Patriot

In prior conversation a few years ago with Jason Essary at Oliver Service, I learned that Oliver Service would have to physically see your Oliver to match your paint and gelcoat in order to properly match/repair chips. Oliver no longer maintains any history paint colors. I think @taylor.coyote has offered the best remedy. I would also suggest calling a local fiberglass boat/yacht club as they can be a great resource for mobile fiberglass touch ups if you want it done professionally. DYI touch ups more often than not end up looking like DYI touch ups 😕 and will highlight your chip repairs vs make them disappear. I had 8 mil XPEL PPF (paint protection film) installed on the front blast zones of our 2020 Oliver LE2 and am glad I did. It really has helped preserve the gelcoat especially on the front corners, dog house aka propane tank storage. I also had it installed under the quarter panels front to back.

I had Lew’s team at Alcan install these upgraded wet bolts during the 5 leaf pack install. Also made sure the zerks were facing inside the under belly for much easier access when servicing wet bolts. Also had Alcan HD shackles installed. Very happy with my Alcan running gear.

Steve, cool vid. So glad to refer you to Easton at Inverter Services and he got you all taken care of. He handled all your upgrades exceptionally well. As previously post, Easton installed the same outstanding and comprehensive Victron system on XPLOR Hull # 634 after we returned from our 54-day trip to Maine last fall. Nothing like a super clean professional upgrade/install. I highly recommend Inverter Services and Mr. Easton sure knows his way around Olivers!

Congrats on the new running gear. Best money we ever spent on labor was having Alcan professionally do the work on our Oliver. Good for you. The torquing is the easy part. Safe Travels!

God Bless our military 🇺🇸

Great job Jason and Aaron!

Yes, by the photo from FB these hinges are 2026 the awning style windows with the 3” opening at the bottom.

Back to the drawing board on awning windows.🤔 The key question is are these the new 90 degree opening awning windows Oliver has since began installing, or the previous model awning windows that only opened 3” at the bottom?

Yes, you are correct. Oliver has had to source another coupler supplier. Bulldog is supposedly in bankruptcy proceedings as of Oct of 2025. Hopefully they will restructure. Pic of new coupler -

Welcome and Congrats and enjoy the delivery day! There is something really special about taking delivery of a brand new Oliver, it was for us. Before you know it your day will be here!

You are 💯correct on the stamping of the hitch sleeve being different on each coupler during BD’s production. This has to be accounted for and calculated when drilling new holes for a proper fit. My buddy who is a machinist measured each of the 1/2” coupler holes individually and then transferred and dialed in those exact measurements onto the new 2 5/16 coupler. He totally nailed and fit was better than factory. An inside pic of how different the couplers actually are. Pic of the bottom of the 2” coupler on the left and the new 2 5/16 coupler on the right. You cannot see the difference in the sleeve fold, but it’s not the same and thus requires exact measurement of each hole prior to drilling for proper precise alignment and fitment on the tongue. My buddies tools of the trade and his knowledge were invaluable today.

New Bulldog 4B4 coupler drilled, de-burred, cleaned, primed and painted, installed and torqued down. Another project completed despite the smokin heat and humidity of the day. I could not be happier with the final product fit and finish of this mini mod. A big thanks to a close friend who owns a machine shop that does precision work. He measured twice and drilled once. For those running the S/S coupler, I applied double sided tape a few years ago on inside of the coupler to keep it from the metal to metal wearing the paint thin on the coupler. It worked great, so I reapplied it again with new tape. I opted for silver metallic to match the swooshes on XPLOR. A few mod/upgrade photos.😎 Safe Travels! My buddy Brian gotter done! Thanks Brother!!

Hey Tony, The repair kit will work on 2” or 2 5/16 couplers.

When parked at camp, I use a Proven Industries coupler lock with the optional S/S puck and Medco lock which is extremely robust. It’s just about bomb proof. **** A note to any owners upgrading to the 2 5/16 BD coupler and IF you presently use a Proven coupler lock for with a 2” ball, no need to purchase a new Proven Industries lock. Your current 2” coupler lock will work. I mocked mine up this morning on the new BD 2/16 coupler and its fits perfectly. Do not loose the keys, as I cannot imagine trying to remove either of these this locks.