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We had the 4 leaf alcans put on in October and they are a great upgrade. They also gave me the extra leaves in case I wanted to add them in the future. I also replaced shocks and equalizer at the same visit an it only took Alcan 3 hours. Craig

I had ALCAN upgrade my axles a few months after I had their springs installed. I dropped off around 8:00 and they were done at 10:00. Enough time for breakfast and a stroll around Bass Pro Shop! Mike

Mike, we did the same thing with just the five leaf spring upgrade. We had breakfast, but walked around town. Lots of street art. Lew's team is great. John

Springs Ordered: I talked with Lew for quite a long time today. He cannot believe how many Olivers they're doing these days. They try to keep at least one set of springs on the shelf at all times for Ollies. Mine will ship next week. All they need to do is create the 9/16" x 3" U-bolts. I told him on my way out West, someday, I'll have them slap on the 5200 lbs axles too. LOL. He just said give them some lead-time. I think Lew convinced me to just stay with the 5-leaf set, but also said I can simply remove the bottom leaf if I wish, no big deal. And when someone asks, Lew did say they recommend always leaving 20% of max spring capacity for "wiggle room". So: 4-leaf springs x 4 = 9,000 lbs - 20% (1800 lbs) = 7,200 lbs 5-leaf springs x 4 = 11,000 lbs - 20% (2200 lbs) = 8,800 lbs You would definitely want to upgrade the axles before hitting 7100+ lbs. LOL

Thanks everyone for the info, and thanks to @Galway Girl for the picture of the 4-leaf spring. I just don't see having any issues with either the 4 or 5-leaf springs, especially since I pack light. The 4-leaf set is so much heavier duty than the stock Dexters already, that 2,000 pounds over max axle rating is certainly enough.... although, if I do upgrade to the 5200 lb axles, I'd be ready with the 5-leaf springs at 11,000 lbs rating. Dang it. Decisions, decisions. I'll be putting in my order soon, either way. Tim @ Alcan said they are about 6 to 8 weeks out from shipping. They're getting popular. I also confirmed with Tim that the splined wet bolts should indeed fit tight into the splined shackles. The first set of springs I helped replace did not come with any splined shackles, that did seem old since we had splined wet bolts, but we had to complete the job that day to get back on the road. I will confirm when I receive my springs. PS. I have plans to upgrading my truck to a 2500 as well, taking care of any lingering porpoising going over bridges, and getting rid of that damn Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch. I want to carry more tools and supplies, and add a cap to the truck. I'm pushing my weight limit now with Decked drawers full of tools currently in the truck. Cheers for now. Retirement is sooooo damn close, I can taste it.

I found the OEM springs to be under-sprung, too soft for the near 7K top-heavy load of the Oliver. Mine used to waddle left and right and porpoise up and down at the hitch. I needed the WDH to keep the Oliver in control when towing. With our suspension upgrade, both D52 axles and HD Alcan leaf springs, the Oliver is towing straight and even, no more waddling, no porpoising. The tow vehicle suspension no longer has to compensate for the weaker trailer suspension. So cool. 😎

The shocks are bulldog shocks. Bulldog HD Shock Absorber Replaces 555001 For Trailer Leaf Spring Retro Kit They were ordered on-line for around $145 from 4 state trucks. 19-050000007: Bulldog HD Shock Absorber Replaces 555001 For Trailer Leaf Spring Retro Kit

Chris: I positively think that your choice is the best Alcan option for the vast majority of OE2 owners looking to have a reasonable ride with the best springs. I like that they hedged the bet with giving you the fifth leaf just in case you go wild and jump into the 10%er's team. Our Ollie is out west in the mountains a lot. Since I just this past year changed to the heavier higher rated Dexter's, I'll likely just go with the 5200's to get the 12" brakes, but will stick with the Dexters as they are already installed. GJ PS what shocks did they use?

Yes - I'd try all of the other possible solutions before going down this road. But, it you have mold under there you might try spraying a bit of diluted bleach in order to kill it. Bill

I'm reading this like it's slowly filling on its own, without the foot pedal valve being actuated, when pressurized by City Water. Extreme calcification is likely the cause and what Bill @topgun2 mentioned, some kind of vinegar decalcification process is necessary throughout your plumbing system, and also clean the filter at the water pump, soak all faucet aerators in CLR, etc. But at this point, you have your toilet fill valve crusted up enough so it will not fully seal. Looking at the picture it's hard to know if it is a serviceable unit. If not you will need to replace it with something like this: https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Dometic/DOM93FR.html Your first step is to get off City Water. Fill your fresh tank and use your water pump. This way when the pump is OFF it will not fill the toilet bowl! This would get you home or give you time for the repair. Then when you can, remove the foot pedal and the valve. See if it can be disassembled for cleaning or read the part number for correct replacement.

I just received my quote from Alcan Springs for hull #110. Not including shipping or taxes it's around $1065.00. I still need to confirm my U-Bolt size, likely 9/16" (confirmed). I know they are 3" wide. The info below is likely in other threads, sorry for repeating, but here are the weight/load specs between the springs. 4-Leaf: 2250 x 4 = 9,000 lbs 5-leaf: 2750 x 4 = 11,000 lbs Does anyone have pics of the 4-leaf springs? I figure the second leaf extends way out like the 5-leaf springs - not sure. I have already installed a 5-leaf set on a friend's Oliver, so I know what to expect there. There is really little to no price difference Tim said at Alcan, between 4 or 5 leaf springs. I do find it difficult to believe that we'd see an more wear & tear between 4 or 5 leaf springs. I've seen the thick steal used per leaf.

