Oliver in the Wild: Making our way back to New Mexico
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- We left the Oliver factory in Hohenwald, TN and traveled to Millington, TN, just north of Memphis, for some work-related things for Kelly and to give Piccolino a little more of a shake-down cruise before pushing further west. We stayed on Naval Support Activity South-West at the Midway RV park for a week and enjoyed the benefits of being on base with the exchange, commissary, and fitness center close by. It also gave us an opportunity to do some personalization on our Ollie and meet up with an old friend.
From Millington, we moved west to Aux Arc Park (notice the play on words) in Ozark, AR. The weather didn't cooperate and we were stuck inside most of the day we spent there. We got a break in the afternoon and used it to walk around the park and watch the white pelicans swim and fly and towboats masterfully push barges into the Ozark-Jeta Taylor Lock.
Our next leg found us in the beautiful Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge staying at Doris Campground. Sadly, we only had one night there, so got an early start the next morning and took a hike up Little Baldy - a small rocky knoll in Oklahoma, not the 12,142-foot mountain in Colorado. It was the first hike we'd done since White Sands and, although a bit on the short side, we needed it!
Later that morning we were back on the road headed for TX. We were greeted by high winds and high temperatures, but the town of Levelland made for a great half-way point toward our final destination and the town offers a nice little park for RV'ers to spend up to three days without charge...with free water, electric and a dump station. What?! We got some delicious Mexican food from a local restaurant and enjoyed a beautiful sunset before turning in.
Our final leg put us back at Sunset Reef Campground, just south of Carlsbad, NM, where we'd been iced in (see previous video - We're Selling our Airstream) 38 days earlier. We'll continue our adventures from there next week. We hope to see you there!
Mainers in Georgia ! Travel safe
Thank you! We loved our travels in Georgia a few years ago. There were some beautiful state parks there.
“Respecting the law of gross ton-age” with the wildlife - good decision😂👍👍
Thank you. It felt like the better move in the moment 😉
You need Beddys for that bed!
Great minds…We actually got a set 😆.
Thank you
You are very welcome. The new video is uploading and should be available within the next hour. We hope you enjoy!
Haha! Law of gross tonage...that was wisdom, right there! Great video. Jane in SC❤🙏🐾
Thank you, Jane. He seemed content to keep grazing, so we were content to change direction 😉
Really love the Oliver but are they really worth the price?
Great question. Compared to comparably priced RVs (e.g., Airstream) they are absolutely worth the price as the build quality is the best we could find around this price-point. Of course, there are far less expensive options available, you just don’t get the same quality. The great thing about the current RV industry is there are numerous options at various price-points, so people can usually find one that fits not only their needs, but also their wallets.
Just subscribed to your page a few days ago and I’m enjoying it.
Chief? Retired Machinst’s Mate here. MM1.
Thank you. It’s great to hear from a fellow Sailor! I retired as an ATCS and been loving every minute of it! Cheers 🍻
New subscriber. I love all the dogs I get to meet. Stormy is a love bug, isn't he!
Thank you for watching! He is a complete love bug and a bit of a ham sometimes, but we love him.
Having twin beds in our Oliver we find bed making a snap. We’ve traveled 35k miles so far and love our trailer …aka Galway Girl.
#hull 505
Very cool! At 6’3”, I really like the extra space of the king-size bed. We have some Beddy’s coming in, so hopefully that will simplify things. Enjoy your adventures!
Stormy did not seem thrilled with his Hair modification lol
I guess we’re both too old for a man/pup-bun 🤣
How does your gas truck pull your Oliver? Does the RPMs scream pulling up inclines? How long can you stay off grid before draining tanks? Do you leave the Oliver alone off grid while going into town or trailheads, etc? Does it stay warm inside during the winter? Had any problems with pipes freezing while traveling? Can the solar panels and batteries keep up with demand (AC, etc.)? Wife and I want to live full time in an Oliver boondocking, hiking, etc. Have you had any issues with the Oliver so far? I saw some of the rough roads y’all went down in Alaska. Sorry for all the questions. Just trying to make the right decisions. Oh, I served onboard the USS Enterprise CVN-65 while in the Navy 1986-1990. I was a Machinist Mate down in #2 Auxiliary Machinery Room. We produced the potable water, heated water for the galley and hot showers, electricity, and distilled water for the reactors. My GQ station was down in Damage Control Central. I got to visit Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Africa, Brazil, and the Virgin Islands. I served in the Persian Gulf during Operation Praying Mantis on April 18th, 1988. Looking forward to your next video. Salute! 🇺🇸
Great to hear from another Sailor and I apologize for the delay in replying. Let's just say, "Life happens."
