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I have been thinking about a different, safer way to clean, polish and detail our Oliver vs the hazard of hanging off a single ladder. Seems like I just don’t bounce like I use to. 😄 While at CGI in April letting the guys work their magic on our Oliver, I took a real hard look at their Little Giant ladder and plank set up. I decided to invest in a safer way to keep our Oliver in tip-top shape. A big shout out to both Colin and Gavin at CGI. They really shared their valuable feedback on what works well for them. With not a lot of room on either side of XPLOR in the “Ollie Hangar”, this narrow rock solid no bounce configuration allows me to safely walk the 30’ plank…. Arrrrrr!!!🏴‍☠️ And getter done! (2) Little Giant planks - https://www.lowes.com/pd/Little-Giant-Ladders-Fixed-10-ft-Plank/5001578523 (3) Little Giant Ladders -https://www.lowes.com/pd/Little-Giant-Ladders-Aluminum-18-ft-Reach-Type-1A-300-lbs-Capacity-Telescoping-Multi-Position-Ladder/1001038922 W

Galway Girl at home. Happy 4th!

We are all learning lessons. It is ok for them to be embarrassing, we just hope they are never painful.

I'm going to add my two cents worth here. Mostly for folks reading these discussions who are about to purchase an Oliver. I've been towing my Elite II for only 5 years. Started with my F-150 and the Anderson WDH. It was adequate and worked well. However I was restricted by payload limits, and at times could have used more power and braking on steep roads. When I had to buy a replacement truck I moved up to a 3/4 ton. I felt I had better control with the new truck. Also appreciated been able to carry much more in the bed. Had I had the experience, I would have started with a 3/4 ton truck.

Yep, me too. I felt the same way for sure on several threads during the past 8 years...... Despite another JD (John Davies) telling me in the most polite and kind way possible, that my 4.7L Sequoia was not "Ideal" for a 6,000 # Ollie in the mountains, I used it. Then one day after being passed by the US Olympic Cycling Team several times in an hour, my son said "Dad, you need a truck". BAM, like slam dunk reality check from a 15 year old.... We all see life through OUR rose colored glasses. But here my friends we can get the experiences of many great owners. And it may not jive with our experiences. But we all benefit from their inputs and then can decide, from an informed position, what is best for each of us based upon our circumstances. What is cool is that it did not take 25 PAGES of texts and thoughts to get here today. 🙂 GJ

Ribs are getting ready to go on the grill, with corn on the Cobb, large red pepper, and jalapenos.

Years ago, pre-Oliver, I had a pop-up camper in the bed of my F250 and was towing an off-road trailer through Pennsylvania on I-80. I was going 70 mph, light traffic and vehicle at a distance ahead of me in my lane and traffic passing on the left. The next thing the vehicle ahead of me was almost in my front bumper. The close rate was the snap of my fingers. An elderly women going 35 in a 70. I locked it up and some how managed to miss her by 6"+/-. Fortunately the car on my left saw this and hit the brakes to allow me to swerve. Same truck with my Oliver. I was lucky that day and know that today my F250 is safely towing my Oliver. Whether I could have stopped with the Oliver I will never know, but the truck would have given me a good chance.

We ordered our trailer in September 2015. I had a 2012 Tacoma which was just inside towing specs for the Oliver. A neighbor, who is an original Oliver owner, was hosting three Oliver owners passing through San Antonio in Jan 2016 for dinner. He invited us over. All of them told me my Tacoma was not a good TV and I should upgrade to a half ton. I resisted. We picked up our trailer in May 2016 and by July I was towing with a Ram 1500. They were right, I was stubborn and had to learn first hand why a correctly sized TV is important. I find myself now being one who gives advice and I always remember my stubbornness and that some folks learn best by doing not by just accepting advice from others. Mike

I agree, but am compelled to add: "And, how much risk you are comfortable taking." We use an Anderson WDH because the owners manual for our 2019 Tundra tow vehicle requires a WDH when towing over 5K lbs. This requirement is not enforced by police, but by insurance companies and courts should you ever be involved in a traffic accident while towing. As a retired attorney whose practice included defense of serious accident cases, I consider the Anderson WDH "cheap insurance" against the risk that I will be found at fault because I ignored Toyota's WDH requirement.

