jd1923

Paul, that's a strange "bump" or platform that mine did not have. You can see in my installation picture above the roof is smooth. On our hull they merely made the rear legs of the P2 taller, since the roof slopes down. Good thing is the Chill cube is almost a foot shorter, when installed it sits only on the flat forward section. Anything can be removed and my guess is it's just glued down. OTT doesn't suggest removing it! 🤣 Likely, only because they do not want to suggest a liability and nobody working there today has any idea of how it was installed. If it was me, I would take another day or two and delete that platform. It's not pretty! I would remove the silicone caulk, scrape and use acetone. Then I would slowly pry up around the edges, and spend some time cleaning up the roof. 😎

I’ve shared 100 new content posts to help others. You can’t help others here with the name of the store that actually stocks this part? And nobody has to agree.

What’s the name of the auto parts store and at what city location?

And how long for that special order? This is not "broke down on road" feasible. The point was to order ahead of time vs. looking for a parts store at the point of need. Sorry on the typo on the part number. The Summit link above shows the correct part number "Set49"

Yeah, cool technology, but we already know the OEM bearing is the Timken Set49. Also, it's safer to only use manufacturer's spec vs. any website content. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/tmk-set49 Genuine Timken parts are NOT often "easily accessible" and make sure you're buying from an authorized reseller. For example, say you broke down and were lucky enough to be close to a local Napa. They would sell you a China-made alternative that would take 1-2 days to arrive at the store location, while you're broke down somewhere. Then you have to get it installed. Not many PT Cruisers on the road anymore and in general AP stores only stock parts for new-model cars < 10 years old. I found this entering the 2010 PT Cruiser on Napa Online: https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/PGBPFW115 Ken and I worked through this when I tested the bearing install procedure (linked in my prior post on page 5). He has replacement bearings, related parts and tools already purchased and he travels with them. I got lucky getting damaged axle parts, so I carry two full bearing hub/drum assemblies in the TV toolbox (I also carry new Timken front hubs for the Dodge Ram). In my case, if a bearing goes bad, I can be back on the road in 1-2 hours! 😎 However buying full assemblies is exorbitant! I truly suggest if this is a concern of your, read the post I made showing bearing removal and replacement. At a minimum, do yourself a favor a buy 2-4 Timken Set49 bearings. Then you'll have the parts you need so that any trailer shop can install them for you. To be very safe, you may want to have extra circlips, nuts and washers. And if you want to DIY, my post details the required toolset.

The Nev-R Lube bearings work like a pair of conical bearings pressed into a case to keep the grease in on a "permanent" basis (expect on average a 5-year life). You cannot pack these bearings with new grease to prolong their life. As far as bearing maintenance, I already wrote a post showing removal and replacement:

Is the trailer level? When we park, we level and keep the front 1/2"+ higher. This allows full usage of the FWT and our heads are just higher than our feet in bed. If the front is a couple inches low, water from the kitchen drain would flow forward.

We're good with just our basket up front since we only store a fire ring up there, don't carry a generator. There are others here who have given this much thought and those who have installed front boxes. One thing that stands out to me re your idea and drawings is the LP doghouse cover. On our older hull there is just enough room to replace the cover getting it by the jack head. It seems to come off easier than it goes back on. You have likely not removed that cover too many times yet. I would take it on and off a couple times and give some thought to required clearance. Have fun on your 2-month trip! 😎

Sorry Orca, those would be my axles! I got really lucky. Tim and Lew got Dexter to replace them on a 2-week rush order, refund my $200 shipping charge which was very reasonable to start with, and keep the first set of axles too! They shipped the second set right, strapped to a pallet 9 ft long! I'd like sell the second set of axles, but I only know of one hull besides ours that has D35 SC=50" axles. That owner wasn't either interested or trusting of half price axles. The first set, although damaged in shipping really only need one brake baking plate and new bearing caps to be whole again. I could fix them up like new in a few hours, but instead I have replacement parts for life! 😎 (Pictures of damage and replacement sets. Notice the difference in the skids!)

