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OK, we can agree to disagree. All I can say is our 2014 trailer is the first EII sold after the 5 year hiatus. Fully loaded and ready to camp it has always weighed more than 7000 pounds. It has been on the road for over 100,000 miles most of it on tires set at 80psi. It has had five-leaf 5200 pound spring packs and 5200 pound axles since it was built over 10 years ago. A year or so into its life I switched to twelve inch disk brakes. Admittedly, nobody rides back there so I can't attest to what it might feel like. But, during the past decade the trailer has never complained and I've not seen any evidence of all this devastation that is predicted to happen. No broken drawers, no blinds constantly falling off while under way, no cabinet doors coming open, nothing. Apparently, in my case at least, Jim Oliver was correct when he recommended the heavier duty suspension for our trailer. I have been preaching that the four-leaf OEM springs are way under rated for these trailers for years and have had more than one discussion with Oliver about it. They did move forward and make the 5200 pound axles standard, but I think that was just to be able to give folks the Nev-R-Lube (not Nev-R-Fail) hubs that many had asked for. Whether they follow with an upgrade to the springs, only time will tell. Whether owners decide to upgrade their springs is up to them. I predict no slow down in the number of springs that will eventually fail. And, I promise when it happens, it will never be in a convenient place. At least buy some cheap springs to carry as spares against the possibility. In the past week we have gotten new springs, shocks, and tires. I'm happy with my decisions. And, by the way, only a fool would pick a suit of armor to fall three stories in. Seriously though, I see the point you were trying to make.

Good Morning from Watsadler COE CG on Lake Hartwell. Site 17 will always be very memorable. A cool 52 breezy degrees here last night which made for a perfect nights sleep. Something special about the lake front camping. We are early risers and caught this new day beginning. We will depart this beautiful spot shortly and make our to Lake Guntersville SP on roads much less traveled. Onward &Safe Travels!🇺🇸🇺🇸 Hull #634 “XPLOR”

And a ""Good "Starlink" Morning"" from Casablanca at Primitive Site # 8 in Mousetail Landing SP along the TN River... Happy feet enjoying mid-60's temps this AM with a couple Knuckleheads and some Blackbeard's Delight Black Rifle in the mug: Headed to Nashville tomorrow to collect my bride and VFR-direct to Guntersville on Tuesday... Safe travels, All!

Yes agreed, and yes pics would be appreciated! I haven't yet touched any exterior lighting. It kills me to see 3-4 screws into the fiberglass to mount something that weighs just ounces! I'm thinking, fill the holes with an epoxy or whatever plays well with fiberglass (to which I have no idea). These trim pieces can simply be mounted with a circle of 3M VHB tape, no holes in the fiberglass required, except for an 1/8" hole for the wiring. OTT should redesign the exterior thinking minimal fiberglass intrusion. Believe it or not, your antennas, solar panels and evening your awning can be mounted to the surface without drilling screw holes. Adhesives today are stronger than screws into fiberglass, certainly.

The Fresh Jet is next on my list of mods. I would also like to hear about any reports on how well it works in an Oliver. Mike

For SL users and potential users - there's literally a dozen or so ways to convert SL to a 12vDC kit. Pick one that meets your camping style and you're comfortable with - you'll never look back. We converted ours earlier this year and still have the capability of using the original SL router and cable should we need to use it at home or elsewhere on 120vAC - just left us with another option. We didn't have to take any OEM equipment apart, except for cutting the ethernet cable and installing CAT V plugs on either end (piece of cake, BTW). There's definitely a power saving advantage by converting over to DC - we figured 20 - 25% less power than running it on AC. FYI: this message is coming to you via our kit running directly off our Battle Borns from the middle of TN somewhere! Roll-On, regardless...

Got this specifically for boon-docking/backup. It will pull from 100 ft away and uphill 20 ft. The best thing is you can use it as a general systems water filter all the time without the pump turned on. Not the smallest or the lightest but well built and should help us with better tasting water and carrying less on trips. Runs off 12V from SAE solar port. This was me just trying it out, not the home for it on the TT.