Hi all, my apologies if this is answered somewhere, but in doing a search , I couldn't find it. I went to Les Schwab to get chains for our 2017 Ford Expedition and because our vehicle has 275/55R20, he recommended tire socks for the drive wheels instead of chains. They go on fast and were developed in Norway. He recommended the same for two tires of the four on an LE2. I don't think we will need them this Fall coming back from the rally, but I was warned that if you don't have some traction devices for the trailer, you can get fined. We will be coming back in November through Colorado and Wyoming. My question is what are you all using? Does anyone have experience with tire socks? Thanks. John

I'll be upgrading to Nev-R-Lube axles at some point this year and will be going with the Alcan 4 leaf spring pack too. Glad to know they give you the extra leaf, though I doubt I'll ever need them.

Appreciate the photo and good move to replace the shocks & equalizer, too. I checked with Tim and Alcan's spring wet bronze bushings are 1 ¾” wide 13/16” OD x 9/16” ID, compared to my Dexter's 5200lb 1 3/4" wide 11/16" OD X 9/16" ID spring wet bronze bushings, Alcan's wet spring bronze bushings have a thicker wall. I like our Dexter's 5200lb 12" brake drums, too.

Haven't we had this discussion? (And ours is closer to 7K GTW.)

We don't use e-bikes (hoping somebody else would comment). If you have the fat-tire kind you'd be good to get around town. Lot's of dirt, sand and gravel and a paved service road from Dome Rock to town. I would think it would be easier to get around vs. parking a truck at the big tent.

Chris, most of us went with the 5-leaf version. I'm VERY happy with them! The HD springs create a much better towing experience where the WDH is not longer needed for me.

I think that I've mentioned this before - Before one turns into Camp Hale off the main highway, be sure to stop in a turnout and look at the ponds located right by the road - there is a family of beavers in those ponds that can often be seen doing their "beaver thing" here. Bill

Sold our Bigfoot Class-C for an Oliver! Their trailers are very popular, especially in Canada. I was on their forum for 3 years, added inverter/solar and other mods to our BF. The one and ONLY reason to own a Ram is to tow behind a Cummins! Hemi 1500 not. 🙃 Our range is 500+ miles, 400 fully loaded, towing on mountain roads, based on using 30 of a 35 gal tank. Take 50A charge from campsite for free? Not cool. We camp 2 of 3 nights without hookups. Agree with @taylor.coyote re range anxiety. Finally with 900 Ah LiFePO4 house batteries we have no SOC anxiety! Fill up the TV tank, have two 30+ gal water tanks full, waste tanks empty, no worries for 7-10 days in the wild! 😎

I saw this combo going north on 5 yesterday! Searching google for it led me here. We have a Silverado EV with 450 miles of EV range / 225 miles towing our 7500lb Bigfoot 25’. We’re currently on BLM land near Death Valley. Coming from Ram 1500 Hemi you’d be surprised, the range differences to gas aren’t that big. In a pinch you can even “fill up” via a 50A RV park, sometimes for free! And the torque / braking power are unreal! We fly up hills and down them again, barely touching the brakes. You gotta try it to understand.

Easiest way I found to fish the walls is by using a long length of ball chain and a magnet. Used this method recently to add a fan switch circuit to my ac unit. Pushed the chain with a small piece of wood from the AC opening until I heard fall over edge of the curve in the roof. Then used a magnet taped to the end of a short piece of romex to retrieve it from above the cabinet. Used this same method a while back to fish a coax between the hulls for a new TV antenna too. Kits like this are available on Amazon and the included flexible magnet would probably work better than a magnet on the end of romex does.

One Epoch Essentials 460 Ah will fit in the tray, but two will not fit even without the sliding tray (too wide). You’re better off with two 300s, for more power, redundancy, etc. Yes, it’s a bit more money than one 460. It would also allow you to go to three someday for a total 900 Ah! 😎

Great advice, and the reason we travel with a sizable dual zone cooler; mostly intended for overflow, but on rare occasion as a backup!

In my experience, don't get complacent. Your 2017 probably has a dometic. The bang it/push method may last a few months, or a year. For us, off and on, one six month camping season. At this point, please consider what type of fridge you want as a replacement, and do the swap off season. Then again, you might just be lucky, and some erosion on the panel knocked off. Just be prepared. Coolers, at ready.

The FWT drain is at best slow draining given the design constraints of the system. One issue that can make it much worse is when bits of plastic end up inside the tank from drilling the various holes and not meticulously cleaning it out before installing. I have had these bits bunch up at the tank outlet and at the drain valve. When I added my new water supply draw tube, I cleaned and vacuumed out the tank best I could, and cleaned out the drain valve while I was in there as well. Now, not really wanting to go through that all over again, if it seems plugged up, I'll take my air compressor and blow up the outflow tube (30psi is good) into the tank. This usually clears the occlusions long enough to let the tank drain more normally, which is still slower than I'd like. Hope that works for you. Dave

Jucy's is OK. A much better burger can be found at Bubba's Fat Burgers in Gilmer, TX. My local go to.

You said that last year! 🤣 Will we see you next week in Live Oak? We'll be on site 10 again.