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Anybody use this? The stock Dexter suspension is pretty much garbage, the plastic bushings and thin shackles wear out in no time. This system isolates road vibration and is much stouter, and can be greased every few thousand miles for quiet reliable operation. There are no negative reviews for this system, it makes a huge difference in trailer ride quality. https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/21609645.cfm It's inexpensive but the labor will use up a few hours. http://www.nickstruckparts.com/k71-652-00.html I wonder if I can order axles through Oliver with this stuff pre-installed...? Comments? Have any high mileage Ollie's had suspension issues? Have you looked at your bushings _lately_? LOL, I am not trying to scare people, but the reality is that the standard parts are not intended for prolonged use or exposure to harsh environments like dust. They just don't last. BTW the picture above is wrong, the grease zerks should be installed facing inboard so you don't have to remove the wheels to lube them! John Davies Spokane WA

I ordered this (K71-653-00 E-Z Flex® Complete Tandem Kit) last night from Nick's Truck. I called them first to verify the parts were in stock and that it would be shipped today. The kit is $163.75 plus some pretty extravagant shipping and handling bringing my total to $196.58. I suppose the difference in mine and Rob's order total's is due to his living in the hinterlands of Montana and at least part of the delivery is done by mule pack train. Thanks, Rob for the good info posted above about the wet bolts. That will make the install somewhat easier. I will jump on this next week barring poor weather. I will try to take pictures as I go to help anyone else that is attempting this mod. Wish me luck...

As luck would have it, it appears I will need to install one of these kits on my one year old Oliver. During our last trip to Utah which we've just returned from a week or so ago our suspension has developed an obnoxious set of noises when leveling the trailer and from all I can determine the issue is with the bushings in the shackles. Keep in mind we have towed this trailer less than 8000 miles and they need to be replaced. So to anyone ordering a new Oliver my recommendation is to spring for the additional heavy duty suspension kit. I do want to point out though the kit linked above is the wrong one. You will need K71-653 not 652 for the entire enchilada, or K71-655 if you choose the abbreviated kit with just the equalizer only. Link below for the correct full kit. http://www.dexteraxle.com/inc/sdetail/18096/18100

Our scheduled pick up date was May 10. We arrived on the afternoon of May 9. Our trailer just left for a wash, oh well. We drove out to Fall Hollow to check in to the B&B. Noel was very friendly and helpful. Accommodations were simple but clean. He cooks a mean breakfast - we weren't hungry until dinner time. After check in we drove back to the Sales Office to see our trailer. Met Bob and Camille who were taking delivery of their trailer. Our trailer looked great! But, we immediately saw a few things that weren't right. We were missing an extra 110V outlet and had an extra 12V instead of an extra USB on the nightstand. Most concerning was the none of the special graphics we asked for were done. Tuesday we went through the orientation with Tommy and finished the paperwork with Anita. Very smooth. It was mid afternoon when we finished and they pulled it back to the factory to add the outlet and make a few other minor adjustments. The 12V to USB was done right at the Sales Office. We decided to stay an extra night in the B&B and pick up the morning of the 11th since the weather was quite damp with more rain on the way. We met Tommy and Mike at the factory Wednesday morning and installed the Andersen Hitch. While we were checking lights, turn signals, etc., we discovered the back up lights would not come on on the trailer. Lot's of troubleshooting. Since Steve Landrum (scubarx) was there we backed his truck up to test and verified it was the trailer and not the truck. So they pulled it back into the factory for some serious troubleshooting. Result was that there was a short in the wiring at the furnace, that all had to be replaced (including the furnace!). Thanks to Steve for sacrificing the fuse for his back up lights! Around 5:00 Tommy called and said we were good to go. We had been hanging out in the Sales Office with Anita and Chris, so we drove over and got hooked up and headed to Fall Hollow. Shortly after our arrival, a couple from Maine pulled in for their first night. Then, about an hour later two Oliver's showed up that were getting something done at the factory the next day. 4 Oliver's in the tiny Fall Hollow campground! Everything checked out and we left the next morning for Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area on the TN and KY border. Hillman Ferry KY State Park is where we've been the last two nights. I've posted some pictures on our profile page. One is me putting on our front Graphic. I will do the rest of what we asked for once back in San Antonio. Overall, the pick up process was both enjoyable and frustrating. Oliver seems to be ramping up quickly and they need to address some attention to detail issues, which I'm sure will happen. Scott Oliver was there for much of our experience and knows what needs to be done. Everyone was well meaning and apologetic for the glitches we had. We have tested about everything and have to say we are very happy. It was in the high 50's this morning and we had some windows open all night, so I fired up the furnace when we got up and it heated things quickly. Kitchen, bath, hot water all very functional. It's a very comfortable space to live in. The only drawback is the noise of the air conditioner (Dometic) inside. We only used it the first part of the evening we were at Fall Hollow. I'm towing with a 2012 Toyota Tacoma. The trip up was a mix of state highways, some interstate and lots of hills. There wasn't a hill that I couldn't maintain speed on. I kept it between 60 and 65 mph. The only drawback for the Tacoma that I can see right now is the size of the gas tank, something around 22 gallons. My first tank showed 13.2 MPG, so I'll be stopping every few hours to fill up. We are off to Branson (Table Rock State Park) for a few nights in the morning. We've been getting compliments and are definitely enjoying our Oliver! Will be adding more pics on our profile page as we go. Mike and Carol

