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While 98% of Oliver Owners will probably never make Indiana a destination camping trip, the state offers some of the best camping in the Midwest. With access along I-80 and I-94 in the North, I-70 and I-74 across central Indiana, I-64 across the South. North-South on I-65 and the newly completed I-69. This provides easy access for a couple days during travel through Indiana. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) manages the Indiana State Parks and State Recreation Areas (SRA). All Indiana State Parks have electric, water throughout the campground, dump stations, and well maintained restrooms/showers. Some even have dedicated fresh water lanes just inside the campground and not connected to the dump station. From reservoirs to Lake Michigan, and beautiful canyons, and Indiana Limestone cliffs, there is a lot for everyone. Indiana Dunes SP and Indiana Dunes NP have great camping off Lake Michigan. No hook-ups in the National Park. Lake Michigan is a 5 minute walk from the State Park campground. By November we will have camped in all 22 state parks and a large number of the SAR's. Our favorites, North: Indiana Dunes SP, Potato Creek SP, and Pokegan SP. Central: Turkey Run SP, Prophets Town SP, South: Clifty Falls SP, O'Bannon Woods SP. Also, there is Lincoln SP. The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is just across the road from the State Park. South Central: Brown County SP near Bloomington. If you need info please feel free to reach out to me. Indiana Hospitality is the best.

An interesting vid on EVs and the enviromental cost associated with producing and owning an EV.

A couple knuckleheads enjoying a sunrise near Palo Duro Canyon SP this morning.... Then we had some visitors... IMG_2333.MOV Gotta love 'em! Cheers! A & D

Yes the Alcan springs many have purchased are a better made spring..... but it is not the right choice for a growing number of owners that are fully considering all sides of this "agree to disagree" topic. In the opinion of several non-involved spring vendors, for our OE2 trailers, replacing a 1750 pound spring with a more expensive 2700 pound one is an expensive effort to achieve an oversprung load. Not saying that doing so is bad for some frequent extreme off-roading boondocking users, just that for the fleet in general, it is NOT believed to be THE recommended solution. So instead of repeating the same confirmation bias we have heard on both sides of this issue, let's just sit back and see what OTT is going to use on their future year models. My guess is that it will NEVER be a 2700 pound rated 5 leaf spring for the fleet in general use by OE2's. Why? Here I go again... It would be oversprung for general fleet use. PS: My Dexter PB-4 2400 pound four leaf springs fit perfectly and are doing just fine. GJ

We had very similar discoloration earlier this year. We had loaned out our trailer to a relative for a few weeks while she was moving from one house to another. She had laid our rubber backed doormat on the cover because she didn't care for it. We used rubbing compound followed by polishing compound and it took care of the yellowing.

We stayed at Indiana Dunes NP and really enjoyed our stay. The state park was nice too.

I'd open a ticket with Oliver. Our 2008 has nothing like that, and it is not garaged.

I'm seeing a yellowish discoloration in a band around the top of our propane cover. Hard to describe, but it looks like the white pigment in the gelcoat is wearing off, leaving this one area slightly yellowish, but still very smooth. The trailer has been washed after each trip, kept waxed, and garaged when not in use. Haven't seen this on any other part of the hull. Tried a bit of wax on this area, but it didn't change. Any ideas?

Got it! It was the iPad giving me trouble. Double tapping on pic finally worked.

Though it appears the F150 EV weighs as much as a F250. I’d rather have the extra weight in HD suspension components.

Welcome to the New Green **** (scam). Weight is only one of many factors. The manufacturing pollution created in China is X times the life of the carbon emissions of average ownership duration. I’ve kept MANY combustion-engine vehicles over 10-20 years. There is considerable savings in that, to the environment and pocketbook! Always love when I see a used hybrid at a dealer or on Craig’s! Excellent condition, but 6-8 years old. Get ready for the cost of new batteries! Very soon the marketplace will have thousands of EVs, not worth 20% of new. Cars, trucks, yard and power tools… I’ll keep my 20+ combustion engines on our property. And I can rebuild them with my own two hands! I say this as I install 600AH LiFePO4 in our Oliver. This is where it belongs; RV, boat and home. BTW, our electric bill is up at least 30% this summer. Natural gas in AZ, still reasonable (likely not in NE for either). Sorry for the diatribe! Hoping for new policies in the new year… Pray, hope.

