Dan’s mods

[DanielBoondock]

Speaking of agree/disagree, I initially disagreed with Alcan but came over 100% eventually. On tire pressures it was opposite, I started as receptive but have concluded the opposite. Here's why with I think a reasonably accurate technical assessment of road vibration absorption in the suspension

You can think of the vibration in frequency bands, low/mid/high. In the clip above you can see mainly low. Little hard but there's a few places with a gentle change in the road and there's a corresponding response in the leaf springs of something under a 1/2hertz say. It bounces basically. This is all in the 1-20 Hz range according to research I've read. The leaf springs job is to absorb this, and from watching I can see they're doing the job. 

Up from there it's mostly short impulse bumps like a pothole. I'll try to upload a video of that. This comes from transit time over a pothole, say 1' wide hole (big 'un) @ 50 mph. The two edges of the hole are approximately at an 80 Hz low band frequency from the tire transit time over the hole. This is probably the highest frequency you'll see on the road. So we're talking 0-100 Hz (rounding up) frequency band that the suspension needs to manage. Note this 1' pothole is an extreme example to find the boundary, going 50mph over one would not be fun.

Consulting research on tire under inflation performance and getting an AI summary of the research. The point of this is that 

Quote

A trailer tire inflated to 40 psi—typically a standard Special Trailer (ST) tire found on light-to-medium utility trailers, teardrop campers, or boat trailers—occupies a middle ground, primarily absorbing frequencies in the 30 Hz to 120 Hz range.

A tire inflated to 60 psi (typically a heavy-duty Light Truck [LT] tire, commercial van tire, or trailer tire) becomes highly rigid, shifting its primary absorption and resonance profile up into the 50 Hz to 250 Hz range.

So the point is but going with lower inflation's you're simply shifting the frequency response around, at the cost of higher wear, lower mileage and greater tire stress. A higher inflation damps 50+ Hz (e.g. potholes), lower inflation's shifts it 50- which is exactly what the leaf springs and Ez-Flex are for.  From watching on my trip I saw the Ez-Flex only engage on serious potholes, so that system is designed for the higher band. But what about the highest frequencies? Clearly the suspension isn't going to help with 50Hz up, what does it? A higher inflation tire. In summary ...

Consulting sources then here's our lineup

• 0-10 Hz Leaf springs
• 10-50 Hz Dexter Ez-Flex (per their spec)
• 30-100 Hz 40 PSI trailer tire (various internet sources and AI summary)
• 50-250 Hz 65 PSI trailer tire (note a healthy high frequency band not covered elsewhere)

So that's all I'll say on it. My position is that going with a lower inflation level of say 40 Hz is simply giving your Ez-Flex a break. I run at the factory 60-65 psi you can see above, and that inflation level shifts the frequency absorption to a region not covered by the rest of the suspension. In addition to the wear/mileage/stress, a lower pressure is counterproductive and leaving the higher frequencies free to transmit to the trailer, exactly what you don't want. I went down this trail to find out what I was seeing, which was at my 65 psi I saw little to no vibration in the trailer and the suspension system handling it all. Again I'll try to provide some clips to illustrate this. 

No need to go over what's been said before as I've studied those threads, but I'd love to hear a counterargument

Edited September 7 by DanielBoondock
Clarify and cleanup

[2008RN]

I can neither agree or disagree with your theory or info.  There are a lot of engineering factors that go into making the best ride possible and I am not an Engineer let alone a mechanical engineer with Dynamics and materials theory.

If the theory is correct, then their are  more questions :

1.  According the the tire manufacture info I believe that the pressures should be  45 PSI due to the weight of the trailer.  I try to run between 45-50.  I use to run around 55psi more of a safety factor in my mind since I do't use TPS system. I would think the stiffer tire would create less heat, but could also cause uneven wear.  I just changed the tire this year, due to age and not wear, 25K miles. I old set didn't show any abnormal wear and still looked almost like new My tires also only see the sun 60-80 days of sun shine a year.  When in storage my tires are on concrete, I am planing on putting the Oli on Jack stands and getting most of the pressure off of the tire. I was reading that with large vehicles sitting in one spot for long periods it is hard on the tire, causing flat spots in the belts.

