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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/14/2019 in Posts

  1. Our OOII is a real heavyweight. Ready to camp is about 7200 pounds. Weighed tongue weight at 675-700 pounds. We tow with a 2500 diesel, no WD/Sway hitch, 100,000 miles, never a problem. Your trailer will likely weigh about a thousand pounds less. We have 5200 lb axles, 12" disc brakes, 30 lb propane tanks, raised bed risers and a 275 lb, 3000 watt generator on the tongue. With the extra storage under the beds and a full tank of water, we likely haul well over 1000 pounds of "stuff." Actually, I identify as a recovering minimalist.
    2 points
  2. We're aware some people including us that are having 404 errors and after much research I can say that it is a bug on the forums software side. We're working hard to get this resolved ASAP. A solution for you that does work is to refresh the page and let the page reload. This is not permanent but a temporary solution until the we, the forum developers and our web host have resolved this bug. Thank you!
    1 point
  3. I disconnect "city water" when the temperatures are below freeezing. I was pretty shocked at how many RV hoses tended to swell to 3" or more, (or rupture) in 90 to 100 temps, and "in the sun." The campground at Coeur D"Alene has new guests sign a release stating that they are aware that campground water pressure is 80PSIG, and that cheap hoses could go boom around 2PM. After that trip I bought two 20' sections of the 200 psig capable RV hose sold by <www.rvwaterfilterstore.com>. Stainless steel fittings... No worries now!
    1 point
  4. Taylor, If you think you'll get it to where you can't detect that it is back there, forget it. Putting an approximately 5,500 lb weight behind your truck and then going over bumps and through dips WILL cause some pulling and pushing. Nothing wrong with that and no way around it. It will always jar you a bit when hitting bumps, and it will always push or pull depending on the road. A favorite way for so many guys to describe how well Olivers or others tow is to say "I can't even tell it's back there" It's a cute saying, but the reality is, yes you can tell it's back there. And so can the truck as it pulls 2 1/2 -3 tons along over grades, bumps, driveways, pot holes, speed bumps, dips and corners. When on a perfectly smooth and level highway, and cruising along at speed, yes, you might forget it's back there, or it's impact on the driving experience will become minimal and unimportant. But in any other conditions, it will keep reminding you it's there by tugging, jarring the suspension, pushing and pulling a bit. Not violently, but noticeably. How could it not? And again, that is not a problem. The simple physics of the trailer weight, compared to the truck weight, the uneven surfaces, and corners, all mean, yes, you can detect it back there. You've done all that you can do to fine tune the entire setup, short of maybe a final tire pressure adjustment. Now go out and enjoy it. After a while you won't be troubled by how your truck drives differently while towing. It should and it will.
    1 point
  5. <p style="text-align: left;">Sherry, next time you see Steve you really need to take a look the rock collection! I’m surprised you haven’t seen it yet. ?</p>
    1 point
  6. To answer your original questions: The fresh water fill line enters the tank on the back side near the top right corner. This line does have a backflow check valve hard plumbed at the water inlet. This check valve has a 2-3 psi crack pressure that would have to be overcome, so gravity feeding through the fresh fill inlet might be difficult. Depending on the height of your aux tank, it might be possible to gravity feed through the boondocking inlet and backfill the tank through the pump pickup tube. There is no backflow prevention in this path. You would just need to open both valves on the left side of the diagram. But again, the height of the aux tank would be key and need to be higher than the plumbing elevation. I'm onboard with the others that suggest just treating the aux tank as boondocking source. To me, it seems better to transfer the water to the main tank rather than demand pumping from the aux. The water temperature will be better maintained and you won't have to disconnect and reconnect every time you want to move your tow vehicle.
