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So, tonight we met cousins at a favorite pizza place. Also a harvest host site. Midcounty, Largo. Surprise! A newer Oliver in rhe lot. Our server said they were very sweet folks, had been in earlier. I left a note in the door handles. Florida plates. No tv in sight. Probably out exploring on a lovely 70+ degree night.

Forgot, Electrican found the issues with my temp issue. The sensor and Elite 1 is behind the front speaker in the corner. Unpluged the sensor, blew out with canned air and reinstalled it and it works fine. Thinks it might have been a bad connection from the get go. Who know, it works now and that's all that matters. Thanks guys for trying to help. Appreciate it.

Nope! The spare tire housing was originally designed to fit a 15 incher. But Oliver changed to 16 inch tires at some point and never got around to changing that housing - this includes both the exterior cover and the indent in the two outside molds. However, Oliver was again "forced" to change back to a 15 inch tire due to supply issues thus making a possible change to the molds unnecessary. So, My spare is a 15 incher and the other four "running" tires are 16 while the newer Ollies are 15 inch all around (including the spare). I'm sure that someone has those exact dates of change (ScubaRx maybe) but it is easy to see which spare you have. Bill p.s. perhaps it is understandable concerning the spare tire issue when you know that a single exterior main body mold costs something in excess of $2,000,000.00 to fabricate. I'm guessing that a change to that mold might cost a bit less but then you've got to consider the cost of taking it out of production while the change is being made to it.

On our 2015 LE2 a 225X75X16 tire will not fit in our spare tire housing, so I installed a 225/75/15 Goodyear ST spare, same tire that Oliver now installs as standard. Oliver said the fiberglass tire housing on the 2015 LE2 a 225/75/15 tire would fit. My 2015 Ollie came with a 215/60/16 spare tire. Here's some research done on spare tires: As far as towing level, I'm starting at 23 1/4" from top of the ball, our TV settles about 2" with Ollie connected, the F350 rear end is still higher than the front with Ollie connected, with Ollie looking close to level. Our Ollie towing experience has been very stable with original 5200lb axles and original Dexter 5 leaf springs.

We had a 2024 F-150 5.0L that did not have the maximum tow package, when connecting Ollie had too much rear end TV sag. I installed the Timbren Rear Suspension enhancement system and got rid of the sag with Ollie connected, but it was a firm ride with Ollie connected. Installed rear differential airbags on two tow vehicles and really liked that system when towing Ollie, small adjustments can be made with air pressure adjusting rear end sag.

We had the same mattress Mike pictured above when we purchased our Oliver used. I didn't think "heavy and firm" but more so squishy, like you would sink into the foam, but who knows they could have been up to 8 years old. I did not want to spend on custom mattresses and shipping. We went with our local Brooklyn Bedding made in Phoenix AZ. We've driven down to their plant to pickup the Cali-King bed we have at home but the all foam mattresses ship at no additional cost. We went with two singles 30x75", removed the stitching on one corner and cut a radius with an insulation to fit the curved end (used cardboard to model the shape). We went with the 10" for medium firmness but it's actually nicely firm for me, at times a little to firm for Chris but she has gotten used to it. A 4-6" mattress is better for sitting, and the taller you go your heads may hit the cabinets when sitting! They are heavy but I've added electric water valves and moved all fuses and switches to under the dinette. Chris stands them on their sides to fit sheets and I will remove a mattress, stand it up at the pantry when I'm servicing anything underneath. There's a lot to think about re the sizing depending on how you use the area. We sit up to watch TV or read a book, I sit up with my laptop but we do not regularly use our sleeping area as a daytime living area. These are the products we use in our sleeping area: https://rvmattress.com/products/brooklyn-wanderlust-memory-foam/rv-bunk-30x75-10-inch https://www.amazon.com/Retrospec-Sequoia-Yoga-Bolster-Pillow/dp/B092DYYR5W/?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Sofia-Sam-Purpose-Supports-Laptops/dp/B013KHAIKQ/

In 2020 Oliver did not offer lithium batteries so either you have a special model or someone has taken the camper back in to the factory for an upgrade. The 2020s did not offer a solar disconnect or a battery disconnect. I have modified my 2020 to add lithium and replaced a lot of the older equipment. That location does look like where the wiring from the solar panels would be located, so that would be my guess too, the solar disconnect.

