Looking forward to the next chapter

[Two Stooges]

Greetings fellow Oliver enthusiasts, haven’t ordered my Elite II yet but still in the planing stages. I have 4 years, 3 months, 8 days and 6 hours till I retire. LOL. (Not that I’m counting down or anything!) My last “RV” was a Cruising Power Catamaran that I explored up and down the east coast. Looking forward to traveling on land with the Admiral and seeing more of our beautiful country. We currently reside in Maryland on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Anyway, thanks for having me and I am looking forward to the next Journey. Cheers! 

[Mike and Carol]

Welcome!  Retirement comes quickly.  Enjoy the time planning for your upcoming Oliver and ask any questions you may have.  Mike

[topgun2]

I spent some summers of my youth at a Boy Scout camp on the Chesapeake Bay and learned to sail there - a beautiful part of our country.

Glad to have you here and it really is not too early to gather info, plan your Ollie and even start planning your adventures.  Please let us know if we can help.

Bill

[Guest]

You have a great plan! My wife, Carrie, and I put a lot of thought into a travel trailer versus a sailing vessel. We would have loved continuing to explore the coastal regions (mostly the Puget Sound).  However, we ultimately decided on an Oliver. We have our order in with a pick up date early September.  It is a very exciting time! 

[John Dehne]

Welcome! We live in Maryland, Northern Carroll county. We split out time at Ocean City and our Oliver. Retirement  will come fast, almost one year for me. Had a count down app on my phone and when I had a rough day at work it was nice to watch the time pass. I did love my job. You can’t go wrong with the Oliver built like a boat. Very high quality. Hull 901 Chris and John

[topgun2]

19 minutes ago, John Dehne said:

We split out time at Ocean City

This thread is like a trip down memory lane for me !

Caught my first marlins (one blue and one white on the same day) out off the Baltimore Canyon from Ocean City.  Thrasher's french fries on the boardwalk.  Flounder fishing and crabbing in the bay.  Digging for cherry clams with my toes (couldn't afford a clam rake) in the mud flats.  Crab cakes in a little dive bar in Suicide, MD.

So many places to explore in that Oliver and add to the great memories.

Bill

[ChrisMI]

13 hours ago, Kirk Peterson said:

You have a great plan! My wife, Carrie, and I put a lot of thought into a travel trailer versus a sailing vessel. We would have loved continuing to explore the coastal regions (mostly the Puget Sound).  However, we ultimately decided on an Oliver. We have our order in with a pick up date early September.  It is a very exciting time! 

You need to talk to @SeaDawg, no reason you can’t do both 😉!

[SeaDawg]

1 hour ago, ChrisMI said:

You need to talk to @SeaDawg, no reason you can’t do both 😉!

@ChrisMI, we do manage to keep and enjoy both, but I will say that the boat requires far more time and maintenance than the trailer. And, $$$. And, as we get a bit older, the sailing itself is much more challenging physical work. We'll keep both as long as we can use and enjoy them both, and continue to upgrade the boat to make sailing easier.

There are many Ollie owners with both, and others who have moved from boating to the Oliver, as we've/they've learned the advantages and longevity of well built fiberglass hulls.

I count us very lucky, in this respect.  Double lucky, we enjoy the company, camping and sailing, with another younger couple we met with an Oliver, over  decade ago. We've enjoyed a lot of sailing adventures,  and also Ollie land miles with them, and they're  like family to us. And, another younger friend who is like family, too, who enjoys both sailing and camping, and helps us with the boat locally, and tent camps with us. All three are experienced blue water sailors, as are we .

Camping and rving, imo, is far easier than sailing, from many perspectives.  But, you're right. You don't always have to choose.  We did 150+ days in the camper last year, probably only 45 or 50 days on the boat, but boat maintenance was probably 2 to 3 times the hours and dollars to the Oliver. And, even for us retired folks, there's only so much time available for both/each. And, we're lucky,  again, that over 30 years ago, we bought a home for us, with a protected dock for the boat. It would break my heart if my backyard view didn't include our boat.

Sometimes, you have to just pick. I totally get it. I'm hoping we don't have to make that choice anytime soon.

 

 

 

[dewdev]

Two Stooges

Welcome to the Oliver Form. Retirement is great, but I am actually busier than I was when working. This is a great place to learn from the experiences of existing Ollie owners prior to your purchase. Also check out the Oliver University forum prior to purchasing for more information. 

As a former boat owner, I do miss sleeping to the sound of the water/ocean. Never-the-less, I no longer have any boats and now have a different toy, my Ollie, for us to go camping in. The decision to only have a land boat was the right decision for me.

Just remember that presently there is around a 10 month wait from the time you order a Oliver to when you take delivery. Getting the Ollie prior to retiring gives one time to see what you need for traveling after retirement.

 

[Guest]

For us, we felt like we had to make a choice. While we could have sailed, it was such a large time and monetary commitment. We would have had to come up with an entirely different plan, especially given that we live in south central Idaho. Unfortunately, there just isn't enough time (and money 🙂) sometimes.  We are both very excited about the path we have chosen! 👍

[Rpopp]

Welcome Two Stooges,

I retired at the end of 2020 and the time flies. We live in Calvert County so if you want to see an LE II let me know. I also volunteer at the Calvert Marine Museum for the Patuxent Small Craft Guild and am convinced I will never own a boat 🙂

[Two Stooges]

Thanks for the warm welcome folks. Having owned 5 or so boats and having worked on the water for a few years (I’m a licensed USCG Master) I am ready to see what’s between the coasts. I tend to over research my toys but I like the simplicity of the Oliver. No slides, no engines, no leaks, less maintenance overall. Also really love the resale value of these trailers, its unique among RV’s. I’ve checked boat ownership off my list and ready for the “Next Thing”. I am sure Ill be asking more questions as my quest continues. Cheers S 😎

[John E Davies]

55 minutes ago, Two Stooges said:

Thanks for the warm welcome folks. Having owned 5 or so boats and having worked on the water for a few years (I’m a licensed USCG Master) I am ready to see what’s between the coasts. I tend to over research my toys but I like the simplicity of the Oliver. No slides, no engines, no leaks, less maintenance overall. Also really love the resale value of these trailers, its unique among RV’s. I’ve checked boat ownership off my list and ready for the “Next Thing”. I am sure Ill be asking more questions as my quest continues. Cheers S 😎

Welcome, Ollies are the best travel trailer for less than $100k, without a doubt, and the customer service is stellar. However, what is your budget, and are you committed to a trailer? Do you want to boondock in the back country? If you have not already, you should check out the “next level up” campers, like Nimbl, EarthCruiser, or even the very custom expedition rigs like Earth Roamer. Their over the top engineering, build quality and integration of high end marine systems will please you. The standard RV appliances in an Ollie are functional, but they are neither efficient, easy to service nor long lasting. The suspension and brakes , ditto. I love “Mouse”, but if I win the lottery it will be up for sale the next day.😬

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Cameron]

Hi Two Stooges,

I also was going to wait until I retired to get the Oliver, but changed my mind and got it now. I was three years out from retirement when I bought it. I decided not to wait for a few reasons:

1. trailers keep getting more expensive

2. i'd rented a couple trailers on Outdoorsy and it killed me to pay that money when I knew I'd eventually have my own trailer

3. i wanted to stage it in the mountains at a friend's place and use it as a tiny home for weekend getaways

One one hand, I can't use it nearly as much now when I'm still working vs. when I'm retired. On the other hand, I'm getting plenty of enjoyment even on my limited schedule.