    1 point
  7. As overland said, there are a number of options, but connecting a 3/4" garden hose to the bottom supply port on the truck tank with an inline ball valve to the winterization port would be simplest and most effective. Unless there is already a ball valve incorporated in that tank. You could leave the hose hooked up all the time. When the trailer tank gets low, open the ball valve and use the Ollie's pump to refill the tank - you can easily position the correct valves to pump it into the fresh tank. When the overflow spits water, close the ball valve and reset the onboard valves. Repeat until your truck tank is empty. You need a good sized hose since it will be on the suction side, but the tank head pressure will assist, assuming you are not parked downhill. For a nice looking and sanitary setup, considering using these scrumptious Eley hose accessories with solid brass quick detach fittings. ... They have a 3/4" inside hole, unlike most other fittings which are quite restrictive. ... https://www.eleyhosereels.com/collections/watering-tools John Davies Spokane WA
    1 point
  8. Typically, you would connect the truck tank to the boondocking intake and pump the water into the freshwater tank. It would fill as fast or faster than gravity feed. You could gravity fill the freshwater tank through the freshwater intake if you wanted. You could configure the valves to pump water from the truck directly to the faucets, via the boondocking intake. You could not use the truck’s tank as a continually connected auxiliary, via the freshwater intake, since the water would just flow through the fresh tank and out the overflow.
    1 point
  9. Well, I'll go out on my own here, not speaking for the mod team. Back in the day, (over ten years ago) when we created Classifieds, it was intended to share and sell ancillary stuff. Not necessarily trailers. But, that's evolved as there are more used Olivers on the market, because there are more Olivers on the road. A lot more. Over 10 times more... The forum was created for fellowship, exchanging ideas, problem solving and, yes, just plain fun. In my opinion, it's not too much to ask people to take thirty second or a minute to register and be able to read the Classifieds. Registration won't stop spam, though we do our best to watch out for it. But, maybe it will encourage more second owners to stay involved, and join in once they own an Oliver, since they're already a member. Again, I am speaking on my own. No majority opinion here. Let's see how it all works out. Sherry
    1 point
  10. Alcohol. Followed the instructions. The issue was the sudden, large temperature drop combined with the material being stored for a while in the tight shipping coil. I should have unwrapped and let them normalize. The ones I got last week have been straightening in the hot garage and have lost their shipping bend.
    1 point
  11. I think your tire pressures are still too high, especially the truck. I've been keeping mine at 40 front and 42 rear when towing (38 daily) and the tread wear seems to indicate that those pressures are high. (My KO2's are ready to replace, with the center of the tread worn thin.) 35,000 miles, roughly half of which have been towing. Trailer at 45.
    1 point
  12. This thread was originally a double post and his question was answered here (but since the question was from before Oliver offered these toilets, there aren’t many replies.) You’ll find quite a few threads on the subject if you search for ‘natures head’ or ‘composting toilets’, any one of which will be more informative than this one. ;)
    1 point
  13. Chad, The kit you listed in the post above is the kit I used and the one I recommend. Re-read my earlier post as to why I chose this kit.
    1 point
  14. The HD suspension kit can be done at home with some jack stands and a floor jack. The bushings can be done, one side at a time, by pushing the new bushings in with a C clamp. This will push the old ones out and into a short piece of pipe or a deep socket on the other side of the spring eye. It can also be done with a piece of threaded rod, some nuts and washers. When ready, install the new pins with the grease holes facing fore or aft. Run the stabilizer jacks down and adjust until the weight is being shared with some jack stands under the frame. Lift the tire off the ground with the floor jack and remove it. Lower the jack until there is no weight being carried by the suspension on that one side only. Pull the shackle pins and the equalizer pins. Push the new bushings into the spring eyes and into the new equalizer. Reassemble the system on that one wheel with the grease holes placed as mentioned and with Locktite on the threads. Then do the second wheel on that side. Two floor jacks or some blocking might help. Torque the nuts to spec with a torque wrench. Make sure the zerk fittings are pointed to where you can get on them with the wheels on. Grease that side. Re-install the wheels and torque the lugnuts to spec. The go to the other side and repeat. Re-torque the lugnuts after a few miles.
    1 point
  15. taylor, John is absolutely right about the suspension. Get the Heavy Duty Dexter suspension kit with greaseable bushings and better shackles. I don't recommend the EZ Flex, but I don't recommend against it either. I'm not sure it has an advantage over the standard HD kit, and it costs about $100. more. The EZ Flex is designed for trailers with very stiff springs, to absorb some shock loads, but Olivers have soft springs. Either kit has the same greaseable bronze bushings and heavy duty parts. This should have been installed from Oliver from the very beginning. They began installing the EZ Flex, as standard equipment, in early 2018 IIRC. The stock plastic bushings used on the earlier setup, like mine, was barely good enough for a utility trailer and definitely not up to what we expect from Oliver.