RC Heilo view, here is the link to photo and video. http://olivertraveltrailers.com/aerial-view-olivers-roof-rc-heilo/

Enjoy seeing the video!!!!!! Nice job!

I have no doubt you will do well with this mod, but do keep us informed on how it goes. Likewise I will do the same. Regarding deliveries, yep we usually get our shipments in via the 20 Mule Team Borax crew but thats only a recent new advancement for these parts, still had the pony express when I moved up here in the mid 70's. So we're moving pretty quick now days. The views aren't too bad though, long as those mules don't get in the way.

Just wanted to do a quick update on this kit. Received my parts kit on Wed but have not had the time to install yet, but if all else fails I do have an appt at our local expert shop to have it done albeit for a chunk of change. Had another forum member contact me about one aspect of the install and wanted to share what I have learned regarding this issue. Apparently there has been some internet chatter on other forums where the resident "experts" claim the zerk bolt hole should be not only mounted on the horizontal plane which is correct, but also depending on its location, i.e. which spring eyelet the bolt goes into, that the lube hole should face either toward the front or the back of the camper. So addressing this in the install and owners manual there is nothing that implies either a forward or aft facing install, only that the hole should be on a horizontal plane. Not being quite content I decided to call tech support at Dexter to get their take on it. Jim, told me in no uncertain terms that the engineers only require the horizontal plane, direction matters not so long as the lube hole does not face down or up. Now that out of the way I would be remiss if not including the following info. This kit is massive heavy duty makes the standard shackles, equalizer parts look like a cheap toy. Also worth noting many of the zerk bolts and their brass/bronze bushings come already installed and pressed into place reducing the amount of work needed for the complete install. Its heavy over 30 lbs for both sides. Good luck for those who decide to make the installation themselves. For approximately $200 just for parts this will be money well spent.

Thanks Don. My website is sorely in need of updating and completion. Was working it on it but got interrupted by some work and a group art show and haven't been back to the task. Let me know if you need more specifics. Love discussing and visiting this area.

Update on the Dexter EZ Flex kit, just ordered from Nicks Truck supplies so with cost of kit and shipping I'm in for $211 so far. For those wanting to retrofit these were the least expensive I found on the net. Also checked with the go to guys here in town that do the best undercarriage work on vehicles, i.e. alignment etc. This part is painful. To do the complete install and taking out all the old stuff it could be as high as $700 depending on whether or not an alignment is needed after the installation. But probably $500 bare minimum. Ouch! The moral of the story is, if you are planning to order an Oliver or have one in the works you're foolish for not including this kit installed for $270 bucks, otherwise its classic case of stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. Hope this helps.

Jaquelyn, My experience in parking has been that the width of the road and what is on the other side of the road is more an issue than the size of the campsite. Given enough room to maneuver I can get into just about any size site, with numerous obstacles. So keep this in mind as you drive through the campground looking for a perfect site. We arrived at Mount Pisgah campground last year in the dead of night. Pitch black. Our assigned site was a right angle to the road and someone had parked their car directly across from us making it all but impossible to get into the site...but I did it with many small adjustments. That's the key...slow and don't try to do everything in one pass. I look for sites that are slanted to the access road so my trailer doesn't almost jack knife. Please don't over analyze the parking thing. You seem like a lady who will figure it out. I like your idea of camping outdoors. That's what we do. Set up the Clam tent, deploy some rocking chairs and rugs, and uncork a good red. Carpe momento!

Oliver has agreed to install this upgrade on a new build for $270. I don't know what the cost would be for a retrofit, but it would be a little more since there would be disassembly of the old parts involved. The $270 includes credit for the unused original parts. I think this is perhaps a little high since wholesale cost on the parts is probably well below $100 and there is minimal extra labor involved when building up a new suspension. The only extra work would be tearing out the old plastic bushings in the spring eyes and pressing in the new bronze ones. And then greasing all the zerk fittings afterwards. Whatever.... You can find the kit for less than half MSRP (Dexter parts have a huge markup), so a local shop should be able to do this affordably or you can attempt it at home if you are handy, have the jacks and muscles.And your joints don't hurt too badly. You will also need a heavy duty ball joint press, but you can borrow one from Autozone or many parts houses. Here's a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6hXCegZNxE&app=desktop John Davies Spokane WA