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The pandemic drove a lot of new folks to camping and the industry benefitted tremendously and all companies/dealers saw a great increase in sales from that. I know I had to wait almost 9 months on my Oliver Hull 1182. I have seen the wait times talked about from order to pickup on here decrease suggesting that demand has also fallen off some. Once I understood the dealers and service center roles in this I became very comfortable. I see Oliver removing a lot of obstacles that may be keeping potential buyers from pulling the trigger. The ability to touch and feel a new model close to you and also the ability for service closer to you. I also think that it will help with marketing and getting the word out about Oliver. We initially visited local dealers, went to the big RV show in Hersey and looked at everything they had there. I saw where Oliver took a couple models to Hersey this year to display and talk with folks. I also have seen where Oliver has taken trailers to many of these types events and others to make sure people are aware of Oliver Travel Trailers. In the beginning we were looking at airstreams and I was on their forums as well as others trying to learn what I could when I found Oliver. I visited this site, read these forums, joined and learned a lot over a couple year period. I have seen others on here talk about similar experiences leading to them purchasing their Oliver and I am not sure that is the best marketing model for Oliver to have. After a couple years of reading, learning, trying to decide what would work best for us we decided on a whim to go visit Oliver and take the factory tour - about 8-9 hrs drive for us, we scheduled a tour. We had a morning tour and showed up at the office a few minutes early and we saw the new models on the showroom floor. We were invited to go take a look and we did. We feel in love that morning. We took the tour and it only re-enforced what we knew we wanted to do. When we got back I tried my best to have Oliver let me hook up and go but no luck, lol. Best I could get from them that day was a production date so we settled for that, lol. I see all this as a good sign that Oliver sees a bright future and are still willing to invest in that future. Think about what our reaction would be to news coming to us about Oliver getting out of the travel trailer business. As an owner who hopes to enjoy "Discovery" for many years I have no issues with Oliver and what they are doing with this current business model. We have nothing but good things to say about our Oliver and interactions with the wonderful people that work there. We have really enjoyed our experiences camping and meeting some of you - hope to meet more soon. Stay Safe

I've said this before in another post... but at the risk of repeating myself again... Oliver is not a "club" or like most of us, a bunch of retired people who have already accumulated enough wealth to sit back and be philosophical about how we would do it. It's a business that has several hundred employees who come in everyday to the Oliver factory trying to earn enough money to get to the place most of us owners enjoy right now. Warranty work (every dime of it) is anything that fails or wasn't done right the first time... it costs the factory money and is a cash drain. Service work could and probably is somewhat profitable and self sustaining part of the Oliver business, but the real cash cow that the owners and every employee counts on (remember they have their own life dreams too) depends on selling new Olivers. With hull numbers around the 1500 mark they have likely picked the low hanging fruit. Now they need to dig deeper into the existing marketplace to fulfill the burden and obligation to pay for tools, equipment, buildings, benefits, healthcare, wages and everything else that those several hundred people working there are depending on so they can make their house payments, buy groceries and maybe even someday own and Oliver and travel around the country seeing and doing everything we all are doing right now. Growing the business by selling new product doesn't mean forgetting the customers that have already purchased Olivers, rather it is doing both in a way that is fulfills everyones goals. It's not easy. Sometimes feels like a balancing act. There will be the occasional mistake... but I'm counting on the Oliver management to provide that "North Star" to keep the companies core moving in the right direction. We were just recently in the extreme north west and several times had conversations with folks who might have been prospective buyers... they just rolled their eyes when I said you could only buy and pick them up at the factory in Tennessee. All of us need to remember that if we want an experienced service team that is equally invested in our Oliver the factory where they are built needs to survive and grow. Otherwise, "who ya gonna call"?

