jd1923
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Posts posted by jd1923
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On 3/9/2024 at 11:40 AM, ScubaRx said:
Never had any interior problems. Our trailer, with water and ready to camp, has always weighed north of 7000 pounds. And, for years we ran 80 psi in all our tires.
Hey Scuba, your Olivers (yes, plural case) are so, soooooo old! Weren't they just made better, back in the day! (you have always had a special connection to OTT to make yours one of the BEST). Most of us who have endured a long hard lifetime, working hard every day. That has made us better!
I have found that our older Hull #113 has very few of the problems cited at length in this forum. Older is better IMHO, reason why I have an older OTT and an older TV too! I can see why @SeaDawg has relished hers, for what now 16 years?
My street bike is a 1984 GL1200, just hit it's 40th anniversary! I know y'all are biased, thinking nothing prettier than a kept Oliver, right? This old classic looks pretty good for 40, right! I'd say older, mo' better! The main thing I enjoy (relish) re this forum, is us like-minded individuals. Those of us wanting to work hard to make this very important OTT investment, better and better!
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30 minutes ago, John Dorrer said:
Good Question. Hopefully feedback will come.
This has been answered theoretically, but sure we all want to know what @Mountainman198 and @hobo experience. The 5200 LB axle makes no difference, except to be very happy they ran out of 3500 stock, and you got better bearings and brakes. 2000 LB rated 5-leaf springs vs. 1750 LB, like I wrote before is 14% stiffer, maybe a little more bang on occasion and less up and down.
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Is this what's OEM on our Elite II trailers? 4-Leaf Double-Eye Spring for 5,000-lb Trailer Axles - 25-1/4" Long etrailer Trailer Leaf Springs e44SR
I could measure myself and/or search the forum, but if one of you know...
Our OTT has 4 very straight leaf spring assemblies. I just worked the brakes, replaced the bearings with Timken... If this is a direct replacement, I should just buy one and put it first in the bottom of my truck toolbox.
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I had ours out upon a deep clean when we first purchased our older used hull. Sprayed them with a hose, fine mist setting thoroughly. Then I used compressed air mainly in the corners. Let them sit in the sun (think sunny day task) and later just snapped them in place. They are as clean as could be!
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3 hours ago, Geronimo John said:
One needs to ask, why would a spring set rated for 2,000 pounds fail with just a 1,350 pound load?
OEM springs only need to be rated at 1750 LBS (7000/4). Most lightweight dual-axle trailers (i.e. not HD non-commercial) are rated for 7000 LBS. I have a 12 FT flatbed trailer on our property. We haul dirt bikes & quads or our side-by-side, used to pull it with our Class-C). It has the same Dexter axles (and the leaf springs still look good too, tG). Leaf springs at 2000 LBS are 14% stiffer. This is a very good number! They appear to be correct in their 5-leaf design. I will buy a set next fallor next year. Thank you.
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3 hours ago, Geronimo John said:
So, if we have a 6,000 pound trailer, with four tires and a 10% tongue weight, each of our tires will be supporting 1,350 pounds. The chart shows a minimum recommended load of 1585 pounds.
So basically it appears that we are not on the chart....
GJ
In the fine print, they always state to run at the minimum when under the min, and of course do not exceed the maximum. Given you actually keep your Oliver at 6000 LBS, you can run 35 PSI. I would not suggest subtracting tongue weight, since when running at highway speeds the hitch is bouncing up and down and half the time ALL weight is on the trailer wheels.
This is why for years, yes YEARS @John E Davies ran his Oliver at 42 PSI, and suggested we all do the same. I've been at 46 PSI last two outings. Those of you still running 50, 60, even 80 PSI, STOP doing that. According to Michelin, 40 PSI is a good number for the Elite II, and when we leave to Casa Grande next week, I'm going with exactly 42 PSI to honor our good friend John E.
I wonder if there is some correlation between spring failure and those running the 80 PSI printed on the tire? Or, have these springs failed mainly on those pushing the GTRW? Perhaps, but again the broken cross-section looked like cr@p and some of these leaf springs were not hardened properly. When not hardened properly, steel will bend. These springs should not bend as in the picture above. They should break if over-stressed (over the GTWR), but not bend.
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8 hours ago, hobo said:
I specifically asked Mike about simply swapping out our cheap, Chinese produced Dexter 4 spring set with a quality 4 spring set that they produce. He highly recommended going with the five spring set. In his opinion, the 3500 springs used by Dexter are inadequate for our trailers. That's good enough for me.
I had asked about their 4 spring set as by yesterday (Friday) morning (the morning after Mountainman198) had posted the vendor source note, they had already sold out of the last 3 remaining stock of 5 spring sets to other Oliver owners.
I was the first call Friday morning and he advised they were producing more next week (11-15 March) but wouldn't ship until NLT than Friday the 15th. Well we're departing on the 22nd of March for a six week trip and that schedule was almost a guarantee that at best, I might receive the shipped springs in time for the trip but wouldn't have time to install them. I of course would order them and have them with me just in case. So I locked in my order at 0700 yesterday morning.