I think 2 have. There are something's that were different during installs. One person opted not to reuse the condensate lines. They didn't want to break a seal and add another gasket. One reused the inner portion, while another replaced the upper (outside) and inner.

As mentioned in an earlier rant, we did the "ride-along" test before and after replacing the spring packs... Over a 3+mile course over improved but rutty country roads, there was no "felt" difference at speeds up to 25mph, before/after. Higher speeds may show different results. Riding back there wasn't anything like the difference riding in our 2016 (stock) RAM 3500 and our 2022 (almost stock) TUNDRA. Huge difference between the two. Although the RAM rode like a "buckboard" (I don't think it would scramble eggs) but the TUNDRA rides like a car, soft yet sure footed. Actually, I was somewhat impressed how stiff the ride felt before changing spring packs. DBo (Dusten Bowden, an 18-yr OTT Veteran) has concluded that OTTs are way under sprung for their construction. JFTR: He was very impressed with the Alcan upgrade and would recommend them for any owner, especially for those that have experienced 4-pack spring failure - as its a perfect time for upgrading. Someone correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe Mr. Oliver insisted on 5-packs and 5.2k# axles on both his rigs... FYI and as it may be known, OTT is no longer installing 3.5k# axles on their new LE2 rigs (LE1's have alway had 5.2k# Dexters) - so, like Steve mentioned above, perhaps 5-packs may come in the future. We believe that will be an overall improvement to what we consider an already well engineered product. At the end of the day, the "spring-pack/axle" discussion boils down to individual camping style and personal preference, IMO. The probability of us breaking one or more of our previous 4-pack leaf springs, I'm sure, is a low one. However, I know how we roll - I'm the guy that would break a Chinese 4-pack halfway out on the 14-mile washboard road to Chaco Canyon or on the way to "Moving Rocks" near Furnace Springs, Death Valley. I'd have a spare 4-pack with me, of course - but another one would break on me on the way back after swapping! The discussion does not have a "go/no-go" solution set - it's an "it depends" solution, IMO. Like @Patriot sez, "Roll-ON", regardless... Cheers, All!

Well, this one probably doesn't count then:

One lesson to be learned is the impact of a strong 5 stack spring vs. the far more compliant 4 leaf. Certainly the strong stack will transmit forces to the trailer frame much more than a wimpy 4 stack. With stronger axles the same effect will take place. So, with super spring and super axles, super shocks will likely be needed to contain those forces. To visualize, consider the ride of a F-150 vs. a F-350 dual axle, both unloaded. Put a dozen eggs in the bed of a F-150 and a F-350. Likely the eggs in the F-350 will be scrambled for you. Ditto with Ollie and stiff suspensions. This is likely why Mr. Oliver went with the 4 leaf. Suspension compliancy when hitting obstructions is a way for the energy to be ameliorated. The parts that do this are the tires, springs. EZ Flex, and shock "Team". Reduce the compliance by having 50 PSI tires, strong springs and axles.... and the extra energy is transmitted to the load. Remember you WANT to have the axle moving up and down within the range of our suspension system clearance ... and for our OTT's that is not a lot of headroom..... Knowing the amount of impact our rigs can handle and not imprint witness marks on the frame for both the cases is really important. Also to understand that the damping(I.E. energy to be absorbed) that is necessary to slow down and stop the rebounding of a heavier suspension is substantially greater than to do so with a lighter one. It will be interesting to see how all this plays out with this grand experiment in suspension design. I recommend that you start out using the Michelin Tire Pressure Table (Sub 30 PSI if I recall for our weights) and then move up to higher tire pressures as you gain experience with how the new design will perform. Go slow and safe and observe performance before trying it out at hammer down. I know I will be in July when I get my rig upgraded. GJ

Looks the same in Mississippi...

And now we know the reason for the Made in USA Leaf Spring thread, now 15 pages and counting! 🤣 Thank you, and I truly mean it.

Actually, I'd consider a Honda Trail 90 or 110 for that rack.... How cool would that be on the dirt with that insanely low gear? It's probably about the same weight as a couple Ebikes, right?

