jd1923

Thank you @ScubaRx!!! I opened this new discussion and asked the moderators to move a half dozen posts here, vs a Mechanical & Technical Tips thread I started on Suspension and Brakes Maintenance. Hopefully, @mossemi, @Frank C and @topgun2 who helped me immensely will find the new location.

Thanks for article @John E Davies. I'm pretty sure my wheel brush is stainless steel, certainly not low carbon, since I've had it for 30 years and it's likely well over 40 years old (bought many of my tools at estate sales). Never any rust on it! Found something similar, there is a 6" Osborn Knot Wire Cup Brush on Zoro: Osborn Knot Wire Cup Brush, 6", 0003303000 0003303000 | Zoro This item is still made in USA, many others here Mexico. These ads do not spec type of steel. There is the compression disc on the underside, bolt welded to it, with rust on that part only. Glad to read that I didn't mess them up. The first wheel I cleaned 10 days ago still looks great! No, not painting, not refinishing the fronts at all! Just cleaning the backsides (rust/dust from brake pads) and wet-sanded by hand where the tire beads contact for a good seal. Also, cleaning the bolt holes and gently the valve stem recesses. They are not perfect, but you can see from the pics on page one, they're really nice as is. Not building a show car, but a truck that will see a lot of dirt/gravel roads - they will look great! What a beast of an old tool, mounted to an old Milwaukee 7" hand grinder that weighs a over 10 lbs. mounted!

Since last week, I now have two wheels clean! It's a lot of heavy work with the heavy grinder and I like to space out the really physical jobs to only a few hours a day. There are other chores. Just received my brake upgrade! Going to 17" wheels allows me to upgrade brakes, from Dodge 2nd Gen to 3rd Gen brakes. The rotors are 1" larger diameter and thicker material. Parts include a pair of wider caliper brackets and upgraded EBC rotors and pads. It's amazing, but the calipers are the same, as they are HD already. Purchased all parts at Summit: EBC Brakes S1KF1502 EBC Stage 1 Premium Street Disc Brake Kits | Summit Racing Check the pic below! This must be a 60% increase in brake contact area for my truck. What an amazing product! You guys with newer trucks, install EBC pads and rotors on your next brake job. Didn't want drilled or slotted rotors or anything. These look great, just dark and huge!

Bravo @NandNPNW for installing this without drilling mounting holes! This is great. The Ace Hardware product is likely good, I loved Ace in the day, back in Chicagoland, where Ace started! Next time, or if your install loosens up, go with 3M 4950 VHB tape. Instead of 12 LB you get 80 LB / SQ IN, so you could lean on the counter fully extended to get off the floor, been there Ha-Ha. This product is amazing! I'm an engineer and over-engineer about everything! I used to bolt down everything, but not anymore. I used this product to mount 2 large heavy solar panels on a fiberglass roof with only 20 SQ IN of tape each. This is an amazing product! Amazon.com: 3M Double Sided Mounting Tape 1” x 120” 4950 Foam Tape Heavy Duty Adhesive Waterproof for Car Home Office Deco Color White : Office Products

Likely in recent years, the OTT lithium upgrade means solar upgrade too. Back in the day when many TTs and RVs had only 1 or 2 "marine" style batteries, and no solar, charging from the truck while driving made sense. You could drive to your next destination and have recharged house batteries. Lithium or not, I would not want to have 4 large AH under charged lead acid batteries, powering an inverter when boondocking overnight, and then leaving early in the morning, solar not having enough time to recharge. This would put an enormous current draw on the truck charging system which could cause ignition or computer sensor failures. BTW, this 12GA wire is not rated to charge a half-charged 300+ AH battery bank and could overheat and cause fire. This 12V+ Black lead must be disconnected on any trailer that has an inverter with a large capacity battery bank. With all your help, mine should be disconnected asap, thank you. I'm certainly glad my trailer plug needed replacing, which allowed me to learn this today.

Thank you very much, Frank! I'll look for this today, disconnect the black wire, and then test at the trailer plug. If I do it right, the black at the trailer end should show an open circuit and no more 12V+. Being only 3-4 months into OTT ownership, we're learning every day! I will look for these online and it would be much better to have electronic PDF searchable manuals than a folder full of paper.

