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Hey guys, Phil here with Oliver Travel Trailers. It is important to understand that we as a company have not made any decisions to partner with any other entities at this time. It is simply a consideration to offer the best service from a handful of service centers/dealers to our customers who live the farthest away from Tennessee. We do NOT have any plans to mass produce the Oliver. Quality will not suffer as we will still have control of manufacturing and inspecting the trailers before they roll off the line. We haven't lied to or mislead anyone, rather, we have reached out to you, our family members and best sales force for your feedback. Thank you for those who have responded with your concerns. We are reading and listening to each of them and taking them seriously. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great Labor Day weekend!

We have always had a great relationship with Oliver after buying a used 2015 LE2 Ollie during 2016. Oliver even took care of warranty work for us after Ollie was out of warranty during 2016. They told us it did not matter that we purchased Ollie used, they welcomed us into the Oliver family. Even though I perform most of the maintenance on our Ollie, still occasionally visit Oliver's service department for maintenance. I really appreciate @PAndrews with Oliver previous post in this thread confirming Oliver's future plans. Speaking of Thor Industries, they purchased Livin'Lite CampLite Camper from Scott Tuttle during August of 2013. When we purchased our second camper a early model 2010 Livin'Lite CampLite travel trailer, we did not want a wood floor in our camper because our first camper developed wood floor rot. Ollie is our third camper. In 2010 Scott developed Travel Trailers with aluminum plank floors, aluminum main & wall/roof frame, aluminum sheet cabinets, aluminum sheet covered interior and exterior walls including aluminum sheet roof. It was a sturdy and rugged camper, but to some folks had a sterile looking interior because of all of the sheet metal. Starting later in 2010 Scott started using Azdel composite panels to soften the interior looks. Later, Livin'Lite even worked with Ford developing a Ford Truck Camper. Here's a link to an article on August 2018 by TruckCamper: "The Rise and Fall of Camplite and Ford Truck campers": https://www.truckcampermagazine.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-camplite-and-ford-truck-campers/

Same here, @Mike and Carol... We believe this DIY aspect is part of the fun of owning a travel trailer - and we enjoy it. When there's a major fix needed, or a significant upgrade, we've always seemed to be able to research out and find a competent service provider. But that said, we've also had some terrible experiences at RV dealerships in the early years (usually while on the road and there's few other choices) that make us never want to step foot on one again.

I read this as Oliver trying to reduce barriers to ownership and alleviate pain points for us existing owners. My belief is that it will always be better to use Oliver for service and purchase but that really becomes impractical for lots of potential owners as well as existing owners. Not all owners have a desire to be mechanics and electricians and would like to just use their trailer and leave the other stuff to someone else. I get it and ultimately it makes sense. Oliver seems very interested in maintaining their integrity and as long as that is the case everything else will fall in line.

Through a family member, I’ve been well acquainted with all things Airstream for over 35 years. During his lifetime he owned dozens of their trailers in all sizes from the tiny Bambi to a giant three axle unit that had been custom built for one of the top Airstream Executives. I don’t personally know if Airstream quality has suffered suffered since Thor Industries, Inc. came along. Thor was founded on August 29, 1980, when Wade Thompson and Peter Busch Orthwein acquired Airstream. I do know that Airstream had not fared well during the economic downturn of the late 1970s, losing $12 million the year before it was acquired. So, if Airstream quality has slipped, it’s had over four decades to do it.

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome! It would be hard to miss being so close to home. Matter of fact we are making our maiden voyage in the Ollie tomorrow to Guntersville. I’m looking forward to watching the kiddos play and getting a feel for how we would like to outfit the Ollie.

Ditto :)

My point, exactly. A good RV repair guy can work on an Oliver. The trick is finding a good RV repair guy! We’re fortunate to have one close by. I will say that after a lot of years and many miles we’ve learned to do a lot of repair work ourselves. Mike

I sincerely hope so. That would be the best case scenario.

