Rivernerd

Yes. It is identical to the 2-5/16" Bulldog coupler mounted on our Hull #1291 by Oliver during manufacturing. See photo below. I didn't know it when ordering, but there was little chance that a 2-5/16" coupler would be confused with a 2" coupler rated for only 5K lbs. Another reason I like to overbuild.

It appears to me that Oliver owes you reimbursement for your replacement coupler. I recommend you submit a service ticket. Oliver has acted responsibly when advised of manufacturing errors in the past.

Another solution: install turnbuckles into the extra chain length required to connect the Andersen WD hitch to the Oliver. See the thread embedded below. Just loosen the turnbuckle on the side that won't reach the whale tail until it is long enough to reach, then tighten the turnbuckle once the whale tail is straight. All of this can be done while standing. I carry Robogrips for this purpose:

I, too, am stunned to see your photos. Kudos to you for thinking to unbolt the original coupler and locate a replacement. Your report makes me glad we upgraded to the 2-5/16" coupler when we bought Hull #1291!

Our Hull #1291 has two 5200 lb. axles. I have ordered a set of 4, two for each axle. As the new 5-leaf springs are rated at 2000 lbs. each, the result will be 4000 lbs. of spring support per axle, for a total of 8000 lbs. of spring support for the trailer.

We bought Hull #1291 in November, 2022. Our first RV of any kind. I researched for two years, including looking at many trailers. I also spent much time on this forum, before settling on the Oliver Elite II. Along with overall build quality, the quality of help available via this forum was one positive factor resulting in our purchase. After our purchase, I have continued to learn lots of valuable info about repair and maintenance of our Oliver here. My wife and I remain pleased with our decision, and with the content available on this forum.

We must ask ScubaRx. The above quote came from him, not me.

Please advise Mike at ALCAN that all of our Oliver trailers are underslung.

John: As you know, we have Hull #1291, 1 after yours. Our springs are 4-leaf, so I am sure your are also 4-leaf.

Interesting. ScubaRx, perhaps this information should be passed on to Oliver, along with your prediction that "the 4-Leaf spring packs will continue to fail no matter which axle they are installed with." Consistent with Oliver's goal to produce a premium product, they may wish to consider upgrading to 5-leaf spring packs going forward.

Some of it, yes. But, directing more warmed air between the hulls is intended to keep the plumbing from freezing. I choose to protect the plumbing, at the cost of burning more propane to keep the cabin warm.

Those are the same reasons I plan to replace my springs, now that I know there have been a number of failures with the cheap Chinese 4-leaf springs. I had a leaf spring fail on my raft trailer many years ago in the "middle of nowhere," and it caused a logistical nightmare. Even after spring upgrade, the amount we load onto the trailer will not change. But I will have greater peace of mind when towing Hull #1291 far from home!

It seems that the only suspension component on 2022+ Elite IIs that limits the GVWR to 7K lbs. is the 4-leaf springs. The bearings on each 5200 lb. axle should be rated to 5200 lbs., like the axle is. It stands to reason that replacing all four of those 4-leaf springs with heavier duty "Made in America" 5-leaf springs could enable an 8000 lb. GVWR (2Kx4=8K) , at least in practical application. Do any of you engineer types out there disagree with this analysis? That said, I don't plan to increase the load on our Hull #1291 even if we upgrade to the 5-leaf springs, because we tow with a 2019 Tundra. The low Tundra payload capacity is our real limitation, not the trailer GVWR. But, I like to overbuild, so a beefier suspension than is absolutely necessary appeals to me.

Coil springs would be nice.

I bought my first combustible gas detector 25 years ago after I watched a Washington Natural Gas investigator use one to find a natural gas leak near one of our water heaters. Like you, I am a DIYer. I like to use the tools the pros use.

No. We have the Oliver-installed shower curtain, which keeps the toilet area, including the return air vent location, fairly dry during showers. And, like you, we squeegee the shower walls to speed up drying of the wet bath. Given the amount of air flow whenever the furnace is running, we have experienced no moisture issues in the underbelly. I believe the more abundant source of any moisture in that area comes from condensation when outside ambient temps are low and humidity is high. The flow of return air through the underbelly, which is enabled by the return air vent in the shower, actually helps dry out this condensation.

Below is a photo the return air vent in the bath installed by Oliver in our 2022 Elite II Hull #1291. The photo is taken looking down; our standard Dometic toilet is visible in the upper right corner of the frame. This 3" vent allows hot air pushed into the bath by the Truma Varioheat furnace to return through the underbelly to the furnace. It does not create a draft. Below is a photo of the other side of the bath return air vent, taken from underneath the front dinette seat. In addition to this factory 3" return air vent, I added a 4" vent on the aisle side of the front dinette seat. A photo of that "owner-installed" vent appears above in this thread. The additional 4" vent further improved the flow of return air through the underbelly of the trailer. That allows us to camp in colder ambient temps without putting the plumbing in the underbelly at risk.

Yes, because I believe that closing it off would cause our Truma Varioheat furnace to throw error codes. See my post above on this thread about the furnace filter affecting performance of the Varioheat furnace.

Yes. See, e.g.: https://www.amazon.com/Vent-Cover-Built-Ventilation-Plastic/dp/B0822VXRNQ?th=1

One caution for Truma Varioheat owners: The Truma Varioheat air intake is right behind the return air vent. I tried adding a furnace filter over that air intake, but it generated error messages. Closing off all or part of that return air vent right in front of the Truma Varioheat air intake could create more problems that it solves. See my April 25, 2023 post in this thread:

Agreed. That is why I also installed a vent on the aisle side of the front dinette seat, to allow more return air from the front of the main cabin back through the underbelly area to the furnace. See photo below.

I used my $27 Smart Sensor combustible gas sensor to locate a propane leak at a fitting on an outdoor propane tank at our church last year. Our noses smelled the mercaptan odorant in the propane to alert us to the presence of the leak. The sensor then isolated the source to that fitting, which was repaired. It works outside, as well as inside. I now carry a Smart Sensor detector in our Hull #1291. Then I don't have to worry about whether the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio inside the trailer is within a dangerous range when searching for the location of a propane leak. https://www.amazon.com/Detector-Portable-Combustible-Adjustable-Sensitivity/dp/B07H671NJ3?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2PG0JPHUSQSX8

See photo below, showing both the bottom and top vents I installed. As you can see, they are cut into the wall above and below the closet door, allowing air from the main cabin to flow into and then out of the closet. I am advised that Oliver is now installing such vents in new trailers being manufactured.

Trust me, they do. Think of it this way: the furnace blower creates positive air pressure in the trailer's main cabin. If you left the closet door open all the time, this positive air pressure would push warmed air into the closet. The two vents work in a similar way: the positive air pressure pushes the cold air near the floor level of the main cabin through the lower vent (i.e., a hole with louvers) into the closet. As the warmed air rises, it exits the top vent (hole), creating a convection current in the closet.

Our Hull #1291 did not come with return air vents in the closet. I installed them, one top and one bottom. Our experience has been that before the addition of those vents, the closet stayed about 20 degrees colder than the main cabin when camping in cold weather and running the furnace with the closet door closed. After the vents were added, the closet temps stay just a degree or two below those in the main cabin. Convection of heated cabin air, between the bottom and top closet vents, explains the difference.