Leaderboard

To Oliver Owners and Valued Customers, As committed to several weeks ago, the Oliver Travel Trailers business owners and leadership team have discussed at length internally, with our dealer partners, as well as with Oliver owners and potential customers, the subject of continuing to offer service here in Hohenwald, TN. Oliver Travel Trailers has decided to leave our service facility fully operational for the foreseeable future. Oliver Travel Trailers remains committed to supporting and training our dealer network to provide exceptional opportunities to purchase and get an Oliver serviced as close to home as possible. The Oliver sales and service team remains available to assist with any needs or questions that you may have. Once again, Oliver Travel Trailers truly values the relationships we have with our owners, potential customers, and business partners. Thank you for the feedback and continued support. I look forward to seeing many of you at the Oliver Owner’s Rally in May. Best, Rodney Lomax Director of Operations Oliver Travel Trailers Sales & Service

To Oliver Owners and Valued Customers, The Oliver team and family greatly appreciates and values our current owners and individuals that are considering the purchase of an Oliver. Without you the organization and Oliver brand would not be what it is today. As most of you know, Oliver Travel Trailers is going through a transition period and some of the decisions have created some questions and potential uncertainty as it relates to the direction of the company. Oliver is paying attention, listening, and monitoring all of the feedback and comments on the forum, social media, emails, and phone calls. Oliver Travel Trailers’ intent is to be very straightforward and honest with our owners, potential customers, and employees. Integrity is the foundation of the Oliver brand. Oliver feels an official company update is appropriate to help clear things up. The following are some key facts: The rumor that Oliver Travel Trailers is positioning the business to sell is absolutely a false statement. The Oliver sales team is still actively working with all new and existing customers to answer questions and assist in the purchasing process. If you are interested in purchasing an Oliver or have questions, please contact us directly. The Oliver service team is still actively providing technical support to our Oliver owners to ensure issues are resolved as quickly as possible. If you have technical support needs, please contact us directly for assistance. The decision to close the service department at this time has not been received well by many Oliver owners and potential customers. Oliver leadership is listening and plans to have discussions on this topic next week. Oliver will update our owners in the coming weeks regarding any changes. Again, Oliver Travel Trailers truly values the voice of our owners and potential customers. We’re listening and we care. Oliver Travel Trailers isn’t a prefect organization, but we are committed to ensuring our brand, our owners, and our future customers have a product and customer support that is the best it can be. Thank you for being part of the Oliver Family. Rodney Lomax Director of Operations Oliver Travel Trailers Sales & Service

I'm BACK Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers - especially those that were specific to me and my family. We never lost power, satellite TV, or water/sewer in my sub-division. We had several trees down that blocked the roads into/out of our home but our City workers pushed those aside fairly early after the rain stopped and then my wife and I cleared the 95% of the mess up until I ran out of gas for the chainsaw. However, even though (as far as I know) the small town where I live "only" had relatively little damage, the storm had major effects on many areas around the entire Western North Carolina, north Georgia, and Tennessee. Specifically, the small town of Chimney Rock is basically gone. I don't mean damaged, I mean it is literally gone. There are highways that are gone, bridges gone, and, of course, buildings that are gone. I've heard varying numbers of deaths due to the storm but there are still areas that have not been visited because there is simply no way to get to them other than helicopter fly overs. Fortunately, these types of storms are not "normal" for us. Certainly THAT is good news. But, the bad news is that our infrastructure is not prepared for this type of thing. Also, our personal and governmental structure is basically not prepared. Curfews have been place since early on and I've not traveled so that the people, equipment and supplies that are needed can more easily get to where it is really needed. However, what little I've personally observed is amazing. We did get cell and land line phones back yesterday and just this morning slow internet is available. My wife went out early this morning in the hopes of getting some fresh fruit and milk. It took longer than "normal" but she returned with those supplies. Only one grocery store had those things in stock though and of the three stores she stopped into only one was accepting limited credit card payments. Apparently the local gas stations have received fresh supplies of gas but there are still long lines to get it. I'm guessing that by Friday things should be getting back closer to "normal". Unfortunately, I can't say the same for other nearby areas where I'm sure it will take months (if not years) to find any sense of "normalcy"😟. Bill p.s. I store my Ollie in a storage yard about 10 miles from my home. I'm assuming that it is still there and undamaged - I'll try to go for a visit by the weekend.

A few lessons learned from the recent storm here in Western North Carolina: 1: Get and/or make a copy of any drug prescription(s) you may have. A neighbor of our went to CVS to get a refill for one of his meds. Due to having no computer and/or internet access the pharmacy could not verify his prescription and, therefore, had to deny his request. They advised him to go to the local hospital where he could see a doctor to get a new script. 2: Keep a supply of cash (in small bills) on hand. Since power and access to computers/internet was lost in the region, the only way to get any services and/or products was to have cash. 3: Keep at least a 1/2 tank of gas in your vehicle(s) at all times. First the power went out. This caused the gas stations to not be able to pump the gas that they had on hand. Second, the power came back on but then there was "panic" buying and long lines to get gas. Third, when the gas stations were re-supplied there were still long lines due to the "panic" and uncertainty of when or if gas would be available in the future. 4: Keep bottled water on hand. Obviously the amount partially depends on the number of people, the area where you live - to include climate and time of year. 5: Consider some type of satellite communications device. This can be something as "simple" as a personal communications device like the Garmin InReach mini, a satellite phone, or Starlink. Bill

OK... Been thinking of this for a while and with some encouragement from @Geronimo John - it's probably a good a time as ever to post this. So, last month the traveling Knuckleheads and I visited the "first come - first served" Oliver Campground for some maintenance activities. We pull in around mid-afternoon knowing there's likely to be some serious WX coming in our direction. Having never been to the much touted-about showroom and maintenance facility located in an industrial area "across the tracks" in Hohenwald, the puppies and I met all the fantastic people in the showroom and general workshop area. Josh showed us all the new upgrades to the 2024 models and Magnus and Oscar approvingly inspected every square inch of them. We were adorned with swag like one couldn't believe (albeit the coveted "Ravel Cups" were no where to be seen)... Retiring to the Casablanca as the only Oliver in the campground, we threw on some Chris Stapelton and settled in to chill for a bit. A few minutes later, a rap at the main entry hatch... "Sir, since you're still coupled, it would be advisable to bring your rig through the main gate and under the protective metal roof by the shop". Assuming he (I'm thinking it was Mike) knows the WX patterns a ton better than us - I "rogered-up" and by the time I managed to snuggle the Tundra under the awning, the hail went from pea size to "no SH!T" golfball size. Never experience hail balls like that. The noise was louder than sitting behind the JBD waiting to launch with an F-8 in full burner on the CAT! IMG_1665.MOV It lasted about 20 minutes or so... The Oliver folks literally save our Tundra from being destroyed by the storm's hail - our metal panels aren't like the thickness of trucks back in the day - they're very thin. Jason Essary came up during the deluge, explaining that they get this type of storm often and I asked about the 6 or 7 brand new OTTs in the parking lot totally exposed to the hurling ice balls like ours was... He said, "No worries, until those hail balls get to the size of frozen chickens, they'll be good as gold!" WOW! Our's was completely being pelted by the hail as Jason explained this and sure enough - no issues! We'd just like to take this moment to thank ALL of the OTT employees that were there that day, helping us save the mighty TV, our Tundra... Cheers, ALL!

