jd1923

Good decision, Bill. Looks like you're upgrading in Load and PSI rating. I believe the ones you're buying are the 4th row on their website table, 15"x6" with a 6/5.5" bolt pattern. Big improvement at 3200 LB @ 95 PSI ratings! Not that we need a wheel that strong. That 60 PSI on the OEM wheels gets me. S20-56655T-2+ 101073 S1050-425CC / 46879 15X6 6/5.50 0 4.25 3200 @ 95 PSI

This is the fact I got mixed up. I’m going to have to see what’s printed on our OEM wheels. So OTT put 60 PSI wheels on Hull #75 in 2015! Does your hull have a DOT sticker stating 80 PSI! Mine does.

I'd say the shine on your Oliver looks great! 😂 I went with a local detailer, for the reasons you cited and cost (I paid 60% of the advertised CGI price). This was one experienced guy, running his own business, with very good references. He worked 2 weeks on ours, on and off between small jobs he had. Missed his promise date, because he wanted two more full days to get it right, NP! This before and after pic shows it all! 😎

Glad our older hull has switched (not touch) lights with solid glass covers, never a one has failed or gone dead in 10 years (knock on wood)! The shades I installed are great for our lights. The touch lights are of larger diameter. @Fritz who started this post used 4" ABS. I like the simple ON/OFF switches OTT installed on switch panels in two locations. Didn't want to change that or mess with settings. We are going to like these shades! (KISS) 😎

Most 12VDC appliances, lights etc., will run at voltages lower than 12V. Your inverter cut-off worked as it should. 10% SOC means you're lower than 12VDC! We have Victron and Epoch vs. Xantrex and Lithionics, but it's all the same. I have alarms set at 20% SOC on our Epoch and Victrons apps, where we would stop using any major AC appliances on battery (fridge, oven, electric kettle, etc.), at this point using LP instead. At 20% SOC on 900 Ah, our inverter will still be used to stream TV and run our A/V systems, charge electronics and the DeWalt batteries we use for tools and the Starlink Mini. Never been near 10% SOC! When we get much below 20%, it's time to setup our suitcase solar, or break camp and start towing, where the Victron Orion 50A DC-2-DC charger will on average add 40 Ah every hour on the road! 😎

OK, and a one more time... @rideandfly runs their trailer at 40 PSI because they tow at 5100 LB GTW. I run 46-48 PSI because our trailer always leaves with full FWT, pantry and fridge FULL, closet floor full of drinking water/beverages, solar panels (they have none), the heavy Victron MP2 and aftermarket accessories, and more. Our GTW is considerably heavier at 6400+ LBS. 😎 The 60 PSI number was ONLY cited as the spec limit on a Sendel trailer wheel. He purchased one for the spare tire, thinking of buying 4 more to replace the OEM wheels vs. restoring them. I believe the Oliver OEM wheels must be rated for 80 PSI (had a pic of the wheel label, can't find it today), also since OTT installed Load Range tires on them and wrote 80 PSI on the Oliver DOT label. IMHO, towing on 80 PSI is crazy, almost as crazy as owning the ugly Airstream. Most of them are a longer than an Oliver, and at 8 FT wide with their over-laden gaudy interiors, most of them are considerably HEAVIER (not the Bambi of course)! I would not want to tow one, but if I had to it would only be with a new 3500 series truck. Yes, tire pressure required is load dependent! 🤣 Mike runs on 55 PSI. Going HIGHER than this pressure is too high unless you plan to carry MORE than the 7,000 GTWR of the Oliver Elite II.

Please read again. This is the MAX PSI rating of the wheel. Margin being that he runs 40 PSI in the Oliver!