2. The Ez-flex probably needs to move as it was designed to move freely.  I don't know what is the latest from Alcan for the torque specs for the wet bolts. But the way the Dexter  bolts are made to allow Fairly free movement of the Ez-flex coupling.  

3. The leafs.  We know that the Dexter 4 leaf was under sprung in their design. The next question  would be is Alcan 5-leaf the proper leaf spring, or would it be the Alcan 4-leaf or the Dexter 2200 lbs. I personally have the Alcan 5-leaf and like the ride.  there is still movement but it minimal. 

 

Last Item: I know this is your mod thread, but should this be posted in the mammoth thread on leaf spring that might get more attention?   This could end up causing several more pages of posts.

Edited September 8 by 2008RN
correcting typos, did use my glasses

[jd1923]

4 hours ago, 2008RN said:

When in storage my tires are on concrete, I am planing on putting the Oli on Jack stands and getting most of the pressure off of the tire. I was reading that with large vehicles sitting in one spot for long periods in hard on the tire, causing flat spots in the belts.

IMHO, when in storage pumping tire pressure up to the max limit will help to eliminate flat spots but your PSI numbers are correct for towing.

On classic cars I had, I’d put them up on jack stands. For the Oliver, just use your leveler jacks to take most the weight off the tires.

If you visit your storage monthly, get your tires off the ground with the leveler jacks and give the tires 1/4 turn.

[DanielBoondock]

I need to work on the road, the dinette is too small and is taken over by a piano anyhow 

On 9/7/2026 at 9:52 AM, 2008RN said:

1.  According the the tire manufacture info I believe that the pressures should be  45 PSI due to the weight of the trailer.  I try to run between 45-50. 

Sorry for the late reply missed this …

The OEM recommendations (Oliver in this case) always override the tire manufacturer, Oliver’s spec is 65. We can argue if that’s a good spec on first principles but I don’t think we can or should use a generic recommendation from Goodyear

Quote

2. The Ez-flex probably needs to move as it was designed to move freely.  I don't know what is the latest from Alcan for the torque specs for the wet bolts. But the way the Dexter  bolts are made to allow Fairly free movement of the Ez-flex coupling.

Yes absolutely, but it’s different systems working together. The suspension will do its job and ideally filter a different band than what the tire filters - that’s my point. If they overlap then you’ve got suckouts in your coverage, whats the point of that?   

Quote

3. The leafs.  We know that the Dexter 4 leaf was under sprung in their design. The next question  would be is Alcan 5-leaf the proper leaf spring, or would it be the Alcan 4-leaf or the Dexter 2200 lbs. I personally have the Alcan 5-leaf and like the ride.  there is still movement but it minimal. 

Excellent! I was wondering if somebody would catch this. Well since we don’t have data its all handwaving, but my expectation is that a properly sprung Alcan would have a higher frequency extension, which would make the case for higher PSI. Basically Statics 101 tells you that undersprung == lower natural frequency

Quote

Last Item: I know this is your mod thread, but should this be posted in the mammoth thread on leaf spring that might get more attention?   This could end up causing several more pages of posts.

Yeah its pretty clogged up. This is kind of my blog and I treat it as such so 🤷‍♂️

[DanielBoondock]

I have to work on the road and the dinette is taken over by a piano keyboard. Most of my work on the iPad but I need to use a laptop which is on the bed, but cable and peripheral management is a pain, but I found a small mod, hide the electronics under the bed with a Froli system

street side bed

 

Turns out typical power supplies and smaller electronics like SSD’s and a Thunderbolt hub you see here fit perfectly under the Froli springs. Add in the anti-dew matting and there’s plenty of airflow, plus it keeps your bed warm 😅

The Froli’s lift the bed up a good amount, it was so low before as to be somewhat claustrophobic. With the matting it doesn’t add much except oddly makes it a bit firmer, which is good with these overly squishy mattresses IMO. Anyhow in the lower right is a small power strip, so all that emerges is a plug to the nearby socket. 

Two cables (power and thunderbolt) tuck next to the mattress, add in a lap table and it can instantly be setup to work. I was hiding this stuff in the battery cubby but its was messy with cables snaking out. 

 

 

 

[2008RN]

9 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Statics 101 tells you that undersprung == lower natural frequency

Sorry, I didn't remember this in  Statics 101. But Then I am not an Engineer.  I moved to CS after my first year.  I figured working at Hewlett Packard I was better off with a CS.  Which worked with my time at HP and IBM.  I still love looking at bridges and building structures.. 

