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Larry (mountainborn) and Betty Harmon bought the very first Oliver (Hull #005) sold on 11/08/2007. There were four units produced prior to this one and three of them were ultimately sold to other owners but when Larry and Betty drove out of the factory nearly ten years ago pulling the first one, they started the parade that we've all joined since then. Of the members still active on our forum, Paul and Sherry (seadawg) left with Hull #012 on 02/22/2008, then Pete Marks (bugeyedriver) in Hull #014 on 03/24/2008. We bought Hull #026 on 06/20/2008. All of these hull numbers were for the original 17 (now called 18.5) foot models produced in their first run and they continued until the last unit (Hull #044) was sold on 08/21/2009. During the last few months of the original production run, the molds for the Elite II had been bought with the intent to begin production of a larger model to augment the lineup with the choice of two sizes. As we all remember, the downturn in the economy in 2009 caused many businesses to fail and Oliver Travel Trailers made the very difficult desicion to cease production until better times could prevail. The plans for the larger trailer (and more expensive) seemed destined to failure. Three units were produced in 2009 and 2010 - Hulls #043, #045 and #046. One unit was sold to a customer (Hull #045) and became the only unit delivered with the official model year of 2010. The other two remained in the possession of OTI although Hull #043 was ultimately refurbished, updated and sold during the present production run. As a side note, no Oliver employees were laid off or lost their jobs because of the ceasation of trailer production and many rejoined the trailer line when it restarted. On 03/03/2013, I was contacted by (then production manager) Robert Partee and asked if I would be interested in owning one of the "big" trailers. He knew we were looking for something larger than our 17 foot Oliver and after talking for about 5 minutes with him explaining that the plan was for restarting production building only the larger unit, I told him I would take the first one they built. Their plan was to build three "prototype/demo" models to get back into the swing of things. During the production of these three, my unit was begun somewhere around the end of the year (2013). Since none of these four trailers had been sold, and upon completion of our unit, I was given my choice of the VIN's that were available (#'s 047-050.) I choose Hull #050 because that was the year I was born. Every member (present and future) owes you a debt of gratitude for your initiative and inventiveness on this modification. I had mine done at the factory during the "eclipse weekend." Thank you very much. The brakes have been wonderful. Not too difficult to install, but obviously more than some folks would want to tackle in the driveway. I have found that they are much more aggresive than the drums, requiring a lesser setting on our brake controller to keep them from all locking up and sliding down the road. Incidentaly, I discovered the locking up when I glanced in the side rear view mirror during a reasonably emergent stop to the side of the road and noticed blue smoke coming from under the trailer and two black streaks behind me. It surprised me and for a second, I could not figure out what was going on because I did not feel any abnormal trailer movement. We do not use any auxiliary towing equipment. Our Oliver's are truly VERY stable behind our tow vehicles. We do not use any axuallery towing equipment.

My wife and I arrived on the coast of North Carolina late yesterday afternoon (about 30 miles as the crow flies north of Wilmington). Sorry - no Twist this time. But, we are in a house right on the beach. The wind is blowing a bit - I'd guess at about 30 mph - and the surf is fairly heavy with a good rip current. Temperature is in the mid to high 70's. There are heavy clouds with a rain prediction for this afternoon and tomorrow. We took a walk on the beach early this morning and will spend the rest of the day reading and messing with a jigsaw puzzle. Glad to hear that IRMA has not been as bad as originally predicted. Surely do hope that all made it through this thing with little to no problem. Bill

Ditto, you can barely feel the mark with your fingertip.

If I would have known that I wouldn't be able to edit my movie settings on my tablet, I would have made this first half public :) But here's the link anyway. There's actually 2 movies on the Bulldog Hitch and the second is also mostly on hand cranking the front jack but I need to upload it. I haven't hooked up to a house connection for a week or more because we are still boondocking after 7 months :)

I hereby nominate Steve as the official Oliver Travel Trailer Historian!

Heading out this morning to take our Oliver (and ourselves) to safer territory!! Gust of 70 mph is not what I like and the trees can become an issue!! Stay safe everyone Irma is a beast!!!

We are praying for all of you :)

Like Bill, we use the Andersen and like it. Not much detail to go on here, but it sounds like an adjustment or set up issue. I'd send a PM to Sage, he was quick to respond to me when I had questions. Mike

Its interesting to me that the only people posting in response to ccarole are those who are not using the Andersen. Well, I do use it and have been very satisfied with its performance with the exception of the noise issue. There are a couple of videos on the Andersen website that may help - in the understanding of things that might be causing the problem. It seems to me that without an actual visual inspection it would be very difficult to diagnose the problem. However, short of that, the real people to talk to are the experts - Andersen. Ccarole should either PM Sage here on the Forum or (better) contact Andersen https://andersenhitches.com If they can't help over the phone or email then I'm sure that they could find the nearest people that could help. Bill

Carole, Some good ideas being expressed here, but you still haven't specified your TV, or which Oliver you own. This is important information if you want folks to help you. If you don't need the AH, why stress yourself? Be happy you don't need the extra hassle during hitch up. These Olivers tow very well. They are narrow and are nicely rounded, especially the frontal area. They are also relatively light in the tongue. I am passed routinely by large semis and don't feel a thing. Crosswinds are also a non issue. But I have a 3/4 ton van and tow the little Elite. From all I have read, the AH still needs more R&D, but since I never needed one, I didn't give them too much thought. If your TV requires a WDH, then knowing your Trailer/TV combo will help others help you. Dave

We're using a Hayes Swaymaster electronic sway control with our Elite II with good results without WDH.

