Leaderboard

If you have Lithionics batteries, you should check their Firmware. Mine was three versions outdated! The latest version of Firmware includes upgrades and corrections to the Battery Management System (BMS) and State Of Charge (SOC) accuracy. The Firmware can be checked and updated with the Lithionics Application. Go to settings and pick “Firmware Update.” Then press the “Flash Firmware” button if you don't have the latest version. Be sure to up-date each battery.

Oh Lord but I love this group. On the way to have my new suspension fitted, I will have my newly programmed iPhone taped to the floor on the way to and from. Will post the data after. (Probably 4 weeks out...)

Couple comments from your observations. Alcan weight rating (capacity) is 2,750 for 5 leaf and 2,250 for 4 leaf. Weight rating is the designed weight at which a spring pack fails. As the same top four leafs are utilized in both 4 and 5 leaf versions, spring rate (a.k.a. “Ride”) remains largely the same even though weight rating is different. Spring rate is amount of weight required to deflect spring 1” when at ride height. While unable to locate any documentation from Dexter as to “buffer” capacity for their springs I was able to locate documentation from LCI (Lippert) which states that there should be a 20% weight capacity buffer between the total weight capacity of a set of their leaf springs and the curb weight of a fully loaded trailer. Reason stated for maintaining this buffer is to accommodate travel over uneven roads, curbs, potholes, dips and other occurrences which could temporarily increase the actual weight on a spring pack. 7,000x .8= 5,600. My trailer weighs 6,200 ready to travel. I chose the 5 leaf Alcans for my trailer and have been quite happy with their performance. I know a few others have chosen the 4 leaf versions and they seem happy with their choice as well. Either choice is a huge upgrade from the RV industry standard (dexter).

Great correction thanks, the post I got that from was misstating it Bingo, I talked about this above but kept it short so the post wouldn't get too confusing. Buffer is what I call margin, and exactly I mentioned that it's there for overloading (which happens) and impulse load (road conditions). As for the relationship between static and dynamic load, AI says (asking for cars as the models will be deeper on that topic, but its obviously the same) This lends me to think that the five spring, which I think Alcan suggests here, is the better choice. That's a 11k static load rating compared to 9k for the four spring. The axles are rated at 10k, but as the brunt of the dynamic force is taken by the sprung suspension, so being a bit overspec there isn't bad. So, five springs here I come ... tl/dr As for the counterargument that it will transmit more road shock and vibration, the true test is measuring it. Before/after vibration tests. Fortunately this is easy using your phone, Vibration Meter stores history and outputs CSV. Test procedure would be to Securely attach the phone to a hard surface in the trailer. 3M Velcro Command Strips to the floor Start measuring and drive Synchronizing before and after should be done ideally. Simplest is probably a 'clapboard marker' by just noting the time you pass a GPS coordinate or landmark Or don't be so precious, simply measure RMS I'll do this test by measuring on the same road(s) before/after

For other newbs I went through about half the posts on this topic so you don’t have to. I think I captured the essence Summary Alcan are rated for 2k (8k total) vs 1750 (7k) for Dexter Spring rating depends on how well you do it (yes as an engineer this is the unvarnished truth). There’s no stock answer, they’re all approximations to the truth. Alcan is apparently known for using a well regarded approach (software I think) Alcan’s analysis of the 1750 Dexter is that they’re underrated for this trailer and the Alcan 2k is more appropriate One could surmise this is them ‘talking their book’, but so far the story has a ring of truth for a small shop that take their work seriously Alcans specialty is springs, OTT is trailers, I think Alcan has more authority here. In addition OTT has many considerations, supply chain being number one. Dexters are always available, easily replaced, come as a set with the axle, and if any owner wants an upgrade that’s available. So I think its entirely reasonable OTT is sticking with Dexter But in the matter of the best spring for the application I’ll go with Alcan The Alcan’s therefore have a better margin in case of overload and road stress - actually they have margin, the stock at rated for max with no margin And it’s only a (IIRC) ~15% stiffer spring, which isn’t a great difference For me, other than build quality the sell is that the springs provide margin without going into over engineered/overkill range. I was concerned that this is ‘bigger is better’ mentality but no, instead it’s just giving some extra room on top, which is generally a good idea. So I’m sold, I should be retired next year and will plan a trip to Colorado to have them installed. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/2/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103428 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/2/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103477 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/2/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103486 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/6/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103733 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/7/?&_rid=8320#findComment-103752 https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/9996-made-in-usa-leaf-springs/page/10/?&_rid=8320#findComment-104836