 

9 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Yeah its pretty clogged up. This is kind of my blog and I treat it as such so

You are correct that this is YOUR thread and as such I respect that. Also the other thread is extremely long. I will remember this in any further post.

Edited yesterday at 05:08 AM by 2008RN

[DanielBoondock]

7 hours ago, 2008RN said:

Sorry, I didn't remember this in  Statics 101.

Good, because I never took Statics! 😅 My story kind of similar to yours from a different direction - Physics PhD then also went to HP back in the good old days (when Bill and Dave were still around) doing CS/EE. Jack of all trades master of none basically. 

Anyhow the only fundamental basis I could see for airing down was based on an old chart that Goodyear doesn’t appear publish anymore, probably because of this reason that it’s the OEM’s business to set a spec. But I think a sound approach is to approach it as tuned frequency bands. Engineering hand waving - but that’s what we do half the time anyways, but my intuition tells me you’re losing more than you gain by airing down. 

But I’m convinced that the Wisdom of the Crowd prevailed with Alcan. 

[2008RN]

3 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

when Bill and Dave were still around

Ya, I remember those days.  Never meet Bill, but I met and talked with Dave a couple of times when he came out to Colorado. Really down to earth person.  Dave would fly into the local little airport. Some low level person would drive out and pick him up.  Dave would then take one of the Fleet Ford Taurus to drive around. Many places in HP treated people like family with a common goal. Many employees would sacrifice their time with their family to help out HP in a crunch. I remember in the 80s when financial times where tough and no one was laid off, We all worked one less day every 2 weeks. Compared to Carly Fiorino that showed up with a bullet proof Limo and body guard entourage,  with all meeting being locked down.

[jd1923]

On 9/7/2026 at 9:52 AM, 2008RN said:

According the the tire manufacture info I believe that the pressures should be  45 PSI due to the weight of the trailer.  I try to run between 45-50.

On 9/7/2026 at 2:38 PM, jd1923 said:

your PSI numbers are correct for towing.

6 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Anyhow the only fundamental basis I could see for airing down was based on an old chart that Goodyear doesn’t appear publish anymore, probably because of this reason that it’s the OEM’s business to set a spec. But I think a sound approach is to approach it as tuned frequency bands. Engineering hand waving - but that’s what we do half the time anyways, but my intuition tells me you’re losing more than you gain by airing down. 

Dan, perhaps you're the one and only one unconvinced on our Forum today! The subject has been brought up at least annually for the last 10 years! Using Chris' @Wayfinder's search tool, I searched for TIRE PRESSURE, lot's of hits. Give this a try and read some of the many articles:

https://www.google.com/search?q=TIRE+PRESSURE&as_sitesearch=olivertraveltrailers.com%2Fforums

All tire manufactures have load/pressure tables. I use this table for the tires installed on our hull.

OTT stated the 80 PSI recommendation on the DOT label on early hulls, mine included. Later it was 65 PSI and we can read in these threads, some owners were told 55 PSI by OTT Staff when they took delivery.

Ask an older retiree from what was Firestone corporation, "Who was right about inflation pressure for the Ford Explorer?" In this case the auto manufacture Ford recommended LOWER pressure than the tire manufacture's printed standard. They basically aired a 1/2-ton truck to 26 PSI which "killed 238 people and injured around 500 others in the United States alone; more died in other countries."

I figure tire manufactures know tires and OTT knows fiberglass! Except for Steve, and maybe soon enough you too Dan, most Olivers are closer to 6K vs. 7K LBS. Ours was weighed once at 6,400, but let's apply the full 7K to the load/pressure table. Keep in mind, 7K on the trailer axles plus tongue weight, means at least a 7,600 LB trailer (very hard to carry that much)! 7,000 / 4 = 1,750. This table recommends 40 PSI. 65 PSI will carry 10,480 on 4 tires, 80 PSI 12,340 LBS.

As I wrote above, I agree with Bob's numbers. For 3 years, 20K miles, I've set pressure somewhere in the 45-52 range. 45 PSI for summer travels, and a little higher during winters. Some go with 55 PSI.