When I talked to Mike later yesterday he said based on my somewhat immediate need, he discussed with his production folks and they said they could have a set produced for me by next Wednesday (vice Friday) and they would be shipped that day. That's GREAT customer service.
He also mentioned to me to me that in the time between having talked to him in the morning (0700), and when I called back at around 2PM, he had sold five more sets to Oliver trailer owners. He said "You Oliver trailer owners are a really tight knit group". He actually was so impressed, he went on line and investigated Oliver Travel Trailers.
I have my RV mechanic on standby to replace my springs once they are received...
Paul & Donna (2 HOBOS) hull 414 (last trailer produced in 2018)
I thought there would be a run on these as soon as ALCAN contact info was posted! Great to hear they are going to rush one for you. Smart to have your mechanic scheduled too!
I'll get a set at some point. I'm fully convinced on the 5-leaf 2000 LB rating now. If mine looked like they were starting to sag, I would have ordered yesterday too. But considering after tax and shipping these would be, what about a $900 outlay? I need to do this later since we can. We're not heading to Alaska anytime soon!
To do this right, it may make sense to buy 5200 LB axles, with the best hub/bearing/brake set possible and mount new axles on these springs, given our hull is now 8 years old. Likely be close to $2K total on this idea. Should not have spent $200 on new Timken bearings just 6 months ago, if I knew then what I know now!
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Use the load/pressure chart published for your specific make, model and tire size:
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Love what @MAX Burner has done here! Love his workshop WAY more than the project!
We travel less than many of you, so this is what we use, LOL! Amazon.com: Sofia + Sam Oversized Lap Desk with Memory Foam Cushion | Detachable USB Light | Fits Laptops Up to 20" | Brown and Black | Computer Lap Tray | Laptop and Writing | Bed Table : Office Products
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On 3/5/2024 at 4:54 PM, Mountainman198 said:
The curb side rear spring was in the process of failing as well. Starting to flatten with the rearward end starting to invert.
Checked under ours today. I inspected all 4 leaf springs and was happy to see all four, in 8 locations front and back, were as straight as can be. Straight meaning an equal symmetrical arc front to back, no sag of the main leaf on the ends, as the example clearly seen on the right side of this picture. It appears that our Oliver sits a good 1-2" taller without the leaf bends shown here.
This doesn't mean they cannot fail in the future, but the leaf will likely bend some at this location prior to failure. Looking at the cross-section of the steel in the leaf that had failed, it does not look to have been hardened properly. Our Oliver has lived life in the SW and our leaf springs only have very light surface rust. Given this inspection, I will drop replacement leaf springs to the bottom of my to-do list. Though I'm still very interested in this supplier, and the installation and road test of @Mountainman198 and others here.
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2 hours ago, Steph and Dud B said:
By creating vents that breach the inner hull, or opening overhead cabinets in cold weather, aren't you effectively removing that dead air space and becoming a single-hull unit...
I agree and wrote a comment similar to this in one of the furnace duct threads. It appears for those that want to camp, temps in the teens and below have to do something to get heat where the water lines are in the basement between the hulls. We don't go out in that cold, so getting the overnight heat away from our beds and more up front to the bathroom and closet is what we need. I imagine you can go through a 30 LB LP tank in 2 nights when heating between the hulls when it's 10F outside!
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I'm getting cold just reading this! We left the cold 25 years ago and we're not going back.
When we have a northern destination in mind, we'll make late spring/summer travel plans. Mostly we camp anytime but summer in the great southwest, so the Oliver works fine. Blow the water out of the lines each time we get home after a winter trip. Will fix the ducts at some point, so the bathroom and closet aren't 15 degrees colder than the open cabin, but she mainly works for our needs.
Please do continue to share! 😊
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1 hour ago, MAX Burner said:
Lagun Table Project Update: Moved the table mount from night stand to street side bed
Art, please let me know when you are done working on things...
Have a garage sale on your shop equipment...
I'll be up in a heartbeat!!!
Great project, great workshop and best wishes to you, my friend!-
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Just installed the replacement Furrion shore power receptacle. It does appear to be wired with 8/3 AWG cable, the same black rubber insulated cable that I noted when installing the EMS in our Oliver.
Not that you would need any for this task, but this is the cable: 10 Feet 8/3 SOOW Cable Cord Wire - 8 Gauge 8 AWG 3 Conductor 600V Portable Power Extension Cord Cable with Ultra Flexible CPD Insulation Jacket: Amazon.com: Tools & Home Improvement
Replacement is truly straight-forward. They even mark the back of the unit with black, white, green circles to make wiring simple. Make sure you place the gasket and rear cover on the cable prior to wiring. I cut the wires back about 3/4" so that the connections would hold to clean copper (just enough length to do so).
Oh cr@p, what happened to the warning labels!?! I swear there was one above the outlet and another inside the cover, wt.
WARNING - possibility of bodily harm if you somehow position a body part between this receptacle and a power source! Instead, please use the power source without involving the manufacturer's product.
WARNING - Those who admit to reading this may be held liable!
🤣 The shiniest new part (and 2 SF) of our Oliver!