Can you send some pix of your challenging issue - it's not quite clear what the fix might be without more information/photo to ponder. Thanks! Art

That's awesome! We're packed up and ready to head south in the morning. This will be are first test of the SL on the road but I'm sure we'll have no issues. See ya!

I will likely do this upgrade too; this fall or early next year. Tempting when I see this unit at a good price, and I'll bet we can find an even better price online: Amazon.com: Dometic FreshJet 3 Series, RV Standard Mechanical Rooftop Air Conditioner, 13.5K BTU, White : Automotive Mike, it appears this is a plug-n-play install that you and a strong guy (for me that's my son Adam) could do in a comfortable afternoon, a couple beers, ... BTW, when we did a like install on a Class-C, Adam went up on the roof, after I disconnected the mounting bolts from inside. Ours was an old jammed unit, so I told Adam, just throw it off the roof but don't hit anything but the gravel drive. WE hauled the new one up using an extension ladder and a simple pull cable.

Yeah, the one's I got from DBo are the older yellow ones. But hey, I'm checking those bad boys every 2,500 miles just to see how they're behaving. Looking forward to hearing from @rideandfly about the Bulldogs... Good point, JD, about the heavier springs taking more load off the shocks - these may work OK after all, we'll see when the jury comes back...

A bit off topic, but the spring-mounted LED whip alerted me to a broken leaf spring when it started swaying from side to side. A bonus, unintended consequence of its installation

I am using the trio flatmount converter and am very happy with it. Starlink has a mount for the router that easily screws into the upper cabinet and it snaps right in. It has held the router during travel with no issues.

Someone posted this in another thread: https://www.trioflatmount.com/shop/p/gen3-12vconversion I ordered one to give it a shot since it plugs into the Starlink router and you either hardwire it or wire on a 12v cigarette lighter plug. Pricey little bugger but I really hate soldering electronic stuff and it seemed more reasonable than other options.

Thanks Bill, I'm certain many of us would like to see this. You'll know as soon as you pull one Monroe if they are the same, or something new, hopefully better. Too bad with heavier replacement springs we cannot source a replacement shock with the same ends, same stroke but larger diameter cylinders and pistons. When I replaced mine last year (same Monroes but in black), the old yellow ones where all flat, meaning that when compressed they would not return on their own. Service receipts from prior owners also show mine were replaced once. I guess a few years back they still painted them yellow.

John Going to install Bulldog shocks on Ollie next week. Will do on the side by side comparison photo, both shocks are built in China, Monroe and Bulldog shocks. https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 Bill

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...

We’re camping at David Crockett Birthplace State Park until we head to the rally. This is a small park near Johnson City and is the childhood homestead of Davy Crockett. Only about a third full right now. It’s a nice park and a good location to explore East Tennessee. Campground Store The Nolichucky River runs right by the campground and it is running very high. The camp hosts warned everyone this afternoon to be ready to evacuate if the storms continue.

We left Hohenwald yesterday morning. They got our new brakes, bearings, shocks and ALCAN springs done early and we rolled out at about 10. We’re in East Tennessee at David Crockett Birthplace State Park. Rain all day and a big storm forecasted for tonight!

I think it really depends upon how secure you want your bikes and what the weight capacity is of the rack. I'm not sure how that one actually attaches. My heaviest bike is an emtb that weighs 39 pounds and is well within the capacity of the rack I'm building. However, I love to see things overbuilt and I don't want a bike falling off going down the interstate. I've seen it happen and it does horrible things to carbon fiber frames! Bottom line is I wouldn't trust it with my bikes but that doesn't mean it won't work. There's lots of movement on the back end of a trailer.

We rolled into LGSP this afternoon and got XPLOR set up. We have never seen this place so packed wowzer! The weather is perfect and we are looking forward to seeing everyone. Safe Travels All!

