Odometer Installation on Oliver LEII

[dhaig]

Prior to delivery of our 2022 LEII in mid-February, I posed a question on the OTTO forum asking how many owners had installed odometers on their trailers, and if they had, what brand they had selected.  I was surprised to learn almost no one had installed a hub odometer, with most relying on manual logs for mileage tracking

 

I did not want to be bothered with keeping a manual log, knowing I would inevitably forget to enter tow vehicle mileage when towing our LEII.  Undaunted, I began to search for a suitable hub odometer.  I found few offerings for travel trailers, but did come across the TrailerLife Odometer line.  On their website is a Ratio Selection Guide for determining which model odometer best matches the outside circumference of the tires on the trailer.

 

I checked with Oliver Travel Trailers to confirm the tires to be installed on our LEII were 225/75R16 Cooper Discoverer HT3. On the Cooper Tire website I found these tires have a diameter of 29.21", a width of 8.5", mount on a 16" rim and make 710 revolutions per mile.  The  calculated rolling circumference= 29.21" x 3.1416= 91.73"

 

I contacted Veeder-Root, the manufacturer of the TrailerLife odometer product line, where their tech support recommended using Model 714.  They also recommended using one of their wheel center caps for a 4.25" wheel center hole for a 6 lug wheel.  Otherwise, a hole must be drilled in the center of the standard Oliver hub cap to accept the mounting stud of the odometer,  I placed an order for the Model 714 odometer, $84.99, and the wheel center cap, $15.99.  The total was $104.56, including $3.58 for shipping.

 

Front View

 

Profile View

 

The TrailerLife odometer and wheel center cap were delivered one month after I placed the order.  A week or 10 days after placing the order, I called to inquire of the expected delivery date.  Only then was I told the item was backordered and could be six weeks for delivery.  Fortunately, I received the odometer and hubcap in time to take it with us for the LEII delivery date.

 

On our LEII delivery date, the weather in Hohenwald was miserable, with pouring rain and cold, with temperatures in the low 20s at night.  I asked Oliver to install the hub odometer, which they did during the delivery process for $20.  I thought this was reasonable and was glad to have the odometer installed at the time of delivery.  I asked to have the odometer installed on the street side rear wheel, since this is closest to the primary service connections and storage..  I don't believe it matters which wheel the odometer is installed on.

 

The hub odometer now shows we have covered over 3,000 miles since delivery.  I am sure the miles reported by the hub odometer are far more accurate than I would have manually recorded. Being a first time RV owner, I was (and still am) focused on learning the systems on our trailer and the procedures for using it safely.   Manually recording the mileage traveled was not high on my list of priorities.  I am keeping a log of our travel destinations, maintenance, modifications, etc.

 

 Don

[Mike and Carol]

I’ll be interested in how it works out long term.  It is much more accurate than doing it manually!  I still keep a spreadsheet with mileage, name of where we stop and number of nights.  There was a time when spreadsheets were cutting edge, now I guess they are old school!  If anything describes me it’s “old school”. 🤪

[SeaDawg]

2 minutes ago, Mike and Carol said:

There was a time when spreadsheets were cutting edge, now I guess they are old school!  If anything describes me it’s “old school”. 🤪

Me, too.

It's ok. We have a wealth of experience to draw on, right? 😅

My daughter loves hearing about that, and learning.  It's all a balance. 

[ScubaRx]

I put a Hub Odometer on our first Oliver and then moved it to our current Oliver. It quit about 5-6 years ago. The battery inside died and is not replaceable. 
 

Our new 2022 Silverado 3500 HD keeps up with the trailer mileage now anyway. 

[SeaDawg]

So, @ScubaRx, your truck recognizes the attached trailer, and records its mileage, separately? 

That's pretty cool.

Our newest tow vehicle is a 2008,,and doe not have that feature.  

[Mike and Carol]

41 minutes ago, SeaDawg said:

So, @ScubaRx, your truck recognizes the attached trailer, and records its mileage, separately? 

That's pretty cool.

Our newest tow vehicle is a 2008,,and doe not have that feature.  

My last 3 Rams recorded towing miles.  When the 7 pin was connected the towing miles are recorded.  I look at it occasionally, but there’s nothing like a good spreadsheet.  Old School Mike

[John E Davies]

Thanks for posting! That will definitely save fussing around, recording trip lengths and missing some! But you still have to keep a basic mileage log for the maintenance items. I quite like the new style spoked wheels, they would really show off a set of disk brakes with stainless calipers and rotors! Unmmmm good!

