MAX Burner

Good question, John. Due to prior commitments, the process is still underway, worked on it for a couple hours yesterday, plan to finish it up this morning. After speaking with Mike/Alcan, here's a high-level List of Instructions for the leaf spring R&R. 1. Break loose the wheel lug nuts on all wheels; 2. With the OTT connected to the the TV, raise enough that wheels are just high enough to spin and that 4 jack stands can be placed in front and to the rear of the running gear on the OTT frame; 3. Lower OTT onto the jack stands - wheels must still be able to spin; 4. Remove wheels; 5. Pick a side to start. Place a jack stand under front axle about 2 feet inboard of wheel assy. - use a floor jack under the spring plate to raise the axle just enough to adjust the jack stand under the axle, then lower the floor jack so the axle rests on the floor jack. There should be very little tension on the suspension at this point; 6. Remove the lower shock absorber nut and push the shock up and out of the mounting hole on the spring plate, use safety wire to hold lower shock outboard and away from spring plate - helps with aligning the spring plate later on; 7. Remove the 4 U-bolt nuts/washers; 8. Remove the spring plate (at this point - we wire brushed the plate, cleaned with acetone and rattle-canned it with RustOleum, set aside to dry for later); 9. Remove the forward wet bolt from the frame mount - this allows the spring pack to drop; 10. From the Dexter center shackle, remove the corresponding Dexter shackle nuts and the outboard connecting plate - the inboard connecting plate will be removed with the wet-bolts still "press fitted" into the plate. Keep as is and ChemKlean the shackle plates, wet bolts and nuts for later assembly; 11. Throw away the cheap-ass Chinese made spring pack. (OBTW: Our's weighed 10lbs even as compared to the Alcan 5-leaf spring pack of USA steel at 18lbs! We still have the fourth spring to replace today - but the three removed so far were definitely starting to flatten.) 12. Check the centering bolt head on the Alcan spring pack so it fits into the corresponding centering hole in the spring plate. We had to file the corners on a couple of the bolts to get the correct fitment. 13. Insert the "now cleaned" shackle components to the Dexter center shackle assy. Connect Alcan spring pack (this would be the rear-most spring pack bushing for the front axle), bolt on the outboard connecting plate. 14. Check the forward wet bolt after cleaning by connecting your Lock'nLube and squeezing grease through the journal (be sure to do this with all wet-bolts). Thoroughly grease the spring pack brass bushing and wet bolt. Ensure the wet bolt can fit through the brass bushing - tap in gently using a socket over the grease nipple. 15. Lift the forward end of the spring pack and place a floor jack under at mid-point (where the spring plate will be placed in a later step). Lift the Alcan spring pack up to the forward spring mount on the frame. Ensure the centering pin on top of the Alcan spring aligns with the centering hole on the axle's spring pad. 16. Insert the forward wet-bolt by raising/lowering the floor jack and tapping the center shackle fore/aft until the bushing aligns with the mounting holes. This is a step that takes some patience. We had to use an alignment bolt from the outboard side of the mount to get the wet-bolt through from the inboard side. (NOTE: The wet-bolts have splines near the head to keep them from spinning once tightened in the shackle plate - we oriented them so the grease hole on the wet-bolt faced "UP"). 17. Place your U-bolts in place over the axle (we painted ours just to keep the rust down to a minimum - plus it looks way cooler). Place the cleaned and freshly painted spring plate in place. Install new U-bolt washers and nuts - using an "X" pattern, tighten the U-bolt nuts slowly pulling the spring plate up and into position. Use a flashlight to check that the Alcan spring centering bolt is aligning with the centering hole in the spring plate. We tied the lower shock outboard and away to a wheel lug with safety wire to make this alignment easier. 18. Install lower shock to spring plate; 19. Torque all nuts to specs. 20. Move to same side rear assy. and repeat. 21. Move to opposite side and repeat front and rear like steps 1 thru 20 above. There's probably a few extra things I did (removed, inspected, and re-packed wheel bearing, for example) but these are the key steps. Very satisfying procedure. It's worth the peace of mind knowing your running gear is in order! More to report later after complete and test driven. Cheers!

