John Welte
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Posts posted by John Welte
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4 hours ago, John Dorrer said:
Doubt it is a black tank issue. Gray tank yes. We had our tanks cleaned at the Rally and use a Pine-Sol mix. We always use the black tank flush after emptying and flush out the gray as well.
John
How do you flush the gray tank? TIA.
John
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1 hour ago, jd1923 said:
Not a big concern at driveway speeds. Check with a local trailer shop. They would have a variety of choices and could weld the mount.
That was my thought too. I would think that their 500 pound limit takes into account the forces on the hitch of a static weight of 500 pounds hitting some movement. With highway movement that weight would be higher on the hitch. From physics the formula F=ma would explain it I would think. F is force, m=mass, a=acceleration. I would think that at driveway speeds it would be ok too. Thanks for your comment.
John
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Hi all, I have a tight parking spot next to the garage and thought a front mounted hitch would make it easier to maneuver the trailer into the spot. E-trailer has one that would fit my 2017 Ford Expedition EL, but the specs say it's only good for 500 pounds of vertical force. If anyone uses a front hitch, what did you do to make it work? Thanks
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On 8/26/2024 at 9:21 PM, jd1923 said:
Just got this today and it looks great. Thanks to those who suggested it! amazon.com/dp/B00H7LPKKU?ref=fed_asin_title
I have one too. Don't unscrew and loosen the gripper too much as you can lose the little parts that grip on to the zerk. There are about three or four little pieces that will be lost. How do I know this? I did just that and had to buy another 90 degree attachment. Great tool though!
John
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11 hours ago, John Dorrer said:
I will be picking the trailer up on 9/17 and plan on asking them about replacing the springs with Alcan's. Also, plan on having new shocks installed at the same time. I pay around $52 for the zerks. I don't want to mess with it.
Hi John, what shocks are you going to use? Lew at Alcan suggested RadFlo. We plan to do the job in Grand Junction and do springs and shocks at the same time. $52 sounds like a good deal to avoid doinf the job.
John
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13 hours ago, John Dorrer said:
Look for a truck service place. We have one 5 minutes away
They grease our zerks, inspect the suspension, etc. I will have a discussion about switching out the springs, when we pick up the trailer and stop to get the zerks greased for our trip.
John, what do they charge you to do that? I need to crawl under the trailer this week to grease ours.
John
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Welcome to the family from #1290. You will enjoy yours.
John
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5 hours ago, Mountainman198 said:
Yes, stock shock for my trailer is the 555001. Appreciate the lookup of the equivalent Bulldog.
Here is what I found out.
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3 hours ago, Mountainman198 said:
Seemed to have plenty of available up/down travel with the stock monroes after installing the Alcan springs. I plan to look long and hard at the Bulldog shocks when the monroes wear out
I get the impression that the Bulldog shocks are better made. They don't seem very expensive. Is your Monroe shock the 555001. I can look at what the equivalent number is on the Bulldog. Thanks
John
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Hi all, I plan to replace the four leaf spring type with Alcan five leaf type springs. The weak point in the four leaf spring type is that three inch section to the eye that's a single piece. Our trailer is hull number 1290, one of the last built in 2022. I thought it might be good to replace the shocks at the same time. I have about 12,000 miles on the trailer. My question is what model number and brand is best?
John
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Welcome to the Oliver family. They're great trailers. Lots of information here on the forum and at Oliver University. Enjoy your trailer.
John
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9 hours ago, Wandering Sagebrush said:
@Geronimo John thanks for the reminder, I need to put my zerk caps on.
I found that some covers just wouldn't go on despite cleaning the area. Most did go on. Have you had that problem?
John
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1 hour ago, DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI said:
@John Welte and who needs brakes, they just slow you down!🤩
Dealerships add so many things when they're trying to close the deal. Brakes, wheels, rear seats on quad cab trucks. You get the idea. It's all marketing.
John
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1 hour ago, HDRider said:
That would be a game changer
I think Camping World offers free dump services. Not as convenient as a gas station, but just fyi, at least one in Oregon offers that.
John
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6 hours ago, DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI said:
Looking good. I totally agree with @MAX Burner Starlink is a game-changer. Based on second picture, your tow vehicle might need some attention before heading out! 🤪
Wheels are overrated. 😂🤣. As long as he has three, he should be good to go.
John
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1 hour ago, MAX Burner said:
Hey, John;
Alcan will absolutely install them at their shop rate in GJ. It's what they do! You'll have the piece of mind that they'll be R&R'd correctly. For arrangements, you can call either Lew or Mike at:
970.241.2655
Good plan, brother!
Good luck!
Thanks very much Max. I will plan that.
John
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15 hours ago, MAX Burner said:
Hey, John:
There's at least 4 or 5 "reported" broken springs from reading these forums. Obviously, no clue how many haven't been reported here. But I've learned that there are some good reasons for switching out the 4-packs to higher rated 5-pack springs. Let me summarize:
1. Spring Rating: There's evidence that the Chinese-made "AxleTek" 4-packs, although rated at 1,750# may actually less than that rating. Mike at Alcan informed me of this. The 5-packs are rated in the 2,250# range. So, the 5-packs have somewhere in the range of 500# more weight rating. Can an owner "feel" the difference? I tried. My wife drove me around our country road neighborhood for several miles before and after swapping out springs. FWIW: I couldn't "feel" any difference.
2. Weak Area Near Eyelets: Of the reported broken springs - the break occurs within a couple inches from the eyelet on the top spring - this break is near the end of the second spring which is about 4.5" from the eyelet. On the 5-packs, the second spring extends beyond the center of the eyelet about 7/16" on either side - doubling the spring material where reported ones break. To experience a broken 5-pack spring - the break would have to take-out the two top springs. That's likely why there's never been a reported 5-pack break.
