MAX Burner

Excellent situation report - thanks for sharing!

No idea, but "westbound I-40 near Santa Rosa" you must be back home now! Right on - back in pocket Thursday afternoon after about 1,875 miles over 9 days. No biggie, like @ScubaRx mentioned- most of that time was hanging out in a cow pasture.

Good call, brother! 😉

We were westbound I-40 near Santa Rosa, NM last Thursday around 11am, and spotted an Ollie being towed with a bright red pickup truck TV... Any ideas who it might have been?

OK... The lower plexiglas panel still works like a champ, however knucklehead #1, Magnus, AKA -- Houdini the Escape Artist has recently figured out how to unlock the red latch lever, pull the open handle, and push the door open. He can do it in less than a minute - I checked to see if he's grown thumbs. We caught him in the act by monitoring the security camera installed high on forward bulkhead, FYI. The next modification to the screen door will include another velcro-ed plexi panel covering the door latch area. The slider pops out easily and can be stored in an overhead compartment. We'll see, more later...

Gotcha, brother! Couldn't imagine one of those 90 lb-foot torqued nuts loosening up...

Same here, brother! Couldn't agree more, David! We should all invest in something like one of these unless already owned... ...just one last blow to the horse! HA!

(Copied and pasted from the leaf spring thread): Regarding frame cross member welds - visually inspected all yesterday and photographed each weld to set a baseline for our records. All good. I'm suspecting that the broken welds reported could be caused by an inexperienced welder at the factory - an anomaly and not a design flaw. I also suspect that Oliver engineers designed the frame to withstand "normal" usage (that may be difficult to define, however). Like other owners, we routinely, yet carefully, travel over unpaved and unimproved roads with a full fresh (empty black/gray) tank without issue - I believe this practice is within the design limitations of the trailer. We'll definitely keep inspecting the cross members after such trips, however... Thoughts?

Don't know how many of y'all ever rode in the OTT under tow, but I've done it a few times just to check what needs attending to. I try to convince my bride to keep the speed down -- with little success...😜 FWIW, I rode in the back for the last several miles yesterday on our way back from the eclipse adventure.... From a qualitative perspective, the ride was interestingly noisy, solid/stiff - but not like a buckboard.... It was not appreciably different than the ride I took before changing out the springs. Don't think it would comfortable for more than a few miles, IMO. I checked the torque settings for each of the U-bolt nuts after logging 1,895 miles on the new springs over the last 9 days - all good, no more stretch. Probably a good idea to keep doing so every 5k miles or at least annually. Not to highjack this thread, but: Regarding frame cross member welds - visually inspected all yesterday and photographed each weld to set a baseline for our records. All good. I'm suspecting that the broken welds reported in a parallel thread could be caused by an inexperienced welder at the factory and not a design flaw. I also suspect that Oliver engineers designed the frame to withstand "normal" usage (that may be difficult to define, however). Like other owners, we routinely, yet carefully, travel over unpaved and unimproved roads with a full fresh (empty black/gray) tank without issue - I believe this practice is within the design limitations of the trailer. We'll definitely keep inspecting the cross members after such trips... Thoughts?

Excellent question!

The trailer tows perfectly fine - perhaps even a bit better in high cross wind conditions when we traversed the TX pan-handle. 90-degrees off left to right at 30-35mph. Solid! Nothing noted…. I’m going to ride in the OTT while D drives thru the neighborhood as before we upgraded them to “feel” the before/after….

Just by way of an "UPDATE": We pulled into a nice Harvest Host location yesterday afternoon at the "BAR-Z Winery" in Canyon, TX about 20 miles south of Amarillo near Palo Verde SP. We've logged just over 1,400 miles since R&R efforts of the AxleTek and ALCAN spring packs. A prior-to-departure torque inspection revealed no more "U-bolt stretch" as the nuts met target torque specs. For us, at least, our higher level of confidence in the running gear and general peace of mind knowing we've got 2k#-rated 5-spring leaf packs under our 3.5k# axles was worth the $'s, time, and effort in this upgrade, FYI. Cheers from a couple "Happier Campers"!

Concur, 100%! Impressive that you've got that much usage from your wet cell's... Well done, amigo!

Same here, Patriot -- D and I and the fur missiles have logged 11k+ miles since MAR23, have always got to 100% SOC by mid afternoon the following day. Even this past weekend, albeit we deployed our 200w portable modules during very gloomy overcast WX for an eclipse trip in TX, the battery bank was fully joy before 1300 in WOXOF conditions. We wouldn't recommend that you worry about tilting your modules... just say'n. But like the "Man" sez, "MOD ON!"...

