Oliver Service Camping Area

[Mattnan]

Yes it is getting cold.  We are leaving very early Tuesday morning.  Hopefully by 4 am.  Where are you folks headed this year?  

[Mcb]

SW Florida til the end of February, then out to AZ/NM for March.. back to Maine for Alewives early April….

Have a good Thanksgiving and Safe Travels!

[Mattnan]

If you want we should catch up. We will be in Naples prior to Christmas at Collier Seminole state park from there up the west coast to Oscar Shearer state park just north of Venice.  From there toward Destin area then Dauphin Island Alabama.  Then New Orleans, Austin, Waco, Ft Worth.  Then to NM AZ and Utah.  Then back on route 66 to OKC.  From there 40 to Memphis and Nashville then home by mid to late April.  Safe travels!!!

[Mcb]

Yup let’s do that.

Sounds like you’ve got a great winter ahead of you. We’ve spent time in Everglades City and Goodland in the past near CSSP..love that neck of the woods. You can get out in the Boonies really quick around there which is very cool..  
we are bouncing around between Sanibel, LGI, Brownsville and Nakomis, which is really close to Oscar Shearer. We will be there in February with visiting kids and grandkids from Maine before we head West… 

 

 

[Mattnan]

At the Oliver facility campground tonight.  Just pulled in.  We are the only one here so far.   Our Ollie goes in for service at 8AM. This is so nice. They even have a dump station.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate that Oliver did this.  I know it helps them with new trailer delivery too and not paying for David Crockett State park.  I don't care,  to have this after a 7 hour drive and to be so close for service is awesome.  Thank you Oliver.  The sites are nice and we hope to meet either a new owner or someone in for service when we pick up Tuesday afternoon.  We will be here again Tuesday evening. Before heading to South Carolina.  

[Time2Go!]

On 12/5/2021 at 6:05 PM, Mattnan said:

At the Oliver facility campground tonight.  Just pulled in.  We are the only one here so far.   Our Ollie goes in for service at 8AM. This is so nice. They even have a dump station.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate that Oliver did this.  I know it helps them with new trailer delivery too and not paying for David Crockett State park.  I don't care,  to have this after a 7 hour drive and to be so close for service is awesome.  Thank you Oliver.  The sites are nice and we hope to meet either a new owner or someone in for service when we pick up Tuesday afternoon.  We will be here again Tuesday evening. Before heading to South Carolina.  

Was there a fee for the overnight stay or was it included with your service appointment? We would be driving from TX and arrive late on Sunday for a Monday appointment that is supposed to take 2 days. Looking to stay overnight Sunday and again Tuesday after the work before heading home Wednesday morning.

Thanks for any info. 

[topgun2]

There is no fee.  However, you need to "reserve" a camping spot via the Service Department in advance.

Bill

[Time2Go!]

47 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

There is no fee.  However, you need to "reserve" a camping spot via the Service Department in advance.

Bill

Thanks Bill. We have reserved but forgot to ask about a charge.

[johnwen]

On 12/5/2021 at 7:05 PM, Mattnan said:

Before heading to South Carolina.

Where in SC?  We are in Pinopolis, by Lake Moultrie 🙂 

[Mattnan]

We arrived on a Sunday and had service Monday and Tuesday.  We picked up Tuesday afternoon and stayed at Oliver Tuesday evening .  No fee.  We found a hotel room for Monday night.  We went to visit my wife's family in Aiken for a few days. Stayed at Aiken State Park.  We are long gone now.  We are in Destin Florida now at Henderson Beach State Park after spending time in Naples, Marco Island and Venice.  Tomorrow we leave for Fort Pickens National Sea Shore.  Then to Dauphin Island, New Orleans, Austin, Waco, and Fort Worth on our way to the Grand Canyon and Zion.

[dewdev]

Matt

Did you make reservations at all those stops? How far in advance did you make the reservations?

[Mattnan]

Dewdev,

Any state parks in Florida especially those on the coasts need to be booked well in advance.  I made reservations in March and April and had very limited choices and in some instances needed to move sites within some of the campgrounds.  I believe Florida State Parks allow reservations at 11 months for out of state residents. You might want to check on this as I am not 100% sure.   The State Parks have been very full.  I believe Florida residents can reserve 12 months in advance. 

We are at Fort Pickens National Seashore tonight and tomorrow night.  This is a National Park by Pensacola Beach.   This is a really cool area.  The dunes and scenery in this park is just so different from Maine.  The campground is nothing special but the park and fort is very cool and worth the visit.  We have a good site, A 30.  This park is not great for big rigs due to over hanging trees and short sites.  Perfect for the Ollie. I wish we had a few more days here.  Florida parks fill up early. Also a lot of Canadians winter in Florida.  

We purchased the National Park Senior lifetime pass.  This is well worth it.  Free admission to the National Parks and 50% off camping at the National Parks.   They also provide 50% off at Core of Engineer Parks.  Our COE stays have run between $10 and $14 a night so far.  Generally they have been terrific parks.  We have  another COE coming up in Waco at the end of the month.  Our next 2 are at private campgrounds. 4 nights at Dauphin Island, Alabama and a week at French Quarter RV park in New Orleans.  Then McKinney Falls State Park in Austin TX. 

There are a lot of websites or apps for camping.  We have been using RV Parky.  We try to say in parks rated 4 stars or better.  I read the reviews and focus on the recent feedback. This may not be the best app but it is free.  We are currently have sites booked through early February.  I am concerned about the ability to get sites as we get near southern AZ,  Grand Canyon, and the National Parks in Southern Utah.  We will also look for some BLM sites in those areas.  I just haven't figured out our literary yet.  Today a park host mentioned a cool site east of Tucson where there are some caves etc.  We probably wouldn't have known to check this out.  I want to have some flexibility to check out some of these spots.

We recently had a good night at a Harvest Host in Tallahassee.  A classic car and collectables museum.  The museum was awesome.  The parking facility was good, 7 total RVs that night.   It was a bit noisy on a busy street right near I 10.  We knew about the noise when we booked it.  It was a good stop and are glad we stopped there. Harvest Host require reservations but I have been making these just a few days in advance.

The Oliver brings lots of interest.  Lots of positive comments.  1 or 2 folks have been a little over zealous.  One guy just had to stop us as we were backing into our site.  We asked him to wait but the second we got the Ollie backed in he was all over us.  No chance to unhook or set up.  He had no clue and asked if his compact station wagon could tow the Ollie. 

Most have been very cool and we are handing out brochures.  2 of our neighbors here are very nice and cool.  We are meeting some nice people and most have interesting stories and experiences to share.  

[dewdev]

Mike & Nancy:

Thanks for the info. That web site is great. Appreciate you adding that to your post.