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Hi Oliver Family.. It’s been quite a while since I last posted around here, but I just finished a quick little mod for the exterior shower station on the ILOVHER. I do use and absolutely love my wet bath inside the trailer! But before the forum gray-water police sound the sirens: having managed a National Forest campground for five years, I promise I know the rules about gray water and where it belongs. I know there are plenty of places out West that actually permit surface gray-water disposal (and, funny enough, with the wildfire season we're having, the ground could probably use every stray drop). For this upcoming trip, I'll be boondocking in a private field for 12 days, and the owner doesn't mind me showering outside. I'll be using organic, biodegradable shampoo, and with no dump station for miles, keeping gray tank fill to an absolute minimum is the primary mission here. I considered one of the standard pop-up privacy tents, but having used a bicycle tent for camping, I could already envision the poles, stakes, folding/unfolding and general tent wrestling that would be involved. I was looking for something much simpler — something I could put up in a couple of minutes and take down just as quickly. I also wanted to avoid the usual problem of routing the shower hose into a privacy tent. You either have to run the wand through the main zipper opening, which can make the entrance/exit awkward, or start modifying the tent itself. Then I stumbled across these ratchet-style suction arms, and I immediately started thinking, "Oh, I can do something with these!" They reminded me of the SeaSucker-style mounting systems, and the Oliver's smooth, gelcoat fiberglass seemed like the perfect surface for them. I was so excited about the idea that I put the whole thing together and actually showered in my driveway last night just to test it out. 😂 And honestly, I think these are going to work perfectly! The Setup: Ratchet-style suction arms: I found these folding rack arms on Temu. Say what you will about ordering direct from China, but the mechanical ratchet suction on these things locks onto the fiberglass extremely well. They’re designed to hold weight and, so far, they’ve been remarkably solid. DM me if you want the link to the product. Curtains & rings: I used standard shower rings through the cutouts and repurposed heavy shower curtains I already had from a previous project and the bar that goes between the mounts is a simple tomato stake zip-tied tight to the ends. (I may reconfigure that at a later date with tool clips) No modifications to the Oliver: Nothing is drilled, screwed, glued or permanently attached to the trailer. The whole thing takes less than two minutes to set up, packs down flat, provides total privacy (other than wind, LOL) and gives me direct access to the Oliver’s outdoor shower faucets without having to wrestle with a tent or poles. I even have a suction mount for the shower wand. Please note that I have replaced the original ss shower hose with one that is 120" on my ILOVHER. Attached are the suction arms mounted to the Oliver and the full enclosure deployed. I’m pretty pleased with how simple this turned out!

after 3.5 months on the road and the Colorado mountain hiking trails we are heading home…. pulling out of Alvarado campground USFS near Westcliffe, Colorado San Isabel National Forest Sangre De Cristo Wilderness we hiked mountain trails all over Colorado and hit the pickleball court in Gunnison our longest hike was 10.5 miles, 2600 ft elevation gain

First Post, awesome thread. We were on Lopez Island, WA over the weekend.

Hi all, First off, thanks to all of the Oliver forum members who post comments and Q&As. The info we’ve gained from periodically checking the forum activity was incredibly helpful in our decision to buy an Oliver, and in figuring out which model and options would work best for us. Although it took more than a year of research, we finally made the leap this past June! We will be picking up our 2027 Oliver Legacy Elite II (Twin Bed floorplan) on September 8th — Hull #1735. We were tent campers for about 40 years and spent the last 8 years camping throughout the Carolinas and Virginia in a 15-foot Taxa Cricket. We are really looking forward to the next chapter of traveling and exploring the country in our Ollie. If anyone is around Hohenwald during our pickup week, say hello! Chuck and Beth Lexington, NC

Good day all! Wanted to share my hull number and the selected name of my Apex 23 that I’ll be picking up Oct 7th at the Mothership if all goes according to plans. In honor of the hull number I’m choosing a name taken from the writings of Thomas Jefferson (who was born in 1743) along with a “tongue in cheek” nod to part of military career as an Infantry Officer. His “Cannons of Conduct” contain 12 wonderful recommendations about how we should live our lives that I wholeheartedly agree with. So hopefully all will welcome myself, my pups and “Cannon Fodder” to the group. Cheers! Douglas

Reminds me of the pictures you get after a colonoscopy. Bill

I have been very unhappy with the Dexter leaf springs. I have towed my trailer 15-20,000 miles since purchase in 2021, 99% of the time on pavement. Last year 2 of the leaf springs broke and were replaced along with the shocks, since they bent the shaft on the shock when the leaf springs broke. This year I had another leaf spring break. I contacted Oliver and they told me they are now using Alcan leaf springs, starting with the 2027 models. I am thinking that's because they have had a lot of problems with the Dexter leaf springs. Reading through this thread it seems like many have had problems with the Dexter leaf springs. I have ordered Alcan leaf springs so we will see how they do when I get them installed.

