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Dunno, what do you think?

Agree, not sure how much I believe the hype. Shocks have a simple job, have been around forever, hard to believe it can be improved that much. Anyhow at $40 each its a cheap upgrade Good to hear. I get a little (non problematic) side waddle. It’s the porpoising thats annoying, if that goes away I’ll be happy.

Yeah, reason enough. They certainly do look better, and the Google search assistant sure found all the good marketing copy. I'd like to know how shocks are rated technically. If I had one of each brand new, I'd push them on a scale and see the force in LBS it takes to compress the shock! Not sure that is a valid test but could see relative difference. What I found on our hull, same Monroe shocks before and after the Alcan Springs upgrade is the hull used to waddle like a duck and would porpoise (without the WDH) on the 1750 springs. Switch to Alcan 2750 LB leaf springs, same Monroe shocks, and there is barely any movement in any direction. I'd bet I can take the shocks off and it wouldn't matter, because the leaf springs have much less movement. I also believe the top-heavy E2 sways so much with the 1750s, t causes the shock failures (and spring failures for that matter). I have a 7K dual-axle flatbed trailer at home. It was designed with no shocks. I load a SxS and dirt bikes on it. It doesn't move around at all since it has a low center of gravity. It has 1750s but loaded weight is only about +/- 4K LBS. These came off our Oliver after we got it in 2023, yeah UGLY! 🤣 They used to be yellow years ago. At least they were MADE IN U.S.A. I'll order Bulldogs when the Monroes fail, unless there's something better when needed.

It's true. The Dexter axles supplied to Oliver are D52's that are derated to 3500 pounds because they are supplied with the same ole 4 leaf spring pack as always. I.E. the ones that fail. I believe you are correct that the axle itself is the same in both. Did your D52 axles come with 12-inch brake drums?

4k and soon to be 6k. But why? Why not? They’re redoing the suspension so it’s certainly the right time for it. Plus those Bulldogs look so much more coooooooollllllll 🙂 The bigger thing is I largely went with Oliver because I just don’t want to deal with problems. I’m a retiring engineer dammit, I don’t need to keep fixing bad designs and issues! 😅I could get some more milage out of this suspension but if I believe that it is undersized then there’s no reason to wait … FWIW here’s what Google thinks about the two, but granted we (or at least I) don’t know what if any differences there are with Bulldogs HD and these light duty trailer shocks

Also installed Obeaming and also pleased and also recommend.

I just finished updating my blog pages to include some parts that have become hard to find for our older 2019 Elite II. I've been maintaining this guide for 3 years and many parts and equipment specific to Oliver EI and EII trailers are included. For example...the grommets for the stove that were used in many trailers from 2019-2024 or so.. I listed them in the Oliver Outfitters guide in both the "Oliver Outfitters" main page and in the Kitchen Gear sub category as shown below: Here's the link to the overall page: Oliver Outfitters Guide on Amazon Full Disclosure for Moderators and Viewers: I do make a small amount if people by off this page, it's averaged $3/month...so not big beans. Mostly I'm trying to chronicle parts, pieces, gear that is used or needed by many Oliver Owners. Craig

Alcan is a Dexter authorized reseller which is mainstream in the trailer business. It's a lot of work to become a reseller, just to sell a few parts. They might have accounts with mainstream shock companies, Monroe, KYB, Bilstein, and whatever the 4x4 Jeep guys use in Colorado! Why install new shocks on your Oliver? You only have a few months and maybe 2K miles on the Monroes. I purchased new Monroe 555001 shocks in 2023 when I first serviced my suspension. They were bad, 3 of 4 shock were blown. I would have tried Bulldogs, but we had not heard of them back then. I replaced axles and leaf springs two years later and all 4 Monroe shocks tested good, so I remounted them. IMO, they're not mission critical anyway.

You are a true wandering sagebrush. any idea the number of miles traveled? congratulations!!! PS, I spent my first 16 years living in far Eastern Oregon (Baker City). We love the high desert traveling Eastern Oregon

JD, that’s quite the accomplishment! 🏆 Congratulations! You should post this on WTW, too.

Living in the Texas Hill Country, with steep dips on roads where dry river beds cross, I asked Oliver to build The Wonder Egg (#14) with a spring-over-axle set up to avoid rear end scraping. It has worked very well for me and improves clearances over obstacles if I want to place the back end of the trailer over a log / etc to get into the perfect boondocking site. As mentioned, a set up like this does result in some handling issues you'd need to contend with . . . braking a turn taken little too fast with a strong, gusting wind coming from the inside of the turn is a potential rollover situation. That might be more pronounced in the LEII due to more height and mass on top, combined with a larger surface area causing a "sail" effect. To mitigate this issue, I always travel with a full fresh water tank when starting out to lower the center of gravity and improve safety. The 2"X8" board or driveway modification might be your best bet.

