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This would be unacceptable to me. When I decide I want/need something, I want it today or, at most, Amazon Prime quick. While installing our Alcan Springs, I discovered that two of my last set of Monroe's (bought from Amazon, about $40 each) had lasted less than two years. Needing to replace them that day, I went in search of a new set. I was unable to locate a full set locally but O'Reilly Auto Parts told me they could have a full set by the next morning. I decided that was quick enough. The only downside was they were about $60 each. After checking with Oliver, I was told that they charge $68 each, so I figured that was OK. When I went to pick them up the next day, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that a life time replacement warranty was included in the price. It is available to the Original purchaser as long as they own the vehicle. Additionally, you do not have to keep up with your receipt or proof of purchase if you have a (free) online account with them. Just bring the old shock back and it is replaced at no cost. I called around to the other local auto part players and they all stated the warranty was the Monroe provided two years.

After many discussions with my wife, and searching on the internet. We finally came up with Nose art (decal) for the front of the Oliver. From this time forward she will be called Hummi

After updating our tow vehicle from a 1500 to a 2500 and now a 3500 HD truck, I changed out the old 2"-7000 pound Bulldog coupler to the 2-5/16"-12000 pound version. Like Mountainman 198, I sawed off the shank of a 2" ball. I inserted the ball into the old coupler and welded it in place. I also welded down the locking lever. Just leave this hitch attached to your unattended trailer to slow down any potential thieves.

I’m not aware of a default code for the lock. Do you have the override key? If its a LE II twin bed and (1) your basement door is not locked (2) you are agile and small and (3) you have the pass through door under the nightstand I have heard of people getting back in from there. We keep our physical key in the tow vehicle for this very reason. (Plus I am NOT agile and small….)

UPDATE: So, the hardware person I initially spoke to was a machinist; but he was out sick the next day. The person that helped me struggled to figure out what size tool was the correct one (and we tested several zerk fittings, since it was mentioned that there might be more than one size). I purchased $80 in tools and zerks that day. In the process, the problem zerk was totally mangled and man helping me couldn't get it out -- he advised that I go to an auto repair to have them pull the wet bolt, in order to remove the zerk. None of the five local shops could see me until the following week! So I moved on south to my next destination, stopping along the way to make an appt with an auto repair. Yesterday I met up with Seth at Ol' Reliable in Walsenburg CO -- hats off to this great auto repair shop. In 10 minutes he had that zerk out, my new zerk installed and grease applied. I watched him -- he gently tapped the socket squarely onto the head before he attached the driver. "The guy was using the wrong size tool," he said. $20.

I love sailboats. Sadly, my wife and my pocketbook are unwilling.

Many new Olivers have the pristine appearance of their beautiful white gelcoat while exploring this wonderful nation. They are truly pieces of modern art to behold as they roll across the highways and byways. During WWII, it was fashionable for American bomber aircraft or fighters to be decorated with intriguing pieces of artwork (Nose Art) which provided an emotional connection for the aircrews as they "went about their business" during their wartime missions. Some of us have chosen to add a personal, meaningful touch to our Ollies as we carry out our "mission" of exploring this land and have chosen to place some sort of art, or motif on the front of our beloved Ollie which helps guide us along the nation's highway, byways, and back roads displaying a bit of our character, history, or interests to others who come across our paths. This thread is a place for us to show our frontal artwork to our Ollie family and perhaps say a few words about it. I'll go first. I'm on my second piece of art, the first one developed cracks after 12 years and 111,000 miles. My companion dog , Bosker, now graces the front of my trailer . . . eyes gazing into new horizons wondering what adventures are around the next corner. Those of you who have placed a bit of your personalty "up front" please share it with us. Tell us how it is meaningful to you . . .

“Two is one and one is none” We always keep an extra set of “all things keys” locked up inside a locked center console vault in our TV. The helpful option allows for coded keyless entry into our TV.

Looks like both Billdog and Monroe "Made in China" (So sad)

You are correct, just checked mine and sure enough it works on both! 😊

Ours works for both.

I ordered mine in advance of need back in May, shipped within three days; guess I got lucky! Seems 4 State Trucks should express more concern regarding their Customer Service and be more upfront about supply related delays.

UPDATE1: The installation of the Mechman high output alternator went well, now waiting to field test to confirm any improvement in the DC-DC charger output at idle and general TV battery performance. Perhaps @rideadeuce got his installed and can provide a report on his (hopefully favorable) results. Wire loom to protect the new 1/0 cables remains to be done. Battery chaos! UPDATE2: Wire loom and engine cover installed to complete this alternator upgrade project. As a side note: since my TV has a lower drive belt for the a/c compressor, a new one was first installed before the new shorter one specified for use with the smaller alternator pulley per the manufacturer’s recommendation.