    1 point
  16. taylor, It's possible you have the grounding problem, as it was not completely fixed until after hull 200. It's unlikely, with your factory brake controller, that the ground is causing any handling problems. But you should check this and make sure it's OK. Here is how you do it: 1. Unplug the trailer from any shore tie and let the batteries stabilize at about 12.6 volts or less. Monitor this voltage at your panel inside that reads the battery voltage. 2. Back up to the trailer but don't connect the hitch or chains. Just come up close and plug in the umbilical from your truck. 3. With the truck running, check the trailer voltage again and begin to watch it for a few minutes. It should climb to at least 13.2 and probably 14.1 volts over some time. It should match the truck voltage when running, so if you can check the truck voltage on your dash, that would be good. 4. If the trailer voltage comes up during this test, you have a good ground. If not, you are probably grounding through the trailer ball which is a very poor connection. A bad connection can throw codes in the truck, cause bad brake performance and cause the batteries to not charge while towing. 5. If you decide you have a bad ground, I can help you find the problem. I hope you will just lower your tire pressures and do another test run. This will make a difference. With your factory towing package, you may have very stiff shocks on the back of the truck. My Ram did and it was brutally stiff. I fixed that problem by installing a set of Bilstein shocks on the back. This made a significant difference in both handling and comfort. I did the same thing on my older Ram, but on that one I installed a set of Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks. These are even better! If you decide the rear of the truck is too stiff, put on a set of the Rancho 9000 shocks. These are adjustable, velocity sensitive, and they work wonders. You just click the adjusters until you find the perfect balance between stiffness and comfort for your particular load. And they keep the tires planted over rough surfaces. I've played with the tire pressures on my Ollie and it seems 55 is near perfect for all-around use. It gives just a bit of cushion, while not being low enough to run hot. This is a good highway pressure for covering a lot of miles. If you get on gravel roads for a lot of miles you can go down to about 40. For severe rocky and rutted roads, even less is OK if you slow way down. But 70 or 80, as they come from Oliver, is not a good plan because they transfer a lot of shock loads and add more stress to the suspension system and the trailer. Oliver has said that the tires and wheels they order come at the higher pressure and they just install them that way. The tire manufacturer weight vs pressure charts show a minimum pressure for the load to be at about 35 PSI. This is not the recommended pressure, but the minimum allowable. The max on load range E tires is 80 PSI and way overkill for this load. Getting your truck tires down to a sensible pressure is good too. When rock hard they will ride rougher and skip around on rough surfaces. Oliver is not a big load for your truck at only about 560 lbs of tongue weight, and approximately 5,700 lbs total, geared up for camping. Hopefully, your TPMS will allow 60 PSI without giving you a warning. A number of us have said that Oliver's tow so well "you'll forget it's back there". This is fun to say, but it's not really the case, except on absolutely smooth highways. But it is true that they have excellent towing manners and are very stable. I don't know what you expected when you began to tow yours. Once everything is set up approximately right, that will be the best you can do and it will be fine. You'll always feel bumps as the trailer adds shock loads to the hitch. Set up your brake controller such that you can just feel it working when you stop. I like mine to be aggressive enough that the trailer is always trying to pull back just a bit on the truck while stopping, but not so much that it skids on pavement. This gives a constant reminder that it is working and it does it's own stopping without pushing on the truck. The 3500 lb axles and 10" brakes are very likely what you have. These brakes seem to have some character to them. As they wear, they will get weaker and need to be adjusted. So if you find you are going gradually higher on your settings and don't seem to be getting a good aggressive brake action, it's time to adjust them. If you re-pack your bearings, you might find the brakes are weak for a while as they break-in again. If one wheel is more aggressive than the rest, it likely means that grease has gotten onto the shoes. This makes them more aggressive, not less, and it tends to make the trailer steer toward the grabbing brake, which steers the truck in the opposite direction. Initially, when my trailer was new, the brakes had to break-in too, and gradually I reduced the setting to keep them from getting too powerful. Every time I hook up and pull away, I reach down and apply them manually on the controller. This confirms they are working, and I'm good to go. At every fuel stop, out on the highway, while the truck is filling, I walk back and touch each tire and each hub. If I can hold my hand on them, they are fine. The trouble would be if one was way different than the rest. Tires are fine until they are much hotter than we can hold our hands on. I'm looking to see if everything is nearly the same. Warm is normal.
