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I have hull 806, a 2021 LE2. A couple of years ago my Girard awing unfurled on its own while I was preparing the trailer to leave our campsite. I had to manually crank it closed and tie it off to keep it closed. I eventually took the trailer to the Girard Red Bay Al service center to have it repaired. They said the motor brake failed and replaced the motor...about $1k, if memory serves me right (warranty expired). I now keep the awning strapped tight when traveling...similar to the picture in Mr Jim's post. I was very lucky it failed while at the campsite and not 60 minutes later at 60mph. Here is what was happening when it failed.....the awing was fully deployed and working fine. Preparing the trailer to leave, I retracted the awning. It did not close all the way...about 2 inches short. I then deployed it fully again with no problem and retracted it. Again it stopped about 2 inches short. I then started to deploy it again when it suddenly "let go". It self deployed about 10 times faster than normal and "slammed to a stop" at full deployment. At that point the awning would not move in or out with the motor. I thumbed through the Girard instructions and learned how to manually crank it in. I would advise everyone with this type awning to apply a strap when not in use. I have a piece of tape on the inside switch to remind me to remove the strap before deployment. Be careful out there! Steve
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Our Ollie is the first trailer we've owned. Moreover, the truck we pull it with is the first truck we've ever owned. As luck would have it, on our very first trip, having just picked up the trailer from Hohenwald, we were rerouted off of the highway due to construction. After a few miles we came across a beautiful covered bridge. 9 ft. I had no choice but to perform a "3 point" turn. Right in front of someone's driveway. After my 3rd or 4th (very clumsy) attempt, a car pulled up behind me. Of course, it was the owner of the driveway. And I was blocking her way. π€ͺ She was extremely understanding, even complimenting us on the pretty trailer. Thank God for nice people. Another couple of tries and we got turned around. She smiled and waved us on our way. In about 20K miles of towing since then, we have not encountered a single low bridge. P.S. I am a little better at 3 pt turns now. π
- Today
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Yeah Bill, you really have all the room you need now with the F-350! Must be a good feeling in towing prowess and carrying capacity. Solar panels, MP2 inverter, cables, etc. is likely 400 LBS. We had 4 LA batteries to start and now 3x 300 Ah Epoch, but lost that 30 LB sliding tray, a net savings but say 120 LBS over your smaller battery setup. 30 gallons of water is 250 LBS and Chris can pack the pantry, fridge and closet floor! We leave full and ready always! We rarely have a first night out with hookups. We also use the Oliver facilities often when traveling, we make lunch, no service station bathrooms for us. We also like to have everything we need, be able to dry-camp for days, just in case we get stuck somewhere unexpectedly. π Our older Ram 2500 has a 8800 GVWR, though it's a relatively light truck. Loaded it weighs only 7400 LBS, with 35-gal extra fresh water, camping gear, Chris and I and our 60 LB Springer! Which is crazy, since when loaded we have an extra 1400 LBS capacity (800 LBS when hitched) in this "3/4-ton truck." For 18 years, we owned a 2003 Ram 4x4 Quad-Cab Laramie with fiberglass cap (heavy), rated at 9000 GVWR. It weighed 7200 LBS empty which netted less than half the carrying capacity of our 2001. π€£
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@jd1923 and everyone, thanks for the tire information. I've updated my text-base tables to include the ST235/80R16, from my January 20th post above. I was amazed at the weight capacity as such low pressure. Hopefully the text-base tables are also more search-friendly. I'm still an Michelin LT lover, with the 16", but in 8 to 10 more years if I have not changed them out again, I will certainly consider putting on good ST tires, 16 inch. The old Goodyear Marathon ST tires used to be garbage from what I heard, but they have since fixed them with the Endurance. Not sure what years they were referred to as "China bombs". Since the Endurance started production in 2017 (research indicates), they've been much better. I run my tires at around 50 PSI travel temps.
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Suburban Hot Water Tank Repair
Wayfinder replied to Mike and Carol's topic in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Sounds like a new inspection item to put on my list. Thanks all for sharing. -
John, Our ready to camp weight is with empty water tanks. We normally camp where we fill the FWT at the campground when they don't have water at the site and dump the B&G tanks at the campground. We don't have factory solar charging system and now using two 105AH Epoch Lithium Batteries instead of two BB 100AH lithiums. Ollie weighs in around 5100lbs, honestly added a little weight to Ollie since we started towing with a F-350. When we towed with 1/2 ton pickups got creative to keep Ollie's weight under 5000lbs. We have the original 5200lb axles with 12" brakes & Dexter's 5 leaf springs (no 5 leaf failures yet), but I don't like Dexter's wet bronze bushings in the their springs, I like Alcan's spring bushings that are double the wall thickness compared to Dexter's spring bushings. If we have the wheels refinished, will start another thread about it. Thanks, Bill
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Geronimo John started following Nine Feet Seven Inches
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Your previous post about all storage being well utilized and some weight gain over the years (for the trailer not you!), plus this post leads me to ponder your miracle of physics. Maybe: Was your board warped? With the new tires maybe they are not as tall? A run to the scales to verify weight, but with the D52 and 5 leaf Alcanβs, you surely would be taller than spec. With the Cube being behind the axle, possibly you had the nose high? Maybe your Cube has melted a bit? Real low tire pressure? Your tape measure is so old it has stretched out three inches.? Glasses Rx needs renewal? Just having fun on this one. Knowing you, it is assured that your trailer is exactly as you measured it. Good news. GJ
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Bill, good tire pressure for your weight. Your camp weight of 5100 LBS is a very low number! Don't know how you do that. Heading out on a long trip, we tow with FWT full, The bottom of our closet floor is FULL of drink and water bottles. Closet and back cabinets pretty full of clothes. Front cabinets and kitchen drawers full of cooking equipment. Chris has extra dog food and coffee, pressure cooker, etc. under the front dinette. Pantry and fridge are certainly FULL! Two years ago, returning from a trip our Oliver weighed right at 6000 LBS. I need to hit the scales again, when first loaded up, leaving on a long trip. My guess is our FULL weight is closer to 6500 LBS now. We are certainly more packed now, and any weight savings in lighter batteries and the much lighter Chill Cube A/C should break even with heavy MP2 inverter and other mods added. Also, D52 axles and Alcan springs are much heavier but they can certainly carry more weight! π "We don't take Ollie off pavement" then ST tires are fine, and might be lower cost. I'd refinish the wheels if the shop manager believes they would restore nicely! But I prefer original equipment and restoration, where many others prefer to buy new. If you do restore, please start a thread and post before and after pics! Best wishes, JD
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I found myself on one of those small back roads one time, a couple of years ago, and could see about 1/2 mile ahead a very low overpass. While I had my specs for my Oliver etched in my brain, I decided it was time to get out and measure, since I had never done that. Just to be sure! Everything worked out, but that narrow road condition with a low overpass and no place to turn around is not a comfortable place to find oneself.
