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BRIEF UPDATE July 14, 2026: I accepted the generous offer by John @jd1923 and Chris to come farther west to Prescott and tackle this 'Check Trailer Wiring' issue. While my Oliver was jacked up, I was able to take care of some other regular maintenance work, and John helped out with that as well, but I will focus here on the trailer wiring. The main job was to replace the brake wires beginning at the left side (below the battery box) where the wiring exits the hull, and connecting new wires to each of the four brakes. John suggested pulling the new wires through the axle by taping them to the end of the old wires, for various reasons, but once the taped joint reached the opposite side and I needed to pull it out through that small hole in the axle, the tape broke apart. I tried pulling the new wire through that hole with some needle-nose pliers but the wire was so soft that small pieces were breaking off. So we reverted to my initial plan (based on several others here on the forum), and ran the new wires along the rear side of the axles, using split loom and zip ties to anchor it. We found that the butt connectors I ordered from Amazon did not hold; John tested one and the wires pulled right out without any effort. He had some older style butt connectors that we used, with much thicker metal inside, and then we added tape on the connections. I will probably come back to those taped joints with some liquid tape to try to weatherproof them better. (I saw that someone had used a clear sealant -- if anyone knows what that is called, I would like to find it. The liquid tape I have is black like tar.) The finished job looks really good. Note that I haven't tested by towing yet. After the rewiring, I measured the amperage at each wheel, after disconnecting the 7-pin connector from the truck and pulling the Emergency Brake pin. Each one measured about 3.0, with the left front measuring slightly higher. This was a good result in so far as the power was flowing from the Emergency Brake battery (I believe on the Oliver, this is the trailer battery; SOB trailers have a separate little battery for this power). After the tires were back on and everything was back in place, I tested again using the power from the truck through the 7pin connector, with John's son Adam helping me by being at the controls in the truck. Measuring the two main wires exiting the hull (below the battery box) the amperage was 1.85 and 1.71 on the left front and rear wires. This measurement is obviously without being in motion, and my understanding is that the truck will not provide the full power to the brakes in this case; I'm not sure what amount should be expected here, but power is flowing to both wires from the truck. Quoting from @Geronimo John in an older forum post, "... modern brake controllers sense when a vehicle is stopped and back off the power flow to the magnetic coils when stopped..." Yesterday, John and I performed another set of tests on the 7pin Cable wires where they enter the hull and exit the cable, inside a double sized junction box behind the small panel below the vanity sink (see earlier photos in this thread.) We tested amperage for each of the wires, and the 7pin cable seems to be working fine -- even jiggling the wire at the connector and below the Oliver -- so we elected not to replace it. Of course, once again, this is not in motion driving down the highway. None of this is definitive until I actually tow the Oliver, tomorrow morning. I will report again in a few days, and try to add some photos here for clarity. I don't think this is resolved yet, but making progress on eliminating things is good. Many heartfelt thanks to John, Chris and Adam -- they have all been extremely gracious hosts and very helpful, and have cheered me up as well. Many thanks as well to all the other forum members who have been helping out with ideas and links and questions. Now we are heading out for some fun!

And there are Oliver owners who boondock almost exclusively. Hopefully more will pipe in here for you. I live waaaaay down in southwest Florida; I 'boondock' at Cracker Barrel when I'm just trying to get closer to my destination, which is almost always in the Rockies -- about 3,000 miles away from home. Once I reach the west where BLM, USFS and other public lands are abundant, I typically boondock for weeks at a time without plugging in anywhere, but I am mostly at higher elevations so I am reaching for a light blanket rather than the AC. This year has been an exception for me on this; I got away from Florida a lot later in the season. I have the Lithium Pro package (mine is (3) 130 Lithiums) but I am frugal using power. I hardly ever use my microwave. You should also consider where and what time of year you want to camp -- seasons will impact how you use power. Does your Oliver have propane heat? Does it have a propane refrigerator? Mine is 3-way so I can use DC, propane or AC -- but I don't think the new units are like that. I agree with John here. I only have the single awning on the right (curbside) and often enough it's not where I would need it for optimal sun protection. It all depends on the access, even when you are boondocking, and how you decide to position your door, etc. I used my awning a lot my first year but rarely use it any more. Some people create shade with different methods, like hanging shade cloth. I've wished for shade on my left side, but apparently not enough to do anything about it. :) I would opt out of the solar awning. There are other forum members who will give you more concrete data on power use and other options. Have fun as you think about your options.

To each his own, but from what I’ve seen from trailer sway videos, I’d rather have more protection than less, so I’m willing to forgo a little wear on the ball in the unlikely event that I would have to take evasive action at highway speed. So I’m stayin’ on the “Don’t lube your balls team” for now. 🤣

I'm installing a 2-5/16" Bulldog on Thursday. My B & W Stow and Go has both a 2" and 2-5/16" ball. Y Plan is to inspect the 2" Bulldog, and if it looks good, ai will paint it gray and keep it as a back-up.