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

Yup, spreadsheets work for us, @Mike and Carol. 

I think my husband could run a total of every part and enhancement we've done since picking up #12, in February 2008, from our spreadsheets .

Me?. I don't really want to know. Fun and friends and our adventures outweigh those $$$ , every time.

Yolo.

[topgun2]

11 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

your truck recognizes the attached trailer, and records its mileage, separately?

Both my 2011 and the current 2017 F-150's had this feature.  

The truck will also keep track of several different "trailers" as long as I tell it which one I'm towing since it can't tell the difference between one 7 pin and another.

Bill

[Rivernerd]

On 6/10/2022 at 3:19 PM, dhaig said:

The TrailerLife odometer and wheel center cap were delivered one month after I placed the order.  A week or 10 days after placing the order, I called to inquire of the expected delivery date.  Only then was I told the item was backordered and could be six weeks for delivery.  Fortunately, I received the odometer and hubcap in time to take it with us for the LEII delivery date.

PLAN WELL AHEAD and consider avoiding this vendor.

On June 10, 2022, I ordered the same hubodometer and 4.25" wheel center cap that dhaig ordered from sptech.com for the Elite II we plan to pick up in November.  18 days later, on June 28, 2022, it still had not shipped.  So, I emailed sptech.com's customer service.  The order was shipped the next day.  But, the invoice emailed to me confirming the shipment referenced a 3.19 wheel center cap, not the 4.25" wheel center cap I had ordered, and which is referenced on the email confirming the order.  When I again exchanged email messages with an sptech.com customer service rep, I was told that they had shipped the wrong wheel center cap, but that they would not ship to me the 4.25" wheel center cap I had correctly ordered until I return the wrong part they shipped back to them, and they receive it.  That process will likely take several more weeks.  They did not even provide me with a return shipping label, but instead insisted that I go to a UPS store (which is 50 miles away from my home) and use their UPS account number to arrange the return shipping.

I consider this abysmal customer service.  When combined with the slow service detailed in dhaig's post quoted above, you will be wise to find another hubodometer vendor.

[dewdev]

My RAM pickup, with the trailer towing option, has a mileage screen that keeps track of the mileage for when the 7 pin trailer wiring is connected from Ollie. This screen page also provides me with the way of adjusting the braking gain. A very nice option.

No paperwork and it is accurate. 

[Mike and Carol]

6 hours ago, dewdev said:

My RAM pickup, with the trailer towing option, has a mileage screen that keeps track of the mileage for when the 7 pin trailer wiring is connected from Ollie. This screen page also provides me with the way of adjusting the breaking gain. A very nice option.

No paperwork and it is accurate. 

I also use the Ram trailer mileage.  Convenient.  Mike

[SeaDawg]

Me? I'd just return the thing, on my dime (since it's light) with tracking and signature/receipt requested. Probably cheaper than driving 50 miles each way, unless you need to go in, anyway.

And, cancel the order.

[dhaig]

@Rivernerd, I am sorry to hear or your poor experience with Specialty Products Technologies (https://www.specialtyproducttechnologies.com) (sptech.com), the vendor for the TrailerLife odometer, manufactured by Veeder Root.  IMHO, their customer service response is entirely unreasonable.  I suggest you phone them at (910) 862-2511 and ask for someone in a managerial capacity to whom you can express your dissatisfaction.  

Regards, Don

[GraniteStaters]

Our 2019 Ram 1500 keeps track of the mileage for up to 3 trailers.  It is very slick and allows me to plan lubricating the Dexter EZ-Flex and wheel bearings at the appropriate intervals.

[Rivernerd]

At dhaig's suggestion, I called sptech's 800 number today and asked to speak to a customer service supervisor.  The supervisor I spoke with apologized for her subordinate's initial response and agreed to overnight to me the correct size of grease cap, and to email to me a prepaid shipping label.  So, I should receive the correct size grease cap this week, and don't have to take the incorrectly shipped part to a UPS store.  I can print the return shipping label they promised to email to me, put it on the box in which the incorrect part was shipped, and leave it for our UPS driver.

It still saddens me that I had to call a supervisor in the first place to get the right thing done.  But, sptech has now agreed to make it right.