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Aloha From Hawaii


Koakea808

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I am recently retired.  My wife and I have a dream to spend time traveling across the wonderful contiguous 48 states (the mainland) and maybe even eventually Canada and Alaska.  Being a Hawaii boy, I have not had much experience with the RV community. I can handle tent camping, but there are not many RVs in Hawaii.  I have been researching various RV trailers and really think the Oliver would work for us.  This forum has been great.

 

Three of our 4 children are currently on the mainland (one is still in college) so we are on the "pay for college first and then buy the Oliver" plan.  But before we take the plunge, we were thinking maybe we could experience an Oliver.  Does anyone actually rent Oliver trailers?  We are planning a trip to the St. Louis area in October 2019 to visit our son.  We are planning to stay a month and thought that might be a good time to spend a week in an RV to see if we can handle it.  Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.  Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much).

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Boy that’s a good question.  I had dinner with some of my wife’s family in STL this past weekend and they were telling me how they were going to rent an RV to try out before they bought. It’s a great idea and I’d strongly encourage it but I don’t know of anyone who rents out their Ollie. The problem of course is that we all like them too much - it would be like handing over your child to a stranger.  Of course there are plenty of owners who would love to show their trailers, but that’s not really the same.

 

What I can say, as a long time tent camper, is that traveling with an Ollie is far, far less trouble.  To give some perspective, my wife and I had a conversation the other night about making sure we do some tent camping away from the trailer at some point on our next trip just because we’re worried that camping has become too easy for us.  By we, I mean me of course. My wife seems to be O.K. with the whole comfort thing for some reason.

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Yes, as I read through the Forums, I get the distinct impression that people treat their Ollie's like their babies.   Who knows maybe there someone out there who is willing to take the risk.  Or maybe we could view an Oliver and rent a comparable sized RV.  And yes, I know my wife will really like the easy part of camping in an RV rather than tenting it.  Thanks for your input.

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Welcome, you aren’t going to find anybody willing to let you take their Ollie. They are just too special and unique. However, you might find an Ollie owner who would let you spend the night in the trailer, or at least a very long afternoon. I have shown mine a few times and I have always offered as much time as the folks want, I just go inside the house and let them kick off their shoes and hang out in it.

 

If you want to try a week of camping, my suggestion is to rent a compact motorhome in St Louis and head to the  Missouri Ozarks. You can try boondocking in the National Forests, full hookup state parks and even some upscale lakeside RV resorts. There is a lot of stuff in a fairly compact area. If touristy fluff interests you, Branson would be worth a visit. It would teach you how the RV systems work (they would be almost exactly what comes in an Ollie) and it would be a good way to get a taste of the lifestyle.

 

https://www.417mag.com/issues/october-2018/ozarks-camping/

 

If you have some trailer towing experience you could rent a small travel trailer, but you would have to borrow a properly equipped full sized tow vehicle. Would that possibly work? You can’t rent a truck and then go tow a travel trailer with it, as far as I know.

 

I would never recommend that somebody who has never RV camped jump head first into an expensive purchase like an Ollie unless they first tested the waters by renting some kind of RV for a week or two. You are very handicapped by your location but I think what you are contemplating could work. Regardless of what you decided in the end, that would be a fun week... if you can borrow some grandkids for the trip, it might be even better.

 

Have you contacted the Sales Dept or filled out a “See an Ollie” request? At the very least you could inspect one up close. ... http://olivertraveltrailers.com/see-an-ollie/field-visit-request/

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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Aloha and welcome! There was a short discussion years ago asking about Olivers for rent. I don’t remember it going too far, most of us aren’t out of them long enough to rent them. There are other RVs for rent and you can get an idea of the RV life, just not in an Ollie. There are lots of folks happy to show their trailer and spend whatever time you would need. While in St Louis you could take a few days and drive down to Hohenwald and talk to the crew and get a tour. It’s an eye opener!

 

We lived in Hawaii for a few years in the early 80’s, our son was born at Tripler. I worked up at Camp Smith. Great memories. Mike

Texas Hill Country | 2016 Elite II #135 | 2020 Ram 2500 6.7L

ALAZARCACOFLGAIDILKSKYLAMDMSMOMTNENVNMNYNCNDOHOKSCSDTNTXUTVAWVWYsm.jpgALAZARCACOCTDEFLGAIDILINIAKSKYLAMEMDMAMS

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808,

 

Let me add my Welcome to the others.  All good suggestions above - particularly the one about contacting the Sales Office at Oliver - see the "888" phone number at the top of this page.  There have been "on and off" discussions at the Oliver Company about rentals for situations exactly such as yours.  Perhaps, if you ask, you just might be the lucky people to get this program started!  Good Luck.

 

Bill

 

p.s.  I spent 25 years living and working in St. Louis - hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  But, still, a great family town.

2023 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5EB FX4 Max Towing, Max Payload, 2016 Oliver Elite II - Hull #117 "Twist"

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There's a newer website for listing and renting rvs and trailer direct from their owners, rvshare.com.

My sister and her husband thought they wanted a tab, but after renting one for a weekend, and camping on our NC property, they decided they wanted something a little bigger. They ultimately bought an rpod. They both still work, and really love our oliver, but don't want to invest in one, yet. That's in the future.

 

The good news is, you can find a variety of trailers to try, and some of the owners will deliver and pick up. So, you don't always

have to borrow a tow vehicle. But, you can discover some of the joy of trailer camping, and learn about rv systems.

 

Here's a link to st Louis area offering:

Rv share st louis

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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Thank you all for your suggestions and input.  There's a lot of good information to follow-up on.  A tour of in Holenwald would be very cool.  Maybe the Oliver company could set aside a trailer or two to rent to potential buyers.   They could have a trailer set up on site or at a nearby RV park, determine a fair daily rental fee.  It could be part of the promotional/advertising budget.  Mahalo again for your input and suggestions.

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