Trailer storage while on a trip and feedback on Harvest host.

[Mattnan]

Hi,  I am looking for help and feedback on a few items.

In very early December we will plan to leave our home in Maine and head south and then west returning to Maine in mid to late April2022.  We plan to go as far south as Naples Florida and through the southwest perhaps as far as Palm Springs CA.

So here are my questions.

---We have our Elite II scheduled for the "annual service" at Oliver.  We are scheduled on December 6&7.  This is at the very beginning of our trip and the items that will be checked over the almost 2 days in the shop seem extensive and complete.  I am looking for feedback from others that have had this service.  Please, if you are willing, share your feedback on this.  The service is not inexpensive but about what I thought it might cost.

---We have rented a house in Marco Island that will accommodate our entire family over Christmas.  Travel trailers and RVs are not allowed to be parked anywhere on the Island.  We have looked into this.  We are looking  for a reference for a safe place in Naples to park our Ollie for a week while we visit with the rest if the family.  We want to stay in the house we rented with everyone for the week.  We just need a safe place where we can park the Ollie and lock it up for a week.  I checked with Collier Seminole State Park where we stayed last year and they don't have a parking area.  I don't want to rent a spot in a campground and just leave the Ollie.

---We are going to join Harvest Host before we go.  In the past when we needed to cover long distance in a day we would drive 8-12 hours and park at Cracker Barrel grab dinner, sleep, grab breakfast in the morning and be on our way.  We will do this again on our way to Honnenwald this year.  After we get the trailer back from service my plan is to take a more leisurely approach and try to limit driving to 4 hours per day for most of the rest of our trip.  My questions are regarding Harvest Host-- if you like an area can you stay an extra day (owner permitting)  is this common?  If needed, do some HH allow hookup for basic 15 amp service.  We do have solar and do not anticipate any issues.  We know we should patronize these businesses.  I can see us stopping many a brewery, winery or distillery.  Some have pubs with food so this could be fun.  I am looking for feedback on the occasional extra night and electric.  Also overall HH experience.  I do not see us going for the golf course option.

Thanks for your feedback on these items, particularly if you have used these services!!

[hobo]

We have used Harvest Hosts on several occasions and in fact stayed at a couple of locations about 3-4 hours north of Hohenwald on the way to a from the factory.

One was Tennessee Valley Winery which we liked enough to return a second time.  It's literally only about 2 miles off of the interstate but secluded with a nice view of the Smokey Mountains.  John, the proprietor, has a 120V plug and water if you want it (no charge).  I think he'll also let you stay more than one night assuming he's got space.

There is another vineyard  close by which is very nice too.  I forget the name right off hand though.

HH sites are not intended for hookups or multiple night stays but each location is different so you may be offered some amenities for a small charge or for free.  We've had both.

We find the HH system to be quite useful and thus far, have had zero issues.  Beats hanging out in a Walmart or Cracker Barrel parking lot. 

You are encouraged (expected) to support the host by supporting the business while there.  Drinking wine or beer and having some good "eats" is not too much of a burden on us.

I think as you head west, you will find fewer locations than on the east coast.

 

 

 

[DavidS]

1 hour ago, Mattnan said:

---We have rented a house in Marco Island that will accommodate our entire family over Christmas.  Travel trailers and RVs are not allowed to be parked anywhere on the Island.  We have looked into this.  We are looking  for a reference for a safe place in Naples to park our Ollie for a week while we visit with the rest if the family.  We want to stay in the house we rented with everyone for the week.  We just need a safe place where we can park the Ollie and lock it up for a week. 

We had a similar situation two years ago. We were traveling to Jalama Beach County Park campground (Nice Park!) in California for a family reunion. After that we planned to stay with friends who live in downtown San Luis Obispo. Although SLO is a small city, there are parking meters in front of their townhouse, making it impossible to park there with our trailer. We also wanted to disconnect the trailer so that we could take a day trip to Cambria, CA where my father-in-law grew up to visit some cousins there. 

