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5/9/24 Update Have traveled just over 1k miles with the new leaf springs and, so far, so good. Like others have mentioned, there is less side to side movement which is nice. Having lowered our tire pressure seems to have tempered the stiffness and the ride softened up a bit at around 500 miles. I re-torqued u-bolt nuts at 390 miles and 1,020 miles and feel like if I do this one more time they should be good. At 1,020 miles only one nut needed about a half turn. All the others needed just a quarter turn or thereabouts. After having traveled for 1k miles I no longer have concerns about them being overrated and too stiff. Special thanks to Mountainman198 for starting this thread and for all those that have contributed to it.

The Outlaw Oliver now has 4 new five leaf Alcan Springs, 4 new Monroe 555001 Shocks and 4 new Hercules H-901 Commercial Light Truck tires. Tali and I installed the springs and shocks earlier this week and the new tires went on yesterday. Our next trip will likely be 10K miles over the next three months or so. I believe we are good to go now. We will leave Monday for the Rally in AL, then on to the Rally in ME and from there to CO for a few weeks. We hope to hit a few more National Park Units. As of December 2023, there are 429 official units of the National Park System, We've visited almost 300 so far.

Made it through last night fairly "high and dry" - although there is a slight after-smell of wet huskies in the camper... Oh, well, it's how we roll. T-storms started again early this AM (0230) through about 0445. Nobody slept - coffee came early and prep for R&R operations with Dusten Bowden (18-year veteran of OTT). The Dexter Nev-R-Lubes swapped without even a hiccup... ABOVE: Removed and replaced the rear axle first then attacked the front... ABOVE: Note the size difference between the 12" and 10" drums... about 19% more braking surface area. ABOVE: Took about 3.5 hrs for the axle R&R, back on the road now and headed toward Nashville over the next several days. Had to stop for this pic - here's "3 hearty cheers" to Jim Oliver for designing what we consider the best TT for the money in the US RV market! Roll-on, regardless...

XPLOR is in the Lake Side Wild! After spending a few days at Santee Lake SP in SC and yesterday we touched down at Watsadler COE CG on Lake Hartwell. I think we landed a really beautiful spot. It’s so nice to see all these lakes brimming full! After a have to have a campfire 🔥, and a little nectar of the Gods, we really enjoyed a great nights sleep with a cool breeze flowing through XPLOR at 65d with no need for AC. Note: all the sites here are really nice and with my lifetime America the beautiful pass we paid $32 a night with one night free. That’s a win! 🏆 So on to lake hopping across 3 states to the rally. Our next stop will be Lake Guntersville! Safe Travels All! Cheers! The solo loblolly pine in the center of this photo caused us to pause briefly and think about the “Appeal to Heaven flag”. A signal of strength, resilience, justice, liberty, and a moral compass and relying on the higher power of God. Onward! Patriot🇺🇸

FEDERAL INCOME TAX CREDIT FOR QUALIFIED SOLAR ELECTRIC EXPENDITURES The Residential Clean Energy Credit (“CEC”) provides taxpayers with a credit in an amount equal to 30% of the costs of new, qualified clean energy property installed anytime from 2022 through 2032.1 The CEC applies to costs towards the purchase of property which which uses solar energy to generate electricity for use in a dwelling unit located in the United States and used as a primary or secondary residence.2 As relevant to the CEC, a “dwelling unit” generally includes mobile homes having basic living accommodations such as sleeping space, toilet, and cooking facilities (as are included with each Oliver Travel Trailers model).3 Property eligible for the CEC includes new solar panels, qualifying batteries having a capacity of at least 3 kilowatt hours, and related storage components (e.g., inverters, wiring, and monitoring equipment). If applicable, the CEC will reduce, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the consumer’s federal income tax liability in the year of purchase. Excess unused credits can be forward to future years. ILLUSTRATIVE TAX BENEFITS Solar Package Lithium Pro Lithium Platinum Legacy Elite $5,330 N/A Tax Credit (At 30%) $1,599 N/A Legacy Elite II $7,120 $12,425 Tax Credit (At 30%) $2,136 $3,728 CLAIMING THE CREDIT After purchasing your Oliver Travel Trailers camper with solar package, keep your receipts for the total price paid to document your eligibility for the CEC. Include Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits, with your tax return to claim the credit. When filing, include the tax credit calculated on Form 5695 onto your IRS Form 1040 and file your tax return with the IRS to receive the credit. Depending on your state of residence, additional state tax credits may be available. The information contained in this summary is informational in nature, is not a warranty or certification as to applicability of any tax credits to the products described herein and should not be construed as tax advice to any specific individual or entity. Customers should consult with their own tax advisor with respect to your eligibility for the credit. 1 IRC § 25D(g)(3). 2 IRC §§ 25D(d)(2); 280A(f)(1)(A); IRS Notice 2013-70, 2013-47 I.R.B. 528 (11/1/2013). 3 Prop. Reg. 1.280A-1(c)(1) https://olivertraveltrailers.com/tax-credit-information/