OTT recommending 80 PSI for years caused a lot of interior damage; screws on drawer slides coming lose, plumbing fittings cracking, electrical connections failing, LEAF SPRINGS FAILING, etc. OTT recommending 65 PSI; now you have 10K in tire/wheel carrying capacity, on 10K axles, on 10K in Alcan springs, besides your piano, you can add enough equipment for a 4-piece band, if you can find the room! 🤣

Edited yesterday at 07:20 PM by jd1923

[DanielBoondock]

17 minutes ago, jd1923 said:

Dan, perhaps you're the one and only one unconvinced on our Forum today!

I know 😅 Doesn’t bother me and I like a good technical food fight 💪

Actually first heard of it when at the factory after picking it up. Really nice couple, Rod and Sandy dropped theirs off for repair, he mentioned reading this on the forum and was thinking about going even lower to the 20’s or something. Filed it away and read up on it here ..

Quote

 

All tire manufactures have load/pressure tables. I use this table for the tires installed on our hull.

OTT stated the 80 PSI recommendation on the DOT label on early hulls, mine included. Later it was 65 PSI and we can read in these threads, some owners were told 55 PSI by OTT Staff when they took delivery.

 

Yes have seen this chart, also aware of the early 80 setting by Oliver. Last first, just because Oliver had a high - perhaps too high - setting originally does not mean that their present setting is a poor choice. And the tire OEM charts are a starting point. Been doing this for decades, parts suppliers have their data sheets but final spec is always set by the final OEM. Customers of course are free to do what they wish. Point being none of this is convincing evidence.

Let’s take it from a different angle, what are we trying to optimize?

• Milage (maximize)
• Tire stress (minimize)
• Suspension performance (optimize)

A range of pressures is possible so the question is what is optimal? We don’t know Oliver’s reasoning on 65, so let’s examine what we have here. 

Putting the hearsay aside, as I mentioned AFAIK the forums argument is the chart above or variations. These are not tires that were designed for Oliver’s - they are generic trailer tires. The Big Three routinely gets Goodyear/etc to make a custom tire - mine has them. I’ve got 36” Goodyear Territories like you’d find on any offroader, but these have a twist to make them more efficient for EV’s. GM pressure  spec is 61 PSI, clearly that overrides anything Goodyear might have to say. The 61 is set for handling, offroad performance and EV efficiency. But here its just an off the shelf tire. So this isn’t convincing, we have a generic tire OEM chart and a specific recommendation from Oliver, it’s not enough to conclude that we need to go much lower. 

Now I have a technical argument on first principles. It’s based on rough assumptions as to frequency band filtering (except on the Ez-Flex), but the basis is sound. Here’s the thing, one thing I’ve learned in 40 years is we’re all more often wrong than right and you rarely know. So what you do is a heuristic, counting up the +/- from various arguments. All I see from the former is a starting point - a generic chart, and a magic leap to a conclusion. With the argument I laid out here there’s many plusses. Better milage, better wear and handling performance, aligns with the OEM’s recommendation, and a technical discussion as to why this may be the best setting

🤷‍♂️ … its the Emperor has no Clothes here IMO, there are more negatives than positives to the ‘tire chart’ proposal. 

PSA Absolutely not trying to score points, prove anybody wrong, or otherwise make a stink, just a good old fashioned ‘let’s try and find the best answer’. Thanks for indulging me 😅

[DanielBoondock]

3 hours ago, 2008RN said:

Ya, I remember those days.  Never meet Bill, but I met and talked with Dave a couple of times when he came out to Colorado. Really down to earth person.  Dave would fly into the local little airport. Some low level person would drive out and pick him up.  Dave would then take one of the Fleet Ford Taurus to drive around. Many places in HP treated people like family with a common goal. Many employees would sacrifice their time with their family to help out HP in a crunch. I remember in the 80s when financial times where tough and no one was laid off, We all worked one less day every 2 weeks. Compared to Carly Fiorino that showed up with a bullet proof Limo and body guard entourage,  with all meeting being locked down.

Yeah I started just after they retired I think, 90-91. Then we split off, I was part of the ‘original’ HP (Test and Measurement) so missed the fun thereafter. Carley was what killed it 

[jd1923]

6 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Let’s take it from a different angle, what are we trying to optimize?

