New news - FB users and the forum

[BackofBeyond]

For those that use FB, Oliver has made an interesting announcement on that platform. . Soon to be posted here - on the forum.  I won't front run Mat Duncan. 

I know many have left the FB - for many reasons- not all political!!!  Regardless of why - I redid my presence there  - to reflect minimum contact- in order to keep up  with  a few boating groups that are important to my sporting life. 

My point here - Oliver web masters - FB does not reflect the current favor of discerning Oliver owners - hmmm. Well ok, those of us with different opinions.😁

Thank You All.

RB

Edit - See - no diatribe on the corruption of culture and misplaced influence -  Ha - Rather than being the product  - here on the forum - we are actually a tiny dotted line on a distant arm of  the Oliver org chart - sort of distant cousins ....

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by BackofBeyond
for the fun of it

[Frank C]

I'd like to see a forum page and/or Facebook page option that limited members to actual current verified Oliver owners for discussion of mods, experiences, problem solving, etc.    I still think that both this forum and the Facebook page have many members that are just trolling (Airstream owners? 🙂), or scammers looking for personal info, because a lot of people, despite cautions, still will list their personal phone numbers or e-mail addresses in their posts.   

I do give a lot of credit to the Oliver owners for their patience in answering the endless repetitive questions from potential owners and newbies.  "Is the Oliver better than Airstream?", "Can I tow the Oliver with a 1976 Ford Pinto?", "Should I get the composting toilet?", "How do I winterize?", etc.  I belong to a few other FB pages and web forums for various pieces of musical gear/recording studio equipment, and the users are merciless when a newbie asks a question about something covered in the manual or a topic that's been discussed endlessly.   RTFM is a very common response.  🙂

Edited February 23, 2021 by FrankC

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, FrankC said:

I'd like to see a forum page and/or Facebook page option that limited members to actual current verified Oliver owners for discussion of mods, experiences, problem solving, etc.  

I agree wholeheartedly. There seems to have been a huge increase of “new shopper” and “simply curious” threads and comments, which is NOT a bad thing! It was bound to happen as these wonderful trailers become less of a mystery to the general public - last year the “is that was some kind of Casita?” question I kept getting was replaced by “is that an Oliver?”

There should also be FAQ threads stickied at the top of each sub-forum to collect some basic information, because Search is a problem. I still can’t find stuff!

There should be a Bookmarks page accessed at each member’s page where that member can add links to a thread he started or to a specific comment in another member’s thread. I managed to create my own locked (no comments) page with the help of moderators, for my How To articles, but this should be easy for everyone to do.

But OTH I would love to be able to operate inside a more protected layer, a sub-forum where those newcomers do not totally dominate the conversation by asking about fabric choices, delivery day, full timing, off topic, or general RV subjects that can be answered with a simple YouTube search. Make this protected Owners Forum readable by everybody, so the knowledge is shared, but only actual or ex-owners can start a thread and post comments there. Newbies would still be free to ask or comment directly by using Messages. Please, please!

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by John E Davies

[BackofBeyond]

1 hour ago, FrankC said:

I'd like to see a forum page and/or Facebook page option that limited members to actual current verified Oliver owners for discussion of mods, experiences, problem solving, etc.    I still think that both this forum and the Facebook page have many members that are just trolling (Airstream owners? 🙂), or scammers looking for personal info, because a lot of people, despite cautions, still will list their personal phone numbers or e-mail addresses in their posts.   

I do give a lot of credit to the Oliver owners for their patience in answering the endless repetitive questions from potential owners and newbies.  "Is the Oliver better than Airstream?", "Can I tow the Oliver with a 1976 Ford Pinto?", "Should I get the composting toilet?", "How do I winterize?", etc.  I belong to a few other FB pages and web forums for various pieces of musical gear/recording studio equipment, and the users are merciless when a newbie asks a question about something covered in the manual or a topic that's been discussed endlessly.   RTFM is a very common response.  🙂

FrankC:

interesting slant on the issue. I must admit - at times I shared several of your thoughts - and I usually tack back to - maximum participation - protected as much as possible from the scammers and  evil doers. Here - I must give credit - to the team-  of one?  = J Walmsley. An excellent job sir. Whether here or elsewhere - people need to learn how to post safely. 

Although I have been known  to mutter under my breath - RTFM - (Read the Fruitful Manual - no?) In the end this forum is a perk of Oliver ownership - current and  future - and thus I am bound by a decorum of be nice.... Let the SOB'ers drool and stew - the overall feedback here is positive, fruitful, and entertaining.  I appreciate moderator tolerance and Oliver's support. Let them all in - at FB expense.... 

RB

JD's comment prompted me to add - I often learn something when knowledgeable Oliverites answer mundane, banal, or simple questions - I remain a let them all in - the water is fine.

Edited February 23, 2021 by BackofBeyond

[dewdev]

John:

Your idea has merrit.

I was able to find my 2018 Oliver this past December by having access to the forum Classified section. It would be a shame for non-Oliver owners to be shut out to the Classified section and would limit how present owners can sell their Olivers after they no longer want to own.

