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Different stokes for different folks.... Some of us like being very close to our camping neighbors and all of the noise, crowd, congestion, only add to the enjoyment and the amenities (i.e. pool, snack bar, miniature golf, etc. are wonderful. While others prefer not being able to see another carbon based life form and believe that nature provides more than any human could ever imagine. Of course, there are also those that are between these two extremes. Our Olivers give us choices and I believe that this is one of the best features of these great campers. Bill

Seven years ago I added a master switch for the leveling jacks. I disconnect the power to the jacks whenever the camper is parked. My hope is that with three jacks firmly down it will be much more difficult to steal. Thankfully, as far as I know no one has ever tried my theory.

The simple answer is NO, and since when does an E-rated LT tire have thin sidewalls? Please do not take advice from Overlanders, Van-Life or or Rock-Crawler types! 🤣 The Oliver is simply a 7K LB rated trailer. Ours weighs in at 6500 LB and 40 PSI is enough according to pressure-weight tables, so I go with 45 PSI. Yes, OTT suggests even more pressure for legal reasons, since not everybody checks tire pressure each time out. https://tirepressure.org/lt-metric-tire-load-inflation-chart More pressure AND more plies in the tire construction makes the tire stiffer, the ride harsher, which is not helpful to Oliver trailer systems. Many owners have drawers and cabinets opening, which is a sign, but a stiff ride also causes real damage. You want a softer ride, in fact the E-rated tire is already too stiff. Most 7K trailers run on ST tires. Many Oliver owners have run the OEM tires at 80 PSI because that's what the label says on the side of our older hull and that's what OTT used to spec which was very wrong. Like you, we very often go, "down some bumpy dirt roads and truly off-gridding." There are more wash-board roads where we live and travel than most of you. You need strength in the drive tires on your tow vehicle, but the trailer should glide slowly over the rough terrain as much as possible. Think, why do off-road types air down when the terrain is rough? (to make them soft and flexible for better traction). And based on your location, cold weather also makes tires stiffer! We owned a class-C where a prior owner install G-rated 12-ply tires instead of the spec for Load Range-E. The ride was horrible. Every time the front tires hit grooves on the highway (almost everywhere) the front-end felt like it was being hit with a 100 LB hammer! Another example - we own a Lexus GX AWD truck. I added a 2-inch lift and suspension goodies. This truck comes OEM with P-rated tires (P for passenger). I wanted LT tires for our dirt roads. Everybody goes with an E-rated tire which makes sense if you are always pressuring down and crawling rocks but we are on city roads and highway 90% of the time. I purchased a Cooper AT tire because I could get the size I needed in a Load Range-C which is stronger than the P-rated tire but not stiff and harsh as E-rated. We run at only 32 PSI (not towing) and the truck glides down most roads. LOVE the ride and was so happy with this purchase decision! I will likely replace our Oliver tires with Range-C tires when the time comes, since it is all we need and the Oliver will ride more smoothly at lower pressures. We only need 45 PSI, not 80 and certainly not 110 PSI. BTW, welcome to the OTT Forum and congrats on your first post! I hope that my explanation helps! JD

Thanks Galileo and everyone - I learned a lot :). The indicator switch turned out to be the clue - I just had to keep closing and opening the tank valve until it showed green - and now I know to open slowly and am prepared for the next time 🙂

Ralph, When we had our 5 leaf pack installed by Lew and his team at Alcan it took them approx 2.5 hrs and the team did a great job. We got there first thing in morning and all of my expectations were ✅ off. It was worth every cent to have it done professionally and done right. We dropped off our Oliver and went and had an excellent breakfast in Grand Junction at Cafe Sol, gotta go hungry! 😋 We actually camped here the night before- https://koa.com/campgrounds/grand-junction/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp maybe 15-20 min from Alcan with traffic. Cafe Sol…we ate here during our 2023 trip and again as noted in 24 while having the 5 leaf pack installed. Great coffee and we let the forks fly!! 😄 Patriot🇺🇸

I appreciate your sentiment. I simply cannot repair or have the mental acuity I had when I was 80 year of age. I purchase those repairs and maintenance until they will no longer fit my budget. Then I must no longer enjoy the Oliver and the joy it brings to my quality of life. I had to make the same decision when I no longer could sail as a result of manual dexterity. Thank God I have the where-with-all to cover maintenance and other costs associated with my Oliver..

Hello All, My wife and I purchased Hull #1553 at the end of February. The trailer is a 2024, Legacy Elite II. We have already been on one trip with it. Love this trailer! Cant wait for the next trip. I have been browsing all the forums and am excited to be part of this community.