Opened a ticket. There hasn't been anything placed on the cover but I could try rubbing/polishing compounds. Thanks.

Yes! I have hiked many days in the wonderful parks you have targeted, most of which include lots of vertical gain and loss. You knees will thank you, especially on the downhill slopes. You will gain/lose more vertical feet in a 1/2 day hike in Bryce or the Grand Canyon than when driving all the way from one end of Florida to the other.

Grab your springs, order some new shocks, put some ice on the lobsters, throw it all in the truck and head south. We'll get them on. We don't "suggest" you to buy anything like the HH folks do. I might as well make a cardboard sign that says "Will work for food!"

Height measurements before and after ALCAN springs install. About 1/2 - 3/4 in height gain. This is with 2 1/4 in length shackles. Before After

This tape really worked...it left NO residue after 9 weeks of being on the road holding on the yoga mats. This carpet protection film that I had from a remodel was put on top of the the yoga mat and made it more waterproof. If we hadn't covered the yoga mat it would have absorbed a ton of water and likely fallen off.

Bulldog shocks are a bit beefier and look like they are well made. Easy swap. Leaf springs look good, still on the fence about upgrading to the Alcan 5 leaf springs. Clips were loose on both springs on the right. Center bolt nut on the left EZ flex was loose and about to fall off. All of the Monroe shocks seemed to be in good working order just rusty. Future plans include the ALCAN highway so trying to get everything done now. New tires in the morning. https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 Wildpeak H/T02 LT225/75R16 E/10PLY BSW *** Now back to torquing the shocks so that the cushion is the same diameter as the metal retainer but not larger. ***

The Wonder Egg was born with a 'spring over axle' configuration and sits higher than the average Ollie. I always travel with full tanks, for convenience and most importantly, to lower the center of gravity and provide extra stability in high wind conditions and cornering.

Correct, I had the same question. A member of the Victron Community Forum posted, 110 is manufactured in Malaysia, the 120 from India, otherwise the same model. I purchased the 120 and it does state made in India.

At 24,000 miles on our OE2 I chose to replace the Monroe shocks when doing springs.. All four were still functioning with no leaks or adverse signs of wear. I would consider that 5 seasons or 24K miles would be a reasonable "end of life" goal. GJ: Crazy Horse adds: "Yea on the goal, but maybe early just for highway use. But for sure not for the boondocker five-leafer herd". CH

This is likely due to DRM encoding ( Digital Rights Management ) which is to prevent copyright infringement.

Which model did you get? I see two at $997, models ending in 110 and 120.

What @rideadeuce added is new content. Was the springs Mike received, or is hull #308 different from 6 others here that have thousands of road- tested miles? I too would like to know that answer! What I was referring to was some against the product, for weight capacity, ride height or cost, writing such complaints more than once and several others asking what had had been answered in so many previous pages of this post.

I picked up this hard case from HF awhile back and decided it was now going to be storage for the Mini while we are wheels up in the bed of the beast. If nothing else it keeps it all organized.

I'll chime in here on the Alcans. I have 7K on mine so far without a problem. I haven't noticed any difference in the way the trailer handles or tows.

The original Dexter HD 2 in shackles first. Leaf hit the arm, unable to install. Lew sent out 2 1/4 in shackles, able to install but still barely hit. Going to use it and watch for issues. May end up cutting 2nd leaf. Next time you do maintenance check your full articulated clearance. It is not obvious in the neutral position.

My Alcans do not hit like yours show, however if they did I think I would taper the square end of the second leaf with a grinder so it would clear. Let us know how you decide to proceed

My Stiker protective case arrived this morning and I have to say I am impressed with the high quality, fit and finish. Striker crafts a nice product. I think this will serve us well. Decisions on were to mount and deploy the mini will likely depend on our base camp location. I really like how compact this dish is. I am considering 4 of the Seasucker marine grade mounts. But may just roll with the flag pole mount. 🇺🇸 https://www.strikerfab.com/ The case allows use of both the standard mount and the flagpole mount. You just swap out the mount below.