Didn't want a different hue, nor less light, just not direct light (but also good comments/ideas)! This solution allows for full light without direct exposure to your eyes. I've been asking our Pickleball center to shade their lighting in a similar way. We want all the light, just not staring in our eyes. You can lose the ball when your opponent hits a lob, like your playing outdoors in the sun! At home we have dimmers, but instead of dimming a 100W bulb, generally I'd rather replace it with a 75W or 40W bulb. I bought a cabinet full of GE Reveal incandescent lights before harsh LED lights is all you can find on the market (thanks climate nuts)! Adding a dimmer? Would there be a convenient location for the switch? This upgrade is the best cosmetic upgrade I've done for only $24, plus the cost of glue! 😎

Six weeks later, after a lot of local camping this spring, I got the lamp shade installation done! 😎 Drilling 5 more of these, I found the large hole saw was binding hard. So I put the drill in reverse and it cut clean through the soft PVC in seconds, nice! I installed them over the Main Cabin and Dinette lights. I didn't want lamp shades over the beds, or the kitchen, since they are low enough and want the light to spread horizontally. So, we went with 6 shades total. I used the Gorilla Clear Grip that @Hokieman suggested above. The instructions state to apply glue to both surfaces, wait 2 minutes and connect, but it would be very difficult to apply glue to the Oliver ceiling! In a PM from Mike, he suggested putting glue on the shade part, placing it up on the ceiling to get a circle of glue up there, then remove it for 2 minutes and reapply. Great idea! I tested the glue first with two random PVC parts. The next day they held strongly together and after I broke the seal, the glue residue came off easily, cleaned up nicely, way easier than removing spent VHB tape. This will be a new sealant in my Oliver toolbox and I cannot believe I got a 3-pack on Amazon for $9! I placed the parts, eyeballing center with about 1/4" free-play, rotated the shade to spread the glue, spun off to remove and replaced each in two minutes, again rotating the shade until it felt firm. I did the next 3 Cabin Lights in series, 5 minutes for the entire job given the parts were prepped. On the first one, a little glue squeezed out. It was easy to remove excess glue merely rubbing with a paper towel while it was still pliable. The PVC parts have embossed model # lettering on the glued surface. I used a razor blade to remove the lettering to level the mating surface, but you can still see a hair of light coming through since the glue is clear. White glue would eliminate this but it's not bad at all. It's hard to take pictures of the shades on Main Cabin lights! The beautiful Oliver ceiling, still shiny at 10 years old, reflects like a mirror (see pics). In three years, we've only used the Main Cabin lights when cleaning or I'm working mods inside the Oliver. Now, we should use them often. And it will also be nice to sit down to dinner and not see that bright lamp glaring in front of Chris across the table. Basically the same amount of light is present, it's just not hitting us in the eyes anymore! 😎

Do they also print a weight rating? The OEM wheels are rated for 80 PSI, but 60 is all you need with margin. The OEM wheels are weight rated, don’t remember exactly, but the 4 added to 11K+, so with D52, Alcan springs on Load E tires and OEM wheels, it’s only Oliver frame capacity keeping these from being actual (not legal) 10K GTWR! I would hope the frame is also over-engineered! If it were me (not me, since our wheels living in the dry SW are very nice after 10 years), I’d buy these on Tire Rack, choose tires, have them mounted and Hunter Road Force balanced, shipped as a unit, 2-year hazard protection and shipping included! Then nothing easier than changing a ready-mounted wheel on an Oliver! https://www.tirerack.com/wheels/brands/sendel-towable

And you can likely get $100 used on the old set locally, or maybe an Oliver owner needs one?

The new wheel looks great! It actually has a simple, cleaner look. If quality and weight rating is equal, buying 4 is likely lower cost and longer life vs. refinishing. Having 5 like wheels is a certain advantage vs. a temp spare that we must change twice. The 1/2” drop matters not on paved roads. Lower center of gravity another benefit. Thanks

