Geronimo John

Quite likely. My guess is corrosion ate it alive over time and got to the point of failure under normal driving loads. If it were mine, I would want do know how the failure came about, and that is likely a BD effort. Hopefully we will be an update down the road. GJ

LOL. I see you are a wise ole fellow! Great idea. Now if you can figure out a line to get the TV end of the Anderson replaced for free with the larger ball, we'll all stand up and cheer. At least those who are running the 2" versions. :-0 GJ

Nope you're spot on. One can dither on the % as it changes for every trailer. Regardless the idea is to have more than you need to prevent bad words. Having the great scale like you have is a wonderful way to check as over time it surely will change based upon so many factors. But knowing what it is compared to past voyages is the "Gold Star" approach. Yep..... virtually 99.998% that I am aware of do. in fact, I have never seen any of those 2/1,000th unicorns, but likely it was a milspec WW2 Jeep product or one of those super cool vintage Dodge Power Wagons. Neither of which would make a very practical TV for a lot of reasons that are irrelevant to your this topic. 🙂 However since OTT has well over 1,000 trailers on the road, there likely is a 1/2 ton that does not need one, and I would bet it's a beautifully restored WW2 machine. I FOR SURE WOULD NOT attempt to do so even with a master welder of the highest skills. And my Grand Pa was one. I for sure do recommend getting with BD and seeing what they say and will do to remedy the situation. I'll bet they want yours and will send you a new one. GJ

No disrespect intended, but I do not support the above statement line. The 2" BD is an excellent coupler for long long term use by our OE2's, unless we are exceeding the max gross weght of the trailer plackard (7,000 pounds). 1. The use of the 2 5/16" BD's came about from concern with the ball wear caused by the design of the Anderson WDH. Not out of concern for the need for additional safety margins. 2. BD likely has millions of their 2" couplers in service and has an impecable reputation as being one of the strongest couplers on the market. 3. Yours likely failed form one, or some combination, of these causes: a. Over Loading b. Exposure to salt environment(s) without extensive cleaning after such exposures c. Failure to control rust over long duration d. Factory defect You should contact BD and discuss. I suspect they will replace yours and want yours back for analysis. Gj

As you know, I had OTT build our Ollie with the 2 5/16 BD. Glad I did. But if I had not, I would not toss a perfectly good 2" BD until it wore out. The corrosion failure for this 2017 BB had to have occurred over a long period of time. Could have been originated from a single salt exposure (Sea or salted roads) environment. Once the corrosion starts, you would not need such an environment for it to continue to propagate down the weld line. If ignored all the way to failure. Either way, CAREFULLY inspecting our BD's (As well as all other rustable running gear) every couple of years and mechanically eliminating any rust and recoating should be added to our long term maintenance inspections. Especially if our rigs are stored in a salt air environment or are ever used on salted roads. GJ

One concern to keep top of mind when using air to purge our plastic lines is water hammer. At 40 PSI you can shoot a slug of water down a mostly purged line very very quickly. All will be fine on straight runs, but when they hit a 90 degree elbow or flat side of a T, it can, and has, blown off many a fitting. Personally I would consider regulating the air pressure down to 25 PSI vs. 40. May take a bit longer, but likely would result in less water leaks in the Spring. GJ

A LOT of us have made the same oops! Once. 🙂

I have installed similar fans, and am thinking of doing both sides. Purpose obviously is to reduce the bypass of outside air into and then out of the fans so that they pull fresh air in below. I also know that there have been changes in the grills between your and my older OE2. Hard to tell, but it looks like you have blocked off airflow on the aft side of the fans, but maybe not on the fore side. Is that what I'm seeing? IF so, what's your thoughts? Thanks GJ

Yes.

Is there any evidence of galvanic corrosion from the SS bolts, Bulldog and aluminum frame? I agree fully on submitting a report to the NHTSA. Your post has 85% of the info they will need. Process on line is easy. GJ

Very nicely stated. We will likely all at some time feel the pain of these spring failures, but OTT will certainly have far more difficulties than we will. It is for this reason that I hold OTT totally NOT at fault in any way for these springs failing. IMHO, this is a Dexter OEM issue. GJ

Art: A. Up and Out Info: First we can help OTT by getting the User Names and number of spring failures. The great part is that our impacted owners can provide reliable knowledge of their failures. This info is the ammo that they will need right off the bat should they bring this to Dexter's attention. If OTT desires more info from the impacted owners, it would be prudent for them to get it directly from the owners involved. Our list will be very helpful to our friends at OTT. That is where I'm going with this. B. Down and In Info: Asking that owners provide their paid cost for the specification I posted earlier today will allow straight forward comparisons of the spring alternatives that we as a group honed. Just getting prices without knowing what was purchased would not. This effort is one we as Owners can and should do directly. C. Down the Road: If OTT determines that they are going with another direction for their springs, then their volume would generate a much better price than we could ever get. The hope is that they would do the right thing (As in my eyes they ALWAYS have.) and offer replacement springs to all of us at their cost plus shipping and some handling. That is my the ideal solution in my eyes; the end of the issue as far as I'm concerned. GJ

Amen.