Thanks @John Welte, @Mike and Carol and @topgun2. There are several reasons why I'm interested in the new Dill product, vs. TST and other like products. The Dill sensor is installed in the tire on an integrated valve stem vs. small plastic valve-stem-cap devices mounted outside in the elements. Dill sensors, like OEM automotive sensors, advertise a 5 to 7-year battery life. So, you replace the batteries when you replace tires every 5-7 years. Another feature is not having to mount and wire a proprietary screen! Just read the tire data from your cell phone. Soon I will be mounting a small screen for gauges integrated to the truck computer (OBD II port), to read EGT on the diesel, trans temp, and much more! I have a good place to mount that, down behind the cup holder and really do not want anything on the dashboard. Full specs are not yet out on this new product, to be released by October end, but you must be setup a cell phone alert when tire pressure or temp is outside of control limits. Having the data view portable will also be handy when filling tires. I'm holding off on my new tire purchase until these are released, price and full specs advertised.

Thanks Bill @topgun2 too! Now I have an issue. Yes, I have the four 6V golf cart style lead acid batteries, but I also have ample solar wattage to charge these! I never want to charge these large AH capacity trailer batteries from my truck alternator when driving, nor possibly drawing current from my truck batteries when sitting. Last thing I need is alternator or truck battery charging issues. I need to disconnect this Black 12V+ lead. Also, I'm not going to get in the practice of disconnecting the trailer plug, unless I am disconnecting the trailer. This is crazy! Good thing OTT stopped doing this. I can simply disconnect it at the trailer connection plug but would rather disconnect it at the battery side. Anybody know where the 20A breaker is located, as shown in the wiring diagram that @Frank C supplied?

Thanks @ScubaRx for getting this discussion started! Your first thought nailed it, and yes, it's pretty hard to connect 7 stripped wires without the black touching the white or another ground! Not an easy task to wire these, especially in this extra-small plug, where the wire lengths are less than 2" long. And thanks, @mossemi. I do understand the SAE and RV 7-way plug standards, but checkout the difference between the standards (in the eTrailer doc), where it states "Black - Battery Hot Lead" and the OTT version "Black - Battery Charge." I've owned a horse trailer, 3 cargo trailers and 2 flatbed/car hauler trailers and have replaced the trailer plug, or socket side on the truck several times. Most of these trailers did not have their own battery. In this case, the 12V+ Black and White ground are used to power trailer accessories, like interior lighting in a cargo trailer. Here the 12 VDC hot lead is from truck to trailer, not the other direction! And thanks @Frank C for confirming Steve's suspicion and supplying the trailer wiring diagram. Where do you get these diagrams? I have a standard OTT User Manual, in an Oliver 3-ring notebook, and a lot of now useless warranty information in a zipped case. I do not have the Oliver trailer connection graphic, that Mossey showed above, and I certainly do not have ANY schematics! Every time I see a wiring or plumbing diagram, in one of these posts, I save a copy to my Oliver folder.

Thank goodness your family and your Oliver is all OK! Years ago, pulling an enclosed cargo tailer from TX to AZ, we had a trailer blowout. Honestly, it's amazing that your OTT and connection to the TV is so solid, that you did not know the blowout even occurred - OMG! Ours was so drastic, that I immediately felt a tug on the truck steering wheel! The belts from the tire tore the fender off completely and it then damaged the siding of the trailer (cheap alum, not our OTT fiberglass). Got a new tire, miles down the desolate dry western highway. Of course, had to park the trailer and run an 85-mile roundtrip with the wheel. I'm going to purchase and install these from Dill. Our truck is 23 years old, so it did not come with TPMS. You can buy a set of 4, or 8 and monitor pressure via Bluetooth to your phone. I will purchase 8 and install inside of my OTT and TV wheels. Dill's new product will be available late October from Tire Rack (first reseller). For truck and trailer you would buy two sets (pat # 1604-V).

Ok, so I received the new trailer plug from amazon today. I chose this Curt product (made in Taiwan, not China TG) since our Dodge OEM hitch (yes Mopar logo on the cover) on my old Ram, has the receptacle pointing right towards the hitch, instead of pointing back towards the trailer. It's always in the way of the chain hooks, as was! This plug is very short: Amazon.com: CURT 58190 Trailer-Side 7-Pin RV Blade Wiring Harness Connector, silver : Automotive I was wiring it this afternoon and while doing so, I kept getting a 12V DC shock. Got out my voltmeter and the black wire had 12+ volts live, when NOT connected to the truck, OMG! I've installed several of these in my lifetime and I'm not at all used to ANY of the 7 wires in a trailer electrical connection being live when the truck is not attached. WTF is OTT doing? It is NOT at all standard to feed 12V DC to the truck-trailer wiring when not connected? This is crazy! hoping @John E Daviesor another member can explain (pic showing new plug). Please help!