Be careful, John! I'm not walking on the roof for nothing! I installed a new A/C (twice), removed the Dish and other items, did fiberglass repair and all necessary cleaning without being on top. Though I do realize you're fulltime in your Oliver and don't carry scaffolding with you! 🤣 If we didn't have the awning, rooftop maintenance would be easier. On the awning side, I can't quite reach over it to top center. On the streetside, without an awning, standing on our scaffolding I can reach some past top center. Another good reason to DELETE the awning! 😎

It appears we see eye-to-eye on several things! I never created a FB account and once FB became another Fake News outlet, Chris deleted all her content and pics, closed her account. Sorry Oliver Owners on FB, but this is the real OTT Forum! 🤣 We also recently agreed on the need, or lack thereof, for an articulating hitch. And I think the tow vehicles for hulls #113 and #1394 are the only two that carry an extra 35-gal FWT and we both never leave home without two full FWTs! 😎 Chris and I were born and raised in Chicagoland, so "Escape to Wisconsin" was something we did often, all the way up to 1999 when we left the city. Out first trip together was to visit Lake Oshkosh in '92! I say this because we're not likely to tow our Oliver back to your neck of the woods. But when it's time for you to get out of winter weather and travel SW, we would love to meet you! 😂 Best wishes, JD

Here's another picture of Granite Mountain Wilderness Area from Thumb Butte Road, where Adam camped last week. You can hike for years just around town and never do all the trails. Also, 100s of OHV and bike trails. Local hiking and nature orgs created a 54 mile trail that circles Prescott! 😎 https://www.yavapai-trails.org/prescott-circle-trail/

Thanks Mike! Yavapai Campground at the Granite Mountain Wilderness Area is a nice spot to visit Prescott. No hairy roads like driving up Thumb Butte Rd last week. It's paved all the way in. There are 21 FS campsites, and only $9/night with the old-fart pass! Sorry @John Dorrer, I'm being the Prescott "Resident Chamber of Commerce" person again! 🤣 Though where is everybody else? There should be a Where's Ollie post, or two, every day of the year! We're in site 16, which is one of two FF sites. It was easy for us to grab this spot, since the park reopened on April 1 and we got there at 9AM (just 20 min from home). Nice to camp for the week and only use a 1/4 tank of diesel with these prices today! Second pic is a view of Granite Mountain from the entry road. Adam and I hiked to the top 10 years ago and I hope to do it one more time before it get's too late for me! 😂

Our original PD ATS went out last year, a burnt wire or two. I decided to bypass the ATS. One cable now goes from the side 30A receptacle to the PI EMS and then to our Victron MP2 inverter and finally to the 120VAC breaker panel. We never use the 30A inlet up front, since we never use a generator. So no need for an ATS! We’ve had 3 RVs and the PD 5100 had failed in all three. If you must have an ATS, it’s time to upgrade to a better product!

Exactly, me too and same down here!

Not all Oliver TTs use the same axle. Our older hull was fitted with a 50" bracket length and most others have 50.5" (note the 50.00 marking on my labels). Since the axles on our Oliver were unique, Alcan took a picture of my original axle label for the custom order, copied all the specs except went from D35 to D52 for 5200 LB axles. They only make Nev-R Adjust and Nev-R Lube axles now, so the rest is the same. So, the part numbers for our hull will NOT be what you need. Likely if a Forum member that upgraded recently with 50.50" axles posted a picture of their label, it would be what you need. But to be certain, take a picture of your axle label and then call Dexter Customer Service. They are not bad to talk to and they will give you a proper part number for your D52 upgraded axles. I'd want to be certain spending $2K plus shipping! HF stands for Hub Face, the measurement between hub faces. SC or Spring Center is the distance between leaf spring centers. These numbers must remain the same for the new D52 axles. Our before & after axle labels to follow:

I agree 100%. I posted about our trip to Harquahala Mountain and a forum member wrote they wouldn’t tow through those washes. I also have the 2 5/16” Bulldog and Alcan Springs, so good enough for us. If one was to travel in rough terrain to truly need an articulating hitch, they would likely need to change axle orientation from underslung to overslung for greater ground clearance!