• Mileage (maximize)
• Tire stress (minimize)
• Suspension performance (optimize)

Item #1 Mileage is generally irrelevant. I put 19K on our trailer in 3+ years. I'll reach years of use before mileage/tread wear and so will most of us towing our Olivers.

MPG is likely only a % better at higher PSI. Over inflation will NOT minimize Stress nor optimize suspension performance. The correct pressure for the load will. Overfilled tires create a small contact patch on the road, will cause uneven tire wear, and can be dangerous is slippery road conditions.

Bob's example below is likely average usage. Some may tow 10K miles a year, but very few of us. We've been towing 6K miles/year.

On 9/7/2026 at 9:52 AM, 2008RN said:

I just changed the tires this year, due to age and not wear, 25K miles. I old set didn't show any abnormal wear and still looked almost like new

Edited 21 hours ago by jd1923

[taylor.coyote]

I replaced my the orginal OEM Michelin's after 8 years use. My tire guy said the rubber was still supple with a lot of tread above the wear bars.  In short the tires were reported to be safe for travel.  I replaced them as 'aged out" for a 'confortable state of mind" because we spend so much time on gravel off the grid.  I would truly be impressed with travelers that replace 10ply tires on an Ollie due to mileage wear vs aging out. 

It's my option,  running "hard" tires for increased wear is an endeavor with no practical advantage. Running 10 ply tires on an Ollie at more than 50lbs is unnecessary.  

[2008RN]

10 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Yeah I started just after they retired I think, 90-91. Then we split off, I was part of the ‘original’ HP (Test and Measurement) so missed the fun thereafter. Carley was what killed it 

I started in 1978,  It was referred to as Bill and Daves Daycare center by some vendors.  I remember Beer Bust  about 10-15 time a year depending on how the company and division was doing.   I thought one of the best benefits besides health care was Hermit Park, a big chunk of land with cabins and Boondocking sites for employees close to Estes, Colorado.  We also had the family picnics there.  Well enough reminiscing.   I worked with both the Test and Measurement in Loveland, and the Desktop Computer Division in Fort Collins.

Edited 16 hours ago by 2008RN

[DanielBoondock]

15 hours ago, jd1923 said:

Item #1 Mileage is generally irrelevant. I put 19K on our trailer in 3+ years. I'll reach years of use before mileage/tread wear and so will most of us towing our Olivers.

Not if you’re an EV driver! 😅 It doesn’t matter anymore but it’s part of the culture, 0-60 kind of thing. I’m proud of the 1.3 mi/kWh the Ollie gets (only a 35% range loss EV or ICE). And I’d disagree its irrelevant - with diesel at $6/gallon ($8 here in California) whether your aware of it or not its hitting your bottom line

Quote

Over inflation will NOT minimize Stress nor optimize suspension performance. The correct pressure for the load will. Overfilled tires create a small contact patch on the road, will cause uneven tire wear, and can be dangerous is slippery road conditions.

Ah you’re trying to play a trick on us! “Over inflation”, how about “Under inflation”? 😅 

Just joshing, yes optimal inflation is what we want which is the discussion.

Let me try a different angle; do you run your RAM tires under by 20 PSI or whatever? Why or why not?

13 hours ago, taylor.coyote said:

I replaced my the orginal OEM Michelin's after 8 years use. My tire guy said the rubber was still supple with a lot of tread above the wear bars.  In short the tires were reported to be safe for travel.  I replaced them as 'aged out" for a 'confortable state of mind" because we spend so much time on gravel off the grid.  I would truly be impressed with travelers that replace 10ply tires on an Ollie due to mileage wear vs aging out. 

It's my option,  running "hard" tires for increased wear is an endeavor with no practical advantage. Running 10 ply tires on an Ollie at more than 50lbs is unnecessary.  

That’s good. 

5 hours ago, 2008RN said:

I started in 1978,  It was referred to as Bill and Daves Daycare center by some vendors.  I remember Beer Bust  about 10-15 time a year depending on how the company and division was doing.   I thought one of the best benefits besides health care was Hermit Park, a big chunk of land with cabins and Boondocking sites for employees close to Estes, Colorado.  We also had the family picnics there.  Well enough reminiscing.   I worked with both the Test and Measurement in Loveland, and the Desktop Computer Division in Fort Collins.

