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Of course, since you would not hammer out bearing races and reinstall them after being damaged merely by removing them. Unless the shoes were down to metal on the drums, the bearings should be removed (races stay), all old grease removed from hubs and bearings, get the drums turned and repack bearings. The complete braking plates with new shoes, springs and magnets are the way to go. Investing in new drums and bearings would about triple the parts cost!

Lot's of good replies here already! Am I correct in thinking new Oliver TTs now come with the Dexter D52 (5200 LB) Nev-R Lube axles? Some of us with older hulls had D35 axles installed and like Mike mentioned, have upgraded. So, you should be good here. Either way, OTT installs Dexter Chinese made leaf springs rated at 1750 LBS each. Although, we've heard rumors OTT is talking with Alcan Springs for USA made springs. Given you're buying new in 2026, you could ask them about this! Search for keyword 'Alcan' for more information. Many of us think 1750 LB springs are under-sprung (200 Oliver owners have installed Alcan Springs rated at 2750 LBS each), and there have been several failures of these springs documented. Our Oliver used to waddle like a duck when crossing bridge seams, gas station entrances, or speed bumps on an angle. Not anymore, and since our Oliver suspension is now handling itself, the truck tows better and I was able to remove the Andersen WDH. The Alcan Spring upgrade is a little over $1K plus labor.

I never use the hitch coupler. I may just leave that bar off.

Hey John. Our DC to DC charging system is the detachable cable. There is a receptacle under the bumper at the back of the Pathfinder and there is a receptacle under the cargo box at the front of the trailer. We don’t leave that connected all the time so we made it detachable at both ends. Hope that makes sense.

If I'm replacing the drums I never re-use the bearings. Maybe unnecessary overkill, but I just never felt comfortable doing so.

Bob, I was wondering why do you have detachable cables? In most installations, like ours, there is a receiver installed under the truck bumper and the power cord on the Oliver side is permanently attached (not needing storage space). The DC-to-DC charger is such a great feature. Like you, we only stay a few nights at each location. We consistently get 40+ Ah charging every hour towing on the road. Please look us up when you travel southwest!

We had no power for6 days here in Nashville. Our camping skills came in handy, but there was ice storm damage everywhere around us. We were trapped when one of our 160 year old Red Oaks fell across our drive. Thankfully, My Nephew brought a crew and we sawed a gap to drive thru. The Ollie took a direct hit right on the Maxx Fan (toast), but thankfully the gel coat was unhurt. I have been moving branches and sticks for a month to the street. Things are slowly getting back to "normal".

The stock suspension is fine. We replaced everything after 9 years and a lot of miles (100K+). There have been some cases of leaf spring failure, but when I had ours replaced they looked fine. I’m just a believer in preventive maintenance (too many years in the Army). There was no reason to replace my axles, except to upgrade from the 3500 lb axles and also get bigger brakes and never lube bearings. Our camping is a combination of nice roads and not so nice roads. Mike

The first time I replaced brakes was just a couple of years ago, I’ve got 110Ksih miles on the trailer now. 24K is way too soon for normal braking. I also agree with the comments on bearings, they should not need replacing, just repacking. Mike

@Olive2Roam Great post and photos! We are big fans of our friends David and Kristine Hess owners of Sea Biscuit. You won’t meet a finer couple who fully support the RV industry with their products. My wife and I have been to their factory where they craft their products. Our front cargo box is has been one of our top mods. We store our chocks, blocks, 30amp cord and all other “possibles” for a quick set up and take down of our campsite. I installed a sheet of XPEL PPF (paint protection film) to the front of the cargo box of XPLOR to keep it protected from the blast zone and road missiles when in tow behind our TV. Your LE1 looks amazing, congrats on your mods! Beauty and the Beast - camped inside Yellowstone NP 🇺🇸

Hopefully I'm posting in the appropriate thread and it has not already been posted here. Just saw this on Bloomberg via MSN: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ford-recalls-4-4-million-vehicles-on-trailer-controller-flaw/ar-AA1X88AR?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=69a1a8ea953d4482be96a7f27cdc157f&ei=145 Bloomberg (subscription required): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-26/ford-recalls-4-4-million-pickups-suvs-on-lighting-system-flaw

We re all here to help Jeff, no worries! 👍🏻

Now, the original question makes more sense! Bill

I believe that it was Patriot who first brought Sea Biscuit to the attention of the Forum. They certainly do have quality products and both you and Patriot speak very highly of the owners. Also, glad to hear that the Elite I is working out well for you - your 15,000 miles in the first period of ownership is a bunch. Bill

Of course, there also could have been an issue with the adjustment of the brake shoes and/or with the automatic adjusters. But, most likely (as jd1923 first pointed out) your brake controller is set too high. Any way you slice it (unless you have the bad habit of "riding" your brakes) 24,000 is way too soon under anything near "normal" usage to wear a set of trailer brakes out. Bill

I'm sure that you will receive a bunch of differing views on this subject and your question. As is covered in the many posts related to this subject, there are those members that believe that the stock suspension is underrated and there are those members that believe that at least some of the issues you might read about are due to things wearing out. There are other opinions that Dexter (the main suspension parts supplier to Oliver) had a run of "bad" or "defective" or "weak" or .... parts from China that caused at least some of the issues. And, of course, there is the manner in which and individual trailer was used - a bunch of rough off-road activity, hitting curbs, etc. Happy reading! Bill

I just had that happen yesterday.

I am sure the model of truck matters, but my brake controller is set to 3.

Thank you for the kind words. Yes, the Texas was our first Oliver rally. Inks Lake was beautiful and we met a lot of great folks there, had some great barbecue, and learned a ton about our LE I. I agree with your comments about the Sea Biscuit accessories. The white powder coat finish and the diamond plate lid are a great match.

I really should not have said bumper. It is the bar across the top of the bumper where the trailer hitch is attached.

My wife and I are traveling to look at a new 2026 Oliver and reading this thread got me curious. Are the suspension parts being replaced due to wearing out or are the OEII factory suspension underrated? thanks!

Yes, only requires a setting change via the Xantrex’s wall-mounted remote screen. Upgraded our 2020 OLEll with two LFPs, totaling 460 AH, and a dedicated transfer switch to enable running the a/c on battery.

I think closer to 6.0 is typical. The shop must think the bearings were subjected to excessive heat and thus, likely damaged as the brakes wore out prematurely.

Here's additional photos of the spare tire removed on our LE2:

We've got a couple Forum Mods and several others who have miles in the 100K+ range, so they could answer to that. But 24K sounds too soon! Given your brake shoes have worn prematurely, it must be too much gain on the controller, your trailer is likely braking some for your tow vehicle. Hard to say on price, depends what they are truly replacing. You should look into purchasing complete brake plate assemblies. This is likely not the correct part (BTW Dexter support can tell you the correct part #s based on your axle tag), but for example a left/right axle pair is not expensive. If your handy at all, these bolt on. Or buy the parts you need and hire the guy to do the work. And to do it right, see if a local trailer or auto parts shop can turn (machine) the drums. https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/Dexter/23-26-27.html This is certainly a FALSE statement! The bearings only need to be re-packed. Worn shoes down to metal can damage the drums, not the wheel bearings. Believe me, I've owned many 50-60s classic cars that all had drum brakes on all fours and I've done more brake jobs than I can count, including rebuilding 3 dual-axle trailers! When I hear something suspect, I tend to not trust the shop. Beware and be cool! 😎 Also, we're here to help if you need installation advice. Best wishes, JD