thompsonkd

We also recently had Alcan upgrade our leaf springs and axles. Having a 2018 trailer we had the old 3000 lb axles and of course the 4 pack leaf springs installed by Oliver. It took us a while to decide to have the work done, but it was becoming obvious that we were due for a broken leaf spring or two without an upgrade. Upgrading the axles was an easy decision since the new axles provide better brakes and (hopefully) less maintenance. It’s a relatively quick process to have Alcan do the work; it takes about 2 hours. Lew told us his wife had worried about people driving to town to purchase a torque wrench and socket pulling a trailer so he now sells a decent torque wrench and the necessary socket to perform the required torquing for $50 dollars. He also provides a sheet with all the torque specs and is available for any questions. Tucker the technician who performed the work for us was available as well to answer any questions that we had. We did notice that the new running gear is much stiffer. We aired down our tires, and have done the preliminary torques. We would definitely recommend Alcan. Seems easier to have them do the work but as has been detailed by others, Alcan will ship so folks can do the work themselves or have a shop close to them do the work.Lew told us he is doing about 1 Oliver a week now, plus providing gear for the new Oliver Apex. I guess 38 pages of forum information pays off, for anyone who has the patience to read it all! Alcan suggested we go to Randy’s South Side Diner in Grand Junction while the work was being done. Decent local restaurant for breakfast!

Funny! Moderation with AH is the key! 🌋🔥 David

Thank you JD. I am hoping that @Patriotwill weigh in with a photo. However, it might indeed be easier to lube the zerks with the 45 degree bend. So with the angled zerks, you wouldn’t have to remove the tire unless you wanted to? I am sure Alcan would put the angled zerks on if I went that route. David

Thank you Mountainoliver. There is the cost differential from the 3X 105 to two X 300 AH batteries versus, but two 300 AH would allow for future upgrades and it’s good to know that the existing wiring on my system would be adequate. Thanks again. David

We are planning on having Alcan replace our axles and springs this summer. Several people have mentioned having Alcan position the zerks so as to make greasing easier. Can someone who has done this please post a picture of their zerks? This chore has always been difficult, and making it easier sounds appealing. Thanks. David

Mountainoliver, thanks for the clear writeup of your battery issue. I was wondering if you could elaborate on your choice of two 300 AH batteries versus 3 or 4 of the 105 AH, of course besides the increased AH! Your trailer is similar to ours in age-have you changed any of the wiring as to gauge to accommodate the increased AH? What is a general rundown on your electrical system? Again, appreciate your writeup. David

Thank you Rideandfly (Bill); do you use Visible as your discount provider?

Somewhat off topic, and this is an old tread, however I was hoping to get some input from fellow Ollie owners. We have had Verizon for years as our cell carrier, and service has been decent when traveling with our Oliver. However, it is a pricey carrier, and Spectrum has moved into our area recently with some aggressive pricing options for cell service. I was wondering if folks have had Spectrum for cell service and what their experiences were, especially in more remote areas and out in the western states. Thanks is advance. David

Yes, that is the same brand we used, but brush on as opposed to spray. Be careful to tape what you don’t want protected or you’ll ruin your circuit board!

Hello. Yes we have had the same issue with our fan. The fan began to open and close on its own, or not open at all. Friends who have a van conversion told us this is a know issue with MaxxAir fans. The fix is to replace the circuit board but first applying a specialized silicon used for electronics to the board. There are lots of YouTube videos detailing how to do this. The caveat is to be careful in taping off the parts of the board that should not have the silicon applied. We used a spray can of the silicon, our friends used the kind that is brushed on-probably doesn’t matter which kind is used. Regardless, the silicon is fairly expensive. We did that and it has worked so far. We also had the lift mechanism shatter, and we replaced that. Finally, the remote quit working and we replaced that as well. We use the fan all the time; it’s a great fan, just requires a fair amount of maintenance.

We were trying to decalcify our system the other day and put the valves into the Winterization configuration, but when we turned on the pump to draw up vinegar from the rear boondocking port, suction would not develop and we were unable to get vinegar into the lines. We were able to draw water into the lines from the fresh water tank after switching the valves to the Normal configuration. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions regarding this? Thanks in advance.

Thanks Jonwen, appreciate your response. Look forward to hearing what you say about the shocks after a bit of time.

Wondering if you or anyone else has recommendations for a brand of shocks. Sounds like you still like Monroe, despite the issues you have had; I have heard people also recommend Bulldog shocks but had trouble getting them? I think most Oliver’s come stock with Monroe. We are planning on replacing our shocks as well as the springs in the next few months.

I ran the generator and batteries topped off at 13.3 before I had to shut off the generator because of where we are camped. We have 3 Battleborn 100 amp lithium. While the generator was running, converter was working (fan was running) charging the batteries. Normally I would run the generator until the surge protector readout went to 2 amps indicating that batteries were fully topped off, but couldn’t, so will do that this evening. The Zamp Solar controller seems to indicate incoming solar at this point. I checked the 12 volt fuse under the street side bed and it had not tripped. I tripped and reset it to see if that helped. You indicated a 40 amp circuit breaker? -where would that be? I will check the battery cables next. Thank you very much for your help. This forum and the people that contribute to it is invaluable!

We plugged Oliver into our generator and everything works-Zamp controller, Progressive converter, all 12 volt systems came on with the generator. Last night the Victron battery app indicated 77%; around 3 o’clock every thing went dead-all 12 volt systems were down. The only large draw was the fridge, but it was on propane. We are going to fully charge the batteries and see what happens. Any ideas?