Do they also print a weight rating? The OEM wheels are rated for 80 PSI, but 60 is all you need with margin. The OEM wheels are weight rated, don’t remember exactly, but the 4 added to 11K+, so with D52, Alcan springs on Load E tires and OEM wheels, it’s only Oliver frame capacity keeping these from being actual (not legal) 10K GTWR! I would hope the frame is also over-engineered! If it were me (not me, since our wheels living in the dry SW are very nice after 10 years), I’d buy these on Tire Rack, choose tires, have them mounted and Hunter Road Force balanced, shipped as a unit, 2-year hazard protection and shipping included! Then nothing easier than changing a ready-mounted wheel on an Oliver! https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/brands/sendel-towable

I haven’t made a decision, yet. I just said I’m thinking about it. No specific reason, just thought I’d be exploring all possibilities next time. I think I still have a couple years on my current Coopers. Mike

@DanielBoondock I would be interested in finding out what your vibration road test results will be. Please let us all know.

No regrets here. Very happy with the ALCAN’s.

It wasn’t changed in 2016, we have the smaller spare.

Here are the release notes for the current version, didn't see anything about earlier versions. Probably only meaningful to techies: https://lithionics.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/154000170433-firmware-release-v1-1-11-and-v1-0-11-for-the-internal-bms-batteries#:~:text=This firmware is-,specific,-to smaller batteries

And you can likely get $100 used on the old set locally, or maybe an Oliver owner needs one?

I like the Lithionics. Just updated mine. I do wish the app provided a change log to tell you what the version changes are.

Agree, guessing the new 15" wheels may be about the same cost as refinishing and I like the idea of having a spare tire/wheel that matches the tire/wheels mounted on Ollie.

The new wheel looks great! It actually has a simple, cleaner look. If quality and weight rating is equal, buying 4 is likely lower cost and longer life vs. refinishing. Having 5 like wheels is a certain advantage vs. a temp spare that we must change twice. The 1/2” drop matters not on paved roads. Lower center of gravity another benefit. Thanks

John, I keep our Ollie on pavement most of the time except when a campground has dirt roads. To be honest I was thinking about refinishing the original 16" ION trailer wheels or replacing them with new 15" Sendel trailer wheels. I already have one 15" Sendel trailer wheel with a Goodyear Endurance ST225/75R/15 for the spare tire since the full size 16" LT225/75R/16 tire/wheel will not fit in the original spare tire housing, believe the Oliver spare tire housing was made larger during 2016 or 2017. I would lose about 1/2" trailer ground clearance by moving to the 15" tire/wheel using the same 15" Goodyear ST tires Oliver currently uses. Just a thought for now. I have another Ollie project in front of wheels/tires for next year. Here's the original spare with 16" wheel and passenger tire (not LT) that would fit in the spare tire housing on the left. The new 15" Goodyear ST tire and Sendel wheel is on the right that fits the original spare tire housing.