Even if you have been to Guntersville before - you will love it. If you have the time (and $) the zipline is a good one. Down at the beach the water is most likely like bath water this time of year - relaxing! Welcome to the Family! Bill

Oh, wow. If I were 20 years younger, I'd be applying to open a little outlet to show and sell Ollies, and hire a couple great techs to work on them, in my zone. Many years ago, I was a service manager for a computer and business machine company. (Eventually became vp of the same company.) We sent our techs to training at the motherships, Atlanta and New Jersey, anytime a new model came out. I sat on the national dealer council for one of our brands for a number of years. The brands provided training classes, and documents/manuals, and we footed the bill for transportation and hotels and meals. This is not the end of the world, imo, but a quite likely positive change, and a broader reach, which, I think will benefit many owners outside middle America, if Oliver can recruit the "right folks". Big "used car" type dealerships aren't interested in a brand like Oliver. Not enough margin. Not enough volume. But, quality folks like quality products. I think they'll find at least a few quality, smaller outlets to keep things right. If not, back to the original model, which is not going away, according to the email. Without any outlets or service centers in place, I personally think their announcements were frankly premature. Oliver has always been customer-centric, and were just trying to be transparent and honest. Full disclosure: I'm a moderator, and continuous owner of #12 since February, 2008. First I heard of this was Katjo's post.

Hello from Amanda, Brent, Claire, and Sarah. We recently purchased hull #976 and can’t wait to put it to use. This is our first “Travel Trailer” kind of as we also own a Turtleback Expedition we are selling. I consider the Turtleback to be an overlanding trailer and it definitely has a different set of instructions. We have been gleaning tons of information from the forum and Facebook group and really appreciate everyone’s efforts to document their upgrades, ideas, and solutions. We look forward to meeting some of you in our travels. -Brent

My hope is that OTT can utilize the experience of existing Oliver owners to narrow down their selection -- if they choose to go this route. And I will say that it probably would have benefitted me to have an Oliver-allied service experience while I'm so far from OTT Mothership and from my home. Also (my last comment as well) -- not everyone has room for the tools to do all the maintenance. Nor the place. I live in a TINY condo, without a garage and very minimal storage space. (Makes it easy to live in my Oliver for months, because I'm used to the small spaces). So I hope to have my maintenance mostly done by Oliver, unless it's something that requires minimal tools (like the Zerk greasing -- easy peasy and minimal tools, plus needs to be done often when you are on the road for a long time). Thanks to all the great folks at Oliver, including moderators, who help us stay informed and better equipped.

Thanks, John for your insights. Your old trailer looks a heck of a lot different. Interesting you should mention the long beaches, the tides and the winds. For the past year and a half or so the trailer has been stored outside about 1/2 mile from a very, very big beach in Washington. Maybe that's when the rust really got going.

Congratulations! Your upgrade is similar to ours, coming from a Hiker 5x8 squaredrop to the LEII. It sure is a startling difference. On your Turtleback travels, I imagine you’ve come across my friend Kevin and his family on Lifestyle Overland. They’ve now moved on to an enclosed adventure trailer with the new baby. Welcome aboard!

Airforums has quite a number of discussions about this. The consensus is that the push driven by us boomers to have our grandparent’s cool travel trailer has lowered the quality. That said, an Airstream is far better than the typical box on wheels.

This will be my last post on the subject so I don't pass on my disappointment to others with a different outlook. It always matters how someone's incentives are aligned. Whether it is pay, advancement, recognition, or perks, a worker's incentives must be aligned with the organization's goals. When the worker is on someone else's org chart, then that alignment is guess work. Also, as an organization spreads geographically and grows, full understanding of the leader's intent or mission becomes vital. Far flung representatives will independently make innumerable small decisions that either support, or undermine, the mission. They will reflect, or wreck, the brand. In this context, it seems quite unlikely that techs and sales reps whose incentives and culture are aligned with a retail RV center will reflect the very different Ollie way of doing business. Culture trumps strategy. Every time.

Precisely. Therefore, there's no need for OTT to establish a dealer network to improve service. Lots of us have had warranty work done by our local shops, who were then paid by Oliver. No issue. The main reasoning for this move has to be to increase sales. However,@New2Oliver makes some solid points. We've owned 2 previous trailers from independent, non-Elkhart manufacturers that were somewhat superior in quality to the Indiana-made trailers - and slightly more expensive. Even with a better quality product, both companies went out of business. The majority of consumers couldn't appreciate the difference in quality between their trailers and the other ones sitting on the lot. But they did see the higher price. And too often chose the cheaper unit. I'm glad our hull number is from before they start cranking out the dealer-sold units. If @New2Oliver is right, the original factory-direct units will be in demand after this transition.