The forum is an excellant tool to be able to maintain your Oliver and how things operate. I only wish it had a spell check function.

RB is correct that people need to read their Owner's manual (paper copies or on the Oliver University forum page) before asking questions.

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by dewdev

[Frank C]

8 minutes ago, BackofBeyond said:

RTFM - (Read the Fruitful Manual - no?)

 Yes, several polite translations of that.  "Read The Fantastic Manual", or "Read The Full color Manual".  😄

[John E Davies]

8 minutes ago, dewdev said:

I was able to find my 2018 Oliver this past December by having access to the forum Classified section. It would be a shame for non-Oliver owners to be shut out to the Classified section and would limit how present owners can sell their Olivers after they no longer want to own.

Classifieds should be open to all, I agree. As long as it doesn’t start to be overwhelmed with non-Ollie related stuff, like “seeking a new home for my cockatiel”...😬 that sort of thing should be dumped by a moderator.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Overland]

Interesting comments.  I agree that the forum would benefit from having a FAQ section of some sort to answer common questions.  I think that in itself would/should cut down on a lot of the repetitive discussion.  I've felt for a while that a simple list of links to Important Topics could be easily maintained once it's set up, and would serve the purpose of a FAQ probably better than a FAQ itself could.  Perhaps a separate one for each forum area.  I've just been too lazy to create one myself, and uneager to suggest it since that's just an invitation for the assignment.  🙃

But I don't think that segregating the forum in any way is advisable.  I think all you have to do is look back at the number of topics that each of us participated in before putting down our own deposits, and that should be evidence enough to halt that discussion.  At the end of the day, if you don't want to read whether or not someone can tow their trailer with two mules and a large dog, you don't have to click on it. (A: Inadvisable on mountain passes.)

Since I don't follow the Facebook stuff, I have to admit that Russell's post might as well be written in Aramaic, since I don't understand a single sentence of it.  But I gather that there's drama somewhere on Facebook?  I won't pretend to be shocked.

Edited February 23, 2021 by Overland

[Airedales]

12 minutes ago, Overland said:

“tow their trailer with two mules and a large dog”

Can you?...😳...hahaha... now thats a interesting topic... Do I need a Anderson hitch....

[SeaDawg]

7 minutes ago, Airedales said:

Can you?...😳...hahaha... now thats a interesting topic... Do I need a Anderson hitch....

Probably my smaller Elite, but I  think the Elite II might require oxen. An Anderson yoke?

[topgun2]

For those that may not have stumbled upon it - there already is a FAQ section here on the Owner's Forum.  Yes, it could be improved but there are some things there.

See:

Oliver FAQ

Bill

[John E Davies]

12 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

Oliver FAQ

I actually meant multiple Forum FAQs, not a Sales FAQ. For member discussions here,

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

The best boss I ever had shared this advice with me, "Talk to your people ever day. And listen. You can learn something every day, from anyone. The newest and least experienced guy in your group may just have a new insight or a great idea."

I  tried to follow that advice. And, I  still do. 

Personally, I  welcome the questions from new members, even if the question has been asked before.  I don't mind looking up old threads, and adding links, either. Some people don't have the same skills, or time, that others do. 

I also very much appreciate the input from older members, who are so generous and kind  with their responses,  time, experience, and expertise.

All if this is why, in my opinion, we have the best forum. It's welcoming, and interesting. And quite often fun.

I will open a discussion on FAQ on the moderators' forum. Maybe a group of pinned topics could be helpful. We'll see.

Sherry 

 

 

[Ray and Susan Huff]

3 hours ago, John E Davies said:

There should also be FAQ threads stickied at the top of each sub-forum to collect some basic information, because Search is a problem. I still can’t find stuff!

There should be a Bookmarks page accessed at each member’s page where that member can add links to a thread he started or to a specific comment in another member’s thread. I managed to create my own locked (no comments) page with the help of moderators, for my How To articles, but this should be easy for everyone to do.

 

Thanks @John E Davies . . . . . Yes to both of these . . . . Search is mostly hit and miss for me and Bookmarks would be great.  The closest I can come to a bookmark is to "follow" a topic.

 

[Mattnan]

I am looking for a new tv,  anyone know where I can find that '76 Pinto?

I don't go on Facebook or instaface or snapwaggon. (Thanks Belichick) I did ask my wife to show me the Facebook announcement.  I have no issues with what they are proposing.  They have already been solicited by someone looking for a deal on an Ollie if they provide content.  I guess that is social media marketing.  

I like this Forum and the only other  other Forum (Downeast Boat Forum) that I belong to because they are well moderated, informative, and leave politics, religion, self promoting influencers, and drama off of the site.  I hope this Forum continues in that vein.

So what do you think about the 76 Pinto as a tv???