We were near Gatesville, TX for the eclipse yesterday - a private ranch with 68 or so various fiberglass rigs, a couple AS's, and an Imagine - there were 11 LE2 Olivers in the mix. Here's some PIX and a VID of the eclipse from our iPhones: IMG_1534.MOV Incredible experiencing the darkness and the coolness setting in as totality was established (4 min + 16 sec from our location)...

OK, owners... As a safety measure, let's get our "Mechanic's Crawlers" out there and get underneath our rigs and conduct frame member weld inspections - while you're at it, check your shocks, too... A FREE beer from D and me for anyone that posts evidence of broken welds - really. Cheers,

Very informative video of the '24 Ollie by PJ....

We had no doubts, either! Thanks for the well written clarification, Rodney! The Oliver family and business always comes through with the best path going forward. Cheers!

I found very little about AXLETEK - the manufacturer of the 4-pack springs replaced last week. One likely company with the same name is located on the same block as 2 RV manufacturers and the Lippert Plant at: Axletek 2700 Ada Drive Elkhart, IN 46514 Indiana (574) 326-3430 Interesting, no?

Hey, John: If you're only talking a couple inches of height - air-down your 4 tires enough to get that clearance. Roll the rig into position in the barn. This shouldn't damage the tires. Air them back up once in position. Problem solved.

Awesome! Please keep us posted as to what you've learned about your project, specifically, the condition of the old spring packs....

The Dunes are about a 90-minute drive northeast of our cabin near Mogote, CO; we go there often... Never get tired of that location - very cool. Thanks for posting @Doug S! Cheers!

UPDATE: The 500-mile torque inspection was actually a 527-mile torque inspection at a QT in Wichita Falls. The process is now taking only a couple minutes longer than it takes to fill up our 30+gallon tank in the Tundra. Still amazed how the new U-bolts stretch - each nut took several quarter turns to reach the target torque value! We'll be check them every 1k miles for a while. Interesting Side Note: Speaking with Mike/Alcan yesterday on a particular boring stretch of HWY 287 somewhere near Electra, TX, we learned how springs are "weight rated." Evidently, there are several algorithms used by spring manufacturers that rate springs once several parameters are uploaded. Keep in mind that ll algorithms are not exactly the same - some are more accurate than others. Values for steel type, width, thickness, alignment pin size, eye-to-eye length, etc., all determine the weight rating. Alcan uses a highly rated program with a reputation in the industry as being very accurate. Turns out that virtually all RV manufacturers, industry-wide, use spring packs that either just barely meet RVIA standards or don't meet them at all (depending on the algorithm program used to rate the springs). When Alcan ran the dimensions of the Chinese-made AXLE TEK spring used on my Oliver, it was "quite a bit less than the rated 1,750# target", according to Mike. IMO, this issue goes back to DEXTER and not necessarily Oliver - because, as I understand - but could be wrong, the axle kit (including the spring packs) are supplied by DEXTER. But even if the AXLE TEK spring packs were tested to and achieved the 1,750# target at manufacturing, after some time (not necessarily road miles, but age) - those springs will flatten (all 4 of our's did) and they will not be able to meet the target rating going forward. This is due largely to the low quality metallurgy of Chinese steel. Labor costs, environmental regulations, and manufacturing standards in China are much less, if exist at all, as compared to the US steel industry. With a suspension travel of barely 2" (just measured it) before the top of the U-bolts smack into the my Oliver's aluminum frame, I want to be sure the springs are doing what they are there to do. So owners that find themselves crawling around underneath their rigs, this is another inspection point - if your suspension ever "bottomed-out" it will leave an imprint on the frame from the top of the U-bolt. That's a good indicator your spring-packs have flattened and need attention. Also IMO, the choice between Chinese-made and US-made leaf springs for travel trailers depends on the specific needs and priorities of the manufacturer or end-user, including considerations of cost, quality, and supply chain reliability. For businesses emphasizing cost control, the Chinese-made springs may be appealing, whereas for those prioritizing quality, safety, and supporting domestic industries, US-made spring packs might be the preferred option. So, mindful owners should think about: (1) having their running gear/suspension inspected, and/or (2) upgrading their suspensions if needed, or (3) never approaching their 7k# OTT max GVWR, or (4) towing slowly only on pristine roads, or (5) not worrying about it and see what happens down the road. Sorry in advance for my rant, it's just my $0.02...

@jd1923 - Great story, brother! Thanks for sharing - you made family memories in the LeSabre just like we are doing today in Casablanca. Get your hands a little greasy, finish the job, test and inspect your work, wash your hands off - then start enjoying your efforts! Right? We'll get the 500-mile inspection completed today somewhere around Denton, TX - FYI. We'll be enjoying the trip just that much more after that torque inspection... Thanks to all...

We really enjoy Catalina SP, @DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI - beautiful area!