    1 point
  17. Just fix the suspension, it is probably shot. Without disassembly you will never know. The base Dexter teeny bolts and thin plastic bushings should not even be sold for any trailer except possibly for a small utility trailer that rarely gets used..., it is unsafe and a disgrace. Until you overhaul it, and install an upgrade kit that can be lubed, you are just spinning your wheels, chasing other phantom problems. I guarantee that several cross country trips have worn the suspension out. The 70 psi in the tires just amplifies the problem. They should be 50 or less. Here is a shackle bolt pic I found online. John Davies Spokane WA
    1 point
  18. I’m fairly confident that you still have some suspension issues. You ruled out the TV by testing with two trucks same results. A more in-depth inspection made be needed. Trailer off the ground wheels off, with large pry bar you need to move each suspension part to check for play. Not a easy job, you may want a trailer shop do this. Changing the shock bushings and repacking bearings is good. As Mike and Carol said the older models showed a lot of wear in the suspensions especially with no grease points. One last check long shot check the mounting bolts where the suspension frame mounts to the aluminum frame. Frustrating for sure.
    1 point
  19. How much weight do you have in the back of your truck? The 250 is an HD truck and the Oliver is a light trailer with a fairly low tongue weight. It might ride better with more weight in the bed. Just a thought.
    1 point
  20. Good point on the brake control adj. too high output could cause jerking. Sorry to say you can have a host of things causing the problem.
    1 point
  21. The first thing that came to my mind that can cause this symptom is that your brake controller is set too high. Brake controllers are not a set and forget proposition, and need to be adjusted for the terrain and road conditions you are driving in. If the voltage is set too high the trailer will not brake in sync with your TV and cause some lurching. That said, all the other ideas presented here are valid and worth looking into. The old suspension shackles had nylon bushings, were not greaseable, and generally not up to the job. New suspension kits use bronze bushings and much heavier duty components: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Leaf-Spring-Suspension/Dexter-Axle/K71-359-00.html One other possibility to check, even though your trailer is a 2016 would be to make sure your trailer is properly grounded to the TV as per this Oliver TSB: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/7pin-ground/ Sub- optimal grounding would affect your braking also causing a rougher ride. I feel your pain about trying to get the trailer and TV in plane with each other. There are ball mounts, however, that have drops in 1/2" increments out there. What is your current drop? Good Luck!! Dave
    1 point
  22. That does sound odd for a 3/4 ton pickup to handle the Oliver like you say it is doing, I would expect almost no bucking from a truck of that size. I did pull our new Oliver just two weeks ago with no Anderson for some 100 miles and our new Ram 1500 handled the Oliver with very little bucking, in fact you had to be looking for it to notice any detectable feeling of it. I did have a 2" sag which was too much for my comfort and I did install the Anderson at the camping site the first night I was there, this was planned in advance to do this. Like others have said, I would look at the trailer first, check the shocks, springs, coupler, and go from there. Oliver's pull so well I hope someone here can give you a advice that will help with you situation. I guess it is possible that your new F250 is sprung so stiff that you could be getting the noticeable ride difference when the trailer is hooked to the truck, but were only talking 500 pounds tongue weight here so, this should not be a factor. I assume you do not have helper springs like the Sumo, or your air shocks aired too high up, this should not even be needed for a F250 with the Oliver. trainman
    1 point
  23. Hull 124 would have been built without the Dexter suspension. Mine wasn’t. When we had the Dexter added Jason showed me some of the old suspension parts and they were totally worn out. That was after about 18 months. I’d check it. Mike
    1 point
  24. I think it’s clear that he tried using the Anderson but took it off. What may not be clear is that Ford says to turn off sway control when using a sway control hitch like the Anderson - so turning it off every time he got in the truck was a pain. I agree with Landrover - check the ball, check that there’s no excessive play in the receiver, check that nothing is broken on the trailer suspension and that the shackles haven’t flipped (the trailer should ‘hang’ from the springs), and then check the truck.