For those not wanting to drill so many holes on your future installs, I strongly suggest using 3M VHB tapes (use only 3M brand tapes). 3M model 4950 is white, just over 1mm thick, and comes in 1/2", 3/4" and 1" widths. The 1/2" should be perfect for this fan. Clean surfaces with rubbing alcohol. Cut several 1" lengths and position them around the perimeter of the fan where it contacts the roof. The rain guard would only need a few pieces of tape. No butyl tape on this install, finish with a bead of white silicone caulk around the fan. I do not suggest caulking the rain guard, in fact I might not install the rain guard, as I believe this part is intended for wall mounting (solid on top and vented below). Amazon.com: 3M - 1/2-5-4950 VHB 4950 Heavy Duty Mounting Tape - 0.5 in. x 15 ft. Permanent Bonding Tape Roll with Acrylic Foam Core. Tapes and Adhesives : Industrial & Scientific VHB tape is way, WAY STRONGER than any kind of screws into fiberglass. I used this tape to connect the solar panel brackets to fiberglass roof on my old Bigfoot Class-C, with no screws at all. These large panels were very heavy, and never failed. I did use double mounting brackets (8/panel vs. the standard 4), given the size of the panels. Overlap Shear Strength of the 4950 tape is 80 lb./in², which is a whole lot of pressure. Your fan and rain guard will hold strong, I promise! Thanks @SeaDawg and @MAX Burner as I used your links and just purchased one for a future install. When I get around to this job, end of a very long list, I'll post the 3M VHB installation version!

Thank you @topgun2! Got the streetside bearings done yesterday. I was able to find sockets the correct diameter to press in the races. Packed the bearings with a convenient tool, otherwise it's a large swab of grease in your palm. Removed the adjuster from the rear wheel to grease after having pressure washed this assembly. I ended up removing ALL the brake parts to grease the contact points and did some additional cleaning on the back sides of parts. When I work the streetside I will first remove ALL brake parts and pressure wash only the backing plates and suspension. You need these tools to do the complete brake job. Wondering how y'all use Brakleen and apply grease where it is needed, as this spray will remove the grease as well as pressure washing. But I really don't need to know, just won't use the messy spray. When I disassemble parts, I clean them by hand with GoJo hand cleaner, rinse with water and use compressed air to dry, and they will come out as clean as the one pictured above! The two axles both had identical labels, see label/part number, and there was another label "Nev-R-Adjust" on both. Love the REDNECK AL label - LOL! My front axle must be the older version. The only differences are as follows; There is a different top post which does not need the oblong assembly plate, there are two springs (easier to remount with drum brake tools) vs the one main cross spring. The self-adjusters are identical with one exception. The second one has the spring (pictured). I don't see any purpose for the spring, except to hold the adjuster nicely to the shoes during assembly. The spring is extremely light duty and can't do much, or is this the reason why some shoes "over-tighten?" Hmm, probably not. I've done brake jobs on a dozen 50s-60s-70s cars with drum brakes. They all had the two top shoe springs with oblong plate, never a large cross spring, and I don't ever remember having a spring in the adjuster! Tested the brakes, wheels on and truck attached. My son Adam hit the brakes as I was spinning the wheels. My heart sunk as the wheels did not stop! I could hear the magnets powered. What could be wrong? I had to rewire the front brakes, due to pack rats chewing the wires, but power to the magnet does not have a specific polarity. One wire needs power from the blue/brake wire and the other needs ground. They were working last week when I moved the trailer. Then we jacked up the other side, that I had not yet worked, same thing no brakes. Turned power up full on the brake controller and finally wheels would stop, but only a little. Symptoms are looking like a weak ground. It turned out to be the connection at the hitch. Our trailer plug, looking old, has a damaged/recessed ground blade. Must have achieved ground last time, but not anymore. Went on Amazon, ordered a new one and some dielectric grease! I'm thinking a day off this project, before I tackle the other side! 😊

Rebuilt the front axle brakes and greased all contact points with silicone brake grease. Today I will remove the adjuster spring on the rear and apply grease there, since yes, the pressure wash cleaned it dry. Installed the new shocks (don't over-tighten the rubber bushing). Amazon used was good for 3 out of 4, one was blown, as you could compress it easily by hand and it would sit there and return very slowly. I submitted a return on that one and ordered another one at the new price of $34. Good practice with new shocks, out of the box, is to fully compress them, and allowing them to expand, 2-3 times. My Timken seals arrived from eTrailer yesterday, so I will finish up the left side and start the right. They certainly look of better quality, with made in USA printed on both sides. BTW, if you have the original CHINA bearings, and they have been maintained, just clean them well and repack them and you should be fine for some time. For my Oliver, with dubious maintenance history, thought it was the right time to install new bearings. I like to get my vehicles fully serviced, while I'm still able to do this kind of work. And we're not like some of you who put 10K miles on a year! For us, 3000 miles would be a big year (I like to be home!). Like to plan our RV trips, driving just 2-4 hours a day, boondocking between other stops. I do not plan to open these drums, grease the bearings again for a few years, after I get them right. I understand the suggested maintenance schedule, often written by legal departments and not experienced mechanics. Also, not driving through major rainstorms, as JD had mentioned, which is a rare case in the SW. We pull over and wait out such storms!