In June we had our Dexter OEM axles upgraded to 5200's. Our replacement 2400 pound rated Dexters were retained. No reason to replace them after just a couple of seasons. What I did learn of interest follows: As of that time, Alcan has replace abut 300 sets of OEII springs at their shop. They have also sent to other Oliver owners about 450 sets of springs. Both 4 and 5 leaf. They have also sent a bunch of 5 leaf springs to Oliver for use in the new Heavy Duty suspension, and sent four leaf springs for the other 90% of their customers. I specifically discussed with Alcan the repair method for spun spline bolts. He stated that the Hex Head Washer approach IS the best solution. He also stated that the second best solution is to weld a spacer washer and try to create a new splins. I asked if it was his trailer which he wouldl do: He stated the Hex Head Washer approach is how he would do it. I asked what he thought about the Dexter 1750 rated springs: He stated they are too light for a 6K trailer full time loaded. I am glad to hear that OTT has gone with the suggestions made about 30 pages ago..... GJ

It's not a complicated job to do on your own but will take a bit of time and it helps if you have someone to help. I replaced all of my springs and associated hardware as well as the shocks last spring by myself out of necessity, (one of my springs broke on my previous trip). It helps to have a good impact wrench with associated impact rated sockets. In addition to using the Olivers jacks it helps to have a couple of bottle jacks for supporting and manipulating the axles (when lining things up). I also had a couple of jack stands on hand for additional security but luckily didn't need them. Just take your time and you'll be fine.

Hey Everyone, I posed some questions about Alternator load with a DC/DC charger to Easton Ford at Inverter Services. Here is the info I got back from him: Q: When you install a DC/DC charger, what considerations should you have on the alternator in the Tow Vehicle? A: What I take into account is how much load you have on the alternator with all of your heavy electrical loads running, then I clamp the alternator wire to see how many amps it is pulling, I then Add 50 amps(DC/DC) and I see if that number is above 75% of the full capacity of the alternator. If its under everything is good. If it is over I would let you know that its over and if you didn’t want to do the DC/Dc I would take it off the ticket. If you still wanted the DC/DC it can be turned down to draw less from the alternator. Q: Can the Victron DC/DC charger be set to draw a certain amount of power. A: Yes, the Victron DC/DC charger can be turned down from 1 to 50 amps Q: My tow vehicle (2024 Nissan Titan XD) currently has a heavy duty 200 amp alternator. For me specifically, what would you recommend? A: For this vehicle I think one DC-DC would be fine no issues. If you want to have two DC-DCs I would want to clamp the alternator wire to make sure that we are not cutting it close. (2 dc/Dcs would equal up to 100Amps but it is highly programable to set it anywhere from 1-100) My plan going forward would be to have the alternator load tested and if it's within parameters, fine... if not, I will ask them to turn down the DC/DC charger to the appropriate number until I can arrange an alternator upgrade. Hope this helps to answer any Alternator questions anyone else may have. Happy Camping, Scotty

We also recently had Alcan upgrade our leaf springs and axles. Having a 2018 trailer we had the old 3000 lb axles and of course the 4 pack leaf springs installed by Oliver. It took us a while to decide to have the work done, but it was becoming obvious that we were due for a broken leaf spring or two without an upgrade. Upgrading the axles was an easy decision since the new axles provide better brakes and (hopefully) less maintenance. It’s a relatively quick process to have Alcan do the work; it takes about 2 hours. Lew told us his wife had worried about people driving to town to purchase a torque wrench and socket pulling a trailer so he now sells a decent torque wrench and the necessary socket to perform the required torquing for $50 dollars. He also provides a sheet with all the torque specs and is available for any questions. Tucker the technician who performed the work for us was available as well to answer any questions that we had. We did notice that the new running gear is much stiffer. We aired down our tires, and have done the preliminary torques. We would definitely recommend Alcan. Seems easier to have them do the work but as has been detailed by others, Alcan will ship so folks can do the work themselves or have a shop close to them do the work.Lew told us he is doing about 1 Oliver a week now, plus providing gear for the new Oliver Apex. I guess 38 pages of forum information pays off, for anyone who has the patience to read it all! Alcan suggested we go to Randy’s South Side Diner in Grand Junction while the work was being done. Decent local restaurant for breakfast!

