jd1923

Hmmm? Is my spare something a prior owner changed? Ron has a 2020 and Sam a 2025. Asking @topgun2 and @Mike and Carol who have 2016 hulls: Are your 5 tires all the same size? It would be great if I could replace my spare with LT225/75R16 if it fits inside the fiberglass surround. Our spare tire is as old as the trailer but I believe it's been replaced, since a P-rated RWL tire that doesn't seem to be OEM. Replacing the spare has been bottom of my list because if/when we get a flat, I would more likely park/detach the trailer, remove the wheel and run it down the road for repair.

Yes, working this installation today! Wish temps would be a little better, high of only 45F today (furnace ON) but al least it's another sunny day in Arizona. I'm hoping the remaining snow will soon melt off the top, or we're brushing off snow first. Also, I do plan on measuring total height so that I know what bridge heights we can travel through. Our hull is likely already 1/2 - 1" taller due to the Alcan Springs. I'll also measure height of the body at the wheels. With the Furrion being 3.25" taller and some additional spring height, we should be about 4" taller overall. Thanks, I'll add to this post with installation pics and measurements. 😎

We had the same mattress Mike pictured above when we purchased our Oliver used. I didn't think "heavy and firm" but more so squishy, like you would sink into the foam, but who knows they could have been up to 8 years old. I did not want to spend on custom mattresses and shipping. We went with our local Brooklyn Bedding made in Phoenix AZ. We've driven down to their plant to pickup the Cali-King bed we have at home but the all foam mattresses ship at no additional cost. We went with two singles 30x75", removed the stitching on one corner and cut a radius with an insulation to fit the curved end (used cardboard to model the shape). We went with the 10" for medium firmness but it's actually nicely firm for me, at times a little to firm for Chris but she has gotten used to it. A 4-6" mattress is better for sitting, and the taller you go your heads may hit the cabinets when sitting! They are heavy but I've added electric water valves and moved all fuses and switches to under the dinette. Chris stands them on their sides to fit sheets and I will remove a mattress, stand it up at the pantry when I'm servicing anything underneath. There's a lot to think about re the sizing depending on how you use the area. We sit up to watch TV or read a book, I sit up with my laptop but we do not regularly use our sleeping area as a daytime living area. These are the products we use in our sleeping area: https://rvmattress.com/products/brooklyn-wanderlust-memory-foam/rv-bunk-30x75-10-inch https://www.amazon.com/Retrospec-Sequoia-Yoga-Bolster-Pillow/dp/B092DYYR5W/?th=1 https://www.amazon.com/Sofia-Sam-Purpose-Supports-Laptops/dp/B013KHAIKQ/

Tire profiles of the 16" and 15" are identical, so an Oliver with 15" rims sits a 1/2" lower than on 16s. Glad we have the extra 1/2" for traveling our Forest Service roads. Though the Oliver sits nicely high enough given its underslung springs. I have dragged the rear-bottom end of other trailers on dirt roads, or on steep aprons leaving some gas stations, but so far clearance on the Oliver has been good! 😎 Did they go to 15" to go to ST vs. LT tires? ST tires being more readily available in 15". The spare tire on our Oliver is LT215/70R16 which is -0.7" smaller radius than our four LT215/70R16 tires (-0.2" smaller radius than the 15s). You really would not want to tow too far, or too fast, driving on this shorter spare tire. Are all 5 tires the same size on newer Olivers? That's a good reason to go with 15" wheels, so that all 5 tires the same. It would be great to change a flat tire and not have to change it again immediately. It's like having a car with that dumb little spare, but I do think those are thinner profile with the same ride height.

Got a whole 2" here in Prescott yesterday. Drove to pickleball on a neighborhood sideroad, down a 10% grade. I drove my truck like a baby (2WD TV not towing), about 5 MPH but only for a couple hundred yards until the road flattened out. I got a little used to it and was soon more relaxed. I'm past winter weather after leaving Chicago in 1999. Loosing my nerve and likely some skill. We find snow traveling with the Oliver, we'll be boondocking right there, waiting out the weather. During high school, we would practice how quickly we could slide through a snow-packed turn, handling the heavy 2WD cars of the day. I remember back in the 80s and 90s driving my 1967 Wildcat, trunk filled with tools and/or bags of water softening salt for rear-wheel drive weight, blasting down I-90 the Eisenhower Expressway at 70+ MPH in a BLIZZARD, not a worry in a young man's mind. That day is gone! But when it does snow here I try to get out some, so not to lose my winter driving skills. Our snow generally melts next day and this is just what's left today. Got down in the mid 20s last night, 36F now so some snow is surviving. All roads that see sun are back to bone dry.

I'm with you on this line of thinking. Years of use without issues reported. Now there is an instance, one reported issue, only in test of a brand new battery. What we don't know is if BB changed their build process, or did a supplier in China change/cheapen the process in one one or more battery components?

What charger are you using? Can you set the charge amps in some setup or configuration menu? If you can, set charge rate to 50A.