I had a cruisemaster CRS2 installed on my overland trailer and Wow! I’m not sure my Ollie needs to be abused like that though. https://cruisemaster.com.au/crs2/

what would an Oliver Certified Tech be certified to do that any reputable RV Repair guy can’t already do?… weld aluminum? Fiberglass work? I’ve never had our camper serviced by OTT, as when we’ve had issues it’s been thousands of miles away from the mothership, and I do the general maintenance myself. My experience ( this is not a complaint ) with the service dept has been to be directed by them to contact the manufacturer of the component that’s having issues directly… whether Xantrex, LifeBlu, etc…. Which has always worked out fine.. When issues have been beyond me, I’ve found Moble RV repair guys who are certified by Norcold, Dometic etc and are therefore connected to those companies and can deal with warranty issues etc, and know what they are doing because they do it everyday… this has worked out fine too. What I’ve found is that if you need an RV repair guy and you are in a campground, ask the folks that run the place for advice… ask the folks that obviously are long term campers at the place as well.. they will be quick to tell you who to have work on your camper, and who not have work on your camper.. Or at least that’s the way it’s worked for us.

Boerne RV. Boerne TX is just north of San Antonio. Ron is the owner and his wife runs the office. He usually has a couple of techs working with him. Mike

Got an issue of Food and Wine magazine the other day. Though we've traveled into Canda through Osoyoos, we haven't spent a lot of time there. (Did laundry in Osoyoos. Got gas and groceries in Kelowna at the Costco, many years ago.) As I was looking up the wineries, I was devastated by the fire reports everywhere along 97. (We don't hear a lot about it in Florida. ) Hoping folks are OK. I know it's a beautiful region. But, I also know, it's a dangerous fire field, with many fires. We do hear about the Yellowknife evacuations. Hope to revisit, another year. They must have ordered the ad a year ago.

Cort - Is that "scale" on the aluminum stringer too? What does the aluminum frame look like? It appears as if this Oliver has the EZ Flex suspension. If that is correct, does it appear that the zerks have been used (i.e. did the owner ever lubricate this suspension?) ? Actually, even though the shocks look bad, you really can't tell unless you test them. The black rubber pieces at the top of the shock appear to be in good shape - particular for a 2017. Any idea of how many miles the owner put on this Ollie? Did you scrape any of that rust off? If yes, how deep does it go? For the most part it appears to be surface rust (i.e. no deep pitting). Certainly it would be a fair amount of work (assuming that it is surface rust) but it is possible that it could be brought back assuming that you are a bit handy with taking things apart, really cleaning them, and repainting them. Bill

Sad to hear this news. Long time Jimmy Buffet fan, he could always put a smile on your face!

@rideandfly: Very interesting read. Thanks for posting this!

Our theme song.... Very sad.

What a business man. Self made billionaire based off beach songs - Wow! Bill

Always! HA!

This product is typically used to protect wood and other wall materials while soldering copper plumbing fittings, but I have used it in the Ollie to protect other wires. Mossey

I think there were a total of 14 holes drilled in the top and 4 holes drilled in the ceiling of the bath. Measure twice (or more!) and drill once. Mike

Bigfoot uses dealer outlets.

My 2010 has the same size vent, but I don't have the depth available near the top of the opening to be able to fit the 5.5 fans.

@Ray Kimsey and @CRM, my apologies for not including the detail photos below in my original posting. The fans come mounted together as an assembly. Mounting hardware is included in the kit. In the first photo below, at the right rear of the fan a flange can be seen with a Phillips head screw circled. This screw and a matching one on the left side secure the upper part of the assembly to the sloped MDF panel which forms the top of the rear compartment of the refrigerator. At the lower right another Phillips screw with a large head clamps to the front vertical edge of the vent opening. A hex screw attached to the front lower right of the fan frame holds a small rectangular bracket which clamps to the rear side of the vertical edge of the vent opening. Together, these two screws form the clamping mechanism to the vertical edge of the vent opening. The same arrangement holds the lower left side of the fan to the vertical edge of the vent opening. I editing the photo below to to brighten the interior details. Unfortunately, I do not have the exact dimensions of the upper vent opening. My recollection is that I did a quick measurement of the vertical height available inside the opening and concluded the 5.5" height of the fans would fit. Amazon lists the dimensions of the 2 fan assembly as: 1"D x 12.5"W x 5.5"H. The Beech-Lane website does not list the dimensions of the fans. My trailer is in a storage facility about 35 miles north of my home. The cables for power and remote control run up the left side of the compartment, across the sloped MDF panel behind the fans and up into the right corner of the compartment into the area behind the microwave oven. Our ELII is a 2022 model. I do not know if the size of the upper vent opening has varied over model years. I hope this helps clarify the mounting method. Don