Day 36 on our trip, lunch at Mary’s Cafe Flagstaff, a must stop off I-40! We’ll be home in 2 hours. Raise the flag, first thing! Holiday dinner includes a tri-tip of Colorado beef! Sorry, if I’m not talking Mods it’s about the food! Today signals the first day of the 250th year of our great Nation! Celebrate the year. Best wishes to all and your families!

Great thanks, can an admin please transfer the relevant posts from the Dreiha Atmos thread that I believe started around here to this thread, thanks!

Happy 4th

👍🇺🇸

Years before I even considered buying a travel trailer, I witnessed a TV struggling with sway and since I wasn’t driving, I was able to focus on the entire event. In slow motion, from my point of view, the trailer eventually took control and rolled both vehicles over on the highway. They were just ahead and beside us and it was a real eye opener. Beyond that, I had a friend who killed her TV by towing up a steep incline, and it was a problem. I knew I wanted to travel in the mountains, so my decision was firm. Occasionally I hear comments about my “oversized” TV with my Oliver, but I drive with confidence in the match — no regrets!

After talking to an attorney friend it’s time to eat some crow and admit my mistake. The Oliver is an extremely well balanced trailer and I can get the truck and trl within all legal weight limits without the Anderson hitch, however, it was explained to me that vehicle oem’s install the class 3 hitch and derate it with the caveat of using a weight distribution hitch, he told me that there is no federal law to require me to use the wdh, however I could get in trouble on a state by state basis. so… after 8 yrs my options are, get an Anderson, or replace the class 3 hitch with a class 4, and replace my bumper to make it fit, I ordered an Anderson this morning. The next vehicle I order will be spec’s with a class 4 hitch, sometimes lessons learned can be embarrassing, but it happens🤷

I went ahead and started a thread for this Smart Thermostat. I just installed it for my Pioneer Inverter and it works like a charm. Fan shuts down with the compressor. A wonderful little gadget. Thank you folks for showing us this. All I did was use the USB port in the Ollie for power and it was a "Breez" to get connected. Thanks for schooling us on the comfort modes too.

This seems like a good thread to reinforce a certain logic when it comes to tow vehicles with regard to the LE2. Like a few others here have stated here, I have extensive prior experience towing trailers, to the tune of close to 50 years. This includes rather large livestock trailers and twin engine boat trailers, enclosed and flat bed cargo trailers all the way down to small motorcycle trailers. They all introduce significant challenges depending on the tow vehicle used. Over the years my overall observation in learning from the seasoned veterans along the way is that just enough truck is never enough and there’s no such thing as too much truck, within reason. I’ve pulled trailers that were on the margin of overloading trucks at times and know what that feels like. When people mention white knuckles and pucker factor as it applies to trailering, I’ve experienced firsthand understanding I was at risk on a few occasions. Similar to previous comments once you’ve been there, you always make a point to never let that happen again. When we began formulating our plan to purchase the Oliver, the choice of truck capacity was of little debate. Our previous camper was a 34’ standard with a super slide on one side. I chose a diesel crew cab dually for that rig, and it performed perfectly. For the Oliver I would be towing a couple thousand pounds less and significantly shorter, but I still wanted plenty of truck and decided to downsize to 350 crew cab short bed with a 7.3L gas engine. Still far above the margin of capacity, so a significant safety factor built into the choice. Best part is like others have mentioned, I don’t have the worry about what cargo I want to load into the truck. No white knuckles and no pucker factor. But most of all with the Oliver, we’re way below the need for a WD hitch and that’s important to me. A WD hitch is a way to compensate for when a trailer connects behind the rear axle and weighs in at near or more than the tow vehicle. It’s acceptably effective at restoring controllability to the tow vehicle, but introduces compromises in articulation and can add significant stresses to both vehicles when moving through uneven terrain. I really wanted to avoid the need to manage the rig through situations where I could be risking damage to vehicles or equipment during remote camping/ boon-docking destinations, etc. plus I just didn’t want the added complexity of hitching and unhitching. These kind of threads always generate “lively debate” and I guess that’s fine so that the inexperienced can read the many views people have and hopefully learn the key factors to consider regarding TV choice and safety considerations. If you choose plenty of truck, most of the discussion is just good general knowledge that you won’t have to worry much about. Long winded way of saying that I f someone is asking for my advice, always choose plenty of truck with an abundance of safety margin. Nobody ever complains about having too much truck, but many have learned through any number of experiences that just enough is often never enough. Cheers!😎

