Geronimo John

I would wager a penny that your truck is much heavier than my 2019 F-150 so you have the weight and power with the 5.7 to do the LE2. Just be aware of brakes and going down hill. Use your transmission to save the brakes, anticipate the down hill runs and power down accordingly. With the 5.7, some rear shocks and air bags and E-rated tires I think you will be good to go. Oh, my 2005 had the same frame and much more as our tundra. It only lasted 300,000 miles of tough drivers before we had to put her down. Glad you have that 5.7. GJ

In concept I agree with both points...to a point. I very rarely use ours for backing up Ollie. The vast majority of our miles are solo. So I prefer to get out and access the situation, some times two or three times for a difficult back in site. Generally speaking I travel with Ollie during daylight. 99.9% of the time my parking lights are off. So, I chose to power up our rear view camera from the parking light circuit in the attic. On a few rare occasions it was also helpful to flip on the parking lights just to see what was going on behind me. One example is there was an erratic driver behind, then to the side of us. He came within 6" of the side of Ollie twice. I slowed down, and kept doing so until he got the message and passed us. The dummy was was reading a road map while drinking coffee at 65 MPH. Accident avoided. Another was to see if my son was still back there after a fuel stop. So in addition to backing up, they can be handy at times for other purposes.

When I am traveling in mountains on roads new to me, I fire off a Garmin RV GPS Navigator, Google Maps, and try to have a map handy when both are in a disagreement with each other. I like having both running in parallel. So long as they agree, I'm hammer down and enjoying the view. But when one starts getting squirrely, then it's time to figure it out. Time to stop and take a gander at the map. Generally the Garmin RV Navigator is the one to follow.. right into a traffic jam that Google Maps was trying to navigate me around.... Drats Foiled Again! .

For sure you are not a light weight camper! Great installs and planning. What size fuse taps did you use for the three additional loads? GJ

I had a 2005 Sequoia with the 4.7L. It worked pretty well on the flat lands. But in the hills not so well. In fact, my son and I got passed by the US Olympic Cycling time seven times north of Denver when we were goin up-hill (Not mountain, hills). My son was handing out free ice cold waters to the Cycling Team as they passed, we picked up their empties on subsequent down-hill runs. We all were laughing our heads off. That 4.7 will work, but just not enough power for even hills let alone mountains. Once we finally got to flat lands we were fine and smoked them all! But my son said, "Dad, you need a truck". It would have been ok (Not OK) if I had he 5.7. But in the mountains it was sketchy. The next year I bought a F-150 Crew Cab 4x4 FX tow package. With the addition of Bilstein 5500s shocks on the back and Firestone airbags I could not be happier. Since we USE our truck off road hauling free flying (No motors) glider pilots up to mountain launches, for us, getting a F250 or larger was not practical. Besides we use our TV as a daily driver as well. So the F-150 SuperCrew was and is out ticket. PS: By the time you get decked out, your OE2 will most likely be around 6,000 pounds. With your mountain use, I am with the above owners. Get a truck. In your case one with four wheel drive and off road package (Something like the Ford FX4). Then there is the tire swap on the TV to meet your style of travel. I have Nitto Recon's on mine.

That's good. GJ

You are correct. Here is a bit of context as to the problem and how to reset the check valve without a lot of fuss: DIY - Check Valves for RV Water Pumps.docx It worked for me on SOB trailer. GJ

Hitch Rattle: As stated above, the noise is the receiver slop at this connection. I do not notice it with our rig and the Anderson in play. However I like it as when I am using my front jack to hook up/take off the Anderson chains, I use the front jack to raise the back the truck a bit. I observe as the Anderson receiver moves up in the stationary TV hitch. When this angle stops changing, this tells me that I have "erased" the tongue weight off the TV, and I am now lifting the truck. Not something I want to do too much; as at some point I would damage the Jack. So, I consider the sloppy fit as a visual safety warning for my jack's long life. GJ

I have a slightly damaged one and appreciate the source. Mine is a PLASTIC fixture coated with fake chrome. It certainly is not worth $44 in my minds eye. Guess I'll use s small dab of JB weld on the screw hole and re-drill it. At the Rally I asked Jason about the black gaskets. He indicated they remove the gasket and silicone the fixture on 3 1/2 sides. Leaving a weep at the bottom.

