Frank C
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Posts posted by Frank C
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Since you bought your Oliver used, have you ruled out a water leak as the source of the moisture you are seeing? The illuminated Oliver logo above the rear window is a potential leak point into that attic area where the television wiring is.
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If it’s below freezing outside that space between the inner and outer hull can get pretty cold, even with the furnace going, and most of the moisture/condensation was probably coming from you breathing while working in that area where the wiring is. Someone posted this previously either here on the forum or on the Oliver Facebook page. People exhale quite a bit of moisture.
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13 minutes ago, csevel said:
The bearings I received from Summit have the QR code as in the right photo and also have raised 'Timken' black print below it. I scanned the bar code from the box on the WBA app. Not sure what else I'm supposed to do besides wait for a reply from Timken as I don't know what 'suspicious' is supposed to mean. The app is fairly basic and not really informative. Summit Racing has been highly recommended by forum members here and is supposed to be an authorized distributor. Just wanted to give others a heads up if these aren't authentic.
Yeah, I would expect that Summit would be legitimate as a Timken source since Summit is a big reputable auto parts distributor. Maybe just a fluke with the WBA database not being updated recently with the latest Timken data.
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21 minutes ago, csevel said:
I'm getting ready to attempt my bearing repack, shock replacement and lube of the EZ-Flex suspension on ILOVHER as soon as the weather gets reasonable here in the Northeast! I'm lucky to be able to have my brother help me so I'm hopeful things will be straightforward.
I ordered the Timken bearings from Summit Racing as suggested here to the tune of $150..including the SET17 and SET4 bearings, 4 seals and Redline CV-2 grease but...
An FYI:
I used the WBA app to verify that the bearings aren't counterfeit and they are coming up 'suspicious.' I filled out the information and we'll see where this goes. I'm sort of miffed by it but I will wait to see what Timken says..the World Headquarters are only 20 minutes away from Summit. You'd think they'd be legit.
Any tips or tricks for this newbie would be greatly appreciated. I like to learn and am hoping things will go well with my brother's help.
I bought my Timken bearings through an authorized Timken distributor listed on the Timken website. And when I received them I confirmed with the WBA bearing app and they come up as good. As an experiment though I did buy a “Timken” bearing on Amazon (at a ridiculously low price of like $12) just to see what counterfeit bearings are like. A lot of fakes out there. The Amazon ones did show as counterfeit (no surprise for $12 😂) when scanned with the WBA app. Here’s a pic. Counterfeit on the left, legitimate on the right. The fakes are a pretty good looking copy, with most of the packaging details copied, but the counterfeit ones seem to always be missing the QR code on the box.
Here’s the authorized Timken distributor I bought the genuine bearings from.
www.applied.com
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For anyone getting replacement lug nuts, make sure you get the proper type for aluminum wheels. The correct ones are the “bulge acorn” type which have a larger conical seating surface for use on aluminum wheels. Aluminum wheels are softer than steel wheels and require the larger seating surface. The ones installed by Oliver are the correct bulge acorn type so get the same style. “Acorn” type have a smaller conical face and are for steel wheels.
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I think he’s referring to this post on the Oliver Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/OllieOwners/permalink/1200624053676047/-
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6 per wheel.
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Even if the fridge is running/cold at delivery make sure it operates in all modes: AC shore power, DC battery power, and propane (if you get the 3 way fridge). A few owners have had issues with the fridge AC plug not plugged into the AC power outlet receptacle.
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Not all quick connect faucet fittings use a clip. Some are just “Push to click” connections. It’s possible your hose fitting just wasn’t installed properly when the trailer was built. If you’ve pushed the connector back on until you heard or felt a click, it may be ok now. But keep an eye on it.
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34 minutes ago, Galway Girl said:
Owned an F150 3.5 EB Supercrew 4x4 with max tow package when we bought our Oliver.
(Bought the truck first).It had a 12,700 tow capacity, but only 1580# payload which ended up being an issue for us.
Our gear + our EII tongue wt. of about 685# constantly left us right at the payload (or a little over).The F150 had plenty of power, and we got about 12.5 MPG towing.
However, we felt a bit uncomfortable on long downhill steep grades.
The Ecoboost 1/2 ton was about the same mass as the trailer and we felt pushed at times.
We didn't feel comfortable for mountain driving and eventually we upgraded to an F350 which we have now.If I knew what I know now, and was buying the Truck for an EII, I would go with either a 3/4 or 1 ton.
(When we bought our F350 it's price was identical to the F250 trim level, so we went with the bit bigger payload unit.
Oh...here's a chart I made while shopping for Fords.