I don’t hear much about a 2500 gas powered 6.4 HEMI! We downsized from a RAM 2500 diesel to a RAM 2500 HEMI because of personal gripes with the diesel. In doing so we sacrificed a few MPGs, great low end torque, and the diesels excellent engine breaking. But the HEMI still has excess power, fantastic engine breaking, and it has 600-700 pounds more payload capacity than the diesel. This is due to the difference in the weight of the engines. Our overall mpg average is 11.5, and most of that is towing on winding mountain roads. We get up to 15 on flat highway. For the few extra mpg’s gained with the diesel, I don’t think we could ever reach fuel savings parity considering the 10k extra price tag for a diesel. For what’s it’s worth! Cheers! Geoff

We got to spend a nice week along the Salmon river. On the way home at a gas station I had a guy checking out our Oliver. He comes over and asks to see it. He says “it looks like one of the silver ones”, my first signal he has not looked at trailers much. He asked what they are priced at and I said “they start at 75” to which he said “7,500, that is not to bad” LOL…. I said no not 75 hundred 75 thousand. Clearly not understanding that 7,500 would not get you almost any trailer confirmed that while he can appreciate the Oliver he has no concept of the TT market. 😁

Happy 4th of July!

@STEVEnBETTY, it was wise to talk to an attorney and brave to admit you were wrong. We've been towing various trailers for 26 years. In our first year we had a combination that was marginal, within the specs but just barely. It was fine for many miles. Then one day, in the middle of a bridge, we got sway. Bad sway, all of a sudden. There's no question in your mind whatsoever when that oscillation starts. We were lucky not to wreck. Never towed with that setup again. It's not just the hitch. It's the brakes, transmission, weight of the TV, and wheelbase. They all factor in. For us now, better to size up and hope to never experience sway again.

Lots to celebrate today. Having lived in other countries it is clear to me that there’s no place like the US of A!

Not gonna touch this one! 🤣

We are wishing a Happy July 4th to all OTTO's! the Mossey's

David, Very Nice setup! The Little Giant fits perfectly in the "XPLOR" hangar. I just used a scaffold for the first time waxing the top of Ollie down to the top of the windows, it was so much safer, easier and faster than hanging off of a ladder.

I too don't like heights and ladders anymore. That looks like a very good setup. Since I already have a couple of ladders I will have to look into this setup.

Per the June 2 post in my Dreiha Atmos thread: “The following has been found beneficial in ‘Setpoint’ selection in Comfy Mode, but may be applicable with use of Comfy Max Mode, as well; TBD. It is important to know that a setpoint one or two degrees below the upper range of temperature selected will have the fan run more than the compressor prior to power shutdown; whereas a setpoint of three or four degrees will have the fan and compressor turn off in sync, and the outside blower fan runs a half minute or so before total shutdown of the unit.” I have tried it both ways and works as described.

Caulk only if/when the original caulk has failed. If so, remove the majority of the old caulk before applying a new bead. Caulk on old caulk, you’re not helping yourself.

