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I was pumping diesel into my truck at a random gas station in the New Mexico desert north of Albequerque when I hear “Hey Mike”. I turned and saw this biker dude with his biker babe on the other side of my truck. Obviously, my deer-in-the-headlights look sparked the biker dude to say, “It’s Art Flynn!” With the helmet, shades and new-since-the-rally beard it took me a second to focus! He had seen me pull in while going in the opposite direction and turned around to say hi. We had a nice chat. Thanks Art and Diane for the making short detour to say hi and welcome us into your home state! Mike

@CRM, if your are experiencing low water pressure when NOT connected to city water, but using the water pump to draw from the fresh tank, then check the filter on the input to the water pump. I recently was investigating an issue where the pump would not draw water from the fresh tank. Upon checking the filter at the input to the pump, I found it clogged with a slimy residue (see attached photo. I removed the fine wire mesh from the filter housing and washed both with Dawn dish detergent. Water flow is much improved with a clean filter.

Correct, Last season, We arrived in Inuvik, NWT where we discovered that one of the rears snapped (same area as most previous pics). We were able to replace it (similar, but not exact) and we continued onto Tuktoyaktuk. On the return to Inuvik and the same mechanics shop, I thanked them for their help, but noticed the other 'rear' had snapped (same area as most previous pics) sometime between Inuvik to Tuk & back to Inuvik. Note: I drove to Inuvik on the way up the Dumpster, and Maggie drove from Inuvik onto Tuk and back to Inuvik. While waiting for the 2nd replacement leaf spring, we found that all four shocks were blown, (this may have been before the trip), we just did not check them before we left for the trip and that probably contributed to LS failure. We had 4 new Monroe 555001 brought in and installed. a couple days later the leaf spring arrived and we were on our way to Whitehorse for 4 new/matching leaf springs. In Whitehorse, they installed 'UNA-212' rated Capacity: 1,830 lbs. each, the 4-leaf measurements were close enough for us... Oliver uses the MPN: UNA-210 rated at 1,750 ea. We made it home no issues, and back up to AK and around this season, no issues. Just not the NWT. So we are running with something a bit different than most of you. We will keep an eye on our shocks. I see some pics of something different than the High Gloss Black 555001 Monroe's on other trailers I am not going to make any changes until I see what OTTO’s comments are after this camping season. B~Out

You are correct, sir.

Here you go, Claudia:

I was tired of the Shower door flexing and decided to try little upgrade. Cut out door from 4 x 8 FRP plastic sheeting. Picked up damaged piece from Lowes and cut out. It has made the door more ridgid and solid. Used Cauling on edges and glue on innter. Was afraid to drill anything. Seems very solid for now. Only issues are my skills are lacking on cutting and saw did get away from me on the bottom not quite a perfect line. Love how the new doors are a solid piece on newer models of olivers.

How do you keep the water inside, with all the Clips, Clamps and Braces on it... Just Kidding, Our latched door evidently tweaked enough to open (under tow) and cracked the mirror or by slamming against the dinette stop... we only have 5 years BAD LUCK remaining. I must admit that the mirror glass only 'spidered', and did not fall from the door. Just applied 'Gorilla Tape" in a nice star pattern, and lived with it the rest of the way home. B~OUT

Two in one trip. Janet and I live in San Angelo, Texas (airport code SJT, hence my sign-in name). I saw an Oliver with a logo I recognize traveling south on US 87 through San Angelo around 2:00 this afternoon. I made a u-turn and sure enough found Mike and Carol at a gas station. I pulled in and said: Hey Mike!

I'm considering spray fabric paint for the night shade material and also painting the frame. With careful taping and prepping, I think it can be done.

Sourced replacement fuses on eBay, best to carry with!