...somewhere in the neighborhood of 135 NP stickers. Probably enough to cover both sides of the main hatch, closet door, and head door! 😜

I understand that OTT uses Lippert doors and hinges. Here's one on Amazon to give an price point reference: https://www.amazon.com/Lippert-Components-Right-Screen-Radius/dp/B00S2ID4H8/ref=asc_df_B00S2ID4H8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=485521586392&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4574139842054065784&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030428&hvtargid=pla-949288852508&mcid=67aafcf731843af38f9f55e2c814e88f&gclid=Cj0KCQjwzZmwBhD8ARIsAH4v1gXbBPIsLzMY-EEUdIMooWn_KGCnwFiQaKFBKVe7RHlSVs6YFIB6Hl8aAjACEALw_wcB&th=1 The Lippert door from Amazon is $675.99... FYI

@Geronimo John - John: here's the link to the item in question, FYI: https://www.hitchrider.com/nowobble.htm Don't think there's enough room in the housing of the vice to enlarge the bolts... Don't have it physically in front of me ATM.

So there's two tightening bolts on either lower side of the mounting assy (the arrow's pointing to the STBD side bolt). The bolts are "double nutted" (w/washer and lock-washer) to the assy. which keeps it tight on the shank. The "looseness" we experience is the hitch shank/receiver connection when not towing. Once there's tongue weight on the system everything is "ROCK" (pun intended) solid - provided those 2 tightening bolts are torqued down. We've got a "Hitch Vice" in the shop with bent bolts from the AS days - once I get my hands on it, I'll take @topgun2's advice and fix it with a couple grade 8's...

Same here, interior and exterior motion sensing video/audio - although in a low-density living area, we've got real good/"appropriately trained" neighbors...

Hey, John: Not sure yet - Casablanca is still off the ground. Took today off to give my low back a break! Should know by tomorrow afternoon...

Congrats, @Steph and Dud B!!! Our first grandchild, a boy, arrived last DEC - total game changer for us! Can't wait to take him out for his first camping trip...

Yeah, same here. Apparently Dexter manufactured 3,500lb axles with 2-3/8" diameter tubes (newer model) and older ones with 3" tubes. You'll need to let them know which ones you've got so they send the correct U-bolts. Mike at Alcan knows about this information and he'll be sure you're sent the right ones.

Sorry, D35s...

Just part of the "pre-departure" checklist - we always tighten the Rock Tamer bolts before departing the area... Just say'n

These Alcan's are heavy duty for sure!

Well we got off to a rather late start - forgot I had a 9am PT session for the rotator cuff repair from a few months back. Anyhow, didn't get the shop opened until 1030-ish. Thinking about JD's old-school suggestion using clay - which seems brilliant, I came up with an alternative. Short of buying an accelerometer from Amazon and obtaining objective data of the suspension system - mounting my GoPro to the undercarriage amidship seemed to be a logical path forward costing $0. We do "cheap" and "free" like champions. So, instead of having D drive around the neighborhood with me in the back playing the "rock and roll rider" - went ahead and captured GoPro video of the curb-side forward wheel assembly while trying to hit every pothole in the area. The thought process is that traveling over the same route at the same speed with the 4-pack springs first, then the 5-pack after the install might show a different deflection of the suspension.... Not 100% objective but comparative for sure. Just need to upload two comparative vids of the before and after... Started off by degreasing and painting the new (one-use) U-bolts, nuts, and washers with a healthy coat of RustOleum to keep things tidy underneath. For the most part, this is a straight forward plug-and-play R&R effort. The new springs are several pounds heavier and definitely a bit higher drop than the Chinese-made 4-packs: So, the street-side springs are successfully replaced with the new 5-packs... The curb-side springs go in tomorrow - then we'll follow-up with a short before/after GoPro ride vid. ...but now, its time for a cold one! Cheers, ALL!