Camping at the Dinosaur National Monument, at the Green River campground, and couldn't eat on time because of the people wandering by saying "Is that an Oliver?" or "What kind of trailer is that?" I think most folks had already eaten and were doing their after dinner walkabout, but I got back late after hiking in the desert. Of course I'm not going to blow them off because I LOVE talking about my trailer. I had hoped to eat outside and watch the sunset but nope, by the time all the interested parties were gone, it was dark and I'm eating inside. I might have part of the blame for this.

I've been a member watching from the sideline since February 21, 2018. Now, retirement is a week away and we pickup unit #1525 June 8th--EXCITED IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT!!! Delivery photos coming soon.

Just some quick feedback after 5,175 miles on the Alcan leaf springs, and 1,500 miles on the D52's and new Monroe shocks: 1. We replaced the leaf springs just prior to the Eclipse Rally in TX last MAR and logged just north of 1,900 miles on that round trip from our home in NM. To baseline the structural frame support integrity, we photographed each of the aluminum welds visible from under Casablanca. The welds were in good order/no visible cracks before and after the Eclipse Rally. Nothing unusual noted in the interior of the camper during this first trip with the new springs. 2. We logged another 1,190 miles on the Alcans on our first leg of the OTT Owner's Rally from NM to Hohenwald arriving there 8MAR. We coordinated with Jason Essary to replace the Dexter D35 axles with the D52s Nev-R-Lubes with 12" drums. Dusten Bowden (18-year veteran of OTT and now owner of Dr RV Mobile RV Repair) and I swapped out the axles and mounted new Monroe's on 9MAR without issue. 3. Performed the U-bolt nut torque tightening protocol recommended by Alcan for the 9/16" U-bolts at 50, 100, and 500-mile increments. Arrived at the Owner's Rally on Tuesday last week after logging 265 miles on the D52s/Monroes. No issues noted after checking the U-bolts for proper torque. 4. Arrived home yesterday. 5,175 miles logged since MAR. The trailer pulls well in all the weather conditions experienced including strong cross winds through Amarillo on I-40 and some of the lousiest interstate sections we've experiences through northern Louisiana on I-20. Integrity of frame welds show no change since before changing springs, FYI. We're pleased with the running gear mods as they 100% meet our style of travel trailering... Cheers, All!

I love my wife Chris, and as each year goes by it becomes ever more so apparent! We purchased our Oliver just days short of a year ago and we love being together in our travels, no matter where we camp for the night, good or bad. I share this thought today with my virtual Oliver family. I do my things and she does hers and the best things are the times we spend together. She often asks, “How’s the blog going?” She’s referring to this forum and she is always interested. I tell her stories regarding y’alls antics, often over a drink or two before dinner. She listens and smiles, what a smile. Today is a very special day for us, as it is our 30th wedding anniversary! I have a difficult job every year from June 1st to June 7th. Her birthday being the latter date. Last year, as you can see, it was easy as can be, as to her surprise I brought home an Oliver! 😊 What in the world can I do this year! Good thing we do not need to top the great times we’ve had and will always have together. I write this for my partner in life. Love you, Chrissy.

Summary: Check under your kitchen sink I walked up to an Oliver at a campground one time to introduce myself. I noticed water running down the curb side rear stabilizer. After exchanging greetings I brought the leak to the attention of the owner. After looking under the curb side bunk and finding nothing I suggested that he look under the kitchen sink for the source of the leak. Upon removal of the drawers he found water soaked plywood caused by a loose coupling on the kitchen sink drain trap. Since then I have tried to check mine occasionally to ensure that it is tight and to look around for any other problems. Today I found that the quarter turn stop on the hot water was not completely open. It had probably been like that since we took delivery. Anyway, I opened it and improved the hot water flow at the sink. Occasionally remove your (kitchen) drawers and check on stuff down there -tightness of the drain coupling -quarter turn stops fully open -refrigerator plug plugged in -hose weight located between back of drawers and rear of cabinet carcass -hose not twisted -any sign of moisture -anything rubbing against something -and especially that blue clip on the faucet hose assembly. There was an owner that heard water running underneath her sink when she turned the faucet on. Turns out that blue clip was missing and the hose had completely separated. We have a 2018 OEII, hull 313. Some of this stuff has probably changed. The round port was added after production to access a loose clamp on the exit end of the fresh tank overflow hose. It sure is useful for checking below the cabinets. There is a plumbing vent under the back right corner of the range. It is supposed to let air in and not let grey tank smells out. If you are smelling something foul (grey tank odors, not black tank odors) and you can’t locate a leak you might have a bad plumbing vent.

On the last leg of our summer family vacation we stopped at my dad's in MI. Next morning, I drove down to Elkhart, IN and had SDG install the Atmos 4.4. Guys were on time, efficient and knowledgeable. Installation went great! Pics below: They now offer SoftStart as an option on their website but I brought my own SoftStart Breeze (smaller version) . Atmos 4.4 Pics Removed the old Dometic Penguin II, cut drain line and plugged. Cleaned surface, applied very small bead of Dicor self-leveling on the inside perimeter of fiberglass 14 x14 opening Removed interior shroud. Penguin shroud was screwed to fiberglass ceiling, the 2 holes on each side will barely show after Atmos plenum installed. Fixed mine with a couple of the small glow in the dark dots we use on the ceiling to amuse the kids. Kevin was able to use the wiring for the original thermostat location to power the Suburban propane heater control. I may change or remove this later. They used Molex connectors instead of JXN box additional pics The new unit is a good bit quieter (6-10db) depending on mode and has around 40% less draw on the battery. On high it was pulling 1200 W vs 1800 W for the PII. Fan only was under 300 watts. They were done with the install in 2 1/2 hrs. App and remote are working well but still figuring it all out. I know this is short but on our way home to TN. I did find out that the Atmos 4.4 is designed so that the fresh air coming in and the exiting conditioned air is in a sealed unit and does not contact the outside (humid air). So running the fan only does not introduce humid air, it only re-circulates cabin air. Still awaiting answer on how exactly AUTO mode works. From the manual, it only states that it senses ambient air and automatically heats and cools but nothing about a parameter. You actually cannot set the temperature in that mode at all as far as I can tell. I did notice this unit manufactured 3/24 is using R-32 refrigerant. Best, Mike