Mine are fine. We’ve put about 5,000 miles on the ALCANS and all is well! Mike

Look under street side bunk on the battery box end. Thanks @mossemi

Y’all are welcome to come and measure my tire gap, weigh my truck, weigh my wife, etc. But you’re wrong. I measured tire gap before adding Firestone bags without the trailer, after adding bags without the trailer, and after adding bag with the trailer. The fronts are within 1/4” of stock, and the rears are taller than stock with the trailer in trip configuration. No kitchen sink here, and a good thing my wife doesn’t see your saying she weighs more than average! Combined we are 318 pounds. Mostly you’re making assumptions about things you know nothing about…

Think of the 12V B+ and B- as 2 of the wires in at CAT5 cable, if data doesn’t get from the server to my desktop, what is the IT Department going to do about it. Verify the output of the server and the input at the jack in my cube. Look for the break or run a new CAT5 cable. Your picture below has been marked up to show where the 12V power connects to the refrigerator in my Ollie. Yours may or may not be the same. Does your fan switch have power in and out? If so and the power does not get to the fan, I would run a temporary B+ jumper from the output of the fan switch to the in put of the fan. Does the fan work with the jumper? If so, there is a break in the in the original B+. I don’t think that the original B+ wire is at fault and it is probably the thermostat switch which is located in between the on/off switch and the fan as @jd1923 mentioned. Try following the B+ wire from the fan back to the on/off switch, you should be able to locate the thermostat. When you locate the thermostat, disconnect it and put a jumper between the input and output of the thermostat. My original thermostat had male spade connections and the jumper I used was about 6" of wire with female spade connectors crimped on. If the on/off switch now works, you can replace the thermostat or just use the on/off switch to control the fan, although a thermostat works much better and save 12V power. And forget about removing the refrigerator or microwave, just run new wire. Mike Mossey

I guess it's each to his or her own as long as safety is fully accounted for. Personally I would not consider this TV (Landcruiser) for the Elite II especially if bringing along everything but the "kitchen sink". Interesting while up in Glacier this past week there was another Elite II from Missouri camped a few spaces away from us, using if memory serves me correct a Tundra half ton but did not have the Andersen WDH as far as I could tell. Never got a chance to talk with them. We did the same for 8 years with our half ton F150 and had no issues what so ever, but in yet another thread on this forum someone had warned me that I was on the cusp of being right at or over the threshold of weight limits which I already knew of course. The thought of a law suit did not seem appealing to me so I bellied up to the bar and purchased and install the Andersen last year. At best it is a love hate relationship with the damn thing too. The ride is a bit better but not night and day, breaking is a bit more efficient but what a pain to deal with on anything but level ground. It's certainly easy to understand why so many Elite II owners have gone to 3/4 ton trucks due to this situation. Having said all this truth is I suspect the vast majority of people towing RV's, travel trailers etc are considerably out of their advised weight limits. And lets not even bring up the extremely poorly set up rigs going down the road with tongue down/front TV up or just as bad the inverted V where twin axels are virtually riding on the rear axle only. Thanks

I agree fully with @ScubaRx, except he underestimated the average weight of two adults. The truck picture shows it. These Toyo trucks sit with much more space between the rear tire and the fender vs the front. This pic the front gap looks a little larger than rear. That takes weight off the steering. The Anderson should be tightened some to help. Also see the pic showing what’s in the back of the truck, the plywood platform, the cooler, etc. wail until the shelf has stuff on it. Yep, overloaded.

Tough to tell head on. Looks level to me. Air bags are at 15 PSI. More raises the rear too much and makes for a harsher ride.

