2008RN

Thats a horse of a different color. A return vent in the bathroom would make sense in the Elite I, since there is no Hot air output vent in the bathroom.

That is interesting with your furnace under the front dinette, our furnace is curb side in the rear of the trailer. Oliver had put in one main return in the the 2020 the is about 4-5" forward of the rear on the curb side. I have blocked off about 50% of the vent, to increase air return under other parts of the trailer. We also have a heater vent output just below the TP dispenser. So on My rig you would get nice warm air to the the bathroom plumbing if you added a return vent below the heater output. The down side you may not get as much air flow to warm the rest of the bathroom. I just put in the 2 vents (one up high and one down low) in the closet. With this you are just getting natural air flow/equalization with what is in the cabin. I was really surprised on how well this worked in making the the closet warmer. I know that at least one person has put the vent for the closet to under the sink to work as a return. With the changes I have made with hot air vent tubes on my rig, the area between the shells is about 5-10 degrees less then the main cabin at least up to the kitchen front seat. I have no idea what the temps are under the bathroom sink is.

Mark, I am not sure of what Oliver you have. I have a 2020 LE11. If you could put your Oliver year/model and same thing for your Tow vehicle in your signature section it would aid other owners in helping with answers. First, as shipped I consider my Oliver as a 3 season. I still winterize the camper for the winter months, and I still go camping. We just carry water with us. The lowest we keep the temp is 62 degrees at night, then 68 during the day. We have the Dometic Furnace, the newer Oli's have a Truma. I would like to update my Truma on demand water heater with the cool weather update, but haven't yet. Also Oliver changed the way the ventilation works on the newer models and vents the closet. Minnesota Oli posted "Breaking Subzero | Oliver Furnace Mod" for making changes to the Oliver for Dometic furnaces. There have been people that made vent changes in Closet, and Closet to under the bathroom sink. Maybe someone else can chime in on this subject. John E Davies may have also made vent changes. John E Davies had made tons of modifications, and information on up keep. He does have a page full of links that are helpful. John E Davies: HOW TO threads and Tech articles LINKS. I made the changes that Minnesota Oli did,but couldn't quite get the vent tube past the dinette floor. I Also just add the upper and lower vents to the front of the closet, and this really warmed up the closet.

I carry a little aluminum 3ft ladder. I set bottle on the top, then step up on the ladder to hoist it over. We just bought 2 20# we are going to try out for this next year. I can carry an extra 20# strapped into the truck if I need to.

We are doing something similar only we are starting in Oregon and taking a southern route down to Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma Arkansas, back to Tennessee, Kentucky back up to Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, then back across the top of the US on highway 2 (turns into 20) then BC, Canada to Hope, then Vancouver, then back down home. I am trying my best to use 2 lane roads and minimize the interstate(not always possible). We are going to Boon Dock at Harvest Hosts sites, then hit a Full hookup every 4-5 days. Trying to keep the travels to 4-5 hours a day when on the road. I noticed you are turning around right around the California border. Might want to go a little farther and see the Red Woods.

Well, I finished my other projects, semi-retired and I was able to get back to the Shackles on the Oliver. I emailed Alcan around December 16, 2024 and the special die set for punching the shackles without bending them was on still on backorder. So I canceled my order with them. Got some hot rolled low carbon steel, and purchased some Cobalt drills from drill bit warehouse. BTW, I have never used the cobalt drills before. Man are they nice. Cut that hot roll like butter. Never use them in a hand drill they can break easily. Only use something like a mill, Drill press, etc. I only had a .002" variance in Center line on the holes and they assembled easily. I made my Shackles 2-5/8" on centers. The original shackles were 2-1/4". When I was replacing the the leaf springs originally, I found rub marks on all EZ-Flex arms where the original Dexter leafs had rubbed against the arm. With the Original shackles and the new Alcan leafs I had .040 clearance between the 2nd leaf and the EZ-flex arm. The thickness of the individual leaf was about 3/8. So I added 3/8" to the Hole to hole distance making them 2-5/8. THis set the distance close to what the original distance was on the Dexters. This lowered the trailer back down by 3/16", The Alcans raised the height by 1/2" so a net gain of about 5/16" in height. I also went back to the original Dexter Wet bolts. The reason I did this I was having problems getting grease pumped through the bushings with the wet (grease-able) shackle bolts from Alcan when torqued down to 60 Ft/#. The Dexter bolts are shoulder bolts and the Alcan's are straight bolts. The shoulder/wet bolts measured about .010-.015 wider then the shackles/leafs or hangers/leafs. So that meant that Dexter designed that .010-.015 of side to side slop so that grease could moved to all surfaces and the EZ-FLEX could move freely. So I am using the Dexter Wet bolts. I finished all of this before the end of the year. I decided it was time to change all my coolant hoses on the truck before a cross country adventure, added larger heated mirrors with blinkers to the old F250 SD diesel, and did some other maintenance. So I just got the Oliver out on dry pavement (that does happen often in the Pacific NW). I took her on a 105 mile trip. 45 miles was small curvy roads and about 10 miles was rutted, sunken, patch road. The Oliver performed great. I could barely feel her / see her move, and she didn't rock around all over like before. I did my Torques at 9, 45,68,105 mile points. I will plan on torquing her again at 250, 500, 1000 mile marks. I may also do more torques if there is any movement at the 1000 mile point. I feel comfortable where I am at with the suspension. I may go back in a 2-3 years when it is time to re-grease the axle bearings. At that time I will check bushings, wet bolt wear with the leafs and ez-flex. The ex-flex bushings in the arms are not the thickest metal. and I will replace what is needed. When I put the new leafs on I replaced all of the axle bearing with Timken bearings. I also had small spots of rust al over the 3" axle tubes and leaf plates. So I sanded the tubes/plates and what I could of the Brake Backing plates, then coated with a Rust neutralized, primed and painted and coated with Cosmomline RP-342 after everything was reassembled. Hopefully this will stop/deter the rust. I was disappointed that the tubes had a small amount of rust on it when we got the Oli at 9 months old. We also frequent the Pacific NW beaches a lot so that did not help the rust increasing.