SDG will get it done professionally, while you wait, in less than 2 hrs at their facility in Elkhart, IN. I think it is about $300. Well worth it. My Dad lives about 45 min from them, so it was an easy decision to do on our last visit.

That’s what I did, self installed a 30A for the Oliver and 50A for my Son’s RV when he visited.

Alaska Suggestions: The Stone Stompers help for sure. After our 30 days in Alaska, I wish I had also installed the "Yoga Mats" as one very wise owner posted several years ago. Looked dorky, but if I had it to do again.... I would be Mr. Dorky for Alaska. Beware of puddles in the road. I saw where one had broke the back of a well made camper. Have a good spare, air compressor and a plug kit too. Have industrial strength bear spray for each adult. Get Tek Campground reservation/pass six months ahead. Don't sweat boondocking as the opportunities abound. Get the Mile Post Long sleeve, long pants and boots.... YEP! New springs, shocks and serviced bearings. GJ

You can effortlessly take the entire rear jack out in 10 minutes by removing only two bolts. I’ve done both of mine several times each. Then you can take the jack to the shop and work on any part of it. If anyone at the rally is interested, I will be happy to show you how it’s done.

Worked this step yesterday. The new cable pulled into place as written above. See picture, taken under the streetside bed. On the left is the new cable. On the right is the cut-off sheath of the old cable. Then I pushed these two sides together, taped them together with electrical tape, and it pulled through nicely. Don't forget to put the nut on the new cable before pulling this! Now the entire waste valve system is restored. The rebuilt gray is a feather-lite pull and push. The black still takes a little tug, due to the 144" cable and the 180 degree turn at the end, but it is much better than before. We should be good for many more years to come.

Val, if I was you and wanted this upgrade… Given you’re a full timer and travel frequently to Chicago, why not go to the supplier SDG in Elkhart and have them install it? I’m too far away and with rising costs, have to save the money by installing it myself. Also like Ron, I have all the time needed to do the install, leave things half done for a week or two and we have full workshops and tools. SDG would install in one day! Mike @rideadeuce went to SDG as I’m suggesting. Search for ‘Atmos’ to find his post. Best wishes, JD

I’m certainly not suggesting that the Berkey does what an RO system does. We have had an RO system for 20 years that supplies drinking water and water for both of our fridges with ice makers (we’re actually on the second system, we wore the first one out). The RO removes everything, which is why we add back electrolytes to our glasses of water during the day. For camping, the Berkey has been effective. It gets top ratings by the EWG. I asked them about microplastic removal and they said their carbon filters remove some but that their new ceramic filters remove most/all micro and nanoplastics. Plastics is becoming a major health issue, they’re finding them in our arteries, artery blockages, brains, organs, etc. I applaud anyone who engineers a good RO install in their Oliver. I’m not that smart or talented so we’ll just roll with our Berkey. Mike

Same here, Ron - added the 30A outlet to the west side of the "man-cave" for visitors to use when here. Our cave is energized with a 75A sub-panel that powers up the shop equipment as @jd1923 mentioned above. The main panel is configured with 200A service, which is more than ample to meet our needs. The 12.5kW whole house standby GENSET gets us by famously during power outages. So far, so good - no popping breakers.

Another good option in the Grand Junction area is James M Robb State Park in Fruita, just outside (west) of Grand Junction. It’s also just a couple of miles outside of Colorado Monument, a must see if you are in the area. Mike

Schools are starting to change when they open again for the Fall semester in Alaska. Idea is to give the kiddo's more summer time for play and jobs. Suggest you check that out. Seems like they were trending to start up the first Tuesday of September. September is the shoulder season. Almost no bugs, discounts and lots of camping parks only part full. Some years you could get all of September before it gets really cold. Other seasons early Sept the snows are starting. We were there in 2022 for August and half of September. Loved it. Some say that going in the late spring when kids are in school is wonderful for retired travelers. Too cold for our thing skins. Just know that the cost of Fuel is off the charts. So take what you need and be mindful that due to fuel costs and many road conditions you will be traveling many less miles than you do on our Interstates. GJ

All of the listed suggestions apply to paved and well maintained gravel roads. Granted not always heavily traveled, but easy to do with a 2wd TV and good tires. But put on the yoga pads plus a serious set of mud flaps...... GJ

I agree completely with all of the above... however its important to note the difference between the Elite and the Elite II with respect to their tire and axle configurations. Ignoring for the moment the differences in tongue weights, the variability between lightly loaded and heavily loaded trailers and whatever safety margin you prefer to factor in, the Elite II GVWR of 7,000 lb / 4 tires = roughly 1750 lb/tire which must be supported, while the Elite GVWR of 5,000 lb / 2 tires = roughly 2500 lb /tire which must be supported. For this reason, for our Elite, we have settled on 55-60 psi with E rated tires for our loaded Elite at highway speeds on "normal" roads. On rougher paved roads we have to slow down some, and on rough backcountry roads we slow down even more and sometimes air-down a bit to help cushion the shocks. There are several prior threads that discuss the relationship between psi and a tire's weight carrying capability, which can be looked up / computed based upon tire manufacturer's data. Camp on!

