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Surge Brake?


GAP

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I am ordering a Trailer Valet for moving my Elite 2 around our driveway.  I'm wondering if our trailers have surge brakes that kick on even when the trailer is not plugged in.  Couldn't find anything in the owner's manuals.  Any help would be appreciated.

Gerry

SOLD:  2021 Elite 2, Twin Bed, Lithium & Solar, 3000W Inverter

SOLD:  2022 Ford F150, 3.5L V6 EcoBoost, 4x4 Supercab, Trailer Tow Package

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No surge brakes, those are hydraulic drum or disk brakes, operated by the trailer pushing forward on the tongue mounted actuator. Here  is what a surge brake actuator looks like. Notice the fluid reservoir cap.

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All Ollies are delivered with electric drum brakes operated by an electronic controller inside your truck.

John Davies

Spokane WA

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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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The specs state:

  • Weight capacity: 5,500 lbs
  • Tongue weight capacity: 550 lbs

That's a little light for the average Oliver.

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Steve, Tali and our dog Rocky plus our beloved Storm, Maggie, Lucy and Reacher (all waiting at the Rainbow Bridge)

2008 Legacy Elite I - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #026 | 2014 Legacy Elite II - Outlaw Oliver, Hull #050 | 2022 Silverado High Country 3500HD SRW Diesel 4x4 

 

             801469912_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-I.jpg.26814499292ab76ee55b889b69ad3ef0.jpg1226003278_StatesVisitedTaliandSteve08-23-2021-H.jpg.dc46129cb4967a7fd2531b16699e9e45.jpg

 

 

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Which trailer valet model did you order?

2008 Ram 1500 4 × 4

2008 Oliver Elite, Hull #12

Florida and Western North Carolina, or wherever the truck goes....

400 watts solar. DC compressor fridge. No inverter. 2 x 105 ah agm batteries .  Life is good.


        
 

 

 

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For the first time we rented an RV storage bay this year. Initially we thought we would need a trailer tongue dolly to precisely position a boat and the Ollie in the same bay with limited clearance. It turned out that with patience and a lot of getting out of the truck to repeatedly check clearances I was able to do it with the truck, so I never purchased a trailer tongue dolly.

However, I did a bunch of research on trailer tongue dollies in case I could not maneuver the truck enough to fit both units into the RV bay. Although expensive, it looked to me like the Airtug is the safest and most capable /robust one out there. They have both electric and gas engine models rated for 8,000lb or 15,000lb. Originally designed to move small aircraft, they have a modified version for trailer hitch ball mounts.

https://airtug.com/product-category/trailer-mover-tugs/

If moving exclusively on the level, the 8,000lb unit would be fine for either Ollie. If you have any significant incline to deal with (literature mentions inclines as low as 3%-5%) you might want the beefier model to be able to handle the increased load.

Tom

Tom & Holly

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite I #409 - 2017 Silverado 1500, 5.3L Gas, 4x4 Z71, Dbl Cab, Std Bed

 

2023-10-16OliverCampedStates(medium).jpg.8e9964c26c7927a0077806565b9dcfc2.jpg

 

 

 

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Tom, have you considered  installing a front receiver? That would make positioning your Ollie in your storage space really simple.  If you have a backup camera in the trailer, it would be even better…
 

John Davies

Spokane WA

  • Like 2

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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We used to have a front mount hitch on the family truck when I was a kid... back when trucks actually had steel front bumpers 🙂

At one point I did read another thread discussing front mount receivers. All of the commercial ones that I've seen have at least some of the structural components stick down too low (below the factory air dam) on the front of my un-lifted Silverado 1500. I already have occasional clearance issues with backcountry sites either above or below road grade, so I can't tolerate giving up any of my current ground clearance... maybe if I switched to the Silverado 2500 HD 🙂

I did see a reference to a custom-built receiver that directly replaced a tow-hook, since discontinued.

An ideal scenario would be (2) 2" front receivers, each attached where one of the tow hooks currently are, with a "cross-bar" attached between the 2 receivers (and in front of the plastic bumper), and the ability to pin-locate a hitch ball anywhere between the left and right receiver locations, without protruding below the front air dam. It would need to support at least a 700 lb tongue weight (i.e. either model Ollie or our 6600 lb boat / trailer) both from a hitch design and front suspension perspective.

Practically speaking, I only fully load up the RV bay with the winterized boat and the Ollie once each fall. Maybe at some point I'll get that beefier truck with the bigger engine and the higher ground clearance that won't fit in my garage any more 🙂

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Tom & Holly

2018 Oliver Legacy Elite I #409 - 2017 Silverado 1500, 5.3L Gas, 4x4 Z71, Dbl Cab, Std Bed

 

2023-10-16OliverCampedStates(medium).jpg.8e9964c26c7927a0077806565b9dcfc2.jpg

 

 

 

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On 11/29/2021 at 8:01 PM, SeaDawg said:

Which trailer valet model did you order?

I ordered the XL which is rated to 10,000 lbs.  The powered units (some mentioned above) sure look sweet but are in thew range of $3,500 - $6000 where I spent $600 for the Trailer Valet XL.  My needs are super simple with a level driveway and limited space to have to move.  Will report back but am hoping that this less expensive option works out.

I had considered a front mounted hitch on my truck but there is not the room in my driveway to be able to pull it off.

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SOLD:  2021 Elite 2, Twin Bed, Lithium & Solar, 3000W Inverter

SOLD:  2022 Ford F150, 3.5L V6 EcoBoost, 4x4 Supercab, Trailer Tow Package

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  • 3 weeks later...

So.... I was thinking the same thing.... I could use it when storing it briefly in my driveway.... and also in the storage facility.    Like you... I was looking at the XL (capacity).   How does it work out?   Is it something you are glad you bought and does it work as advertised on your Oliver Elite II?

2022 Elite II, Hull #1097  Elli Rose 🌹 and she has the solar panels with the 390Ah lithium batteries.  Our tow vehicle is a 2019 Ford Lariat F-150 4wd, 3.5L Eco-boost, 3.55 rear end, with the Max tow package.  Elli Rose also has the street side awning and several walnut and cherry mods on the inside.

        TravelMap.png.b89ef2d7bc27b1ea3b58f831ca5bd799.png

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Quick follow up here:  I did order the XL unit but the order was screwed up and would not have arrived till mid winter.  In the end, I decided to push off until the spring.  Am super curious as to how it would work but there is frequently too much snow and ice in our driveway to check out,

SOLD:  2021 Elite 2, Twin Bed, Lithium & Solar, 3000W Inverter

SOLD:  2022 Ford F150, 3.5L V6 EcoBoost, 4x4 Supercab, Trailer Tow Package

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