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2 inch hitch modification


TPaulE

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We are avid bike riders.  The 1 1/4 inch hitch receiver does not work for us.  Our solution was to knock out the 1 1/4 inch insert.  We then used a Dynafile to sand down the 2 inch tube so that it would accept a 2 inch hitch.  So far, it works great.  We will see how it holds up.  The total cost was 2 bottles of Eagleton Whisky I gave my welder to do the work. 36C94E22-3921-4E9A-B4A0-0D656EA23A68.thumb.jpeg.f0dbe263e0c270e5ea981e14adada458.jpeg

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And two for the celebration!! Good adjustment.  Never seen the bottle capping system on spirits before - just my beer creations. Nice.

I've  toted bikes all over most of the USA - hanging off the rear of the Ollie.  It can be a dirty, destructive environment. I moved my more expensive and "fragile" bike to under the topper shell of the truck - the more robust MTB's - fare fine in the muck of the Ollies contrails.  I have threatened to make a  waterproof cover that fits two and is easily installed and removed.  However,  it is on the list,  the list, somewhere, on a list.

RB

Edit - I am sure the new Ollie design is fine for intended purposes, I firmly believe the old, original design, is much more robust., and pliant to my - not intended uses.1960777309_20180724_101414(691).thumb.jpg.1e93bc0bfaa1239d44af5ed576c20d3b.jpg

Edited by BackofBeyond
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Cindy,  Russell and  "Harley dog" . Home is our little farm near Winchester TN

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite II - 2018 GMC 2500 Duramax 

"Die young - As late as possible"
ALAZARCACOFLIDMTNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAWYd56201

 

 

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

RB:

Is your bike rack on the back of the Ollie a receiver type? It looks a little different then what Oliver provides now.

also I noticed that your parked Ollie tires are not directly on the grass. Is that plywood or something you purchased.

Thanks

2018 Oliver Elite II, Twin Bed, Hull #354 

2024 RAM 1500, 4 x 4; Gas. 5.7L V8 Hemi MDS VVT Torque; 3.21 rear axle ratio

Maine 

 

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On 2/7/2021 at 5:59 AM, TPaulE said:

We are avid bike riders.  The 1 1/4 inch hitch receiver does not work for us.  Our solution was to knock out the 1 1/4 inch insert.  We then used a Dynafile to sand down the 2 inch tube so that it would accept a 2 inch hitch.  So far, it works great.  We will see how it holds up.  The total cost was 2 bottles of Eagleton Whisky I gave my welder to do the work. 36C94E22-3921-4E9A-B4A0-0D656EA23A68.thumb.jpeg.f0dbe263e0c270e5ea981e14adada458.jpeg

 

Just be very aware that your receiver is a whole lot weaker than a steel one of the same wall thickness. Expect cracking in the corners and lots of wear inside.

Additionally, the wall thickness at the grooves for the retaining ubolts is now very small. It is highly likely to break there! I think it is a most dangerous modification! I suggest that you replace it with a steel receiver ASAP.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited by John E Davies
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SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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2 hours ago, dewdev said:

RB:

Is your bike rack on the back of the Ollie a receiver type? It looks a little different then what Oliver provides now.

also I noticed that your parked Ollie tires are not directly on the grass. Is that plywood or something you purchased.

Thanks

The Ollie is on some 2x10 scrap - its parked next to my barn - where I had installed a 30amp plug- back in the day - we were practice RVing 😃

Do not know if what I am using was the  original design - but once upon  a time - Oliver offered what you see - the platform - not the bike rack. It slides into the same brackets Oliver uses now. It is simple to remove.  Oliver added their own bike rack - I know there are some out there in Ollie land. I mounted the Thule bike rails, additional 2"  aluminum and  such. I purchased the assembly from Oliver  and installed it - - it was left over after they discontinued the rack system. Any decent fab shop can reproduce it. It is very stable and solid. I do not hesitate to put #150 on it.

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Cindy,  Russell and  "Harley dog" . Home is our little farm near Winchester TN

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite II - 2018 GMC 2500 Duramax 

"Die young - As late as possible"
ALAZARCACOFLIDMTNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAWYd56201

 

 

 

 

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So I pick up my Ollie in April and hate that they only offer the the 1 1/4 inch hitch and because of that it wasn't added to our order.  Additionally I really didn't like how the bikes traveled on the back of my Casita when I had it as they collected dirt and bounced a lot creating a lot of rub marks and even once having damage to bike rack.

