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I have extended the awning out a few feet during rains with no issues, the only benefit to be able to keep the windows cracked for fresh air. I really like the CGEAR sand-free mat for a porch treatment. I have even hosed it down a few times with no mud problems, and routinely use the blower to clean leaf and other debris. I place a neoprene mat at the foot of steps, as well.

All good points @FloraFauna couldn't agree more.

The height of my new shop door is exactly 10’ and with a little gain by the Atmos 4.4 a/c there is clearance, but not much. Gonna have to get up there and take an exact measurement before a spring upgrade. Thanks for your response!

Living and camping in Wisconsin and Michigan, I completely agree with your post. See my recent post concerning that big hole in pre-2024 Olivers for the refrigerator venting. I also agree with your comments concerning the Imperial Outdoors' trailers. That said, I decided I am too old to want to camp out in 10 degree and below weather 99.99% of the time - might have been ok when I was 30 years old. The logistics of winterizing and dewinterizing make winter camping less desirable for me. Running and heated water is important to us. And we just don't want to be sitting around the outdoor campsite at 20 degrees nor cooped up in the trailer for any extended time. Even my dogs agree. So, the Oliver works for us and probably most folks, even though it is not a true 4-season camper in my part of the world.

Had problems with trying to include my DIY attachment. Trying again. GJDIY - Dexter EZ-Flex Center Bolt Spline Repair (20 APR 2024).docx

DIY - Dexter EZ-Flex Center Bolt Spline Repair (20 APR 2024).docx Yes for splined bolts you MUST do so. Yes, that "someone" was me. Here is my DIY to fix it. Hex Bolt Capture Washers. Only alternative solution would be to replace the tangs and that is much more invasive than the capture washers. GJ

That would be Geronimo John. See this thread for “Hex Head Capture Washer”. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3665-dexter-axle-loose-bolt-at-the-equalizer/page/2/

I thought about that as well but non of my bolts had the flats lined up exactly. I don’t think that when the cross holes are drilled they are in any particular position. I don’t remember who but someone on the forums had a supplier of rings with a 12 point pattern on the inside diameter that looked similar to a boxed end wrench. These rings would be placed over a bolt and welded all around. This would hold the bolt securely in place.

Well, after seeing this, the first thing I'm going to do is weld two strips of 1/8 steel to each side of the hole to hold the bolt from spinning once installed.

I ordered and received all heavy duty shackles, bolts, and U-bolts with my order from Alcan, per David Austin.

Yes, I had one shackle that had both bolts rotating freely. I only have a few thousand miles on the new spring set but the holes were still wallowed out some. The original plates have punched holes so they are naturally just sloppy clearance holes perfect for bolts or rivets but not so good if a press fit or close accurate fit is required. The original grease fittings were straight so I couldn’t tell that they were rotating until I replaced all of the fittings with 45 deg fittings. One of the side plates was very worn so I made a new one with close fitting 9/16 holes which allowed for a fairly hard press fit for the straight knurled bolts. The 60 ft/lb torque suggested by Alcan in my opinion is way too high being that the bolts are not shoulder bolts. I basically just snugged them up at 30 ft/lb and will probably leave them there. I too had the shoulder bolt vs straight bolt conversation with the Alcan folks while I was in Grand Junction. Contrary to what some folks have been told……I was told to make sure to hold the bolt head stationary with a backup wrench while tightening the shackle nuts and not to allow the bolts to rotate. Anyway? Whatever…. The first photo is of the original worn side plates. The second is of the finished parts installed and the last photo is of me making 1/2 inch thick plates out of 5/8 thick stock. At some point I will probably make all new plates maybe with recessed bronze thrust washers. 🤔

You got this right! Dan is new here, but there are 20-some failures written up on our Forum posts. When you read the title of this thread, I should have more posts than you. Since I've actually installed "Made in USA leaf springs" and wrote posts about my installation, maintenance and performance observations! 🤣

I agree. I went with lower torque numbers. Instead of the Alcan recommended 65 ft-lb on the EZ Flex and 80 on the ends, I went 55/65. Of course the U-bolts must be 90 as specified. The Alcan shackles and wet-bolts are not the quality of their leaf springs. I believe they cut the shackles and likely outsource the bolts. Ken’s @mountainoliver shackles have already bent some, bolt holes buggered. He made new shackles in his machine shop, drilled tighter fitting holes. If I were to do this again, I’d certainly buy the Alcan 5-leaf pack springs, but buy a full new HD EZ Flex kit, including shackles and wet-bolts. I had to get new EZ Flex centers anyway which should be replaced if more than a few years old (the center bushings will wear off angle due to the design).