I heard about those sites, I think there might be one here in California but I wasn’t RVing then. The Beer Busts were awesome, they continued into the company splits (Agilent/Keysight). Anyhow that old time culture is very slowly dying out unfortunately. We were proud to have the Bill and Dave culture for many decades but now it’ all about reporting up every day, micromanaging and over working. I was going to stay for a few more years but it’s not fun anymore, time to leave. 

[DanielBoondock]

Side quest; various cleaners I’ve found useful, probably already well known around here. I like to keep the trailer spotless and good as new, while being lazy so here’s some helpers

Microwave and Cooktop

Weiman Glass Cooktop and Microwave Wipe

One wipe for induction cooktops and microwaves, works really well getting off microwave and stove splatter (hint get a collapsable microwave plate cover too)

Tovolo Collapsible Microwave Splatter Cover

General inside and out sponge

Boat Erasers

Just a sponge but made out of melamine, which acts like a super fine polish/sandpaper. Works really well to get stubborn stuff. We’ve got these nice woven placemats that were impossible to clean before using these. Also fantastic for the shower grout. In theory if used too vigorously can dull the gel coat, but Glidecoat sells them too so that might be over blown. Anyhow keep them for the tough stains

Low water Dish disinfecting

Steramine Sanitizer Tablets

Restaurant grade food safe dish/silverware/surface disinfectant. Best part? Tablet form. Just bring along a bottle and you’ll have enough for years to come, pop a tablet into a gallon of water and you’re set, use with a spray bottle, I like these small ones (regular ones are way too big for a trailer)

MR.SIGA 16 oz Empty Plastic Spray Bottles for Cleaning

Dishes are now a breeze. I use an OXO Good Grips Soap Dispensing Dish Sponge which is super easy with the built in soap dispenser. But these things can harbor germs, so we just scrub off, rinse, spray with disinfectant and let sit a minute than quick rinse or wipe off. Dishes have never been faster or easer. 

Floors and corners

DEWALT 20V Handheld Vacuum Cordless

I’ve found the floors need cleaning at least once a day if not more often, plus I’ve got carpets (runners). Tried a bunch of small vacuums, this is the bomb! Hangs from the closet shelf with the included hook, with attachments so that you can even do a great job on carpets.

But it was a big step adding cordless to the trailer, but once you’ve got the batteries you need a …

DEWALT 20V MAX Blower, 100 CFM Airflow, Variable Speed Switch

Really resisted this it being sacrilege  (not to mention Glamping in the worst way!) to bring a leaf blower. But this thing is incredible! Tiny, variable speed so you can keep it quiet and soooo useful. Leaves on the roof quickly clog up the gutter drains, this is one step blow them off. Campsite cleanup, I also use it to blow the dust out of the truck. 

 

[2008RN]

2 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Not if you’re an EV driver! 😅 It doesn’t matter anymore but it’s part of the culture, 0-60 kind of thing. I’m proud of the 1.3 mi/kWh the Ollie gets (only a 35% range loss EV or ICE). And I’d disagree its irrelevant - with diesel at $6/gallon ($8 here in California) whether your aware of it or not its hitting your bottom line

Ah you’re trying to play a trick on us! “Over inflation”, how about “Under inflation”? 😅 

Just joshing, yes optimal inflation is what we want which is the discussion.

Let me try a different angle; do you run your RAM tires under by 20 PSI or whatever? Why or why not?

That’s good. 

I heard about those sites, I think there might be one here in California but I wasn’t RVing then. The Beer Busts were awesome, they continued into the company splits (Agilent/Keysight). Anyhow that old time culture is very slowly dying out unfortunately. We were proud to have the Bill and Dave culture for many decades but now it’ all about reporting up every day, micromanaging and over working. I was going to stay for a few more years but it’s not fun anymore, time to leave. 