Good suggestion! GJ

Traveling our longest trip ever, 5 weeks now, some 4600 miles Arizona to Minnesota and back. Chris and I have learned a lot. And for me, I've spent hundreds of hours in M&R and Mods on our wonderful Oliver and finally we're enjoying the fruits of my labor. 😂 Shopping and dinning in Telluride a couple of days ago, we stopped at a shop that carries, "Life is Good" products, a sentiment to which we truly believe! I'm not much for souvenirs or T-shirts that advertise where I've been, though I had to buy this shirt. It states nicely in two lines surrounding the image of a compass, perfect for all of us who wander, and It goes like this: "We do not see things as they are... We see things as we are." So I turned 70, far more careful today than I use to be 10 years. Left our AZ home one morning at 4:45 AM to return to Texas, sitting on the pass looking down on Van Horn TX, I thought WTF, let's go! After 1100 miles, by 1-2 AM I was home in Lakeway TX. This recent trip, my longest drive was 5 hours, average 3 hours. I know y'all understand! @STEVEnBETTY, I have no idea your ages, your life experiences, where you live, you training, where you've traveled in the last 8 years with your Oliver. I'd love to know, and I'm not picking on you alone. I believe and I'm sure you agree, all of this matters. You wrote, "I’m disappointed in hearing members on this forum, disparage people’s attempts to do something different." I agree, and very often are suspect to your criticism! I've been told that if I do not regularly re-apply caulk to my Oliver, that it will damage it and destroy its value. Sorry, I will never add caulk on this hull, uglied by OTT in its original manufacture and again gunk-on-gunk after two return trips to Hohenwald. But caulk is more important in humid and rainy locations. Point in life, current needs, home and travel locations, part or full-time OLiver use, makes all the differences. You know how many times I've heard that annual bearing and jack maintenance is mandatory? Sorry to those who believe such, but when I pack bearings or grease the jacks correctly (not an Oliver University video) it will certainly last 3-4 years. I can tell by ear when the jacks need maintenance! Those who do not work their own maintenance cannot know, must trust Manufacturer's Recommendations and be at the mercy of hired mechanics. Normal to ask questions, but then it's one suggestion after another. This creates more worry which creates more, I just purchased new D52 axles and Alcan springs, parts only, will do the work myself this summer. I did not need to, as our leaf springs are clean, rust-free, nicely arced, no issues. My primary want was in having 12" brakes for safe mountain towing. and make everything new, restored. I can afford the parts and do the work now, replacing a 10-year-old suspension with hopes of carefree use for another 10. Not for fear of a spring breaking, as for that I have a spare pair under the toolbox and all the tools I'd need to make the roadside repair. there are 26 pages of leaf springs recommendations listed on one post alone! Most Oliver owners cannot do this work at home, let alone if stuck on the road, so such concern is understandable. We all have different comfort levels. Love technology and my Oliver has more mods than most, yet not of the @ScubaRx fame! 🤣 Tesla has made EVs mainstream and EVs are amazing technology. We have a wonderful forum where we all voice opinion. So in my opinion, if I had to tow with an EV just on this recent trip, I would need to stop 2x more often and 10 times longer to recharge vs. refueling and would not have been able to boondock in many of the remote spots we visited or the same trip would have taken 1-2 weeks longer. OMG, boondocking means no electrical hookup and charging! 🤣 I'm going to stop now, but Steve, or is it Betty? I've gotten a kick out of this post! We can all read here and learn something, or at times we think to ourselves as we read and say to ourselves, "what, no way, that's nuts! I'm not doing that."

From where I’m standing, your caulking looks great! Mossey

Maybe so. But if my math is right, that means Iowa has about 4 times as many tornadoes per square mile. Yikes, Dorothy. Don't take Toto anywhere near Iowa.

Gary, I think I understand where your difficulty is coming from. My instructions are for the Orion 30 amp charger, which pre-dated the newly designed Orion 50 amp charger that’s different in several ways. I believe you are installing the newer 50 amp Orion. The first major difference is that the 50 amp charger is non-isolated, which means that the negative input and output use a common terminal. The 30 amp isolated Orion has separate terminals for the neg input & outputs. For the 30 amp, both the pos & neg wires from the TV go to the Orion’s respective pos & neg Inputs. The Orion’s neg output goes to the Oliver’s ground bus, and the pos output goes to the battery circuit main breaker via the new 60 amp fuse. With the 50 amp charger, you can run the TV neg to the ground bus, and a jumper from the ground bus to the Orion common neg. The pos connection is the same as the 30 amp. The second big difference is that the improved 50 amp charger is more efficient and it doesn’t have the significant overheating problems like the 30 amp Orion does. The 50 amp doesn’t need cooling fans, although they still have some benefit. If you choose to have fans, they are simply wired to the Orion’s pos & neg output so that their only energized when the Orion is charging. The thermo switch and 2 amp fuse are wired “in-line” with the fans pos wire. Let me know if a wiring sketch will be helpful. Hope that answers all your questions. Cheers! Geoff

It is hard to keep these installed. Mine have fallen out frequently. https://www.amazon.com/Dometic-50805-Cooktop-Grommets-Bumpers/dp/B0CVQR21J7/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1GPGYXQHK39RF&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.JI2EKEuUhw1bFGY-X-lN5c3xOL1GM4CFbe06SD-dZolvDwCx2RkTcIeeC2UdqhZxTurth90kQV9_x7u5S4_WKWbwDepGINMJ-RLyZF5uaYk4ix_3g20rLvECx6utcQ5RD2PXZwP_nJaFjRXkscGmBgqKMAA8mCojOGZaLP8vdVyBt_JBCLEnDVrJU04H5kx9yXu68rC1zRXbaAb4VEPU9Mi__Xk3vSjUtawmj_97YqHOiND3U2VCvSpBVF1MjoXDnL_syxvdZiDOO4o9mX2biEc3QNLGytKveUcZD_eLRzQ.OijaUViL8XERFhcMrI6SKb9OcHK8phijnx-V96W4efQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=dometic+grommet&qid=1751555584&sprefix=dometic+grommet%2Caps%2C151&sr=8-1

