Hello from Tom & Holly in Central NY

[ADKCamper]

Hi! We are Tom & Holly from Central NY, and we just picked up our Legacy Elite (I) about a week and a half ago. So far we've enjoyed just 3 nights in our Ollie before we put it to bed for the cold & snowy Northeast winter!

 

We've both been hiking, canoeing and camping since forever under tarps, in tents and in a pop-up trailer. This is our first foray into a hard-sided camper with creature comforts so that's something of a new experience. Most of our camping has been in the Adirondack Mtns of northern NY and several other places in southern Ontario, Canada. We are expecting to revisit some old favorites and also to begin ranging further afield once spring arrives.

 

[dbp05ret]

Hi Tom and Holly,

 

We pick our Oliver up in 2 days (Dec 10). We come from similar backgrounds enjoying hiking and tent camping. This is our first RV and frankly we have lots of anxiety over pickup. It  will be 20 degrees overnight on Monday. Did you camp for a day in the Hohenwald area?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Darryl and Kim

 

 

[Mike and Carol]

Tom and Holly welcome! That’s a great looking trailer, too bad it has to sit all winter! Look forward to meeting you and seeing you out on the road. Mike

[ShallowGal]

It will be 20 degrees overnight on Monday. Did you camp for a day in the Hohenwald area?

 

Hi Darryl & Kim & welcome!

 

It was 9 degrees when we picked up our Ollie last January. After our Ollie Education, we set up at Fall Hallow Campground with help from Jason. Oliver had already winterized the camper so all we had to do was move in. It was toasty warm inside, but, I'll admit, I chickened out (FLA girl that had never been in weather that cold) & we stayed an extra night at the Fall Hollow B&B. (Awesome breakfast!)

<p style="text-align: left;">However, needing to get home, the next night we were in Alabama & the low was 19 degrees. My first night in our Ollie was delightful! Go for it!</p>

Chris

 

First day at Fall Hollow

 

[topgun2]

Tom & Holly -

 

Welcome to the family!  Way more comfortable, secure and easier to deal with.  I just got an email this morning from a friend a few miles north of you who told me the temp this morning was -5 and that came with 11 inches of snow.  I think that given that weather I too would pass on the camping for at least a few days.  Hopefully you can join many of us at the 2019 Owner's Rally in May.  Heck, by then you two should be seasoned Oliver travelers.

 

Bill

[topgun2]

Darryl & Kim -

 

Depending on how you plan on getting to Hohenwald - be very careful.  I assume that you are following the weather reports concerning the storm that is descending upon Western North Carolina as I type this.  I think that if your route is from the West, North or South you should be OK.  But, Sunday, Monday and early Tuesday just might be very difficult on interstate 40 east of Knoxville.  With temps forecast for Tuesday afternoon to be at or above 45 degrees, you should be OK then.  Be careful!

 

Bill

[ADKCamper]

Darryl and Kim,

 

No need for anxiety LOL.  Pickup was easy... just a lot of information to absorb in a short time. We skimmed through the online owners manual (under "Travel Trailers -> Oliver University" above) ahead of time so we had some context. We came with our own list of questions, and took notes as needed. Blake gave us a thorough hands-on walk-thru of the trailer's systems and we could ask as many questions as we needed to. We spent approx. 4 hours on the walk-thru in the garage bay at the sales office (as shown in the photo) so it was warm and dry with convenient restroom facilities.

 

There's a thread here somewhere about what to bring for pick-up. The trailer was pretty much ready to go as far as the basic necessities go. It came with 25ft of fresh water hose, water pressure reducer, 25ft shorepower cable, 15amp adapter, sewer hose kit with 2x 10ft of hose and related fittings, compact lug wrench, manual crank for the stabilizers and tongue jack (in case there is no power left in the batteries), full propane tanks and a winterized water system.

 

We elected to leave it winterized, but we did bring a couple of gallons of RV anti-freeze, a hand pump for the anti-freeze, and a 3ft section of hose to suck in anti-freeze with the pump in case we changed our mind. Obviously we needed our 2" hitch, 7-pin hookup and brake controller. We also brought & used some leveling pads for the stabilizers. The site was pretty level so we didn't need to level the trailer side-to-side. The has a somewhat higher coupler than the pop-up that we had been towing, so we came prepared with our hitch adapter configured (for our truck hitch height) with a 1" rise rather than our normal 2" drop. We came out pretty close to level!

 

And yes, we did camp overnight after pick-up. In fact, we planned on staying 2 nights in case we had factory service issues that needed to be resolved before we left, as we were not able to arrive  at the sales office until about noon. As it turned out we did have one minor issue that they couldn't easily resolve in the sales office garage bay, so they scheduled us for an 8am service appointment the next morning (as it was almost quitting time for the factory crew when it was discovered). We camped overnight the 1st night in the sales office parking lot so that we would be close to the factory the next morning (power, but no water... and 19 degrees! Not the most scenic site LOL but it made meeting our service appt the following morning much easier) . We've camped in tents below zero, and came prepared with a duffel of winter clothes in the truck "just in case", but the furnace performed well and we enjoyed 65 degrees all night long with normal bedding. Our issue was resolved the next day by Jason, Rich and the service staff at the factory.

 

The 2nd night we stayed at 1000 Trails Campground (about 20 min away and just off the Natchez Trace) for our complimentary campsite. This is a large campground that is somewhat wooded with lots of elevation changes. Quite a few year-round permanently installed RVs with open sites scattered around. The campground staff recommended several loops with open sites and told us to just pick one, so we found one that was easy to get in and out of for our first time maneuvering the trailer into a spot. It had power, water and sewer although we just used the power. It was warmer that 2nd night at 34 degrees. We could also have stayed at Fall Hollow Campground, which is closer to the sales office and much smaller, but we found 1000 Trails more interesting. Nice sunset too :)

 

 

[ShallowGal]

Darryl & Kim –

 

Depending on how you plan on getting to Hohenwald – be very careful.

Bill's comment reminded me, because of the snow & ice, the ONLY place open in Hohenwald was Walmart which is where we ate dinner. ;)

 

The Natchez Trace Parkway was also closed.

[ADKCamper]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome!

 

We've been following the forum vicariously for almost a year prior to pick-up and, like everyone else has mentioned, find it extremely informative, wide-ranging, and even amusing at times :)

 

Echoing several comments above - we live in serious snow country (averaging a little over 10ft / year, with even higher snowfall not too far from us), and have lots of experience driving in the snow. While we have no problem being adventurous in a suitable vehicle, I draw the line at towing a trailer in significant snow or (even worse) ice.

 

Watch the weather... be safe. Stay another night or two if you have to. "A bad day camping beats a good day at the office any time"

 

 

[snowlakemike]

Welcome to the Oliver family. Expect to draw lots of attention with your new camper as you travel about. We are often questioned, and once even followed into a campgrounds (where we were spending the night) by a huge very expensive Class A bus. The owner had been following us on the highway and just HAD to stop and see the Ollie up close.

 

My wife and I once lived up there in NY, in the Capital Region. While we enjoyed all that cold and snow as young (40ish) adults, there is no way in heck I could go back to it. Enjoy!