I recently had the pleasure of working with Alcan Spring in Grand Junction CO for a set of new 5-leaf springs for my Oliver. Alcan is fantastic to work with. My mechanic's name was Tucker, and he was kind enough to take time before and after the install to be sure I understood what is needed in terms of torquing all the various nuts -- there are quite a few to be done, at 50 miles, 100 miles and then at 500 miles post-installation. The torquing isn't difficult, though doing the nuts on the springs is much easier with two people. Note that the requirements vary from the fixed end of the springs to the flex ends, so pay attention. About a week after my install, I spoke to Lew on the phone and he noted that yet another Oliver had just pulled through for new springs. Someone there said that they have installed new springs on at least 250 Olivers. Imagine that! While I was there, Alcan also installed a new set of Dexter Brakes for my Oliver. Thanks to @jd1923 for looking at my brakes and also to @ScubaRx for encouraging me to follow through with a Warranty Claim (I had 25,000 miles so I was within the 5 year, 100,000 mile warranty window.) Dexter was dynamite with their turn-around on the Warranty and shipping the brakes to Alcan, where I was already scheduled for new springs. I truly appreciate both of these businesses -- Dexter and Alcan Spring -- for their efficiency and excellent service.

Thank you Chris, for bring this to our attention! 😂 Every time a forum member brings up a maintenance issue, next thing I'm outside checking ours. That's for sure! Ours has no screen at all and no rust. I can stick the full length of my index finger all the up into the opening. Thought I better secure our drain to keep mice and bugs out. I cut a circle about 2 1/2" dia. Then cut a radius line to shape a cone. Then crushed the screen over a 3/8" socket extension and pushed it up into the opening. Same screening I used in the fridge vents.

UPDATE on August 9, 2026: It has now been 1,800 miles of towing since the wiring work, and NO warning messages have been appearing on my Tow Vehicle .... I believe @ScubaRx is correct that we had the right avenue for my particular fix. I will update again, if it comes back. Thanks again to @jd1923 and @ScubaRx for all of their help, and to @jd1923's family for their gracious hospitality in Prescott.

IMG_0062.mov We had our Oliver ceramic coated by Blake, owner of Triple B Detailing near Lake Norman, NC. He did an outstanding job and was absolutely incredible to work with! His reviews were stellar and making the 3 hour trip to see him was more than worth it! He is knowledgeable, passionate, and takes pride in every step of the process! Our Oliver looks better than when we took delivery a month ago. I wanted to share Blake’s information and an honest review in case anyone is looking for someone in the area and wants someone who does exceptional work with Olivers.

We get 100s of hummingbirds in Prescott, with the peak season during August. It just cooled off and the hot summer temps are gone 'til next season, thank goodness. They all know Chris as the bird lady. She puts out seed, water in the bird bath and gallons of sugar water in 4 feeders. She even had a couple hummers drink from a hand feeder! The hummers will start to migrate south in the next few days/weeks. We do have some winter hummers, but only a few. We spend an hour or so on the deck each evening. Soon we'll be wearing winter clothes and have the fire ring going! 😆 Hummers in Prescott v2.MOV

Better stay with a 3-way fridge, unless you're plugged in. Running on DC overnight takes too much power for AGM batteries. We do, and it must stay below 10F to keep my Qt of ice cream cold! Glampin' right?! 😎 We also make ice! Two of these fit in one corner of the Dometic freezer, taking very little room. I refill one each night so we always have ice available for those adult beverages! https://www.amazon.com/Molds-Silicone-Trays-Large-Square/dp/B0771YDNCY/ @Ronbrink was first to have one of these in his TV. Like you, he has the dual-zone CFX which is great! At first, I didn't want to use the space, but I went with the single compartment CFX5 45L which just fits in this space by the passenger door. It's so nice always having cold water with us, and not only in the cabin. Often when traveling, we buy a load of meat from a local farm or butcher shop. I'll remove the drinking water, set the CFX5 down to freezer temps to carry the box full of frozen meats, yum! Some people go to museums. That's not us. We shop the great local food markets. Leaving to SW Colorado this Wednesday! With both fridges half empty, our first stop is always the Delores Market! 😍

About noon today on Interstate 80 I was headed East and a white truck towing a white LE 2 was headed West near Laramie, WY. And, a wonderful couple paid for dinner tonight as both of us are overnighting at Cabela's, Sidney, NB. 2 in less than 12 hours!

