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This has been discussed before, but I am not sure if there is a thread dedicated to the topic. I am in the process of working with Jason to convince him to do this before delivery. He states that Dexter does not recommend the mod, which is odd, to say the least. Axle lift: Dexter makes simple no-weld spring-over kits for $60 MSRP per axle. I have never read anything about them not recommending this mod. ... Welding is not necessary, though it is recommended. I do not see why it would be needed since the kit ties into the existing bracket using spacers. If I have this done locally or do it myself (easy) I understand that it will might affect my axle warranty. Will it affect other parts of the Oliver warranty? Negative consequences: It will increase the CG by raising the cabin about 4 inches. I can live with that - it is already supremely stable. 4 inch spacer blocks under the three jacks will be needed, or I can cut off the pads and fabricate bolt-on extension tubes. I prefer blocks, to keep the jacks higher off the ground for clearance, the front one mainly. Mudflaps will be required (though they should be installed by the factory on the standard trailer). Aerodynamic drag will increase. The steps will be higher off the ground when deployed, making entry a little harder. Brake wires might need to be cut and extended using waterproof (heat shrink) splices. Bump stops need to be installed to prevent over-travel. I am still researching this, I am not sure they are really needed. On my utility trailer I have not seen any problems. Neutral ones: The lift is very easily reversed if a new owner wanted to lower the ride height. The lower shock mounting plates can be relocated to the top of the axles, so the original shocks can be retained. The coupler and ball height will be increased (OK for my tall heavy duty truck, probably an issue with smaller tow vehicles). Positive ones: The steps will be higher off the ground (more ground clearance when stowed). The departure angle and clearance under front jack will be greatly improved, reducing risk of dragging, expensive damage and a possible tow bill. Clearance under the springs is improved (less hardware is hanging down, the ubolt nuts are now located up high. Cost is minimal ($120 plus labor) and can be done by any shop or skilled owner. It would by far be best to do this when upgrading the shackle bolts. It will look cool. This is important, LOL. I can understand Oliver not wanting to do this for liability reasons, but it is definitely a mod that some customers would greatly appreciate. Please discuss. Would you order a trailer with this as a factory option, for say $500? John Davies Spokane WA

The black gaskets around all of my porch lights bleed black whenever they get wet. Does anyone else have this problem? Considering they are fairly new and under cover when not out on the road it doesn't seem possible they could be breaking down already. Thoughts?

Malcom and others who may be concerned, Elite II owner "rideandfly" states his ready to camp Elite II without water weighs 4690 lbs. If you were to add the 32.5 gallons of fresh water you would have an additional 260 lbs, for a total weight of 4950. This is still only 2/3 of the capacity of twin 3500 lb axles, giving you a 34% overhead margin for safety. As for brakes; Having four 10 x 2 1/4 inch brakes gives you 180 square inches of braking surface for stopping your heaviest Elite II (supplies & water on board) of 4950 lbs. My Elite I weighs in at 3900 lbs with stores and full fresh water tank. With it's single axle and 12 x 2 inch brakes, it has 96 of braking surface and I will attest (after 99,000 miles) I have found it to stop just FINE in all conditions and grades of roads I have thus far encountered. Rest assured, whatever brakes and axles your Elite II may have, safety is definitely not an issue to be concerned about. Pete

OK, I think I've got it! The cause is "obviously" due to the "fact" that the odd numbered Olivers are the only ones that seem to have the problem - #'s 117, 135, 141, 147. Seriously, it is not the fasteners, nor do I believe that it is the car wash/rv wash that was/is used. Other than 4 days in New Orleans, my Twist has not been near the ocean (and I don't think that New Orleans should be considered as being near the ocean). Therefore, I do not believe that salt water caused (or is causing) this problem. The water here in western North Carolina has very few minerals in it at all, so, I do not believe that it is being caused by that. And, we all have some degree of "acid rain". Even if it is being caused by acid rain these gaskets should not "bleed" in this manner - the rubber on my car and truck doesn't. I'm convinced at this point that there is something wrong with these gaskets and they should be replaced. I'm a bit nervous about attempting the replacement myself in that the lights would have to be disconnected in order to get the gaskets off and the new ones on. In addition, while I assume that these lights are held on by screws, it certainly would be troublesome if they were bolted on. Finally, I can see no reason to suspect that these are leaking behind the lights. Bill

My last day with the company was Friday the 13th of January. I would like to thank the Oliver family for my time with them and the company. The Oliver's are a great family and they take that over into their businesses. They treat their employee's as well as any good company I've ever worked for and would gladly work for them again in the future if possible. They take care in all the products they make and the Oliver Travel Trailer is no different. I can tell you from being deeply involved in the production to taking care of you the customers. Great care and thought goes into the product and they strive to make it the absolute best product on the market "Bar None". Great care also goes into customer service and they want the Ollie owner's to be happy and proud to show off their Ollie. They stand behind their product. How many companies really do that today? It's been great. I've enjoyed working with all of the customers and meeting a lot of the Ollie owners and becoming friends with them. If any of you are going to be in the Northeast area of Ohio, please look me up. My personal email is tommystaggs@hotmail.com and cell # 931-628-0170. Have a great day. Wishing everyone many great adventures. Sincerely, Tommy Staggs