Yep, we've discussed this before. Even back when you and I talked on the phone shortly after ordering our Oliver. I need to get it weighed to have some real numbers. The platform isn't the limiting factor, it is the US ratings. The rest of the world has substantially higher GVW than the US with an identical truck (not car - it is a body on frame construction beefier than most full size trucks.) Up to 8400 (vs 7385) with a simple rear spring change and up to 9900 pounds with a rear axle upgrade - all certified by the respective countries. But that doesn't do squat for me in the US, legally. I do know that a lot of of US Land Cruisers have been roaming the highways and mountains out west with GVWs of 8-9000 pounds for many years without legal ramifications. But it only takes once. The question has come up on the Land Cruiser forum whether the door sticker cargo capacity (based on tire loading) is legally binding when it contradicts the metal plate showing gross axle weights and gross vehicle weights. The discussion between some lawyers, law enforcement officers, and insurance agents came to the conclusion that the GVWR takes precedence if the tires are up to the requirements. A court would have to be the final arbiter, though. Delivered dry weight of my Land Cruiser was 5715 pounds; 1670 pounds less than the GVWR. There are no options, so that doesn't come into consideration. Taking out another 190 pounds of seats and roof basket should have started me off with 1860 pounds to play with. Eight quarts of oil, 24 gallons of fuel, and 12 quarts of water take up approximately 260 pounds of that, and our fat asses another 340. Tongue weight was 550 pounds in travel trim with full water and bikes, and your 65 pounds for the hitch. Fridge and shelves are about 150 pounds. That leaves around 500 pounds for stuff. So, do I have another 500 pounds in there? I don't know. That's why I need to weigh the truck, trailer, and both combined to get accurate numbers. I do know that I'm not going to get a different vehicle. I've said before, that I know this combination is a compromise, and one I'm willing to accept for my use.

That's why I took the recommendation of others to replace the OEM fan with a larger dual fan setup. You could change out the thermal switch screwed into the top RHS of the condenser. Given your fan works this is likely the issue. Note all the comments here. It's worth the $80 plus tax and a few hours and YES, run new wires to the switch or wire without the toggle switch on the lights panel. The Beech Lane fan product it very nice. I just purchased and installed a second one to cool the streetside bed basement area where I'm installing a 3KW inverter.

If it turns out not to be the fuse, check the spade connector at the switch. One of ours came loose so its jack quit working until we pushed it back together.

I suspect that the lighter rated springs oscillate at a higher frequency and travel more than they would with stiffer leaf springs causing the OEM shocks to wear out sooner than expected. Our new Monroe's lasted less than a year before replacing them when we upgraded to the D52s.

I remember seeing some folks wondering about a Spring rated somewhere between the original 1750 # and the Alcan 2750#. That was my only point. Some folks think the Alcans might be too stiff, but from what I am hearing this is not the case.

Hard to believe no parts available for a fridge that's barely over two years old. Have you heard that from Thetford/Norcold?

Today we pulled the trigger on the Starlink “mini”and I also ordered a custom fabricated aluminum protective Striker mount case made by a small family owned company in Florida 🇺🇸 called Strikerfab.com. I will post up thoughts on connectivity, speed and use once we receive it and get some camping and travel time in with it. https://www.starlink.com/us/roam?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3VXVoA8Gb9hdnLaMWqBcXsa1BfRBdqm_l2iKkNW-Va5r6RJiPc2u8PpD0_aem_DeHBx7JMI-i_vIWAYBg03Q https://www.strikerfab.com/

Please explain your motivation for wanting to de-rate these springs.

I do realize that some folks would rather own a car than a truck. Your 2021 Toyota Land Cruiser per your information says its cargo capacity is (a dismal) 1360 pounds. From that number you will have to subtract your tongue weight (600 pounds) an Andersen Hitch (65 pounds) and two adults (~330 pounds). Now you used up about 1000 pounds of cargo capacity. That means no more than 360 pounds of additional cargo can ride inside the vehicle. You might be able to manage to limit everything else to that weight. Most could not, I know I couldn't. Just my tools alone weigh more than 360 pounds. Could I get by with less? Maybe, but not if I choose to stop to help when I find you stuck on the side of the road with a broken spring, and I always stop. Personally, I think you need a more capable tow vehicle. Edit: I just saw the pictures of your rear setup and I can say without any reservation whatsoever that you are overloaded. You are just one fender bender away from a serious lawsuit. I guarantee that if a slick lawyer gets involved he will take most everything you have because you are playing outside the rules set by the car manufacturer. Your insurance will likely deny any claims also. If you have any dreams for the future, give them up now, because they will want those too. This is exactly why you don't see more than nine people trying to tow a (potentially) 7000 pound trailer with what is essentially just a car. Many of us have gone to the heavy duty diesel trucks to ameliorate all the problems you could encounter if you're ever in an accident with a setup like yours.