FREE! I got this when we got our Oliver from the original owners. Never used it, it is very robust! Located in Minnesota. Just the homemade bike rack, not the Oliver receiver rack.

Welcome to the family. As you wait our Blog has lots of info on various gear, upgrades, solar, and campgrounds visited . The link is at the bottom of our signature below. https://4-ever-hitched.com/trips-overview

Did you keep the original 2” ball size or upgrade that, as well?

Same here! My pantry shelf mod involved extending it out to make it even with the adjacent twin bed with heavy duty Velcro for securement. The additional length provides more counter space/staging area. I also extended the dinette table an additional 7” for an equivalent bump out; making its utility for dining much better. I previously installed sliding Lagun tables for each of the twin beds and used the original Lagun tabletop for the pantry extension, likewise the original pantry shelf for the dinette table extension. We’ve been very pleased with these mods. Here’s a pic of the two Lagun tables, a much more challenging mod I must say! For those that have the Lagun option, you know the nightstand drawer is restricted when this table is in use. In my year model the nightstand tabletop can be lifted off, allowing access to the drawer content from atop; which was acceptable, since I preferred the leave the Lagun mounted for daily use and stowing it was a PITA. By design, I can now open the drawer even with both Laguns permanently mounted; and the wifey is now happy to have her own bed table, being I tended to ‘hog’ the original one for self use! There have been a few mods featured in this forum on relocating the Lagun mount to the side of the nightstand to enable front drawer access and my mod, as well.

Oh thanks for asking? I was okay not thinking about the price of it. It’s over $760 for the 14K, but I think many move up to the 20K. I will not use the capacity of the 20K. I only own one trailer. I also ordered their locking pins for $63. They are the highest quality pins I’ve ever seen. I’m truly amazed. All three are keyed the same for convenience.

Where did you move from? We lived in IL, VA, AZ, TX, FL and back to Arizona. We know Texas, lived in Georgetown/Austin area for 9 years. We spent a weekend in almost every corner of the state, our son playing USTA tennis tournaments. But back then we stayed in hotels. Arizona is 51% public lands between FS and BLM, 31% Indian territory and only 18% private land! To get more public lands you must visit Alaska. It's a boondocking paradise out here, camp almost anywhere you want. 😎 So, you have the desire and the need, but is the solar awning worthwhile at that price point? $5K is a lot of money. For about the same money in parts cost, I installed a complete Victron MP2 3KW inverter-charger, 50A DC-DC charger, MPPT SC and 400W suitcase solar and 900 Ah Epoch LiFePO4, OMG! The Renogy 400W suitcase, with Victron 30A MPPT SC, wired it to an external port, internal wiring and external cabling and connectors for about $600 total parts costs (no labor). We hardly use it! I find solar panels are a pain to setup, they charge slowly and you have to be at one campsite long enough to need it and take advantage of it. Ease of use in a solar awning would be great! Just push the button, But what if the sun is on the other side? Are you going to spend $10K to equip both sides? Don't think you can always park in the direction facing the sun. When parking I'm worried about being level, being out of the afternoon sun and wind direction too! If your at Port Aransas nicely park with the curbside of your Oliver facing the sun as it rises from the east over the gulf and you want to be there for a couple weeks, the solar awning might the right choice. We have a simple manual awning, no solar and we used it 4 times in 180 overnights. Everybody has different needs in an Oliver. For us, we don't camp anywhere for longer than a week, most of our stays are 2-5 nights. our 900 Ah will last that long running the A/C for half the week along with all other electrical needs. Solar charging is more beneficial for those that stay put for a few weeks, because if you move more often DC-DC charging is much more efficient. We added a Victron Orion 50A DC-DC charger, total parts cost today with say 80 ft of expensive 4 AWG wire should be about $800 plus labor and any TV alternator upgrade when necessary. Please do not ask OTT to install this as they want $2K just to install the charger and wire the Oliver side, and the truck side wiring is left up to you. We love this mod and connect it every time we hitch up. Our Orion XS 50A DC-DC charger on average produces 40 Ah for every hour towing! Drive an easy day, engine running for 5 hours and you will have 200 Ah added to battery SOC. You've been at a campsite 3-5 days and your battery SOC% is low, it's time to move on to your next location, charging as you tow to your next campsite. This is our favorite and most effective electrical upgrade by far (besides the Victron Mulptiplus II). I'm the tech/installation guy, though my wife Chris loves this mod! She's checking the Victron Connect app, while I'm towing, checking as our SOC% keeps growing! Not that I have one, but my vote would be NO on the $5K awning, but of course you need to weigh your options for the camping life you desire. I knew very little of our needs 3 years ago when we purchased our Oliver. If I had better understood the value of the DC-DC charger, for our on-the-move travel style, and I did that upgrade ahead of the suitcase solar addition, I may not have added the suitcase. We do appreciate our rooftop solar, no fuss no muss, keeps the batteries charged when parked, runs the fridge while towing, etc. You can always hold off for now and upgrade later. (Some of the mods I mentioned are in the links below.) Best wishes to you and your new Oliver! JD