This morning we had the 5 leaf pack installed on Hull #634 XPLOR at the Alcan shop here in Grand Junction, CO. We had an excellent experience from start to finish. We opted for the upgraded heavier duty wet bolts, nyloc nuts, Alcan HD 2 1/2” shackles. Our Monroe shocks are still in good shape with less than 2500 miles on them. Over all very happy with the work performed by Tucker at Alcan, he has installed the custom 5 leaf pack on a number of Olivers. Lew the owner was excellent to deal with and explained everything in detail. If you have questions about the install, parts or pricing, give Lew a call. Now we can get on with our trip to Utah, Wyoming and maybe Montana. Onward & Safe Travels! Drop off early morning - yes we hit the loves to top off with diesel, saving 76 cents per gallon with our TDS Open Roads Fleet card. We love LOVES. Ha! Thanking Lew 2.5 hrs later after the new leaf packs were installed. Gotta have a little swag.. Decal swag - Optional upgraded wet bolts. Torque specs -

Thanks to our salesman (Colton Laidlaw) & the folks at Southland RV, Norcross, GA for making the purchase of our new trailer a seamless transaction. I’d also like to thank our neighbors Steve & Tallie (hull #50) for stopping by to say hello. 😊 IMG_3726.mov

I spent all day yesterday installing Alcon leaf springs, Alcon U-bolts and new Monroe shocks on our trailer. I did the work myself and have to say that I recommend tackling it yourself if you have even average mechanical abilities and a torque wrench. I haven't had time to give it a test tow yet but am optimistic that the tow to the rally will be trouble free.

This long awaited swap-mod is now checked off my to-do list! Like many, I tolerated the noisy Dometic Penguin ll long enough; so glad I was finally able to take decisive action with this install. After a couple years of mulling over the various replacement models being marketed, a unit emerged that caught my attention; the newly available Atmos 4.4 seemingly met all of my expectations. I will forego the removal of the Dometic, here is how I proceeded forward: First and foremost, all AC and DC power sources were turned OFF! Scaffolding and equipment/supplies were then staged for Dometic ‘liftoff’ and subsequent Atmos ‘lunar landing’ (only appropriate since I live a couple miles from the NASA Mission Control Center in Houston). Roof area in need of cleaning. Notice the raised fiberglass landing on my year model and that the former condensate drain tube was simply disconnected rather than cutoff. Roof area throughly cleaned and prepped. I decided to adhere the square self-adhesive foam roof seal directly onto the fiberglass and then apply non-leveling Dicor around the cutout perimeter to further ensure the best seal possible. In positioning the foam seal, care was taken to center it as evenly possible, thereby allowing about 1/4-3/8” of exposed fiberglass to lay a bead of the Dicor and finger smooth to finish. Interior view of the Atmos being positioned over the roof cutout. Note the use of the mounting bolts as a guide, as recommended by SDG. Because the ‘rough cut’ edges of the layers of fiberglass (inner and outer hulls, and spacial filler) were inconsistent, I used the foam seal as a reference to accurately center and align the unit; distances measured to each respective bolt. Initially, installation instructions were followed by adhering the supplied straight piece of self-adhesive foam onto the bottom of the unit as a rear support, but it did not make contact with the roof due to relief of the aforementioned fiberglass landing. Alternatively, the foam piece was cut in half and each adhered onto the fiberglass, in like manner as the square seal, along the outer edges of said landing. This adaptation proved very effective in application and purpose, as the last of the next three pics demonstrates. Now that the exterior unit is properly positioned and supported, it’s back inside to further installation. As a side note, I made use of a portable a/c to buffer the heat and humidity of the day! Although my son helped with the heavy lifting and positioning, I cut him loose and completed the remaining tasks solo. Before proceeding, I used foil tape to treat the end of the aforementioned condensate drain tube and secure it to the side. Next the installation of the fabric air plate duct subassembly was started (provided Dreiha Atmos 4.4 Manual details the process). Note I used foil tape on both the upper (at Atmos bottom) and lower (at mounting frame) duct plates, even though most installs viewed applied to the mounting frame plate only. Between the upper and lower duct plate installs, the ceiling assembly mounting frame was bolted in place and hand torqued using a screwdriver only (torque specified in Manual). The AC power connection was very straightforward. The ceiling assembly’s junction box cover was removed, a strain relief fitting installed at one end (the other end had a preinstalled protector) and respective wires routed inside. I reused the Wago Lever-Nuts from the Dometic install, but first tinned the stranded wires of the Atmos lead for optimum assurance in application; electrical tape was used to further secure the Wago connectors. Ground wires were secured per the Manual. The junction box cover was then replaced, DC thermostat wire bundle loom wrapped and tucked away for future use, and ceiling grille fastened in place. . I’m very pleased with this mod, quality of the Atmos and ease of installation! I should mention that SDG preinstalled a SoftStartRV. I will provide an update once the furnace wiring and thermostat mount is completed. A special shoutout to @rideadeuce for forging the way with his install of an Atmos!

Bulldog shocks are a bit beefier and look like they are well made. Easy swap. Leaf springs look good, still on the fence about upgrading to the Alcan 5 leaf springs. Clips were loose on both springs on the right. Center bolt nut on the left EZ flex was loose and about to fall off. All of the Monroe shocks seemed to be in good working order just rusty. Future plans include the ALCAN highway so trying to get everything done now. New tires in the morning. https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 Wildpeak H/T02 LT225/75R16 E/10PLY BSW *** Now back to torquing the shocks so that the cushion is the same diameter as the metal retainer but not larger. ***

We were on our Way home from the Hershey PA show when we stopped to stretch our legs. A couple came up to us and said they had been following us for about 20 miles hoping we would stop so they could see our trailer. It turned out they had a you tube channel. You never know who you might meet on the road. Bill

They put us on their November calendar. After running our trip, every time I sat on the old cushions, I thought it would be a shame to merely reupholster with new cloth yet keep the 9-year-old foam. When we dropped them off, I asked about new foam. He said the quality of foam for seating they carry is far superior to what we showed them in the old cushions. We went with 24x25" bottoms with 5" new foam (1" taller) and with the batting and fabric, the cushions are closer to 6" tall. We had 2" clearance under the window frames with the old cushions. The new ones just fill the opening and stay nicely. Went with the original sized 4" foam for the seat backs. All new foam, batting, fabric, zippers with newly corded edges. Chris loves the color given her Red, White and Blue Oliver theme! We spent just under $500 out the door. Which for me was better than the $350 for upholstery only. Soon, she will look as good as she tows or provides inverter power!