I'm sure the tires Gary originally ordered were fine, but... Discount Tire irks me in so many ways! I used to be a good customer of theirs but after so many know-it-all 20-somethings treated me like I was an ignorant newbe, and how they over-charge for "mount & balance" and overcharge for "hazard protection," I go anywhere else these days. 🤑 If they told me they would not mount LT tires I ordered on their website, but only ST tires, I would reply, "Sorry, not on mine! Please cancel my web order." (while walking out the door). For best overall price, I go with Tire Rack most of the time. If you're buying a wheel-tire set, they mount and balance, no additional charge. They include a 2-year hazard warranty, no additional charge. This add $200 +/- to the cost of a set of tires! The only benefit of going to DT is if you are the person who goes back for tire rotations or worries about service when out-of-town. They do have locations everywhere. Tire rotation on the Oliver is a 10-min job per side in my driveway. The Oliver stabilizer jack lifts both tires in a minute, grab the impact, run the air hose, and repeat on the other side. I always do the simple 'H' rotation vs. 'X' and the spare is a different profile tire. So in a way Gary got forced into his ST tire purchase and they are fine as designed. I purchased 15" ST tires for my flatbed trailer 5 years ago. I found there was ONLY one brand of ST tires NOT made in China, a Goodyear model, so be careful of this! We do enough on washboard dirt, so I'm always towing on LT tires. It's night and day with corner protection on these tires. If you're the Interstate driver heading to a campground with a paved pad, then ST tires are just fine, designed for towing on paved roads. Lastly, I'm wondering why Mike @Mike and Carol and Bill @rideandfly are both choosing to move to ST tires? What criteria makes you prefer ST tires?

That's what we had when purchased Hull #113 June of 2023. Except for a trial weekend, we did not start camping 'til 2024. I needed time to restore truck and trailer. In a little over 2 years, we have 180 overnights in our Oliver! 😎 Epoch Essentials and the Victron Multiplus II was our first major upgrade, cleaned up most of the electrical wiring. We keep our Oliver outdoors always. With our recent Chill Cube upgrade we can run the A/C late afternoons into the evenings using only 2% SOC. Our inverter is always running (-1Ah standby). We do not store or winterize and are not connected to shore power 98% of the time. The rooftop solar keeps us up when parked. Our Orion 50A DC-to-DC charger adds +200 Ah every half day towing. Have a 400W suitcase but rarely need it since we don't often stay put for more than a few days. Charging your EV truck towing downhill and charging your Oliver from the EV sounds pretty cool. I sold 4 LA batteries for $300 to a local who runs solar and about 60 old LA batteries for his off-grid mountain property. This is no time for LA batteries except for starter batteries on a diesel truck! 🤣

Yes Sir, I'm with you on this one! 😂 In 2019, I was outfitting a Bigfoot Class-C with solar, inverter (it had none) and new batteries. I looked at Battleborn at the time and it would have been $3,500 for 300 Ah ($11.67/Ah). I went with 3 AGM 105 Ah batteries for $800 ($2.54/Ah, $5/Ah usable). It was a different day. Five years later (2024) I went with 600 Ah Epoch for $1,800 ($3/Ah). This was certainly worth it! Price has gone up some since. Last fall I added another for a total 900 Ah, all tucked into that Oliver battery bay (removed the tray to fit). 😎 If you need something more economical, check out the new LiTime 320 for $770 ($2.40/Ah), or get a 2-pack, 640 Ah for $1,494 (2.33/Ah)! Two won't fit in the tray, but 2 Epoch 300s do for quite a bit more $$$. Search for keywords Epoch or Litime to see several owner installations. LiTime batteries have been installed in a few Olivers. These appear to be good batteries at a very good price. https://www.litime.com/products/12v-320ah-mini-bluetooth-lithium-battery?variant=46648243912924

You're cracking me up, Scotty! 🤣 I swear when we had the OEM suspension, every time I stopped for fuel the top of the Oliver would pendulum 1-2 FT left and right, again and again. BTW, our shocks are under-engineered too. I've been looking for a stronger substitute but so far the specs are not lining up. The Bulldogs are likely somewhat better, but not heavier in rebound specs.