OFFICIAL SPECIAL HOLIDAY NOTICE: D and I are happy to inform the Oliver Family that we'll be receiving an extra special Christmas Cheer this year. Our eldest daughter, Meghan and our son-in-law, Clayton are expecting their first (and our first grandchild) on 25DEC! We'll be leaving a week prior with Casa Blanca to the Dallas area and await the arrival... Very exciting holiday this year for us! We hope ya'll's will be exciting as well! Holiday Cheers, to All Y'all! A & D

When you say the fridge was off - do you mean that it was turned off at the fridge control panel or the fridge fuse was pulled or something else. I ask this question because - if the fridge was "really and truly totally off" there would be no electricity going to it. Therefore, there should have been NO sizzling because there would be no way for anything to arc since there was no electricity going to the fridge. Of course, if the fridge was "only" turned off at its control panel then electricity was still going to the fridge but the "workings of the fridge would not be able to operate - (i.e. the fridge would not turn on and try to cool itself down). All of this is to raise the possibility that the sizzling could be coming from something other than the electric connected to the fridge - this is not the most likely situation, but, it is possible depending on your answer to my question. Bill

I agree with JD with some precautions. Power and propane off the trailer and air hose the interior of the refrigerator cabinet from outside using an air nozzle, typically 30 PSI is the max. Idea is to blow off any moisture that may have spilled into the area. Use towels and dry any moisture you see. Then put a fan on the area from outside and force air to dry out all the refer parts in there. Let the fan run until you are sure it is dry. Then with one of you inside and one outside. Just turn on the DC power. Let it start up on DC power. If no smoke or wierdness let it run for a few hours to continue drying up the machine area. If no weirdness then flip it to propane and let it run for a few hours to further dry out other components. If no weirdness, then fire off the AC power. The above would be a lower risk than just "Smoke Testing It On Full 120 AC. That's how I would approach it. GJ

You do know that your response could be construed the wrong way by the PC. But in the vein of being all inclusive...

There's some humor in this somewhere!😆

An arc between two contacts could cause the sizzling you heard, but, most likely that would not explain the odor. It is possible that some insulation on the wires melted due to heat generated by an arc but I wouldn't bet on it. I'd try like heck to locate the area that had the arc and the area that produced the sizzling/melted wire insulation before I turned the fridge back on. And, I'd make sure that the area is dry. Of course you know that you can pull the fridge off via the off switch, circuit breaker/fuse so that you can still have power to the rest of your Ollie. Good luck! Bill

I decided the external filter made more sense. This way I can fill the 35-gal tank on my truck bed using it also, or when boondocking fill via the rear winterizing port. Mine looks like this - Even though I built this for just over $200 (all parts and first filter set) and ClearSource sells their unit for $400 plus tax, I would never suggest you go this route. It's way easier to buy their pretty well-built unit. It is extremely difficult to drill the 8 holes for the top-mounts without a template. Same for the side openings, to be centered at right depth! Just as hard to find a box, plastic or metal, that is 14x12x6" and not larger or smaller. Water will come in from the left. I had to add the 4" hose since my first female hose connection does not turn. I have a 4 FT hose on the right, that will stay on the filter and connect to the Oliver. I purchased a 10 FT hose for the connection and then of course we have a 25' and 50' hose when needed. I wasn't thinking of a faucet at first but found this one in a plumbing parts drawer and it's perfect. With this, you can run on City water when available, close the valve and switch the hose to the Fresh Tank inlet to bring some with you for the next stop (and refill my truck mounted tank). The junction box came with a cover. You can see the hinge for it, but I'm thinking it just adds unnecessary weight, and filled with water this will be very heavy. Waited long for some of these parts, and it's done!

My coffee pot is just under the cupboard and my coffee supplies (coffee, sweetener, cups, filters) are in the cupboard, so the door is right in my face when I'm making coffee. (Yes, I'm serious about my coffee). In the trailer I had before the Oliver all of the cupboard doors opened upwards and I loved it. It's the only trailer I've had that I never hit my head on.

Your above statement is part of what concerns me. I started looking for trailers about a year and a half ago as I’m getting closer to retirement. I first started looking at Airstreams and joined many forums and Facebook groups. I quickly gathered all the problems they have, and the horror stories from trying to get them serviced at their local dealerships. That began my journey to look for something more boutique and reliable, and led me to Oliver. I do not own an Oliver yet however, I have gone to Honewald and looked at them in person, and really was impressed! Although I would love to see Oliver grow, there is concern that they’ll lose quality and consistency as they start to try to meet demands. I truly hope that’s not the case and it remains to be an exceptional travel trailer, service and company! I still have about a year left before I actually need to purchase so, I will have some time to evaluate before a purchase something.