@Ronbrink Great job job of space utilization. I like the way you packed the inside of the griddle. I just bought our 17" inch Blackstone this last summer. My wife and I love it. We fill up the grill for a nice large and fancy meal. Clean up is a breeze. We got rid of our older 2 burner stove for the black stone. It is now our go to cooking appliance in nice weather. If it is poring rain and windy then it back inside to cook.

My Dexter leafs on the rear were flat towards the rear of the trailer. I ordered the Alcan springs. I had problems with Alcan’s shackles. The first set they sent me the holes were oversized and the knurls on the bolts just slid in. The second set were the right size, but they bent shackles when they punched the hole. The end of the bolts after being pressed in were about .230 out of alignment which makes assembly impossible. The Dexter shackles and bolts are .005 inch or less for alignment making assembly easy. Alcan said they would let me know when they figured out how to produce shackles that would work and that was on Oct 15th. I’m still waiting. I put the original Dexter shackles back on and set hummi back on the ground. The bottom of the second leaf to the ez-flex measures around .040 inch universally. Way too close to take her for a spin. I've gotten busy with a small remodel job on a wall into the kitchen. I need to get it done for the new fridge to fit. Once I get the stove and fridge set up, I will shift back to the shackles, if Alcan has not came up with a solution, I will buy the metal and make my own, I have a buddy with a vertical mill. If / when Alcan replies back to me I will update you. The 2000# Dexter leafs are starting to look a reasonable solution. I’m sure I will be happy when I get this back on the road. glad I haven’t retired yet I’d be a little pissed to not have the trailer available for a couple of months.

Good troubleshooting, and thanks for the info. Something to check this winter while hummi is down for the winter

Jim, Don't feel bad. I spent about 10 minutes on my 17" BS try to put the grease catcher under inside the grill for travel. I never figured it out.

I use a 12volt pump, kind of cheap and manual, but I hook it to the output for dumping, and then connect to the spray port on the black tank. I do have a fine mesh filter on the pump so no debree gets stuck in the sprayers. I have used it when we are boondocking greater than 4 days.

I have a narrow 90 degree turn getting into my driveway, then I have to make a 60 degree turn to the opposite direction right away. The RV port is only 25 ft from the road. I practiced probably 20-30 times backing up normally into the spot had chosen before we built Hummi's home. I had the location marked out with cones and paint. I got it into the area twice without going out of bounds. I decided that putting the trailer through a wall greater than 90% was not going to cut it. I was wanting a heavy duty bumper to stop deer ruining the front front end. That settled it, and I purchased a BuckStop front bumper with the hitch built in. It is the slickest way to park the trailer. I can park the trailer within a couple of inch of where I want it every time. The only thing I wish was the hitch was off set to the passengers side by about a foot. This would make it easier to look around the trailer from the drivers seat. I also use the hitch to carry bicycles on the front.

I like the deadfall hammer I think I have a 2 pounder. I also have a few large brass punches that I could use with the sledge. I am starting to think it would be fun to borrow the Orielly's ball joint press. I have never used one.

Yep, I have a hammer and a mounted vice. I use to be a machinist, and sometimes my mind gets stuck in using proper tools. Big ole hammers and vices just remind me of blacksmithing and welding. I almost thought of spending a few hundred bucks on a Table top arbor press that I could get the 10" drums under for pressing the bearings, but then I figured I was starting to get carried away.

Do you press them in place? If so, what is the best way to do this at home without a press?