It's plastic, not pvc...by water pump, accumulator and shower. You should have it also since you have a 2022 model :) John

We live less than 10 miles from Guadalupe River SP. Mike

I suggest using Riv-Nuts and bolt them down if you are having such a problem. GJ

Yes you are correct, and that is for the VAST majority of trailers/TV's that use the Anderson. But.... The vast majority of OEII's just don't sway, even under extreme circumstances. Properly loaded they just don't sway. For that reason, many of us have no need for that great feature of the Anderson "system". Starting with John Davies, we lube the ball to reduce the wear. I am not suggesting that all new owners assume the same is for their setup. Get some experience and then decide how your rig handles under extreme conditions. If after a few years you figure it out, then join the "Don't lube your balls" team. LOL GJ

B & W stow and go, 2" and 2-5/16". I just got a new Bulldog 2-5/16" that I will be installing this week. I don't think I will ever know whether I didn't have the ball fully captured, or whether this was the perfect storm, bad bridge joint and new Alcan 5-leaf springs. That new hitch is interesting. What is the cost of the Shocker Hitch?

@John Dorrer did I miss this info in the thread? What type of hitch do you use on the truck? I just upgraded my hitch on my new truck to a Shocker hitch, but I only have two long test drives under its belt. I was just wondering if a shocker-like hitch could reduce any excessive bouncing when hitting bridges or other repetitive oscillations on the rig.

I’ve only had one window leak, my fault all it needed was a go cleaning of the track.. I use old shoe laces in the the weep holes there work great..No more leaks.. just cut them about 2 - 3 inches and a slight tilt to the rear of the camper.. Try to stay cool out there..

Also in hill country is Guadalupe River sp. Place is an absolute little jewel. Hill country also has a LOT of Army Corps of Engineers reservoir campgrounds that often have nice views. Strongly echo all the callouts for Mustang Island. If you want to boondock, the national sea shore south/west of Mustang Island permits it and is beautiful.

Yeah, 100% on our short term radar, just not today 🙂 There's more than you would think, between National Parks (Big Bend for instance, you can't "boondock" but there are a number of park-interior primitive campsites you can bring a trailer to), state parks on the gulf shore, and National Wildlide Refuges! The difference in public lands was definelty something that took getting used to, moving down here though. Our primary immediate use is going to be gulf shore off grid camping. The awning is pretty mind-bogglingly expensive at 5k though, and the x23 has 400 on the roof. Back of napkin says a 400w folder + the roof solar should be sufficient. Per dc to dc, that's good to hear --- I like that it's off the shelf with the new trim (it's not really a new model, imho.) Long way of saying I think we're going to opt out of the awning for our build. Thank you for the info and thoughts!

Agree, started participating in this thread almost 10 years ago. At home working on Ollie, it’s raining, so cannot finish everything today. Hopefully will be on the Blue Ridge Parkway camping soon, will take some “Where’s Ollie” photos, too!

Look at using King StarBoard for a better waterproof mounting board. It can be cut and shaped using regular woodworking tools. I get mine from McMaster Carr but there are less expensive places to get it. A shipment from McMaster Carr usually arrives the next day depending on where you are. I think I have ordered some from TAP Plastics https://www.tapplastics.com/product/plastics/cut_to_size_plastic/king_starboard/526?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21137328659&gbraid=0AAAAAD_hg_I8XrL-S3Ima0ZSWbIsffsZk&gclid=CjwKCAjwmdLSBhANEiwAkREMN3hswfK8uVUE38-cgCmjAoCwEzeXRTPZLhht1xFJJ1A8-NIIMHzIkhoC2_gQAvD_BwE I don’t know why that link has to have so much gibberish in it. Bill

Same Obeaming as Ronbrink for over a year; we like them alot and so much better than O original junk. Used high quality double tape with no problems and easy.

Never thought it would last this long! Since we’re not able to travel for a while it’s inspiring to see everyone else contribute with really interesting places to keep it going. I had our Oliver in the driveway last weekend for some maintenance and at one point I just sat at the dinette and thought we’ve got to get on the road soon! Mike

Where's Ollie is my favorite thread and it's 10 years old! Thanks @Mike and Carol for getting it started!

Last year I found the same issue with the screws coming out of the pvc mounting boards. Service had no suggestions to offer except to replace the pvc mounting board. I don't think the pvc material is the right thing to use for this mounting board, but that's what they use. My brother and I discussed this issue and came up with a simple solution. On my Oliver (and others might vary) there is enough space below the pvc board to place a narrow strip of thin plywood -- just long and wide enough to use to sit below those locations and to reinstall some longer screws through those clamps. I keep checking the existing clamps, and have tried adding some superglue in with the screws, and that has worked on two of them, for now. I don't want to have to take everything out to fix this issue. I don't have the tools to cut this piece of wood, but that is my plan. @Galileo on an Elite II Twin Bed model, it's below the curb side bed close to the stove location, where the plumbing equipment is mounted.