Interesting story: I actually had fixed the problem before I got the official description from Truma due to the time of day that I had the failure. I had been driving through a raging rain storm during the day, ended up at a campground near Allentown PA in early January 2024. Temperatures dipped to freezing , set up late evening at 4 County RV Park that night and could not get the furnace to run. Because I had driven all day in the pouring rain I suspected that water may have entered the exhaust / inlet port of the furnace. I could find no description for the error that I was getting in the documentation or on line. I decided to take a hair dryer and blow warm air into the furnace exhaust / inlet port and after several minutes I was able to get the furnace to fire up ( luckily ). Called Oliver the next day and they had no listing for the error. I then put in a ticket with Truma and I got an email a day later explaining what the cause may be. I haven't had the problem since.

Appreciate your feedback Chris. I recall reading that too, but several owners in your post report otherwise. Please explain. Apparently Oliver is satisfied with Dexter parts durability as that is what they are using on new Apex model. Perhaps you misunderstood my comments. I would never suggest re-using old and/or worn parts. @DanielBoondock has a 2026 model, and has said he lubricated his wet bolts. They should be inspected of course, but there should be essentially no wear on the bolts or shackles. If any wear, it will be the bronze bushings in the springs, which of course are being replaced. I’m not knocking Alcan, I am a customer, just haven't received my springs yet. I’m only summarizing what I’ve read. All of these reported shortcomings are not deal breakers, they are just not ”optimal”. Working together, we can do better, but it’s important to get the facts straight and pay attention to the details on our running gear. We are moving in the right direction, and have Oliver’s attention.

The shower hose I purchased was a stainless steel hose on Amazon: https://a.co/d/0dgsEMfQ   It was very straightforward..open the street side access hatch and a little teflon and you're golden! I have had it on there for five years and it fits just fine and hasn't bound up inside the compartment. Here are a couple shots of the suction mount. It's a ratchet style with two additional suction cups below it for some added strength.

Thought some might get a kick out of this video clip my wife shot in our back yard and set to music last rutting season. 4 bucks.mp4

We are Steve and Elaine. Soon to be the proud owners of Happy Hour - our hull # is 1730. We pick up our Ollie on 20 August (can't wait). We saw our first and only Ollie in the wild (so to speak) when our family members Mitch and Debbie brought their Oliver "Dickens" home several years ago. (We are just finally able to get our own and start traveling) We live in Maryville, TN and look forward to meeting everyone out on the road. Cheers!

Problem solved! I took the Oliver to a highly-rated solar installer in our area and he solved our problem. Galway girl was correct, the internal fuses (there were two) in the Xantrex inverter were blown. The service tech had another identical inverter on hand (he had replaced it with a Victron) and used those fuses, since he didn’t have new replacements in stock. We also had him replace our AGM batteries with a Vatrer 12V 300AH Bluetooth LiFePO4 Self Heating battery (only $599) and a shut off switch, so I don’t repeat my reverse-polarity blunder when it goes in storage. Thank you all for your help. Heading up to northern MN for some mountain biking next week.

I think it was Mountain man that discovered Alcan Springs and made the first post in the forum. some 36 pages later in the forum, seems the has provided a great service to Oliver owners and a real bump in sales for Alcan. Thank you Mountain man, for your contribution to all of us that have broken springs and now running on Alcan. Additionally, I think the folks at Alcan might consider some recognition and maybe a modest commission for purchases made by Oliver owners. Best to you and happy torquing Mountain Man

I spent the last week traveling my home state of wyoming looking at properties to potentially buy. I spent the evenings comfortably in my Ollie and got to spend time in some of my favorite places here. I thought I would share photos.

We always have a friend with an EV stop by our campsite needing a charge! 🤣 Everything listed in KWh, but I'm missing whether this is a 12V system or other. Why the gas generator and gas tank if a generator can produce power from the trailer just rolling? NOT all-electric as advertised! Gas tank in a trailer not safe. 60-gal FRESH is very good, 30-gal BLACK also very good, 30-gal GREY. "What are they thinking!" There goes their 7+ days OFF-GRID rating. 8 FT wide and 9,900 LBS GVWR, 8,900 dry weight, better leave those kayaks and e-bikes at home! 1000 LBS available goes quickly filling the fridge and pantry, clothes, bath and cleaning supplies, drinking water and beverages, etc. Love our 7 FT width and the Oliver has a lot more available weight capacity at 7K GVWR and many of us have an upgraded 10K suspension. Made in China! We prefer Tennessee! 😎

The Cabela’s campground in Sidney is a convenient stopping spot! Easy walk over to Cabela’s too.