I suggest you replace the breaker with a quality Blue Sea Systems 285-Series Surface Mount component.

Assuming you have Lithionics batteries, there is a battery shutoff switch on top of the actual battery that acts similar to a battery disconnect switch as it shuts down the batteries. I always make sure the solar switch is shut off when I shut down the batteries because I have concerns that incoming solar charging will damage the solar charge controller if the batteries are shut off.

Many thanks. Great points. I'll learn and tune with the current trailer suspension and upgrade if needed in the future. My history is 17 years with a single axle Casita Freedom Deluxe (w/bathroom). Tandem axle and Andersen is a learning experience. I will investigate the signature as you suggested - thank you. Sam

Yes it does! And it is good you are taking the time to figure it all out. Traditional towing wisdom is that it is always best to have your trailer "level" (parallel to the ground) while towing. One can err a little having the front slightly low, but front higher than level is to be avoided for stability reasons. If you have a long flat surface to hitch up your TV and trailer, "level" just means that they are in plane with each other and the ground. You can measure the Oliver seam joint fore and aft to the ground (as you did) to see if they are equal (or check by measuring the frame to ground). Then check your TV to be sure it's not squatting in the rear. It should be sitting parallel to the ground as well. Trailer adjustments are made at the hitch, TV adjustments can be made by adding airbags or adjusting your WDH. Best to start getting your TV level. Just standing back and looking at the TV/trailer hooked up will tell you a lot. Just a caution that adding airbags to your TV does not increase your rated payload capacity! Make your trailer and TV so they are on parallel planes, that is the goal, with a slight nose down being acceptable if that is all you can tune into the system. It is never perfect, but getting it as close as you can goes a long ways to increasing your safety, and others around you on the road. Check out the Robert Pepper video. He has many videos on rigging and trailer setups that are extremely valuable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeEEC5eVNCk Good luck, Dave

Including the spare tire? Ron, please verify size. According to what Bill @topgun2 wrote, that wouldn’t be possible. And thanks to our other Bill @rideandfly for the link to the spare tire thread. I have 5 identical 16” wheels so I’ll replace my spare tire with the same LT215/70R16 size I have or something very close to the smaller diameter.

Good point about the different tire diameters. I’ve always viewed the 23.5” as a ‘ballpark’ height to shoot for when fitting a ball hitch to a TV. I prefer hitches with one-inch increment for adjustment to better reach a targeted height and then the rear air bags to dial in the best towing level. I find 25 psi and 35 psi with my Air Lift LoadLifter setup for a good ride and tow, respectively. I also installed Bilsteins on the Savana after reading your praise on them, huge improvement!

Excellent info, thanks John

Hmmm? Is my spare something a prior owner changed? Ron has a 2020 and Sam a 2025. Asking @topgun2 and @Mike and Carol who have 2016 hulls: Are your 5 tires all the same size? It would be great if I could replace my spare with LT225/75R16 if it fits inside the fiberglass surround. Our spare tire is as old as the trailer but I believe it's been replaced, since a P-rated RWL tire that doesn't seem to be OEM. Replacing the spare has been bottom of my list because if/when we get a flat, I would more likely park/detach the trailer, remove the wheel and run it down the road for repair.

Yes, working this installation today! Wish temps would be a little better, high of only 45F today (furnace ON) but al least it's another sunny day in Arizona. I'm hoping the remaining snow will soon melt off the top, or we're brushing off snow first. Also, I do plan on measuring total height so that I know what bridge heights we can travel through. Our hull is likely already 1/2 - 1" taller due to the Alcan Springs. I'll also measure height of the body at the wheels. With the Furrion being 3.25" taller and some additional spring height, we should be about 4" taller overall. Thanks, I'll add to this post with installation pics and measurements. 😎

Will you be making a thread on the installation of the chill cube for those of us that want to follow along ? and once you get it on the roof we would like to know the final increase in height above the stock dometic unit !

