jd1923

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.

LOL yeah, I left the trailer shop after I noticed a large rack of unwrapped bearings (wish I took a pic), all either unmarked or labeled CHINA! Will pressure-wash the wheel well area tomorrow and then detail with my favorite grime cleaner GoJo. Probably just push a lot of grease through the Zerks to clean inside, unless you might suggest further disassembly. What a lame looking suspension, I must add, and I'm sure you agree. This isn't enough spring for the AZ Washboard Road! Good thing my Rams Cummins is getting a brake upgrade! My eTrailer order was 4 sets, both inners and outers, Timken bearing/race sets, they sell them together. I found part numbers in two OTT forum posts and verified the measurements in the listed specs to parts pulled. The seals are a house brand I think, which should be fine since eTrailer has always been good (like their videos). If I run into binding brakes, like you did, that will be another day. Perhaps a day for new HD axles, disc brakes and suspension!

Thanks Steph and Dud, I did not realize trailer brakes adjusted going forward. I guess that makes sense. Either way $600 or $800 ain't happenin' now! Good news for me, is the brakes have performed well so far. When I removed the drums there was just the right amount of pull, telling me they were adjusted properly. The only issue I found was bearing play in the wheel having some up-n-down wobble. More good news is I found 4 "Amazon Used" Monroe 555001 shocks at only $24 ea. Amazon used usually means damaged packaging and if any are bad, it's just another Amazon return. Mine did not look blown as some forums pics I saw, but internally they were shot. When removing, I pushed them down by hand and they just stayed there! They were the original yellow ones.

Wow JD, this would be $700-800 in parts for 4x full brake plates and 4x Drums. Not for me this year! I just placed an order for new Timken bearing and seals. Went with eTrailer for $156 after reading your posts on fake bearings. I ordered Toyota parts once on eBay for a timing chain replacement, and they came all in legit Toyota wrap. They were fake, you could tell by the water pump casting, not the packaging that looked correct. Did the eBay return, got money back and purchased parts from Toyota and RockAuto. Yes, I will manually adjust if necessary. Drum brakes will auto-adjust only when braking in reverse, which is difficult to do in a trailer. First, I bought an Oliver (June), then the Ram 2500 (July), then suspension rebuild (August another $1200). Just bought Dodge wheels and upgrade parts to install 3rd Gen front disc brakes on my 2nd Gen (just last week, $1000 for both). Got to put my new tires on hold! Will need other Oliver parts soon, like electric water valves, etc. Didn't expect to buy bearings, thought I would merely pack bearings! So bad news on my favorite local trailer shop. It was called A-County Trailer and now the name has changed. They had 3-4 old-timers as mechanics. Once they adjusted the leaf spring shackles that were binding on a flatbed trailer I have. After 2 guys worked 15 minutes, they said, "You're good now, you can pull out" and no charge! Now just young guys who admitted, "I dunno know." So today was a wash. I placed my eTrailer order when I got home, and the Oliver will be up on jack stands for a while!

Well, I've been working on the Ram TV for a while now, and it's time again to work on the Oliver. Starting with something that appears to have been neglected for some time. There was some new red wheel bearing grease on the axles. I didn't see any of that new grease packed in the bearings! I got one side up on jack stands now. I usually just take stuff apart and then see what i need (then I read all your forum posts, to read what y'all have known for years). I need new bearings, the China syndrome, and Dexter has the gall to put a Made in USA sticker on the brakes backing plate. Need new shocks. We have a great trailer shop here, just 20 minutes north in Chino Valley, AZ. They will have all the brake and bearing parts there. I took one side completely down to compare the wear of my brake shoes to a new set. I might just get them to install the new wheel bearing races. That would save some time. More tomorrow.

Had a chance to clean up one today. I got a big old-school Milwaukee grinder with a 7" steel brush wheel. Cleaned up the tire beads too. Here's the before and after!

Certainly, a similar Jeep with the V8 engine will pull better! Check the advertised torque rating of your present 6-cylinder Jeep to one with the V8. You should see quite a difference. It is torque that first moves the truck and trailer and torque that pulls it up mountain inclines. I'd say you would want a 3/4-ton pickup with an Elite II, but the 1/2-ton V8 Jeep should be quite enough for your Elite I.

Just received my wheels yesterday and will soon decide on tires. They look great and more so considering the price. Most eBay vendors want near $300 a rim, center caps sold separately. I found the one auction that had a full set for $500, $100 shipping and $40 tax, an amazing deal for $640 total. I still cannot believe it but they're here now and look good (3 rims and caps are here, 4th expected by FedEx today!). I like the label information. They're not made in USA, like my 2nd Gen premium wheels, but "SUPERALLOY" made in Tiawan, on 9/11 2009. I believe these are forged wheels, and I asked the members of the Cummins Forum to verify. Made in Tiawan is NOT Made in China at all. Tiawan has been making high-quality tools for decades. Craftsman tools, during the 70s and 80s, when first manufactured tools outside of the US, built tools in Tiawan. They were always good, and then later Craftsman turned to China for additional cost savings and their tools turned to junk! Tiawan today is leading the world in high-tech semiconductor manufacturing. See pics...

Yes Art, I remember. I guess I always had that in mind. When I purchased my '03 Ram, back in 2004 barely used, it had the BFG AT tires on it. I replaced them with the Michelin LTX tire of that era, and I can swear they lasted near 100K miles!

Thank you Rick & Jerry, your note and others here and on the Cummins Forum, got me thinking that perhaps this truck should have great highway truck tires vs. ATs. We installed the awesome Cooper Discoverer AT3s on our GX470, maybe I do not need ATs on our Oliver TV! BTW anybody interested, I started what turned into an extensive conversation here: 2nd Gen Tire and Wheel sizes 2WD for towing | Cummins Diesel Forum (cumminsforum.com) I've learned many things from these Cummins guys. 1) do not mount an AT tire on the front of a 2WD tow vehicle. This now make so much sense. I love our OTT forum, you guys are great, and I learn so much from the many forums I've frequented through the years. 🙂 (Wow, these Cummins guys are highly technical!) I might just buy the newer version of your tires, in a slightly larger than stock size (275s are not available in 17s, only 265 stock size or 285 widths): Michelin Defender LTX M/S2 | LT285/70R17 (tirerack.com). What do you think?