I purchased and picked up my Nova Kool 5810 from a dealer in Miami, FL. It was a day of travel, but what's a retired guy going to do on a Tuesday? Mossey

I did get under my rig with my creeper and a bright flashlight. I took some pics too, but they are not really worth loading up here. So far, everything looks good and things appear to be moving as they should. However, when I put my springs on, I was a bit "anal" and even added a finger size of grease on the shackles where the springs would be touching and rubbing. I knew the 65 ft lbs may be an issue, so I gave everything a fighting chance to move freely. LOL Seems to have worked. I do have grease pushed out to the far side of the wet bolt/shackle area, but then again I used a Ryobi battery powered grease gun, which seem quite powerful, and FAST.

From across the lake

Dennis, PM me with your address and I’ll put a brand new original in the mail to you. 😎 Barker is great. I purchased two reconditioned heads for our rears and they came with new plastic covers, switches, etc. which of course you don’t need when replacing the rears. It would be my pleasure!

@Hokieman Not sure what to explain in regards to the shackles and wet bolts being heavier duty than Dexter parts. They simply appears bigger/larger. Once you get over the fact that the wet bolts could possible spin over time due to no spines in the shackles, all is well, I guess. As to why Oliver is using Dexter parts with Alcan springs, I'm not sure. If they are, I can only think of a few reasons why: They have tons of Dexter spare parts and want to use them up & save $$$. Or they are making a less than desirable decision to save $$ and use Dexter parts with Alcan springs. 🤷‍♂️ The parts will be fine I'm sure. Most of those bolts & shackles had held up pretty well. Oh sure, a few reports of broken ones over the years, but only time will tell with pure Alcan parts. Again, a business does not stay in business since 1971 if they make crap parts, I would think. Us men can be so darn anal detailed oriented with our data-point comparisons that it surely creates super long threads. 🤣. It's like our chess games but with RV parts. 😉 I spend much of my time in recent years ensuring I know how to retire and if I did a good enough job with the portfolio (I think so). And now whether or not I want to go thru a full RV Tech school to have a better foundation, or simply goof-off in early retirement. Decisions, decisions.

I own a 2026 4-Runner, and I used to own an Elite 1. Even if the numbers indicate it’s possible, I wouldn’t recommend it.

@Snackchaser Hey, I just came across this solution! Thanks for putting us out there. IFIXIFI is me and my family's small, American family business. And, yes, we own OLE2 Hull 231, "Olly'all".

I've been chatting with another Oliver owner who had the exact same error yesterday. My understanding is that it's some sort of "E"lectrical error with the "H"eater. That could mean: loss of signal between heater and the display (loose wire?) loss of power to the unit (different loose wire?) loss of power to the igniter or something else I think that's where the suggestions of resetting the various power supplies comes from. I've been told that listening the heater start up may narrow the investigation. e.g. If you hear the fan, the heater has power? If you hear the igniter clicking, it's got power? If you hear nothing, power is not getting to the unit? etc. Alas, I have no answers. But, if they report back a solution, I will let you know. If you find it first, please report back. Thanks, Dennis

First, great write-up. Saved it to my DIY file. We also travel long and far, and having a Victron DC to DC has been wonderful. Sadly ours is only the 30 amp verson. But when it fails, I'll be digging out my saved DIY of your efforts. So thanks in the future a second time. I too am open to roof mount solar, some day. Just don't like the look or their potential MPG impact, especially out west with high speed limits. I'm hopeful that future surface mount panels will be made to allow "full" covoerage of our roof. Specifically from the low outter sections to the main middle section curves. Current surface mounts that I have looked at don't have adequate bend radius to cover all three areas fully. Besides the power benefit, it would sure make waxing Ollie's top a LOT easier. Thanks again, GJ

Hummers in Prescott.MOV

Alcan quoted me $145/hr, 2-3 hrs max for installing entire D52 axle assembly, springs, shocks, equalizer, erc. Lots of folks have stated they were in and out of Alcan around 2 hours, with rave reviews about quality of service. I too am a retired engineer and I plan to do this myself first chance I get, because I don't plan to go to Grand Junction CO for maybe a year or more. Saves money, aggravation, is not difficult, and does not require any special tools. I look on the bright side and consider these tasks kind of fun. I’m just going to do the Alcan 4-leaf springs, U-bolts, & Bulldog shocks for now, I’ll replace the axles later when I need brakes. I am re-using my Dexter Shackles and wet bolts, and may keep the EZ Flex too if it’s in good shape. I already replaced bearings with Timken.