I just got back from the facility where I store my Oliver. I'm very happy to report that all is well, Twist is still there high and dry. Unfortunately though I had several discussions with people that live in and around the town of Mills River. All of those that I talked to are still without power, water and sewer. Free water is being distributed in a number of places as is free food. Even while I was at the storage yard a young fellow drove by with cases of water in the back of his truck asking if anyone needed it. To his credit - he wouldn't even take the $20 bill I offered him to help pay for his gas. And, out of the five people that were near me only one took a case of water because the rest of us simply didn't need it. A local Holiday Inn is offering free showers to anyone needing one. FEMA has arrived in our town as of this afternoon and I noticed that several of the downed power lines that were down as I drove back towards town were being worked on. Our electric provider (Duke Energy) has posted that virtually all of the Transylvania County residents should have restored power no later than Friday evening. And, most important, it has been reported that there have been no deaths in the county due to this storm. Bill

@Mike and Carol Thank you Mike for your concern. As reported the Western NC foothills and mountain areas are in really bad shape in a lot of areas. A close friend of mine who works for Duke power told me it looks like a war zone. We did have had friends and neighbors check on our home and to our surprise we were spared and had no damage with exception of a few pines over on the ridge we live on. Sadly, this is not the same report for many of our neighbors. Our LNG Generac standby generator ran for 60 hrs before our power was restored keeping our home on 💯 full power. We are very grateful to say the least. All this said our hearts our heavy for ALL impacted by this storm. I40 which connects eastern Tenn with western NC is closed and it appears it will be for a long time. Our Starlink mini has been a game changer with regard to staying up to date. I have made several attempts to call and txt topgun2 and have not had any success. Mike I am glad hear you got through this morning. We are both relieved he and Sue are ok. I would ask everyone to take a moment and lift up ALL people impacted by this storm in your thoughts and prayers. David & Kathy

Some pix from Acadia NP this week.

Whenever I'm in my Ollie, I find myself thinking, "This is a great trailer. I love it!" And then I read something like this: https://www.autoevolution.com/news/youtuber-goes-dark-after-getting-legal-threats-from-big-name-rv-brand-238585.html I know it's confirmation bias, but this article makes me feel good about my Ollie. I feel bad for those folks mentioned in the article, but I feel even better about my decision to drop the $$ for the Oliver. Yes, I've had a couple minor issues but really, compared to this article and hundreds of similar articles, my issues are nothing. And the best part is that whatever little issue I have, I can get immediate personal attention from the service department. It seems that a lot of people who buy SOB trailers have a lot of problems and when they try to get help, well, good luck with that. So, thank you OTT for selling me a quality product and keeping me far away from all those headaches.

We departed the ABQ area mid-morning and are now boon docking near Amarillo, FYI. Even saw another Oliver enroute, "Buck and Ollie"! This thread has been very informative for us regarding spring packs. Perhaps owners will become more attentive to the "dirty side" of their Olivers - as the undercarriage and specifically, the running gear, might be overlooked for some. It's definitely not as sexy as other areas of the OTT, for sure. But, it's where the rubber meets the road that concerns us. It would be good for everyone reading this thread to crawl underneath an learn what type of axles they may have. We learned that 3500# axles can be either 2-3/8" or 3" diameter at the same weight rating. Each takes a different size of U-bolt. As noted in an earlier post, each has a different torque specification as well. As responsible owners, we should know what U-bolts we're riding on and what the respective torque specs are. Here's a good one: During our spring-pack R&R, we noticed that on the last set of U-bolts, there weren't any washers! At some point in our Oliver's life, the U-bolt nuts were installed and torqued without them. You can't get an accurate torque value without washers. We never noticed this condition until just last weekend as we were finishing up. Just another thing to look for when you're crawling around under there... @Patriot's well thought out approach to have a spare spring pack/U-bolt kit on board is rock solid. Especially, considering the Dexter 5-year warranty implications. Good on you, brother. Please note: If U-bolts are replaced, either by emergency durning on the road conditions, or by modification/upgrade in controlled conditions - please mind the torque procedure. Specifically, re-torque after first 50 miles, then at 100 miles, finally at 500 miles. Check torque settings annually - easy enough to do at the same time you're servicing your EZ-Flex suspension, wheel bearings, and doing your shock absorber inspection. We completed the first 2 torque drills today while headed eastbound on I-40 towards Amarillo. New U-bolts actually stretch until finally torqued after the 500 mile check. We'll be doing the 500 mile check tomorrow. It's amazing how much additional tightening was needed to meet the torque specs on the first 2 inspections. Bottom line, loose U-bolts can cause spring failures. Very strong left to right wind conditions while towing today, the Casablanca was rock solid back there - like always. The peace of mind is well worth the effort we went through over the past several days performing this mod. Happy Campers all! Cheers...

I would like to add that the value of this forum is as great as factory service in helping me solve occasional problems. For example, this past weekend I ran into what I thought was a serious issue but quickly found that someone else had experienced the same issue and provided the solution on this forum....and poof! Problem solved. Interestingly, the original problem while reported to factory service was only solved by the owner himself. Given the outstanding expertise of our factory service folks, this was a rarity but proved once again the value of this forum. Do we have RV tech shortages? Yes. Are RV techs typically paid poorly by dealerships with lack of training? Yes. Are there risks with the new service model? Yes. But, do we still have each other and this forum? YES!

I’m new to the Oliver community, just 7 months into my new-to-me LE1, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. I offer them with some humility, honestly. Here’s my thought: I'm surprised at the negativity about the developing Oliver sales and service model. My own service experience is quite limited to a week in Hohenwald a month ago - we’d timed it to launch our current 5 week camping trip. Our planning went back to a service request 4 months ago. When the date came, we traveled 2 days to get to Hohenwald, and then had to find accommodations for 4 nights for me, my spouse and our dog to wait out the 3.5 days our upgrades and annual servicing would take. We were happy with the results and the knowledgeable team we met, but would have been much happier if a regional Oliver dealer was available for a “drop it off and come back in a few days to pick it up” kind of servicing last winter. The jobs we had done (lithium & Truma AC upgrades & annual servicing) would have been well within the ability of a competent and well trained regional dealership. When the dealership expansion was announced, I did contact such a regional Oliver dealer in lower Va. They told me they had not yet been trained for servicing, so I kept my March appt at Hohenwald in place. I thought, “Training dealerships has got to take some time. Check back with the regional dealer in a year and they should be up to speed.” That seems (to me) a reasonable expectation for the Oliver community, with widespread benefits for Oliver owners like me in the years ahead. From what you all are repeatedly saying about the Oliver family and team, I’d have a high confidence that they share that goal. If everyone’s experience with the Oliver team in the past has been so widely appreciated, why not give them the benefit of the doubt? In the meantime, I feel confident that I have a backstop if I get caught - you all. I’ve been a regular reader (if an infrequent poster) in the Oliver forums over the last half year. I’ve seen you all step in again and again to help people like me, who are trying to make something work better, or fix something broken. The generosity, creativity, competence, and enthusiasm of the Oliver owners was a factor in my purchase. Were I in Oliver management, I would hope for your partnership in making this expansion as seamless and fruitful as possible. i suspect as a newcomer to the Oliver community I’m missing something here - maybe it’s the longstanding friendships that have developed in the Oliver community. Maybe it’s something else. I just hate to see a much loved team with a first class product and a devoted family of owners fracture like this when some (well deserved) trust and some months of patience and a “let’s do what we can to make this work” attitude could make a good thing even better.

