Andersen WD Hitch Periodic Maintenance?

[Galileo]

21 minutes ago, mossemi said:

You should have headed west and rode around Starved Rock SP.  It still has a bunch of twisty 2 laner's.

Mossey

We’ve stayed at Rock Cut SP. Camp Reinberg too - that’s a nice one. 

That area is still too congested with too many jerk(ahem) drivers to be somewhat safe for a recreational motorcyclist IMHO.

I was thinking of getting another bike in rural NE Texas - until I heard the brother of a coworker riding his Harley got wrecked by a (wait for it) feral hog. 

[Mike and Carol]

8 minutes ago, Galileo said:

Will we do this forever? Probably not. We may end up in a “tiny home” (without wheels though) but probably keep up the international travel. Can’t beat Italy and France for food and wine. The UK & Ireland for beer. Scotland - well, you know. (Actually, the food is really better than most people are led to believe!)

Since this thread has taken the off ramp from the original topic….

We lived in France and became well acquainted with both the food and wine, same with Italy in our travels - each country a bit different but great food, both.  We also lived in Belgium, good food there, especially in the north.  More beer per capita in Belgium than anywhere else.  I agree there is a false impression that food in the UK is not as good.  Our experience with food in England and Scotland was very favorable, from scones and coffee in the morning to a simple pub meal late afternoon.  We also miss the food and beer in Germany.  We had a small Gasthaus in our town and a Stammtisch group we enjoyed meals with on Friday evenings.  Memories!  MIke

 

[Galileo]

29 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

Since this thread has taken the off ramp from the original topic….

Yeah, I’d say you called that one right. 

I just mentioned that I like to keeping things OEM - and it spiraled from there. 😋

Hopefully, people looking for info on Andersen Hitch will have sensed the (major) drift and stopped reading long ago. 

It’s kinda the nature of conversation though, right.

You’re right of course - I never cared for Belgian beer until I tried DeKoninck at the brewery.

 

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Galileo said:

escaped to rural Texas to get away from Chicago winters,

Very similar backgrounds, the two of us were west-siders, 6 years in N VA on the way to 9 years in Texas. Our last cold winter was ‘99 unless you consider VA cold. I worked for that late great 20th century manufacturer of communications equipment, also headquartered in Chicagoland!

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Galileo said:

I was thinking of getting another bike in rural NE Texas - until I heard the brother of a coworker riding his Harley got wrecked by a (wait for it) feral hog. 

Hit a deer with my ‘84 Goldwing Standard, coming home one night in Georgetown TX. Saw her coming and kept it up on two wheels as she glanced off the side of my bike. Heck, the raccoons in suburban Chicagoland are larger than the deer in Texas! 🤣

[Geronimo John]

I've lived, worked or played in 51 countries.  Wish I could do it all over again!

GJ

[mossemi]

On 2/28/2025 at 2:42 PM, Galileo said:

until I heard the brother of a coworker riding his Harley got wrecked by a (wait for it) feral hog. 

I hope he is OK!

Mossey

[Galileo]

1 hour ago, mossemi said:

I hope he is OK!

Mossey

He was pretty messed up for a while, but he recovered. 
Sadly, he passed away from an unrelated illness a year or two later. 

There may be a lesson there someplace. 

[Geronimo John]

On 2/27/2025 at 10:33 AM, jd1923 said:

What I’ve done to our Oliver in less than 2 years would be near $20K in labor!

I would wager it is well over $20K with materials, labor and at least $1 per hour for the PITA factor that we have endured.  But that said, the learning curve was so satisfying ... when the job is done of course.  

[jd1923]

11 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

I would wager it is well over $20K with materials, labor and at least $1 per hour for the PITA factor that we have endured.  But that said, the learning curve was so satisfying ... when the job is done of course.  

Thanks again, GJ. Love the PITA factor! 🤣

I went into Oliver ownership thinking I could pay about half the cost of a new hull with the used one I found locally, and then add $10K in component upgrades (plus my labor). I then purchased a truck at 20% of the cost of a new 2500 diesel truck (both were great finds!) and again invest another $10K in parts for TV restoration and upgrades. The plan has worked well except that I have added $12K in parts to the 2016 Oliver and another $12K to our 2001 Dodge Ram, so I'm $4K over budget and several hundred hours into maintenance and restoration labor. But as you can tell, I certainly enjoy this work!

I would like to upgrade the A/C spending $1,650 plus labor and our Oliver does not need much more except for perhaps a Starlink Mini at some point. The Ram is in great shape today except I may spend on a stage II transmission rebuild someday which would certainly be WAY over budget.

I like the classic look of our 2016 Oliver pulled by a matching 2001 TV. It suites our style! These pictures were taken about a month after our purchase in July of 2023, without new wheels and tires and all the Oliver mods! 😂

Oh, and I do use the Anderson regularly. Not for sway but for leveling. The TT and TV become one with the Anderson, otherwise it would be bouncy at the hitch (not enough tongue weight).

Edited March 3 by jd1923

[Galileo]

12 hours ago, jd1923 said:

I went into Oliver ownership thinking I could pay about half the cost of a new hull with the used one I found locally, and then add $10K in component upgrades (plus my labor).

Curious how that worked out…..

We opted for the Oliver after deciding upon a fiberglass trailer, discovering that the Casita was too small, and not wanting to venture to the PNW or BC to look at the other FRP trailers. 