    1 point
  25. It sounds like you may have some worn suspension parts, being your Ollie is a 2016. Do you know much of the history of the trailer? First check your ball size. It should be 2in but some owners changed the coupler to 2 5/16? Check mounting bolts for bulldog hitch bolts tight? Mounting hole in alum frame enlarged? Then move to the rear of the Ollies suspension check shackles, bolts, and bearings etc. for wear, if all that is good, next look at the truck. You have a 2019 is it new or lease turn in.? Just because the truck is new don’t discount defective parts in the drive line, rear end, drive shaft, transmission. I’d go back to the dealer doesn’t sound like the anti sway control should be coming on, unless there may be a elec. connection problem when Ollie is plug into the truck. And as Raspy said you shouldn’t need the Anderson hitch with that size truck. If all that fails scratch your head. Good luck.
    1 point
  26. taylor, I see absolutely no reason to be using an Anderson Hitch with your F-250. Why are you using it? Turning off your truck's "anti Sway" seems like a bad idea too. Why are you placing more faith in the Anderson Hitch than in your truck's safety systems? Turning off a safety system to compensate for a hitch problem is not a good idea. Towing with a WDH will probably always make the tow rougher because there is so much force and friction at the hitch area. Ditch the Anderson and try it again. What kind of brake controller are you using? Set up the trailer so it sits level, or as close to level as possible, when hooked up and ready to go. When you are on your next trip, with all gear loaded up, the trailer should be riding level. You also don't need 80 PSI in the truck tires. Try 60 or so to get some cushion from them. Oliver tire pressure should be about 55. Olivers are very stable when towing. There is no special requirement to move weight around to avoid problems. People put bikes on the rear, or generators on the tongue, or run with full or empty water tanks, or a large variation of gear, or full or empty propane tanks. Normal weight distribution differences don't seem to have an affect on the stability. Go on a test drive with these suggestions in place: No Anderson hitch, sensible tire pressures of 60 in the truck and 55 in the Oliver, Oliver level or slightly down in front. Report back your findings. Careful, you may forget the trailer is back there.
    1 point
  27. The Dexter EZ Flex system adds another layer of protection to your camper. The EZ Flex equalizer comes with a rubber dampener to lower the impact from cracks, potholes and other imperfections in the roads from causing unwanted stress on the camper shell. This system also replaces the standard bolt & plastic bushings inside each leaf spring eye with wet bolts and bronze bushings allowing you to keep them greased for longevity and less noise from heat and resistance. For this system to operate properly it is recommended that the bushings are greased every 3 months or 3,000 miles with a good high quality Hi-Temp grease. We use Citgo Mystik Hi-Temp at the factory but there are several other approved greases from Dexter. *2018 Elite I models utilize bronze bushings and wet bolts but does not have the equalizer as it is used on the dual axle only. The Dexter Axles used on the Oliver Elite and Elite II models are the 5,000 lb and 3500 lb axles. The Elite models have a single 5,000 lb axle with 12” brakes while the Elite II models have dual 3500 lb. axles with 10” braking. These axles and brakes do have a break-in period as they are Nev-R-Adjust braking and adjust automatically as you brake while pulling forward or backwards. The break-in period may vary slightly but usually adjusts to 100% somewhere between *50 brake applications from the brake controller only or over a period of about 500-700 miles with normal vehicle braking. *Please make sure that you do not overheat your brakes by trying to achieve the break-in too quickly. If you do choose to utilize the brake controller over 50 braking applications it should be done over a 75 mile trip at low speeds allowing the brakes to cool in between and not putting too much stress at high speeds on the trailer brakes to stop the tow vehicle. Both the 3500lb. and 5,000lb axles have serviceable bearings that require maintenance every 12 months or 12,000 miles. The same grease that is used for the EZ Flex will work with the bearings. Both the inner and outer bearings should be cleaned thoroughly and inspected for any imperfections or improper wear. This is also a great time to inspect your trailer brake components as well. These maintenances can be performed by most RV service centers or if you prefer, you can perform your own maintenance. For more information on how to repack your wheel bearings see the Dexter Bearing Maintenance Video.
    1 point
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