Casablanca found "akeside Wild", too! We're at Mouse Tail Landing SP just north of Linden, TN and about 10 miles south of I-40 right on the beautiful TN River: ...all for strength, honor, and freedom! Travel safe, rally go-ers! Cheers!

I spent all day yesterday installing Alcon leaf springs, Alcon U-bolts and new Monroe shocks on our trailer. I did the work myself and have to say that I recommend tackling it yourself if you have even average mechanical abilities and a torque wrench. I haven't had time to give it a test tow yet but am optimistic that the tow to the rally will be trouble free.

So, here's an interesting data point... While installing the 5.2k# Dexter Nev-R-Lubes yesterday, we discovered all but one of the Monroe 550001 Shocks (installed new 11APR23) were INOP. What a bummer. Fortunately, "DBo" had 4 new-in-the-box Monroe's which he gave me after buttoning everything up on the axle job... I'll be installing them today at Mouse Tail Landing SP on the TN River in middle TN. The point being, for those owners that R&R'd shocks last APR/MAY timeframe, strongly suggest removing that upper nut and testing each one. Doesn't take long, and just for the peace of mind - well worth the effort. We may have bought a bad lot of Monroe's last year, but I'm thinking they should have lasted more than the 14,000+ miles we've logged since installing them! Roll-On, regardless...

I was thrilled with the news that they were actually rated at 2750 pounds. I had abandoned the idea of buying them if they were only rated at 2000-2400 pounds. I will continue to run 50 psi in my tires. With a rating of only 10.4K pounds the axles are now the weakest link in our entire suspension/wheel/tire system.

Thanks for all the input. I did try the opening and closing valves one at a time to bleed air. Also tried city water hook up. I tried pulling water in from boondocking port. No draw from that connection either (with valves in boondocking configuration). Put in a ticket with Oliver and sent video. Mike responded promptly and said likely pump and or accumulator. I replaced both. Still no draw from fresh tank but it did pull water from boondocking port. Progress! I checked all connections between fresh tank and pump. I had an air leak at connection where water line comes out of fresh tank. Pump failure was from us leaving pump on overnight while parked on a slight decline with very little water in fresh tank. We stayed in their house so did not notice until morning. We have named this O-squared E. Oliver-Operator-Error.😁

I'm looking forward to replacing the outdoor shower, but it will have to wait until I get to the rally. Part just arrived. Q: Can you make a deck chair from PEX piping, like all the things you can make with PVC? LOL. Just kidding!

A 1" line with connectors becomes 3/4" ID, a great improvement at 2x the current OEM drain. OTT uses 1/2" PEX with 90 connectors that have 3/8" ID. See my picture of the motorized valve installed on the drain. Yes, the 90 fitting is 3/8" ID and if any of you still have the old brass switch valves (for boondocking / winterization modes) they are 1/4 ID. Motorized valves I used in all 3 locations have 12mm ID, one mm short of 1/2" ID. It drains a little faster and the boondocking fill is now twice as fast.

We're headed along that path also - I'm not even going to think about it until the 2kW Xantrax dies its slow death. But for now it meets all our boon docking needs. Granted, we're not in the southern states durning summer when AC is needed at times. In the summer Rockies -- all one really needs are good window screens or maybe a CLAM. Running the AC off the battery bank is definitely appealing - but for us, only after we've used up the the 2kW inverter and he's totally given up the ghost... Then we'll look at the inverter/charger option with our Lithiums.