I'm sure the tires Gary originally ordered were fine, but... Discount Tire irks me in so many ways! I used to be a good customer of theirs but after so many know-it-all 20-somethings treated me like I was an ignorant newbe, and how they over-charge for "mount & balance" and overcharge for "hazard protection," I go anywhere else these days. 🤑 If they told me they would not mount LT tires I ordered on their website, but only ST tires, I would reply, "Sorry, not on mine! Please cancel my web order." (while walking out the door). For best overall price, I go with Tire Rack most of the time. If you're buying a wheel-tire set, they mount and balance, no additional charge. They include a 2-year hazard warranty, no additional charge. This add $200 +/- to the cost of a set of tires! The only benefit of going to DT is if you are the person who goes back for tire rotations or worries about service when out-of-town. They do have locations everywhere. Tire rotation on the Oliver is a 10-min job per side in my driveway. The Oliver stabilizer jack lifts both tires in a minute, grab the impact, run the air hose, and repeat on the other side. I always do the simple 'H' rotation vs. 'X' and the spare is a different profile tire. So in a way Gary got forced into his ST tire purchase and they are fine as designed. I purchased 15" ST tires for my flatbed trailer 5 years ago. I found there was ONLY one brand of ST tires NOT made in China, a Goodyear model, so be careful of this! We do enough on washboard dirt, so I'm always towing on LT tires. It's night and day with corner protection on these tires. If you're the Interstate driver heading to a campground with a paved pad, then ST tires are just fine, designed for towing on paved roads. Lastly, I'm wondering why Mike @Mike and Carol and Bill @rideandfly are both choosing to move to ST tires? What criteria makes you prefer ST tires?

That's what we had when purchased Hull #113 June of 2023. Except for a trial weekend, we did not start camping 'til 2024. I needed time to restore truck and trailer. In a little over 2 years, we have 180 overnights in our Oliver! 😎 Epoch Essentials and the Victron Multiplus II was our first major upgrade, cleaned up most of the electrical wiring. We keep our Oliver outdoors always. With our recent Chill Cube upgrade we can run the A/C late afternoons into the evenings using only 2% SOC. Our inverter is always running (-1Ah standby). We do not store or winterize and are not connected to shore power 98% of the time. The rooftop solar keeps us up when parked. Our Orion 50A DC-to-DC charger adds +200 Ah every half day towing. Have a 400W suitcase but rarely need it since we don't often stay put for more than a few days. Charging your EV truck towing downhill and charging your Oliver from the EV sounds pretty cool. I sold 4 LA batteries for $300 to a local who runs solar and about 60 old LA batteries for his off-grid mountain property. This is no time for LA batteries except for starter batteries on a diesel truck! 🤣

The TrailerSmith has a video on the Dexter Nev-R-Lube, notes He's only seen these in the case that the bearing cartridge has failed, nobody brings them in for inspection (big surprise) It truly is a zero maintenance drum, you can't perform any maintenance Read the owners manual - you have to inspect it every 12k miles or annually Jack the trailer and check for end play (wiggle the tire and spin, if you can wiggle it that's end play) If there's any end play, the cartridge needs to be replaced Assuming no premature failure (e.g. end play) it should perform just fine for ... It has a five year, 100k warranty Therefore, replace the cartridge and possibly the entire drum before every five years (or 100k) regardless of the end play "I will tell you, if the bearing cartridge keeps its grease and is maintained properly, you will get all your years of service out of it ... pretty much guaranteed" "The problem is, people don't do their service checks, even if you haven't driven it much, maybe some moisture has gotten in there, check it annually" A failure most common with these is with horse trailers which are heavy. If you overuse the brakes the heat transmits through the hub and can boil out the grease. If you see the paint peeling off or heat damaged, pop the cap, if you see grease then you have boiled it out and the cartridge needs replacing Unfortunately OTT doesn't have Dexter manuals in the university, but here's the flyer for Nev-R-Lube where it makes clear the maintenance free (not inspection free!) five year 100k service life. My take: as long as you're doing the regular maintenance (end play check) you should be fine on the road. Bringing along a tool kit is definitely 'belt and suspenders', but instead I'll just do the maintenance checks and replace in five years.