We have been at RV camping a few days short of a year. We have yet to stay at a "for profit" campsite. By that I mean we stay at state parks, COE parks and national parks. We have camped maybe 40 days in 7 states. Like I said, we are newbies in all respects. We have our first "big" trip planned. It is 25 days. It appears that Vermont state parks do not offer any amenities on the sites. They have community water and a dump station. https://www.vtstateparks.com/camping.html Are there other states' parks that do not have sites with water and electric?

For me, it is! Keeps me from scraping the back end coming up my driveway.

BTW, extra ride height is a good thing! Right? This is why many will lift their trucks. Last thing anybody wants is to spend big $$$ for lesser springs. We have shown in detail the Alcan product is superior to OEM. That was the reason @Mountainman198 brought this to our attention months and 19 pages ago… On about page 14, I wrote something about this topic being cooked, well done! Maybe it should be closed (Mods)? Questions answered are being asked again… Yes, it’s a long read, but all here in vast detail. Pretty soon this thread will be longer than “Where’s Ollie?!” I’m going to read some old pages there. 🤣

Update to shackle issue installing ALCAN leaf springs. Received the 2 1/4 in long shackles and installed today. Installation went straight forward but when I was greasing the assembly I noticed that when fully articulated the 4th leaf was still hitting the arm of the EZ-flex. So I called Lew and after some discussion he recommended to just keep an eye on it and that he didn't think it would cause any issues since so many other people had many miles on theirs with no reported issue. Also, offered the option using a cut-off tool to take a 1/2 in or so off the length of the leaf. Didn't go that route. Yet! I am interested in what others may notice upon maintenance if theirs hit when fully articulated. @Mountainman198 @MAX Burner and many others. My axles are 3500 lb 3 in diameter axles so may not be the same for everyone. My trailer is back together with new tires, shocks, and springs. Finally.

It would be easy to do. Mine came notched on both sides; driver side benefits the sewer hose hookup, passenger side the propane quick connect and now the hose nozzle as well.

Lots of creative ideas for transportation and storage of the SL mini. This tuber did a nice job with his emergency back up kit. I already have a hard case for our mini and will likely also buy the Anker power bank for remote use when needed.

Yes @Ronbrink has the right idea. You could probably make your own custom fit bungie... 1) some bungie shock cord, 2) some of those under the sheet garters with elastic straps between the metal clamps. Maggie recently bought some sheets (one R. & one L. opening) for our bedding, from, https://www.bunkbedsbunker.com/product/camp-bed-sheets/ The only issue, is the KTT mattress are too thick for them to stay 'snugged in'. We ordered 6" depth, probably should have been 8". they make > 8", but with a $20 up charge. So I will be making our own bungie from some shock cord, and use the sheet garters we already have, and see how that works. B~Out

Heads-up, the sites at Camden Hills are listed with the site number and either an S, M or L. We reserved site 47M and it was pretty difficult to spot the Ollie. If possible try to get a L site. Mossey

It's clearly (by the comments already) a matter of preference. We like to always leave home (or one campsite to the next) with full fresh and empty black and gray. For one thing we like having our nice water from home in tank, but we also invariably use our bathroom along the way. Regarding drinking from it... we do, but also carry a Brita water gizmo in the fridge. So even our water is filtered once more from tank for our coffee and drinking water. There have been times when I left one campsite and planned on having water at the next site... so I didn't fill up my fresh. Then our plans changed and I found myself boon-docking without that water in my fresh tank... so now it's just my rule: full fresh, empty black and gray no matter what, I just do it.

I just swapped a site in Freeport ME at Winslow Park for Camden Hill State Park in Maine to get electric and water on the site.

Bed Scrunchies are your friend. Shown using standard twin sheets on our KTTs. Stand on edge to make up. No problem when accessing hatch areas, sheets don’t get “messed up”! .

Like @jd1923, @Patriot, and others - we keep our Oliver on the premises so it's little hassle to "keep things just so." We will rarely fill the fresh water holding tank with "city water" of unknown pedigree. That said, we sanitize the fresh water system 2x annually and travel with a Berkey water filter for drinking purposes, FWIW.