It shows the PAYLOAD sticker (from door) numbers for various configurations.
* Note that a stripped down F150 (XLT) can have a 1900 LB payload in the longed configuration.
* The F250 High Capacity Option adds another 592 lbs of Payload .
* Jumping from the base F250 to the F350 adds 1240 lbs of payload.For most folks towing an Oliver EII the sweet spot is probably a F250 or F250 + High Capacity Option.
C. Short
Not sure what Ford calls the option package that I have on my F-250, but it’s rated at 3,334 lbs payload. Highest I’ve ever seen on an F-250. Grabbed it right away when I saw it on the dealer lot. I think it was intended to be a snow plow/salt spreader type work truck.
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On 2/12/2022 at 4:43 PM, ChrisMI said:
I used the 8020 extrusions and brackets (purchased from McMaster Carr) for my home built bike rack on my truck bed cover. The cross rail for the rear tires has quick release mounts so that rail can be quickly removed to flip the bed cover open when needed. 8020 is great stuff for hardware projects. Next tweak to the system is to add a couple mounts to carry our portable waste tote tank in between the two bikes.
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The answer really depends on what type of camping you intend to do. If you are going to stay at full hookup campsites, then spending that much money for the lithium batteries / solar panel package doesn’t make much sense. If you are going to be camping off-grid/boondocking, then the lithium/solar package is a must have. We typically stay at full hookup campgrounds, and we don’t have the solar package (and we intentionally look for campground sites that are shaded), and our Oliver just has the old fashioned (cheap) lead acid wet cell batteries, and that setup has worked perfectly for us. I do have a small portable solar panel and charge controller setup (<$900) that I use for the occasional quick off-grid stop (usually a Harvest Host location) on our way to our destination campgrounds. I have much better things to spend $9,500 on.
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1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:
Wow! Great eye, @FrankC.
Pretty sure that's Overland's Snowball. Only one without a fridge vent cut in that I know of. And the factory experimented with the lift, but found it unsatisfactory. He posted this photo the factory sent him.
Probably photoshopped? That black square bucket seems to be in the same spot, left streetside below bumper ...
I think you’re right that the levelers are photoshopped into the pic. Looking more closely, you can see that the wheels have a slightly different perspective for the forward vs rearward wheel, but the images of the levelers are identical. Makes me trust that company less if they couldn’t even bother to take an actual picture of the levelers in use on the Oliver.
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So whose Oliver is in this photo on Amazon for these levelers?
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12 minutes ago, John Welte said:
Is there a trick to getting it on or off? If you have the lithium batteries like we're planning to get when we pick up in November, do you have to do battery cycling to keep them healthy? We will be able to plug in at the house if that helps during winter storage in Portland, Oregon. I understand that there's a battery heater for the lithiums that comes on near freezing.
We don’t have the lithium batteries. We have the old fashioned lead acid wet cell batteries (and no solar). During winter storage I plug the trailer into our household AC about once every two weeks or so to keep the batteries charged.
For our method of getting the cover on, I lay the cover out on the ground on the curbside of the trailer, and I tie a rope through one of the grommets around the bottom of the cover, then toss the rope over the top of the trailer to the street side, and then with one person pulling on the rope on the street side, and one person on a ladder on the curbside, it’s just a matter of getting the cover up over the awning housing and up onto the roof of the trailer. Once the cover is up on the roof it’s easy to work it down around the sides of the trailer.-
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Yes, we use the Calmark cover that’s made for the Oliver. Had it through 3 winters so far and it’s worked very well to keep the Ollie clean. The cover itself has held up very well also, no rips. It is a 2 person job to get the cover on the trailer. We bought ours directly from Calmark in 2019 but I understand that now the cover is only available from Oliver.
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10 hours ago, Landrover said:
Unless things have changed in the last 20 years. Any thing that had a assigned VIN number a hidden number is somewhere usually on the frame. The only organization who had this information was NICB National insurance crime bureau. Law enforcement where the only ones that could access this information. This was also true for heavy equipment and tractors with trailers. For Oliver being a small Company not producing a lot of trailers hidden vins my not apply, or they may will never know.
I Remember this one 1962 Corvette you removed the drivers door sill plate drill a 2in hole through the fiberglass at a certain location and a partial vin number was stamped in the frame, this Corvette was stolen in 1965 and recovered in 1995.
If Oliver is stamping the VIN hidden somewhere on the aluminum frame, they’ve kept it a secret from all of us.