We've finally been home a bit and I updated our website with pix of the Alaska Trip. If interested you can take a look here: https://4-ever-hitched.com/alaska-2023 Our route was North from Seattle up to Dawson and following the Alaska Highway all the way up to Tok, Delta Junction & Fairbanks. We then looped south to Denali, Talkeetna, Anchorage the Kenai Peninsula including Homer, then back up and across through Wrangell St. Elias to Tok AK, then the return following the Cassiar Highway down to Prince George. Fires in late August caused us to cut off from going further East of Prince George. s a result we returned home 2 weeks earlier than originally planned, but that was fine as we hit the road again in early Sept for our trip to Utah/Colorado and N. Rim. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Craig & Rose Hull 505 - Galway Girl

Cute, @JWalmsley. Thanks! Can't wait for new years fireworks. Lol. Happy holidays to you and yours.

Ho, ho, ho!

Can't have a Christmas logo without some lights! @topgun2

Have you ever seen any statistics on this? No doubt that there are some RV's that have burned with the absorption fridge as the source, but I'd guess that there are also some RV's that have 12 volt electric and/or compressor fridges that were the source too. I'd also guess that the number of absorption fridges that have cause fires is very small relative to the number of them on the road. But, even though I've seen a few videos on the subject I've never actually seen statistics that show exactly how dangerous or not dangerous any of the fridges are in the real world. Bill p.s. It sounds to me that in this case the "problem" is electrical and has little to nothing to do with what type of fridge it is.

AND - Jason comes through once again - Thanks for making our season bright and jolly too. Bill

Lest we not forget - The travel trailer "arm" of the organization is just about the smallest in the overall company. Oliver has many years of experience with a number of products (like their walk-in bath tubs) in both the consumer/retail and industrial sides of the business world. I believe that they know much more about their products and the associated marketing of those products than I ever will. Yes, even the best plans just don't work out, but, from what I know about the company they will do whatever it takes to get the job done and done right. Bill

Update on brake problem. Welll it was a multifaceted problem. Unfortunately I turned our Ollie and Tundra over to a shop which was incapable of actually fixing the problems. They had them for five weeks. They gave it back to me twice as “fixed” and I made it almost two miles before the drivers side brakes started locking up, didn’t look back. They did get the drums turned. Actual problems were: 1. Bad Curt controller - friend and I replaced with Toyota specific wire harness and Prodigy 3 controller. 2. multiple wire issues where wire had been pinched between frame and hub tube, also some bad (shorting) connectors, mostly affecting passenger side brakes - solution, did some of our own cleanup and then took the rig up to All Wheel RV in Redding, CA (5 hours away) where they patiently went through and cleaned up electrical. 3. Still problem with rear passenger side brake not working, the old mechanic said alright let’s swap drums cross way and see what happens, problem stayed with brake. Inspection revealed that the brake was only making minimal contact, so replace that one plate (brake), after several test rides with shop owner and adjustments all brakes are working. After almost 3 months finally have our new Oliver available for trips. Very frustrating, and definitely a learning experience. I would fault Oliver in the electrical work done around the brakes and brake lights. Dexter on that crappy brake shoe. A lot of people are saying that quality control, in general, went way down during Covid. I should mention that the “All Wheel” boys liked how heavy duty the axle, brakes, and tires were on the Oliver. They pointed out a much larger trailer and said that I had the same brakes that the big one had. He also said that even without 4 perfectly braking wheels, we had a lot of stopping power. Which was reassuring. I’m going to send some of the costs off to Jason and we’ll see what happens. Can’t say enough good things about All Wheel RV. They will let you trailer camp in their yard too.