Our SL mini arrived today. Very impressed with the ease of a 10 minute set up including PW and latest updates. I think this will do the trick for us as far as comm goes. It even fits down in my Osprey Day Lite pack. Waiting on the Stiker protective case which is scheduled for delivery this sat. I will post up more user info once we get back on the road and put this tech to use. SpaceX we have a Starlink lift off!! 😊 Front yard initial set up. The mini fits easily in my Osprey Daylite plus pack.

That is probably the best and safest way to go. I wasn't clear with my comment.🙃

You are right @SeaDawg 50gb will deplete quickly streaming. I really like the compact and portability and you can pay to add more gb. Decisions, decisions.

@rideadeuce - A tip...Last year when we went to Alaska we bought some yoga mats and used some 3M no residue tape to attach them to the lower front of our trailer. They worked like a champ at keeping gravel from the Yukon highways from chipping the body of the trailer. We also used a roll of clear rug protection plastic from Home Depot on top of the Yoga Mats to keep them from absorbing moisture. Below: First week of the trip and the yoga mat's are doing well...tne extra coat of vinyl floor protection film is holding water at bay. F Below: After a full 9 weeks on the road the yoga mat's took the beating, but our trailer was protected. Below - After yoga mat removal and quick wash...

Packed to the gills. I felt like a German mechanic changing a water pump connecting batteries but I am happy with the result. No maintenance and they have remote monitoring and shut offs so they shouldn’t need to come out.

The replacement zerk fitting did not solve the problem of the wet bolt accepting grease, so I submitted a ticket to Oliver. Jason responded quickly, saying that they would send a replacement bolt, and that I could replace the bolt myself, or have a local service facility do the work and submit a reimbursement claim to Dexter. Coincidentaly, two days earlier a friend had highly recommended a local family-owned RV service facility, so I opted to have them perform the work. When I went there to schedule the repair, they told me to bring the trailer by that afternoon so they could determine if the bolt was truly faulty, or just needed a more powerful grease gun than the mini-grease gun I use. The bolt was indeed faulty, and they had a replacement in stock (the one from Oliver had not yet arrived), so they set about replacing the bolt. It took close to an hour, but they only charged for half an hour of labor (work stopped for a while as everyone in the shop had to come inspect and drool over my exotic fiberglass trailer. A happy ending to a small, but nagging problem, and I now have a trusted local repair facility to turn to when things get above my pay grade. Attached is a photo of the offending bolt. I'm not sure if the wear is normal after only 3500 miles or indicative of a lack of sufficient grease.

I've almost always had my Ollie attached to my Tow vehicle when using the rear "jacks". You have identified the thing that worries me - that the Ollie will want to shift/roll forward. In the one instance that I remember when I didn't use the tow vehicle I was one nervous puppy and triple checked my chocks to include chocking the side I was lifting. I also used jack stands under BOTH axles while doing this. I'm guessing that OSHA would not approve. Be careful! Bill NOTE: It is NOT recommended to support or jack up the Oliver via the axles. My use of jack stands above is only as a safety measure. Instead of placing the stands under the axles, they could be placed under appropriate places on the frame. Thanks to Mossemi for pointing this out!

Fargoman - Another thing you could try on that "plugged" zerk is to take a small punch or nail set and gently tap on the little ball at the end of the zerk. Perhaps a little spray WD-40 or Liquid Wrench in that area would also help. On the other hand - zerks really aren't very expensive and are easy to replace. Certainly not worth going to too much trouble in trying to repair one. Good luck! Bill

If taking the pressure off the suspension does not solve the issue and you decide to replace a zerk it is a fairly simple process. Take the old zerk out with a wrench, wipe it off, drive down to the local NAPA store (or other auto parts store if you don't have a NAPA, and purchase three or four. Now would also be a good time to decide if you want to buy "straight" zerks or ones that are at a 45 or 90 degree angle or a combination such that they will be easier to get to the next time you have to add/replace grease. Also, if you determine that dirt clogged the original zerk you might want to consider getting "caps" like THESE to help protect the zerk. Bill

I know a guy in Virginia that makes these vents up in any size if anybody needs one.