Randy, that is an awesome "hat" you have made to protect your Ollie. Likely the best bang for the buck possible. Is it secured so it won't blow off under high wind conditions? If you do a Google search, using "metal ; RV ; carport ; kit" you will come across numerous options, everything from a tent covered, do it yourself structure for $995 (not sure how many seasons the tenting material would last) to metal roof structure kits under $2000, to some $6000 or more stout structures they will erect for you. You can save money by putting down a gravel base instead of concrete You can also go overboard . . . I designed a shelter for protecting both The Wonder Egg and my truck and had a contactor build it on my property. They ran electricity from the house, built a foundation and poured a 17' by 50' slab of concrete. The back part includes a 10' by 17' storage shed and the front 40' is a covered area with 30 amp service and a 12' tall opening (in case I ever got a larger unit, which is unlikely). The walls only go down 6' to afford great protecton from the Texas sun and a cool space to wash & wax. There are long florescent lights so I can easily work around the trailer after the sun sets, as needed. The gate operates remotely, using solar power and weighs about 600 lbs. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow to attach to this post. EDIT: 19 Jan 8:59 am

More pics.

Hello Everyone, I have gotten several calls in regards to the axle size and capacity so I thought I would stop by say hello and make an official statement. Hope everyone is enjoying their Oliver camper and travels. The Legacy Elite 18.5' comes with a 5200lb 12x2 axle that is derated to 5000lbs because of a spring measurement that is 3/4" outside the norm for a 5200lb axle. This is the reason why the GVWR for the Legacy Elite is listed at 5,000 lbs. This axle does have the 12" brakes and 6 lug. The Legacy Elite II is currently being built with dual 3500lb. 10 x 2.25 axles putting the GVWR at 7,000 lbs. The brakes are 10"brakes and 6 lug. Some of the earlier model Elite II trailers were built with the 5200 lb. axles as well as a few models that were produced during November 2014- December 2014. This short run was because Dexter had derated it's 3500lb axle that we were using for the Elite II. We immediately ordered the 5200lb axles during that short run because we chose not to use the derated axles and only switched back to the 3500lb axle once we could get it without it being derated. The website is incorrect where it states 12" brakes on the Elite II page and I will make sure that this gets resolved. With dual axles and 4 brakes it isn't necessary to have the 12" brakes. - Hope this helps, but if anyone has any questions, please feel free to give me a call. - Jason

Thank you guys for the comments and words of encouragement. Being a practicing anesthesia provider, numbers are important to me when in the OR administering drugs in a split second decision. 3500 mcg and 52oo mcg is big. Guess I am overthinking this thing. Use to being very precise! Please forgive me for taking up your valuable time on this forum. Malcolm M.

Just crawled under our 2015 Elite II Ollie, Hull 075, and took these photos. We have 5200 pound axles and Dexter confirms it by the serial numbers stamped on the axles. Here's some notes from Dexter in the spec/build list: Shop Order Notes: Order Date 10/17/2014 HF= 68.75,SC= 50.00,BEAM CAPACITY BASED ON OVERHANG IS: 5200,BEAM CAPACITY Customer Name: Precision Poylmers LLC DBA Oliver Fiberglass Products 609 Swan Ave Hohenwald Tn 38462

Would like to chime in on this discussion after speaking with Jason this morning. I asked him to clarify what axle is being installed on my Elite II now in production. Also, I mentioned the discussion about axles on this forum. Quoting Jason now: "all Elite trailers being single axle have the 5200 lb axles. All Elite II trailers being twin axle's have the 3200 lb axle's with 10 x 2 1/4 brakes." There is no option available! Two 5200 lb axles on a 7,000 GVWR rated Elite II trailer would be a over kill and totally unnecessary. This report with Jason cleared up my concerns after reading this discussion and some of it being misinformation. To me, good reason for this open forum and getting that education when spending this amount of money for what all of us agree is one the finest quality products made in the USA. Malcolm M.

Mike, We have the same issue with the Furrion gasket on the 110V external power receptacle. Looks like the gasket material sandwiched between the fixture & trailer hull is bleeding black. Different gasket material can be used that will not bleed and still seal. I will eventually cut a custom gasket to replace the Furrion gasket, but not until next month. Oliver could have fixtures supplied with different gasket material or have a gasket/seal vendor to cut custom gaskets in quantity with different material to stop the issue. We used to have custom hydraulic seals/gaskets cut in quantity for various applications, the cost was cheap, just required an extra step during the assembly process. Just a thought!

Hopefully they find a "cure", and implement the change going forward, as we are early in the build cycle...

I'm with you and have had this on my (short) list of to talk to Jason about. Thanks for getting the ball rolling. Bill

Hi Mike, we have the identical issue. With the recent rain storms here in CA I have those same streaks from all four porch lights.

What are you washing your Ollie with? It seems that something is deteriorating the seals. Our water has lots of lime. I noticed white streaks much like your black streaks. I have used Murphy's oil soap for two years. My Ollie shines like a new unit. Now no streaks. I too, keep my unit indoors. I hope this helps.

God speed, and best wishes to you and yours. You'll beisdrd as part of the Oliver group. All our best. Sherry and Paul

God speed, and best wishes to you and yours. You'll beisdrd as part of the Oliver group. All our best. Sherry and Paul

Yes, the fan works great. Like the auto shutoff. Had to disable the led indicators for at night.