Being on the road 11 months out of the year is a challenge for us concerning service. If I can fix it on the road with help from a phone call to OTT or help from this forum, I fix what I can and save the big projects for OTT when we go in for our annual checkup. I think it's worked out great so far and , yes, it would be nice to be able to stop into a place we're near to see a qualified Oliver technician. We're out of warranty anyway but I'd much prefer a tech that has Oliver experience to do the work. John

It will be interesting to see the implementation of their plan. For me, it’s not going to change anything. I will continue going to my local family owned RV repair shop. He’s been working on my trailer since early 2017 and also does several other Olivers. A good RV repair guy can effectively work on Olivers even if they aren’t Oliver Factory Trained. Mike

I truly don’t think they are looking to sell at hundreds of dealers across the country. If they strategically place a few on each coast and Midwest I think it will be quite helpful to have a trained certified Oliver tech at these locations as opposed to just in Tennessee. If they sell them through these few locations it will still be a needle in a haystack where you can purchase an Oliver. I have faith that Oliver will be incredibly selective and make sure their product is represented in the right hands. Give them a chance.

My 2 cents..... if I were to buy a new Oliver from a dealership other than OTT, I would expect that dealership to service what they sold me. And I would wait in line behind all the other brands they sold to get my problems fixed. The specially trained Oliver technicians there would eventually move on and be replaced by technicians trained by who? I've heard of quite a few problems, with OTT's current production line, putting out trailers that need fixing right away. Problems that could have been resolved had there been better quality control in production. If those trailers made it to a sales lot other than Oliver's and I had to experience frustrating wait lines to have something fixed that should never have left Oliver production, I think that would ruin Oliver's reputation pretty quickly. I can only report my initial problems, toilet flange cracked, kitchen sink faucet hose wrapped around plumbing preventing it from extending more than a couple of inches, airflow around my refrigerator that allowed air into the cabin with any exterior exhausts, propane, smoke, and whatever drifted in on the wind, caulk everywhere on the roof (no leaks but lots of caulk left by a sloppy installer), a window screen that fell off the window the first time down the road because the attachment screws were stripped out and the metal clips needed spacers to extend the clips into the tracks, inside belly band (chrome strip) coming loose, 1 kitchen drawer installed incorrectly (crooked, would not lock in and needed adjustment). And the mess with fiberglass dust and extra parts all throughout the space between the shells...sheese Louise. These are all production problems that OTT service had to fix. And I am so thankful to Jason and his team for taking care of me right away. I don't think I would be so happy had I waited 6 weeks to get scheduled at another rv dealership swamped with other brand trailers. I've heard of many other problems from other owners concerning OTT production but I only mention my own issues. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE out trailer and are so happy to have it but my satisfaction comes from a unique trailer backed by Jason's stellar service team. I really don't think another business would provide me with what I have in OTT's service and phone support. John

I can't express how disappointed I am. I just bought an Ollie. This is what I received via email on 8-18. "While no definitive decisions have been made at this time, we wish to be transparent and keep you informed every step of the way." Six days later, this was published in RVtravel. "Oliver Travel Trailers, a family-owned company with a legacy of 18 years in manufacturing premium-quality travel trailers, announced that it will be establishing a dealer network to sell and support the Oliver product line." Definitive decisions had indeed been made before 8-18. It was dishonest to reach out to current owners for "feedback" when the decision had already been made. Since the decision had already been made, current owners were not part of the process. Which is fine. But what I am seeing now is the polar opposite of why I bought an Ollie. Had I known this was going to happen, I would probably not have bought one. I was a brand manager and director of sales and marketing of a similarly positioned product, I know how this is going to end. It always does. Business history is full of examples. There will be struggles over the pricing structure. Dealers demand margin. Product content will be removed and the savings passed on to support dealer margins. If a dealer needs 10%, can the price just be increased $10,000? Of course not. Inevitably, there will be a push to cut quality and content costs and pass that on to the dealer. Will Ollie finance the floorplan? If there are 10 dealers, will there be 20 new Ollies on the lots? If an Ollie costs $50,000 to build, will Ollie park $1 million on dealer lots every year. A glossy sales brochure won't sell a trailer 5x the cost of the competition and dealers won't finance the floorplan. Newly hired production managers will focus on quantity. Quality will plunge as experienced techs building a complicated product will leave and marginally literate workers will replace them. Social media will fill with service nightmares at new "partner" dealers and there will be stories of Ollies being returned under lemon laws. Unethical sales practices long synonymous with RV dealerships will have be used to sell Ollies. The cost savings and sales increases the consultants predicted will not materialize. Profitability will be exhausted and hedge funds with no RV experience will buy the struggling business. Original hull prices will increase. Post expansion hull prices will plummet. The only question is what is the timeline of this process to play out. It takes decades to build a brand. It takes one bad strategic decision to destroy it. This is that decision. Print this. Put it with your build sheet. Reference it 5 years from now.

