Patriot

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.

Yes sir Bill, another big plus to the S/S collar. 👍🏻

Hopefully they will restructure like many companies do. Only time will tell.

We have used this coupler security and ABUS lock combo since we took delivery in June of 2020. Since it only takes less than 5 minutes to remove the BD coupler via the two bolts off the trailer tongue it’s a good deterent and better than nothing. Also when on the road it makes for an easy eye safety check during a walk around of our rig. This combo continue to serve us well 6 years in. Both have strong reviews. I will use this collar and lock on the new 2 5/16 coupler. Another plus with the S/S collar, you cannot secure the collar on the coupler locking mechanism if the coupler is not properly locked down so the clam shell cannot be moved back on the hitch ball. A nice little extra built in secondary safety feature. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HL2NM0K?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title ABUS Stainless lock made in Germany- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009S5Y6ZS?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

Oliver Bulldog 2 5/16 coupler upgrade. I decided to finally pull the trigger and upgrade our Oliver from a 2” 7000# Bulldog coupler to a new Bulldog 2 5/16” 12500 coupler. I also ordered a spare coupler repair kit. These 2 5/16” BD couplers are becoming difficult to locate and purchase with Bulldog filing for bankruptcy protection in Oct of last year😳. It’s my understanding, that BD is no longer manufacturing and shipping these couplers to RV manufacturers possibly due to bankruptcy proceedings. (open source) I did attempt to purchase a 2 5/16 BG coupler from Oliver and they no longer have this upgrade in stock and available to purchase and ship. Jerry at Oliver told me they have no idea if or when they will have this coupler in stock again and are seeking alternative options. Will there will be a restructuring with BD? Anyone’s guess. I will be taking the new coupler to a friend’s machine shop to have the holes precisely drilled. If you’re on the fence about upgrading to a 2 5/16 12,500 #coupler it might be a good time to search for a vendor that has one on the shelf and ready to ship. A big thank you to @rideandfly for helping source this coupler! The Vendor I ordered from was Croft Trailer Supply in Kansas City, Mo. Ended up myself, @rideandfly and @John Dorrer purchased the (3) they had in stock. If it’s an upgrade you’re considering you may not want to wait. Safe Travels! Hull#634 XPLOR

I understand and yes, upgrades are spendy! We also use our camp chairs for drying towels which work great too! 😊

Oliver just sent this out to owners on June 30th to those who have opted receive their regular marketing emails.

We never did purchase a suction cup style bar. Our 1UP USA Super Duty bike rack it works great as a towel dryer or we just use our camp chairs. Necessity is the mother of invention. 😎 Old photo after our Truma Aventa factory install which Oliver did a stellar job on. We are so glad we got the low profile Truma when we did. One of our top retro mods.

A lot of truth..

Here- no sweeping, just open the screen door dust goes back where it came from. Helps keeping the exterior screens clean too. Neither of us wear our shoes while in the Oliver. We have found this little blower is super handy. Also works for blow drying a washed TV and inside and out. “No brooms club here” 😄 Harbor Freight - BAUER 20V Cordless, 200 MPH/120 CFM Compact Workshop Blower - Tool Only $40

Yes, correct.

Lesson learned. So after a little deeper dive into cause and effect of how my water filter failed, I learned the following. Last fall when we winterized, I turned off the water supply to the Truma. I went out and pulled the yellow lever down, pulled the filter out and drained all of the water out of the Truma tank. With the system and the tank drained, I reinserted (error on my part) the Truma filter and it must have had a tiny amount of residual water near the internal plastic sacrificial disk inside the filter which resulted in it freezing and then cracking. If I had completely removed the filter and stored it inside the Oliver as I have done for the past 5 yrs, I likely would not be needing a replacement filter. Important to note, the Truma tank system was completely void of water with exception of what residual was in the filter housing which was apparently just enough to cause the sacrificial disk to do what it is suppose to do…fail. To complete my inspection of the Truma hot water tank, I temporarily used my winterization filter and the system worked as designed. We had the system set at 120d within about 8-10 seconds we had unlimited hot water in the galley and shower. Here is what I learned -open source- If your Truma AquaGo filter (or Easy Drain Lever) blew out, gushing water from the housing, the internal plastic disc or O-rings likely failed. This is almost always caused by residual water freezing and expanding inside the housing, or the O-rings being misaligned. [1, 2, 3, 4] The Fix You cannot repair a broken filter assembly with glue or tape due to the system's high water pressure. You will need to replace the entire filter/drain assembly. [1, 2, 3] Depressurize the system: Turn off your RV water pump or city water supply, and open a hot water faucet to relieve the pressure. Remove the old filter: Lift the thumb latch on the easy drain lever to drop the assembly down. Inspect the housing: Look inside the chamber for any leftover pieces of broken black plastic. Install the replacement: Pop the new filter cartridge into place and snap the lever back up to lock it. [1, 3] How to Prevent It Truma designed the filter to fail (break) first to prevent the internal mixing vessel from freezing and causing a $2,000+ tank replacement. During winterization, always make sure you pull the yellow lever, remove the filter cartridge, and drain the water entirely. Do not reinstall the filter until you are ready to use the RV in the spring.