Only because of time! The older hulls have more miles, more failed leaf springs. They are the same spring, but on a heavier axle. When I replaced ours last year, the originals were still nicely arced. Steel from China is likely not getting any better.

You can follow the 80 PSI MAX spec on the Load Range E LT tire, the 65 PSI rating OTT prints on their DOT label (they used to print 80), or the PSI recommended by the tire manufacturer, based on actual GTW on their load/pressure tables. I/we, most of us, follow the latter. I use any PSI over 45, less than 50, to set them all equal in that range. These numbers allow for 7,800 to 8,360 LBS GTW. On long trips, we carry max 6,600 LBS, so in this range we have spec plus a 20% safety margin. If you run at 65 or 80 PSI, you will cause internal damage to your Oliver. Regardless of brand, LT 225/75R16 tires will all be very close to the numbers you see here. I understand new hulls to have 15" wheels, so get a table for your size. I must have posted this table 6 times now...

When 2x 1750 leaf springs are installed on D52 axles, the assembly is rated at 3500 LBS.

Your experiences may be different after more miles on your new hull. Ours waddled greatly and porpoised when not using the Andersen WDH. Awesome towing with the 5-leaf Alcans! 😎 Same leaf springs, given the D35 rating. Many Dexter 1750 LB leaf springs have failed with time. Keep an eye on the arc of your main leaf springs! When one starts to flatten, replace them.

Reading more carefully, “except perhaps the Pacific coast.” We won’t even cross that state line in what used to be such a beautiful state. AZ is full of EVs and there’s enough ex-Californian issues here in politics, traffic on our roads… If I still had a commute, I’d buy a Tesla S (sorry, last time I purchased a GM product was so long, long ago)! And there’s no such thing as FREE! I prefer to use the term included. Shipping is included in the asking price and a charge station at work is a benefit included in your employment. Your company pays utilities. You can argue the life of systems. BTW, at 180K our Cummins is just broke-in full efficiency! I believe @Rivernerd in his $50K quote! If that investment was to save $200/mo, if that, it would take a 21 year payback period. We’ll keep paying our electric monthly. If we were a young couple, growing up with the technology of the day, there would be other considerations. Heck, $50K is a good cash price for a used Oliver! 😎

Yeah, we have a their Cali-King in the master plus a queen at home, two singles in the Oliver! The factory is in the valley west of Phoenix. We drove down with a flatbed trailer for the king (solid frame hybrid model), but the foam models are rolled up and shipped at the quoted price, always 25% OFF! I was guessing a custom shop in CA would be $$$! We got 30x75" mattresses, pulled the stitching on one corner and I trimmed the radius with an insulation knife after cutting a cardboard template. Tacked the corner together in a couple spots and the mattress pad holds it nicely together. We got the 12" for more comfort, but it's a bit too tall if you like to sit back there (we don't). The height also makes the window blinds too close when laying down. But the good news is the extra height keeps our old Springer off the beds! 🤣 Two 12" mattresses for under $1000 shipped to you door, and they have 6-8-10-12" heights. Less height is more firm and less money. https://rvmattress.com/products/brooklyn-chill?variant=46206649139399

I bought a gallon when Bill suggested it last time, June 2024. Amazon says unavailable today. We keep a small spray bottle with other cleaners in a tub behind the toilet. If y’all were nearby, I’d fill a bottle for you. We’ve only used less a pint so far! https://a.co/d/0gKeh4Do Also per Bill’s suggestion, got some 303 protectant. Use it more on our trucks than the Oliver and it does the job! https://a.co/d/0hAiMh3M

Same here, even in the Arizona sun. 90% of our roof is facing east or west. It may have made more sense if we had a large section of roof facing south.

Beef up the leaf springs on the Oliver and ditch the Andersen ASAP 😎 (given a 2500+ series truck). Yes, as Chris noted, only with proper tension is it a WDH. And if OTT is still installing Dexter 1750 LB springs, the hulls waddle like a duck! 🤣