Good question, John. Due to prior commitments, the process is still underway, worked on it for a couple hours yesterday, plan to finish it up this morning. After speaking with Mike/Alcan, here's a high-level List of Instructions for the leaf spring R&R. 1. Break loose the wheel lug nuts on all wheels; 2. With the OTT connected to the the TV, raise enough that wheels are just high enough to spin and that 4 jack stands can be placed in front and to the rear of the running gear on the OTT frame; 3. Lower OTT onto the jack stands - wheels must still be able to spin; 4. Remove wheels; 5. Pick a side to start. Place a jack stand under front axle about 2 feet inboard of wheel assy. - use a floor jack under the spring plate to raise the axle just enough to adjust the jack stand under the axle, then lower the floor jack so the axle rests on the floor jack. There should be very little tension on the suspension at this point; 6. Remove the lower shock absorber nut and push the shock up and out of the mounting hole on the spring plate, use safety wire to hold lower shock outboard and away from spring plate - helps with aligning the spring plate later on; 7. Remove the 4 U-bolt nuts/washers; 8. Remove the spring plate (at this point - we wire brushed the plate, cleaned with acetone and rattle-canned it with RustOleum, set aside to dry for later); 9. Remove the forward wet bolt from the frame mount - this allows the spring pack to drop; 10. From the Dexter center shackle, remove the corresponding Dexter shackle nuts and the outboard connecting plate - the inboard connecting plate will be removed with the wet-bolts still "press fitted" into the plate. Keep as is and ChemKlean the shackle plates, wet bolts and nuts for later assembly; 11. Throw away the cheap-ass Chinese made spring pack. (OBTW: Our's weighed 10lbs even as compared to the Alcan 5-leaf spring pack of USA steel at 18lbs! We still have the fourth spring to replace today - but the three removed so far were definitely starting to flatten.) 12. Check the centering bolt head on the Alcan spring pack so it fits into the corresponding centering hole in the spring plate. We had to file the corners on a couple of the bolts to get the correct fitment. 13. Insert the "now cleaned" shackle components to the Dexter center shackle assy. Connect Alcan spring pack (this would be the rear-most spring pack bushing for the front axle), bolt on the outboard connecting plate. 14. Check the forward wet bolt after cleaning by connecting your Lock'nLube and squeezing grease through the journal (be sure to do this with all wet-bolts). Thoroughly grease the spring pack brass bushing and wet bolt. Ensure the wet bolt can fit through the brass bushing - tap in gently using a socket over the grease nipple. 15. Lift the forward end of the spring pack and place a floor jack under at mid-point (where the spring plate will be placed in a later step). Lift the Alcan spring pack up to the forward spring mount on the frame. Ensure the centering pin on top of the Alcan spring aligns with the centering hole on the axle's spring pad. 16. Insert the forward wet-bolt by raising/lowering the floor jack and tapping the center shackle fore/aft until the bushing aligns with the mounting holes. This is a step that takes some patience. We had to use an alignment bolt from the outboard side of the mount to get the wet-bolt through from the inboard side. (NOTE: The wet-bolts have splines near the head to keep them from spinning once tightened in the shackle plate - we oriented them so the grease hole on the wet-bolt faced "UP"). 17. Place your U-bolts in place over the axle (we painted ours just to keep the rust down to a minimum - plus it looks way cooler). Place the cleaned and freshly painted spring plate in place. Install new U-bolt washers and nuts - using an "X" pattern, tighten the U-bolt nuts slowly pulling the spring plate up and into position. Use a flashlight to check that the Alcan spring centering bolt is aligning with the centering hole in the spring plate. We tied the lower shock outboard and away to a wheel lug with safety wire to make this alignment easier. 18. Install lower shock to spring plate; 19. Torque all nuts to specs. 20. Move to same side rear assy. and repeat. 21. Move to opposite side and repeat front and rear like steps 1 thru 20 above. There's probably a few extra things I did (removed, inspected, and re-packed wheel bearing, for example) but these are the key steps. Very satisfying procedure. It's worth the peace of mind knowing your running gear is in order! More to report later after complete and test driven. Cheers!

I wanted to reach out to everyone regarding this issue. We have been made aware of the issue and are currently investigating. At this time it appears to be a single incident but we will be continuing our investigation.

10,000 mile update on Alcan springs: A year had passed since my dreaded roadside leaf spring break and 10,000 miles are on the Ollie with Alcan springs underneath so I thought I would provide my update. Ride height - rear bumper rides approx 1/2” higher than stock Ride performance - first 500 miles seemed a bit stiffer than stock with a few more items from counter and beds on the floor but the springs settled-in after that and there is no observed difference inside the trailer now (no additional stuff found fallen to the floor). Trailer tracks the same as stock, however visible jouncing (up and down) and side to side (roll) are observed to be less pronounced than stock. I also noticed when doing annual bearing maintenance that the spring shackles no longer invert when both wheels on the same side are jacked off the ground. Overall impression - had I known that a heavier capacity, 5-leaf spring, made in the US with US steel and featuring a design with the second leaf which extended all the way under each spring eye was available sooner I would have swapped sooner, just as I had previously done with solid stainless lug nuts and US made Timken bearings. No regrets on the upgrade from stock springs.

FYI: Quartzite "Proving Grounds" -- We opted-in on a Solar Tracker at the owner's rally last year which Coy and his business partner, Joe designed. It's been running straight through since arriving at the Q last Monday. The tracker uses onboard GPS, MPPT charge controller, and other programs to "track" the sun's progression throughout the day. It stows itself at sunset then "wakes" up after sunrise, resets its position and its 200W solar module angle to optimize power generation. Even with the low winter sun angles here at the Q, the tracker get's our 300A-Hr Battle Borns back to 100%SOC by noon-ish to 1pm. We're still putting it through its "shake-down" cruise during this trip. More later...