I only replaced the original fan with another single fan. I don't usually camp in very hot locations and I think that the standard single fan does a fine job. However, if you are camping in hot locations and/or want to get ahead of "global Warming" then a dual fan setup might help.😁 It should be fairly simple to construct a mount for the two fans versus the single. Bill

The double cooling fan for the fridge is officially high on our prioritized "To-Do" list for this summer's adventures. Thanks to all for posting the links and the process to modify the standard configuration for more efficient chill! Great info!

Yep - I probably spent 2 hours trying to trace down the issue. Even if I had not put the shrink tubing on the faulty spade connector connection I still would not have found the problem until I got around to specifically checking that wire before the connection and after the connection. Of course - I simply ASSUMED that all of my crimps were good. Bad assumption! Bill

@topgun2, Bill, I appreciate the story of your fan installation experience. Thanks for sharing. I dread projects which I must do a hurry, because they invariable turn into a huge PITA. Fortunately, I had no deadline pressure for modifying the installation of the remote control for my fans. Nonetheless, I had to re-do all of the electrical connections and add a few, due to the additional of the switch in the control panel, so there remains the possibility of problem "in use". The acid test will be our next road trip, where the shake table torture will be applied. I have very high confidence the fans can deal with extreme heat, as my driveway tests proved. One of the benefits of DIY projects is gaining the knowledge of where to look to diagnose problems appearing later. I try to take photos, before, during and after and keep notes. These are great aids in dealing with problems such as you described. Smart phones are a tremendous aid in doing so.

On my 2023 F-150 there are no "cross hairs" but there are guidance lines and the ability to "zoom" in once you get close enough to the hitch. The biggest "problem" is that with the bulldog hitch painted black (from the factory) it can be difficult to see. This is particularly so if the pavement is asphalt and/or the lightening is not that great. This is the reason that MB (above) painted a white stripe in his bulldog. I chose to simply paint the entire front end of the hitch. However, my first attempt painting it was with fluoresrsent orange paint. This didn't work too well in that the paint faded in the sun. Therefore, I switched to "hammered silver" and the results are great as it is easy to see in virtually all lighting conditions. Bill

We gave strong consideration to AS. It was like visiting a used car lot.