Thanks for your response Mike, I agree, there is more than one way to do things, just trying to give people options, not opinions. I really thought I’d get more push back, I pm’d bill Jones’s apologizing.😄😄

I share your disappointment when owners get into personal comments. Truck discussions, unfortunately, can be contentious leaving no room for alternate viewpoints. I am aware of a number of owners towing with a half ton and no Andersen. I’m interested in the experiences one of our new members will have towing with an EV. I’ve towed our Oliver well over 100K miles. About half of that was with a 2500 (no WDH)and half with 1500’s/Tacoma (with WDH). Only 5K on the Tacoma, it was adequate but very limiting (payload, range without refueling, braking/acceleration, etc). The half tons (both Ram 1500 5.7L) towed the Oliver with ease. Mountain towing proved more challenging for both braking and having the high RPM’s going uphill. I still needed to be concerned with payload. The 2500 with the 6.7L Cummins is an entirely different experience. Level towing is effortless with the engine barely above idle RPMs. Mountain towing is much better, very little braking going downhill (exhaust brake is wonderful) and uphill it may downshift to get RPMs up to 2500, but nowhere near the 4500+ of the half ton V8. I get the about the same mileage in the 2500 as I did in the 1500s. The bed is bigger, interior is bigger, and it feels much more stable. We were camping in AZ and went by a Mesquite lumber store south of Tucson. I bought a fair amount of mesquite planks for some projects. Loaded them up in the 2500 along with our camping stuff and didn’t have to worry about the extra weight. Not possible with the 1500s, we were always near our cargo limit. Diesels are more expensive to buy and maintain but for us and the amount of towing we do it is worth it. As the title of this thread states, you don’t need a 3/4 ton truck to tow your Oliver. You might not even need a WDH on your half ton depending on how it is configured. It comes down to personal choice. Mike

I'm sorry, but you miss the big picture. It isn't about driving 90K+ miles without problems. It is about your tow vehicle requiring the use of a WD when towing over a certain weight and the Oliver is over that weight. It is about making a high speed stop to avoid stopped traffic or to avoid being cut off and taking evasive action. If you total your tow vehicle and Oliver there is a high probability that you insurance may decline your claim, when their investigation uncovers you weren't using the required WD. Worse yet, what if you kill someone or put them in a wheel chair and you insurance carrier declines to cover the claim. The other party will go after you in court. I hope that never happens to you. I'm sorry but this appears to be a bit risky, and others that have responded to you and others are pointing out their concerns. In the end you will do or continue to do what you want. I leave you with this question. "Is it worth the risk to loose everything".

How did you deal with the squat on the F150 ? I towed ours home from the previous owner about 300 miles ( no Andersen) ……. my F150 was nose up and ass down it was miserable driving

You can have Amazon packages sent General Delivery to a nearby Post office. Amazon has these for the Dometic stovetop for about $12: https://a.co/d/exuedxY Geoff

Why not? If you look up the specs on class 4 or 5 hitches it’s right there, my guess is manufacturers are leery of specking class 4 hitches because people don’t know how to weigh their equipment and overload their rear axle.

Got back from dinner and the Host had changed the entrance sign to “FULL.” Got here at 12:30 and after we quickly setup camp, a neighbor stopped by and said, “You got the best site, #12. A trailer pulled out just before noon.” We’re sitting at 9,550 FT and not a bad view for our last two nights before heading back to AZ!