I’m going into my second year with the Tochta Utopia 8” in hull 997. All good, paired with Froli underlayment. I weight 230, my wife half that, we’ re both sold on this combination. The Froli is able to be fine-tuned for the level of cushion. Both Tochta & Froli are worthy choices.

All 5 are the same size

That is the solar disconnect in our 2022.

One more thought on the subject. Understand that western snow is dry… normally. By that I mean it isn't usually the wet heavy icy stuff so prevalent back east or down south when they rarely get it. What this means is the driving conditions even with snow packed roads are a much different critter than wet ice packed roads. Not saying anyone shouldn't be cautious under these conditions but the differences in driving on dry snow roads is night and day different than back east… the vast majority of the time. It's not uncommon to be on the interstates with snow packed roads and people are still going 70+ MPH out here on the Montanabon. Wyoming is no different. All of the western states are very diligent about plowing too and what doesn't get scraped off either evaporates or melts in fairly short order. There will always be icy spots especially in the shade of cliffs, trees etc but it's truly amazing how fast the remnants after plowing evaporate even in cold temps. Just be cautious and take your time or grab a motel room for the night, or two

Cool App. thanks for the post. For a newer owner to complete, from my Ollie Keeper Info document, below is the tire info for the 2019 (16" rims) for half the info needed to see what the delta in height will be: Factory Tires: Michelin Defender LTX MS2, LT225/75R16 Light Truck 80 PSI 10 Ply Rated, 10-Ply E Rated, Speed Rating R (106 MPH) Use cold 40 PSI on Paved Roads. 25 - 30 PSI off road Load Index =115R Load Rating 2680# Max Press. Cold: 80 PSI. GJ

I'm with you on this line of thinking. Years of use without issues reported. Now there is an instance, one reported issue, only in test of a brand new battery. What we don't know is if BB changed their build process, or did a supplier in China change/cheapen the process in one one or more battery components?

Too bad they went cheap on the wheels! But 15" vs. 16" wheels is only an 1/2" height difference. But of course height is dependent on the tire profile. What is the tire profile on the 15s? We have LT225/75R16 tires on our trailer. A tire 1/2" taller in profile on 15s can equal the height on 16s! When upgrading wheels & tires, I use this app often to compare tire sizes: https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

Yes, D52 on the axle label means 5200 LB axles, the 5-bolt brake backing plate, 12" brakes, etc. Newer Olivers have D52 axles. Yours likely has 1750 LB springs and if so your label should say CAPACITY: 3500 LBS. My label is on custom ordered axles where OEM our trailer had 4-bolt D35 axles. Since Dexter new from Alcan that 2750 LB springs would be installed, my axles are labeled CAPACITY: 5200 LBS. Your upgrade should be leaf springs only when you want your Oliver towing more firmly down the highway!

Ron and JD: The above 23.5" to 25" recommendation was for our older trailers with the larger wheel diameter. Sam's 2025 trailer I believe has 15" rims. So likely the target is not the same as those with 16" tires. I also agree that a bit low on the front of Ollie is also advantageous, especially out west were speeds tend to be higher. I agree with both JD and Dave that for setting up the systems for travel.... Stand back and take a gander. For those of us with older F-150's, we have found that a pair of Bilstein 5100's shocks and air bags on the rear axle have made a wonderful improvement in our driving experiences. GJ