Let's coordinate efforts for sourcing replacement springs. To facilitate, here is a compilation of specification elements presented. This way we can have apple to apple comparisons GJ · Four each replacement spring sets for tandem axle Oliver Trailer. Each with new U-Bolts · Made in USA with USA sourced 5160 spring steel · Brass eye bushings · Wet Bolt Bushing ID = 9/16" · 2,000 lb rating · 5 leaves · Second leaf extends underneath eye on each end (protecting common break area) · Steel, bolted spring keepers (one each end) vs a single, sheet metal band · Spring center bolt setup for Under Slung axle. · Width = 1.75" · Drop = 3” · Length (eye-to-eye) = 25.25” Warranty Info:

I have sent in a ticket to OTT about the numbers of failures of the 4 leaf Dexter spring sets. So far we have documented the following: ScubaRX Long Duration ≥ 10 these occurred in the past SNY SD UP July 2023 2 Mountain Man 198 Q1 2024 2 Mountain Oliver 2023 2 Stevon Feb 2024 1 For those listed, please PM me with any changes or additional info so I may update. If you have had an OTT Dexter 4 leaf spring failure, please send me a PM with info. I'll update this list as needed. GJ

For the DYIers here are key words for screening your rigs spring status. Thanks Steve! GJ

John: Michelin says inflate to their load table. They also say use a minimum of 35 PSI for our weight. Minimum because we are well under their chart range. So in reality they are saying go with a much lower psi than any of us are using. I started out at 80 from the factory. My first stop was to a gas station where reduced the pressure to 60 psi. Then several years later took it to 55, then to 50. Now with repeated experience and knowledge, I will be at 42 PSI for HY and 30 or less (Depending on road condition/hazards) for off road use. My previous thoughts were highway efficiency (I.E. MPG) was all important. With years of chasing cushions around the cabin, and now this thread topic: I have realized that maybe I saved $20 in fuel each season, but at what cost to my Ollie. Springs and shocks have a purpose. Over inflation hinders their effectiveness and I am guilty of "Ollie Abuse" as a result. My recommendation is to save yourself the 6 year learning curve, and reduce the pounding for your OE2 by going with a somewhat consensus of 40 to 42 PSI for your OE2. +++++++++ All: To cut this off at the pass: Yea, I know that I'm over the Michelin recommendation of 35 psi. Maybe I'm admitting to being somewhat hard headed. But I can assure you that my learning curve continues. Who knows, maybe next year I'll be saying time to move down to 38 PSI. The Japanese call this Kaizen or continues improvement. Yep, I am for sure a work in progress. But my wife says that my progress is moving at a glacial pace.

No, but the list of considerations posted for two OE2 flats will sure apply to a set of broken springs as well. Plan ahead and execute the plan.....At least until the first round hits. GJ

Ok, maybe vastly is an overreach. 😞 GJ

NEW OPTION TO RELO OE2 THERMISTOR: I ran to ground with OTT that the Dometic drain line is accessible in the lower bunk area (Street side, Aft). We would need to cut into the Rejex insulation. So a possible route is to go thru the styrofoam to the drain line, then in the drain line run the LONG thermistor wire back towards the rear street-side. Target should be in line with the exposed drain tube aft of the left rear tire. By cutting the drain line in the under bunk area, we could run the thermistor over to the location near the old thermostat. Last unknown is where to penetrate the styrofoam cover up top to find a specific routing of a new longer thermistor to be routed without soldering. Ideally one that could be duplicated by others which would not require removal of this cover. With this in mind, we could leave the John D. mechanical furnace replacement thermostat in play with the two old Dometic small diameter wires spliced together to do so.

Tummy: I, and several others would surely appreciate some pictures of your WAGO solution to the continuous fan run. It appears to be vastly simpler than what we have been pouring over. Thanks Geronimo John

Ralph: So that the 5200# and 3500# owners are on the same page, can you confirm that both axles use the SAME spec replacement spring? Thanks GJ

Thank you for doing the right thing! I encourage all owners that have had a spring failure to do the same. Even if it was reported years ago. With a dozen or so first hand reports. OTT would have the ammo they need to "dance" with Dexter. OWNERS: If you have had a spring failure, please follow Mountainman's lead. and report it. Even if it was yeas ago. If you know an owner who has had such a failure, please reach out to them and encourage them to also report the incident. If they can not do a first hand report, please consider submitting one on their behalf with full disclosure. Thanks GJ

Not for us. We use the back gas port many days a week when camping. For safety reasons, I don't prefer to use the front one so close to the stored propane tanks. But then some of my friends love to use it when we have two BBQ's roaring at both ends of our OE2. I agree that the placement of the rear one is a PITA to use. Your rear gas connection sounds like it is defective. The valve and the connections on ours are belt and suspenders. Either one of them is supposed to not allow gas to flow. But if you have a hose connected to it, then one of the two safety aspects is removed from the safety equation. One solution that may reduce the potential for sewer hoses opening the valve would be to turn your valve so that the handle is towards the curb side (vs the top or street side. This may require a stand off to do this. You concern about the naked gas line and flying debris has validity. There are some very well engineered line armor that could easily be placed around the gas line if you feel strongly about it. I also appreciate your suggestion about not traveling with the gas tank valves open. That's great "Safety Thinking". I'll add it to my departure/arrival check lists. GJ

I agree. But I just don't generally like sole source procurements. For most of us, there is plenty of time to run down some quotes from other USA Spring Manufacturers, who use the same steel, and have a great reputation as well. Also, we have not heard a peep out of OTT about this topic. Nor has Dexter been brought into the discussion either. So I caution rushing into such purchases too early. Now if you have a trip on the near horizon, then by all means buy now. I certainly would based on what we think we know now. GJ