We generally camp where we want to visit vs. any "home base" idea. Take the Oliver with you! It makes it through narrow dirt roads and busy city neighborhoods. We will leave our trailer parked for a few hours during the day, sometimes much of the day, but never overnight. If I'm at a state park or any well-kept campground, we do not worry. When boondocking we will not leave for more than a half day and I will worry. You can add any hitch lock device, spend hundreds and it will not matter if they want to tow it away. All anybody needs is a simple lever jack, the kind that are used on cheap travel trailers and a battery-powered 1/2" impact gun. Lift the front high enough to chain it to a tailgate. Pull the fuses on your leveling jacks and when they recover your trailer these will need replacing and likely some body damage! Use a decent hitch lock and chain two wheels together on the side of the trailer that would be most noticeable (I've done this when leaving a trailer on a property that I will not see for months). This would slow them down better than anything, or chain a wheel to a tree or the campground concrete picnic table! 🤣

The key.

Contacting Support & Using the Service Portal Service Portal: https://support.olivertraveltrailers.com/portal/en/home This is a website that allows you to login and view all of your open tickets as well as your history of tickets with us. This is just like a credit card website with security. Whatever email is used to initially create the login is the only way you can login. You can change your email but it requires you to login with the original email used and then manage your profile to change the email. We cannot change this from our side for security reasons. If you email us using multiple emails this causes the system to create multiple accounts which means your tickets are not all kept in the same location and you may not be able to see all of your history with us. Support Email: support@olivertraveltrailers.com When you email us at the above email our system automatically creates a new ticket unless you are replying on an old email from us. For responses to an existing ticket it is best to respond so that the system keeps the new email with the communication we have already had in the past. For new issues it is best to send a new email so that our previous communication doesn't get overwhelming clustered. It is important that you have a primary email that you use as this is what registers who you are in our system and provides us with all of your information so we can help faster. When using a different email than what we have, we have no idea who we are speaking with, what camper you have, what history communication we may have been speaking with you about, etc... This is also true if a spouse or friend reaches out to us on your behalf. We will not know who we are speaking with regarding camper information unless a VIN number is provided. This will also separate the history of this communication from the other email account used and we may not have all the information needed to assist the best we can.

Clearly the best of all possible worlds. I had to retire from Sailing when my balance became inadequate.

Every time I enter my Oliver "Long Time no Sea" I think of the Columbia 26 I sailed 40 plus years ago. I brings back many happy remembrances. I have attached file with pictures.. Oliver Use of Drill Guides compressed.pdf

When I saw the topic, nose art, my first thought was the "art" our dog always leaves on the windows when watching for wildlife. 🙂 Originally we wanted a decal of the Old Man of the Mountain (the stone face fell from the mountain in 2003, saddening many New Hampshirites). Unfortunately when we projected it onto a photo of an Ollie it just looked like a big, scary head on the trailer. Not the look we were going for. Our daughter started drawing other ideas. At the time the old farmhouse in PEI that we summered in had a barn that swallows made their home and we liked to watch them swooping in and out of the loft windows. When she drew a swallow we had our design and name, though we always just call it the Ollie.

After we came up with the super-imaginative name for our Oliver (The Trailer) we decided we’d let someone else design a logo. I asked a local artist to combine a big star (Texas you know), some compass points and the Oliver winding road, in red and gray. She did a great job and I installed it at our first campsite after pickup (Land Between the Lakes - May 2016). We had the design printed at a local print shop, they did two and I still have one when this one gets too worn.

The inspiration for my nose art was my two Border Terriers. And of course, also the fact that my wife did not wholeheartedly embrace a travel trailer as an RV of choice. She would have preferred a Class B or C if she was going to move out of the Hampton Inn. The hard part was finding a silhouette that was an accurate image of a Border Terrier and was not copyrighted. I found this one on Etsy and bought a piece of the artwork and asked for permission to use it on my caravan, as he called the Ollie. He was impressed that I had even asked for permission and was kind enough to send me a soft copy to use as I pleased. I added the script to the original and Oliver printed for me. Mossey

We spent alot of years working to restore fish passage for Alewives in Maine, and still get home every spring In time to do it all over again.