That's what I use every time I'm not on an extended trip. I can take my time at home, and rinse the black tank several times. Disconnected I can point the nose at the sky to get every drop out. No messy dump stations, no long lines, and no burst hoses. (There was a long back up at David Crockett State Park when we picked up our trailer as someone's hose burst during black tank dumping.) EDIT: I do not recommend the 45° fitting shown with the swivels. Both ends leaked between the orange and translucent parts. 🤢 I've also stopped using the gate on the end of the 10" extension. Without it, I can get the 45° fitting and pump a little closer to the trailer, allowing the nose to go a bit higher before the motor touches the ground.

UPDATE ON FIRE IN THE HOLE As previously reported we had the problem resolved after a local mobile RV service person (GBoyz Mobile RV Repair LLC Key West, Vern (cell) 269-370-3905) in Key West discovered and fixed the problem. We've been on site at an RV park from Jan-April without any further problems. We got an appointment at the Truma Service Center in Lakeland FL (Tampa) and brought the Olli there on our way home last week. The Truma Service tech was happy with the repair done in the field but out of an abundance of caution he replaced the burner assembly at no cost. We were at the service center for less than an hour.

Concur, 100%, Carnivore! We believe the more maintenance, upgrades, and general OTT upkeep, the better you know and keep track of its status over the many years of usage. You'll know when shocks need an R&R drill, wet bolts needing a fresh squirt of lube, window tracks need a cleaning, a WH anode needs attention, etc., etc., etc... We'll need to compare notes on our spring pack R&R at the rally - I'm thinking we're parked real close to y'all. We'll be found in A-6. Safe travels, All! Cheers!

Starlink router and antenna (version 2) draw 60-70 watts. Don’t know about newer versions. Since we have 640ah lithium’s so for us we just turn on the inverter . I could see that 12v direct could help a bit on energy usage. Our 2019 has a dc tv .

I considered that, but then I could hear someone, rightfully so, say it would put too much stress on those Pex pipes. If those leak, there's no stopping the leak without killing the water and pressure in the lines. If the faucet likes as it has, it only leaks when using the outside shower. Not a bad compromise. The part is actually suppose to arrive this afternoon, so I might be replacing it at the rally. Something fun to to do.

...and maybe a Pulaski or two?

Heck no, getting home from our trip, we are knee-high in weeds, weedwhackers going. Art, whenever you visit, yes that is your spot. I'd move ours to a less level spot w/o shore power. Not much in level land here. Here is a picture take just now from the other direction, our living room window. Five years ago, Adam and I hand-excavated the 10x20' yard area to allow the shed to be level, with pickaxes, shovels and rakes.

Dusten mentioned that he'd removed several FWTs and it usually required a forklift to pull it out after the bumper assembly is removed - that operation.... is way outside of my wheelhouse! A 1" or greater (if possible) drain tube would be a great mod - gets more plastic shavings and debris from the tank when performing the annual flushing.

It's doable, Steve -- let's compare notes at the rally. I've got some ideas to float by you...

If you are referring to the end of the pipe that is inside the fresh water tank and is used for pickup then I don't think that there is supposed to be one in that location. The screen in/on the water pump takes care of that issue. Bill

The 2023 has 400W of solar at 24VDC. I ran the air conditioner using the batteries in the driveway to see how much it used. I don’t recall the exact numbers now, but it was in a post from when we picked up last March. I think it worked out that one hour of air conditioner use ate up 10% of the battery, and took one day to recover. Another time I ran the AC about ten hours and had 20-some percent left, so it isn’t a simple 1 hour= 10% =24 hours. I have a Bluetooth 200W 12V panel, but can’t tie it in to the Oliver’s Victron charge controller due to the different panel voltages. I have a second smaller Victron charge control to add parallel to the main one using the Zamp port, but haven’t gotten around to doing that yet.

Air-lift would be nice! Without it I bring ramps. At this location, I started at 7" down (reading on the LevelMate) to 3"+. Surprised to get 10" net, but you can see it in resulting the TV angle, since the drive was lower at the front wheels of the TV. We had a free dump station just down the street from home. What was for decades, our local "Affinity RV" became "Blue Compass RV" last year and they charge $10 to use the dump station.