Edited February 24, 2021 by Mattnan
Spelling

[xmavrick]

I have to agree the site lacks search and book mark features resulting in a lot of repetitive questions and frustration on the part of current owners who prefer to discuss the latest mods they just performed, its interesting to see how ingenious owners of these trailers have become, but on the other hand how much did you know when you purchased your first travel trailer? I agree youtube  can answer just about every question about RV life and provide product reviews on a broad number of RV must haves, but all of this can overwhelm a newbie! Understanding weight distribution and how it affects towing, what size TV will best fit my needs, understanding solar and battery power management, composting toilets are just some topics better left to google search and youtube! I have never owned a trailer or towed one but I feel confident reading topics from this site will always benefit my RV travels.

[Frank C]

7 hours ago, Mattnan said:

I am looking for a new tv,  anyone know where I can find that '76 Pinto?

Here you go.  I think the wagon version is much better suited to camping. 🙂
 

[SeaDawg]

8 hours ago, Mattnan said:

So what do you think about the 76 Pinto as a tv?

I know this will be a serious disappointment,  but the 1973 specs (with tow package) only allowed 100 lbs tongue weight, and an 800 lbs tow rating. 😅

 

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by SeaDawg
Add photos

[John E Davies]

1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:

I know this will be a serious disappointment,  but the 1973 specs (with tow package) only allowed 100 lbs tongue weight, and an 800 lbs tow rating.

A 2100 pound car with about 80 bhp .... that sounds optimistic. I sure would not like to tow more than 2000 pounds with only drum brakes on any TV. Ford started installing them in the F series trucks that year, what a significant upgrade that was! Towing capability has come a long way, up to 11,300 pounds for a new F150. 

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited February 24, 2021 by John E Davies

[Mainiac]

The best boss I ever had shared this advice with me, "Talk to your people ever day. And listen. You can learn something every day, from anyone. The newest and least experienced guy in your group may just have a new insight or a great idea."

I usually learn something new everyday. It is what I learned yesterday, was wrong!

[LongStride]

As it pertains to newbies queries, let me offer this...

I come from a family of tent campers.  Travel trailers are a totally new thing to me.  I have learned a great deal on this forum, mostly by reading responses to questions posed by others.  I found this forum to be an invaluable tool in helping me make decisions regarding my model choice and my tow vehicle choice as well.

If not for the patience and understanding of the members of this forum in dealing with newbies questions, many of us may have become frustrated and made uneducated choices.  

In general, I have a rabid dislike of social media and have thus far avoided FB since its inception.  

This is the first forum that I have ever joined.  Since being here, I have not encountered anything that I found to be sketchy, arrogant, or rude.  Just nice helpful folks.

I am grateful to all of you, and special thanks to the moderators who somehow manage to keep junk and morons out of this forum.

[Frank C]

34 minutes ago, LongStride said:

As it pertains to newbies queries, let me offer this...

I come from a family of tent campers.  Travel trailers are a totally new thing to me.  I have learned a great deal on this forum, mostly by reading responses to questions posed by others.  I found this forum to be an invaluable tool in helping me make decisions regarding my model choice and my tow vehicle choice as well.

If not for the patience and understanding of the members of this forum in dealing with newbies questions, many of us may have become frustrated and made uneducated choices.  

In general, I have a rabid dislike of social media and have thus far avoided FB since its inception.  

This is the first forum that I have ever joined.  Since being here, I have not encountered anything that I found to be sketchy, arrogant, or rude.  Just nice helpful folks.

I am grateful to all of you, and special thanks to the moderators who somehow manage to keep junk and morons out of this forum.

We always welcome newbies with a legitimate interest and questions  (we were all newbies at one point).  🙂  This forum helped many of us make our buying decision.  And yes, a big thank you to the moderators here for keeping this site pretty focused.    

[BackofBeyond]

1 hour ago, LongStride said:

As it pertains to newbies queries, let me offer this...

I am grateful to all of you, and special thanks to the moderators who somehow manage to keep junk and morons out of this forum.

Yes thanks to the Moderators - I have been called a moron - a time or two.(I can be hard on myself) With out great moderators - well, moderate on...

And all this Pinto stuff is hard - taken subjectively - I could make a case for towing an E-I -  no - wait that was the sales guy at the local truck place.....

[Fritz]

I too appreciate that the forum has been open to non-owners.  I've benefited immensely from the information that has been posted over the years, and from your willingness to answer questions (both on the forum and via PM)  as I prepared our build sheet.  Thank you to Oliver for hosting such a clean site, to you (the participants) for your ongoing contributions, and to the moderators for many hours spent keeping the forum friendly and on track.

Now, back to the thread ...        Stock Pinto? -- perhaps not so much.  But what about a slightly modified version?

[Ray and Susan Huff]

4 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

I know this will be a serious disappointment,  but the 1973 specs (with tow package) only allowed 100 lbs tongue weight, and an 800 lbs tow rating. 😅

 

 

As a teenager, we had a Ford Country Squire station wagon (like the one shown in the lower right of the pic above).  It must have been as long as our F-350 pickup!  It had a huge fuel tank - I remember filling it up and it took $10 worth of gas . . . . What was gas then . . . . . 30 cents a gallon or less?  I'm sure it would have pulled an Ollie . . . . but probably only got 6 mpg.

Wouldn't this look great with an Ollie in tow?

 

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Ray and Susan Huff