I built a similar 2 stage filter system but mounted it in a standard 6 gallon milk crate. All hoses, regulator and fittings store in the crate and the whole thing slides easily into the basement storage area for travel. The filters are mounted using Camco filter mounts attached to aluminum “Z” hanger picture hanging brackets (one bracket on the filters and one bracket screwed to the milk crate) so the filter assembly lifts out to do filter changes. Quick connect fittings on everything so setup at the campground is quick.

That makes perfect coffee sense!

With your propane and the 12V fuse pulled for the refer, and the 120 V circuit breaker off, you have no reason to be worried about the refer causing you any grief. So I would then use the other 12V items, such as the jacks, normally. GJ

I was not using pressure and the fridge was off. I was using my usual garden hose that I've used dozens of times cleaning this trailer. I think I know HOW the water got in there and at this point, that doesn't really matter, it is literally water under the fridge (HAHAHAHA I crack myself up!) We let it dry all day and tried turning the battery back on, more sizzling. I'm trying to get in somewhere to get it looked at. I would not be a fan of a fridge fire. 🙂

Great graphics! Love the holiday cheer!!

I'm considering these 'facts' to be just more of your "doom and gloom" and I recall asking you to cut them out since you've sold your trailer and don't really still have a dog in this race. Speaking of selling your trailer, you failed to let Oliver know about the sale. The need for this information by Oliver was outlined in the Classified Ad rules you agreed to when you placed the ad for the trailer you sold. You need to take care of that. If you want to continue to contribute to the forum with comments or to answer questions, please do it without your usual negativity toward Oliver. This time, I'm not asking.

There have been recalls on certain defective 3 ways, but none of them , to my knowledge, were ever installed in Oliver trailers. Since I've had several, I think I would have known. @Liana, I'm surmising from your post that fridge was operating while you pressure washed the exterior. I'd certainly suggest for future folks that everything be turned off, if pressure washing is your choice. Honestly, low pressure, if necessary, would be best. There are several electrical connections that could possibly have been affected,,should high pressure through the vent had caused a separation. In all likelihood, water hit a hot spot,,and you'll be ok. BUT, before I fired up the fridge, I'd give it time to dry out anything flooded, and I'd take it to a reputable repair shop, explain circumstances, and stay with it during initial fire up. I have no idea what pressure you were running, nor how long lower elements were exposed to higher pressure than a typical rainstorm, but, better "safe than sorry." The vent slats are designed to keep rainwater out, not pressure washer. Good news is, lower unit is accessible from the outside, and parts are typically readily available for a common fridge. If the estimate for repair exceeds $800, I'd consider replacing, vs repair. The unit can be slid out into the aisle, vs outside the trailer, in my considerable experience with 3ways. I have a love/hate relationship with them. Best unit ever for boondocking (our style) with limited battery power. Less reliable and manageable at altitude, and uneven sites. We installed a dc/danfoss/secop fridge years ago,,and I love the reliability. BUT, significant electrical draw. We manage, as power misers,,with agm batteries Please let us know what you find out,,after everthing dries out, and you get it serviced. I'm very sorry for your experience.

Because I had some, I tried alcohol. Softened it right up. Still a bit of rubbing but not nearly as bad as I thought it might be.

That hook is very much like the one I'll put on the ceiling. Except those are a nice unobtrusive clear and the ones I have on hand are silver.

I have never seen a chart, here is some info claiming 4000 rv fires per year and the absorption fridge is the number 2 cause. https://www.arprv.com/rv-fire-cause-and-prevention.php And this article: FYI, if yours is in great shape, (which I would doubt), installing a Fridge Defend system makes a lot of sense, but it cannot be installed into an early hull Dometic fridge without removing it completely from its compartment. John Davies Spokane WA

Thanks, Ron :)

Well, I never said that, but use common sense, have a person inside turn on battery power while you watch outside. But seriously, the fridge needs to be inspected by a pro, and that requires it to be removed to the interior of the trailer at least. Don’t discount the fire hazard, many RVs burn to ash from these absorption fridges. Dometic requires that the working parts be inspected ANNUALLY, but the Oliver factory installation is very poor, to say the least, and you cannot even see some of those critical areas with a mirror. The fridge has to be taken out of its cavity for that. John Davies Spokane WA