Hey JD Looks like I'm lagging behind on posts about springs. LoL Can we lock all spring pages? Just kidding all questions deserve a respectful answer. gj

I beg to disagree for the statement's inclusion of the 1750 rated springs. WAY too many have FAILED to even be considered for use as anchor weights, let alon a 6,000 pound contineous 24/7/365 load plus G-forces. Even Dexter says this. For the life of me I do not understand why OTT continues to ship trailers with these springs. It boggles my mind..... I USED to say for 90% the Dexter 2400's would be a great solution. That other 10% is for the Off-Roader's that put their trailer thru gynmastics on a regular basis. Now I think 85% is a better number as I am hearing of more than a few owners in the 5,000 pounder class that may also skate by with the whimpy 1750's for 5+ years as well. But if I were one of them, I would still go with the 2400's to get a respectable 15 or 20 year life for the springs. I like doing things once to learn, but not repeating when logical to do so. GJ

Yes. The new PB4's raised the trailer about half an inch over the whimpy 1750's. I am "critical" on the trailer height where I store my Ollie. As it worked out it was no problem. Good Luck! GJ

Hoping to reinvigorate this thread since it's been 5 years. This was a MAJOR oversight on my part and I'm super disappointed that I missed it before I spent what I spent on my '26. I cannot believe the awning is not designed to withstand rain (even with support poles at the corners). The reason is the shade material with stretch. I've left mine out unintentionally in light rain for an hour and came back to huge puddles in my awning material between the support arms. It scared the crap out of me and I thought I ruined the shade. It was on the maiden voyage and turned out to be OK. I cannot imagine the material could sustain that type of water collection on repeat. I understand the "why" of the wind damage sensors. I have the large clam (that I store in the Ollie hallway between the two beds). But I can't just walk outside straight into it in the rain. Has anyone seen any other threads that address "keeping all my crap dry right outside my doorstep and not having my front porch turn to mud?"

Shackle holes on the Alcan shackles measure .589" to .590". Dexter shackle holes measure .569" to .570". Both Dexter bolts and Alcan bolts spin freely in the Alcan shackles.

Not good! We camped Monday and ran the fridge and hot water heater together (-120A) for 30 min, until the water was hot. Then turned on the A/C on all afternoon, not plugged in, all on inverter. Temp on the Victron inverter rose to 90F, in its closed space, well within the 104F warning . I installed a basement exhaust fan, yet rarely use it. The Epoch app had been acting up, so I manually tested voltage with a multimeter. It read 12.9V, certainly a very good number considering the -120A load of the HWH. Battery tops and 4/0 wiring were all cold to the touch. I sealed the vents in our battery bay to keep dirt out. IMHO, call Lithionics, fix the issue vs. venting heat away that should not accumulating!

Additional observations. A common thread after installation of the Alcan springs and spring shackles, (with the Alcan non shoulder bolts), is a really rough ride for the first few hundred miles. If you really think about that, it can easily be due to the pinching of the spring ends to the shackles and the shackles to the easy flex arms. Those items MUST break free before the ez flex can do it's job. Those first few bumps must be epic in their effect on the items in the trailer! No matter how well greased those bolts and bushings are, the pinch on the axle ends and ez flex arms has to be overcome before the suspension can even begin do it's job. I do not even want to think about the long term wear effect.

Wow, If I am lucky I get about 230 miles out of my 26 gallon tank in my 2001 Silverado 8.1. (and is it thirsty!) Yes I carry 3, 5 gallons of gas in jerry cans. Only had to use them once in 2 years. We love taking the back roads, but must keep an eye on where the gas stations will be. At this stage in life I can't imagine waiting for a charge if I went electric. I like to full up and hit the road in a few minutes.