Now that we prettied-up our Oliver, polished nicely and ceramic coated, it's time to think mud flap protection. I'm also going to add mud flaps on the Oliver soon, to keep all that dirt off the rear lowers. I contacted Rockstar since they do not list my truck, only going back to 2003 (3rd Gen) Dodge Ram trucks. They replied they could not help me expect for a hitch mounted unit which I would not at all want to deal with. I decided to make my own. The TV had rubber flaps 12" wide and 18" long. I went with 3" wider (1 1/2" on each side to fully surround the tire) and 3" longer to protect lower. I purchased a huge set of semi-truck flaps to have enough material for TV and TT and just used a box-knife to cut the material down to size. They're not rubber but some kind of poly material. I cut a curve at the top with tin snips to contour the fit, smoothed edges with a file. Perhaps this is not the best material, but I like the end result. Next job is to work flaps for the Oliver. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XRHB7GH/?th=1

Too bad they went cheap on the wheels! But 15" vs. 16" wheels is only an 1/2" height difference. But of course height is dependent on the tire profile. What is the tire profile on the 15s? We have LT225/75R16 tires on our trailer. A tire 1/2" taller in profile on 15s can equal the height on 16s! When upgrading wheels & tires, I use this app often to compare tire sizes: https://tiresize.com/wheel-offset-calculator/

Yes, D52 on the axle label means 5200 LB axles, the 5-bolt brake backing plate, 12" brakes, etc. Newer Olivers have D52 axles. Yours likely has 1750 LB springs and if so your label should say CAPACITY: 3500 LBS. My label is on custom ordered axles where OEM our trailer had 4-bolt D35 axles. Since Dexter new from Alcan that 2750 LB springs would be installed, my axles are labeled CAPACITY: 5200 LBS. Your upgrade should be leaf springs only when you want your Oliver towing more firmly down the highway!

That would be a great combo, the best of both for sure! IMHO, either is better than an A/C unit that has the standard ON/OFF compressor. Why do these units take 3 minutes to kick in the compressor, BTW. The 9.5K Btu does not bother me and I've learned to ignore marketing hype, Marketing the second oldest profession! 🤣 I always thought that's all you need in the small cubic ft space of the Oliver, well insulated, with hard fiberglass walls keeping the cool inside. Regardless of Btu, it appears this unit pushes more cool air than most. I'm going to love the low settings and power reduction Gear settings. We don't camp in Yuma, nor Tampa or Houston in the Summer heat! I'm hoping to rarely exist in campgrounds! Yes, your rationale for quiet is true, but also it's about the huge internal fan operating at much lower speed. A fan turning faster will of course produce more noise. You can hear the difference in the Morton's video. May the Dometic Penguin II rest in peace forever! 😎

We watched the Morton's video again (with Chris) and she said "buy one!" So I did. I have not seen a review that does not report this is the most efficient and quietest RV A/C unit in the marketplace! I will install ours this weekend and hope to get a chance to test it some in Quartzsite! 😎 The standing height and no heat pump doesn't bother me at all. I think it has a cool shape and should look cute up on our Oliver! After reading what @CRM had to do with his Turbro, the fact that it's not very quiet, and what Turbro Support put me through, my broken unit will be sold for parts or junked. Lost my patience with it, where normally I would be first to repair it to save $$$. Here's another positive review and he's testing the Ducted unit. The Non-Ducted model is even more quiet and efficient. Can't wait!

Hope so, not always, but much more often since Chris and I have lived life together! 😂 Of course, very little rain down here, but my HD 3000 PSI pressure washer likely creates more direct pressure than most thunderstorms. I don’t wash the Oliver often, but more than 6 times I’ve pressure washed it and every time I hit the windows at a few angles and observed each weep hole draining and flushed clean. Never a drop of water inside! First two times, I asked Chris to watch inside, but stopped doing that. I’ve replaced the outer rubbers and all tracks are good and supple (considering our heat and always parked outdoors). They work as designed. I’ve got to think if your windows leak, you have a defect of some kind. It could be from manufacturing or installation. Maybe for some, cleaning was ignored for a period of time and the path to the weep hole exit is blocked. Perhaps some have damaged interior tracks or seals in their cleaning process. Who knows, but if it was my issue, I’d be working to correct it, not mask it or tip-toe around the issue.