It’s been awhile but here is how the final install turned out. The fridge fit perfectly into the old surround that I scavenged from the norcold. I planed down a piece of walnut to cover the hole, install the digital display and add a vent. Overall turned out great.

Great suggestion for installing the whale tail. Can you do the reverse for removal, i.e., safely detach the ball from the coupler with the whale tail still attached and the Andersen chains tight, then back up 1 to 1-1/2" to create slack to enable you to pull off the whale tail ?

So got the new U-bolts from ALCAN and put the new leaf springs on only to find out the HD 1/2 in. OEM shackles were too short. They are the HD 1/2 in width but 2 in long measured zerk to zerk. The 2nd leaf rides on the suspension arm. Talked with Lew, figured out the problem and he is sending out new 2 1/4in HD shackles to resolve the problem. Confirmed Key points: 3500 lb axles use 4 bolts on the backside of the hub and 1/2 in. U-bolts. They can have tube diameters of 2 1/2 or 3 in. Make sure to measure. 5200 lb axles use 5 bolts on the backside of the hub and 9/16 in U-bolts. They typically have tube diameters of 3 in. Make sure to measure. If you don't upgrade to the shackles Lew sells, make sure even if you have upgraded HD 1/2 in. shackles to measure the length. If it is 2 in they will not work, must be 2 1/4 in. Make sure to measure. Lew was great to deal with as always. @ScubaRx I did confirm that he does not want his 2/12 in U-bolts back. Hopefully, this adds to the conversation since both of these issues came up for me. Cheers, Mike

Dave, If the trailer is going to be in storage warehouse for over 3 weeks I plug it in and leave it. Less than 3 weeks I just leave it unplugged. When would go get it and pull up the Lithonics app, the State of Charge was all over the place for each battery. 95%, 87%, and 83%. I reached out to Oliver and Mike said if the warehouse Bay doors are open the panels will pick up a little and suggested, I turn off the solar. Next time I turned off the solar the battery State of Charge was close between the 3 batteries. This stuff is way over my pay grade.

I want to thank all that provided good feedback here! Always helpful. Want to show you my first step with a platform for the Victron Multiplus-II (see pics). More on this in a couple of weeks as I will start a new build thread. I'm waiting on the MP2. The Florida company Inverter Supply must receive shipment from the manufacturer and then ship to me. Thought I would get it this week, but it will be another week. I'm getting installation parts here and there. Love how this first step turned out. I had to put a steel cutting blade in my power miter saw. One mounting ear had to be cut back to slip it under and the two mounting brackets had to be cut to fit side-by-side. This base will hold the weight of the MP2 and I will build a 6x24" platform above it. It will just sit on the floor since I will not drill into the bottom/outer hull. The MP2 will also be strapped above. Much more later in mod post! 😂

Or even easier, once you get the ball under the hitch, back up an additional 1 to 1-1/2". Then slip on the whale tail, pull forward to take out the slack, and drop the hitch onto the ball. Much quicker, and probably less strain on the jack. There are/were nine of us towing with a Toyota 200 Series. I think yours was the only LX, but I'm not positive.

When the time comes, I too will remove the stock mounting board and fashion an aluminum footing similar to the one made to support the Hughes Autoformer recently installed. 4”x4”x1/4” L-shaped aluminum should suffice; only difference, weld rather than heat bend this thicker metal.