I cut two 2” holes in the battery box for venting, no fan. I also plugged the vents in the door and insulated with two layers of Reflectix. Used 3M heavy duty spray adhesive, it’s been holding well for 5 years. I did the same on the Basement door. I measure battery compartment temps with my Victron BMV712 monitor, and also a remote temp sensor that I move around in the basement depending on ambient temps. I have not needed to open the battery door, the small vents keep the battery box relatively cool in Summer, warm in Winter. I have camped in 100+ temps and below 10F for several consecutive nights with no problem.

Geronimo John and myself had similar questions about this design too, so I called Alcan and asked. You’ve probably seen my lengthy post from March 18 in this thread. Tim @Alcan told me the bolt splines have an interference fit with the shackle hole, so they should be held strongly, not rotate. I have never seen the parts in question, so I have tried to visualize. You have the parts in hand, so the problem you describe seems to be legitimate and contrary to what I was told. If the bolt head is not kept from rotating, the lubrication port will rotate. Alcan is obviously not worried about it, but Dexter makes it very clear in their instructions to get the lubrication port oriented correctly. This may or may not be a big problem, it’s just not optimal. Dexter shackle bolts are designed to be under tension, using 30-50 ft-lbs torque to approximate that tension. As you pointed out, since Alcan shackle bolts don’t have a shoulder, putting them in tension by tightening the nut also creates a clamping force that can squeeze the EZ Flex and the hanger tabs, therefore limiting movement and creating friction and wear. Wayfinder pointed this out in that other endless thread. It seems to me this is the reason Alcan uses Nylock nuts, so that they can be tightened up just enough to provide adequate clearance, but also not to work the nuts loose. I see no problem with the strength of the Alcan bolts, they have some advantages. The clearance needs to be factored into the installation, I wouldn’t just put a torque wrench to it and call it good. I agree, but I’m just armchair quarterbacking here. I have never seen these Alcan components, and do not know what their installation instructions are. I’d like to understand this better as I am one of those still on the original Dexter springs, and considering the Alcans before my next big trip. Perhaps these bolt concerns are not a problem, obviously Alcan has their reasons for doing it their way.

Here is my unscientific take on the insulation of the Oliver. Over the last few days I've been doing some mods to our EII, new ceramic toilet install, new bath faucet and shower head etc. With the rather coolish to cold weather we have been having through the month of April I hooked up to house/shore power to run an oil filled portable heater running at 900 watts continually for the last several days. Early morning temps outside this morning were at 32º (according to the Weather Channel) with frost on the roofs in the hood. Temp inside the trailer was 47º. The actual temp according to our exterior house thermometer was 37º indicating a max difference of only 10º from trailer interior to outside air. If taking the WC temps as the gospel then there would be a difference of 15º, neither one being very impressive. That same heater installed in any one of our basement rooms (insulated with 1.5 inches of sprayed foam) of our house would have turned the room into a sauna or near about. Conclusion: the Oliver is not a 4 season camper. It might be along the southern perimeter, ie FL, TX, AZ, SOCAL etc but not further north. This isn't to say you can't camp in some cold weather as most of us have at one time or the other. Keeping even a moderate temp in freezing winter weather will tax the system seriously requiring huge amounts of propane to keep the furnace running nearly non stop. In summary at best I would describe the Oliver as an extended season camper but certainly not four season. The notion that the Oliver has an R value of 18 is pure bullocks. Oliver is not alone in this regard as there are many manufacturers stating four season camping specs but fall far short. Recently I was at a local RV dealer that sells Emperial Outdoors RV which truly are four season ready. The salesman I talked with related a previous winter day when the temps were bitter cold (-22º) and the Emperial Outdoors RV setting in the sun was measuring about 40º inside without a furnace running. Even if the story was wildly exaggerated which I doubt that is a massive amount of difference between an Oliver and a true four season camper. In our EII the bottom half of the inner shell was never insulated with the Propex material making the insulation issue potentially worse. In summary the Oliver is an excellent travel trailer (not without some issues) but the company should not be promoting it a a 4 Season camper which is really is not. Not even close IMHO.