Steve: I was good all the way to the words "is actually a good idea as it protects the circuit from both ends". That logic applies to circuits that have the ability to power up the home-run from both ends. Like the DC to DC charging system. However I do agree that having a fuse at the front jack, although somewhat redundant, does serve a great purpose. When I leave my trailer unintended in a boondock location for which there may be a theft concern, I lower the tongue and remove the fuse. Certainly makes a quick scope, connect and getaway much more effort for the thief. GJ

TravelWell: This appears to be your first post, so welcome to our forum. For a 6,000 (loaded) trailer, the OEM use of an E-rated (80 PSI) tire is unusual. Oliver could easily have gone with less stout and lighter C or D rated. But true to the exceptional quality of OTT's, they went with the stronger and much thicker tires that are rated to carry WAY more load. The E-rated tires are much more resistant to road damage as our owners typically include boondocking and roads such as yours in our travels. There are penalties with going with an higher rated tires and they are weight, cost and ride as JD discusses above. That said, I have yet to hear of any OTT owner complain about having too good of a tire tire on their rig. On the other hand, going to an even heavier duty tire such as you proposed would gain little in endurance or failure resistance. But the weight and cost increase would be significant. The third consideration is the forces that high pressure tires transmit up into the trailer. Although our 80 PSI rated tires can handle this pressure, most of our owners are running their trailer tires at the 50 PSI or less on highway and 30 PSI or less off road. Doing so keeps stuff in the cabinets and cushions off the floor. Finally, I know of no OTT owners that use 110 psi rated tires on OTT's for all of the above reasons. GJ

Maybe this post will provide you with some answers.

My suggestion is that you join a Ford F150 forum to ask this question where there is specific towing expertise for your truck. That’s what I do for my TV. I’m a member of the Cummins Forum and the wealth of their experience is amazing. On a Ford truck forum you can certainly read the experiences of many F150 owners that have installed and used all of the aftermarket suspension helpers that you are considering. Best wishes an hope this helps!

Good question. As chairperson and founder of the Oliver Rabbit Hole Society, I think you may in time have the experiences and qualifications to be a member. 🙂 GJ

A 20 lb steel tank weighs around 17lbs and holds around 4.6 gal propane. Propane weighs 4.2 lbs per gallon. 4.6 x 4.2 = 19.3 lbs total: 36.3 lbs The only reason to upgrade to AL is if you want to carry as much propane as possible with the least amount of weight. Think boondocking on a riverbed in Alaska. A 30 lb aluminum tank weighs the same as a 20 lb steel tank.

Worthington Industries lists a 30# steel tank at 23.3 lbs tare weight (empty) and a 30# aluminum tank at 16.5 lbs Tare weight. 6.8 lb difference x 2 tanks = 13.6 lbs Sorry I didn't check a 20 vs a 30. Bill

John, Another lock option which is a little more difficult to get a bite on with a bolt cutters. If nothing else makes it more difficult. Not seeing many reports of batteries being stolen at least from Olivers, I suppose it is a peace of mind especially for those that keep their Oliver in a storage facility away from home. https://www.amazon.com/BRINKS-173-80051-Stainless-Resettable-Combination/ Hello to Wendy! David

SDG includes an new thermostat that they would install. Ron in the thread above has shown how the original Dometic thermostat can be rewired for furnace only. The Atmos is controlled by the surface panel or remote.

The installation price sounds great! From my 5 whole minutes of research, it looks like the 15k btu Dreiha sells for about the same amount as the 13.5 k btu Houghton… Sounds a little better than $4,000 to have Oliver install the Truma….

To address weBoost comments by you, @Galileoand @Mike and Carol: I’ve been practicing this procedure a few years and find it to be very useful information. I’ve even been able to get service in a park known to have very limited to ‘No Cell Service’! Having my weBoost antenna mounted atop a 16’ fiberglass flagpole helps, as well! Davis Mountains State Park, West Texas.