I updated my batteries with assistance of a friend who does solar installs for a living. This is a bit different than most of the installs I have seen here in that we used two 400 AH EG4 rackmount batteries. After removing the rackmount handles from the batteries and the battery tray from the Oliver they fit perfectly. There was a bolt in the bottom of the battery cabinet that was an issue. We put in 1 inch square aluminum rods on the floor of the cabinet to raise the batteries above the bolt head. We also replaced the Xamp solar charger with a Victron solar charger 100/30, added Victron lynx shunt, Victron distributor, and Victron cerbo with a touch screen (7" model). This fit perfectly in the hole left by the removal of the Xamp solar charger. To get the cables from the cerbo to the touch screen I ordered an extra HDMI extension cable and USB cable (approx. 15'). I ran the cables to the back of the camper in the tray behind the cabinet and then down the wall in the back, under the basement, and back up under the street side bed. Trying to pu the wire down next to the pantry would not work. It was too tight. I believe Victron is planning on replacing the HDMI cable with the small USB connections this spring. Didn't help me, but maybe it would help you. In addition we added a solar disconnect which you can see below. In the pictures below. These batteries can be powered off and the breaker thrown to disconnect. They also come with automatic fire suppressants, two per battery. Cost was $1200 per battery (400 AH, each). This was the first stage of the upgrade. At some point I may replace the Xantrex 2000 inverter, but for now it works well for us. Unfortunately the Xantrex and Victron do not talk to each other. That is why you don't see information on the touch screen about the AC loads and AC input. We have taken it on a couple of trips now and we do not come close to making a dent in the batteries. I added an extra battery in case we need to replace our 3-way fridge in the near future. So far it is doing well. I replaced a power board on it a while back, but since then no issues. Parts are harder to come by now though.

My wife Jane (Hospice nurse) and I (former Bosch employee) retired earlier this year and after a cross country trip to California from home base in Chicago by car, decided we needed to investigate trailers. We had followed Oliver for a year or two, and looked at fiberglass truck bed campers prior to purchasing this Elite2. Very happy with our decision - but making many rookie mistakes as we weren’t camper prior. So far, only correctable mistakes and a few serious close calls! We head to Hohenwald tomorrow for a factory tour. Currently enjoying Green River Lake State Park in Campbellsville, KY ( beautiful park)! hope to meet you all in our coming travels! Rich and Jane Walker

Just brought her home, new to us 2017 Elite II. Hull 207. We are so excited to be here and to be the proud new owners of this beauty! We have a Casita independence which we will be selling. We live in NH. We both retired in the past few years and want to explore our amazing United States while we are still in our go go years. We are looking forward to learning about the Ollie and enjoying adventures on the road.

Our SL mini arrived today. Very impressed with the ease of a 10 minute set up including PW and latest updates. I think this will do the trick for us as far as comm goes. It even fits down in my Osprey Day Lite pack. Waiting on the Stiker protective case which is scheduled for delivery this sat. I will post up more user info once we get back on the road and put this tech to use. SpaceX we have a Starlink lift off!! 😊 Front yard initial set up. The mini fits easily in my Osprey Daylite plus pack.

So got the new U-bolts from ALCAN and put the new leaf springs on only to find out the HD 1/2 in. OEM shackles were too short. They are the HD 1/2 in width but 2 in long measured zerk to zerk. The 2nd leaf rides on the suspension arm. Talked with Lew, figured out the problem and he is sending out new 2 1/4in HD shackles to resolve the problem. Confirmed Key points: 3500 lb axles use 4 bolts on the backside of the hub and 1/2 in. U-bolts. They can have tube diameters of 2 1/2 or 3 in. Make sure to measure. 5200 lb axles use 5 bolts on the backside of the hub and 9/16 in U-bolts. They typically have tube diameters of 3 in. Make sure to measure. If you don't upgrade to the shackles Lew sells, make sure even if you have upgraded HD 1/2 in. shackles to measure the length. If it is 2 in they will not work, must be 2 1/4 in. Make sure to measure. Lew was great to deal with as always. @ScubaRx I did confirm that he does not want his 2/12 in U-bolts back. Hopefully, this adds to the conversation since both of these issues came up for me. Cheers, Mike

We don't use our AC very often, but when we do it would be nice if it didn't scare the dog and stess-out the cat. I didn't want to buy one of the newer (quieter) models just yet, so I looked into how I could insulate the stock Dometic unit better and achieve a noticeable reduction in noise. It took a 3-step approach, but I got it down to 65dB which is a significant reduction from the 75+dB level before. I took the attached dB reading in the center of our LE2 right under the front of the AC unit. I have attached photos of the 3 items that I added; (1) dense foam insulation to fill the hollow area to the rear of the return air intake vents between the roof-top unit and the ceiling panel, (2) I added a .4" layer of stick-on foam insulation over the very thin layer that came on the inside of the ceiling panel along with another piece of dense foam between the the center sliding vent cover (which is right below the fan motor) and the added layer of foam insulation (I did this so the cool air would be directed out the 2 side vents, and the front and rear vents instead), and (3) I installed an AC compressor noise reduction blanket. We are very happy with results!!! Joe/769

For those interested, a short interim travel summary: So, we departed NM mid-morning, last Friday for Moab, UT. High winds and rain from Farmington to Shiprock slowed us way down, but the TV/Casablanca performed wonderfully. Moab and Arches were fantastic and we'll be staying there a few days on our return leg next week. We initially planned to spend about 5 or 6 days in Rock Springs, WY for an annual "Escapade Rally" -- but changed our minds after 2 nights there. Decided that the time away from home would be better spent exploring around the Tetons and Yellowstone. Dumping holding tanks and topping off fresh while the Knuckleheads wait for D to return... So we "pulled-chocks" yesterday AM and headed north on the US 191 (one of our most fav US HWYs) - stopped for a great lunch at a Brewery in Pinedale, WY. Smoked brisket nachos - OMG! Made our way to Jackson winding our way northbound on the beautiful US-19 following the Windriver Range and eventually the Hoback River into Jackson. The snow-capped Windriver Range in the distance below... Hoback River alongside the 191 - no wind and temps in mid-60s all day long: Harvest Hosted at the Jackson Hole Still Works - met some phenomenal young men that owned the distillery and they provided an interesting/educational tour of their very modern facility here. Our "boondock" location at the HH venue in Jackson, can you find Magnus below?: It's off to Coulter Lake, Teton NP this morning then up to Yellowstone this afternoon... More later... Cheers, All! A & D

