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I visited Alcan Spring today in Grand Junction CO. I was impressed by their operation and service, what they were able to accomplish on a minutes notice. As a medium-sized manufacturer and automotive service company, I quickly noted their company quality, efficiency and fully capable staff (see picture of a portion of their operation). I purchased leaf springs for our Oliver, including HD shackles, new wet bolts and U-bolts (pic2). Our Oliver requires the 50.00 length axles. They measured our Oliver. For comparison they manually measured their 50.50 springs which they stock for Oliver customers. I asked them how can I go about getting the correct D52 axles for our hull. They replied that the could special order axles for me and charge me the same price as the axles they stock and buy in bulk for Oliver owners. And that's what I did. Getting my special-order axles will take 6-8 weeks and they will ship to me when ready. I was out the door in an hour. Four staff members were working together to help me. Simply put, they were awesome! I had a smile on my face, the whole way to Montrose to see our friend Ken. He was happy to see the parts, since he has a full installation scheduled soon. RE the purpose of this thread. Alcan only sells the Dexter Nev-R Lube axles. They report good reliability with these sealed bearings, not hearing of premature failures. So they do not have experience with the EZ Lube product. When asked about replacement bearings for the Nev-R Lub, they replied they would ask their Dexter rep and get me a quote. @CRM if you have a link for the correct Timken brand replacement Nev-R Lube bearings, please advise. I appreciate that @John Dorrer has posted his experience so far, and of course if/when any of us have failures, we should read it on our OTT Forum. I'll be working my installation later this summer and will start a new post documenting the job. Like I mentioned before, it will be fun getting into this! 😂

Just got to love the labels on those springs!

Someone correct me if I’m wrong but I think that disk brake upgrades are not available for 3500 pound rated axles. It is my understanding that the 5200 pound rated axles have several options available for wheels and brakes. The larger axles do (naturally) have the same bolt pattern as smaller axles. In fact I believe that I was told that a five bolt pattern was standard for the smaller axles and that Oliver did some sort of a mix and match with Dexter to create the six bolt pattern. In my case I’m switching to the higher capacity axles because I feel that the 3500 pound axles are just too close to their limit for our trailers as evidenced by the many bearing issues that have occurred over the years. I guess bottom line is personal preference.

Some ford trucks are missing a brake pedal spring, which can result in total loss of braking. Here is the recall information: https://www.nhtsa.gov/?nhtsaId=25V401000 Summary Ford Motor Company (Ford) is recalling certain 2025 F-550 SD, F-450 SD, F-350 SD, and F-250 SD vehicles. The brake booster pushrod retaining spring may not have been installed, which can allow the pushrod to disconnect from the brake pedal and cause a sudden loss of brake function. You can search to see if your vehicle is effected (or if any vehicle has a pending recall) here: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls

Another Oliver pulled in River Bend rv park in Montrose Colorado yesterday. The staff said that they have seen four or five Olivers since May! Apparently a popular Oliver campground!

Our flag flys 24/7 here at our home, not just on holidays. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 🫡 Nothing like “Air Superiority” which wins wars.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

There was no hose included in my package either. Based on the Amazon reviews it seems to be pretty hit or miss. On a positive note everything else arrived in good condition and the form factor looks to be ideal for our Olivers.

We have the upgraded 5200 lb. axel and Never Lube on our 2022 and so far so good

This was reportedly the result of allowing a trainee to do assembly work while unsupervised!🤨 The problem was actually discovered by a seasoned employee further down the line. They have a record of which trucks he worked on.

Torch, hand grinder, hack saw , or even a cold chisel. All will do the job, just a matter high your PITA threshold is. Mine is pretty low, and for weight conservation I carry a Dremel Kit with reinforced cut-off wheels. They last a LOT longer than the non-reinforced ones. But they are also more expensive. Worth the cost IMO. As a result, I don't carry a torch, hand grinder, hack saw , or even a cold chisel. GJ

Yep, joule preservation is important when running naked, (power protection naked, of course).

