ScubaRx

John, I don’t think there’s any rhyme or reason to why, or when the springs are breaking. They are breaking due to metal fatigue, and or the quality of the steel that they were originally made from.

I agree about the axles. I don't think I could recommend putting these springs on a 3500 pound axle. Then the weakest link would be the axles rather than the springs!

Never had any interior problems. Our trailer, with water and ready to camp, has always weighed north of 7000 pounds. And, for years we ran 80 psi in all our tires.

When we were in the early build stage of our Hull #050 back in late 2013, I asked Jim Oliver what he suggested for axles for our new Elite II. We were coming from a 2008 Elite that had a 5200 pound axle with five leaf spring packs under it. He quickly said that he would want the same ones we had on our first trailer. So that's what we went with. The plan at that time was to use 2 x 3500 pound axles with four leaf spring packs on the regular production Elite II's. With the exception of a few trailers built in 2015 with the 5200 pound setup for the reason stated previously by @rideandfly this has been the standard on all production units since the first 2014 models rolled off the line and continued that way through model year 2021. The 2022 to current Elite II models saw a change in their axles. The Elite's axle remained the same as they had always been but, In an effort to streamline production and simplify their inventory, the decision was made to use the same size axles on both the Elite and Elite II trailers. All trailers delivered since 2022 have been supplied with two 5200 pound axles with the Dexter Nev-R- Lube hubs on them. However, they stuck with the 3500 pound 4-Leaf spring packs that have always accompanied the 3500 pound axles rather than the 5-Leaf spring packs that are standard on the 5200 pound axles. Their reasoning is that the stiffer springs would cause a rougher ride and could lead to drawers coming open or cabinet doors opening up while under tow. This why the GVWR remains at 7000 pounds. In addition, Oliver has also changed from 16" wheels with LT tires to 15" wheels with ST tires. There has been some recent owner interest in obtaining the Dexter Nev-R- Lube hubs. This requires a complete axle swap as they are not compatible with the axles all the older trailers (pre-2022) are equipped with. If you are contemplating ditching the OEM 3500 pound axles for the new setups with the higher rated axles, be aware of this spring issue. I can personally attest to knowing of at least 10 spring failures on the 4-Leaf spring packs on both the older trailers and a few that have recently been delivered over the past year or so. All of these springs have broken in exactly the same place. Also, I have never heard of a single failure in any of the trailers that are equipped with the 5200 pound axle with the 5-Leaf spring pack. This includes all the Elites ever built and, to my knowledge, none of the Elites II’s that were originally built with the 5200 pound axles and the 5-Leaf spring packs. My predication is that the 4-Leaf spring packs will continue to fail no matter which axle they are installed with. My advice is if you are changing out your four leaf springs for any reason, consider a stiffer spring that the originals and to purchase and carry with you at least one extra spring pack. If you’re going to Alaska carry two sets. One owner was up around the Arctic Circle when he discovered his were broken. Not the ideal locale for a FUBAR.

I've personally seen 10 trailers with one or more broken.

YES

E19 - ScubaRx - Steve, Tali, and Rocky - Mississippi - The Outlaw Oliver Hull #050

The first two were held in a muddy campground just outside of Hohenwald. All the rest have been in Guntersville.

This is not usually a problem, except for the elderly folks.

I really don't think you're in the minority. I don't like big crowds either, but I'll admit I do love to be in a big Oliver crowd. All of the Oliver folks that I see as friends are what I consider like-minded. Are you coming to the rally in Guntersville? I'm not a rally type of guy, but this gathering is not like any of the others I've ever attended. No pot luck suppers that likely will leave you with the squirts. No Karaoke night, although I have been known to do John Belushi's rendition of Joe Cocker's cover of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends. Don't Ask. Just a bunch of Oliver-Centric folks getting together to talk, have fun and help each other.

A few spots are open! We have had a few cancellations so if you have a friend or anyone that would like to attend, have them send us an email and if we still have a spot available, we will send them a registration form. Email us at: solareclipse2024bellarose@gmail.com If you're headed to Fredericksburg, now would be the time to cancel there and see if you can get into this one. It's FREE. It's just down the road a bit in Purmela, Texas and is actually a little closer to direct center. She's having food trucks, porta potties and live bluegrass music. All fiberglass, no kids under 18 and you can stay 5 nights. There are several other Oliver owners that will be there and we could have an exclusive Mini-Rally.

It's always been around $100 per person.

I'll step in here and say that as far as I know, there has never been a member on this forum that has volunteered to take on the responsibility of listing all the fiberglass rallys that are ongoing all the time across the nation. There are sites and people that do it, with FB being the most popular platform. The Oliver Rolling Rally FB page requires that you be an Oliver owner to sign in. Since the folks at Oliver don't read or participate here, there is never much mention of even the Annual Oliver Rally. If someone here wants another project to consume their life start a thread and list the dates and places for Rallys. With the exception of the Oliver Rally, we rarely attend any of the others.