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1 minute ago, Geronimo John said:
LOL. Mine was so long, I had to make two lists:
- 2024 Do List
- Future Years Do List
GJ
In my business, we call that Rolling Wave Planning!
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18 hours ago, rideandfly said:
Our 2015 LE2 #75 has 5200 pound axles and springs. Understand at the time Oliver ran out of 3500 pound axles, so Legacy Elite axles/springs were installed on our Ollie. 99% highway use with no spring issues.
Given 5200 LB axles have been used (x2 = 10,400 LBS), then if these custom springs rated for 8000 GTWR might be exactly what the doctor ordered!
Just reviewed your Word doc @Mountainman198. Nice work and as soon as it's time to spend on the Oliver AGAIN, I have these now on my wishlist.
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This discussion will get me under the Oliver again this weekend to inspect the leaf springs! It appears the failure location is right where the second leaf contacts the main leaf. Everything looked fine 6 months ago when I replaced the trailer wheel bearings, as you can see in the picture. I would assume there would be a slight bend at this location prior to failure.
Why are we looking for new sources, when @Mountainman198 found this great USA made company? The springs look great! Will these be a good upgrade or too stiff? That's the only question I see. If these are truly rated at 8000 LBS GTWR that may be OK or perhaps a bit too stiff. Our Oliver sits about 6200 LBS when traveling. Could they remove one leaf to bring this down to a 7000 rating?
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It would need the hex tightened when leaking upon hookup. Since the City Water is leaking when running the pump from the Fresh Tank, it must be the backflow preventer (check valve).
You have no sig, so can't tell hull number, but for ours in 2016 these are in the back of the basement/trunk (see pic).
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21 hours ago, Nan said:
E-trailer just called me back and they do have them. Thanks everyone.
Please post the eTrailer link if you have one. Thanks
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12 hours ago, Jason Foster said:
I'm probably the minority here, but I don't really like big crowds. I camp because I love nature and quiet evenings where the crickets converse with each other in harmonious symphony, adding to the trumpeting overtures of coyotes and the occasional fluting of a tree frog or bass tympany of bull frogs.
The wind blowing through the trees, snow drifting lazily along a riverbank, and birds singing the praises of our Creator...
They way you write it, I can hear East Texas from here! 😂
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On 2/27/2024 at 12:44 AM, Geronimo John said:
You are correct. However, fiberglass has the advantage of being cast in many ways. From many perspectives we would want the top mold to be very aero efficient... GJ
Fiberglass or any other construction needs to be strong where it will take stress (in the case of a TT, takes wind). It does NOT have to be strong in the rear of a trailer, where it will see NO wind, and my legs and feet would love to stretch!
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I've been wondering why they sell a bundle with "Tank Halos." I've read other posts here where OTT owners install just these. Ours in the SW has no real rust underneath, but perhaps the sonar sensor reads better when the tank is not grounded? Just guessing here. Any ideas?
Yep, it is a nice set! When I finally slow down on spending on this trailer, I have this and much more on our Wishlist! (Just spent $390 on TV batteries.)
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16 minutes ago, MAX Burner said:
@jd1923 - Hey, John; just curious, will you need to replace your front Furrion 30amp receptacle as well? If so, why?
We’ve got the same one as yours and wondering if it may fail also…
No Art, our front receptacle appears just dusty inside, nice straight contacts, hardly used at all. We've never used it and I'm not lugging a generator, don't want to hear one and we keep our fire ring in the front bin. The front seal looks like it needs replacing since it is somewhat dissolving from weather, causing a black streak to run below it. Thanks for asking. I should replace (make) that seal.
Was merely mentioning, to do a full SmartPlug conversion you would need to replace both receptacles and the cord to do it right. For $158, we will have a brand-new twist-lock receptacle, everything OEM like new!
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Received the new Furrion outlet yesterday. It will soon be the shiniest part on our old hull. 😊 I hope the wiring connected to this is good. Minimum is 10 AWG for a 30A circuit which is likely what they used for such a short run. I'll take another pic when I have it open.
Would have liked to convert to SmartPlug, but it would be a lot of $$$ to upgrade (replace two outlets and the cord or cord end). How about that, another warning label! Love a warning label that can hardly be seen in use.
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Made in USA leaf springs
in Mechanical & Technical Tips
Posted · Edited by jd1923
Not fair to compare a small custom shop to Dexter. The $670 total for 4 custom leaf springs and required hardware is extremely fair. They could charge $995 and provide for a warranty. They are likely a small family-owned business and cannot have 5-years of future liability.
Your choice 1) Alcan, 2) find another supplier, or 3) buy Dexter springs with 5-year coverage for China junk, that has a high likelihood of failure. Have any of you filed warranty claims on your broken springs? I prefer the promise of craftsmen, and the product looks great in the pics, more HD in all aspects. I'd rather go better quality, less cost and forfeit the warranty. But that's me; one who NEVER pays for extended warranties (a hugely profitable industry).
If they are not right, you'll know in 90 days. And from what has been written here re their exceptional CS, they would likely work with you if their work was determined to be at fault.