Our 6.2l gasser pulled the Oliver great and our new 7.3l does an even better job. Sometimes it does downshift pretty deep going up/down steep inclines, but that's the nature of gas engines and the 7.3l with the 10-speed transmission is a great combo. The 6.2l had fewer gears to choose from, so spun up more often than our current truck.
When boon docking, much depends on our own habits/needs. We have a composting toilet, so no black tank. Our grey lasts us about a week if it's just doing dishes and such, like if we're in a park with showers or in AK where we would use showers at roadhouses. If you're way out, you can just shower outside. The shower is the biggest user of water. When showering in the rig, we go down to only 3-4 days before needing to dump.
We frequently leave the Oliver alone when going out to explore our surroundings. We don't put a lot of energy in worrying about the remote possibility that it could be stolen or vandalized. That's what our insurance is for. Side note, in over two years of combined travels in two Airstreams and our Oliver, neither of these has happened.
We've comfortably camped in Piccolino in freezing temperatures, but only down to the mid-20s...so far. The only issue has been condensation, particularly along the aluminum frames of the windows. We've had no issues with anything freezing up, but have always kept the furnace on during these times. Our typical travel days are above freezing, often because we don't leave until late morning, but we do have the Truma antifreeze kit for our hot water and kept the furnace on during the few times we have traveled below freezing. No problems.
The solar/battery capability is very dependent on electrical use and weather. We don't run the A/C much on battery, we just move to a cooler climate :-) When it has been hot, we typically spent our time outside and maybe ran the A/C for 15-20 minutes before bed just to cool things off. In the desert, we only ran our generator a few times to top off the batteries after several days of rain/clouds, but typically had no issues. In Alaska last summer, it was very wet and cloudy most of the summer, so we did have to run the generator about once every 4-5 days if we weren't getting sun. Also, we carry a 230 watt solar suitcase to help keep things topped off. In a month in Mexico, we didn't use a generator at all. Lots of variables, but we've been happy with the setup.
Our issues with the Oliver have been fixed in the 2024 models. The touch lights and the fuse switch for the inverter were our two frustrating issues, but both have been changed for the 2024. We looked at the 2024 in Hohenwald recently and are jealous of the upgrades. There are a few areas we would like to see improvements, but overall we still believe it is the best trailer in its size/price-range on the market today.
I hope this information helps and that I've answered your questions. It's a big choice and this certainly isn't an inexpensive camper. Best of luck to you in whatever you choose!
@@HardAleeAdventures Excellent! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions so thoroughly. I’ll be following along on your future adventures. Have fun and safe travels. 🤘
@@FreeBirdUSA no problem! We’re happy to help and hope you enjoy your adventures in whatever camper you choose. 🍻
Great video! Congrats on your Ollie, we certainly love ours….Hull #732! 💗
Thank you! It’s great to be a part of the Oliver family and putting some miles on Piccolino.
And thank you for the helpful storage tips! You were a great resource as we were moving into our new Oliver!
@@HardAleeAdventures You’re welcome.❤️
Wichita Wildlife Refuge is our favorite place to camp in OK. May it is spectacular. Prairie dogs, elk, buffalo, wildflowers ❤️❤️❤️
So true. It was a very pleasant surprise. We just wish we could have spent more than one night there. It was completely booked at Doris Campground. Here’s hoping we can stay longer the next time our adventures take us through that way.
Following your travels in Piccolino. Fun times for sure. Cool location in OK. Seventeen days left and counting till delivery day for "Ollie-Haus", hull #1373.😃
An exciting time, for sure! We were completely surprised by the Wichita Mountains. Quite the hidden gem in OK. Cheers!
We have a campervan and our bed is a pain in the butt to make as well. We do the same with our travels, when we change RV’s we incorporate the places we’ve camped one night onto our map. We’re hitting Arizona and California this summer, next summer we’re driving from Texas all the way to BC, which I see you haven’t been to on your map. Definitely put that one on your bucket list. We flew up there once to visit my wife’s family but we’ll be RVing up there next year. I’m really excited for it! Safe travels!