Welcome Sam! Please add a signature, when you have the time, and we all would love more of your input on our great OTT Forum. I went through similar thoughts when we started towing our Oliver a couple years ago. Our tow vehicle is borderline on requiring the WDH, but the user manual does state to us one when hitch weight is >500 LBS or trailer >5000 LBS. I believe set the Bulldog at the height OTT recommends as Ron stated above. When I hitch the Oliver, the rear of our truck drops 2". Checkout my pics. First is hitched and second is adding the Andersen WDH tightened correctly. You can see in the second pic a good level front bumper of TV to rear bumper of TT! But yes, the WDH does add lots of stress at the ball for sure and likely elsewhere. In two years, 135 overnights and 15K+ miles, I've only felt comfortable with WDH attached. Without it the under-sprung Oliver will waddle through intersections and porpoise over bumps and dip. Until... Recently, I upgraded adding Alcan Leaf Springs rated at 2750 LBS each vs. the OEM 1700. The difference is night and day. I haven't beefed up the TV rear suspension at all, it's just that now the trailer suspension is handing the trailer and not moving the TV all over the road, like the tail waggin' the dog! 🤣 Our Andersen WDH is now in storage, until somebody wants to buy one. Better springs will likely give you what you want. It's not whether your hitch is up or down an inch or tension +/- on the Andersen. The other thing is ALL Oliver Owners should purchase is the LevelMatePRO (get the PRO model which can be wired directly, no battery changes needed). Find the most level place you can park, set the 3 stabilizer jacks and get as level as possible (us a sight level in many places like you've down). Then you go through calibration steps on the app. I wired my PRO model out-of-sight, under the rear dinette seat where 12VDC is easily available. We use it every time we're parking the Oliver. I turn the app on from the driver's seat to get the best possible spot. Then Chris get's out and places the Andersen Rapid Jacks under the correct side (when needed). I roll up, set the parking brake, and we're done! 😎

I think Oliver recommends the distance from ground to top of ball at the Bulldog coupler to be 23.5”.

I'm with TopGun2 and Mike & Carrol in using a minimalist approach. JD's approach is a good start for cleaning up the cabling and that's good too. If you want to do a 100% upgrade to current technology then there are 2 in 1 Charger/Converter units, computer interfaces with gizmology way over my Pea Brain. So I'll leave it to you to respond back as to your goal. Several of us though like keeping things simple. Personally I LIKE have seperate charging and inverter systems. The combo units, best one is Victron's, is in our opinion overkill in the gizmology zone. Have a blip and you could lose both 120V and 12V capability. Is our world if we lose one, we are still in business in many ways. I suspect that our 2019 hulls were built with the same PD Converters. They likely have the same LI switch that can work with many Lithium Battereis. If you are in the less is better group, then reusing the Converter is a good cost reduction... if you have the switch on the PD mother board. Below is one of my DIY's on this topic. Up to about two or three years ago, the #1 Litho battery was the Dragon Engergy Battleborn's. Now as stated above thee are some higher power density units with good quality too. Finally, if you desire info for minimalist approach, you for sure need a way for keeping track of your SOC. If so, send me a PM and I can provide you with some handy info. So, welcome to the OTT Family and good luck in your project. Geronimo John Progressive Dynamics PD4045 LiCSV Upgrade.docx

Both @topgun2 and I have installed dual 230Ah LiTime (w/o BT) LFPs and I myself am very pleased with the performance of these batteries. We both have posts of our respective installations for you to glean.

Just got 2 230 amp hr Litime with blue tooth. Charged 1 to 100%. Will do other tommorrow

Some of what is necessary depends on what solar controller you have. We have Bluesky, so I had to do some reprogramming which was fairly simple to do. We replaced our four AGM batteries with three BattleBorn 100Ah batteries. We did do some wire/cable cleanup, but it was not difficult. 300Ah has been plenty for us when we’re camping without shore power. As Bill suggests, do a search, there’s been a lot of information posted on lithium upgrades. Mike

Gene - There are a bunch of posts here on the Forum about anything ranging from minimal (me) to substantial Li overhauls that were done by anything ranging from rank novices (me) to certified professional outfits. Have fun reading! Bill

@Gene G. Most here have gone to Epoch (15% OFF ended yesterday! 🙃) or LiTime. Search for these keywords. Install new batteries, get rid of extra wires in bay in preference of new internal busses. Change charger configuration or replace charger for LiFePO4 type. That’s all. I installed 600 Ah Epoch summer of 2024. Just purchased on sale another 300 Ah Epoch Essential and soon we will have 900 Ah snug in the bay! 😎

Right that, a sofa/couch compromise! If my KTTs ever become too firm for my ‘old’ bones, I’ll try a memory foam topper for a softer comfort level. To your point about being thick (8”) and heavy latex, I stand them on edge to cover with the bottom sheet and install Bed Scrunchies, as well as accessing the hatch areas.