@DunnYet Open source - No, you should not leave the Truma winterization (bypass) filter or standard stainless steel filter installed all season long. [1] If you are actively using your RV during the camping season, you should be using the standard stainless steel filter (or the Truma Electric Antifreeze Kit if actively in use). The official winterization plug/filter is strictly designed to replace the standard filter for winter storage and is not meant to be run full-time. Keep these quick winterization rules in mind: For Winter Storage: Drain your Truma system and remove the filter cartridge entirely. Store the filter in a dry place inside your RV and leave the yellow Easy Drain Lever closed. Leaving any filter inside during freezing weather can trap water, expand, and permanently damage the unit. [1, 2, 3] For Active Winter Camping: If you plan to travel in freezing temperatures, you can use the Truma Electric Antifreeze Kit. This specific kit can be installed in place of your standard filter to keep the water heater from freezing without draining your propane. [1, 2] For Normal Summer Use: Remove the winterization plug and reinstall your standard stainless steel mesh filter before de-winterizing and turning your water system on for regular use.

This morning while doing a full systems ‘go’ inspection on Hull #634 XPLOR, I discovered when I configured the Truma water heater valve to the ON position, an impressive stream of water shot directly out of the Truma filter exterior housing. After a little troubleshooting, I removed the filter and discovered that inside the filter housing, a small black round piece of plastic had blown out of the filter housing. This rendered the filter useless. We have had 5.5 years of trouble-free service from our tankless Truma and this was a first. We like our Aqua Go. I am posting this in the event anyone should have the same issue with their Truma filter. I have the optional antifreeze filter which works in a pinch as a back up. If you do not have the optional antifreeze filter as a back up, you will be stuck like Chuck with no hot water. In order for the Aqua Go to work, it has to have the filter element. I contacted Oliver Service and ordered a OEM replacement and an extra back filter up of the exact one you see in the below pics. “Two is one and one is none.” 🫡🇺🇸 Replacement filters are $95.00 plus shipping. Thank you Mike Sharpe for getting my new filters shipped out. The tiny piece of plastic that broke loose. Here is the filter that failed. You should not be able to look through your filter. The arrow points to where this tiny piece blew out. There is no way to repair it. I pass this on, so that if you have this issue you can just replace the filter with a new one.

Tim, Oliver has gone to a newer Awning style window which opens at 90 degrees. It’s insulated and glass. I don’t have any additional info right now. I feel sure Oliver Service could provide you with more details. Cheers, Patriot

I posted a few years ago on the Oliver PPF install. Your M3 is absolutely gorgeous 🔥, wow! I really like the XPEL stealth was a perfect choice. Thanks for the kind note on the Pro…its my 6th Tundra over the years and this one is a keeper. The 2.5 Gen Pro’s are becoming really hard to find especially one owner southern trucks. Gotta lot of love here for the 5.7 V8! 👍🏻

I am glad the CGI crew is now offering PPF on the front of Olivers. We have had XPEL PPF on the “blast zones” on the of our Oliver to include the dog house, aka LP surround and all the way down each side under the bottom edges of both sides of our Oliver. We have had it for several years now and it has really worked as advertised. Shortly after we took delivery of Hull #634 we had 10 mil XPEL paint protection installed. Here is a photo of our installer working his magic. The standard paint protection used on most cars and trucks today is 8 mil. The 10 mil material is naturally thicker and it’s really tough material. It’s presently the thickest p/p made by XPEL. So far, it’s held up great with no damage to our gelcoat. It’s fairly expensive to have installed, but well worth it in our experience. We use a product called Plexus to keep it clean and polished up. Our installers business name is Sun Stoppers located in Cornelius, NC. Also, we have PPF on all our vehicles. The 8 mil still offers robust protection from road rash, missiles etc. https://www.xpel.com This same fella installed 8 mil XPEL PPF on our entire Super Duty just after we purchased it in 2021. It was well worth the money and has kept our TV paint chip free 5 yrs later. If you trade vehicles every few years it may not be worth the expense. We tend to keep our cars and trucks for the long haul. I recently found and purchased a one owner, NC dealer serviced 2020 Toyota TRD Pro. It is in really excellent condition. So I took it to my XPEL PPF tech to let him work his magic. I could not be happier with his work as he exceeded my expectations. It’s all about the install and the installer. A few things to note: if you take it to an installer make sure you don’t have any paint chips on the areas you want protected by PPF. If any installer wants to cover areas on your truck or car with PPF with existing paint chips…in my opinion, you have the wrong installer. Find an installer that does high-end Teslas, Lexus, Benz, Lambos, Bentleys etc. After having a complete paint correction done, I had the headlights, front and rear bumpers, trim below the headlights, the painted grill surround, windshield pillars all covered in 8mil XPEL PPF. The prior owner already had the entire hood and mirror caps covered. The larger the surface area you cover, the higher the cost. I like XPEL PPF as it is hydrophobic and just repels dirt and dust with ease. You can also ceramic coat over XPEL PPF. ** Prices vary on installation, so its best if you’re considering PPF to get a quote from your local installer. My XPEL PPF installers shop 3 weeks ago. I also had XPEL 50% tint installed on the interior front w/s. A game changer in reducing heat and dangerous UV rays into the cabin. Note; check your State DMV on tint % laws. Post PPF install.

But wait there is more….😊 https://www.facebook.com/reel/1641011913683764

Here you go…..touch pic and scroll left.🤔 https://www.instagram.com/p/DX1y0pnkuH2/?igsh=MXRicTlrancwZXloOA==