So I have on order the twin bed version and plan on building something that will hold the bikes between the beds during travel similar to what people build in the vans. My plan is to make a bike rack using 1/2 inch sheet of Baltic birch plywood and cutting it down to the width of the floor and attaching 2-3 Rockymounts van mounts.   So I need a little help to get this done and that is a few measurements between the twin beds.  I will post pictures when I am done.  

Measurements needed 

1.  Width of the flooring between the two beds?

2.  Width between two twin beds?

3. Height from floor to the bottom of the bed?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/19/2021 at 6:56 PM, SteveM said:

So I pick up my Ollie in April and hate that they only offer the the 1 1/4 inch hitch and because of that it wasn't added to our order.  Additionally I really didn't like how the bikes traveled on the back of my Casita when I had it as they collected dirt and bounced a lot creating a lot of rub marks and even once having damage to bike rack.

So I have on order the twin bed version and plan on building something that will hold the bikes between the beds during travel similar to what people build in the vans. My plan is to make a bike rack using 1/2 inch sheet of Baltic birch plywood and cutting it down to the width of the floor and attaching 2-3 Rockymounts van mounts.   So I need a little help to get this done and that is a few measurements between the twin beds.  I will post pictures when I am done.  

Measurements needed 

1.  Width of the flooring between the two beds?

2.  Width between two twin beds?

3. Height from floor to the bottom of the bed?


Here are a few floor dimensions and I believe they are still the same. I don’t have an answer to #3.
This should give you a start.

 

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Edited by Patriot
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2020 OLEII - Hull #634 aka-  “XPLOR” 

2021 F350 6.7 liter Diesel Lariat Ultimate Tremor aka- Beast

 

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On 2/19/2021 at 3:56 PM, SteveM said:

So I have on order the twin bed version and plan on building something that will hold the bikes between the beds during travel similar to what people build in the vans. My plan is to make a bike rack using 1/2 inch sheet of Baltic birch plywood and cutting it down to the width of the floor and attaching 2-3 Rockymounts van mounts.   So I need a little help to get this done and that is a few measurements between the twin beds.  I will post pictures when I am done.  

Are these the mounts?

D3C93EE2-3F43-483E-ACF9-CAF9FE73B414.thumb.jpeg.9896dddb48c44ce2a04159380b6af500.jpeg

Do you intend to remove the bikes every time you stop for the night, or if you want to take a nap? There will be no way to get around them otherwise, the center isle is really narrow even without a dirty, greasy bike or two in the way. The risk of scratching the interior gelcoat and wood drawers, and soiling the cushions, will be very high, especially when you maneuver them past that turn from the entryway to the main hallway.The entry door itself is pretty narrow too. Removing the pedals (or installing folding ones) would help a lot.

You need to figure out a way to solidly anchor the plywood to the walls, otherwise during a panic stop or a collision, the whole thing will launch into and through your bathroom glass door. And 1/2” Baltic birch is not strong enough, especially since the bike mount hardware will have to be recessed underneath, 3/4” would be my choice.... There are tanks directly under the floor center, so you can NOT drill through it!

Do you really want to deal with all those hassles and risks?

FYI I can see this working with just one clean ROAD bike, placed off center to the street side with the handlebar angled and the gears facing the outside, and just ONE person using the trailer. You could still access the free bed, probably, and get underneath to access the valves. You could remove and store the mattress for the other side, and use that big space for storage (with some tie down tracks and anchors). The street side compartment is electronics, so you do not need routine access there.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited by John E Davies

SOLD 07/23 "Mouse":  2017 Legacy Elite II Two Beds, Hull Number 218, See my HOW TO threads: https://olivertraveltrailers.com/topic/john-e-davies-how-to-threads-and-tech-articles-links/

Tow Vehicle: 2013 Land Cruiser 200, 32” LT tires, airbags, Safari snorkel, Maggiolina Grand Tour 360 Carbon RTT.

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I also am a avid bike ridder. I agree with John's comments:

I have purchased the rear receiver from Oliver and will be installing it myself. I plan to use a bike rack on the back of my Oliver. I will be using a tarp to cover the bikes, as I expect the back of the Ollie to accumulate a lot of dust and dirt, which I do not want on the bike, chain and gears. (I do not want to put a roof rack on my pick-up)

TPaulE, I have a couple of alternates to your idea.

1. Roof rack on your TV.

2. Bike rack mounted on the front of your TV

3. If you really want to put the bikes inside, I would use 2" PVC tubing to build your bike rack which could be attached to the sides of the beds so the rack does not move. (not recommended)

I built a PVC rack to put in the back of my pickup truck and it works very well. Check out Utube for a video of building this type of PVC bike rack.