This is a great question John, and it brings to mind that a lot of folks probably don’t understand the importance of bonded neutrals on RV generators. The NEC requires neutrals to be bonded to ground at all power sources so that any fault currents have a path back to the source. This assures that any fault current has a low resistance path to ground that can handle enough current to trip the breakers. Otherwise, the fault current will look for an alternate path to ground and there might not be enough current flow to trip the breaker… at least until someone comes along and completes the path to ground and gets a shocking surprise! This is particularly important for the Progressive Industries transfer switches because they switch both the hot and neutral wires. When the switch transfers to an un-bonded neutral, then it’s possible to create a situation where there is no path to ground. This is true for all Olivers, both old and new. Additionally, GFCI’s and surge protectors rely on the ground to detect circuit imbalances. Both the hot and neutral conductors pass through a Current Transformer and cancel each other out in a balanced circuit. However, any leakage to ground from either hot or neutral wire will be detected by the Current Transformer, which then instantly interrupts the circuit. This can’t work if the neutral isn't bonded to the ground. So it’s important that RV generators are bonded to ground, and most of them are. It should say so on the label, and the few that aren’t bonded, including Hondas, will say something like “floating ground.” If you're still uncertain, then just use a Generator Bonding Plug which are readily available for under $20. Cheers, Geoff

Our Alcan experience was seamless, they are that good. Dropped our Oliver off at 7:30 on install day, went and grabbed a great southwest breakfast in town at Cafe Sol. Gotta a call at 0930 just as we were finishing our meal that our 5 leaf pack, HD wet bolts, and HD shackles install was finished🤩. Lew and his crew knocked it out of the park. Worth every penny to have Alcan do the professional install and continue on our journey. Love our new running gear! Glad they got you squared away jd!

Following @Patriot's Amazon link: Currently unavailable. We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

Certainly for many folks not towing a 6,000 pound OE2 with a full size TV. For the OE2 Team, I suspect that the weights are actually quite close between the total Ollie Weight (Loaded, unhitched) and the weight of our loaded TV's. I think you are spot on with the design of the EZ lube axles. For me the jury is still out. But my engineering mind says (Without a preponderance of evidence to the contrary) that I would lean towards the EZ. Then continue my full service to something like every other year if nothing else than to check in on the brakes. As I have at least another year on our existing 3500's, I am looking forward to JD's post on this thread about what he learns at ALCAN. GJ

Two little Ollies in a sea of 5th-wheels and Class-As!

Hang in there, they have run out and restocked repeatedly in the past. Walmart.com also stocks the same unit from time to time.

Krea: When going to disk brake systems for thee 3500 axles the calipers all appear to me to be something like this: My search shows lots of kits that serve the 4 or 5 inch bolt patterns. Sadly I failed to find any for our 6 bolt pattern. So based upon my limited search skills, if you want disk you also get to change out your wheel rims and tires too. That is a deal killer for our Ollie as I like our 16" wheels and think going smaller was a mistake just because they could not find ST tires for the 16's. I say run LT Truck tires and roll on with the E-rated ones. If you or any reader knows of a disk kit that will work on our existing wheel/tires, please post a follow-up. GJ

I was wondering it anybody would catch that one. LOL!

They were not Nylocks - glad to hear about the hacksaw idea - I was thinking about that. I think in the video the guy said they just cut them off at the shop.

Geoff: For sure. When I first purchased my Ollie (2018) I was having power issues and could not figure it out. Then one of the forum owners mentioned the use of the bonded plug. Problems disappeared. But every so often the issue pokes its head out of the covers and all of a sudden it is a new topic. This is one item that OTT needs to really stress in their Owner's training and manual. Thank you for the details on how it works. That I did not fully know. Your post has made it's way into my DIY folder so I can whip it out when the covers get disturbed again for another owner. GJ

I have a 2K watt Champion inverter generator that I just plug in to, I haven’t used a special plug. I guess I need to look to see if the Champion is “bonded to ground”, something I wasn’t aware of. Going on 10 years and still learning…. Mike

The person that I know that changed his took the part number off the bearing and had Summit cross reference it. That's the same route I'd take if I were going to change them out. That's also who told him the Dexter bearing cross referenced to some passenger cars.

For those of those of us choosing to monitor the springs until they can be upgraded, inspection guidance from Oliver would be very helpful, particularly the sag seen prior to failure.

