park early the next morning. The NPS web site suggests "to avoid traffic, we recommend entering the park before 8 am or after 3 pm."

 

If you plan to be there on a holiday weekend, try to get a reservation ahead of time. Even the boondock/blm/free campsites outside the park were full.

I think that is true seven days a week during the spring. We arrived on a Tuesday in the morning and a lot of the campground sites were taken. Fortunately, there are a lot of areas with good BLM dispersed camping sites.

[John E Davies]

Teaser shots for a future thread. I am working on relocating my tongue cargo tray to the rear on a custom aircraft aluminum rack similar to the factory ones. I removed the top diamond plate cover to work on it, what a horrible job that was. It was pinched between the frame rails and the fiberglass of the body. It took me over three hours to get it off.

 

 

And yes the spare tire will be able to come off without disturbing the cargo rack, which is good news since it is going to bolted down solidly, no receivers on this one.

 

I got stalled out and need to go get some more materials Monday when the stores open. This stuff takes me so much longer than it used to when I was an active A&P. I have the skills but it seems my brain and fingers are not nearly as nimble. I get there eventually, I just wouldn’t make any money working at this slow rate.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[BackofBeyond]

What great pics David - just wonderful.

 

I love the Moab area, Arches, the whole area. The MTB riding is insane. A few years back,  I did a few miles in the slickrock site, its all rock, about 5 miles in, I thought, if I have "crash" something is gonna break, and its gonna be me. The ride back was somewhat slower and much more "careful".  I saw some off-road  jeeps and such in places I would NOT dare to drive.

 

Next time we go, I'll have the Ollie, and we will spend much more time exploring.

 

JD: I  feel ya. Seems I'm not as good once as I ever was..... some days, some projects - jeesh.

 

RB

[John E Davies]

Woohoo, nearly complete. I am waiting on some super reflective 3M tape to put on the rack, so it will stand out at night in traffic and when folks walk past it after dark. It would be a real knee knocker if you stumbled into it.

 

 

The spare tire can be removed without even unloading the tray, but I do have to unscrew and remove the big threaded rod so the tire can roll out to the side. Here is what excites me..... the old normal “loaded” tongue weight with the cargo tray on the tongue and all that stuff (one empty and two full jerry cans) was 720 pounds. Here is the new weight with that same load moved to the rear...

 

 

I’ll start a new thread on this when I have completely finished and tow tested “Mouse”.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[KWRJRPE]

Our first night in Hull #444, at Montgomery Bell State Park.  We are learning.