Thank you Patriot🇺🇸, you have an amazing TV in your "2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat..." OMG, wanna trade? LOL! New model Ford F250/350s with the PowerStroke diesel engine, have an exhaust brake accessory. I'm not sure if it is standard, or an option that comes with a special tow package. Perhaps the new Rams also have this, but not us old Ram 5.9 Cummins. It's pricy, but the purchase price of my TV was a steal and I planned from the start to put another $10K into parts for it, me being the primary installer! After I complete my build, I will still be at about 33% the cost of a new diesel truck! This is on my build list (watch the product video): PacBrake PRXB Exhaust Brake Cummins 24V (dieselpowerproducts.com) Keep in mind, we all need good brakes in stop-n-go traffic, both truck and trailer, since an exhaust brake cuts out at lower RPMs. The diesel engine brake is a must for frequent mountain driving. One hour from our home, on the way to Phoenix, is a 4000 FT drop in elevation!

The cold water from the pressure washer does something to the grime so it isn't sticky. I didn't mean to write "pressure-wash your driveway." If it sits there it will soil the driveway, but just rinse it away and you're done. JD, Ronbrink and you other Oliver/Dexter experts out there, please take a look at this pic. I put these two photos together merely to show a before & after, to show how clean the pressure washer got the rear wheel, but these brake assemblies are different! These are two different Dexter assemblies. The rear wheel has the large spring horizontal to the top (Like the picture Ronbrink posted). The front wheel has the two springs in an 'A' shape, connected to the main post (which standard in automotive applications). This can't be normal, can it? Do you think one assembly was replaced? The drums looked different too, even though they have the same part numbers. One looked like a raw casting, the other looked like it was painted black. I'll know more when I finish the streetside and remove the curbside wheels. What do you think?

Got to pressure washing yesterday! It really turned out nice. Had to lay on the ground under the trailer to clean the backside too. I'm not fond of the Brakleen type sprays. First you're wasting a couple cans of this chemical at close to $10 a can and it gets so messy as you can see in Ronbrink's pics above. After pressure washing you just need to pressure-wash your driveway a bit to run the dirt off. On the edge of our driveway, we have a landscaped wash, and the dirt just joins other Arizona dirt downstream! I took the front brake assembly apart and cleaned each part by hand and the pressure washed side looks almost as good. Did the backside of the wheels and tires too. You can also see the wheels before and after below.

I'm with Frank. You have an Elite I, get a half-ton truck. The Elite II requires a 3/4-ton truck, certainly if you plan to drive mountain passes. Get a Diesel and save $$ in fuel costs across country, My weights are in the middle. 13,220 lbs. truck and trailer, with fresh tank full and another 35 gal in the truck bed (yes, life out in the SW requires 580 LB in water, try that in an SUV), Truck alone was 7220 LB on 8800 GVWR, and our Oliver weighed right at 6000 lbs. We have room in both. If we were to go on a 4-week trip, I could see adding another 1000 lbs. I like these numbers. We had a class-C RV and were always fighting 14K LB GVWR. Just got a truck toolbox on Craigs. It's deep and can hold our Coleman grill with its stand, trailer jack, a jack stand, emergency triangles, all my tools and more. These are the kinds of things you may need. Check out my new layout. The small toolbox is for camping/cooking equipment. Toolboxes and water tank will be mounted soon, each is evenly spaced out, so lawn chairs and the like can fit between. Also, there is room for 8 FT lengths of lumber (where you see the scrap wood), for if I have to get supplies. One thing that may be hard to see in the pic, is the back half of the 8 FT truck bed is still empty! 😊

Holding up on my tire purchase since I want to purchase a TPMS to install in the new truck wheels and our Oliver. I sure have enough other work to do, with the Oliver, let alone the truck and any travel plans will be in the new year. I read some posts here that mentioned Dill TPMS. Did some research and contacted them. They are releasing a new product this October, that seems worth waiting for! What a great reply I received from Dill Customer Service. Here's what Scott said, "Our new system is arriving in October. TireRack.com will likely be the first distributor with parts ready the ship. Please see the attached teaser flyer and User’s Guide. For your truck and trailer you would buy two of P# 1604-V. That gets you eight valve-mounted sensors and eight stems that would be compatible with 0.453” and 0.625” valve holes." You just buy 4, 6 or 8 stems with sensors attached and connect by Bluetooth, and then see your tire pressures on your phone. How great is that? No wiring installation! No proprietary screen on your dash! Can't wait! This is all falling together nicely- Gotta love it!

