Mike and Carol

We lived in Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca for many years. Almost retired there!

Great pics, Art. Wish we were there, looks like your weather is much better than ours is! Mike

We’re at 19 degrees this morning just north of San Antonio. A sheet of ice over everything. Most church services canceled this morning, local schools closed tomorrow. We should get up to high 20s today then back into the teens overnight. No power issues, nice fire in the fireplace, hot cup of coffee. It’s a nice way to be hunkered down! Mike

I use the front bubble level to get initial level information as I’m setting up. I follow up with a 12” torpedo level and then adjust my bubble level (if needed). It’s easy to adjust. I should probably look at attaching levels around the trailer, might save a little time during set up. Any recommendations? Mike

Four.

Great pics!! Lots of familiar faces, brings back memories of our many days at there.

Retirement was a great decision for us. If the finances are right and you want to get your Oliver on the road maybe there will be less “Erggg” in your decision making! Mike

We only recently upgraded our springs and we’ve been at 50psi in our tires for many years. I think the heavy AGMs and many miles is at the root of this issue. There are a number of rivets all around the box that were all popped/damaged/pulled out. It doesn’t seem that that could happen all at once, but probably happened over time and miles. Our lithium batteries, installed 4 years ago, are 1/3 to 1/4 the weight of the AGMs. The Oliver response to my trouble ticket was to check and send pictures of the brace inside the trailer. I did and the response was that I could probably use a good adhesive to repair it since the brace holding up the box looked good. I didn’t like that answer so I asked to be sent over to service for some advice. Mike S in service said they use rivets to repair and also inspect the support bracket. I’m debating whether to try this myself or just make a trip to TN. Unlike Galway Girl, my bracket only has one bolt and it is in an adjustable slot. Other side: It’s interesting that the box is leaning out from the trailer and the bolt is at the bottom of the slot. When I pull the battery tray out, the box moves out more but every so slightly, less than 1/16”. I would think that the sag would be the other way around, leaning into the trailer since the weight is over the support more than 99% of the time.

You used stainless steel rivets? Any adhesive? I need to gather the materials I’m going to need for this repair.

Familiar sight! Wish we were there. Enjoy!

Yes, I do have a recent install of ALCAN springs. Looking at the separation it appears to me that this is not new. I have also learned of other instances of this (Galway Girl being one of them) that predate any ALCAN spring installations. You gave good advice to Crazy Horse 🤪.

Craig, yes I turned in a ticket this morning. Reading through what you did I might be marginally able repair it. I’ll see what Oliver service says when they come in to work. I would like to talk with you when you have time. I saw your PM. Thanks. Mike

Just found this thread, similar issue. https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/7089-battery-box-repair/#comment-109444

No, I didn’t have time this morning. It’s in storage and I had turned on the furnace yesterday because mid-20’s was forecasted last night (first freeze this year). I’m going to bring it home sometime this week and get a closer look. Mike

This is an issue I have not seen before. While checking my trailer this morning I noticed that my battery box is separating from the hull. I don’t know when this started. When we replaced my AGM batteries in Dec ‘20 I did not notice this. Once the four AGM’s were out I did a lot of cleaning and work on the tray and I feel that I would have noticed it then if it was happening. I will submit a trouble ticket with Oliver to see what they think. Not sure how this would be repaired. If you have an older trailer that carried those heavy AGM batteries I would check for cracks or separation. Here are some pictures, what does everyone think? Here is the right side: Here are a couple of the top: Left side top:

Looks like that went pretty smoothly! Although it doesn’t look too complicated I’m not sure I could handle the weight of the units with no scaffolding. I don’t think the Furrion looks too tall and I’m sure the decreased noise level will be appreciated! What do you use to fill the various holes left from old installs? Mike

John, I think there’s a little more to it than that. I’m happy with my truck and car but I enjoy reading about other brands and recent changes and innovations. Same with my tech (phone, tablet, watch, ring), happy with all but interested in trends. I like my banjos and guitars but read and watch reviews on other manufacturers and luthiers. Etc., Etc. So, I’m interested in the RV industry because I like to keep up on recent innovations, new technology, etc. No reflection on Oliver one way or the other. Just curiosity! Mike

Doing the final string tie is the only tricky part. I looped the string through the end of the spring and pulled it out enough I to tied my know (a couple of half hitches). Before you start, note the tension in the spring and try to match it with the new string. If it’s too loose the shade won’t hold its position, if it’s too tight it will be hard to adjust. I had to adjust both of the ones I did. One was too tight and one too loose.

Same here for us in the San Antonio area.

This looks like a nice trailer and a good first model for them in the fiberglass space. It’s good that they offer an off-road suspension upgrade. I like the dry bath, big fridge and flooring. The tanks are slightly larger but not enough to make me change. It does look nice on the outside but that’s an individual taste. Competition and innovation is good. We’ll see how they do. Mike

When I blow the fresh inlet it’s just to clear water from the lines into the fresh tank. Then I switch to the city inlet and do step 10. I think he may have reversed fresh and city inlet his instructions. Mike

Welcome Jeff and Linda! You live in a good spot for going to the annual Oliver rally! Look forward to hearing about your upgrades and hope to see you out on the road. Mike

It is not difficult. Go slow, be methodical and you’ll do fine.

We have done the restringing thing a couple of times. Both times were real bonding experiences! Mike

I agree that their reputation has taken a significant hit. Will has a huge number of followers. The issues he found are shocking but why is it that I have the same battery (X3) that are 4 years old and have been through a bunch of discharge/recharge cycles and they appear to be in the same condition today that they did in January 2021? Is Dragon Fly handling complaints quietly under their 10 year warranty or are there no real amount of battery failures out there? Surely they have lawyers advising them. If the design issue is as Will describes, why haven’t I received notification from DF that my batteries are prone to meltdown and/or burning up? As I mentioned before, I feel like there’s something here that seems a bit off. I will continue to track this issue while cautiously using my Battle Born’s as I have since 2021. Mike