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There have been a few threads on this. I have a 140 watt portable Zamp “suitcase” solar setup for our Ollie as well. We didn’t get the factory solar option, and our Ollie doesn’t have the optional Zamp port on the side of the trailer. We don’t boondock much, just quick stops off grid on our way to full hookup campsite destinations. After getting some input from other Ollie owners here and the Facebook page that had done this as well, I made up an adapter plug to connect the solar panel to the 7 pin trailer harness connector. Two of the connnections on the 7 pin connector are the 12v positive directly to the battery, and the negative ground connection. The solar panel has a charge controller and stand built in. It’s worked very well for our occasional off grid stops, enough juice for using the 12v Oliver accessories like the interior lights, water pump, and exhaust fans. And I’ve used the panel once in a while with the Ollie stored as well.
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22 minutes ago, CRM said:
This makes me crazy.. The only VIN and weight limit markings on my Ollie are on a paper sticker inside the closet. I plan on having metal plates made and riveting them onto the frame near the hitch where (I think) they belong.
Yeah, I’ll be adding a metal plate, riveted to the frame, before the factory labels fade away. Available from Amazon, customized with your specific info, available as stick-on or rivet options.
Custom Engraved Aluminum Trailer id Plate https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DS5BZSG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_0QZPRAH118ZV3YJ42R8X-
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1 hour ago, Boudicca908 said:
So.... Reading from above, is the VIN number actually different than the Hull number? I know my Hull number, but don't know my VIN (if different) and will need it for insurance and storage facility rental agreement, etc...
** I couldn't find this information in search (VIN number location, where is VIN number, is VIN number same as Hull number, etc) **
The VIN is printed on the two labels on the lower forward street side of the trailer. To the right of the reflector in the photo. It’ll also be on your sales paperwork from Oliver. Unfortunately Oliver doesn’t do a more permanent stamped number on the aluminum frame somewhere, at least not on ours anywhere.
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Check out this recent post on Oliver Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/groups/OllieOwners/permalink/1189467908124995/
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25 minutes ago, ChrisMI said:
For those who like to live on the ragged edge like me, with a 2 inch ball, try to purchase a ball mount and ball that utilize the 1 1/4 inch shank. That pretty much guarantees the weight rating will be 10k or more.
Ditto to this. I don’t need the Andersen hitch with my F-250, so I’m using a simple 2” hitch ball (1-1/4” shank) with a rating of 10,000 lbs., and a ball mount with a rating of 18,000 lbs. The truck is rated to tow 12,600 lbs, with a tongue weight limit of 1,250 lbs. dead weight, 3,334 lbs. payload capacity. So the “weakest link” in the whole system is the 2” Bulldog coupler itself which is only rated to 7,000 lbs. I’ve been considering upgrading to the larger 2-5/16” Bulldog, just to have more safety margin, but so far no issues with ball wear or coupler wear at all. I do grease the ball before each trip.
CURT 40056 Stainless Steel Trailer Hitch Ball, 10,000 lbs, 2-Inch Diameter, 1-1/4 x 2-5/8-Inch Shank https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08557RHP1/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_NQQ3BH5FK65T43Z8VHQT?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Draw-Tite 45322 3" Drop Ball Mount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JID6U6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_D5XDYD3CHP0KZYCFB0ER?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
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2 hours ago, ChrisMI said:
I’m not sure why I’m always so curious about payload. Same thing with useful load…if someone lists their plane for sale I could care less what color it is. I want to know what it’ll haul!
We are always curious about payload/cargo rating of the tow vehicle because it does affect “what it’ll haul”. Tongue weight of the trailer counts towards the tow vehicle payload number. And a lot of people are unaware that they have exceeded their payload limit with the trailer hooked up, driver and passenger(s) weight, any installed accessories on the tow vehicle like a bed liner, bed cover, or bed cap, a toolbox, a loaded cooler, camping gear, etc. all loaded up. It’s surprising how low the payload number is on some vehicles, even some 1/2 ton pickup trucks. An Elite II tongue weight plus a driver and 1 passenger are ~1,000 lbs. of payload. Even an Elite 1 with driver and passenger is ~750 to 800 lbs of payload. But that Subaru Ascent looks like a pretty good match for an Elite I.
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An amazing restoration. Did the previous owner keep all the major parts that were removed? Looks like the Oliver frame, axle, LP tank doghouse, etc. were all removed for mounting on the truck.
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Curved levelers
in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Posted
Yeah, the picture isn’t quite accurate since they were probably photoshopped. There are two pieces to each leveler. The curved ramp piece that you drive on to, and then the separate wedge piece that locks into place to keep things from shifting, but yeah, I would think that normally the center of the tire would be located more directly above the point where the curved ramp touches the ground, like the photo below of the Andersen levelers, although they could have also rolled the trailer forward a little bit after putting the wedge in place.