Congrats on the new running gear. Best money we ever spent on labor was having Alcan professionally do the work on our Oliver. Good for you. The torquing is the easy part. Safe Travels!

I am pleased that Oliver has returned to their "service in Hohenwald or submit a service ticket" model. I recently had a 12V electrical issue in our Hull #1291, submitted a ticket, and received top-tier help via email from Scottie with Oliver Service. It enabled me to resolve the issue in my driveway, no travel required. That is one of many reasons we own an Oliver. Four years after picking up ours in Hohenwald, we are still "happy [Oliver] campers."

We got lucky and only had a few Smokey days in Gunnison a little smoke in the wet mountain valley we just missed the flash floods and landslides in Ouray, Telluride and near Ridgway,and the Black Canyon……..missed the Aspen fire and the Gold Mountain fire it was a fantastic trip our only bad luck was on the way home in Oklahoma's panhandle it hit 109 degrees and the demonic squirrel cage developed a significant rattle………and was out of service Night temps dropped down and a box fan allowed us to sleep didnt have a chance yet to take the lid off the Penguin

I've been negligent in posting to my YouTube channel... More to come from last year's Big Bend trip...

Google Maps has basic travel planning that is free. Please find an example link below https://www.google.com/maps/dir/McKinleyville,+CA+95519/Medford,+Oregon/Lake+Shasta+Caverns+National+Natural+Landmark,+20359+Shasta+Caverns+Rd,+Lakehead,+CA+96051/@41.427653,-124.1908508,7.61z/data=!4m20!4m19!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d15c594e280e27:0x585da6f91a139f5f!2m2!1d-124.0312661!2d40.9373196!1m5!1m1!1s0x54cf7c5b37361f6d:0x7db736c5541136e!2m2!1d-122.8767396!2d42.3230112!1m5!1m1!1s0x54d27d843f61b711:0x35bb1e6f54db32a1!2m2!1d-122.3039955!2d40.8042955!3e0?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgwNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

@dewdev and @jd1923 littlehousecustoms.com sells the button guard below, which we found totally eliminated the accidental RM2454 button push. Mossey FRIDGE BUTTON GUARD Who hasn’t bumped the fridge control, switched to DC and run their battery down? This new version is made for us by Charlie Young. It's clear, fits the fridge well and doesn't require removal to operate the buttons. It attaches with clear VHB tape to the control panel. The red color in the photo is the release film on the guard and peels off prior to installation revealing the clear VHB tape. Button Guard $14.95 Add to Cart

The few times so far when I had no connection was a blessing I have to admit 😅

Yeah, I like having a freezer for ice and a good ice pack for the back & neck. Looks like the Nova fridge uses a lot less power at about 4.5A on 12v. My old 3-way burns at least 10amps on DC, but my 4 good AGMs sustain that all day, with Solar coming in. I'm estimating that the Nova, without a freezer, might run on a Jackery 1000 for approximately 30 to 35 hours. I always travel with at least one of my Jackery 1000s portable power units, for among other things, running my 12v Truma Cooler that I either carry in the cab of the truck or in the camper itself. The Truma cooler runs at least two days on that portable power unit, and I seldom charge past 85%, depending how hold I want things and the ambient temps. I'm estimating that the Nova, without a freezer, might run on a Jackery 1000 for approximately 30 to 35 hours. But that remains to be seen, and weather dependent. In theory, and if I put my money where my mouth has been, I'll be retired in 122 days. (Fine, yes, I'm counting)

Reasoning is I wouldn't think with how heavy your tow vehicle is that a WDH would be necessary. What you describe is the way my truck felt towing prior to upgrading leaf springs. The Alcan springs will eliminate 90% of the porpoising and so made the tail-heavy feeling go away. BTW, both Bill and I had measured tongue weight with a Sherline scale at 580 LBS. Most Oliver owners with 2500 series trucks do not use the Andersen WDH.