I'm in agreement with @mountainoliver and @Patriot and will add more detail from my point of view, in the order of your questions: 1) This is likely my biggest reason. Having 12" brakes over the 10" on 3500 lb. axles is huge in size of the contact area of the shoes. I have always felt they are not enough on mountain downhills. The self-adjusters don't full adjust/tighten up especially on the rear axle. I had one of 4 brakes lock up the other day, thought there was a kid in a sports car, burning rubber behind me from the sound. No, it was just one brake on the Oliver. 2) The brake drum bolt pattern must match the wheel choice, independent of the axle. However, it is industry standard that 5-bolt patterns are used on 3500 axles and 6-bolt on 5200s. OTT has over-engineered everything but the axle, the weak link. I have a dual-axle 12 ft flatbed trailer at home that we use for OHVs. It has the same two 3500 axles, 5-bolt 15" wheels with ST tires and it weighs only 1100 lbs When load with our SxS, a dirt bike and gear, adding about 2400 for 3500 lbs. total, half the 7K limit. Rock solid for that use. As Ken stated above, The Oliver is at the limit of 7K in axles, most of us carrying 6400+ lbs. and the Oliver is tall, not truly top heavy but the top can in certain conditions sway back and forth quite a bit. Consider your precious cargo and what Ken said to me last night, "no more worries." 3) I also understand, they do not manufacturer disc brakes for 3500 trailer. Besides wheel bolt patterns, 3500 lb. axles have a 4-bolt pattern, axle to braking plate and 5-bolt on the 5200 lb. axles. The connection, axle to brake plate, to wheel is 25% stronger. 4) An axle can fail/ bend in extreme circumstances, but more often the smaller bearings and brakes on lighter axles failed. You're thinking the 4-leaf design which Alcan has made available on request. They are a costume shop. They suggest the 5-leaf product which was their original design. As we've heard from their reps, "the Oliver is under-sprung." I believe this is true watching our hull waddle like a duck over irregular RR tracks, gas station driveways and DIRT ROADS, every time the suspension has to take a height change on an angle. And re the 3500 lb. axles, I would say the Oliver is under-supported. And btw, OTT has finally decided that the D52 axles are standard equipment. For those that are minimalists, and there are a few of you out there that tow with 1/2 ton trucks and always keep your Oliver curb weight under 6K lbs, the 3500 lb. axles and 4-leaf springs are certainly enough.

I think there were (3) left when I placed my order. They sold out fast!

Yes, I caught that in a few reviews I read as well. Not a show stopper…just a speed bump. 👍🏻

You'd think that for 400 dollars they could have diagnosed a vacuum leak.......... Thanks for the tip! If I can't get it idling smoothly I'll go the vacuum leak route. All gaskets seem good though, hoses too.

If adjustments didn't fix it the only other thing I can think of is a vacuum leak and closing the choke could be compensating for it at idle. Could also just be a bad carb, but two in a row doing the same thing?

Alcan leaf kit has been ordered. Something I didn't know. They can ship to a UPS outlet using USP or FED Ex. THey're be here in a couple of days.