3. Bushings: The bronze bushings in the Chinese-made spring eyelets are measured at 1/16" thickness on my springs - the replacement Alcan spring bushings are right at 1/4" thick - 4x the material, which will take much longer to wear out. Also, to get that 1/4" thick bushing into that eyelet the outside diameter of the eyelet must be made larger. The OD of the AxleTek eyelet is 1.34" while the Alcan eyelet is 1.53", giving the 5-pack eyelets a more robust configuration.
4. Steel Composition: The Chinese steel is of unknown pedigree - unless someone wants to pay for an NDA test (which I'm not interested in) we'll only know subjectively that their steel sucks compared to the recognized high-quality of US-made steel.
5. Comparative Weight: OK, the 5-packs have one extra leaf, right? How much more do you think that extra leaf weighs? I weighed both - the Chinese AxleTek is right at 10#; where the Alcan comes in at 18#. Here's why:
The total length of spring material in the 4-packs is 66-1/4" versus 99" for the 5-packs, or 49% more material in the 5-packs.
10# versus 18# = an 80% increased weight for the 5-packs.
Above shows the eyelet-to-eyelet measurement of the 4-pack top spring. Each subsequent spring length was measured straight across from end to end. Notice the "flattening" of the arc of the 4-pack. The other 4-packs were flattened like this one.
JFTR: We never even come close to the 7k# GVWR of the OTT on any of our excursions.
6. Price Point: New 5-packs/U-bolt kit will cost owners approximately $800 plus shipping from Grand Junction, CO. I'm in NM and shipping was $110. FYI: No tax if purchased outside of CO.
For us it was a no-brainer. One of the last issues we want to handle is a broken leaf spring in the middle of a boon docking location in the middle of EBF somewhere.
Cheers!
Thanks Max, I appreciate the thorough comment. We go to Colorado at least once a year with the trailer as our daughter lives in Denver. Any idea if they could install them if we came by Grand Junction? I suppose we could buy them then have someone install them. I confess that I am not too handy.
John
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2 hours ago, Wandering Sagebrush said:
We are with the folks that recommended not doing this, in particular if you don’t have a composting toilet.
I second that recommendation. Wait until it's maybe 75% full.
John
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12 minutes ago, MAX Burner said:
Right on, brother!
Max,
How common has it been to have a leaf spring break? I have been following this issue. We stay on good roads with the occasional pothole. I see a lot of owners who are switching out.
John
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13 hours ago, rideandfly said:
John,
Hate to be a Monday morning Quarterback, but did you add Coriolis Force?
And did Oliver account for an opposite force when we take our trailers to the southern hemisphere. A lot of us want to explore Australia with our trailers and we need to know how Oliver designed the frame. 😂🤣
John
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1 hour ago, MAX Burner said:
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"!
Did you drive into Palo Verde? I was on a bicycle trip from San Diego to St. Louis and an Austrian cyclist rented a car and we all drove through it. I had never heard of it.
How is the ride for the trailer? Any stiffer? Any down side? We have a 2022 LE2 and I checked under the trailer for welds and leaf spring condition. All looks good.
John
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4 hours ago, Mike and Carol said:
I get the daily RVgeeks newsletter email and this morning had an article on Oliver trailers. It looks pretty well researched.
Mike
Good article.
John
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On 4/5/2024 at 3:01 PM, DavePhelps said:
This has always been a problem for me. Just how do you get those things out? It would seem you have to lift up and remove the glass but I can't do that either....
John, I also am in Portland and store my Ollie outside uncovered. Wish I had a cover but that's another story.
In the winter, I keep the trailer plugged in with one of those oil filled radiators going inside at its lowest setting. I leave the bathroom window open a crack, unless I know a big freeze is coming. And also have my shades closed, though you may want to try leaving them open an inch or two for ventilation. I also always have some short pieces of paracord stuffed in the weep holes of the windows to aid water drainage out of the track. This was talked about a while back and it really helps keep the tracks dry. Those narrow weep holes do not drain water very effectively, but the paracord sucks the water out like a lantern wick. Some folks use pipe cleaners, but I have lots of paracord so use that with great success. Keeping those tracks clean is also important as Topgun2 mentioned. It's one of my least favorite maintenance jobs! Still trying to figure out an effective way to do it. With all of the above procedures employed, I have never had a mold issue.As for getting the mold out, maybe a distilled white vinegar/water solution as an alternative to bleach? Hopefully someone will have a solid idea.
Good luck,Dave
I took a wet paper towel and ran it along the track. That seemed to take care of the fuzzy look. I will keep the night shades up a couple inches as I had them completely closed before. I did check the drain holes and they're free of debris. Thanks for your comments.
John
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4 minutes ago, topgun2 said:
John -
I assume that the attachments in your post above are pics of your windows. Please repost those in that I do not believe that the ".heic" extension on those files is an acceptable format in the platform we are using for the Forum.
Surely your location does not help given all the moisture you probably have. The solutions will all have to do with keeping those tracks clean and drained and a bit of moisture control.
Bill
Bill, I don't know why it posted as an ".heic". Since they all look the same, I just took a picture and added it directly.
John
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Broke a Leaf Spring in Maine
in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Posted
Did you replace the leaf springs or have them with you in case you do need them? Is there a particular weight rating for the 5-leaf springs from Alcan? I plan to get the 5-leaf springs next April and have the shop in Grand Junction install them. What did you do with the shocks? Lew said he could put better shocks on our Elite II than the Monroe. Our trailer and yours are only one hull number apart. Thanks.