We like to stay at Ridgway State Park which is in the same area. Great location to explore Ouray, Telluride and even Silverton (nice drive down 550). We’ll be back in Colorado in August! Mike

LOVED the Black Hills! I must learn what makes the stone black. Need to make another trip here to get deeper into the hills. Rapid City though is certainly a tourist-trap but Mt. Rushmore makes it all worth it. What a wonderful celebration of America! Chris and I have wanted to come here all of our lives. We had a great FS site booked just 10 minutes away, but it got into the 90s and needed electric to run the A/C. While eating donuts in our truck at Wall, I made a same-day reservation at Holy Smoke Resort just north of Keystone. It all worked out. We waited 'til after 5PM due to the heat and then hiked the Presidential Trail. We really wanted to see the night ceremonies but during June they start late at 9PM. So we went to dinner at the Powder House Lodge and returned just before nine. It was great, Bison Filet for Chris and Bison Stew for me, yum! Both the daylight and nighttime visits to Mt. Rushmore were something we will always remember. They ended with a salute to our Veterans, who were called on stage and the rest of us were clapping loudly, for a long, long time. Yes, thank you to our Vets! 😂

Comparison of Anderson and Beech Lane Leveling systems: The majority of our camping is in Federal and State Parks. We use the Camco leveling chock system, should not have said blocks earlier, for raising the Ollie's low side with rubber mats underneath to prevent slipping, Then chock the high side. When we purchased the leveling system, read reviews about slippage on hard surfaces like concrete and asphalt, so started using rubber mats underneath. The Camco Leveling Chock system we use, photo taken several years ago when we still had BF Goodrich LT tires mounted on Ollie:

Lot of good points made here, have not thought of putting TV in neutral to let it settle but on more than one occasion have discovered there is a tension between TV and Oliver based upon how the last movements went, usually from backing up with a significant turn. What I always do now is take the tension away from the two by pulling forward usually a few inches or a foot max will do while straightening the TV front wheels. Some ground can be difficult to read the slope certainly and in this case front and back chocks work well. Like a few of you I have always taken a big rubber mallet and pound the crap out of those things so they are in tight both for rubber chocks as well as the Anderson leveling blocks. As for the X Chocks the company warns they are not meant to hold the camper in place, only to stabilize it once setup claiming the device is not strong enough to hold most campers steady. That said I have no doubt a lot of people use them in this manner. Good luck in the future

OK - let's see if we can narrow this down a bit. The "jack blocks" generally will not have anything to do with the trailer moving in the manner you describe. If blocks are not placed flat on the ground (i.e. they are on edge) then some slight movement could occur. But, with the Andersens shape and size this would be very rare if even possible. The Andersen "ramp levelers" are another story though. Obviously, even on flat ground, the curved shape of the Andersen levelers will cause those levelers to move unless the chock part of the system in put firmly in place. I also use the Andersen levelers and early on I started carrying a rubber mallet and use that to give those red chocks a tap to make sure that they are firmly set. I also use this mallet to set the regular chocks on the opposite side of the Ollie. This is not only safer, but it is much easier on the hands or feet that I used to use to try to firmly set the chocks. Finally, Rideandfly's recommendation of letting the Ollie "settle" with the TV in neutral is a good one. Bill

John Dorrer: The same thing happened to me once on my relatively flat driveway. It scared the bee-jeebies out of me for a moment. In my scenario there was a slight decline to the right of the Oliver. Afterwards I investigated and believe that the problem was the way I placed the chocks. I placed the chocks behind each of the Olivers back wheels. Then as the tongue came up and off of my truck there was nothing to keep the Ollie wheels from coming forward. The tongue came up and then moved about 10" suddenly to the right (towards the Ollie's right). I believe that my Oliver "pivoted" on the right rear chock and because there wasn't anything on the left side to keep it from going forward.... it did. Since then, I have put my 4 chocks front and back on each side. It keeps both sides of the Oliver planted in place. I also think that because I was on my concrete driveway...and maybe the hard plastic chocks didn't "grip" on my concrete well ... it was a scenario that allowed the Oliver to move even quicker than it might have on a gravel camp-site.

So far it's great! Others on here have used them for thousands of miles. I have the Super Duty model, and I added the foam fender cushion, EZ Pull, and long ramp options. After we get back from this short outing, I'm going to order a couple of sets of folding or quick-disconnect pedals for additional clearance.

I installed a Reese Towpower 81378 bumper hitch yesterday. It isn't the prettiest thing. But many reviews of this style receiver had reports of bad welds, with a couple of instances of complete failures while on the road. (Nothing left of a bike rack with bikes except the bolted down plate.) I chose this one because I don't trust welds on cheaply made products, and it was the only one that I could find that had the base plate wrap up around the receiver. So if the weld fails, there's still a ring of the bolted plate hanging on. Attached with 1/2" stainless fasteners designed for high pressure applications. *If* the local bike shop gets their act together and has our new e-bikes ready before Sunday, we will be testing this setup soon.