hobo

Carl, How long of a hike is that?

I counted nine (9) Olivers here now.

Wondering if after all of the Oliver's show up , this may be the single largest ever gathering of Olivers outside of the annual rally in Alabama? Anyone know of another one this large? 2 HOBOS (hull 414)

OK, First day on the road with the new ALCAN springs and can say there was no appreciable difference in ride. That said, I did note there was slightly less side-to-side rocking of the trailer as we traveled down low speed side roads which is where I would normally detect that in the past. ALCAN warns that the 7/8 U Bolt nuts need to be checked and re-torqued at 50/100/600 miles. I can attest that the nuts certainly needed tightening. I have one more tightening to do. Easy to do BTW. U bolts are easily accessible just laying down next to the trailer. Use 7/8" deep set socket and set torque setting to 90 ft lbs. Ten minute job. Nothing inside the trailer appears to have been negatively affected by the upgraded springs thus far. I'll continue to report as we move along.

Just FYI: The new springs raised the trailer about 3/4". Not noticeable unless you actually measure. My service tech was really impressed with the ALCAN springs once he had them sitting side-by-side with the Dexter springs. In fact, another customer commented how the one set of old springs had flattened out. My tech commented that was the reason I was having them changed out. I'll report on ride after I have a few hundred miles on them.

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 absolutely agree. ALCAN is noted for their off-road suspension work and in that environment, things will be tested beyond reasonable expectations and obviously fail occasionally. I can fully appreciate why a business like ALCAN couldn't afford to guarantee their products not to fail over the long term when used for those purposes. The potential liability alone would put them out of business. That said, I fully expect that if any of these springs failed within a few years, Mike would make good on them similarly like Oliver Trailers made good on a serious electrical failure in my trailer well after the warranty period had expired. There are lots of reasons/excuses to not upgrade to the better (costlier) springs but there is one reason I did: and she sits next to me when we're towing our trailer down the highways . Money well spent IMHO.

I agree but it means a lot of maintenance.

I think for a variety of reasons, I will be dropping my PSI in the tires down from the 60 PSI (probably too much anyway) that I have been using down to somewhere between 45/50 PSI. I don't think the 14% stiffer springs will even be noticeable. I also have to keep in mind that Mike at ALCAN stated that (in his opinion), regardless of the spring quality issue, the 3500 lb springs used on the Olivers are too light. I'll have 5300 miles in the next 6 weeks to see if we notice any weird stuff going on in the trailer with the new springs.

Mountainman198, Just to reinforce what you said above, I also spoke to Mike this morning on the subject of center bolt concern and he advised that his own production department had brought this to his attention after I sent him a picture of my axle and springs late last week. They in fact noted that our trailers had an underspring set up which would require a change in the bolt application. (Apparently, most TTs have oversprung setups.) They had already changed the product production protocols for our trailers before anyone on our side contacted them on the issue. Any YES, anyone ordering springs should specifically mention that they are being put on an Oliver TT. He also provided that "yes, they use a much thicker brass sleeve in their springs than the industry standard. This in no way affects the reuse of our existing bolts. It's just beefier, stronger, and longer lasting than what most use in their products. Relative to "other sources" for springs, he stated that there are no other manufactures of springs in the US that use the quality of metal that they use. (Take that comment for whatever it's worth). I will say this however, If you want the "best" of something, then it is by definition is a "sole source" acquisition (Oliver trailers are a good example of that. ) Finally, Mike commented several times about how impressed he is with the Oliver TT owner community. Thus far, I am very impressed with ALCAN's attention to detail and their customer service. My springs should be installed by the first of next week [18th(ish)] so I'll report back. Paul (2 HOBOS), hull 414 ON A SIDE NOTE: The reason I sent him a picture of our axle assembly last week was that he suggested that perhaps I wanted to consider upgrading the equalizer (point where front and rear springs attach just between the tires) to a MorRyde equalizer which considerably improves the ride. At that juncture I informed him that I had already been in contact with MorRyde and after much back-and-forth data swapping with them, MorRyde determined that their product was not applicable to our trailers since we have an undersprung leaf setup which doesn't allow enough clearance between the top of the axle and the trailer frame for their product use. Mike was confused by that until I sent him a picture of our assembly so he could see what I was talking about. This is the pic that their production folks looked at and immediately realized our trailers were an "underslung" design which caused them to change the bolt setup. Hope this was enlightening.

Mountainman198. Just want to understand what you are "noting". Are you saying that I need to order the wet bolts from ALCAN or do the bolts I already have work?

We're departing in less than two weeks for a six week, 5300+ mile trip around the US which is what is driving us to make the spring change NOW. I noted when I was doing my spring maintenance that the leading spring on the street side seemed to be flattening out slightly which, I am told, is the first sign of imminent leaf failure. Knowing my time constraints, Mike (at ALCAN) is expediting the production of a spring set for me to have them shipped in time for me to have my RV tech install them prior to our departure. (Yes, I could install them myself but I have a thousand other things I'm doing to prepare for this trip). As an aside: I'll be talking to Mike today (Monday the 11th) about the center bolt on his springs and ensure that they are appropriately applied for the Oliver "underslung" setup. (I'll report back on this). Cost of springs (4 sets), 4 new U bolts, and shipping is somewhere in the $750 - $800 range. He initially suggested 4 new HD shackles and 8 new shackle bolts but when I informed him the existing shackles on the Olivers have 1/2" thick side plates (which are already HD) he was pleasantly surprised and waived off the need for new ones which is a $200(ish) savings. Expecting (hoping) no surprises and I'll keep everyone informed of results. 2 HOBOS (hull 414) 2018 LEII

John, I will be talking to Mike at ALCAN tomorrow (Monday) and ask him about that. My springs are being produced on Wednesday so I'll get this straightened out before they are built. I'll report back tomorrow after I talk to him. The term for our springs is "underslung" (vs overslung).

Since my springs are going to be produced on Wednesday, I will contact Mike at ALCAN on Monday morning and ask about this. I'll remind him our springs are "underslung". I'll provide feedback on Monday.

When I spoke to Mike at ALCAN, I asked about what happens when a spring breaks. He said generally the broken spring won't come in contact with the ground (which was my worst-case fear) but he said the real concern is if the axle with the broken springs moves into the stabilized axle causing the wheels to hit each other. He said it can l cause severe damage to the wheels, tires and possibly the trailer.