My guess is an electrical short, most likely triggered by, but not actually caused by your water ingress. You could use an air compressor to blow out the lower area, and apply power again, but I really think it needs to be inspected by a pro. Do not be at all surprised if the fridge is scrap. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/8865-fridge-fires-if-you-have-an-older-hull-you-really-need-to-pull-out-that-fridge-now/ FYI, a how to remove that unit link, some of the pictures show the electrical connections of concern. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9040-how-to-dometic-3-way-fridge-removal-and-demolition/ The entry door and its frame will have to be removed entirely to get the fridge out of the interior, unless you do as I did and dissect the fridge with a power saw… FYI the cooling section is hazmat and cannot be recycled, I paid a local place $75 to take it. If you live in the country, a bullet, fired from a fair distance back, will work well to remove the ammonia, and then you can recycle the remaining scrap steel. (This is comment direct from the guy at the appliance recycler.) A new DC/ AC (2 way) compressor fridge, should you go that direction, should be chosen with care, so that it will go in and out without any further trauma to the doorway. The ones presently being used in new Ollies will fit through the entry with a little care, I believe. Do not quote me. John Davies Spokane WA

I did too, with a Squatty Potty. I have a teak shower floor mat, and intended to put dowels in the bottom of the stool and matching holes in the teak to keep it in position. I bought all these before we picked up our trailer, and the standard toilet wasn't as tall as we'd remembered. We must have been thinking about the optional toilet. So now the stool is in the garage for if/when we change to an Air Head toilet.

Acetone and/or Goo-Gone will clean up the fiberglass. FYI for everyone…There is nobody currently working at Oliver that was there when these early OEII’s were built. Jason has referred several folks to me for help in the last few years. I still have contact information for several former employees that were there when the trailer line resumed in 2013 and worked on for the next 5-6 years. They have provided valuable information to me in some instances.

You are the one who brought it up by asking me why, publicly. I just clicked that sad button. Anyone here can have an opinion and nobody should try to silence or put down dissenters who don’t toe the line…. John Davies Spokane WA

Very well stated @ScubaRx on all levels and I agree 💯. Patriot🇺🇸

You're correct, it is a moot point now. So please don't continue to rain down doom and gloom on the rest of us that are still owners. There are still lots of folks that love their Oliver's and many more wishing they could own one. Oliver is working through the same issues that many industries are, but at least they have a long term plan in place that is well thought out, has been years in the making and will succeed. Nobody is being forced to buy from a dealer as opposed to going to Hohenwald. I believe you've mentioned many times about your dissatisfaction of being so far from the factory. These new dealership relations will solve some of those problems. I have an extremely long (fifteen+ years) and close relationship with Oliver trailers as well as the Oliver Family and I can say with confidence that so far, their past business decisions haven't failed them and neither will this one.

I think it is a really bad long term policy. I probably would never have bought “Mouse” if the sale were processed through a stick and staple dealer. It is a moot point for me anyway. John Davies Spokane WA

While I have been very busy in the shop this holiday season and I took the time this week to update my catalog of Oliver upgrades. This version I have add four new products – A new version of my shower mat called The Slate, A curb & driver side Back Cabinet Shelf divider, The Hocken Footstool for those with composting toilets as well as, an Oak Knife Holder that drops into my Flatware organizer. Looking to add some warmth to you Oliver with wood countertops and other accessories or just want to be a little more organized? I have a world of possibilities for you. You can download the new 2024 Catalog here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17XFL_5ine1WusHVKYguUBRmkj2KnJUN_/view?usp=sharing Onward, Foy Sperring