OK, so I'm not reading all that AI cr@p in the preceding post. We can all do our own AI searches to read the same regurgitated content! 🤣 That being said, I truly commend your effort, as it is a whole lot of work, stretching and neck craning to work this extensive installation - bravo! For us, the furnace with extra vents in closet and bathroom is enough, but we don't live and have yet to even travel up your way. This makes very good sense based on your location and travels. We are planning a trip to ID-MT soon, but would travel during the shoulder seasons, not the dead of winter! 😎

When using the Andersen Ball and NOT using the boomerang, what Andersen calls the Anti-Sway Plate, PLEASE connect the hitch pin to the bottom of the ball, the pin that connects this plate. If not, the Andersen ball is only held down by a large circlip underneath. It's not likely the ball would come out, since it would have to break that clip and come up several inches, but having the bolt (hitch pin) below is a good measure of safety. Once connected, it can just be there without having to take it on and off.

Mostly softball questions, boilerplate answers delivered by an experienced politician! Installation torque! 🤣 How about all those lose bolts interior to the casing?

If you're buying a late model 2500 or 3500 truck, likely no need for the Andersen WDH. The Owner's Manual for our older Dodge 2500 states to use a WDH when tongue weight is > 500 LBS or trailer is > 5000 LBS. We certainly needed the Andersen when towing the Oliver with the OEM suspension. Without it the Oliver would porpoise up and down on a rolling highway, not comfortable. Once we upgraded to D52 axles and Alcan springs, we do not use the WDH, since the Oliver is now carrying its own weight. 😎 See what towing specs are and buy the right truck since you have this opportunity. In the year or so we had to use the Andersen, I likely cursed 100 4-letter words. What a pain! Thankfully, never again.

We went 5-leaf since Alcan designed it this way specifically for the Oliver. They installed a few 4-leaf springs only due to Oliver owner requests. I would guess over 95% of us have installed the standard 5-leaf system. I've had to go over a lot of speed bumps lately. My truck suspension, being so tight, bangs hard over speed bumps, but the Oliver suspension glides over them so nicely! Looking through the sideview mirror, you can see each tire articulate up and down without affecting the other axle, while the hull does not budge an inch! I should buy Alcan leaf springs for the rear of our tow vehicle! 😎 We always tow with a dog bowl half full of water. The water stays put, and never had a drawer open. We did have items jostled in the Attic and hanging clothes fall in the closet once in the first few miles. Once I worked the first required torquing of wet and U-bolts, we never had another issue.

🤣 Love it, quite resourceful! If I had the luxury of ordering a 2027 Oliver, I would order it without awnings on either side! 😎 It would be aerodynamic, a thing of beauty. If our entry-side awning was to fail, I would remove it and do MORE fiberglass repair. I would also NOT order any rooftop antennas, cameras, or other accessories like Zamp ports where OTT would drill into the fiberglass (see pic, not pretty installations). I would also delete most interior screens, like the tank level screen that is rarely accurate. We stopped looking at ours years ago. You'll soon know how many days the fresh tank will last and the waste tanks will fill. The link below is something you should consider, and if yours would be a Girard awning, I would search this forum for keyword Girard, as I have read many posts about Girard awnings closing in the lightest of winds, switch and battery failures or opening on their own! @Chrisharon it's very smart thinking a year ahead on your order, and my apologies for providing much more than you asked. Yes IMO, an awning-less Oliver would truly be a thing of beauty! 😎

I'm a bit like Bill, but certainly camp much more in the SW. With almost 3 years of ownership, 2 full years of travel, 17K miles and 150+ nights out, we've only used our entry awning 4 times. Mainly to check it out. I only remember one summer day in SD on the Missouri where it made a difference in temp camping on grass in high humidity. It felt like a 20 degree drop! We do not have a streetside awning. Though if we had dual power awnings, I would likely use them often. But we would not spend $,$$$ on them! 🤣 We live in the SW and still rarely use our entry awning. Though we do not summer camp and prefer to camp at elevation. The Oliver dual-hulls and dual-pain windows (are they still?) are very well insulated, so keeping sun off the body doesn't help much. You likely not sitting on that side. If you plan to summer camp often, that could make a difference. Also, some Oliver owners I know park at the same campsite for 1-2 months (I would have to shoot myself after a week!). We move every few days and erecting the manual awning is a bit of a pain. Dual power awnings? If money is easy for you, then why not! Trying to trim total cost, this should be the first to go IMO, The symmetry must look cool! 😎

Please let us know what you did to resolve your issue when it's corrected. Thanks. 😎