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Correct, IMO. But in the original scenario with the 3.5k# Dexters and "under rated" 4-pack springs from China -- those springs will always be the weakest link in the running gear. Poor design - specifically regarding the short "2nd" leaf spring and questionable quality steel will be the critical path to failure and breaking of the 1st leaf near the eyelet. Jim Oliver, lead OTT designer, had it right. He likely knew of this shortcoming since he insisted on configuring his personal rigs with the 5.2k# axles and higher rated (2,750#) spring packs. AND, the Jim Oliver configuration has yet to report broken spring packs. Owners having chosen to upgrade their rigs with Alcans or similar designed/rated spring packs are on the right path and making an informed decision leading to significantly lowering the probability of spring failure, IMO. Do not second-guess your decision to toss the Chinese packs and upgrade your running gear to a more robust/safer configuration. For us, the 5.2k# axles with our new Alcans are close-in on our radar screen.

No.

For sure. I had some parameters that I had to work within so I went with 10' wide and 10' 6" tall. Adding that extra 6" was the max I could increase the height with a 12' ceiling and that extra 6" required bigger door openers as it was. That should fit the Ollie and my TV without any issues. Might regret it if I ever get anything bigger but I am having them put down class 5 out 12' all the way down the one side in case I ever want to put a lean-to on or if I have any visiting Ollies!

Those are trees back there. We live on 21.5 acres but it's pretty uneven. I'm actually doing wood 2x6 wall studs with a plywood/shingled roof on energy heel trusses and will use either fiberglass insulation or maybe rockwool after I get the electrical in. The slab will have in-floor heat with 2" foam underneath and around the perimeter powered by a 200 amp service coming into the garage. Still pondering the inside ceiling covering and considering metal sheeting but may end up with drywall or plywood.

I've been meaning to write this for some time and it's primarily directed for us very few Elite I (one axle) owners. I was preparing, last summer, to take my 2022 Elite I Hull #1209 to Hohenwald just shy of it's one year anniversary. My primary issue was a fiberglass defect I discovered on the roof that several of you on this Forum suggested I get repaired. A week prior, I decided to install mudflaps inside the wheel wells on the Ollie. This required that I jack it up and remove and each tire to access the frame in the wheel well where I mounted an L bracket on which to mount the mud flap. I used a 4 ton bottle jack on the front jack point and once jacked up, a 4 ton jack stand under the rear jack point for safety. I carry both on all trips. Earlier I had installed a carrier and storage box on the rear bumper receiver hitch and posted it here May 13, 2023. At that time, I developed my technique of removing the spare by just partially sliding out the rear bumper receiver hitch assembly just enough to remove the cover and spare. The carrier and box stayed filled and connected to the hitch. I was about 90 miles SE of Hohenwald on a Sunday afternoon on a two lane highway when my EEZ RV Tire Pressure Monitor alarm sounded. My curbside tire pressure was dropping. I started looking for a place to pull over as I was in a long stretch of road with a railing and no shoulder. I saw an adequate shoulder about 0.4 miles ahead. I watched the pressure fall from 60 when the alarm sounded to 8 lbs as I got to the shoulder. There was no cell service so no AAA. My TV is a Subaru Ascent SUV. I've learned to travel lighter on each trip, but I had to dig for the jack and jack stand. Since then, it's easily accessible. It was inconvenient, but I was so thankful that I had just gone through the process of jacking up the Ollie and removing the spare. I tried first pumping the tire back up, but heard air coming from the base of the valve stem. At the tire store in Hohenwald the next day, it was the valve stem that had cracked and caused the incident. My purpose in posting is to strongly urge, especially Elite I owners, to at least practice and prepare for this scenario and I can't recommend enough using a tire pressure monitor system! Safe travels and I hope to meet more of you at Lake Guntersville next month. (We'll be in site E25) Ron

So far, no vibrations just some low humming but acceptable (muted by mattress). I did glue down a rubber mat on the basement floor before weighting the aluminum base and then setting HDPE board to wall with epoxy.

No - not mine.

I take the bulb out. Then this happened.

Nope

In this scenario, I think the wheels and/or tires would limit most of us below that effective GVWR. Mine wheels are stamped with a 1950# rating.