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Mike, are you moving from LT to ST tires? I'm just curious what other folks with older trailers are doing. We are currently running 16" Cooper LT class E tires at 40PSI without issues with a ready to camp weight of 5100lbs (don't remember the exact tire model without looking at them). We don't take Ollie off pavement, unless the campground is not paved. I'm thinking about replacing four wheels when we replace the tires next year since the original 11 year old wheels need to be refinished. Found a local shop that will probably refinish my old 16" wheels, too. Our original spare tire had a 16" wheel with a lower profile passenger tire installed because the larger diameter LT225/75R/16 tire would not fit in the spare tire housing. Believe Oliver fixed spare tire housing size around 2016 or 2017 so the LT225/75R/16 would fit. I replaced our spare wheel/tire with a 15" Sendel trailer wheel with the ST225/75R/15 Goodyear Endurance tire that fits in our spare tire housing. Believe Oliver is now equipping new trailers with the ST225/75R/15 Goodyear Endurance tires.
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Thanks Mike, I think I will air down to 40 to 50 psi. Thanks to all for the suggestions. 1st trip will be to Jay cook state park here in Minnesota middle of May, Call it the shake down trip to see how the dc-dc charger, Alcan 5 packs, and new tires goes.
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Right now we have Cooper AT3, light truck tires, which is what I had on the truck too. Max pressure 80psi. Iβll be changing them out in a year or so and will go back to trailer tires and keep them at 55psi too.
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We tow with a sprinter 3500 van. With its roof mounted accessories, it's a bit taller than the LE2. Its radio antenna is mounted just above the center of the windshield. We switched out the standard mast with a longer antenna that's extends about 2" higher than anything else for just that reason. It serves as an overhead curb feeler.
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Somehow with Alcan springs and a new Chill Cube A/C, spec about 3.5β taller than the Dometic, we measured Hull #113 at 9β 8.5β tall. After installing the A/C, Adam up on the scaffold, held a straight 2x3 on top of the A/C, hanging off the curbside, as I measured. I found the number hard to believe, so the next day we measured again, same number. Did the same off the street-side, exact same number. I believe this number to be accurate!
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Thanks John, That's what I was looking for.
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Gary, the tires you purchased are just fine! ST tires are for trailers and the Oliver is a 7K GVWR trailer. LT tires have stronger tread and outer corners for the needs of a truck. Trailer tires are pulled, so do not need strength in areas for traction and steering. Given the rocky-rutted-steep dirt road I towed today, and do so very often, I would prefer an LT tire for the Oliver. The LT tire will have stronger corners for better off-road protection. The ST tire is designed to last long and carry weight when towing. On the highway you should not notice the difference. Go extra slow on rocky roads (I was literally under 5 MPH towing today, anyway)! The fact that your tires are 80 profile, the taller the profile the more weight it will carry. Believe it or not, you can run on 30 PSI per the Goodyear load table. IMHO, I would run on 40 PSI and not more! π
- Yesterday
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Thanks John, My only concern is these trailer tires are said to not be underinflated or they can heat up and possibly blow out.
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I run our 2022 LE2, between 50 and 55 lbs. on our Cooper Discover HT3, 16" tires. The higher you go the more jaring the ride for the trailer. Prior to 2022, Oliver was sending trailers out the door at 80 lbs. That shook a lot of electrical connections. We run with a full water tank.
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Hi Mike, are yours truck tires or trailer tires.
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My thoughts, exactly. There were plenty of scrape marks in the concrete above! The ALCAN springs probably puts me closer to 9β8β. Doing a backup exercise with no room for error for a couple hundred yards convinced me that a Dometic sacrifice was worth it!
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I keep mine at 55psi. No issues.
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Thanks John, so would 60 psi be safe? for a trailer tire.
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According to Goodyear they come in 15 or 16.
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Thanks dewdev, but I did not see a chart for for the tires I have,.Good year endurance ST 235/80r16 Trailer tires.