Me thinks your sales agent was not informed on the Houghton sound levels. We run ours on low fan speed the vast majority of the time. It is ULTRA quiet. I believe that the FreshJet is Competitor A. This is from their web site: That said, until Houghton series we purchased has some specific disadvantages to some others: No internal drainage system. Fan runs continuously with adverse humidity control. The thermostat is not remotely located so it also contributes to cycling/humidity issues. Granted, a handy DIY owner can: Add a relay to fix the fan issue fairly easily if electrically inclined Reroute the thermostat function by getting a longer thermistor. Installation is tedious for an Oliver. After a couple of years effort, I and others have not posted a fix for the drain issue. So the condensate drains overboard the roof. There is some indication that this may be resolved by a remote electric condensate pump, but I have not found any info on it yet. So, from a sound perspective the Houghton appears to be a quieter unit. But without having to rework the Houghton, I would not recommend it to owners that are not DIY inclined. On the other hand, the above problems are well known to Houghton and when they have provided the American market with an internal condensate capability, remote T-stat and fan off when compressor is off program it will be a blockbuster unit. As a DIYer, yes I would purchase a Houghton in a heart beat. But may owners would not want the hassle of having to update/mod a brand new unit. Hopefully another reader will have updates to my dated info. GJ

Absolutely, makes total sense, JD! Had we not planned to attend the owner's rally, we probably would have lived with the 3.5k#-ers for a while. But here's a consideration - the D52 Dexters (or the older D44's and D35s for that matter) are custom cut to OTT width specifications (they're only approx. 62.5" flange-to-flange). I suppose one could order an OTT spec'd set of axles from Dexter in Sparta, TN but that could be costly for a single run off. We have not contacted Dexter to learn what the one-off cost/time schedule/shipping costs would be - maybe another owner could do that. Since headed eastbound from NM anyway, we decided to contact OTT directly, and coordinated with Jason Essary to acquire our axle kit. Timing was just right with the rally scheduled for next week. Our approach to the running gear upgrade became a phased approach instead of "all at one time in our shop" primarily due to logistics and cost. Alcan springs first, 5.2k# axles, then shocks (only by happenstance, not planning) - & the Cooper Discoverers only have about 15-16k on them. As far as labor costs, my time is free for me... We ate the cost of travel to Hohenwald because we planned on attending the owner's rally anyway - the entire running gear upgrade worked out well for us. HA!

I’ve watched a few YouTube videos about conversion. I am not inclined to try to take apart the unit, but I have heard examples of people using 3rd party routers and boosters, to make the switch. Where did you mount your router, wiring and how did you exit the OTT to reach your unit?

Looks the same in south central Maine last night. Just a lighter pink color here at 11:00 p.m.

When I was looking for replacements for the 555001, I did find a Monroe 555025 RV shock which had a higher rating. The only problem was the minimal compression length was 3/4 of and inch longer and I did not know if it would still work in our application so I opted for the Bull Dog 555001 replacement instead. I had found on another site where someone had used the 555025 to replace a 555001 without problems, but it was not for an Oliver

Excellent point, brother! I'm thinking why not turn the OEM crossbar upside down so the receiver is on the bottom - that way one could access the spare w/o taking apart the rear assy. But then the bumper may not clear the receiver - need to look into this.

Searched for "freshjet" and got this. I remember reading it las year and you have me reading it again! We need to upgrade ours too at some point. has anyone tried the new Dometic fresh jet 2200? - Ollie Modifications - Oliver Owner Forums (olivertraveltrailers.com)

I mounted a led light whip to the front storage basket for “flair” but most importantly for ease of finding my way back to the Ollie in the desert at night. The whip is only 4’ tall but it displays strobing multi-colors so it makes for a nice homing beacon. To power its 12v power needs I built a 12v power source inside a small Harbor Freight “Pelican” case using a female 7 pin plug into which I plug my trailer’s male 7 pin plug (I wired the 12v and ground to a fused 12v female lighter socket and female usb combo). Works great for powering 12v devices and the led whip from outside and at the front of the Ollie.