The joys of small spaces 😉. We’ll be hitting BC on our way back from Alaska this fall. Super excited! It looks beautiful. We still haven’t decided if we’ll go to Vancouver Island, but the magic 8-ball says “highly likely.” Safe travels to you as well, and keep on adventuring!
You definitely want to hit the island!
@@davidfromtexas9681 thanks for the encouragement! We’ll add it to the “plan.” (Read as “point from which to deviate”) 😁
"ITS A dream to tow...less stress"...after watching your video on trading the airstream I guess this is the reason you traded.? I own a 32' 72' Land Yacht but plan on sticking it on a pretty permanent place here in Central Florida, with a seperate small building for a master bath, walk-jn closet, laundry and when I pull it out will stay in a comfy park with showers etc. Can you go over the floor plan differences on another video...? As I was signing off I heard you were in Guam/Saipan...I was in Guam working for Air Mike (Continental Airlines) B727 pilot in early 80's..flew to Saipan..etc...what do you do now/??
That was one of several reasons. Finding spots in more remote areas, more insulation for hot/cold weather camping, less “dentability” we’re some of the others. We actually thought about putting our Airstream on our property in Maine as a guest house/AirBnN, but didn’t want to deal with that stress. That’s why we sold the home we were in before hitting the road full time.
Yes, I spent three years attached to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 operating out of the Andersen Air Force Base. I retired from the Navy back in 2012, worked for Naval Air Systems Command as a civil servant for a couple years, attended grad school, worked for the VA for a couple years as a civil servant, then decided to enjoy my retirement and we hit the road full time last August.
Can’t speak for others but our Oliver #833 is a dream to travel in! The Oliver forum is full of great people who share their knowledge and how to repairs and mods on their trailers. Looking forward to your videos.
Thank you! We learned of the forum when we were first considering an Oliver and agree it has a ton of useful information. Between that and the Facebook pages, there is a wealth of information shared by the Oliver family of owners. Keep adventuring!
Nice to see a RV channel with an Oliver! I have done the factory tour, but no purchase yet. Wish they would make a new model that is 8 ft wide. Would like to see a video on what you have for storage on the truck. With a HD truck, I didn't even see a WD hitch. Hook up must only takes a few minutes. Safe travel.
Thank you! Yes, hook up takes only a few minutes and we definitely didn’t need a WD hitch. We did get a GenY torsion flex hitch and are loving it. It seems to smooth out the ride significantly. So far, even towing in high winds or not-so-good roads, we’re very happy with the set-up. Thanks for the suggestion. We’ll do tours of Piccolino (the camper) and ROAMN (the truck) in future videos. We’ll try to get footage this week, so would post it in a week or two.
😊
How is cooking and bathing in the oliver? Still on the fence about getting one
Great questions. Both are more challenging, but doable. The optional shower curtain/track keeps the “toilet” area dry and we find we actually have more room than in our previous Airstreams. Just have to change habits and we squeegee and wipe down the walls and floors after use. Leave the fan running for a bit with the window open and it dries out. Cooking is more challenging due to the limited space a small fridge. We do have a freezer in our truck, so that solves one issue. There is enough room in the pantry, cabinets, and drawers for everything we need, but no extra. We also find the two-burner stove top sufficient, but the orientation can be a bit of a pain at times. Certainly not a chef’s kitchen 😉. We’re finding most things just take a bit more planning. It’s a trade-off we were willing to make for the benefits we were looking for in a smaller rig. We’ll put up a video in the next few weeks that will show some of the solutions we’ve found for living tiny.
Nice vid! Just curious, what weather app were you showing?
Hi Sally. Great to hear from you! We were using The Weather Channel app and had it set to give us notifications for extreme weather in our current location. We hope your adventures are going well!
@@HardAleeAdventures thanks! I’m leaving Benson tomorrow and heading west to points unknown at the moment.
Congratulations on your new Oliver. We have a few questions: we are looking at Olivers, my husband is 6'2" and we are concerned about the length of the twin. Did you consider twin beds? How tall are you Jason? Safe travels.
Thank you! I am 6’3” and when I tried out the twin I was able to just fit, but my feet would touch the end. We went with the standard layout as we are full-timers and a comfortable night’s sleep always makes for better day’s adventures. If you’re considering the twin, I would recommend contact Oliver directly and see if they can put you in contact with an owner in your area with a twin, arrange to see it, and actually lay in it. It’s a big investment to take a chance on. I hope this helps.