John and Debbie
-
Posts
698 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
3
Posts posted by John and Debbie
-
-
Mike, I use a five pound canister for our 30+ year old Coleman two burner stove. I have a short hose about three feet long that works. I have the quick connects front and back on our trailer, but this old stove works fine. I couldn't find a hose that would work with both the quick connects and the old stove, hence our solution to use the small tank.
John
-
1
-
-
On 10/22/2024 at 2:53 PM, johnwen said:
We're in southern Mississippi just after traversing some pretty rough roads across Louisiana. We've retorqued the u bolts per Alcan's recommendations and then some. A few still need minor tweaking so I'll continue checking for another 1000 miles or so. The Alcans seem to be doing great and I'm glad we went that route. Lew and Tucker were a pleasure to meet and they taught me a few things 🙂 I changed my Oliver shocks in July, in Maine, with Monroe Magnum 555001s. Upon completion of the springs install in Colorado, Tucker informed me 1 of the struts were blown and would not extend after compressing it. We continued on to our next destination without the bad shock installed and I re-installed another 555001 after a visit with O'Reilly (not a common stock item so had to be ordered ahead of time). All was going well until Louisiana roads...after reaching Lake Mary Crawford, a public fishing lake by Monticello, MS, I discovered 2 more shocks leaking, removed them and ordered 2 more from O'Reilly. Only 1 came in so I reinstalled the best of the 2. They would extend ok after compressing so I figure they has some life left, but had oil that had leaked from the top of the shock. I wiped the shocks down and will check on them from time to time until getting back to SC. I'm thinking the frequent severe porpoising through dips in the road for over 30+ miles may have forced the oil out and down the bottom outside cylinder. We will see if the struts continue to leak and report back at a later date. My TV now has 121000+ miles (over 21000 so far this year alone since leaving SC) on it and I'm seriously thinking about replacing the shocks on it when we get back. They're not leaking nor appear in bad shape but the truck seems to be a little more springy on hard stops and porpoises a little more than when newer. The tires are new so no unusual wear at this time. I have had zero problems with exchanging the bad shocks at O'Reilly's (lifetime guarantee...thanks Steve L) but am thinking I'll want to try another brand to see if it lasts a little longer. Still happy campers here... 🙂
John
"I have had zero problems with exchanging the bad shocks at O'Reilly's (lifetime guarantee...thanks Steve L) but am thinking I'll want to try another brand to see if it lasts a little longer. Still happy campers here... :)"
I got a message from Lew at Alcan Springs and he was hoping that RadFlo could be the best choice for a shock, but theirs were about $200 each. I will be bringing four shocks with me of the Bulldog equivalent to the Monroe 555001 if those are available. We will have the five leaf spring replacement done in April.
John
-
1
-
-
We had CGI do ours after owning it for a year. I assumed that since it was only a year old that they would have an easier job. No. The price was the same. Colin said that even on a new trailer, they have to buff out the swirls and imperfections on the gel coat. They did a great job and we have no regrets. We did buy the cleaner and the spray that they sell to extend the ceramic coat. I cleaned it and used the spray a couple months ago. It's been a year since they did it and it looks fantastic. I am nearly 73 so waxing every 6 months as recommended wasn't going to happen. When it needs it again, we will have them do it.
John
-
2
-
-
19 hours ago, thompsonkd said:
Wondering if you or anyone else has recommendations for a brand of shocks. Sounds like you still like Monroe, despite the issues you have had; I have heard people also recommend Bulldog shocks but had trouble getting them? I think most Oliver’s come stock with Monroe. We are planning on replacing our shocks as well as the springs in the next few months.
Contact Lew at Alcan Springs in Grand Junction, Colorado. I have been in contact with him and he has a shock in mind for when we visit him in April for a five spring leaf spring replacement of our current four leaf.
John
-
2
-
1
-
-
1 hour ago, mossemi said:
As a general rule, I wouldn’t like that much jack extension, but when I am camping I will except less than favorable conditions.
Your scenario seems to be a long term condition, so I would find a solution to minimize the jack extension. A thought that comes to mind is to build 2 ramps out of different lengths of 2x6 or 2x8 boards and back the tow vehicle onto the ramps which will raise the tongue and create room for more wood under the jack pad
Mossey
I do have two red auto ramps. I wonder how hard it would be to hook up using those to get the hitch up that high. It would be easy to use those to unhook though. Maybe reworking the gravel pad to make it more level, just thinking outloud.
John
-
1
-
-
Hi all, I use yellow Camco jack stands and a couple 2×4 pieces on top for a slip surface on all three jack stands. I park the trailer by the garage and there's a slight downwards slope to where that gravel drive meets up with the road. The rear jacks only need to extend a couple inches, but the front jack extends 12 inches out to the jack stand/2×4 pieces to get to level. Is that too far? Obviously, the less travel the better, but when I back the trailer into the spot, one jack stand and one layer of two 2×4 on top are all that will fit while hooked up.
John
-
Congrats from #1290. We have enjoyed ours. It tows so easily. Nice to know there's an Oliver dealer in Denver as our daughter lives there and we could get some service done there while visiting.
John
-
Hi all, I use yellow Camco jack stands and a couple 2×4 pieces on top for a slip surface on all three jack stands. I park the trailer by the garage and there's a slight downwards slope to where that gravel drive meets up with the road. The rear jacks only need to extend a couple inches, but the front jack extends 12 inches out to the jack stand/2×4 pieces to get to level. Is that too far? Obviously, the less travel the better, but when I back the trailer into the spot, one jack stand and one layer of two 2×4 on top are all that will fit while hooked up.
John
-
On 10/5/2024 at 8:36 AM, Rivernerd said:
Thanks for posting. All Oliver owners need to know that the factory 4-leaf springs have a limited life, and that springs often fail far from home, because that is when they are asked to flex the most. That is why I now have a set of four Alcan 5-leaf springs for my Elite II.
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.
-
1
-
-
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
-
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
-
2
-
-
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
-
3
-
-
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
-
1
-
-
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
-
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
-
Welcome to the family from #1290. You will enjoy yours.
John
-
1
-
-
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.
-
2
-
-
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
-
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
-
Welcome to the Oliver family. They're great trailers. Lots of information here on the forum and at Oliver University. Enjoy your trailer.
John
-
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
-
1
-
-
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
-
2
-
-
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
-
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
-
4
-
John Deere Pickup
in General Discussion
Posted
What's the payload ?