Since the triangle plate pivots and is held in position by the chains, the only way I can see there being a difference in chains individual tensions is because of the friction in the cone. Imagine if there was no friction in the cone and you'll see what I mean. The chains would always be equal in tension. But the tighter the friction the more the chains become unequal as the vehicle turns. If you stop while making a turn, even a slight one, the chains will be a different tension. This is normal. The difference in tension is caused by the resistance to turning the friction clutch. The failure is that the friction gets so high that it causes other problems and makes a lot of noise. At that point the chain tension difference would be extreme and adjusting them completely misses the point. One other problem the system has is the brackets that are at the other end of the chains on the trailer tongue. They have to be right or they will slip, which would cause the chain tension to be reduced and the plate to be crooked when parked straight. That would first mean less weight distribution and a crooked plate if only one slipped. The brackets are a poor design in my estimation and must be set to bind on the frame rail and must have a set screw tightened into the frame. I believe your problem with the Anderson will not be solved until they re-design their friction system and come up with something that is actually better. I'm sure they are not happy about all the problems, but the product was not thoroughly tested before going on the market. They seem to have made minor material changes, but they are not there yet. The other oddity about them is that, apparently, the amount of friction you get is reliant on the amount of weight distribution you dial in. Those two functions should be independent of each other. Remember, the Anderson has two functions. Weight distributing and sway control. Separate functions, but ones that are tied together. If you only want sway control, there are other brands out there. The only problem with the other brands is that they will require some cutting of the fiberglass shroud that lays over the frame in front of the propane bottles. In my thinking, this is a small price to pay for a well proven setup that would be adjustable. But again, I don't need it on mine. Oh, there is one other one. An electronic unit that senses sway and applies the brakes as needed to correct it. Off the top of my head I can't remember the name, but they seem to be very good and they just plug in to operate. It mounts near the front of the trailer and plugs into your trailer plug. Then another plug goes to your seven pin plug on the tow vehicle. I'll find the name and send it to you. That might be the answer to your concern. Where are you located?

It would be nice to know what your tow vehicle is Carol. I have an old Ford F-250 diesel and I have pulled the Ollie at least 75 mph for short distances and I've had no trouble at all; and I don't use the Anderson hitch. The Ollies are perfectly lined up and really don't need a sway hitch?, I don't think. Do you have the Legacy Elite or the Legacy Elite II? The real reason for hitches of this type is to transfer weight from the tongue (rear of your vehicle) to put weight evenly on all four wheels or your tow vehicle. You can do this by using airbags that keep your tow vehicle level when you put the extra 340# for the Elite and 460# of tongue weight and there are other methods too so you might want to visit an auto/truck springs and suspension shop. If you don't really need the Anderson No Sway Hitch it will cause you more problems than if you didn't use it at all. An experienced Ollie person who knows a lot about traveling with an Ollie is Lee Slusher on Oliver Trailer Owners site. He and his buddy traveled 46,000 miles with their Ollies last year. I don't think he uses the Anderson hitch though. I think it's causing you more trouble than it's worth. Sell it! OK, give me 2¢! Actually, I thought it was junk when I first saw it. My brother's sway hitch on a 7500# trailer is solid steel bars and is much stronger and more secure if you end up really needing an equalizer hitch. Curt Equalizer Hitch Just my humble opinion worth 2.5¢. Here is how the hitch is supposed to work. Please scroll down and read this article. https://www.equalizerhitch.com/how-equalizer-works

The problem you describe is not something that requires an expert to figure out. It is a common problem with these. The friction system starts to seize up and makes a lot of noise as it swivels and binds. One chain can appear to be tighter, but they are always in balance and the difference is the excessive friction from turning. So much force is needed to make it move when turning that is makes a lot of noise. I don't think the chains were uneven, just the friction clutch was seizing up and when it was looked at one of the chains was tighter because it had not centered itself. Anderson has been sending out a lot of warrantee replacements, but some people have had three replacements and the problem is still not fixed. Call them and they should send you a replacement that will last for a little while. I understand you wanting the extra security of aftermarket sway control, but that doesn't mean you'll get it from the Anderson hitch. Maybe, but they are not ironed out yet and they are trying to fix a problem that Olivers don't have. There have even been cases where trucks were more unstable because the Anderson conflicted with the truck's stability system and Anderson recommended to shut of the stability control! I suspect there are other anti-away devices that would be better, and ones that are adjustable. You are in an awkward situation where you think you need it, but it doesn't work right. An Anderson came with my Ollie (got mine used), but I've never used it and I've never had the trailer do anything that felt unstable in any way. Good luck with solving your issue.