I installed mine a few hundred miles ago...seem to be doing fine. Thanks, Steve, for the O'Reilly tip :) John

This mystery has been solved. A tech removed a loose nut from inside the offending wheel drum today. It was a brake backing plate nut, but all the nuts were in place as they should be, so it must have been an extra dropped into the wheel assembly at the Dexter factory. It was intermittent and wasn't found sooner because it would stick to the brake magnet and hide.

And how will it perform when you really need A/C, when temps are in the 90s vs. just 73F? Given these numbers, the Dometic FreshJet 3 on medium and high pulls more amperage than my Penguin II! Another vote for Atmos! Below is what @rideadeuce reported (see quote below) with the Atmos. BTW, 15A 120VAC = 1800W and 150A 12VDC = 1800W, so 15A AC equates to 150A on 12VDC. Given your generator runs the A/C on low pulling 13A, it would run the Atmos on any speed pulling only 7.5 A (75A DC). I can run the penguin II 3-4 hours on our new Victron 3KVA MP2 inverter with 600AH LiFePO4 batteries. Given these numbers, I would have less runtime with the FreshJet 3 or instead could double runtime to 6-8 hours installing the Atmos 4.4 A/C. "Here in TN it has been very humid and hot with no issues of increased humidity inside. Staying in the 40-60% range. As far as efficiency, it is at least 30-40% sometimes 50% better than the Dometic PII 13.5k. 75 vs 150 amps. 10 decimals quieter than the Dometic. Probably the best feature outside of efficiency."

Welcome aboard, Mike! Tons of great OTT info in these threads - watch out, there's a few rabbit holes!

@Mike Spies Try this method while using Google's search function, you might find your own post. site:olivertraveltrailers.com 'GPS tracker' Mossey

I second the recommendations for both Davis Mountains SP and the McDonald Observatory. A few nights each week the Observatory has a Star Party evening with lots of telescopes set up and guides to show where certain stars and constellations are in the sky. On a cloudless night it’s pretty fascinating. The 1800’s Army Post of Fort Davis is a National Parks site and is also worth a visit. Mike

got the latch fixed and on the list will be repairing the battery slide out box which is coming loose too thank you all for the information on repairs.

We were in Floresville, Texas last summer at a BMX event and the daytime temps (real temps. not "feels like" temps!) while there did not drop below 109 degrees during the day. We have a small 2023 Elite with the Truma Aventa A/C system and after arrival that first afternoon it cooled the trailer down in about 25 minutes to a nice comfortable 79 degrees. During the following three days the interior temp never rose to above 80 degrees. It worked flawlessly.

Who doesn't love puppies?

That sounds like my kind of logic! Having happily sold our last sailboat several years ago, I recently came across a cool double-ender at a state park lake in Ohio. In trying to identify it, I ended up on a pocket yacht and trailer sailor Facebook group, and looking through Great Lakes brokerages... 😜

Thanks. This picture says it all, a few cans of Parts Cleaner are introduced to my suspension friends!

That's nuts that Dexter would mix SAE and metric sizes on the same suspension, but Ron knows his stuff and has given you all the info you need. It could be that there was one size for the outers and another for the E-Z Flex on the inners which was an add-on component. I just took a look at mine and inner to outer Zerks appear somewhat different. Both took either a 5/16" (.3125") or 8mm (.3150") wrench, since they are close. All you need is an 8mm open-end/box-end combo wrench. Because of the bolt/wrench size you can't tell if the threads are metric or SAE without removing them. To buy extras, remove one at the end and one at the E-Z flex. I use brake line (aka flare nut) wrenches for these, because I have them. They are the safest for soft bleed nipples used in hydraulic brake systems and work well for Zerks too. Unnecessary, but this is a nice tool to have for $9 for the two most common sizes today: Utoolmart Flare Nut Wrench, 8mm x 10mm Metric Double Open End, 1Pcs - Amazon.com

Mike Sokol would be a great addition for the Annual Oliver Rally speaking on topics we all run into. He is big on Southwires Surge Guard, but has stated that Hughes Watchdog EMS with EPO and the Progressive are all great portable EMS surge protectors. I get Mike's daily newsletter, access to his many articles, and I follow his Facebook site.

If the Xantrex inverter is turned on and the trailer is connected to shore power, the inverter will kick in if shore power goes out. There's even a setting in the Xantrex that controls the delay before power transfers to the inverter. I learned this while researching the various settings. It could be very useful for people with critical electrical equipment.