Great minds think alike? 🤔 What I did ended up being similar to this. The final location where I wanted the thermistor provided some good shielding from airflow. It's also at a more reasonable vertical level. My initial testing had the thermistor pretty close to the ceiling because that's as far as the original wire would reach and still get it around the corner of the cabinet. I took a big gasp and snipped the end of the thermistor wire about 8 inches from the tip. Then I added several feet of supplemental wire to extend the length so that it would reach where I wanted it to go. I tucked it behind the cover of the ugly mechanical thermostat that now controls the gas furnace. At first I had it poking out the other side so I wouldn't see it but that appeared to provide too much shielding. I switched it to the side you see in the picture and it seems to have the perfect balance. The short cycling stopped. I didn't time it but I'd say the on cycle was about 10 minutes and felt very comparable to the original Dometic unit. The off cycle was a little longer. Two wifi-enabled temperature sensors provided temperatures of 68.5 at the front by the panoramic windows (in the airflow path) and 70 directly on top of the mechanical thermostat where the sensor is (shielded). I probably had this kind of temperature difference with the original AC but I never measured it. It was too warm to test the heat but I'll get that done later. (If our theories are correct, those fins still would have had a lot of moisture on them.) Pictures below show the path the thermistor wire took: 1) from a factory wire access hole to a nearby ceiling puck light, then 2) across to the top of the interior of the microwave cabinet, then 3) down the side of a closet and under a shelf and through an existing wire access hole for closet lighting to 4) the ridiculously large and off-center hole from the Dometic CCC2 to 5) the final location! In the first picture you can see the snipped drain tube from the Dometic in the top left corner. In my Airstream, this runs directly down the side of the wall and it exits in the street-side wheel well. Would have been nice to integrate this somehow with the Houghton. I'm not sure how this is different in an Oliver RV so I've not commented on your question about this. I'm not understanding how this might provide a path for the wire but I'm sure it's because of my lack of familiarity with your setup.

Well, I just couldn’t stand it and had to give it a try. The access method described above worked as expected. The new thermistor, not so much. I’m disappointed, for sure. For testing, I just dangled the new thermistor directly down from the air distribution box which is centrally located in my RV. The thermistor was about waist level. In AC mode, it seemed to be a pretty good solution although I did not spend much time in this mode. The compressor did come on as expected and seemed to turn off much closer to the set point when measured by an external inexpensive indoor/outdoor thermometer at countertop level. In heat mode, the fan would never come on. I could hear the compressor turn on as well as the fan in the rooftop unit, but the interior fan that blows the warm air never came on. Heat was occurring in the coils because when I switched it from heat to fan-only mode, the fan did come on and the residual heat from the heat mode allowed for some warm air to come out. This puzzles me and I can’t help but wonder if the prior fan modification is in the equation somehow. That mod is described upstream in this thread. Prior to the new thermistor, I did notice a change in the fan behavior between AC and Heat modes: In AC mode, the fan cycles with the compressor only when the fan is in Auto mode. It remains on all the time if the fan is switched to medium or high mode (can’t recall about low speed). However, in Heat mode, the fan will cycle with the compressor no matter what speed the fan is set to, including auto. After the new thermistor, the fan would not come on at all no matter what fan setting I used. I returned the setup to what it was before I tinkered with it today and it’s back to running as expected in both AC and Heat modes. HVAC and resistors are by no means my area of expertise. I’d be interested to hear from those who know more on these subjects. For the record, the replacement thermistor I bought is a 10K NTC thermistor. That means absolutely nothing to me but there are gobs of these on Amazon with this specification and advertised as being suitable for mini-split systems which do both AC and heat. So I figured I’d start there. I can’t find any specs on the one Houghton uses.

Another thought is to remove the MaxxFan for access to the space between the upper hulls. It’s a much larger hole to work in. Mossey