This may be blasphemy to many of you, but I've been using a pneumatic impact wrench for decades when mounting rims, without manually checking torque. I have a quality impact wrench, very much like this one (wow mine was about $140, 35 years ago): Ingersoll Rand 2146Q1MAX 3/4-Inch Drive, Air Impact Wrench, Quiet, 2,000 ft-lbs Nut-busting torque, Maintenance Duty, Pistol Grip, Standard Anvil , Gray - Amazon.com First the "nut-busting torque" is for pulling nuts. The gun will not produce this torque when in righty-tighty position. Notice the 4 torque settings. I use the lowest setting when first mounting and get all lugs to this level (compressor set at 90 PSI). For automobiles or anything with 1/2" studs, I use the second setting as final torque. For 6-8 lug truck wheels the 3rd setting is good. I would not use the 4th setting for wheel lugs. Did that once by mistake when restoring our GX470 and broke a stud, and a round-trip to Napa to replace it. Torque settings are based on the strength of the steel (Grade 5, Grade 8, etc.), the bolt diameter and whether it's a coarse or fine thread bolt. There is recommended torque for every bolt. Problem is when for example rebuilding a truck suspension, you cannot fit a torque wrench on 2 out of 3 bolts. Maturing into the role of being a mechanic you get used to the feel of how tight is right. Love this Toyota guy! He taught me so much when restoring our GX, changing the CV axles, adding a 2" lift, etc. His catch phrase is "good-n-tight" which he says often, kidding in a German accent: Lexus GX470 Front Brake Upgrade - YouTube After mounting a rim, a few days or few miles later, I check the lugnuts again, this time by hand. Not using a torque wrench, but with a 24" long 3/4" breaker bar, 1/2" reducer with appropriate socket attached. I mount it about 90 degrees to the ground and push down with my foot. If it's a car, I just push down a little. On the 2500-series truck I put a bit of my weight on it. On occasion you find one or some that are somewhat looser and only those need a little more. If they all feel about the same, then you're good. Always recheck recent repair work at least visually. Another check I do on a regular basis is to rock the wheel. When parked flat, put your foot on the top of the wheel and push back and forth to rock the vehicle as hard as possible. Use your eyes and ears to notice anything. This is a simple check of lugs, bearings and other steering or suspension components.

Dealerships add so many things when they're trying to close the deal. Brakes, wheels, rear seats on quad cab trucks. You get the idea. It's all marketing. John

@Half Fast Hugo your build is excellent! I'm thinking if I build a mount like yours, I can haul my '03 Honda CRF230 (it's an old man's Honda 250, detuned with electric starter added). It weighs 230 LBS (please those that worry, do not warn me about the weight limit OTT puts on their punny 1 1/2" hitch receiver). OTT has crazy strength built into the rear, with multiple frame crossmembers, etc. It all depends on your GTWR and resulting hitch weight when you add more weight to the rear. Anybody want to buy my rear OEM hitch, that for hull #113 was a full 2" receiver? It's sitting in the loft of my shed since I have no use for it. Loved bicycles all my life, but for the heavy climbs and descents of Arizona, I prefer a bike that can climb a 20% grade with combustion engine power (and an e-bike just doesn't cut it, old but not that old).

Just sizing things up if there ever comes a time to beef up axles, springs and brakes. Thanks for your input, much appreciated!

Please correct me of I am wrong, but the suspension arrives to Oliver as an assembly and is rated as the assembly (springs plus axles) and given the lower of the two of axle rating or spring rating. It appears you have D52 (5200lb) axles with 3500 lb springs which as an assembly are correctly rated at 3500 lbs.

I will be interested to hear what you learn Chris.

Always liked the idea of having Legacy Elite 5200 pound capacity axles and 5 leaf spring packs on our 2015 LE2 because Oliver ran out of 3500 pound axles during manufacture installing larger Legacy Elite axles & spring packs like ScubaRX mentioned earlier. The 5200 pound axles have larger bearings and brakes, too. I'm currently running 45PSI in the 225/75R16 tires on our Ollie with the idea of smoothing out the ride with higher capacity springs, like Mountainman198 mentioned, too. Someone on this forum posted this air pressure chart in another thread. This chart is not very large, sorry about that.