I too have Verizon, and have gotten service using the WeBoost when camping in areas where ‘no cell service’ is posted. Sometimes one extra bar can make a difference. Getting the antenna up high helps!

Something like this would certainly work to protect the Oliver if stored in the sun, not sure about A/C use other than folding back or raising the cover. I have used these over many years for the purpose intended, and know how durable and effective they are in blocking UV and reducing heat. FS has several sizes to choose; pic for illustration.

Actually - The original design of the mod that Oliver uses for the fresh water tank was done by a former owner - Raspy. His design is actually fairly simple provided that you have the correct tools - and - know how to use them. The repair in the hands of someone who has done the repair before only takes a few minutes (its called spin welding). JD's repair was primarily based on the fact that he was loath to even think about returning to a location east of the Mississippi River and he (as many others) didn't have the tools and/or skill level to spin weld. As I recall - Raspy was given an award by Oliver for his design. Only a couple of these awards have ever been given by the Company (I believe that another one of these few is our very own ScubaRx). Bill

Well, now I have to give an amendment. Just took off my tires yesterday to grease the zerks. The street side torque was good. The curb side wheels were way over-torqued and the threads were stretched on some studs. Boo. I gotta replace them now. It was the last rig they worked on that day at this shop and wasn't finished till 5:30. My guess is that the technician was in a rush, was using an airgun, and just jammed those lug nuts on while thinking of going home. Another reason to try to do more and more maintenance myself, with the help of these forums of course!

At Palm Springs KOA. Next stop is Disneyland for Mother’s Day weekend.

I agree in principal recognize your TAKE OUR CHANCES perspective. Packing light and as a result often rolling the dice works well for a lot of RV owners. Others pack heavy and could never go where you and I like to go. Then there are others of us that are actually somewhere in the middle. It is all good. It is also good that our "spares/emergency/DIY gear) is different. No point in running across a situation and having the exact same gear. Better for our response if our Kits are different. MORE OPTIONS. I would wager that we both, and many others, carry gear that gives us more options so that we don't have to roll the dice very often. Also that neither of us go overboard on the weight or space side. GJ UPDATE: Talked to knowledgable OTT techs and pulling the FWT is a PITA. Not something they or I would recommend for any mod. So I did suggest that they increase the plug prone tank drain to 3/4" or 1" to facilitate tank flushing.

This is true. The hotel turned out to be a gem and we had a wonderful afternoon and evening in town.

I believe strongly in the iconic phrase from the song Beautiful Boy by John Lennon: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." There is NOT enough room to have backups for everything! I prefer to pack light and take our chances. Our backup heater is an extra blanket! I'll just bet, that with all the frustration day of, that @Steph and Dud B have a life memory they will cherish, or at least remember. You have to make the best of things and live life as it comes, no regrets. I tend to remember the good stuff.

I have lots of experience where my travel companion, Mr. Murphy, often trumps a pair of Odds. 🙂 GJ

Tempting for sure! Upgrading to the 5.2k# Nev-R-Lubes this week in Hohenwald... Nice match with the Alcans. Will send updated posting of the process later this week for those interested.

At Lake Havesu Az at Cattail Cove SP. Nice level sites with Wafter & 30 amp. Thd park he’s a beach, boat launch , small visitor's center and fish cleaning station. Bathroom and showers are clean and modern with high pressure hot water. We are in site 15.

Thanks to @AlbertNTerri I was able to field repair the truma unit. Their note described the specific burner feed line that was loose. I removed the burner assembly and found the main connection inside the burner was loose. The connection is the brass fitting in the pix. That connection was loose, not even hand tight. I tightened it back to spec and checked all wiring for any burns and they were all ok. IMG_7603.mov Tested gas pressure and it was correct. Cleaned soot from burner Assembly and reinstalled burner. Checked for gas leaks then lit off the Truma. No more whoosh/boom. This was made possible because an Oliver forum person posted the repair steps that a Truma tech did to repair their unit. I asked Jason to let truma know about this unit failure, and suggest they send out a service note on this topic. I ask those going to the rally to point out this issue to Truma Reps at the event. I will submit this as a new incident NHTSA as it was dangerous. Unit info: Model Serial No: DLE 60G 32123091 direct vent automatic instantaneous water heater Regards, Craig Short Hull 505

Awesome. We'll look forward to your experience.

