Battery Box Separation

[Geronimo John]

Physic's 101.  

On 1/19/2026 at 4:54 PM, Geronimo John said:

Yep weight and G-forces will tend to find weak parts.  At least your Litho weight is way under what the OEM's were.  

We now have seen frame fractures and battery boxes being damaged by trailers likelly exceeding their design limits in one way or another.  Just a reminder that stiff Frames/Springs/Shocks and high tire pressures are things to avoid or at least mitigate where we can.

The above includes airing down tires and running with light gray and black tanks when going off road.  

GJ

 

 

[dewdev]

@topgun2

 

Did Mike say what product OTT uses to attach the bulb to the fiberglass?

Thanks

[Geronimo John]

JD:

I suspect that the root cause is the slotted two piece stiff-leg that was utilized for installation & adjustment purposes.  I am concerned by several aspects of the picture:

• All structural two-piece columns must utilize at least two GOOD bolt connections. Single Point of Failure Rule.
• There does not appear to be sufficient aluminum angle to angle overlap.  A two piece structural column must have significant overlap to allow for both compression and angular deflections.
• The slot appears to have been hacked into the angle, not milled.
• Only having a single bolt.  This allows the connection to act like an "elbow".  

Combined the above structural member could not effectively resist the battery and tray mass from moving out of the trailer.

If it were mine, I would take a magic marker and physically strike the top of the lower angle for use as a witness mark.  Then unload the batteries and determine at what height the support plate requires for proper elevation, flush alignment for the horizontal rivets, and to (hopefully) provide a slight slope to the outside for drainage.  I would also add 1/8" in height for grins.

Then of course add two bolts for permanent fitment.

GJ

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 11:45 PM by Geronimo John

[topgun2]

10 minutes ago, dewdev said:

Did Mike say what product OTT uses to attach the bulb to the fiberglass?

No - sorry but I didn't ask.

[carnivore]

I just received a call back from Oliver parts so I just ordered from them what they use. Someone on here asked what type of adhesive Oliver uses. I’ll know for sure after I receive the replacement part but looking at what I removed, it appears the adhesive was  probably already on the gasket. 

[David and Gail]

After seeing this thread I decided to check my battery support this morning. I really didn't expect to see any problem, but I received a surprise. My battery box support had two holes with no bolts. After some searching I found the bolt heads peeking out from around the wiring harness and after getting those I lifted the wiring harness and found the nuts. The idea of using a small bottle jack in this thread worked for me. I was able to place a 4 ton jack in there and raised the bracket until the holes were aligned enough to start the bolts, but I could not get them to go all the way. The angle of the bracket was off. I chose to use a small c-clamp on the bracket going from curb side to street side, that allowed the bolts to go through enough to get the nuts started. Finished it up with some blue Loctite on the threads.  I have enclosed some photos of the repair. 

Finding this on my one year old Oliver was not expected. I would encourage everyone to check this support bracket on your Oliver to prevent future problems.

 

[topgun2]

David & Gail - 

Hopefully you either have or will have time to submit your repair to the Oliver Service Department.  There is obviously a problem in this area.

Thanks!

Bill

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, David and Gail said:

After seeing this thread I decided to check my battery support this morning. I really didn't expect to see any problem, but I received a surprise. My battery box support had two holes with no bolts. After some searching I found the bolt heads peeking out from around the wiring harness and after getting those I lifted the wiring harness and found the nuts. The idea of using a small bottle jack in this thread worked for me.

David, excellent work and thank you for proving my hypothesis re the bottle jack and that some lift will be required to set the battery box straight.

I’ll be working mine soon even though the battery door on ours has been straight for 10 years.

I believe the angle re the two beams is due to the curve of the hull, all pics show the same.

I’ll bet, you did not expect this on your brand new Oliver! Yours should still be under warranty for anything that may come up. 

Edited Sunday at 06:20 AM by jd1923

[topgun2]

 

I know that the general subject of quality control has been on the minds of a number of members of the Forum - particularly recently concerning the issues with the battery box support post.  I can tell everyone that Oliver does have a fairly extensive quality control system and procedures.  Unfortunately, these systems and procedures simply didn't exist back in the day when 2015, 2016 and probably 2017 units came off the production line.  However, it does exist now.

In the Forum guidelines the Moderators have requested:

"Some have asked why our forum is linked to the Oliver website. Valid question. Since the beginning of our forum in 2008, Oliver Travel Trailers (OTT) has paid for our Oliver “sandbox”, including our web space and an administrator who knows way more than we do about maintaining the software, for which we are very grateful. OTT DOES NOT CENSOR OR INTERFERE with the moderators’ management of the forum content. Moderators are not employees of OTT. We are Ollie owners, and receive no remuneration. OTT does have a employee designated to read the forum for the purpose of improving the “Ollie Experience” for all, but that’s a few minutes a day in a busy job description. If you should ever have an issue or a warranty claim, call tech support. Your post might not be seen on the forum by an Oliver employee.

With that in mind, we moderators ask you to communicate directly with the company and afford them an opportunity to satisfy any serious needs before flaming OTT on the forum. We are not asking that anything to be swept under the rug. Just, please, let Oliver Travel Trailers have the first shot to meet and exceed your expectations."