Checked under ours today. I inspected all 4 leaf springs and was happy to see all four, in 8 locations front and back, were as straight as can be. Straight meaning an equal symmetrical arc front to back, no sag of the main leaf on the ends, as the example clearly seen on the right side of this picture. It appears that our Oliver sits a good 1-2" taller without the leaf bends shown here. This doesn't mean they cannot fail in the future, but the leaf will likely bend some at this location prior to failure. Looking at the cross-section of the steel in the leaf that had failed, it does not look to have been hardened properly. Our Oliver has lived life in the SW and our leaf springs only have very light surface rust. Given this inspection, I will drop replacement leaf springs to the bottom of my to-do list. Though I'm still very interested in this supplier, and the installation and road test of @Mountainman198 and others here.

Just how long is that wish list?🤑

Best to call them and ask. Their specialty is custom leaf springs, based upon owner provided specs. You will need to provide them with msmts, loaded weight, likely gvwr and perhaps more details. I would be surprised if they would be unwilling to make something custom to meet your specs

I am sure there are other US Spring manufacturers that use US made 5160 spring steel. I encourage people to do their own research and let the group know if you find other sources. In my week-long search I found only two manufacturers that returned my inquiries. I knew previously of ALCAN and their offroad spring Creds and they had the springs in stock so I went with them. St. Louis Spring also replied to my inquiry but required that I purchase a new replacement spring of the specs I wanted and send it to them to replicate. I have included their response below in case there are owners local to St. Louis and for whom this requirement would not be such a obstacle. Note in their response they also recommend adding a fifth leaf. Best of luck in your own sourcing. Please post any concrete updates on places which meet the "made in USA with USA 51560 steel" criteria. It is always good to have multiiple sources from which to choose. Also, perhaps Oliver may wish to follow this path for suspension on future trailers. Our legwork may help facilitate this as a future upgrade, placing Oliver even farther up the quality metric amongst the pool of RV mediocrity. As far as running a set of 8,000 springs vs. 7,000 I am prepared to run even lower tire pressures to smooth out the ride in order to avoid the roadside PITA of a broken spring, instead having a potential trade-off of quicker tire wear and lower towing mpg. I was lucky that my issue was noticed at a Love's with a newly built, adjacent RV Stop RV park which featured large, newly poured cement pads, new luxury showers, power and quiet sleep. Also, a local, Good-Ole Boy RV shop/contractor who had the pair of springs to get me home and did not bend me over the cash register. Your mileage may vary should this happen to you. I am doing everything I can to make sure I do not end up in this predicament again. At minimum, I recommend buying a spare spring (or two) to carry with you on every trip. Ironically, ScubaRX and I had this exact discussion not more than two weeks earlier (after meeting another E2 owner in Quartzsite who had broken a spring) and I was planning to order a pair of springs to carry as spares once I got home...UGH. Best wishes, Lance Spring Team <springteam@saintlouisspring.com> Fri, Mar 1, 9:06 AM (6 days ago) to me We can definitely makes this for you and would be made here with American steel, however we would need a sample to duplicate and a lot of times on these travel trailers we make them heavier by adding a leaf to each. Thanks The Spring Team St. Louis Spring Company Tel: 314-533-2132 Email: springteam@saintlouisspring.com Web: https://saintlouisspring.com

Keep in mind that four wheel alignment becomes a periodic maintenance requirement with independent suspension. There's always trade offs so depending on your style of camping. Also there are a lot of other possible fail points with that system. It's a very complex system. I wander what the cost of a conversion would be? Edit: PS - The beauty of the current suspension is you can pick up replacement parts rather cheap, albeit not lifetime quality, at any local farm store and be back on the road in hours. The high end suspension would likely require sourcing parts long distance that would have at least a few days lead time. I think I would be hard pressed to consider this type of upgrade.

The curb side rear spring was in the process of failing as well. Starting to flatten with the rearward end starting to invert. I have attached the tag from the springs on my trailer. According to Oliver, they are made by Emco