Chris has been playing around with a drone. Hope this movie loads... Oliver Drone Movie.mp4

Vector, If you have chosen a lithium battery manufacturer, they may be able to tell you about an installer in your area that's buying and installing their products. We have a BattleBorn lithium battery in Ollie, and they have always been very helpful with my questions. Bill

I admire those that can do most or all of the work on their Oliver. I’ve learned how to do a lot over the years, mostly from knowledgeable friends and owners who were willing to take the time to help and explain (in person, over the phone, in emails, etc). It makes a huge difference when traveling to have confidence in your abilities to fix issues while on the road. The Oliver community excels at helping other owners and sharing information. This latest surge for ALCAN springs is just one example. Lew and the crew at ALCAN are impressed with the Oliver community! Mike

Hey, GJ! Thanks, brother... It's a work in progress for sure. Regarding your questions: 1. The E-Z Pole mast is designed with 4 nested aluminum sections with "twist-to-lock" fittings in each. To unlock, it takes about a 1/4 turn clockwise. Push the top section up first, lock, then 2nd, and 3rd. The pix show the mast at about 2/3 max height, FYI. The mast configuration gives us more use options - for example, we can use the quad-stand at the house should we lose our Xfinity/Comcast service. 2. I measured the speeds today in on the apron at 225mbs download; 28mbs upload. Basically faster than our Xfinity service. However, we've learned through some of the previously mentioned rabbit holes, that speeds vary depending on location. In some highly dense populated areas speeds can be slower, as Starlink "chokes down" speeds - same goes with remote locations. A subscriber can pay extra for guaranteed higher speeds. We've decided to try the basic plan for the time being. 3. The basic Starlink Mobile kit is $600. The Husky tote was $28 at Walmart. The custom fit packaging pieces were $50 from Etsy. The Esty pole adapter cost $15. We're planning to modify the kit (router) from AC to 12vDC. Switching to 12vDC drops power consumption by approximately 18%, FYI. I've already purchased the component parts to make the DC conversion for about $125. Parts needed are a PoI injector, 12-48vDC converter, and a standalone router. Easy peasy. 4. The Starlink Mobile monthly service is $150 - but, service is set up as "pay by the drink". If you're not planning to travel during a particular month, or your rig is in storage mode, you can access you account online and deactivate service. Only the "Mobile" option allows this feature, the "Residential" plan does not. Hope all is well on your side - best regards to June... Cheers!

It's odd that even Starlink Mobility (originally marketed as Starlink for RV) doesn't have a factory 12v DC option. The aftermarket has it covered though. The Everlanders YouTube channel shows some ways to convert Starlink 120v AC power supply to run on 12v DC without using an inverter. The easiest would be to purchase a Dishy Dualie DC Power Supply from Boondocker and then use your own 12v DC router instead of the Starlink unit. Converting the Starlink router to 12v requires opening the case and soldering connections. We plan to convert our Starlink to 12v DC power, and to flat mount the dish on our tow vehicle. We'll park the TV close enough to the trailer for the WiFi to connect. No setup required except parking the TV where it has a clear view of the sky. We haven't yet done this conversion, but we'll post again when there's something to report.

Glad your issue seems to be resolved. And good to have caught the loose ground. But I don’t think the low voltage at the cigarette lighter was related to the EMS ground. The Progressive Industries EMS is part of the AC shore power input system, separate from the 12 volt DC circuits. The Progressive Industries EMS feeds into the Progressive Dynamics converter/charge controller to charge the batteries. All of the 12 volt systems and accessories are connected directly to the battery 12 volt supply bus bar (through the DC fuse panel) and the DC ground bus bar. You may have unknowingly fixed the issue when you were disconnecting & reconnecting the USB port and cigarette lighter socket. Maybe a slightly corroded terminal contact, etc.