Putting a swing arm suspension under an Ollie is not gonna happen. And it's not needed, to significantly improve what Oliver is doing now. As John has pointed out, and I agree, the very limited suspension on the Oliver needs help. I designed an identical upgrade to a similar trailer years ago, to fix the same problem. A spring over design with drop axles. This gives the clearance for twice as much travel, stops the metal to metal limit, and adds a Timbren rubber stop to change the last half of the travel to a rising rate system that acts as a soft stop. The riding height would be less than a simple spring over design, but more than now, and would be designed to make sure the wheels don't bottom out in the wheel wells. In other words, it could be designed to be the best overall compromise and end up with twice the suspension travel. Probably about a 2" lift with much higher quality travel. No more metal to metal suspension stop. And no changes to the body structure or the suspension truck would be needed. I suggested this design here, some time back, in our quest for better suspension, and so far, it seems like the best compromise we have come up with. John seems to like it too. Plus it is easy and cheap. The typical tandem axle leaf spring system, with equalizers, is a good system. It allows the forward and then the rearward wheels to step over bumps, or go through dips, without compressing the springs, so it rides well. It also allows the tongue of the trailer to be above or below level without affecting the weight distribution between the two axles. This must also increase stability as the point of effort against the ground remains centered between the axles. These features are not part of the design with tandem swing arms, or with tandem torsion axles. I don't know of any manufacturer's that are doing it. But in Oliver's case, the travel is severely limited and the stop is metal to metal. The system bottoms out a lot and leaves small dents in the suspension truck frame from the U bolts hitting the frame. This is crude and damaging. It adds a lot of stress to the whole system and jars the trailer and it's contents. It's just too crude to be under an Oliver. Oliver stepped up and got rid of the nylon bushings in the system, that are the same ones used in utility trailers, and went to the EZ Flex system with bronze greaseable bushings. A nice upgrade, but mainly for it's improved service life and not for quality of suspension travel. EZ Flex does nothing to increase the travel or to help with metal to metal bottoming. And it is designed for trailers with much stiffer springs that are experiencing shock loads caused by those stiff springs. Olivers have soft springs and it's not the initial shock from inflexible springs that is the problem, it's the limited travel and metal to metal stops that need to be addressed. Now it's time to go to the next level, with a cheap further upgrade of doubling the travel, reducing damage and improving the ride. This could lead to less interior chaos and less stress on everything. It would only require a change to drop axles, instead of straight ones, and the addition of Timbren rubber stops, as well as possibly different shocks. Overall, a very small investment for a significantly improved suspension that would put Oliver another step ahead of the competition. This improvement would retain the benefits of the equalizer tandem axle system, while adding good quality travel and reduced damage. It would continue to use off-the-shelf parts, and not require a major redesign. Oliver could advertise it as their new, "industry leading", "Soft Ride" system. Or their "rough road" upgrade. And just like with the EZ Flex upgrade, everybody will want it. It could be another option offered at the time of order, or just adopted as the new system, across the board. I would certainly opt for it if offered at the time of order. Come on Oliver! Check it out and try one for research! Or, maybe someone will talk them into doing it on a new order. Or maybe someone will retrofit their own trailer an show it to Oliver, where they will like it so much that they'll adopt it. A simple spring over change was already tried and they decided against it because the lift was too much and likely unstable, but this mod only raises the trailer about 2" instead of 5". I was getting ready to order new drop axles for mine, and do this for proof of concept, as well as the improved performance, but decided to go in another direction, with a different trailer. I've had a long term business relationship with a trailer equipment supplier and built, or modified, a number of trailers in the past. It would have been interesting to show up at the next rally with this mod on and working. And I would have, as I see no reason it can't be easily done. Another change that was going to happen during the build, was a change to 12" brakes. That isn't really important, but while in there, a good idea. Oliver did the 12" brakes for a sort time and touted it in their literature as an "upgrade". After three years with mine, I agree.

WhatDa, The 21 is an Australian model, not available here. All US trailers have the door on the normal curb side in the US. Some of the older comments on these are outdated and not relevant. They are talking about the ones in Australia. Look up RVs of America or rvsofamerica.com and look at their many videos. You can find them also on U Tube. I can't find anything wrong with the quality control or general design, and I looked at them in person. Big money and a lot of expertise has gone into the factory and they are totally RVIA certified. These are going to make a big splash here in the US. Some things are a bit quirky on them, but that is how they do it in Australia. Also, the numbers, like HQ17 and HQ19 don't match up with the length very well. The 19 is 25-26' overall, with the rear tires and the tongue. All prices shown on the Australian sites are Australian dollars. The HQ 19 retails here for $59,000., but it was offered at $50,000. USD. This is fully equipped with the roof 300 watt solar, inverter/charger, exterior kitchen, electric awning, Anderson charging plug wired to the batteries, twin spare tires, power steps, dual fresh water systems with triple filter system, washing machine, etc. The works. On June 5th there was a 10% increase on all new orders. But we got in under the wire.

[postquote quote=175539][/postquote] Here is a link to the Dexter Heavy Duty suspension kit. This can be installed in a couple of hours, doing one joint at a time with the wheels off on the side you're working on. I didn't remove the shocks or touch the U bolts. The rear jacks were down. Two floor jacks and a concrete floor work best. The bushings can be pushed in with a large C clamp or with a piece of threaded rod, a few washers and and nuts. Or a sleeve can be arainged so the bronze bushings push out the nylon ones on their way in. A large tapered punch helps align the holes. Probably best to put Locktite on the threads. Try to set the cross drilled grease holes in the pins, in the horizontal position to aid in greasing. https://www.amazon.com/DEXTER-AXLE-K71-359-00-Heavy-Suspension/dp/B004RCRA6O