I looked online and found one RV and Boat Storage place; however, they did not respond to any of my phone messages or emails. At that point I posted a message on the Fiberglass RV Forum explaining our problem and asking for suggestions. (I used the FGRV Forum because it has a much larger audience than the Oliver Forum.) 

In addition to a couple of suggestions on where to park, one kind person offered to allow us to store our Oliver for three nights at their house near Pismo Beach, which is about 12 miles from SLO. The Pismo Beach storage worked out well, and we were quite happy to provide a thank you gift to our hosts. 

Edited March 29, 2021 by DavidS

[SeaDawg]

I checked with a neighbor who used to live on Marco about storage. Unfortunately,  they didn't have an rv then, just a boat.

I did notice a farm site listed probably 40 miles away on Harvest Host. Maybe you could check about storage there, and camping on the way down? I'm not a hh member, so I  could only see the general location...

[Ken_Judy]

Talk to a marina manager.  You could rent a boat slip and then be able to have a parking space to park the Oliver

Edited March 31, 2021 by Ken_Judy
Better thought

[gatorewc]

We had the full service done in Feb. 2021 and were very pleased with the service.  Even though our Ollie was only 7 months old we wanted to get on a winter rotation of yearly service and we had a few issues that needed to be fixed from our pick up in July 2020.

We had 2 drawers that were not smooth operating and the access port cap on the curbside bed would not line up.  The threads on the cap and the port were slightly warped and impossible to screw closed once opened.  They  replaced the access port with a new 2021 model port which is a quarter turn type closure.

The service was all caulking, lubing valves, testing gas fittings, testing water connections and pump pressure, and axle greasing and repacking bearings.  ( I may have forgotten something since I do not have the ticket in front of me)  Our total bill was $1,138.  We have had $70 bucks of shop supplies or other charges included with that.  All of the warranty work was not charged.

I am sure that a person with knowledge in the appropriate areas could do the work on their own and save the money.  I know I am a great helper doing almost anything but not totally confident in doing something on my own, so it was worth it to me to have Oliver do the work.  I did purchase a premium camper that I intend on using for many years and just figured this is an expenditure that is worth it to me yearly.

I will say that I have read where some new owners have had some issues with quality and not pleased with problems during there break-in periods, and I fully understand their frustration.  Sherry and I have been extremely happy in the quality of our Ollie.  The 2 issues we had were fixed when we brought it back in and the time the service people talked with us was great.  I will tell you the feeling I had when I drove away was not the same feeling I have when I have left other camper repair shops. 

Hope this helps!

 

 

[JRK]

I will also look for the maintenance review, and what is done. 

Harvest Host-I stayed at several on my drive home. None had any utilities available. No water. No electricity. No dump station. They were fine places, but were parking lot spaces, similar to Cracker Barrel. Two were museums. One a golf course. Harvest host was not a focus for them. Not a complaint. I think it was great. Nice museums. Discounted entrance for being old, veteran, aarp, aaa, or?  Interesting learning experiences. Thankful that they allowed a portion their parking lot to be used. I don't carry golf clubs, and not required to play. 

[Mcb]

While we weren’t near Naples, while in Fl we stored our E2 at an IStorage place.. we checked out the place and felt the security was good, so we went with it. We swung by every now and checked in..we were happy with how things went. 
 

We will be rolling back home to Maine tomorrow having been out and about since November.. Great experiences with HH, everything from Dairy Farms to Diner parking lots. There are places out there with power and water, usually for a fee.. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for town, city, or county parks offering overnight camping...We had good experiences with them as well..

sounds like a really great trip! Have a blast!

 

 

[Mattnan]

I think we solved temporary storage issues with a boat and rv storage place in Naples.  Thanks for all of the feedback.  MCB Safe travels home.  We look forward to hearing about your trip.