When this primary season began, I never would have imagined that my vote in the South Dakota primary (June 3rd) would actually have a chance of mattering...



My South Dakota absentee ballot arrived this week, and is being sent off tomorrow.

Go Obama!

Cherie and I were amazingly compatible living together in my 16' clamshell Tab for seven months last summer, but we have on occasion craved a bit more space. Now that we are ramping up to hit the road again soon, it is time to consider - should we upgrade to a larger house??


Our clamshell Tab, looking gorgeous in the setting sun alongside Lake Meredith in the Texas Panhandle.

Last summer we stopped in to see the Casita factory, and we were extremely impressed by the design. The 17' Casita is not all that much bigger or heavier than a Tab, but it has a very compelling floor plan and it seems to be very well built.

Ever since, we've been contemplating an upgrade to a Casita. It would be a slightly larger and heavier trailer, but it would give us a LOT more indoor plumbing, and (perhaps more importantly) the ability to keep the bed set up separate from the table. The clamshell Tab is an absolutely brilliant design, but sometimes it is a bit awkward for two people who have offset sleep schedules...


The Casita is only a foot longer than the Tab, but is has vastly more interior space, including a bathroom and a shower...

One of the biggest things holding me back in getting a Casita has been fearing starting from scratch needing to do the customization and solar work to upgrade a Casita to fit our needs.

But a few weeks ago I started researching the relatively new Oliver Travel Trailer, and I just got the brochure in the mail a few days ago.

The Oliver has a very similar floor plan to the Casita, though it seems to be even more ingeniously designed. They have clearly put a lot of thought into building the ultimate small camper.

The most impressive thing though is that Oliver seems to be incredibly flexible in working with customers to customize and tweak their standard design, including doing the solar work for us. They will even mount cell phone signal boosters, as many power outlets as we want, and much much more.

I think I am starting to imagine an Oliver in our future...

Check out some awesome interior photos here.
And some exterior shots here.

To buy a new house or not, that is the question....