Short answer: No. Long Answer: The Anderson Chains are under very high tension when properly loaded. I would guess something on the order of 1500 pounds. Since the force vector of those combined maybe 3,000 pounds of tension is resisted by the ball, and the ball is say a foot above the chains, you have 3,000 foot pounds of torque lifting the rear and pushing down on the TV front (Load transfer). The ball sees only the 3000 pounds of thrust horizontally from the chains. The truck sees the opposite force via the whale plate in the opposite direction. These forces create a huge amount of torque due to the one foot separation between the two. With my TV loaded and not connected to Ollie, the front axle is about 400 pounds lighter than the rear axles. With the Anderson in play, they are almost exactly equal. If I have a 400 pound delta X 20' long lever arm, that says the torque would be 8,000 foot-pounds. That would lead one to conclude that my WAG of a combined 3,000 pounds of force from the Anderson chains appears to be well understated. What do yo see on the scales as far as front end weight change with and without the Anderson in play??

I suspect that he is concerned about needing to do an absolute clean off of the HDG material for a critical structural weld. The threshold for "Well Enough" in this case needs to be very very high. Axle Info: 2018 LE2 #342 SC 50.5, D35 Original axle capacity

Our older Ollies have absorption based refrigerator systems. They have an open flame burner that drives the refrigeration process. If the system has a combustion issue, it will generate CO. If you have critters flying into the cabin via the refer vents, your box is no longer sealed properly. That could for sure put you and others at risk. Seriously recommend you: Replace your CO/Propane Detector if there is any doubt about it's age or in our case with these type of refrigerators if the detector is over 4 years old. Reseal the combustion area from the cabin area. Most of us use Foil Tape. Buy 3M foil tape. GJ

Thanks for the update. Certainly we are all glad that they continue to stand up and make it right!

Chris: I have CONFIRMED that Dexter does make the D60 5200's with the SC of 50". They have been in use at OTT in some hulls under #100. GJ

Lori: While you are down there, check that the power is still firmly connected to the pump. We seem to have more than a few owners with loose power plugin's this year. I believe that if you see the LED "i am on" light at both the bathroom and above the stove area, then you have power going to the pump. But if that plug is vibrated a bit loose the pump may run and then not run depending on what mood the connector is in at that moment. If it is not firm, pull it apart and for grins check for any corrosion. A small nail file has helped me out in the past. Geronimo John

Mine has been a tired hose bibb gasket on my water transfer hose and/or the hose was not tight on the Ollie boondock connection. GJ

I can't wait to see the GIF that a certain Moderator is sure to post! LOL GJ

Now I understand why the new Oliver's cost so much. Its the cost of bandwidth we consume on the web! Street legal 250cc Enduro with a X2 seat and super duty bulldog shocks and Alcan springs! Oh, with a lithium battery and a Truma hand washing station. GJ

This thread is a follow-up thread of John & Debbie's 3500 pound vs. 5200 pound axles on a LE2. In this thread my intent is to discuss the type of lubrication system/processes that Dexter offers in axles for out OTT's. Old school is the tried and proven manual annual cleaning and greasing of axle bearings with a seal replacement. Yes an annual PITA. Then Dexter began making their EZ-Lube and NevRLube axle lubrication systems. They apparently have stopped offering the old school design. So if you want a new axle it will be EZ or NevRLube designs. With many owners choosing to retrofit their Ollies with the 5200's, it was stated that there have been zero failures of the new NevRLube axles. This simply is not an informed statement. There has not been a lot of knowledge in our area, but for other trailer designs the NevRLube' S were a disaster. Both designs have their challenges. Here are some opinions from outside our egg shell: https://www.gdrvowners.com/forum/operation/suspension-amp-brakes/95041-dexter-nev-r-lube/page2 So what are your thoughts as they apply to our OTT's specifically? GJ