Use a wood toothpick and a bit of Tightbond glue in the hole. Don't over tighten it. Replace the other screw and they will match.

Yep...

Roll On John!! 🛞 Hope we get to see you and Wendy again down the road! Aim High Go Air Force!🇺🇸 - David

Take the screw to Home Depot, Ace Hardware, or other hardware store and you should find a similar screw, just get a slight larger screw. You might purchase 2 different sizes to insure one grabs the fiberglass. That is very strange. Did you remove the inverter face for some reason previously?

@HDRider …or replace all 4 screws with aluminum plusnuts like these. ……or these should also work well https://www.facebook.com/share/v/QTPdcUrjpg3mfQu2/?mibextid=I6gGtw

We camped at Snow Canyon SP at St. George UT and Valley of Fire SP NV in September a few years ago. It was hot at both State Parks and had a wild rain/thunder/wind storm one night at Valley of Fire, but we did have shore power at both locations. Beautiful areas, hope the weather cooperates for the remainder of the trip!

The screw in my faceplate fell out and left home. Two questions 1) Would a Home Depot carry a screw like this? 2) What would be a good glue to use on the screw to hold it in place? I am told not to use Loctite. I need a tiny bit larger thread. The screw is not biting into the fiberglass. The hole is wallowed out.

We have the same tires...if I can them to ever wear out I'll probably switch over to metal stems then. 37,000+ miles and going strong (probably just jinxed myself ) John

Thank you. It sure started that way until we ran into some unexpected weather. Last year, the tournament was early vs. late April. We drove into St George on April 5, 2023, and the temps were in the 40s with snow flurries. We had a friend playing Womens Doubles that day. We grabbed coats and hats and watched for a while. Our matches were the next day and it got up to the high 60s and the rest of the week was perfect! This year is a much different story, OMG! Getting ready the week before we noticed the forecast would be in the 80s for the tournament. But it got worse, and Chris is not a summer person at all. Driving out on Sunday, as we dropped 3500 FT leaving the elevation of the Prescott NF, it got hot and was in the high 90s the remainder of the drive. Yes, the pictures look nice, but what you can't see is Chris and Charley were hiding in the shade of the Oliver as the sun had just set. It was 91 degrees in the Oliver, when we parked, and it stayed hot until 9 PM. We were in the Sonoran Desert at 2000 FT, so lows got down to the 60s and we slept well. Right now, I can remember @Patriot writing, "I like options" when he was referring to carrying a generator, that I was not wanting to do. Living SW, we don't summer camp and weren't thinking of high 90s in April. The real issue was the next two nights, where we had booked 2 nights "no utilities" at Valley of Fire. How fitting is that name, when the forecast is 99 degrees? We wasted our reservation there and looked for a place with hookups to run the A/C! Ended up a bit short of our planned stay, two nights at Callville Bay RV Village Park, which we would not recommend. It's a park of rundown singlewides for weekend boating types, with 5-6 RV pads (picture taken Monday night). Today we head to St George. Looks like a great route, driving by Pinto Valley and Jimbilnan Wilderness Areas on the way to Valley of Fire. We will at least drive into the valley to take a look. Then Moapa Valley, Mesquite NV and on to St. George tonight.

Is it normal for the "washers" on either end of the rod in the top stair to rust?

You bet Ron, we all get by with a little help from our friends. I kept my appt this morning with DCT and still had all my tires balanced and rotated and stems switched from rubber to S/S. I think it’s the best path forward. 👍🏻

Thank you Bill for the miraculous recovery. The universal karma is again restored. Now that I'm back in the saddle..... In those conversations by chance did Mr. Weldon indicate that they have a more suitable spring solution that is in the 2,000 pound range? I suspect several owners would like to know this answer. If so, there would seem to be justification for ALCON to do the right thing via restitution to those early adopters. GJ

We have TST Flow Thru

Good idea. Never thought about a sensor for the truck spare, but makes sense if I put one on the Ollie spare to also do the truck.

Nice Photos! Appreciate mixing sports with camping trips! Where we play golf they have very nice tennis & pickle ball courts, too. We try to take golf clubs on camping trips, too. Looks like a fine trip y'all are having!