Colorado National Monument

I have Firestone airbags installed on my Tundra and have liked the way they perform (25,000 miles towing to date). Adjustability is key for my uses. 25 psi when towing eliminates jouncing in rear of truck. Happy Camper. Adjustability, price point (approx $400 at time of install) and ease of install were selling points for me. Very little leakage over 3 yrs.

What was Groucho Marx’s famous line? Something about not wanting to belong to any organization that would have him as a member? 😋

JD - we’re homeless these days. Sold our 1/2 acre “city” property in Chicago northern suburbs (“Goodbye $13,000 annual property taxes” - and climbing EVERY year or so.) and also our “country” property in Rural NE Texas. $400/year property taxes on 40 acres - go figure. (Ag exemption mainly) That said, we crash in the same part of Texas (Winnsboro) a couple of weeks a year. And likewise in Joliet area south of Chicago. Our camping trips are typically pretty long by comparison. (“I got nowhere else to go!”) At about 2-3 months at a time. We left Chicago just after Christmas, and only stashed the trailer in storage on March 8th. It will only be there until the end of the month, then camping again in Mandeville (NOLA) area for all of April. June starts the long trip cycle again, and will be in the trailer ‘til end of August. Though we’ll be staying near NOLA between two state parks for a month, and campground hosts for 5 weeks in Minnesota later this summer, we generally cover a fair amount of ground, aiming to stay in each place 3-4 days, and driving 100-200 miles between stops. “Home Base” for the Oliver (AKA “Indoor Storage”) is Hammond, LA (again, essentially New Orleans) and we’ve covered from there to the Florida Keys & back, Grand Canyon & back, PEI & back, and Yellowstone & back. Put 78,000 miles on previous tow vehicle in three years. (Whew!) My wife could easily hold down the role of a professional travel agent, as she researches and makes all of the reservations - as well as all of the travel arrangements for our annual fall Europe trips. (Me? I just drive the truck…) We’re trying to get smarter as far as spending the “cold” months in the South, and the hot months North. (No more Winslow in August please!) But with family in Chicago and Northern Indiana, we usually have to suck it up around Christmas. Biggest concern there is diesel trucks don’t like Chicago winters…

After a thorough review of your qualifying posts, the Rabbit Hole Society hereby bequiths to you a full lifetime membership.

Hey, Ralph; This is, at most, a 3-4 hr job at a service shop like Alcan, IMO. I changed my springs "solo" - it took a full day. However, when I changed my axles out at Hohenwald last year, "DeeBo" and I started around 8:30am and we were at lunch by noon that day. I'm sure Lew and his team at Alcan would have the springs done in less time. Plan on getting there the day prior to your appointment and you'll be on the road by early afternoon. Good luck!

@TravelWell, welcome to the forum. The Oliver tires are fine for highway and off-road. We’re nearing the end of life on our second set of tires, Cooper AT’s and they have done well. We don’t run at 80 psi, 50 psi is plenty. Our first year or so we kept inflated to 80 psi because Oliver said so. Much too harsh and we aired down several years before Oliver decided 80 was too much. As far as bumpy dirt roads, I think a lot of us have quite a few miles of bumpy dirt roads under our belts on the standard tires so I wouldn’t worry. Good question! Mike

I installed an Air Lift system on both my former Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4 and current GMC Savana 2500 TVs for the primary purpose of reducing squat when fully loaded and trailering. The system will also compensate for uneven weight distribution in the TV cargo bay from side-to-side. The remote control for the onboard air pump is a great feature for ease of adjustment, based on situational needs; in general, 25psi for daily driving and 35psi when trailering with the Silverado. I will determine like settings for the newer Savana with more use. The trailering psi provides for the optimum ball height specified by Oliver, 23.5” as I recall. It is important to wire these systems to operate only in the keyed ignition ON position, since pressures are affected by temperature variances and minor seepage overtime; otherwise the starter battery could be compromised! As a bonus to this system, when dumping the waste tanks the front of the Oliver can be lifted to speedup the process and ensure a complete dump. There have been times when this is necessary due to poorly designed dump stations or an awkward approach. It is a fact that airbags will not increase vehicle load or tow capacities, but based on my experiences they do improve overall handling, especially when towing. That said, I never felt the need for the Anderson WDH. You can pan below to view my post titled ‘2019 GMC Savana 2500 Cargo Van’ and dated October 24, 2024, wherein there is some discussion on the Air Lift install.