@Boudicca908 Alternatively, one can take their zerks to most any hardware store and use a convenient thread gauge (SAE/Metric) to determine thread size, then order online or purchase at a retail store exactly what is needed. Grainger’s offers stainless steel zerks and protective caps; no worry of rust and corrosions, or road grime with the two. As a side note, once the thread size is determined also get a matching nut to ‘thread test’ the other zerks as removed; if the nut doesn’t easily thread on then a different thread size zerk will be needed in that instance.

As a general rule, any tool that does multiple things or sizes doesn’t do any of them well and adjustable wrench’s have a place, but it’s not for zerk fittings. And that also applies to me, I can break any thing. So my advice and using @Ronbrink information is to go to an auto parts store and see what they have as far as zerk fittings go. I seem to remember that the NAPA store I frequent, has variety packs that have different styles like straight, 45° and 90° and maybe different sizes. Pickup several types and sizes and also check for box end wrenches that fit while you have the zerks in hand. And check their return policy so you can return the wrong ones. Also try some penetrating oil on the zerk threads. Mossey

We echo @Mike and Carol's comments above. As reported in another thread, we replaced our 12-month old Monroe shocks after we replaced the axles & leaf springs last May. I was surprised that 3 of the 4 Monroes were toast after only 8k miles - but we were not in a position to acquire a set of Bulldogs (in Hohenwald at the time) so we replaced them with OEM Monroes. We've logged just north of 6k miles since May and we function-checked the OEMs at the 5k-mile point - all good. We also checked axle U-bolt nut torques at the same time - all within specs. I'm thinking with the max travel of the axle set being approximately 4-1/4" (2-1/8" up and 2-1/8" down) that the longer stroked Bulldog (4.69") option would be fine given the slightly higher lift with the Alcans. Also, I believe that any higher rated leaf spring will tend to dampen the OTT load at a lower frequency and shorter stroke when under tow as compared to the OEM 4-pack 1,750# springs. This may allow the shock absorbers to last longer, IMO. Regarding towing the Casablanca with upgraded running gear: Like Mike mentioned, no appreciable difference observed in towing during this last 6k+ miles - other than a general overall "solid" feel and less "porpoising" at slower speeds over rougher roads. We reduced the electrical trailer brake gain from 6.0 down to 4.5 due largely to the 12" drums' greater braking action. The OTT always pulled like a champ, anyway - its, quantitatively, a more "confident" towing experience and a "peace of mind" in the overall running gear with the upgrade. Bulldogs are definitely on our radar screen for a swap-out probably when the 10k-mile point is reached on the existing Monroes, FYI. Cheers, All!

We installed Bulldogs this year.

Can anyone tell here are the Bulldog shocks are made?

Skipster, One issue I have with the Battery Tray is one side catches easily when pushing it in, the other side does not and i have to make an additional effort for it to latch properly. if you have this issue, could that have sprung your Battery Door at the hinge. Your post makes me want to examine my Batt Door hinge, when the offending side does not catch. And Craig's post makes me want to check my rivets on the door sides and monitor going forward. B~Out

Looks just like you, Lance. I’d get the artist to sign the original. It might be worth a fortune some day.

Still have the original front logo but am planning to remove and replace with the attached. If you are thinking it looks as though it was designed by a Kindergartner, it was. One of the kids who used to ride my school bus drew it and I thought it was apt for "Lottie".

We opted for the Oliver logo and matching thin swooshes on the sides. So far so good!

I get all the "Nose Art" I can handle when I see all of those bugs that I've got to clean off!🤣 Seriously - this is the reason I have opted to NOT have a decal on the front of Twist - it is a bit more easier removing bug guts off gel-coat versus off a decal over gel-coat. Bill

Cool thread. I’m not putting a Vargas style pin-up off @DebMon the front, though. 😉 I know what mine is going to be, but I’m not sharing yet. Two nights ago I was smacked in the face with a bit of inspiration, and I can’t wait to turn it into a graphic. The name will be revealed two weeks from tomorrow, though. 😁

I've got a real soft spot for the pooches. Bosker looks quite contented displayed front and center.

Have you plugged in at home and tried it out? You’ve got the thermostat set right? I’ve never run the AC on batteries, but on shore power it gets cool in 10 or 15 minutes. On our way back from the rally we had a couple of hot stops in Texas and the AC cooled us down pretty quickly. Mike

Please do take note that the bolt has splines on the head end. It is not designed to be turned from that end. If the splines are damaged, the suspension bolt WILL turn, and the nut will fall off. This is how some of the EZ-Flex center bolts have worked loose.