 

 

 

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2018 Oliver Elite II, Twin Bed, Hull #354 

2024 RAM 1500, 4 x 4; Gas. 5.7L V8 Hemi MDS VVT Torque; 3.21 rear axle ratio

Maine 

 

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I can speak from experience -  anything stored - temp or otherwise - between the beds is a real pain. Two bikes - whew. No thanks.

I had a close inspection of the new Oliver rack this weekend - Were it me - I would modify it back to the original of 2017 - and carry bikes like  it was 1999. Cover them up if your particular - 14K miles no issues - and a dirty mat or such fits when needed. 

As I have noted - I have carried my prissy road bike in the truck - under the topper - on a mount similar to JD's pic. 

RB

Cindy,  Russell and  "Harley dog" . Home is our little farm near Winchester TN

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite II - 2018 GMC 2500 Duramax 

"Die young - As late as possible"
ALAZARCACOFLIDMTNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAWYd56201

 

 

 

 

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Thanks for all the information.  I will not mount it to the floor board to the floor but will in some way strap them down so they won’t slide every where and use something under the board that will not allow it to slide very easily.   I don’t have a truck topper and my folding truck bed cover won’t allow me to mount them to the top of the bed which would be my preferred method. 

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35 minutes ago, SteveM said:

I don’t have a truck topper and my folding truck bed cover won’t allow me to mount them to the top of the bed which would be my preferred method. 

I built a truck bed bike rack that mounts to the truck bed side rails over the tri-fold rigid bed cover on my truck.  When I remove the bikes, I loosen the bolts holding the rear cross rail and can either slide it forward or remove the rear cross rail completely to allow the cover to fold up for bed access.   Since I took these pics I modified the rear cross rail with large threaded knobs to allow the bolts to be loosened by hand to remove the cross rail.  The rail framing is T-slot aluminum extrusion from McMaster Carr, along with the brackets and hardware, and the bike fork mounts, wheel holders, and rear wheel trays are from Amazon.  And this way it let’s us use the truck to still be able to take the bikes on side trips during the day away from the camper.  

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Edited by FrankC
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80/20 is great stuff. If it wasn't so expensive I would have way too many projects built with the stuff - it is so versatile. Nice that you found a solution that works for your needs.

Cindy,  Russell and  "Harley dog" . Home is our little farm near Winchester TN

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite II - 2018 GMC 2500 Duramax 

"Die young - As late as possible"
ALAZARCACOFLIDMTNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAWYd56201

 

 

 

 

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On 3/2/2021 at 9:54 AM, dewdev said:

I also am a avid bike ridder. I agree with John's comments:

I have purchased the rear receiver from Oliver and will be installing it myself. I plan to use a bike rack on the back of my Oliver. I will be using a tarp to cover the bikes, as I expect the back of the Ollie to accumulate a lot of dust and dirt, which I do not want on the bike, chain and gears. (I do not want to put a roof rack on my pick-up)

TPaulE, I have a couple of alternates to your idea.

1. Roof rack on your TV.

2. Bike rack mounted on the front of your TV

3. If you really want to put the bikes inside, I would use 2" PVC tubing to build your bike rack which could be attached to the sides of the beds so the rack does not move. (not recommended)

I built a PVC rack to put in the back of my pickup truck and it works very well. Check out Utube for a video of building this type of PVC bike rack.

 

 

 

Determined to use our 1up rack, here's what we did, using this 

 

1UP bike rack.jpg

Ray and Susan Huff

Elite II Twin "Pearl" - Hull#699; delivered December 7, 2020

2013 F350 6.7l diesel Super Duty 4x4 long bed crew cab

1UP-USA Heavy-duty bike rack

2017 Leisure Travel Van Unity Twin Bed (sold)

AZARCAIDNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAsm.jpg

 

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On 3/2/2021 at 10:43 AM, BackofBeyond said:

I can speak from experience -  anything stored - temp or otherwise - between the beds is a real pain. Two bikes - whew. No thanks.

 

I agree.  We hauled two kayaks on the floor of our 5th wheel . . . . . and sometimes as third bike in the bedroom . . . . . definitely a pain.

Ray and Susan Huff

Elite II Twin "Pearl" - Hull#699; delivered December 7, 2020

2013 F350 6.7l diesel Super Duty 4x4 long bed crew cab

1UP-USA Heavy-duty bike rack

2017 Leisure Travel Van Unity Twin Bed (sold)

AZARCAIDNVNMOKORTNTXUTWAsm.jpg

 

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