It was a 26' travel trailer with Dexter sprung axles. I'll have to find my notes. I know I recorded the results.

If the axle(s) on your small trailer were torsion axles with a 1” drop, flipping them would get you 2” of lift. Perhaps this was the case?

Lol, no matter how hard I try, the only way my brain sees it is half the diameter of the axle tube and the thickness of the leaf pack. Like I said, I might be looking at it wrong... edit- Just drew it out and now it makes sense. Time to go to bed!

On the Bulldog shocks Alcan didn’t want to order them (I got the feeling like they’re just about the leaf springs and didn’t want to be bothered), so I did so from advice on this thread from 4trucks. Note they don’t carry them in stock but have to come from a warehouse which adds delay, it was maybe a month all told to get them.

Yeah Chris, it's not easy to see. Apples to apples, you can measure change in axle height top-to-top, center-to-center, or at the bottoms. Thinking centers, it's difficult to add up. Maybe looking at the bottoms is easier. When under-slung the bottom of the axle sits on the leaf springs. When over-slung the bottom of the axle is lowered by the height of the leaf pack and the height of the axle diameter. Please look again and see if you can see it this way. I've looked at now many times and would like verification if my thinking and math is correct! 🤣

Don't you already have a mountain home? It's that fiberglass egg-looking thing! 🤣

Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but since the axle is in the center of the tube, shouldn't it only raise the Oliver by half the diameter of the axle tube plus the height of the leaf pack?

Thanks for all the info! I was looking at the overslung option but also thought that would be too high. For now I will continue having my wife lug 2 x 8' and put them under the tires as I cross the steepest part of the approach angle and back up the drive. I am trying to buy the lot above mine which will allow for a much flatter approach to the house. Just have to convince them that I need a flatter driveway more than they need a mountain home.😁

Yes it is and the installation was pretty easy from the view point of me watching someone do it that has done it many times. It helped that the electrical and the shut off switch was existing from the previous unit. That said, the whole thing doesnt seem as rugged as the old time ac unit it replaced, but you can say that about alot of things and these units dont last forever anyway. Cost was only a bit more than a replacement ac unit. The wireless remote is handier than i thought it would be.

Good idea, if I ever need the extra storage, I may do exactly that! Thanks for the suggestion?

I believe going from from an Under- to Over-slung suspension adds quite a bit more than 2" but you've done this on another trailer and I have not. You may be right. I don't have my notes with me. It was 27 years ago and I was shooting from the hip there. It did solve our problem and didn't affect handling much, BUT, that trailer sat much lower than a stock Oliver does. Another thing that we learned that may be helpful to the OP is that angle of attack to the grade makes a big difference. Worst case is driving straight into the grade change. Crossing the grade change at an angle helps reduce tail dragging. We found that our best option to clear our grade is a right turn leaving and a left turn returning.

And I see my comment got you to update your profile page! CONGRATULATIONS to you on your new Oliver! 😂 Thank so much for the pictures and advise, much appreciated! Thank you @srthomsen and @FloraFauna too! All feedback is helpful. Steve, I also like seeing your installation pics. You installation looks very clean, would be even better with the wall mount which I'm leaning towards. The piping on mine would go vertically like in yours and then T at the top for the two rooms. I guess I better plan on that electrical shut-off box!

Sorry to hear this and more so because I really like the design of your rear toolbox! I like how it has cabinet doors, opening to the rear, allowing the surface to be a tie-down area or spare work table. The boxes with hinged tops do not allow for such. I think about this every time I read a related post. I don't need one with an 8 ft open truck bed, but if I did... I would first remove the fiberglass cover and spare tire. Then mount the spare in the back left corner of the TV bed using a simple spare tire mount available on eTrailer and elsewhere. The cover would become a new garage ornament, a conversation piece! 🤣 This would delete a lot of rear weight which is the most important issue with adding weight to the rear. Ever LB in back lightens the trailer tongue weight and the Oliver with 8-9% tongue weight is already a towing safety issue. Very few Oliver owners seem to be concerned re this matter. With the spare gone, a custom cargo box could be +/- 10" close to the hull. This also helps the weight issue (shorter lever arm). Maybe you can move the spare and still use your awesome toolbox. Later mount the box pulled up closer to center. If there's no room in the truck bed, the spare tire could be frame-mounted on the streetside of the doghouse using the same standard bracket. 😎

Agree, these are not very helpful. First where they touch is lower than where the frame would touch, so you will bottom more often. Also, if too much pressure is exerted, then what Dudley wrote. Application for skid rollers is for a trailer with very thick steel frames like Toy Haulers or car haulers. I would not expect them to play well with the relatively soft Oliver aluminum frame.