Travel Summary #3 -- Day-8: Yesterday, Thursday 20JUN, Casablanca got a rest at the campground near West Yellowstone, and D, the Knuckleheads, and I hit the northern high-country of YNP. Absolutely spectacular in all regards - first it actually topped our tour of Yellowstone Lake and Old Faithful areas from the day prior (Wednesday), next the WX was phenomenal (no wind, blue skies, low-mid 60's), and tons of wildlife! (FYI: We crossed over the Continental Divide three times from the park's south entrance on Wednesday, the highest was 8,300+ feet MSL.) Following the Madison River into the park from West Yellowstone, we took the Norris cut-off at the 14-mile mark. D captured this snap of a nice 5x5 in velvet at a turn-out enroute: We stopped uncountable times as we made our way to Canyon Village, managing to get several interesting shots: The Knuckleheads liked their "pee/poop-walk" near Canyon Village and saw several new furry pals. From a safe distance, we observed a black bear and her cubs - then later a griz... Going further north into the high-country alpine area the views were spectacular. Roads were very well maintained in this region and traffic was light even though its high/peak season. We suspect most sightseers like the southern region for the lake, geysers, and Old F. We pressed-on driving on Yellowstone's Grand Loop Road (again, stopping countless times) for about another 36 miles over Dunraven Pass (8,859') past Tower Falls to Mammoth Hot Springs for another break for the boys. Enroute, we were able to grab this shot of D pointing at a massive bull buff about 150 yards away: All in all, this 137-mile loop was one of the best sightseeing excursions we've made in the Tundra. Yesterday, we topped just north of 1,150 so far since leaving home. Our lifetime-military National Park pass really came in handy so far on this adventure as we'll have visited 5 NPs before returning to NM. Today, we head off for Bear Lake which straddles eastern-most border of both ID and UT - making way for Moab (again!) by Thursday next week... More later, folks! Cheers! A & D

My objective when starting this thread was to cast light onto a significant safety problem that many of us have dealt with (and/or may deal with in the future), share my chosen solution and then share the results of that solution with other E2 owners. In doing this, I hoped others would develop and share their own solutions and their observed results following implementation. Any deviation to this objective is outside the intention for this thread. Please try and stay on objective and if you have found your own solution, please provide your reasons for your choice, including analysis and specs, where you purchased, the total cost and your observations during installation and direct observations of use after implementation. There will likely be more than one viable solution to this problem and that’s fine. Providing the details on how you arrived to that solution and real-life towing following install should be of great help to the rest of us.

Chris and I met playing tennis in 1991, and 3 years ago we transitioned to Pickleball for the community and it's also a little easier on our older bodies! Chris has competed in a bunch of tournaments with her Ladies partner, and we have played a few mixed doubles together. Loved our visit to St George for this tournament last year and we are playing it again this week: Selkirk Red Rock Open in St. George, Utah | PPA Tour So, it had the makings of a great Oliver trip. Thought we would boondock a first night just 2 hours from home, then 2 nights at Valley of Fire Nevada on the way. Starting tomorrow, we will spend 3 nights at a St George RV park right in town to be close to the tournament. This was our first night, off Signal Rd in Wikieup AZ (pics below).

Made it through last night fairly "high and dry" - although there is a slight after-smell of wet huskies in the camper... Oh, well, it's how we roll. T-storms started again early this AM (0230) through about 0445. Nobody slept - coffee came early and prep for R&R operations with Dusten Bowden (18-year veteran of OTT). The Dexter Nev-R-Lubes swapped without even a hiccup... ABOVE: Removed and replaced the rear axle first then attacked the front... ABOVE: Note the size difference between the 12" and 10" drums... about 19% more braking surface area. ABOVE: Took about 3.5 hrs for the axle R&R, back on the road now and headed toward Nashville over the next several days. Had to stop for this pic - here's "3 hearty cheers" to Jim Oliver for designing what we consider the best TT for the money in the US RV market! Roll-on, regardless...

Update: 4/29/2024 8:18pm... Everything looks good, enjoy. P.S. Let me know if you have any issues. Update: 4/28/2024 8:48 pm... Migration completed. Still looking through and making sure all configurations are correct and the data is intact! Update: 4/27/2024, 7:13 pm... Running into some delays, uploading files and working with the host to make sure we get everything done right and perfect. Will update as time progresses. Thank you! --- Hello Everyone, We will move the Oliver Travel Trailer's website and Oliver Owners' forums to a new website host this Saturday evening, 4/27/2024. We will try to get this done through the night to minimize activity times. This migration is a necessary step to improve our website's performance. This migration is an enormous undertaking, and we are still determining an estimated completion time. We understand that this may cause some inconvenience, but we assure you that we are working diligently to make the transition as smooth as possible. During this period, the website and forums may experience intermittent downtime, and you may encounter difficulties accessing certain features. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we strive to complete this migration. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to providing you with an improved online experience on our new website host. Best regards, Oliver Travel Trailers

I’ve been quiet about this issue, I don’t like it and wish it wasn’t the path forward. I don’t know of any of the moderators that thinks this is “good for Oliver owners”. I’ve missed the “many” favorable comments by my fellow moderator team. I think it’s being blown out of proportion by some. In 8 years I’ve been back to Hohenwald for service work just once, a two day drive. Everything else was done by me or a local RV repair shop. We’ll still have technical expertise that we can access from Oliver. I’m going to watch and see how this plays out. Oliver management is not abandoning owners, my experience over the years is that they go out of their way to ensure owners are taken care of. Mike

We have our first grandchild and his name is... Wait for it... Oliver! (He's going to love our trailer when he's old enough to read!)

My ALCAN springs arrived yesterday (Wednesday) and my RV tech installed them yesterday PM. His torque wrench failed so I brought him mine this morning so he can finish up the job. He liked the ALCAN springs and there were ZERO issues installing them. He also confirmed that at least one set of the original Dexter springs were starting to flatten out. Meaning (to me) they were on the way to failure. I will also state that the original springs had only about 5000 highway miles on them and ZERO off road miles. We depart tomorrow (Friday) for a six week, 5300 mile trek around the US so I'll report back how they ride. I did lower my PSI in the tires to 48 PSI to help soften whatever uptick in stiffness there may (or may not) be with the new springs. I'll also report what difference (if any) there is on additional lift the new springs may have provided. Paul (2 HOBOS) hull 414