Hi Mark, There could be a number of reasons why the 25 amp Inverter breaker is tripping. However, assuming that the Air Conditioning and Charger are otherwise working fine, then the most likely reasons are the inverter settings, the breaker, or the generator. It’s helpful to understand that all AC loads (except the refrigerator) pass-through the inverter, and it automatically prioritizes current to the AC loads over charging. So when the 20 amp Air Conditioner is passing through, it throttles down the charger amps to prevent overcurrent. The inverter charge current demand is highest when the battery is discharged, so it might just be overworking the inverter enough to trip the breaker’s thermo element when running the Air Conditioner with a discharged battery. If the battery is not fully discharged, and it’s still tripping, then read on. BTW, if the inverter is turned-on while using shore or generator power, it only means that it will automatically transfer to battery power if shore power fails. Also, the generator neutral bonding will not impact the current or breaker, but it’s required by code. I have 4 troubleshooting suggestions. Items 3 and 4 will require some experimentation with the inverter settings and this is best done using the Xantrex phone app. These settings will not harm anything, but they will reduce inverter output to match the capacity of your generator. It’s a low probability that the 25 amp breaker is bad, but it is a possibility because the inverter should warn you and shut down when it nears it maximum output… before the breaker trips. A quick assessment can be made without an amp meter. If it’s tripping instantly, it means the magnetic short circuit trip function is probably bad and the breaker should be replaced. If it trips’s after some time, and it can easily re-set after cooldown, then it’s tripping on the thermo function and it’s probably okay. The generator is big enough to handle your loads, but it could be that the regulator is not working properly. Verify that it’s increasing RPMs when the load increases. You can also check the input voltage on the Xantrex display, it should be close to 120 volts. The inverter’s charger current setting is too high (Setting 24.) The default setting is 150 amps, but it’s not an amp to amp conversion. I’d set it to 30 amps and if the breaker no longer trips, then dial it up in 20 amp increments until you find a trip-less value. I had to change this setting on my inverter because it was drawing more current than my 2000 watt generator could supply, and I was getting low voltage brown outs. It would have probably tripped the breaker eventually, but the generator tripped first. I think I finally set it to 60 amps. The inverter’s AC input breaker setting is too high (Setting 28.) This impacts the load prioritization ratio. The default setting is 50 amps so you can start by setting it to 25 amps to see if that works. If so, then dial it up in 5 amp increments until you find a value below the breaker trip value. Note: I’d change settings 24 and 28 at the same time, then dial them up until you find a an acceptable value where the breaker does not trip. I hope that helps! Cheers, Geoff

I wonder if it would be possible for them to relocate the center alignment hole on the spring 1/4 inch on each side to make up the difference?

I have the EZ lube 5200 axles but never use the EZ lube feature. I could be wrong, but I don't think they're any different than the old school axles other that the grease fitting on the end the drilled section to allow the grease to flow to the bearings. If I were forced to use a Nev-R-Lube axle I would pull the factory bearings from the get-go and replace them with high quality Timken bearings. The bearings used the Nev-R-Lube hubs are the same used in some production cars and I would expect them to go at least 80-100k without any issues. Could be wrong there too though since a loaded LE2 weighs a lot more than production cars do...

Is there any knowledge or do our forum members have opinions on this subject? After 26 pages of comment re leaf springs I’m disappointed not a word here! This is equally important. I read the entire 5-page link GJ provided, when he posted a few weeks ago. I could not see on that forum that they achieved consensus. Maybe somebody can show how Nev-R Lube lives up to their claim. Keep in mind it’s Dexter. Some have seen failures in 1 year, others 5 max, it cannot be never! I will be at Alcan Spring today. I will purchase their HD springs, shackles and wet bolts. I cannot have 5200 lb axles installed since I need 50” and they stock 50.5” that most later hulls need. I will ask why +/- 0.5” matters. I will ask their opinion on new EZ or Nev-R bearings a why they decided to stock kind. Maybe they can drop-ship me the correct axles. Or maybe I can get a good used set of 5200 lb axles, with tried and true conical bearings, any length and have them cut and welded to size, bolt on new bearing/brake assemblies. We’ll see. I don’t believe in annual bearing service anyway. Annual inspection yes, but when bearings are cleaned and packed correctly they will last 3-5 years with average mileage. I replaced bearings with Timken 2 years ago. I’ll open one up to see next summer and will post pics. If anybody wants to learn the correct method, let me know and I will start a new post. Most of you will prefer the claim of EZ or Nev-R when you don’t work this service yourself. I didn’t want Alcan to work my installation anyway. That would take all the fun out of it! 🤣

Here is how I remember it: The Inverter's job is to Invert your power. It takes DC from the batteries and turns in in to AC via a transformer an turns it upside down again and a gain to create 60 hertz Alternating Current for your 120 V systems. The Converter takes 120 volt power and Chargers your batteries. Normally the Auto Transfer Switch causes the Inverter to not be energized at the same time as the C. nThis is because the inverter is not needed when you have A/C power from a shore power source. But it is possible and desirable to charge your batteries using the C and also power it up by your generator providing the energy to do so. This can be a high draw and "sucks up" much of what the main breaker will allow. Since I don't have clue what systems you have in a wonderful 2024, I can only suggest that if you have the ability to change your C charge rate, it may be pulling a lot of power that overloads the breaker. Hence some folks have dialed down the charge rate to leave more power available for other uses. You can check this by flipping the C's breaker off and see if you are still tripping the main breaker when on generator. OH one more hint. Many generators require us to use a bonded neutral plug. Like Honda's for example. I would start with that topic on the forum. The Progressive Industries EMS will no allow power from an unbonded neutrall for such generators. But failing to do so has not tripped a main that I am aware of. It willl however preclude shore power from getting you to your 120V loads. Hope this helps out a little bit. GJ