Finally got around to switching out our LP tanks for aluminum ones. 17 lbs vs 25 lbs. Supposedly holds 8 gallons of propane. We shall see. Had to make a custom tank mount due to bottom ring being too large for the steel tank mount. Made it out of HDPE 3/4 in bottom and top half with cutouts (9 9/16 in circle) was 1/2 in thick. Slight modification to center rod and large wing nut to secure tanks. Rod I used was 36 in. Needs to be long enough go through frame. Used my hand held router with a Jasper circle jig. Worked great. Very happy with the results. Couple inches to spare height wise with fiberglass shell back on. One of the last vestiges of steel removed from the Oliver. https://flameking.com/product/ysn330-copy/ Pre-purged vacuum ready for filling with propane 12x12x26.5 in 17 lbs 7-8 gallons OPD valve 3

Installed two sets of Firestone rear differential airbags on two pickups and three sets of Timbren suspension enhancement systems on three pickups, all for towing. Currently running Timbren SES on the rear differential our current Ollie TV, a 2024 F-150 5.0L. My main reason to use them is to reduce rear end sag when towing trailers. I like airbags because they are adjustable depending on load. Still have Firestone airbags on one pickup with about 10 years of service. They leak a little, so check pressure weekly when towing with that pickup. Timbren are lower cost and easy to install. It also depends on how much load you carry in the pickup bed when not towing with the Timbren system. My F-150 still has about 3/4" air gap between the rear differential pad and Timbren rubber blocks giving a nice ride when Ollie is not attached with our normal camping gear loaded in the pickup bed. The Timbren system gives a firm ride when the differential pad is contacting the rubber load blocks with Ollie connected. Original Ford rear differential jounce blocks: Here's a photo of the Timbren SES load block with air gap between the block & differential pad when Ollie is not connected with camping gear in F-150 pickup bed. With another brand pickup I had with Ollie disconnected and camping gear loaded in the pickup bed, there was still enough load for the Timbren load block to contact the differential pad which gave a firm ride, not desirable. In that case airbags would be better than the Timbren SES system.

🥶 You've had more snow in one day than we have had all winter (so far).

What’s outside in open air is not monitored. Had a Class A and C, both had Onans. They are frame mounted in a cavity that has no openings to the interior, exhaust piped out a few inches. If you have an external LP leak in your Oliver, your monitor will not sense it. Those of us who have had a leak knows, the nose knows! 🤣 Ours had a leak when a rear Alum weld broke on the frame where the LP line is connected.

There is also a slightly reduced risk of an accident that might be caused by a spark. Aluminum doesn't spark as easily as a steel tank. Bill

Upgraded to the ALCAN springs and have been very happy with them on the road. No more worries about one snapping in half. Matter of fact, I upgraded the leaf springs on the Tundra. Awesome upgrade as well. https://dobinsonusa.com/products/dobinsons-rear-leaf-springs-pair-for-toyota-tundra-2007-to-2019-l59-121-r/

Interesting take on this topic above. Noise while camping is not what I want. The Dometic AC and Fridge did work fairly well (AC better than the 3-way fridge) and parts were easily sourced but after 6 years of use I have upgraded both and have been using the Atmos and Nova Kool for almost a year. And I will say, there is no comparison in how well they work and how well the Dometic equipment worked. Dometic fridge was very finicky. Had to be level. Had to load it days in advance. Would not stay cool if load more than 75% capacity. Did not cool well off of battery 12v power and used a lot more energy to do it. Constantly had to monitor in cab to make sure steaks weren’t getting ruined. Temps were constantly above 40 degrees while traveling. Nova Kool - let’s just say I have quit monitoring the temps in cab. I have not had to adjust temps much, mostly to turn down because it got too cold. Dometic AC was loud and used a ton of energy. The Atmos can run twice as long on our battery bank (AC or Heat) set at 70 and you can have a conversation while getting ready for bed. No comparison, It would suck to have to go back. When camping the less I have to worry about something working properly the better. If I don’t hear it, even better!

Agreed, I locked my tanks and battery tray because the time it took was to drill a couple holes and as you can see in my picture, I used old padlocks from years past. I did spend on duplicate keys since I like Chris and I to each have a full sett of keys! 😂

John, I know you will do your research on this, after your dive please post up your info. I feel sure others would like to know. My initial thought is the weight difference may not be enough to justify the added expense of aluminum tanks at least for me. Another reason we opted to roll with a 1 ton diesel truck. Safe Travels! CAMP, CAMP, CAMP!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🫡

The two that go thru the frame.

For the most part - Jason (W) makes and/or posts these types of posts by copying them from other sources. Therefore, the specific brands, models, and other details contained in any specific post of this sort is not necessarily Oliver specific and are generally meant for "general" reminders or "general" information. In this specific example - we are being reminded to change the batteries in our installed safety devices - no matter which devices they really are. Bill