I have been on this forum for many years as my wife and I researched, learned, and awaited when it made sense for us to join the clan of Oliver ownership. First, I want to thank this group for all you have shared and knowledge over the years. My wife and I were introduced to Oliver a few years back. Like many of you once we saw the quality, community, and how Oliver conducts themselves we had a hardtime accepting anything we saw in other places. We have camped with our kids as they grew up and camped in many different ways including car camping, tent camping, yurt camping, popup camping, teardrop, and renting a few different types of TT. We thought it would be a few more years before we jump into Oliver ownership since we still have one at home for 2 more years. But all the stars aligned this summer and we decided to pull the trigger. We are now the owners of hull #1305 after working with @Snake River Idaho who were great to work with and had a wonderful trailer they had decided to part ways with (such great people to work with and a great reflection on the Oliver community). We just got home from a one-week trip to bring her back home. There is certainly a lot that goes into anyone making this decision. For us, we had heard stories on this forum about health issues making it hard or impossible to do things like this. We have also been personally close to a number of these stories with quite a few of them happening recently. So since we found ourselves in a place financially to do it we decided we were not going to wait any longer even though we have to account for a 3rd sleeper for 2 more years (which on the week trip home she did wonderfully on via the dinette setup each night). The trip home was wonderful. Despite spending a few years learning and researching, doing it for real still had me learning and trying to figure things out. We did have a few minor events on the trip home we had to figure out like the overly sensitive LP/CO2 sensor that woke us up in the middle of the night the first two nights. Or that leather cushions on fiberglass don't stay in place and slide right off (does anyone have a remedy for this?). But we got to experience things on the trip home we have always wanted to but never had before like Bannack State Park Ghost Town one of the most well-preserved ghost towns in Montana and a beautiful sunset in the middle of nowhere outside Dillion MT. Or the Atomic Museum (way cooler and more educational than my wife, I, or our girls expected) outside Arco Idaho along with Craters of the Moon (meeting up with some friends who just happened to be passing through). Not to mention and most importantly having some dedicated time with our youngest laughing, talking and playing games (she is in the final two years of High School and missing her older sisters so getting her away from all the teenage struggles and into a quiet place allowing her to connect with mom and dad and nature and history was wonderful!). We did the showering in the Oliver and I have to say it was easier than I thought. I am 6 foot 1 and while tight it worked great. We had a couple of nights when all our girls were able to come meet up with us and we spent those nights in the Ollie playing games, and eating dinner while watching the Olympics. I have to give a shout-out to @Foy_Mirna for his lagoon table as it was a major win for those nights being able to get all 5 of us around the table again (I expected it to feel more cramped with 5 in the trailer but it did not)! Towing the trailer was also a great experience. I am glad because my wife towed pretty much the entire trip given I was on a business trip the day before pick up and lost my wallet so no driver's license for me. We live in North Idaho so going up and down mountains will be a thing for us no matter what direction we head. It and the truck did great up and down passes, construction zones, and passing semi-trucks. We even had a day driving where we saw 20 MPH wind gusts and my wife did not even realize how windy it was until I told her. My wife did great (she even backed us into a camp spot on the last night and did great!). We head out on the next trip in a week and are very excited! Thanks for letting me learn and take part in this community over the last few years. We hope to see some of you on the road in the coming years.

As promised - below are some pics of Mr. Oliver's "Beast". I assume that the name derived from the fact that it is estimated that this Oliver weighs in at something at or near 10,000 pounds. Partially this is due to the interior counters being made of Corian - not fibergranite - the addition of the under carriage storage areas, the bed risers, etc. Shape eyes will note things like the lack of a rear window (no emergency exit), the location of the front and rear under carriage storage, the location of the water heater, the design of the reading lights and "coat" hooks and bath faucet, single entry step, etc. Enjoy this classic! Bill

A couple knuckleheads enjoying a sunrise near Palo Duro Canyon SP this morning.... Then we had some visitors... IMG_2333.MOV Gotta love 'em! Cheers! A & D

I finally had a chance to try out the Bulldog HD shocks I put on the Oli. I put 300 miles on them this last week. Most of it was on small 2 lane roads that had some rough areas. I did go over a 40 mile stretch that I did last September, It made a world of difference. The trailer did not sway all over like it did before. I could feel the difference in the drivers seat of how the trailer rode. I truely think the shocks where pretty much shot when I got the trailer 3 years ago and it was 10 months old at that time. I remember following the trailer for about 20 miles and you could see the top of the trailer swaying side to side about 4-5" going down the freeway with small road imperfections. Now on rough roads the sway is less than 2". The price was comparable to online Monroe shocks. if the Bulldogs last 4 years, I will be happy and buy them again. here is the link to where I bought them: https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 FYI: At the same time, I replace the the Oliver's shocks, I replaced the original 1999 shocks on the F250 SD with Bilstein 5100 shocks. The truck does ride a little stiffer but handles what little front to back movement I get on the trailer better. I did have to nail the brakes really hard this weekend when someone cut in front of me and then slammed on the brakes. The TV and camper acted as one, and handled great. Now I will go for the Alcan springs sometime in the next year, before we start the long cross country trips.

We were in the backyard here in northern Ohio, with almost 4 minutes of crazy skies! Light clouds and maybe a bit of missed focus left the edges soft, but these came out fair. I'm sure there will be a lot of pretty spectacular photos posted across the country!

UPDATE: The 500-mile torque inspection was actually a 527-mile torque inspection at a QT in Wichita Falls. The process is now taking only a couple minutes longer than it takes to fill up our 30+gallon tank in the Tundra. Still amazed how the new U-bolts stretch - each nut took several quarter turns to reach the target torque value! We'll be check them every 1k miles for a while. Interesting Side Note: Speaking with Mike/Alcan yesterday on a particular boring stretch of HWY 287 somewhere near Electra, TX, we learned how springs are "weight rated." Evidently, there are several algorithms used by spring manufacturers that rate springs once several parameters are uploaded. Keep in mind that ll algorithms are not exactly the same - some are more accurate than others. Values for steel type, width, thickness, alignment pin size, eye-to-eye length, etc., all determine the weight rating. Alcan uses a highly rated program with a reputation in the industry as being very accurate. Turns out that virtually all RV manufacturers, industry-wide, use spring packs that either just barely meet RVIA standards or don't meet them at all (depending on the algorithm program used to rate the springs). When Alcan ran the dimensions of the Chinese-made AXLE TEK spring used on my Oliver, it was "quite a bit less than the rated 1,750# target", according to Mike. IMO, this issue goes back to DEXTER and not necessarily Oliver - because, as I understand - but could be wrong, the axle kit (including the spring packs) are supplied by DEXTER. But even if the AXLE TEK spring packs were tested to and achieved the 1,750# target at manufacturing, after some time (not necessarily road miles, but age) - those springs will flatten (all 4 of our's did) and they will not be able to meet the target rating going forward. This is due largely to the low quality metallurgy of Chinese steel. Labor costs, environmental regulations, and manufacturing standards in China are much less, if exist at all, as compared to the US steel industry. With a suspension travel of barely 2" (just measured it) before the top of the U-bolts smack into the my Oliver's aluminum frame, I want to be sure the springs are doing what they are there to do. So owners that find themselves crawling around underneath their rigs, this is another inspection point - if your suspension ever "bottomed-out" it will leave an imprint on the frame from the top of the U-bolt. That's a good indicator your spring-packs have flattened and need attention. Also IMO, the choice between Chinese-made and US-made leaf springs for travel trailers depends on the specific needs and priorities of the manufacturer or end-user, including considerations of cost, quality, and supply chain reliability. For businesses emphasizing cost control, the Chinese-made springs may be appealing, whereas for those prioritizing quality, safety, and supporting domestic industries, US-made spring packs might be the preferred option. So, mindful owners should think about: (1) having their running gear/suspension inspected, and/or (2) upgrading their suspensions if needed, or (3) never approaching their 7k# OTT max GVWR, or (4) towing slowly only on pristine roads, or (5) not worrying about it and see what happens down the road. Sorry in advance for my rant, it's just my $0.02...