On another note. . . In previous posts and also in a PDF "how-to" document I posted, I referenced about a 4 degree temperature swing with the wiring mod to cycle the interior fan with he compressor. My updated experience is this temperature swing has been as much as 8 degrees! I have temperature sensors in 3 different places inside my 23' RV (it's an Airstream, not an Oliver) and they all give different readings. I'm not too surprised by that. Only the one that is somewhat in a path of the air out of the air distribution box on the ceiling gives a reading close to the set-point on the Houghton. I'm also experimenting with setting the fan to Auto only at night. This is the setting that turns the fan off when the compressor is not running. Then, during the day, I'll set the fan on medium which allows it to run all the time as designed by Houghton. I started this approach yesterday and during the day, the interior RH reading was in the upper 50s. I only have sensors to measure RH. I left the fan on medium overnight and woke up to an interior RH reading of 78%. I slept in the house so it wasn't my breathing that added any humidity. I'll continue to monitor it today with the fan on medium and see if the interior RH drops. BTW, I appreciate the engagement here on this topic. I've posted remarks and questions about this on the AirForums and there hasn't been much engagement. I also find myself looking more and more at those nifty Oliver Legacy Elite II's! A lot less tongue weight for my F150 than my comparably sized 23' Airstream. I like the twin bed offering, too. A buddy of mine and I want to hitch up and point ourselves west and "go see America" when we retire -- if my parents' health permits. The two fixed twins would be ideal. But, man, I'd hate to give up my front panoramic windows that I love so much! Conundrum. . .

They still promptly answer questions on my 2008. Wonderful service.

You can submit a service ticket in the Owners section of this site and Oliver will get back to you. No charge for advice/help troubleshooting.

After careful adjustment, the next step is to determine the total power going to the four brake magnets. I can think of two ways to do this: 1. IF YOU HAVE SOLAR: Disconnect from TV. Shut off everything in the trailer and note the residual amp draw. Go to the street side bed area and locate the power connection for the emergency activation of the brakes. Using your solar control system, check and record the amp draw causes by parasitic draws (Smoke and propane detectors, stereo, tv etc. Record this amp draw. Should be very low. Pull the break-away and check your solar system control and determine the amp draw. Subtract the two numbers and you will have the power going to your brakes "locked up". It should be right around 12 amps. Reinsert the break away pin to conserve power and avoid overhheating the magnets. If the increased power draw is less than about 12 amps, it likely will be around 3, 6 or 9 amps thereby indicating you have one or more magnets with a problem. If it is near 12 amps, the issue is not with the trailer end of the system. I would then take it to a trailer brake pro, not a RV shop. 2. If you don't have solar, than I would connect Ollie to your TV and having a partner to activate the brakes: Measure the total amperage going to the brakes. Requires a clamp on amp meter. Should read between 11 and 12 amps. This will tell you if one or more of your brakes are not getting the power it needs to fully activate. If low: Test the power going to each side. Should be half of the above (around 6 amps) and equal side to side. If not: Test each of the four lines going into the brake assembly to figure out which one is the problem. If found, determine if it is: Broken/corroded connection, bad ground to that magnet, or a bad magnet. As above, knowing the amp draw at various places allow you to figure out where the problem is. If none of the above works.... get professional help before replacing your controller. Ask prospective shops if they have a plug in testers that connects up to your 7-pin at the TV bumper to diagnose TV brake controller and wiring. Finding a bad connection there would be a lot cheaper than a new controller installation. Hope this helps. GJ

The vast majority of times we have seen this it is a simple matter of the auto adjusters are way out of adjustment. They need to be adjusted on both sides of the trailer to the same point. I would certainly spend the time checking them out before changing out a brake controller. GJ

There's actually not much you can do with the auto adjusting Dexter brakes. You can back them off, but the auto adjuster will just put them back to where they were. However, you might be able to lower your brake controller power setting to eliminate the skidding. Our 2022 was dragging one brake as you describe and I was able to lower the brake controller setting enough to stop the skidding, but still have enough braking power overall. Our Ollie's brakes are very strong and require a lower setting than our previous trailers.

Pulling a service ticket is probably a good next step. It puts the kibosh on our immediate plans to head north. I also have no idea where I would take the trailer, I’ve lost faith in our local RV place. I’m going to try for the second time to get the right controller to plug into our Tundra (Justin at Oliver thought this might be the problem). Just to make things interesting we live on the top of a very steep hill. The whole thing is keeping me pretty anxious. I am grateful for this forum and help I’ve gotten here. Of course one of the big pluses of buying a new Oliver with self adjusting brakes and 100,000 mile bearings was to minimize stress and hassle 🤨