This mount was easy to make and has been rock solid. I glued down a thin heavy duty rubber mat and once epoxy was applied to HDPE put the assembly in place and pushed down onto the mat with HDPE push against the inner basement wall for a minute or two to try and absorb any vibration and prevent rattling. Seems to have worked. Low hum when charging mostly, no rattles. The mount has to be heavy duty... the MP2 weighs almost 50 lbs. And yes, a temperature actuated exhaust fan would be great. You can program it through a Victron system pretty easily. On my list...

Santa came today, Christmas in July! Never received such beautiful batteries 600AH total. They came just before I started teaching my class today, got the FedEx guy to get them in my garage. On a break, I had to open one! Measures 13.12V in the box. Got to buy my new inverter ASAP. Love it!

Nice job! Adding dual fans was a game changer for us. Where we're currently camping it's 90+ outside and our packed fridge is staying in the mid 30's on AC without any problem. It would sometimes get into the danger zone before the addition of fans.

I had one more step to finalize this mod. Love it when I can cross something off the to-do list! Don't we all. 🤣 I deleted the duct under the bed and installed a return duct filter, so the deleted air duct needed the finishing touch. What is important is that no return air comes through this opening. The other consideration is the added return duct will throttle the return air, pull it a little more slowly, creating a stronger air pull through the basement. This is key to the basic design and will certainly help to protect the entry water plumbing (City Water and Fresh Tank inlets) in the rear of the Oliver (objective #2). Bought this item on Amazon: Amazon.com : NVAAV 4 Inch Boat Round Inspection Deck Plate Hatch with Detachable Cover and Pre-drilled Holes, Water Tight for Kayak Marine Boat Yacht Outdoor Installations : Sports & Outdoors Not the best quality, basically a cheap aftermarket part. I would not use it as an external deck plate, as the rubber seal was no good, so I went without it. The duct is a 4" opening and the deck plate for the water heater shut-off is 5", so my first thought to use the same part would not work. It was a snug fit, so I filed the opening just a little. Replaced the screws included in the package with a size smaller that I had on hand. Looks good in the end. I enjoy the look of our water valve switches, the return duct and deck plates, all now complete!

OK, a little more information provided by "Mike" at ALCAN relative to a four spring setup vs the five spring setup. I specifically asked Mike about simply swapping out our cheap, Chinese produced Dexter 4 spring set with a quality 4 spring set that they produce. He highly recommended going with the five spring set. In his opinion, the 3500 springs used by Dexter are inadequate for our trailers. That's good enough for me. I had asked about their 4 spring set as by yesterday (Friday) morning (the morning after Mountainman198) had posted the vendor source note, they had already sold out of the last 3 remaining stock of 5 spring sets to other Oliver owners. I was the first call Friday morning and he advised they were producing more next week (11-15 March) but wouldn't ship until NLT than Friday the 15th. Well we're departing on the 22nd of March for a six week trip and that schedule was almost a guarantee that at best, I might receive the shipped springs in time for the trip but wouldn't have time to install them. I of course would order them and have them with me just in case. So I locked in my order at 0700 yesterday morning. When I talked to Mike later yesterday he said based on my somewhat immediate need, he discussed with his production folks and they said they could have a set produced for me by next Wednesday (vice Friday) and they would be shipped that day. That's GREAT customer service. He also mentioned to me to me that in the time between having talked to him in the morning (0700), and when I called back at around 2PM, he had sold five more sets to Oliver trailer owners. He said "You Oliver trailer owners are a really tight knit group". He actually was so impressed, he went on line and investigated Oliver Travel Trailers. I have my RV mechanic on standby to replace my springs once they are received. He's having me bring in my trailer once I get the "shipped" notice so that it's already there in his shop the moment the springs arrive. To that end, my new springs should be installed before our departure on Friday, 22 March. I'll report back my findings once installed. Thanks again to Mountainman198 for all his efforts. Paul & Donna (2 HOBOS) hull 414 (last trailer produced in 2018)