I left after the split, after I had to let go of my first employee.  The head over IT for the Corporation came out in 2000 and said, We where going to be getting  rid of 50% of the end user systems next year and we needed to figure out what system and legacy procedures/systems we needed to sunset. Not what I signed up for.  I had a friend At IBM that had been trying to get me over to IBM for several years.  I gave him a call, and I had a job within 3 months helping to designing  network  and system security, also some software testing and integration for the Government. In the late 90s HP was the 2nd largest employer in Colorado, the largest was the state government. Agilent/HP in Loveland, CO had 3500 employees when I left.  Within 5 years they had 300 people left. The site was empty  by the end of 2010.  The HP site in Fort Collins, was over 3200  people  in the late 90s and are now down to about 1000, between HPQ and HPE.  The Greeley site was shuttered in late 2000, losing 1000 employees.  Some  were absorbed by Fort Collins. There is no way I was staying around for all of that blood letting.

Edited 8 hours ago by 2008RN

[DanielBoondock]

15 minutes ago, 2008RN said:

Agilent/HP in Loveland, CO had 3500 employees when I left.  Within 5 years they had 300 people left. The site was empty  by the end of 2010.  The HP site in Fort Collins, was over 3200  people  in the late 90s and are now down to about 1000, between HPQ and HPE.  The Greeley site was shuttered in late 2000, losing 1000 employees.  Some  were absorbed by Fort Collins. There is no way I was staying around for all of that blood letting.

Yeah the Loveland site is still a major hub for Keysight, servers/IT/support/R&D, I’m at the now headquarters in Sonoma County. We went through some layoffs but wasn’t bad, didn’t touch R&D much. I’d love a Golden Parachute about now but ain’t likely as they’re doing pretty well 😅

[jd1923]

9 hours ago, DanielBoondock said:

Not if you’re an EV driver! 😅

Let me try a different angle; do you run your RAM tires under by 20 PSI or whatever? Why or why not?

We're talking TTs and not TVs. I've heard one of the negatives with EVs is tire wear.

Yes, I do and here's why! (deja vu)

On our '01 Dodge Ram 2500, the DOT label states 55 PSI Fronts, 80 PSI on the Rears with GVWR at 8800 LBS.

Same Load Range E tires front and back, marked Max 80 PSI. Why does Dodge recommend 2 different fill pressures (PSI) for the exact same tire?

The manufacturer is considering payload!

With the bed empty our truck weighs about 6,000 LBS not 8,800. I run 60 in the rears around town and 70 PSI +/- when towing, considering gear and tongue weight. With 80 PSI in the rears and an empty truck bed, the solid axle will bounce down the road which is bad for the tires and suspension and feels like cr@p when driving! 55 PSI carries the Cummins engine up front. 80 PSI is recommended for the rears when actual load is at the GVWR of 8,800 LBS (we're never close).

When we are fully loaded with tools, camping gear, full fresh water tanks in TT and 35 gallons in the TV, the Oliver is 6,400  and the TV is 8,300 LBS including tongue weight.

For reason unknown, OTT recommends PSI higher than what carries the 7K GVWR. 🙃

We used to own an '03 Ram 2500. Same engine/trans, very similar truck but next Gen. It was spec'd at 9,000 LBS GVWR, 60 PSI fronts and 70 rears. Why the difference? 200 LBS higher GVWR and 60 vs. 55 PSI front and 70 vs. 80 rear! The '03 was quad-cab short-bed vs. our long-bed truck which can hold more weight in the bed. The '03 had more weight in the cab. It's always about the weight.

Got the 2WD truck and trailer stuck in the mud while camping recently. Detached the trailer, aired down the rear tires on the TV to 30 PSI. Crawled the truck out, road it briskly down the dirt/gravel road to get the mud out of the treads. Backed to the trailer in a straight line, hitched and backed the trailer out in the same path we road in. I towed about a mile down the damp dirt road at 30 PSI. When on higher ground, I aired up for highway towing.

I run 13 PSI in my dirt bike and 15 PSI on our SxS which is nowhere near the max rating but go higher and the front tire on the dirt bike will skid in a turn and the SxS if set to 2WD would spin on gravel.

I run HIGHER tire pressures than the manufacture's recommendation on our '08 GX470 when highway driving since OEM is a P-rated tire and I upgraded to LT Load Range C tires which needs minimum pressure. I run pressure higher on my Lexus SC400 with wider HP tires since I like the steering light with a little skid! (less traction). On a race car 1-2 PSI can make a world of difference and nobody runs GVWR spec'd pressure on any sport vehicle.

This is likely the 10th time I've explained this and hope it's my last! 🤣

Edited 1 hour ago by jd1923