I am checking into this as I was told when we set the date that campsites could be scheduled. I specifically asked about the 1-year reservation rule and they told me that this was not the case. I will provide an update as some I have confirmation. Dates: Wednesday, October 28 – Sunday, November 1, 2026 Wednesday, October 21 - Sunday, October 25, 2026 The slash is to signify that the original dates were canceled. The park contacted and said that the campground was already full so the dates had to be changed to ensure available camp sites.

Hello to the Ollie on 101 heading north. It was about noon yesterday and we were about 20 north of Astoria, OR. I flashed my lights.

After the day at Devils Tower we road into our campsite and there she was, another Ollie! Only the second time for us, not counting the Q or Texas Rally and there was a 3rd time, but they left early morning without us meeting. Both times the Oliver owner was named Gary. The First time it was Gary from CO at Lost Dutchman and yesterday it was Gary from Harrisburg PA in Hull # 833! Gary wanted to check out my Epoch installation. He has 4-year-old AGMs not holding charge like they used to. I believe we've heard that story before! 🤣

When I leave my house for a walk, I don't take any keys. I won't tell you how I get back into the house, but it doesn't involve a key 🤣 (If you were a dedicated burglar, I'm sure you could figure it out. But there are at least 3 easier "ways in" that any rock could use.) When I leave my house for a drive, I take only the key fob for what I'm driving. When I leave my house to tow the trailer, an additional ring with 3 keys for the trailer (door, garage/battery, hitch lock) get attached to the truck key fob. My wife has ALL of this in her purse at ALL times 🤪 P.S. I just checked my junk drawer. It has 20 keys in it. One of them is marked "safe". That should make things easier for the aforementioned burglar. P.P.S EVERY password I have requires multi-factor authorization. Virtual threats loom MUCH larger in my imagination than physical. I consider myself very lucky.

I have a similar set of keys on my RV key ring. One morning I left it on the bumper after hitching up and drove away, using my Truck keyring. Retracing my steps I found what was left of them in the road, run over by a hundred cars. Surprisingly the only ones beyond repair were the ring itself (pretzel), the key fob to my bicycle alarm (completely disintegrated), the round hitch pin key, and the trailer door key. Fortunately I had spares for the hitch and door.

I really thought I was done with this thread, but the engineer in me thought of a new need today, given the current heatwave across the country, currently bothering our trip! Mike @rideadeuce gave me the idea and I was skeptical at first, like driving 8 hours cooling the Oliver while keeping your dogs in the trailer or something. I believed highway speeds would pull any cooling achieved right out of the trailer and down the road, like a boat leaving the wake behind it. On this account, I was wrong. 🤣 For the last of couple weeks on our road trip I have used our Victron inverter to not only run the fridge while driving (LP tanks off of course), but also to power the HWH. For the last few weeks we have arrived at our campsite at 100% SOC, fridge cooled and water hot upon arrival, by running our DC-to-DC and solar chargers running. So today it was to be in the mid 90s for the 3rd day, OMG in northern SD and WY! I turned off the breaker to the HWH and set the thermostat low on our (POS) Dometic P2! Got back in the truck and towed our Oliver 90 minutes to our destination. I still cannot believe the results! In 90 minutes our cabin temp dropped 10F. This usually takes 2-3 hours with the P2 at the campsite after connected to shore power. The only explanation I could think of is that while driving at highway speeds the A/C condenser gets cooled much more efficiently. We used 216Ah in this short 90 min out of our 600Ah total (36%). It was totally worth it! We arrived at camp at 4PM with a COOL cabin. Those of you who run an inverter and study your inverter and battery apps, check out and spend a bit of time with these screen-prints. You can see that outside it was 93F when we started at 2:30PM and 94F by 4 PM (Ruuvi sensors), while the interior temp dropped from 85F to 75F. Get me one of those inverter A/C units and we can likely do this using 100Ah! No, you cannot run it all day with dogs onboard. 🤣

We were visiting Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs today and an Oliver from Florida pulled in to the parking lot. After we finished exploring we waited in our truck for about a half an hour and had to leave. Hope you’re having a great trip!