We had looked at cheap “Coleman” trailers (like $12,000 at the time) but we’d had bad experiences with typical “built-up” motor homes that that shake themselves apart and leak after 3 weeks. (The last one we literally had to give away.)  I am and remain impressed by the construction of the Oliver over the stick-built, aluminum covered trailers.

Anyway - we heard that Oliver resale values were “high” or “great”. Salesman even said you could sell it used for most of what you paid for it.

That said - just curious what people have seen used Olivers going for and/or how much people bought (or sold) their used ones for.

BTW - saw my first “Bowlus” trailer today. I looked them up and they’re gosh-awful expensive. I don’t care for the looks, and that pointy back and and flimsy bumper look like they’re inviting a rear-end collision by one of the many tailgating drivers out there…..

 

[gbergh]

On 2/28/2025 at 9:34 AM, Galileo said:

Please don’t misunderstand me. I totally agree that having dealers - or even independent shops - do ALL of the maintenance would be too expensive. I pick and choose my battles.
 

When Oliver Service said they could replace the black tank dump valve with an electric one for $900 - I said no thanks, bought one off Amazon for $200 and put it in myself. When Oliver sent out the new tire valve stem cores for the tires a year or so ago and suggested taking the trailer to the tire shop, I snorted and did it myself. (Almost) Any idiot can replace a valve stem core! ( the gift card they sent for $25 or $50 or whatever it was wouldn’t have covered having a tire shop do that anyway.)

Likewise - for expediency sake, I addressed my own issues with the Truma water heater. I had neither the time nor desire to seek out a Truma dealer, wait for an appointment, and haggle with the shop and Truma over who pays for the service. Frankly, it was faster and easier to do it myself.

I LIKE fixing things! It’s why my first job was as a mechanic and I worked on my own cars and houses for decades. 

Money is certainly a factor. These days, I’m in a little better situation financially than I was when I was younger, so that has changed my decision making process when it comes to maintenance and upgrades. As I get older, my TIME has become more valuable. 

There’s also another factor in play. My wife and I have sold all of our property and are on the road - domestically or overseas - pretty much 100% of the time. We’re “homeless”. Sure, we have an “official” place of residence, but it’s a studio apartment (kinda) above a friend’s garage that we crash in a couple of times a year between road trips and European vacations. That means that I don’t have the facilities to do much vehicle work. Sure, I could do an oil change in a friend’s driveway, but there’s no place for me to do much involved or extensive work. We also don’t have multiple vehicles these days. So I can’t put one up on jack stands and drive the other one to the auto parts store for brake pads. 

As I said earlier, oil and filters have gone up so much that by the time I buy six or eights quarts of the increasingly special oil my truck uses, I’m not paying that much more to have the dealer do it. That, and I don’t have to drag out the floor jack and stands to rotate the tires. I’m in and out in an hour or so with no dirty clothes, oil to recycle, or bruised knuckles and sore back.

So sure - cost is always a factor, but so are time, effort, and convenience. I do try to weigh all the factors and select the one that best fits the specific situation. 

I’ve become a little more cautious over the years, which is why the current and previous trucks were purchased new. No, a new vehicle with a warranty is no assurance of freedoms from breakdowns, but it not only takes the sting out of a breakdown, it also takes advantage of the odds that a newer vehicle has fewer aging parts to fail. (Though “infant mortality” needs to be considered.) 

I forget exactly where it was - someplace between the Grand Canyon and Lubbock Texas - where we were driving (towing) on mountainous, winding, narrow roads with no shoulders and no “civilization” for miles. That would be a REALLY bad place to have a mechanical issue. Motor club be damned! Right about then I started thinking about Endurance or Ox extended warranties vs the cost of a new vehicle with a new warranty. At one point I had to eat a $500 out of warranty repair for something that failed -just- a few miles too late. I wouldn’t have had the knowledge or specialized equipment to do that repair. 

I appreciate your sentiment.  I simply cannot repair or have the mental acuity I had when I was 80 year of age.  I purchase those repairs and maintenance until they will no longer fit my budget.  Then I must no longer enjoy the Oliver and the joy it brings to my quality of life.  I had to make the same decision when I no longer could sail as a result of manual dexterity.  Thank God I have the where-with-all to cover maintenance and other costs associated with my Oliver..

[Galileo]

On 3/7/2025 at 5:28 PM, gbergh said:

I appreciate your sentiment.  I simply cannot repair or have the mental acuity I had when I was 80 year of age.  I purchase those repairs and maintenance until they will no longer fit my budget.  Then I must no longer enjoy the Oliver and the joy it brings to my quality of life.  I had to make the same decision when I no longer could sail as a result of manual dexterity.  Thank God I have the where-with-all to cover maintenance and other costs associated with my Oliver..

I admit that my go/no-go decision making as to whether I DIY it or take it to the dealer are a bit arbitrary. I think most it’s the “Are you f-ing kidding me!?” When they quote me the price. 
 

$900 to replace the blank tank dump valve triggered my DIY mode (my cost - ~$250)

Pretty sure OTT quoted me about $4k to replace the noisy Penguin with the somewhat less noisy Truma A/C. Since you can buy a new unit from Amazon for under $1,500 delivered, that was a no-go.

Last major automotive job I took on was inner tie rod ends in my old 2000 Ranger (with 300,000 miles) - they wanted $900. I could buy a whole rebuilt power rack & Pinion for $150. All I used the shop for was an alignment when I was done.

Sometimes is strictly the $$$ amount. Sometimes it’s the temerity of the quote.