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The spirit of innovation will tweak each Oliver and Airstream owner's trailer for the uses they want theirs to travel. At the Airstream factory at Jackson Center, Ohio the smell of Aluminum is not apparent. The curing of Fiber Glass I am familiar, when repairing damage on older Corvettes when no body shop in the State of Wyoming understood fiber glass... other than bondo. Several cars in an alley in Cheyenne, Wyoming and lots of advice how to approach the repair. The majority of Airstream owners and Oliver owners are NOT those who push the limits of their trailer's tires and suspension. When comparing my Airstream to an Oliver... we both share Michelin 16" M/S tires, but the Oliver has leaf springs on their Dexter Axles. I am very curious as to the benefits of the leaf springs setup. For those who own an Oliver... the seven foot width, leaf spring suspension and 16 inch Michelin tires are your Personal Ticket to the western USA Rocky Mountains. The campsites beyond the paved roads await your presence. Do not be intimidated by the all season Forest Service roads... they have been used by wagon and trailer traffic for generations without failure. I only know the Rocky Mountains and the millions of acres of public lands. For the cost of a National Forest map... you have your ticket of admission, paid in advance of your arrival to explore with your trailer which is fully capable to travel anywhere a tow vehicle can travel. After years of towing our Airstreams into the depths of the deserts and forests... I await the time when your Oliver is camped even further up the road that I dared not to attempt. Be the first one of the Oliver family to test the possibilities. I have with our Airstreams and have been considered... using our Airstream for what it was not intended. Well, sir... let me decide what my current trailer is capable. Paying $35 or $75 at a RV Park of a view of fifth wheelers and traffic is not why we have our 'Sisters in Tow'. Do it. Post it on this thread. Give others the encouragement that Off the Grid camping is not only possible, it is an investment of the money wasted at a campsite with a flushing toilet and three trees as your view...

These are a few of the common issues and questions we get about our WD Hitch. Most of the issues experienced are due to improper installation or hook up. See the Andersen WD Hitch thread for general information about our WD. Q. How do I get my triangle plate straight? A. Often times when someone discovers their plate is crooked is when they are trying to hook the trailer up again and can’t get a chain to reach. Why this happens is the trailer is unhooked when it is turned and then they back straight into the trailer to hook up. It will be practically impossible to move the tringle plate by hand at this point (Don't hammer or try to pry it straight), hook the coupler on the ball and release the short chain from the triangle plate. Once the short chain is released, pin the triangle plate in place, retract the tongue jack and drive forward perhaps even turning the other direction to get the attached chain to straighten the triangle plate. Once it is straight raise the tongue, reattach the chain and hook up as normal. To prevent this issue, try to unhook and hookup as straight as possible. Q. Why is my WD making an awful noise? A. This is the unfortunate side effect of doing all of our R&D testing out West where it is very dry. What is happening is the quietest WD on the market is getting moisture in the friction material and it sounds like the spawn of the underworld has manifest in your RV. For this we sincerely apologize, it does not affect safety but it can be uncomfortable and embarrassing. The good news is there is an easy cure; Send me and email: Sage@Anderseninc.com with “ Noisy WD Warranty” in the subject line, include your name and shipping information and we will send you a new friction cone with an updated material that handles moisture much better. If you are changing this the easiest way to get the ball out is to remove the retainer clip from the bottom of the ball assembly, then reinstall the rack in your receiver hitch and use a jack to lift the ball out of the housing. After inserting the new friction material you can turn the drop rack upside down in your receiver hitch and jack the ball in so the retainer clip will go on. Q. Can I back up without unhooking? A. Yes you can. Because of the ball turning in the housing there is no need to unhook anything when you back up, it will not damage the hitch or trailer. With any hitch it is possible to jackknife a trailer so please don’t turn so sharp in reverse that the trailer contacts the bumper of the tow vehicle. Q. When I get to about 40 MPH my trailer starts swaying bad. What should I do? A. This is a conflict of two great systems and is not exclusive to Andersen WD. Many of the newer vehicles are coming with a trailer sway protection on them. This is a system that applies slight braking inputs to the opposite sides of the vehicle to minimize and correct trailer sway. The newer F-150 is the most common vehicle with this feature. This system fights against anti-sway hitches of any manufacturer. If this is something you are experiencing just turn that feature off in your vehicle each time you start it. Q. Can I turn my drop rack over and use it in the rise position? A. Yes you can. The rack is safe to use in the drop or rise position, the important thing is to get your trailer riding level. Q. I have a class 5 receiver will this hitch work? A. Yes, we have two options; there is a reduction sleeve 2.5” to 2” but this can create extra movement in the receiver. We also build the drop rack in in the 4” and 8” drop that has a 2.5” receiver for the class 5 tow package. Have your dealer order the appropriate receiver when buying the hitch to avoid shipping and restock charges. Q. I have the rack in the rise position and can’t open the back of my SUV. A. We build the racks with a custom 3” extension on the shank to get you a little better clearance, this also works well for spare tire interference. Q. My truck is lifted will this hitch still work? A. Most likely, we can do a 4” and an 8” adjustment on the rack. The 4” works on most vehicles and the 8” gets you a little more reach. See our fit guide at AndersenHitches.com. Have your dealer order the appropriate receiver when buying the hitch to avoid shipping and restock charges. Q. How is this a greaseless system? A. The way the ball turns in the housing eliminates any friction between the coupler and ball, they turn together so there is no friction and no need for grease.