I replaced two springs on the same axle at a campground after one broke and the other was failing. Took 4 hrs using the onboard rear “stabilizers” and a bottle jack. Found a pair of springs at a local rv shop. Once I made it home I replaced all four with Alcan 5-leafs and never looked back. 10,000+ trouble-free miles on the Alcans. It can be done if you have the tools. PM me and I am happy to talk you thru the process.

Here's a couple older Rally photos: This was an Oliver Rally in TN during 2016 or 2017, not too far from the Oliver factory. This was the first Rally at Lake Guntersville SP:

This thread was started in May 2016. There wasn’t a lot of activity on the forum then, just over 100 trailers produced. Before we left for our pick up in May 2016 someone suggested I start a “Where’s Ollie” thread so folks could post travels and good camping spots. We picked up Hull 135 on May 10 and started this from our second campsite at Land Between the Lakes on May 17. 28 pages later it’s become a nice spot to see where folks have been thanks to everyone who has contributed. Our first campsite was at Fall Hollow Campground in Hohenwald, Oliver’s spot for your first night back then. Proud new owners at Fall Hollow Campground 9 years ago.

So Bill replied to my post on, "We saw an Ollie" and I thought my reply would fit better here, on Where's Ollie" one of my favorite threads (thank you Mike)! I believe that is where we are camped, on the BLM land just outside of the west park entrance, heading to and presently 6 miles south of Wall SD. From our campsite, you need a wide-angle lens or pano-view on your phone (which did not turn out). Walking from our hilltop site, 30 yards toward the dirt road, these are the views. From up here we can easily see 60 miles over the badlands. Love that the wind is from us towards to dirt road, what a great campsite! Sorry Bill, I don't do dawn unless I'm up all night! 🤣 Dusk will not show a decent sunset since at this time there is not a cloud in the sky. God Bless! we finally got out of the doldrums of the great Midwest and back to bright clear dry western skies, high pressure and higher altitude to keep my head straight. Chris wants to go to Wall Drug tomorrow, but to me it's like the Ron Jon of SD, less the surfboard stuff! For history and tradition I will attend. I'll get their long-advertised "free ice water" and a couple donuts, to boot!!! 🤣

We just returned from 12 days RVing in Alaska, but not in our Oliver. It's a long way from CT to AK and with doctor appointments, etc. it really isn't possible for us to be away from home that long, so we flew out and rented a Class C motorhome. What a great decision! We had a blast and really liked the little Minnie Winnie RV. It was the perfect couples camper, only 24.5 feet long (just like our LE2) with a single slide and a very functional layout. And in great shape, too, being a 2025 model year. Just as easy to drive/park as our dually truck. We did Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula, Talkeetna, and 3 nights in Denali. If you've never seen AK we'd recommend putting it on your bucket list for sure. FYI, the RV rental agency we used was Great Alaskan Holidays - www.greatalaskanholidays.com. Highly recommend them if you choose the fly/rent route.

I was bending over too, never on knees, but now with these shorty extensions I do not have to crane my neck. Not truly risky. Check out the picture for perspective. The trailers tires are much further out and so is the rear bumper. They are also flexible so if something was to hit them they would just fold back. If something was to het them it would also hit the rear bumper which would be a big owie! I've loved them ever since adding them. Lead-free brass, good for drinking water (not that we drink water from the Oliver). https://www.amazon.com/Fevone-Extension-Flexible-Protector-Drinking/dp/B0BFWPFTFH/ Then I got these simple 1" chair leg caps for the Eley male ends which are inexpensive and fit nicely snug. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SKXR0C/?th=1

I decided to order these much higher quality Eley QC’s based on a recommendation from another member on here. Verrrrry nice and very high quality vs the aluminum Chinese junk sold on Amazon (above). These are made in the USA 🇺🇸 and top shelf. I would purchase these again based on the fit and finish and they come with a 10 year warranty. Order here if interested - https://www.eleyhosereels.com - Patriot