Like mentioned earlier, it looks like the door could have been caught by a wind gust judging by the crack being nearer to the hinges. Short of replacing the inner skin (which is totally doable, we've done one in a previous SOB), suggest finding both ends of the crack (under the window moulding and along hinge line) and "stop drilling" a 1/8" hole there. This process will stop the crack from getting longer. Its a foam-core door, so there shouldn't be any "draft" ambient air penetrating the inside crack from outside. We've got one a couple inches under our window moulding that runs horizontally for about 10". We "stopped drilled" the crack on @ScubaRx's suggestion after he saw it in Quartzsite last JAN. Good luck, cool maintenance/repair opportunity for you, @Steve-Gwenne - let us know how it turns out! Cheers!

Been to the Silver Bean many times, got the SS coffee mug to prove it, HA! Great Joe there, for sure. This was in '18 while on our annual "Spine of the Rockies" ride going through Cortez, CO:

@ScubaRx - FYI: spent a night on Sentinel Dome back in the day after slogging up from Badger Pass on cross country skis, ah, the times of a mis-spent youth! The next morning had the most beautiful sunrise peaking over Half Dome to the east - never will forget that one... OBTW: Frankly, I'm liking your version of the tree better than AA's, anyway.

Our Dog House cap was getting a bit "gritty" and difficult to thread - so we swapped it with one of the "fresh" caps in the overheads, cleaned the threads on the DH side then lubed the cap w/a touch of Vaseline and attached the stainless steel lanyard (so as not to leave it adrift). All good again!

Just FYI: Our Alcan springs arrived this afternoon - just from observation, definitely a big difference in quality between the Chinese-made Dexters and these new ones. Measured eye-to-eye dimension to verify 25.25" across the board w/3" drop - all good there. Planning to have D drive Casablanca around some of the rather "rutty" roads in the neighborhood with me in the back to (hopefully) get a feel for the "before and after" install ride inside. Spring R&R will begin in the AM - we'll for sure keep y'all posted on the effort... Cheers!

The Airstream Mothership hired her many decades ago...

Wouldn't be surprised if that changes as more and more Truma appliances migrate to the RV market... right?

HA! Beat me to it! Excellent suggestion.

Upgrade to the MicroAir T-stat - gives a nice BIG readout of set temp and current inside temp. If other upgrades are on your radar screen, such as a Victron SmartShunt, it's app will give a reading of the compartment it is mounted in, which is convenient to know in 18F climes. Concur 100% w/ @topgun2 & @Mike and Carol's solution sets... In addition, you might consider a Bluetooth unit like this: ...that can be mounted, say in the "dog house" near the LPG bottles for OAT, and another in an identified "coldest" compartment (ie: basement/garage, under vanity sink, near water pump, etc.). The BT app is easy to use capturing historical data for future planning.... Tons of options - just have fun making you own mods and upgrades. It might become somewhat addicting. Cheers!

Hey, Mossey - where are the playing cards attached to the forks with wooden clothes pins? HA!

Well written, GJ! Great advice... And OBTW, @jd1923 - John gets FULL credit for the cool DC-to-DC set-up in Casablanca. We communicated directly last year for several months (takes that long to get my "pea-brain" around the concept!) before coordinating the install - of which, about 60 - 70% of the effort is on the TV! The effort on the "OTT side" is straight forward if one chooses to mount the charger in the trailer - (otherwise, mounting the unit in the TV would be 80% effort on TV/20% on the Oliver, IMO). There advantages either way depending on a given camper's needs... PS: As GJ and I've mentioned in earlier threads - all of the necessary "cable-making" tools are available here for owners that want specific custom cable diameters, lengths, and lug configurations... Bottom line, the cardboard sign at the I-25 intersection could read, "Will Make Cable for Beer."

Solid copy. RT!