As John mentioned, we tried the spring over axle mod and it didn't work, for the reasons he mentioned. And I agree that the drop axle idea is worth exploring. Another option is the MorRyde kit that many RVers swear by. I don't think that any Oliver owner has seriously looked into that as of yet. My personal leaning is the Lippert Centerpoint suspension. It seems dead simple to install, gives you about an inch lift, and has probably the softest ride of the above options, which, imo, is really what you need. I've changed my tune on suspensions since having the Ollie, and I no longer think that big travel suspensions are needed or even desirable. When you take a trailer off pavement, size and soft surfaces are the limiting factors. I have yet to find a road where terrain is what stopped us - it will be mud or sand or the inability to get back out that stops you first. I think the Black Series trailers are cool and all, and I'd love for someone to buy one and report back; but my opinion is that regardless how tough they look, they're still honking big trailers that aren't going through mud or sand or tight roads any better than an Ollie can (worse in some cases since they're as wide as an Airstream). And even in situations where they're better off road, I think you're buying a very narrow slice of capability while giving up a lot of highway stability. Yes, the Ollie could stand a bit more compression travel, but more for on-pavement potholes and such than for off road travel. You just don't travel fast enough off road to really require much suspension travel - the trailer will rock back and forth with the terrain, and since the wheels aren't driven it's not like you're trying to maintain traction. So, for off pavement suspension mods I think it's better to think in terms of reducing vibration; i.e., try make your trailer a gravel eating machine rather than a rock crawler, which is why I think something like the Centerpoint is likely to be the sweet spot in off pavement performance vs cost vs highway stability. My strategy for dealing with terrain that's too rough for the Ollie is to pack a tent. Then you can really go places. Much cheaper than buying a separate trailer for a few roads ;) . Your suspension won't move this wall any further away - Nor help you around this bend -

"I have opted to get a Black Series so that I can confidently go off road to places like Death Valley. My favorite spot is over 50 miles in on a gravel road that is rough and sometimes washed out. Then six miles across the desert with no road. The Oliver is really good compared to many normal trailers with it’s additional ground clearance and no hanging down sewer pipes. This has allowed us to go many places we could not have gone otherwise. I love my Ollie, but don’t want to take into Death Valley and overdo it." Raspy, you'll always be part of the family..a lot of people have enjoyed and learned from your posts. Don't be a stranger when you get that Black Series. I wouldn't want to take my Ollie to your favorite spot, either. Reminds me of the TV series I watched as a kid...sponsored by 20 mule team Borax. (Now I am telling my age, huh?) Sherry

Mark, I don’t know of any Ollie that has a different type suspension..... the EZ Flex was an option for a while, but it is way superior to the standard junk trailer shackles and plastic bushings, so now it is standard equipment. Yay! The problem is that there is no travel, you have maybe THREE inches total, and only 1.5 inches up travel, before the ubolts slam hard into the steel subframe. That is fine for well maintained asphalt, but a single deep pothole, or a rough dirt road, soon demonstrates how poor this is. Wham bam, thank you mam, the trailer will get really beat up and it can wreck tires and wheels unless you slow way down. A fancy independent off road a-arm suspension (like the Black Series trailers) with coil springs or airbags is way superior when the road turns bad, but it is also prohibitively expensive since most buyers won’t pay the big premium for a niche feature. It also can be tippy on the highway if it doesn’t have anti-roll bars...plus it does not have “load equalizing” between axles so you need really stout tires and wheels. A compromise that has been discussed (and which IMHO should be STANDARD ON ALL OLLIES) is to switch to a spring over axle configuration, which gets you a ton of room between the frame and axle, but that will get the trailer way too high off the ground, it looks dumb and it would very unstable. So you change the axles to a 4” (or 2”) drop version, which has a dogleg that positions the axle stub above the tube, effectively lowering the frame back down. [attachment file=A9BE9506-0D50-46D1-B2B2-655AC563E315.jpeg] Now you have a stock height (or 2 inch lifted height) trailer, with a bunch of room so you can install rubber bump stops to prevent the springs from over traveling, which can break them, but just as importantly, to provide a gentle, progressive slowing of the upward motion. No more banging. Easy peasy, it would be much more refined, and would only cost a few dollars more for the four bump stops..... spring over axle assemblies can be ordered from the supplier, no welding or reworking needed.... John Davies Spokane WA