Here's a close-up of JD's favorite part - the self-adjuster! It appears to be a good design (perhaps not). The spring is very straight and evenly stretched. I disassembled one brake assembly completely, lot's of work and some cussing will be involved in getting these back together! Good maintenance would include applying some silicone grease (I use Napa Sil-Glyde) on the shoe contact points and inside the adjuster. This is a good product for all automotive brake systems. I have a full set of drum brake tools, from back in the day when my '67 Buicks had drums all the way around. A tool to compress the shoe pin springs and another to stretch the springs.

It's the diesel that makes the difference in your truck! I was always interested in your model but have never touched one. Good to hear. Same truck, gasser, will not pull up the mountains with an EII and MPG will be much less.

Ours haven't come off on just a few miles of AZ washboard. Prior owner had new blinds installed by OTT a few years ago.

So, the last picture shows how clean the brake master reservoir looked after service. The first thing I do is get the truck on jack stands (it was already up for suspension work and trans service). You can bleed brakes with wheels on, but I prefer to take it straight on and then it only takes a few minutes. The fluid in my master cylinder reservoir was BLACK with clumps of junk in the bottom, and same in the calipers. I drained the calipers when off the vehicle, bleed valves open, using a Channel Lock to compress both cylinders. Removed the reservoir and cleaned it inside. There was a pin punched in place to hold the reservoir to the master. I filled a little tub with full strength Super Clean ($10/gal at Walmart), let it soak overnight and next day shook the reservoir hard until everything came loose and clean. To bleed the brakes, you need a container (I use an empty handle-bottle of Vodka!) and an 18" length of clear hose, that fits the bleed valve. Clear so you can see air bubbles and the color of the fluid. Some say bleed the furthest wheel first, but it really doesn't matter. Some of you with modern ABS systems may need additional service, but only if you have any ABS issues. You can open the bleeder valve and just pump the brake pedal hard a few pumps (hose connected into bottle). Make sure you keep an eye on the reservoir, and never let it empty. The last bleed, your partner needs to pump the brakes 2-3 times hard, hold them down and do not let go, then you open the bleed valve and close it. She can now let her foot off the brakes (that would be my wife Chris). Your brakes will be much improved and safe in the mountains. Do yourself a favor, pop your hood today and look at your brake fluid. If you see anything but clean clear fluid, schedule this maintenance! 😊

Most truck owners are good about changing engine oil and filter, maybe trans fluid or antifreeze, though brake fluid often gets overlooked. For motorcycles, it is standard to replace brake fluid annually. Riding street bikes is dangerous and good brakes are a must. I do mine every 2 years, since I ride occasionally, and I live in the dry SW (it is mainly moisture that ages brake fluid and brake fluid is designed to absorb moisture). I just purchased an old Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins, now 23 years old. I always change ALL the fluids and rubber components (belts & hoses) whenever I acquire a used vehicle. I observed evidence that the brake fluid had never been changed, same with the rear diff. The trans had newer fluid and the engine oil looked fine, but I changed both, replacing all fluids. If we lived north, I would have done the antifreeze too by now, but waiting to afford a new high-performance water pump (known to fail on the Cummins) and will replace the antifreeze and serpentine belt at that time. You may be thinking I'm OK, we have a newer truck! But even on late model vehicles, you should change brake fluid every 3-5 years, especially when towing. DOT 3 or 4 Brake fluid is clear when new. It gets yellow->brown->black with age as it collects water and dirt. It is moisture in the calipers that lowers the boiling point, producing steam and serious brake fade. This can easily occur when descending mountain grades. More on how I did mine to come...

Ronbrink, you did quite a job! I'll post my pictures soon, the before and after. Bill thank you for your note. I'm hoping mine will perform properly. I still cannot get my head around how shoes can get too tight, as they can only go so far. I'll add a little silicone brake grease to the adjuster pistons and where the shoes contact the backing plate. JD, yep the limited travel is obvious since the leaf springs appear to have minimal arc! They should be longer and taller. It would be nice if OTT would upgrade this and position the wheels a little further from each other. Not worried about warranty on a $24 part. Usually when I replace shocks it's from a used vehicle recently purchased and I buy new shocks for any that test bad.