Specifically in answer to the question, "Are they reading?" the answer is more than likely - NO.  Therefore, the only way that we (the owners of an Oliver trailer) have to inform Oliver of a quality control issue is to fill out a Service Ticket.

Bill

p.s.  for those that have not recently viewed the full set of Forum Guidelines, they can be see HERE

[David and Gail]

My post was not meant in any way to be a complaint about my Oliver or the company. I believe Olivers are the best built trailer in the market. We have had nothing but wonderful interactions with the employees also. They have always treated us just like family. The quality shows after about 110 days camping in it in 2025 (90% boondocking). The post was only to help others with the issue if they experience it.  Other owners post have helped me so much in the past.

I will fill out a service ticket on Monday so Oliver can be aware of this. We LOVE our Oliver Elite ll.

[jd1923]

3 hours ago, David and Gail said:

My post was not meant in any way to be a complaint about my Oliver or the company. I believe Olivers are the best built trailer in the market. We have had nothing but wonderful interactions with the employees also. They have always treated us just like family. The quality shows after about 110 days camping in it in 2025 (90% boondocking). The post was only to help others with the issue if they experience it.  Other owners post have helped me so much in the past.

David, I believe Bill's note was addressed to my comment (not yours) which made me think. So I removed a sentence I had written that was in poor taste. Your post will help me in my repair and others who may have this issue. You demonstrated excellent work which others can follow.

Wow, 110 days in your first year, 90% Boondocking! Those are good numbers! We have 150 overnights in two years 60% Boondocking. Our percentage will go up now that we can run our A/C off the inverter! The only reason to plug in was to run the A/C when we ran into hot weather more often than we liked!

Edited Sunday at 05:24 PM by jd1923

[Geronimo John]

On 2/20/2026 at 7:47 AM, jd1923 said:

Some have reported missing nuts, or nuts falling off the bolts. (How does a Nylok nut fall off a bolt? It doesn't. It was likely laid there never threaded on. Go figure.)

For David and Gail's case, you nailed that one!  

How?  My guess is it was a long week and on Friday late the installer laid the bolts on the floor with a "I'll get it Monday".

GJ

[Wayfinder]

Well crud... and I got lucky. I just checked my camper for the battery box separation and support issue.  The box seems fine, and the single bolt that I do see, upon a quick inspection at night, revealed there is no nut on the bolt.  So I will do a detailed inspection in the daytime and find a nut for that bolt.  

Thanks for posting this information!  Great job guys!!!

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, Wayfinder said:

The box seems fine…

Chris, I truly commend you for your recent upgrades and attention to detail…

Promise me one thing, when you retire, don’t get lazy! 🤣

[Wayfinder]

Looks like I have been very lucky with this battery box support issue.  One, I only have a single bolt with no nut in sight.  No real evidence it ever hat a nut, but I'm sure it did.  The bolt has been bottomed out on the hand-cut slock for what appears to be forever.  From all appearance, from outside and in, the box is still fairly in the spot it was from day one.  I see no signs of separation.  That is likely due to the fact that the bolt bottomed out on the slot and really could not come out of the hole. 

I will put double nuts, with Loctite, on the support beam this weekend.  If anyone sees any issues I do not, let me know.

I downsized the pics, but should be large enough to zoom in as needed.  Also, I'm not sure why my pics have been uploading with such crappy quality. It's not what they look like on my computer.  Might try another program to edit.

PS. Replacing all pictures.

\

Edited 15 hours ago by Wayfinder
Replaced all crappy pics

[jd1923]

1 hour ago, Wayfinder said:

I will put double nuts, with Loctite, on the support beam this weekend.  If anyone sees any issues I do not, let me know.

I suggest Nylok nuts and washers, no loctite needed. First do the lift as @David and Gail has showed above. Drill a second hole, top of slot, hand tight both bolts.

Also, the angle of your two support beams seems greater than in other pics. The base looks off angle (notice angle of base not square with floor in your first picture). Check below where it should be welded to the frame.

Edited 14 hours ago by jd1923

[Wayfinder]

8 hours ago, jd1923 said:

I suggest Nylok nuts and washers, no loctite needed. First do the lift as @David and Gail has showed above. Drill a second hole, top of slot, hand tight both bolts.

Also, the angle of your two support beams seems greater than in other pics. The base looks off angle (notice angle of base not square with floor in your first picture). Check below where it should be welded to the frame.

I was thinking the same thing as you JD.  However, I am not confident, no matter what I do, even multiple bolts, that my home-brew fix will hold up to the weight of four AGMs above, with road bumps.  I'm no metal guy but I'm thinking of an adjustable solution.  Something like this device, (only an example and quick search).  https://www.rockler.com/heavy-duty-lifting-leveler?country=US&promo=shopping&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PL&sid=V91190&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17424410624&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtfXMBhDzARIsAJ0jp3C2O8eZqs9M8M7CpmGG4oAKjWuDowPNrbrKNJUMh9-A2esKafqTJ6IaAlxpEALw_wcB

I will notify Oliver Service so they know of the issue and see what they suggest as well.  It's best they have proper metrics for future improvements.

Cheers,

[topgun2]

I apologize for the thread drift - but - those battery slide tray stops are interesting.  Cheap, easy to remove/replace and appear to be effective.

Bill

Edited 1 hour ago by topgun2