Welcome Sam! Please add a signature, when you have the time, and we all would love more of your input on our great OTT Forum. I went through similar thoughts when we started towing our Oliver a couple years ago. Our tow vehicle is borderline on requiring the WDH, but the user manual does state to us one when hitch weight is >500 LBS or trailer >5000 LBS. I believe set the Bulldog at the height OTT recommends as Ron stated above. When I hitch the Oliver, the rear of our truck drops 2". Checkout my pics. First is hitched and second is adding the Andersen WDH tightened correctly. You can see in the second pic a good level front bumper of TV to rear bumper of TT! But yes, the WDH does add lots of stress at the ball for sure and likely elsewhere. In two years, 135 overnights and 15K+ miles, I've only felt comfortable with WDH attached. Without it the under-sprung Oliver will waddle through intersections and porpoise over bumps and dip. Until... Recently, I upgraded adding Alcan Leaf Springs rated at 2750 LBS each vs. the OEM 1700. The difference is night and day. I haven't beefed up the TV rear suspension at all, it's just that now the trailer suspension is handing the trailer and not moving the TV all over the road, like the tail waggin' the dog! 🤣 Our Andersen WDH is now in storage, until somebody wants to buy one. Better springs will likely give you what you want. It's not whether your hitch is up or down an inch or tension +/- on the Andersen. The other thing is ALL Oliver Owners should purchase is the LevelMatePRO (get the PRO model which can be wired directly, no battery changes needed). Find the most level place you can park, set the 3 stabilizer jacks and get as level as possible (us a sight level in many places like you've down). Then you go through calibration steps on the app. I wired my PRO model out-of-sight, under the rear dinette seat where 12VDC is easily available. We use it every time we're parking the Oliver. I turn the app on from the driver's seat to get the best possible spot. Then Chris get's out and places the Andersen Rapid Jacks under the correct side (when needed). I roll up, set the parking brake, and we're done! 😎

We set our furnace at the 40F min on our thermostat. Yes, this uses some LP but the furnace is in proximity to most of the plumbing. I would worry more with any kind of space heater, and we’re all about NOT moving beds! But I don’t do it because I think my compressed air winterizing isn’t 100%. I do it since barely a week goes by where I’m not in the Oliver for something and don’t want the interior sub-zero! At 5400 ft elevation, we get a lot more overnights in the teens than in Texas or other SW locales.

The consensus is go BLACK! IT does not show stains and the window is black anyway.

I blow ALL the lines, but many here are concerned with this practice since it is not OTT recommend (they used to and then legal got in the way of practicality)! To me it takes me 10 min (half the time) when we get home from a trip and not draining or fussing to get ready again. I use compressed air in my garage every day, so it's right there and ready. To clear the Fresh Tank inlet is a straight run from hull to tank, so there should not be (false) concerns of damage to the water pump or anything else. See this procedure which I wrote up a couple years ago. BTW, step #13 was suggested and I added it but I don't believe it's necessary and have never done this step. I've never used RV antifreeze in three RVs we're owned.

https://www.pellandent.com/Half-Inch-Glass-Vinyl-Seal

I don’t use antifreeze, only compressed air (OTT does not recommend this). With antifreeze, yes use it in your plumbing since that will empty sooner or later into your gray tank. But do not pump antifreeze into your Fresh Tank! The tank is very slow to empty and difficult to rinse clean. Just blow compressed air to empty the fill line and drain the tank. Two seconds of air while you're waiting 30 min on the tank. No worries next season, just fill 'er up and go! 😎

There are a lot of us towing without the center caps for this reason, starting with @John E Davies who suggested it many years ago. I wish they made flatter centers for Nev-R Lube axles. The standard centers stick out 4 1/2" made deep for the old-style conical bearings. I believe they detract from the look of most mag wheels. I just added these emblems to dress ours up a little! I won't have to read "Nev-R Lube" anymore. Just search for "70mm emblems" and there are hundreds to chose from.

I can’t see with windows locked shut how anything can get damaged. Should a violent thunderstorm damage our window tracks too? And I don’t get why we’ve never had a drop of water leak to the interior and many of you have leaks, mildew, etc. No idea how you know your weep holes are clean, open and functional without running water! Can the “cleaning” process be creating the problem? Definitely replace the exterior rubber if it has shrunk at all. $100 in rubber, I replaced all with black stock first year of ownership.

Haven't we had this discussion? (And ours is closer to 7K GTW.)

Yes, that would be me and about 99% of truck owners! We purchased an older, used Oliver at half the price of a new one, and an older truck for the sole purpose as the tow vehicle. I’ve made MANY upgrades to both vehicles and total money invested would just pay for an averagely optioned new GM EV truck! Then there would be near another $10K in AZ sales tax. I understand the power/torque EVs have and other benefits. If I was a young man, I’d buy one for daily use. I'm not sold on practicality as a tow vehicle, especially in the West where 200 miles towing is just the first half day on the road. In a similar vein, I would LOVE an electric dirt bike (not an e-bike). Seen the Varg bike, for example. Way faster than my Honda! Ride mountain roads in pure silence, Wow, it would be great! Bought my Honda in 2003, completely rebuilt it 5 years ago, new tires, HD Springs, hand guards and other accessories. It does all I need, paid for years ago and it’s a great ride, perfect for me. That $15K Varg would be cool though. 🤣

I found the OEM springs to be under-sprung, too soft for the near 7K top-heavy load of the Oliver. Mine used to waddle left and right and porpoise up and down at the hitch. I needed the WDH to keep the Oliver in control when towing. With our suspension upgrade, both D52 axles and HD Alcan leaf springs, the Oliver is towing straight and even, no more waddling, no porpoising. The tow vehicle suspension no longer has to compensate for the weaker trailer suspension. So cool. 😎

We don't use e-bikes (hoping somebody else would comment). If you have the fat-tire kind you'd be good to get around town. Lot's of dirt, sand and gravel and a paved service road from Dome Rock to town. I would think it would be easier to get around vs. parking a truck at the big tent.