Super good idea on the easy adjust method. I'll be doing a check of the brakes during bearing and seal service. Have wanted to lube all those slide and pivit points for several years. Just always didn't have the time to do so. I checked out the cost of Brake shoes: About $80 each = $240 That's unbelievably high. Cost of complete Brake Plate with shoes: About $100 each = $400 Cost of Upgrade to 5200's from SW Wheel Web Site: $2,000 Base Axle $551 Timkin Upgrade $70 U-Bolt Kit $34 Springs N/A I'll continue with my Dexter 2400's Parts Per Axle $1408 ($655 X 2 X 1.075 =$1408) Assume Install $600 ($300/axle) For a trailer in it's 8th season, I would not buy shoes at that cost. The replacement of the entire Dexter made brake assembly makes more sense. When one considers that I have so far spent 8 days of my time doing bearing service (One day per season), plus the costs of lube, bearings and seals, and the benefits of the 5200's, I can now understand why so many owners are looking at that direction. IF or WHEN I get to the point of needing shoes, it will likely be the trigger to decision to just go with the 5200's. s If it's not in July, then I'll do the full clean, disassembly, and lube and get another season or two out of them. Either way, I look forward to seeing a demo of the adjustment you mentioned! Would love to get a PM of the ALCAN costs. GJ

My family and I have had way over a dozen trailers. Most had boats on them, and one was a pop-up. As we approached retirement we knew we had had enough wave rocking and flapping canvas and needed a serious upgrade. So compared to all my previous experiences, the Ollie windows are super fantastic! Especially now that I have seen Chris's video!!! LOL GJ

Good idea. Maybe first a dry clean using compressed air on the high side and a wet/dry vac on the low side. Then do it wet with some dawn soap clean process with the hot water tank wand and a wet/dry vac involved. Both aided by poking with extra long pipe cleaners. Problem is we only have two hands...... GJ

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ALL: With the reorg at OTT, their experienced staff is taking on new and higher level roles. This nearly always entails a transition period with learning curve opportunities such as the above. I think this issue is a classic example of corporate change. The above owner discussions went a bit off the tracks. It is unfortunate that the "atmosphere" had gotten where it did during the delay. I appreciate seeing Jason E. stepping in and calming the waters, as he has effectively done periodically over the years. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Dan: I think you missed an important point that Mike made. He suggested you measure the distance between two points. He then basically stated that if it was welded wrong, that it would be a Barker warranty claim. In this regard he is factually and ethically correct. Granted it could have been a bit better stated. But it was a favorable suggestion to you. Instead the burner under the pot was turned up. In consideration of previous suggestions, and Jason E's post, there appear to be two paths open to you. Buy another jack. Bench check by comparison both jacks, and provide photo's of which clearly "side by side" show the defect you have. Then politely provide to both Barker and OTT Service the factual evidence of your situation. Personally I would chose the bench check route. And I still believe that "the right thing" will be done. As I also previously stated: Patience. In the mean time I would shim up the bed cover plate and keep having fun while Barker and OTT review your Bench Check report. GJ

Mountainman: Sorry for the off topic response. GJ

Now that is a bad-boy machine I could really enjoy! I would likely go for the endure street legal 350 version. In a younger day, I had a 400 Penton KTM and Husky CR400. Both were way too pippy on the torque band, and more than I could handle even then as a young beast. The new 350 would have plenty of power for what I'm likely to get into. If I wait too long then likely a 250! 😞 And a big box on the rear. I see both of these efforts in the future! Thanks for sharing. GJ