Suspension replacement

[xdr]

My wife and I are traveling to look at a new 2026 Oliver and reading this thread got me curious. Are the suspension parts being replaced due to wearing out or are the OEII factory suspension underrated? 
 

thanks!

[topgun2]

I'm sure that you will receive a bunch of differing views on this subject and your question.

As is covered in the many posts related to this subject, there are those members that believe that the stock suspension is underrated and there are those members that believe that at least some of the issues you might read about are due to things wearing out.  There are other opinions that Dexter (the main suspension parts supplier to Oliver) had a run of "bad" or "defective" or "weak" or .... parts from China that caused at least some of the issues.  And, of course, there is the manner in which and individual trailer was used - a bunch of rough off-road activity, hitting curbs, etc.

Happy reading!

Bill

Edited yesterday at 06:17 PM by topgun2

[Mike and Carol]

The stock suspension is fine.  We replaced everything after 9 years and a lot of miles (100K+).  There have been some cases of leaf spring failure, but when I had ours replaced they looked fine.  I’m just a believer in preventive maintenance (too many years in the Army).  There was no reason to replace my axles, except to upgrade from the 3500 lb axles and also get bigger brakes and never lube bearings.  Our camping is a combination of nice roads and not so nice roads.  Mike

[jd1923]

2 hours ago, xdr said:

My wife and I are traveling to look at a new 2026 Oliver and reading this thread got me curious. Are the suspension parts being replaced due to wearing out or are the OEII factory suspension underrated? thanks!

Lot's of good replies here already! Am I correct in thinking new Oliver TTs now come with the Dexter D52 (5200 LB) Nev-R Lube axles? Some of us with older hulls had D35 axles installed and like Mike mentioned, have upgraded. So, you should be good here.

Either way, OTT installs Dexter Chinese made leaf springs rated at 1750 LBS each. Although, we've heard rumors OTT is talking with Alcan Springs for USA made springs. Given you're buying new in 2026, you could ask them about this!

Search for keyword 'Alcan' for more information. Many of us think 1750 LB springs are under-sprung (200 Oliver owners have installed Alcan Springs rated at 2750 LBS each), and there have been several failures of these springs documented.

Our Oliver used to waddle like a duck when crossing bridge seams, gas station entrances, or speed bumps on an angle. Not anymore, and since our Oliver suspension is now handling itself, the truck tows better and I was able to remove the Andersen WDH. The Alcan Spring upgrade is a little over $1K plus labor.

[rideadeuce]

On Ollie Elite II. D35 bad. D52 good, with Alcan springs even better. 🙂

[Patriot]

On 2/27/2026 at 8:34 AM, xdr said:

My wife and I are traveling to look at a new 2026 Oliver and reading this thread got me curious. Are the suspension parts being replaced due to wearing out or are the OEII factory suspension underrated? 
 

thanks!

Welcome to the forum and at some point if you can, try take advantage of the Oliver TT factory tour in Hohenwald, Tenn. You will see why Olivers are the best fiberglass TT made. There is a ton of great information that Oliver provides in Oliver University, digital manuals and their great online DYI videos. There are lots of mods and great information here  as well as the Oliver Owners FB fourm. 

As far as the suspension being underrated, this has been a subject debated by many on this forum to the point of ad nauseam. This said, we never had any issues with our stock OEM dexter running gear. We like many others decided to have the 5200# never lube axle upgrade installed and also the Alcan 5 leaf pack, HD wet-bolts and HD shackles. There have been a few leaf spring failures. It’s my understanding not enough failures for a recall. 

All the best should you decide to purchase a new Oliver.

We could not be happier with XPLOR Hull# 634! 

Welcome! 

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Patriot

[xdr]

Thanks for all the replies. We are looking at one right now. 
BTW, it does have the Dexter D52 nevrlube axles. 
 

Edited 4 hours ago by xdr

[jd1923]

35 minutes ago, xdr said:

We are looking at one right now. 
BTW, it does have the Dexter D52 nevrlube axles.

Axles manufactured in July 2025! Looks like you have a good opportunity in a Like New Oliver! 😂

[Geronimo John]

XDR: 

This axle is rated at 5200 pounds.  It is an excellent axle that well over 200 OE2 owners have upgraded to in the past couple of years.  We specifically like it's 12" brakes and the long life maintenance free bearings.  Better stopping power, especially in mountains and way easier maintenance!  

The only down side is that with a lot of miles (And typically 6+ years of sevice), we have had some of the 1750-pound springs flaten out.  Those owners, myself included, were looking at spring replacement and the cost of upgrading to your 5200 Dexter axles to 100% renew our entire suspension system.  The huge discussion was to go with the Dexter 2400-pound rated or the American made Alcon heavier duty rated springs.  The vast majority of the cost to do so is the axle, not the springs.  By comparison the springs are cheap.  

Should that happen down the road to your trailer, the good news is that you would already have the higher rated axles.  

So I echo Patriot's thoughts, and that OTT is moving in the right direction by exclusively using the higher rated axles on all their trailers, and that the Oliver Trailers are the best on the road.  

Geronimo John

Edited 3 hours ago by Geronimo John

[xdr]

Thank you all for the information, it’s really good to know the axles are highly recommended and what the potential weak points are down the road. The pic I took above is on a brand new 2026. Hopefully we will be taking it home. 

[Geronimo John]

Welcome to our OTT Family!

As questions arise, do your homework as mentioned by Patriot in his post above.  Do down load the new search tool by Wayfinder below.  And always be encouraged to ask questions here on the forum.  

I am just starting to poke around Wayfinder's search tool and all I can say is WOW!  

GJ