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if you’re a serious musician you’ll know my dilemma; ya can’t leave it at home. This is a Doepfer stage piano I used before I got my grand. Weighs a ton and is bulletproof with reasonably weighted keys and has a decent action. I’ve been sweating whether this could work but thankfully it will! Being able to fit a keyboard was a selection criteria. I think neither Escape nor Bigfoot would comfortably accommodate it and Oliver was a maybe or “I hope” Yes it looks silly but OH WELL, your instrument is the girlfriend you can’t ignore Those are Anderson blocks and actually work perfectly. Having it there is pretty fine, that side is awkward anyhow because of the sloping wall, this provides an arm rest so if you don’t have a big butt it works. And best of all the table fits on top so no fooling around setting up. I just need custom cushions and most importantly a good chair that stows. The seat has to be good or it’s too hard to play Anyhow interested in ideas if ya got ‘em

I use the 90° Lock n lube grease gun with that attachment. It makes those awkward fittings much easier to lube. John

Ditch the Andersen and all 2" hitch hardware. Replace the old with a 2 5/16" Bulldog coupler and use whatever you need on the tow vehicle to get a 2 5/16" ball at the correct height. I installed this product: https://www.bulldogproducts.net/product/028462_square-rectangular-mount-coupler

Thank you for sharing local knowledge and your useful links. I hope to make it out there this year or next!

Fair point, retract the 1750s from what I said, except perhaps for people who lightly use their trailer It was a reasonable starting point but charging now comes with risk aversion to change probably. Maybe they’ll do it sometime as an update. 2027 looks like they’ll be adding a DC-DC converter, it’s already labeled in on the electrical panel. I don’t need it but useful for ICE TVs 3k miles and I’m hearing the suspension squeak now, doing my first grease. What a pain, getting a right angle grease gun fitting

If you live south, and have the Dometic Penguin II A/C installed, the Oliver is also merely a 3- season camper! Any season is good when the A/C is OFF! 🤣 First real trial of our Furrion Chill Cube, camping in the Phoenix Valley this week. We turned it on yesterday at 3 PM, been running since. In start-up it pulled 50A on 12VDC. Was down to pulling only 16A, 40 min later. Overnight it was whisper quiet using very low amps. I estimate <25A per hour daily average. Like our friend @FloraFauna, we’re not going on any winter survival trips! This 3-day trip, we ran the A/C, our Suburban HWH (largest power draw -120A) and the Dometic fridge ALL on battery! Still have 50% SOC as we’re breaking camp today. 😎 Yesterday the Victron shunt read 67% SOC. I looked at Chris asking, “you know what that means?” 67% of 900 Ah is equal to 100% SOC when we had our 600 Ah battery bank! Those of you who recently upgraded 300 Ah Battleborn to 600 Ah Epoch, next time you read 50% SOC on the shunt, just smile knowing that was your 100% in years past! So cool…

The wife refers to it as the “man barn” for my “man toys”!

Thanks! I do have a shop here that has been doing the bearings so I’ll talk to them first.

I did the work myself, so I can tell you, it's rather straightforward. I promise you, and your wife, there's nothing special here, no need for specific Oliver experience since any tandem-axle trailer would take the same installation. Find a local trailer shop with good reviews. Find one that is a Dexter shop and they may give you better pricing on the axles. It's good to have a local trailer shop you have frequented, who you can call on again when needed (e.g. replace the Nev-R Lube bearings in 5 years). Alcan will always be too far away for hands-on help. They make great springs though! Order Alcan springs shipped directly to you. There has been some question on the quality of their wet-bolts in recent Forum threads. I would certainly replace ALL parts, including the EZ Flex, given your 5-year-old trailer. You could buy a new EZ Flex kit with or without the wet bolts. I went with all the Alcan parts, leaf springs, U-bolts, shackles and wet-bolts (they're fine), and also ordered two (2) of each of these parts for the centers (yes, ALL new parts): https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Suspension-Parts/Dexter/013-144-03.html https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Suspension-Parts/TruRyde/TRFA73Z916DLNZ.html You have the right idea! You'll feel much better leaving home READY for your cross-country trip! I always get my work done at home. My sole purpose for camping in our Oliver is to go somewhere, just anywhere, forcing me NOT to work. You won't find me under our trailer on some gravel lot! 😎

Replace your wet-bolt grease fitting with 45s. Yours are likely M6x1mm threads (Alcan 1/4"-20): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R8GYYYM/?th=1 Then do yourself a BIG favor and invest in a power grease gun and a LockNLube coupler: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H7LPKKU/?th=1

Nice truck! We still have a WDH, but the WDH has been stored since we purchased a F-350. We can just fit the Super Duty in our garage, but it's a tight fit. About 23" top of the ball measurement is where I start with the F-350 before placing Ollie on the ball. When placed on the ball Ollie is a little nose high at 480 to 500lbs tongue weight, very little sag with Ollie placed on the ball.

Hopefully only the latter. The BMS should be efficient, but movement of high amperage causes heat within its design. When I removed our battery tray, it gave our batteries a lot more headroom. How much clearance do you have above your batteries? Don't leave that door open too long, or those expensive items may walk! I have ours locked down double and only open the door to remove ground when doing an electrical mod.