Good Monday morning Ollie owners and perspective owners. Just wanted to share this post with you since I've had to answer this question a few times. Progressive dynamics surge protector will give you an error 2 code with some generators that have a neutral ground. The way to solve that is to get a plug designed to ground the system. The following link has such a plug and a short video demonstrating how to test your generator to see if it needs one. Have a great week everyone. http://www.progressiveindustries.net/#!generator-plug/c1mwy

Oliver Elite and Oliver Elite II are the young Boondocking Trailers that are affordable for young families and designed for more than casual camping at a RV Park in a city environment. The Oliver has grabbed the attention of some fellow Airstream owners, who spend more time Off the Grid and Base Camping, than RV Parks with full hookups. Myself, included. It just that seeing is believing. I have attempted to have the two local Denver, Colorado owners to contact me through the Sales Staff, but no response. Being able to compare how each are assembled, ease of towing, interior cabinets and appliances being able to resist the rougher roads that come with traveling Forest Service and BLM roads is a sure test of any trailer. Being able to either Boondock with a Elite II, as I had a 23 foot Airstream and currently a 25 foot... these two trailers are Sisters. Some Airstream owners suggested that Airstream should have looked closer at Oliver for the younger adventurer who depends of quality of construction with modern amenities to support Off the Grid camping. Please, if you are in the Denver, Colorado or Las Vegas, Nevada area... contact me at boondockingairstream@gmail.com. I see a permanent friendship of two Sisters of Boondocking. (The one photo in forest is near Lander, Wyoming on the August 2016 Wyoming Adventure. There had BETTER BE some Oliver Trailers parked with us if there is a future Adventure. There is nothing better than having two brands of classy trailers to compare and talk about how one can improve the other.) (Second photo is group stopped near Medicine Bow, Wyoming at the Dinosaur Cabin near Como Bluffs on the first day of the August 2016 Wyoming Adventure. Yes... some day Airstreams will catch up with Oliver technology! But, I am not holding my breath.)

The two posts from Andersen are terrific! Maybe there could be a "sticky" so all pertinent info, comment & questions would always be available easily. thanks! randy

As a factory rep for Andersen Hitches I have joined the forum to help inform, educate, and assist in any way possible with our products. As for the Weight Distribution hitch (WD) it is very unique in the industry and designed to not only distribute the tongue weight of the trailer but also reduce sway and bucking. Oliver does a great job of installing this hitch on their trailers utilizing our chain extensions. By understanding how the hitch works will help you use it properly and tow safer. Weight Distribution The weight distribution is accomplished by the force of the chains pulling the triangle plate backward and the coupler of the trailer pushing the ball forward. This works very similar to a cable suspension bridge. We have to build the bridge between the truck and trailer and then put the weight down so the hitch can do its job. If the hitch is installed properly, hooking up is a cinch. Simply lock the coupler on the ball, then using the trailer tongue jack lift the tongue a couple inches. The triangle plate should be attached to both chains and easily swing up and attach to the bottom of the ball assembly with one pin, insert the pin on the triangle plate then tighten the nuts on the back of the chains. The number of threads showing is not as important as them being equal on each side, having both chains tensioned with an equal number of threads showing is desired. Once the chains have been tensioned retract the trailer tongue jack to transfer the weight to the vehicle. With the full tongue weight on the tow vehicle the red urethane bushings should have a slight bulge to them and the chains should be very tight. (The bigger the bulge the more weight is displaced) When the trailer is straight the tringle plate should also be straight. Anti-Sway The design of this hitch allows for an active sway control which is accomplished through the ball assembly. Once the trailer is hooked up with a slight bulge in the red bushings the ainti-sway can function properly. When the trailer turns, the chains will pull and rotate the tringle plate with the ball it is pined to inside the ball housing. This housing and ball have a slight cone shape that prevents the ball from coming out of the bottom of the housing. There is a friction material sandwiched between the ball and the housing that provides a smooth quiet ride. (If yours is making noise when turning see the known issue thread for warranty info.) The best part is you don’t have to worry about doing anything once it is hooked up properly, the aint-sway will do its job. Oh Yah, because of the ball turning in the housing instead of in the coupler there is no need to grease the ball or to unhook anything when you back up, it will not damage the hitch or trailer. With any hitch it is possible to jackknife a trailer so please don’t turn so sharp in reverse that the trailer contacts the bumper of the tow vehicle. Anti-Bounce Normally when pulling a trailer when the vehicle hits a bump in the road it bounces then the trailer hits the same bump and bounces causing more bouncing in the vehicle, this back and forth bouncing can continue for quite a distance after the bump. This is known as bucking and chucking which creates extra wear and tear on everything and often discomfort and fatigue to the passengers. With a traditional WD hitch they utilize tempered steel bars (AKA giant springs) to distribute weight. When driving over bumps these spring bars act like a diving board and exaggerate the bucking and chucking even longer than having just a ball. That is the Job of the red urethane bushings on your Andersen Hitch they work like shock absorbers dampening the bums and bounces between the trailer and vehicle. Disconnecting To unhook try to get the vehicle and trailer straight, then raise the tongue enough to release the weight from the tow vehicle, loosen the nuts on back of the chains, pull the pin on the triangle plate and let the plate swing down. Now you can raise the trailer off the ball and you are good to go.

Thoughts and prayers for my new friends in Florida, Hap and Trumpet Guy. Wishing you well through the storm.