mountainoliver

I’m in the midst of a 3 1/2 month western trip with many places that have zero to minimal cell service so have not done nor taken the time to do a lot of research. My axles/springs were installed in Grand Junction Colorado during our trip (I know, white knuckle experience) so I’m still getting used to them. In the beginning I stopped every half hour to check bearing temperature. These are different from the old ones. I also have completely turned the brake control off to make sure that non of the brakes were dragging/overheating. Anyway, developing a new baseline of operation. Now I’ve gone back to my old routine of stopping every couple of hours to check bearing/brake temperature. Right now the only link I have is a screenshot of an Amazon page that I saw. I also have screenshots from a couple of old Airstream forum posts. We should all do more research. I’ll continue in depth when I return home in August. Here’s what I have so far. These are all unedited photos/screenshots. Keep in mind that pre assembled bearing cartridges are not new. The automotive industry has been using them for years. They have been used in industrial applications for years as well. I may be wrong but I personally feel comfortable with the Nev R Lube axle especially knowing that our axles are the smaller of two that use the same size bearing. The 42mm bearing is used in the 5200 pound Dexter axle and the 6000 pound Dexter axle. Plus we’re not going to overload our trailer (now are we?) so our trailer maximum weight rating of 7000 pounds is still the limiting factor. Longevity and maintenance issues remain to be seen and it remains to be seen whether I made a mistake or not.

I’m interested in what Alcan has to say.

Several years ago I was going to replace the bearings and brakes on my 3500 pound axles. I contacted a local Dexter dealer and the hub/drum assemblies were over $100 each and the loaded brake assemblies were close to that as well. Of course e trailer was even higher. I called the Dexter distributor that Oliver was using at the time, Textrail. The hub/drum with Chinese bearings were something like $46 each and the loaded brake assemblies were like $45 each with the manual adjust brake assembly even less. Anyway, e trailer is not necessarily the price leader so check around. And absolutely yes! I’d never buy Timken bearings from Amazon. I bought mine from a local industrial supply company that I dealt with for years. Bearings ordered directly from Timken. I think even the ones from Summit may have been knockoffs as well. I could be wrong on that but it seems like someone did a deep dive into this at one point. Anyway, buyer beware!

The bearing installation tools that I have seen have a bunch of different diameter/different length tubes and a couple of thick discs one being threaded and a forcing screw. I believe the kit is all that’s needed to draw out the old bearing and to then press in the new one. Or so the YouTube videos that I’ve seen seem to show. Anyway, yes I’d carry a complete hub/drum assembly and two or three extra bearings. Also don’t forget to have several of the single use lock nuts on hand. The tru arc snap rings are reusable and pretty standard items.

Okay, risking banishment from the planet and the inevitable public humiliation, my one and only update on my recent axle and spring upgrade. We are in the midst of a 3 1/2 month western trip. Granted a good deal of the trip was planned around a visit to Grand Junction Colorado we have made a complete trip out of that one appointment. I firmly believe that Oliver’s decision to change axles from the 3500 pound version to the 5200 pound version is one of the best decisions made. Nothing like extra capacity. Also the heavier springs are also a great benefit. I have noticed reduced rocking during travel. My original springs had relaxed quite a bit because I had only about an inch or less of clearance between the U bolts and the frame. There is now around an inch and a half to two inches of clearance which is probably a little more than what was originally there. I have done a little research on the Nev R Lube Dexter axles with very limited cell service so more research to come. The bearings used for the 5200 pound axles are also used for the 6000 pound axles. So there is a little bit of extra capacity there. I also found out (not totally confirmed yet) that the bearings are also used for front and/or rear axles in several smaller cars. I also found out (not totally confirmed yet) that the Timken bearing used is a standard Set 49 bearing sold at every auto parts store for a fraction of what Dexter charges. The bearings are fairly easy to replace using a standard automotive wheel bearing press kit. So can be done on the road if needed. The bearing press is available at Harbor Freight and Amazon and I’m sure dozens of other places as well. Of course all the above information is to be confirmed once we get home in August sometime. Others are more than welcome to join in the research.

We saw an Oliver today (7-26) heading north between the southern entrance to Yellowstone and the northern entrance to the Tetons.

We were just there a few weeks ago. Very sad to hear about the fire there. We were also camping at the Grand Canyon north rim last summer. The visitor center is gone now due to fires and the camp we stayed at is probably gone as well. Sad!

I’ve been using the zero g hose for several years as well with no issues. Because they aren’t a flat shrinking type hose it fills the fresh tank quickly. I have four 25 foot hoses and typically only use one 25 foot hose but have used all four at times.

The Dometic fridge in my 2017 LEII never worked properly from the beginning so after 2 1/2 years (2019) I replaced it with a compressor type fridge, a Nova Kool R5810. Not an issue since! 4800 does seem high but considering Oliver service hourly rates and any other shop for that matter, it might not be so terrible. Still too expensive for me. I have no idea of the cost for a fridge today but I think with shipping from the factory in Southwest Canada to a dealer in (I think) Massachusetts to my driveway, mine was about 1,500 if I’m remembering correctly. I installed it myself probably spending another 200-300 in raw materials, fasteners, miscellaneous, etc. It will probably be sort of expensive having someone else do the installation for you no matter where you have it done, but you should shop around for cost.

We passed and waved to another Oliver passing through Thermopolis, Wyoming today (7/13). They were heading south on route 20 and we were just turning on route 120 towards Yellowstone. Spending a couple of weeks west of Cody at Buffalo Bill State Park. You folks have a safe trip!

We’re in Grand Junction this morning with the guys at Alcan installing new 5200 pound axles and new springs! I also noticed that heavier bronze bushings are used in the Alcan springs. The Dexter bushings are sintered bronze AKA Oilite bearings. These thin wall type bearings are the wrong application for use in a rough bore because they are so brittle. Typically they should be pressed into a finished bore then final reamed to correct final diameter. Anyway, the Alcan bushings are machined from bronze bar stock and are the correct application.

Similar to “moochdocking” but in your own driveway.

I actually carry two jacks along with various 2X10’s and 6X6’s and three sets of plastic stacking blocks. The two jacks, one is a 3 ton hydraulic jack and the other is a several ton (don't remember the exact capacity but it’s very ample!) surplus scissor jack/kit designed for the Hummer. Probably designed for a fully loaded Hummer, anyway very ample. Not to mention the screw jack that came with my 2500 truck. So technically I carry three jacks. Oh and not to mention the three screw jacks that came mounted to the trailer. So yet again, technically I carry six jacks!

Here’s a screen shot directly from the Tosot website:

It also looks like the elbow in your picture is loose as well. Just as a suggestion go through every fitting that you can possibly get to and check them for tightness. They are just hand tightened. I go through mine periodically and I always find one or more a little loose.