After many discussions with my wife, and searching on the internet. We finally came up with Nose art (decal) for the front of the Oliver. From this time forward she will be called Hummi

I use the "Collar" parked or driving. The chains are locked up when parked. I use the "Proven Industries Hitch Lock" I would like to replace the Puck lock that came with it with a Conical Puck lock so it can't be drilled out. I also have a 6 foot Abus hardened chain that I put through the Rims on one side when parked. Everywhere the I need a paddle lock I have used a 3/8 Abus granite harden lock and all locks are keyed a like. They are difficult to pick, and break. I know this may be overkill and nothing is fool proof, but the more difficult to steal, greater chance they will move on to an easier target. When the truck is attached, I have an Alarm system, and a way to keep from the truck from starting. A good thief can steal the Ford 7.3 super duty trucks in under 30 seconds. If the Oliver is attached and you are in a store you could lose everything. I am sure there are other tow vehicles that are just as vulnerable.

Thanks e everyone for your feedback. I pulled the trigger and got one from Dick’s.

Considering a 17” or 22” black stone. I have a rear storage container but it only can only hold something that is 20.5 inches front to back. The online info is greater than 20.5 for both grills. Questions: 1. Does the grease tray come off the back? 2. If the grease tray does come off how much does the save me in depth? fyi: I’m looking at stripped down models without hoods.

This bull dog shock is a direct replacement for the Monroe 555001 https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 I've only have 300 miles on the Bulldogs shocks, They are so much better than the Original Monroes. I bought the trailer 10 months old with 5K miles on it. The original owner basically made 2 trips. One from the factory to Idaho via California, and another trip back to California. I followed the trailer for about 40 miles right after we purchased it. I remember thinking it odd that the trailer like to swayed side to side going down the freeway, but then never thought about it again. Then 2 years later and 2,000 miles, the trailer was moving everywhere on a rougher 2 lane paved road and truck/trailer became difficult the manage. I thought I would give the Bull Dogs a try. The Bull Dogs were the price was about the same as the Monroe 555001 online. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I figured if I bought the Monroes they would be trash in a year to two years depending on the miles I drove. If the Bulldogs make it 2 years then they will have out lasted the Monroes. Next spring I plan on new springs before we take our first big trip cross the nation.

There is not a lot of in depth information on the 555025 shocks, but here is a link for the 555025 https://www.shockwarehouse.com/products/monroe-555025-gasmagnum In my searching I found someone that had replaced the 555001 with a Bilsteins 24-064194, B6 series shock. The following link talks about the installation, and problems that were overcome. It is an interesting read. I searched for the 24-064194 and it appears that Bilstein no longer makes this shock, no one seems to have them available. The down side if you can find them they are very pricey https://heartlandowners.org/threads/bighorn-3260el-shocks.59777/

When I was looking for replacements for the 555001, I did find a Monroe 555025 RV shock which had a higher rating. The only problem was the minimal compression length was 3/4 of and inch longer and I did not know if it would still work in our application so I opted for the Bull Dog 555001 replacement instead. I had found on another site where someone had used the 555025 to replace a 555001 without problems, but it was not for an Oliver

So sorry for the damage. One of my worst fears is doing what happened to you. We all, or most of us get carried away and make a mistake. My better half has stop me a couple of times on the steps. We setup camp in a pouring rain last week. No checklist, just pumped through it to get out of the rain. I know it is small and minor, but we forgot to turn the fridge back on. 36 hours later the fridge was at 52 degrees and the freezer section was at 30 degrees. First thing out of my wife's mouth was we are getting to lax and need to be at least checking our work with the checklist. Thanks for the saftey reminder, we all need it!

I finally had a chance to try out the Bulldog HD shocks I put on the Oli. I put 300 miles on them this last week. Most of it was on small 2 lane roads that had some rough areas. I did go over a 40 mile stretch that I did last September, It made a world of difference. The trailer did not sway all over like it did before. I could feel the difference in the drivers seat of how the trailer rode. I truely think the shocks where pretty much shot when I got the trailer 3 years ago and it was 10 months old at that time. I remember following the trailer for about 20 miles and you could see the top of the trailer swaying side to side about 4-5" going down the freeway with small road imperfections. Now on rough roads the sway is less than 2". The price was comparable to online Monroe shocks. if the Bulldogs last 4 years, I will be happy and buy them again. here is the link to where I bought them: https://www.4statetrucks.com/bulldog-hd-shock-absorber-replaces-555001-19-050000007 FYI: At the same time, I replace the the Oliver's shocks, I replaced the original 1999 shocks on the F250 SD with Bilstein 5100 shocks. The truck does ride a little stiffer but handles what little front to back movement I get on the trailer better. I did have to nail the brakes really hard this weekend when someone cut in front of me and then slammed on the brakes. The TV and camper acted as one, and handled great. Now I will go for the Alcan springs sometime in the next year, before we start the long cross country trips.

Wow! You have a Costco you can park a truck and trailer? Ours is always so packed that I have trouble finding room for the truck.