I towed 5 years with the Andersen, 5 years without. I don’t miss the Andersen at all. If I remember correctly, 19.5” is what the top of the ball should be, you won’t get much drop from the weight of the trailer on your F250. I had to get a drop hitch for my 2500. Mike

You are on the right track in attacking the bolt head end. Certainly the approach in your above quote will work. But the Hex Nut Capture Washer would look and perform better. And they are dirt cheap. See my DIY. DIY - Dexter EZ-Flex Center Bolt Spline Repair (20 APR 2024).docx

You’d be a first! I’ve have added 2 temp-activated exhaust fans, behind our absorption fridge and in the basement cavity for the inverter. But for the battery bay, I closed up the vent holes that were designed for lead acid venting and added insulation to the door, to close the air, minimize collection of road dust. Many of us have done this (two examples shown in pictures above). Uncertain the specs of other brands, but the Epoch Essentials batteries many of us have installed, will supply 200A continuous, in or out as designed, without overheating and 400A Max Amps capacity. Most we used camping this week was -120A with the fridge, the Chill Cube A/C and electric HWH all running on battery/inverter. We’re camping again this Sun-Mon again, so besides these 120V appliances, I’ll boil water in our electric kettle. Power them all on at once should hit or exceed the 200A Continuous Rating. The Victron MP2 can also exceed its 3KVA rating, found it up at 4.5K for a spell when once I turned on the power-hungry Dometic P2 A/C (thank Goodness that’s gone) not realizing the electric HWH was heating! Good thing I have a back-up 400A ANL fuse for the Victron! I’ll test and post the app screen prints that lists 3 internal temps per our 3x 300 Ah batteries! I expect to feel a cool cabin, hot water at the tap, a pot of boiled water for coffee and battery and inverter temps within spec! We’ll see… 😎

PS SWEET BARN! And Ollie too of course! GJ

Roger, I have a very simular issue but harder. If the approach is level, carefully checking clearance is easy. Mine had a foot tall "ramp" that would kick the rear of our Ollie up about 5" as I backed into the lean-to enclosed area. I removed the gavel floor took out a couple inches of dirt and re-graveled. Still no go. Then I hauled back all that dirt, and a bunch more, and made an elevated area 20' long and 10' wide "Table" in front of the barn door. So I back Ollie up onto the "Table" and then it was an easy back into the "Ollie Cave". Hope yours is a level entry. GJ

I beg to disagree for the statement's inclusion of the 1750 rated springs. WAY too many have FAILED to even be considered for use as anchor weights, let alon a 6,000 pound contineous 24/7/365 load plus G-forces. Even Dexter says this. For the life of me I do not understand why OTT continues to ship trailers with these springs. It boggles my mind..... I USED to say for 90% the Dexter 2400's would be a great solution. That other 10% is for the Off-Roader's that put their trailer thru gynmastics on a regular basis. Now I think 85% is a better number as I am hearing of more than a few owners in the 5,000 pounder class that may also skate by with the whimpy 1750's for 5+ years as well. But if I were one of them, I would still go with the 2400's to get a respectable 15 or 20 year life for the springs. I like doing things once to learn, but not repeating when logical to do so. GJ

Not good! We camped Monday and ran the fridge and hot water heater together (-120A) for 30 min, until the water was hot. Then turned on the A/C on all afternoon, not plugged in, all on inverter. Temp on the Victron inverter rose to 90F, in its closed space, well within the 104F warning . I installed a basement exhaust fan, yet rarely use it. The Epoch app had been acting up, so I manually tested voltage with a multimeter. It read 12.9V, certainly a very good number considering the -120A load of the HWH. Battery tops and 4/0 wiring were all cold to the touch. I sealed the vents in our battery bay to keep dirt out. IMHO, call Lithionics, fix the issue vs. venting heat away that should not accumulating!

I cut two 2” holes in the battery box for venting, no fan. I also plugged the vents in the door and insulated with two layers of Reflectix. Used 3M heavy duty spray adhesive, it’s been holding well for 5 years. I did the same on the Basement door. I measure battery compartment temps with my Victron BMV712 monitor, and also a remote temp sensor that I move around in the basement depending on ambient temps. I have not needed to open the battery door, the small vents keep the battery box relatively cool in Summer, warm in Winter. I have camped in 100+ temps and below 10F for several consecutive nights with no problem.

We like all of the Maricopa County parks, too!

Cave Creek is our favorite of the Maricopa County Regional Parks. Often our first night away, just 90 min from home! There are currently 5 county parks, all excellent camping with hookups, around the perimeter of the Phoenix Valley. We've stayed at all of them! https://www.exploremaricopacountyparks.org/maricopa/facilities Snowbirds are gone, so the campground has lots of availability and it's not hot yet (high 80F today). Staying at campsite #9 for a few nights, the best in the park. It's like you have your own 5-acre campsite! 😎

Mr. Jim Oliver told me personally that the frame was engineered to support 3X the GVWR. He stated that it was good to 21,000 pounds. Actually Oliver's GVWR of only 7000 pounds is due to their continued use of the underrated four leaf spring pack (the same ones that are breaking). This causes the otherwise 5200 pound Nev-R-Lube axle to be de-rated to 3500 pounds each.