Now you've gone and done it. You have just made all the snowflakes and liberals heads explode. Do you have any idea how much paperwork this will create? And the Darwin awards are just going to build up. It just means there will be more warning labels. How are we ever going to drain the gene pool swamp if you keep warning them? Actually, that's the way I've always done it, outside. As you (plainly) said, "NEVER, never try this in an enclosed space where gas can accumulate!" If that's not warning enough for someone, they deserve what they get. 😃

If you are looking to buy a new Oliver Travel Trailer here are some things to consider. With the implementation of the new dealer network you now have several new options available to you that previously did not exist when you could only go to Hohenwald to buy a trailer. There are two ways to approach the first step. If you live a long way from Hohenwald and don’t want to have to drive that far to see the trailers you should check the Link on the Oliver page that will show you where all the current dealers that will be selling Oliver’s are located. There are currently 18 different locations spread across the United States. There are future plans to add new dealers here and in Canada. With the information on the locations of the dealers, if one is close to you and you want to do business with them that is perfectly fine. If one is no closer to you than Hohenwald you may choose to contact the sales team there. When contacting Hohenwald a member of the sales team will take your personal information and work with you to get you the exact trailer you want in the shortest time possible. They can take an order from you and get you into a queue to have the trailer of your dreams built for you. The current wait time after ordering is around four months. If you live in a state that does not have any dealers, they will see if there is a trailer already built and available at one of their dealers. If so, you could have your new trailer in a matter of days rather than months. Even if there is not one that is just like you desire, if a dealer has a trailer on order that is still early in its build, Oliver will work with that dealer to attempt to have the build altered to be what you want. Doing it this way will still get you a trailer much quicker than starting your build from scratch. If you live in a state that has dealers, Oliver’s agreement with those dealers is that you will be referred to them. Another option that was not previously available to you is that if you already own an RV of some sort and want to trade it in, many of the dealers might be able to do that whereas in Hohenwald, that was not and will not ever be an option. You can also buy a trailer through a dealer, do all the paperwork there and still pick it up in Hohenwald if you want to. And, as always, you are free to buy a trailer and take delivery in Hohenwald if you so choose. Both of these options are a good choice if you want to do a plant tour prior to pickup. At some relatively near future point (certainly this year) their plan is to have all sales conducted through the dealer network. The rumor that they will stop working on trailers older than two years or out of warranty is patently false. Service will continue to be done in Hohenwald. The rumor was started by a fired service employee. He and his wife propagated this rumor as well as other false information about the Oliver TT after he was terminated. It was posted both here and on the various FB pages. He has been terminated there as well and the false statements have been removed. As always, the Oliver sales staff will still be available to assist you and the dealers with any questions and issues. If none of this works for you, my suggestion is to take the list of dealers from the website and call each of them and tell them what you are looking for to see if they have one is stock that would suit your needs.

We were there nearly 3 weeks, but we were gone by this time.

I wish you had stopped by out at Dome Rock. It's not crowded there and there were several Oliver's camping.

You can do that with what you already have.

We've passed that place dozens of times over the past 50 or so years. We've stopped there a time or two but never actually ventured into the back to see "The Thing". For all those folks that say they hate the desert and rarely travel West of the Mississippi River, you're never even gonna have the chance to know...

You are correct @John Welte. Hull #1292 was the last 2022 model produced.

And we're 050, 455 ahead of you.

I'm happy to hear you got good service from eTrailer. I ordered a new MaxxFan Deluxe from them a year or so ago simply because it was a few dollars cheaper than Amazon and had free shipping. When It came in and I installed it, there was a problem and it would not work. When I call eTrailer to see about an exchange, I was informed that it was now considered a warranty issue and I would have to contact and deal with MaxxAir myself as they did not do exchanges or returns on warrantied products. As The Who said in 1971, I ... 'Won't Get Fooled Again'

Over the past 16 years, I've been taken to many nooks and crannies in that building. It's so vast that you really need a golf cart to easily get around. I've even spent a couple of nights inside a while back when they were doing service on my Hull #050. It's kinda creepy inside it at night when you think you're all alone and yet you hear voices beyond and above you. Turned out it was something completely normal and not evil boo hags or haints, apparently the resident poltergeists keep those away. I have never asked what percentage is not being used, but now that service has left for the new service center away from the factory there is that area that could be utilized. I would guess they are using about 2/3-3/4 of their floor space.

That's exactly what I meant by, "...as big as they deem practical."

It’s the plugs that cost the money. The ones for the LEII were $1M each x four. The bigger plugs for a larger trailer would probably cost even more. From the plugs they make a mold. Each mold is good for just so many hull pulls. After each mold’s useful life is gone, it is scraped and another one built. As new exterior or interior changes are made to the hulls, the plugs are modified to include these changes in future builds. They could build a trailer as big as they deem practical.