For those of you that are interested I pulled the connections off from the back of the terminals and Isolated the two sockets compliantly from the trailer wiring. I made up a pig tail and ran it from the cigarette lighter from my truck to power the two sockets. The usb worked fine and the cigarette socket read 13.5 volts. So now I knew it must be somewhere in the trailer wiring. After much investigation I found a loose ground inside the EMS under the back dinette seat. I snugged it up and checked all the other connections and lo and behold I now have 13.5. Volts at the socket. Before opening the EMS I contacted Oliver service and told Hanna what I suspected. She gave me the authorization to open up the EMS to check for a loose wire. She said it was a first but was glad I found it as a bad ground can cause an over heat situation. Bill

This is definitely a big clue. 5 volts is the nominal charging voltage of a USB port to charge connected devices. If you are seeing approximately 5 volts at the adjacent cigarette lighter instead of 12 volts, I would check the wiring between the USB socket and the cigarette lighter to make sure they aren’t incorrectly wired. They may be incorrectly wired in series, or reversed polarity, or the USB charger port may be defective. They should be wired in parallel to the trailer DC power circuit and ground.

I find it perplexing that a few folks on the Oliver forum complain about restrictive practices on the Oliver Facebook page and other social media platforms, and then want to limit the scope of conversations and topics on this forum. I'll be the first one to say that some topics, language and view points can come across as distasteful, or inappropriate. But discussing different aspects of RVing in general is as far from those bad characteristics as a discussion could be. Complaining and even demanding the removal of any thread or conversation pertaining to any aspect of RVing comes across to me as most exclusive and distasteful, as long as the discussion maintains a respectful tone. There are a number of topics that I have found to be of little interest to me on this forum, so I don't bother to follow them. But topics of general interest about RV travels are always interesting to me. I'd rather read them here than have to search the net to find them. I hope that when we attend our first Oliver Rally we aren't made to feel like we can only talk about Oliver campers.

Welcome to the Oliver Travel Trailer Forums Our forum community is a place where owners of Oliver Travel Trailers and prospective owners can come together to collaborate about Oliver Travel Trailers and the lifestyle of camping. Notice the last phrase in this opening welcome statement on our forum? It speaks to the fact that prospective owners can come here to learn about the lifestyle of camping. Folks who are searching the web for information about this unique style of living and relaxing are all welcome on our forum. They might not truly know what it is they need and are casting a broad net during their initial investigations. This article will help them in their endeavor. Also, by linking their search to our forum, they may just learn about the awesome Oliver Travel Trailer which they had never even heard about before. You never know, they could wind up being in their own Oliver right next door to you at the annual Oliver Travel Trailers rally next year! That's one way the family grows, and that's a good thing. The article is also posted in the Blog section of the forum which deals with the broader aspects of camping as well as some Oliver specific items. Feel free to pass it by if you'd prefer.

I’m speaking for myself here, not the other moderators. If an owner, Oliver employee, or even a prospective owner wants to post a general interest RV or camping article I don’t see any issue. We’ve had owners sell their Oliver and purchase other brands (Black Series, Airstream and Kimberly) and have posted about them with discussions and questions that followed from current owners. If a post or article has grammatical error that’s okay, too. We have members who join and don’t have a clue about camping or RV’s (like I was 8 years ago) and what Jason posted would be educational to them. I didn’t know what a Toy Hauler was back when I joined the forum. I learned a lot from the Fiberglass RV Forum, Airstream Forum and this forum. I don’t see any marketing of other brand trailers going on, just general interest educational, pros/cons, etc. What is not acceptable are offensive posts and posts that are soliciting business. Unlike the Facebook group, we do allow links to products and information that owners post to be helpful to other owners. If a thread or post is not of interest to you, don’t read it. Mike

After seeing an Oliver Legacy Elite for the first time during 2010 at Mt. Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway, we really liked Oliver Travel Trailers and wanted one! We also enjoy riding a motorcycle two up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Before buying Ollie, compared the pros & cons of buying a toy hauler to buying an Ollie. Oliver easily won for us because we also wanted Ollie for cross county travel and did not want to take a motorcycle on those trips. Plus we really like Ollie's looks, how efficient it is to tow, and how pleasant it is to camp in. When we camp on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Federal campgrounds and want to take a motorcycle, we tow the motorcycle with another vehicle. It's allowed to stay in two campsites as long as you use two geezer cards for $10 per site per night. When we take a motorcycle, we don't stay during holiday weeks, so there's plenty of extra sites available for everyone. One of our 2022 Trips to Mt. Pisgah Campground on the BRP: