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In addition to your awing decision. We would strongly recommend NOT TO INSTALL THE RAIN GUTTER ADHESIVE STRIP under the awing. We found its primary function is to capture debris that makes a big mess on your roof. We removed our gutters several years ago and let the water drain down the side of the trailer with no issues. If you wish, you can install gutters over the windows. We live in a rainy climate on the pacific coast and are much happier without any gutters. Without gutters, you will find it much easier to keep your trailer clean. And congratulation on your purchase. We hope you enjoy your Oliver as much as we have.

Apparently the answer is a "qualified" - yes. However, I've never actually observed an Oliver in what I term "really rough terrain". Perhaps there just might be some "definition" issues of what is really meant by really rough terrain but when things get to the point of possibly damaging my Oliver - I simply bail out and refuse to proceed. I do not take these situations as a challenge to be overcome. I'd rather park the Ollie and then take the truck with its 4 wheel drive out into the more "interesting" stuff. Having said this - I do believe that there have been a handful of owners that have tested the limits of our Ollies. I'd guess that at least a few of these owners then decided that they agree with your statement about not having a "off-road suspension" and/or other accoutrements of trailers actually designed for the serious off-road crowd and swapped the Oliver for something they thought to be better suited for what they wanted to do. Bottom line for me is that the Oliver is robust enough to get me to all of the places I've ever wanted to go and sure does beat any other RV I've ever owned in this regard. I really do not enjoy traveling at speeds of between 2 an 5 miles an hour (I can just about walk that pace) while at the same time being concerned about what is going on inside Twist, worrying about a rock putting a nice gouge in its side, etc.. But, if that kind of activity is what "floats someone else's boat" and they have the coin to fix whatever damage occurs because of it then I say have at it - but - be careful. Bill

Not all Oliver TTs use the same axle. Our older hull was fitted with a 50" bracket length and most others have 50.5" (note the 50.00 marking on my labels). Since the axles on our Oliver were unique, Alcan took a picture of my original axle label for the custom order, copied all the specs except went from D35 to D52 for 5200 LB axles. They only make Nev-R Adjust and Nev-R Lube axles now, so the rest is the same. So, the part numbers for our hull will NOT be what you need. Likely if a Forum member that upgraded recently with 50.50" axles posted a picture of their label, it would be what you need. But to be certain, take a picture of your axle label and then call Dexter Customer Service. They are not bad to talk to and they will give you a proper part number for your D52 upgraded axles. I'd want to be certain spending $2K plus shipping! HF stands for Hub Face, the measurement between hub faces. SC or Spring Center is the distance between leaf spring centers. These numbers must remain the same for the new D52 axles. Our before & after axle labels to follow:

Just to emphasize another point, your receiver hitch may not be rated to carry the tongue weight without a WDH. I don’t know about 2016 Dodge RAM 1500, but in the case of newer Ford F150’s, the max tongue weight without a WHD is 500#, which is lower than your Oliver’s tongue weight if you’ve got it loaded properly. Sure, it works fine, but if you are ever in a crash, you may be exposed to liability regardless of who’s at fault. See snip from Ford Towing Guide that Galway Girl attached.

Good info above. One caution with your set-up. Your 1/2 ton is designed for on-road use at the maximum payload (Trailer Tongue Weight, Pax, and everything else you put into the truck. These numbers add up fast. IF you: Contineously only stay on paved roads, your vehicle can last a long time. If you go off road on gravel, you need to be cautious and dead slow to prevent jousting of the loads and overstressing your shocks, springs and axles. Not doing so will shorten the life of your truck somewhat. But any serious back country gymnastics running with max payload and you WILL have problems. Under this scenario your light duty 1/2 ton frame also becomes a concern. Basically upgrading the 1/2 ton with stiffer springs and 100 PSI airbags does improve the driveability, but does not increase the legal payload. It does give you the feeling that you can haul more weight, but it from a mechanical engineering perspective, brings significant risks to manage. Then there are the issues if you are involved in an accident. The investigators/insurance will easily see you modified the vehicle. They say your doing so impacted your ability to have avoided the accident. Sad for you, as it puts you at risk for a much higher percent liability. Or worse, for full liability. Recommendation: Be careful..... +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Many of the half ton Ford owners have also benefited from changing the rear shocks to Bilstein 5100's. Don't know about the 1/2 ton Dodge trucks, but I suspect one of the other owner's will jump in. GJ

I believe you are correct Chris, and in my situation with an F250 it tows very well without an Andersen hitch. One point I’d like to make on the term “Sway Controller”. I understand you are referring to a simple mechanical friction system such as the Andersen hitch system. You are probably aware, modern trucks are fitted with electronic Trailer Sway Control systems. Just distinguishing between types so there is no confusion. See Ford video with details. https://youtu.be/6MRZ50cOVaw?si=RXUWESNdq99zIM2q

Agreed I also like Mortons videos too. Smart guy for sure. The idea of a truck camper has never had any appeal to me however. Its my understanding they have now transitioned to an towable RV.

Excellent, appropriate response to the subject @topgun2 . I would like to add my thoughts along those lines. Likewise I have traveled some really rough roads, backcountry gravel and dirt without a scratch so far. By no means am I stupid enough to take the Oliver down serious overland roads made most famous in the desert southwest, ie White Rim Trail, The Maze and so forth and so on. There are other rigs better suited to this endeavor such as MDC from Australia, Escapod, Bean Teardrops, Pause, and especially the Emperial Outdoors made in WI. I've seen and been in those and there is nothing like them made in this country I am aware of. Like the Olivers they are expensive, even more so, but built to the extreme made to go anywhere and are a true 4 season camper. Many RV's claim 4 Season, they are not in most cases. Regarding hitches and suspensions there is one reason why we still have leaf sprung suspensions and traditional ball hitch mounts on travel trailers. They are inexpensive for the manufactures to produce. While it may make sense to put leaf sprung suspensions on trucks due to their ability to carry very heavy loads installing them on a travel trailer makes no sense at all other than cheap manufacturing cost. Same goes for the traditional ball hitches. From a safety standpoint this was the inspiration for the invention of the Hitch-Ezy due to the designers wife having rolled over completely with her trailer and TV. I've lost count of the number of YouTube videos I've seen of trailers rolling over and taking the TV with it. With a fully articulating hitch this would not happen. While I don't have any personal experience using an articulating hitch it is my understanding the implementation allows for easier maneuvering, backup, and safer towing and traversing even mildly rough terrain. I don't know what the flex angles are on a typical ball hitch but on more than one occasion I've avoided going into backcountry BLM/USFS due to some very steep angles of approach. The BLM Overlook campground west of Grand Junction is a classic example where 99% of the jeep trail is easy to navigate with an Oliver until the final drop off which is quite steep. I would not be comfortable taking the Oliver through this. Otherwise a fabulous campground for tenters, vans, and small RV's with more accommodating hitches and suspensions. Leaf spring suspensions are rough, stiff and harsh period. Again they might make sense for utility trailers carrying very loads such as horses, construction equipment and supplies but for RV's it's simple and cheap to manufacture. There really is no other compelling reason to build an RV this way. There is a reason the automotive industry went to 4 wheel independent suspensions decades ago, it's safer, more comfortable allowing for greater dexterity while driving. I know of no one who has transitioned to an independent RV suspension with a desire to return to leaf springs and same could be said for the articulating hitch. For me, I would love to be able to go a little deeper and bit further off the beaten path safely without being an extreme overlander thus the interesting in different hitches and suspensions. As a final note on the leaf springs, just recently came across the Road Master mod kits for leaf springs and by all accounts appears to be far superior to the Dexter Easy Flex and other such flex kits made by Lippert and Morryde both apparently better than the Dexter version.

I agree 100%. I posted about our trip to Harquahala Mountain and a forum member wrote they wouldn’t tow through those washes. I also have the 2 5/16” Bulldog and Alcan Springs, so good enough for us. If one was to travel in rough terrain to truly need an articulating hitch, they would likely need to change axle orientation from underslung to overslung for greater ground clearance!

The Morton's almost lured me into going the truck camper route with their "Go North" series and Lance truck camper back during the pandemic. Then I came to my senses and realized that the Elite II was by far a better solution for our needs rather than lugging all of that weight on a truck chassis. But yes, I love watching their travels/videos. I think they are some of the best on the topic.

This is interesting discussion, but I don't really consider the Elite II to be a TT with an off-road suspension where something like this would be needed. I do have the hitch for 2 -5/16 ball since that is what I normally have on my truck anyway and provides a bit more security. Sure, I take the Ollie down gravel roads and even some dirt roads, but I never have had the trailer in such a condition where this kind of articulation would be needed. Do others do overlanding or really rough terrain with their Ollie?

FYI - This years Ford Towing guide has a ton of useful general info as well. 2026-Ford-RV-&-Trailer-Towing-Guide_r7_fnl-Mar19.pdf

Confirmed. I do not use sway control and appreciate the ease and speed of hookup in a variety of conditions. Have not once felt the need for sway control with the Elite II and 3/4 ton truck. This one of several advantages of having a truck somewhat more than what you actually need for the Elite II.

I have never heard of any Oliver Travel Trailer "swaying". In fact, shortly after I purchased my Elite II I took it out on the local interstate and tried to make it sway. Certainly I didn't get crazy during this attempt but I wanted to know how it handled in order to know what to expect in the event of a future "situation". Obviously, weight distribution is another "kettle of fish". Bill

Thank You. I have time to decide. Our 2022 LE2 has the 5,200 lb. axle. I can do 4-leaf and add the 5th leaf later, or have the 4-5 leafs in the basement when we decide to sell.

We recently upgraded to the 5200 lb Dexter axles, purchased thru Alcan, and chose to use the 4 leaf Alcan springs to match the weight of the trailer. We also purchased the Dexter EZ flex and wet bolt kit from etrailer, replicating the stock setup, since we preferred to use step bolts. In addition, we replaced all four shocks with new factory style Monroe shock absorbers. We performed the installation ourselves. Our tire pressures are set at 45:psi which we monitor with our TST tire pressure monitor. We’ve had excellent results, the springs are noticeably firmer, both when towing and when set up for camping. We find that the ride is not unduly harsh and we haven’t had any issue with items coming loose or things falling off. Time will tell if the Monroe shocks will work well long term. We are very happy with the setup and our interactions with Alcan Spring.

🤣 Love it, quite resourceful! If I had the luxury of ordering a 2027 Oliver, I would order it without awnings on either side! 😎 It would be aerodynamic, a thing of beauty. If our entry-side awning was to fail, I would remove it and do MORE fiberglass repair. I would also NOT order any rooftop antennas, cameras, or other accessories like Zamp ports where OTT would drill into the fiberglass (see pic, not pretty installations). I would also delete most interior screens, like the tank level screen that is rarely accurate. We stopped looking at ours years ago. You'll soon know how many days the fresh tank will last and the waste tanks will fill. The link below is something you should consider, and if yours would be a Girard awning, I would search this forum for keyword Girard, as I have read many posts about Girard awnings closing in the lightest of winds, switch and battery failures or opening on their own! @Chrisharon it's very smart thinking a year ahead on your order, and my apologies for providing much more than you asked. Yes IMO, an awning-less Oliver would truly be a thing of beauty! 😎

Back to the subject re the articulating hitch. Don't think we need one, even though I likely tow up and down more steep, angled and rutted dirt roads than many of you would dare! I feel safe with our upgraded 2 5/16" ball and Bulldog receiver. For those of you who want to learn more about hitches, check this out. Love this guy Tom Morton! He's the one who reviewed and installed both Turbro and Chill Cube A/C units in their RV. Quite a studied and capable young engineer. I searched for keyword 'hitch' on their website and got 6 hitch related articles. At bottom is one re the articulating hitch. 😎 https://www.mortonsonthemove.com/?s=hitch