Stabilizers/Wobble stoppers

[rich.dev]

I have been looking at ways to better stabilize our Oliver aside from the 3 stock stabilizers/jacks. I have the heavy rubber chocks behind/in front of the wheels, X-Chock wheel stabilizers between the wheels, my 3 jacks are down far enough to the point where the trailer wheels just touch the ground, and the jacks are supported on jack blocks to where they only extend maybe 3-4 inches, and still anytime anyone moves inside we feel motion. 

I know there are options like jack stands and scissors jacks, but yesterday I saw this possible solution on Facebook. Looks like a pretty simple solution and light weight, but will it work on the Ollie? I would imagine for this to work the top of these "wobble stops" would have to push against a vertical support like a rib or beam. My Ollie is in storage and I'm not sure we have vertical supports that run lengthwise underneath the Ollie. 

Thoughts?

 

 

 

[LeBill]

Sorry...the link goes to the entry page for RVers in Canada. But I cannot go into the site without becoming a member. Could you post a visual?

thanks

[rich.dev]

4 minutes ago, LeBill said:

Could you post a visual?

[John E Davies]

Before you waste more money, make sure the mounting bolts for all three jack are tight. They DO loosen over time, the front especially. If the hardware is loose the trailer is going to move around. worst case scenario, a jack will bind and won’t operate.

The front is held on with three small bolts, that seems a little shady to me. The rears have big 1/2” bolts, the correct torque is 43 foot pounds if I recall correctly. The rears also have some bolts inside that you should check, but I don’t think they are the problem, it is the looooong ones that go through the frame that loosen, sometimes dramatically…!

John Davies

Spokane WA

[rich.dev]

2 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

Before you waste more money, make sure the mounting bolts for all three jack are tight.

Thanks John all bolts are tight. With only 3 stabilizers the Ollie will never be as stable as most RVs with at least 4. 

[rich.dev]

3 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

Thanks John all bolts are tight

Btw, all bolts are tight thanks to some of your earlier posts John! 😀

[Townesw]

In summary, the fiberglass body is not a rigid structure and the attachment of the body to the frame is not a rigid connection. 
 

I struck up a conversation with John Roemer, aka Raspy on this forum, at the 2019 Rally regarding the degree of movement felt inside the Oliver. We were sitting beside his Oliver and he was showing me the modified jack stand that he used in an attempt to reduce wobble by reducing the extension of the rear jacks when his wife, a very petite lady, entered their Oliver. While watching the frame area and the right rear jack atop the modified jack stand we noted how much the fiberglass body moved. We asked her to exit and re-enter and to move around inside the cabin and noted that even though the frame was stationary there was considerable movement in the body. 
 

I have used x-chocks between the tires and jack stands under the front corners and even though I can reduce the wobble I cannot eliminate it due to the inherent movement of the non-rigid fiberglass structure and its method of attachment to the aluminum frame. 
 

We have become accustomed to the movement and now set up with as little extra gear as possible. 

[rich.dev]

57 minutes ago, Townesw said:

and noted that even though the frame was stationary there was considerable movement in the body.

Must say this is very surprising to me, I would’ve thought the Oliver fibreglass structure/body is much more sturdier than an SOB! 

[SeaDawg]

Olivers are built much like a boat, on wheels. They are meant to flex.

Fiberglass flexes. Even steel flexes. Big ships flex. Determining how, when, and how much is the big engineering question. 

We rarely even use the rear jacks, if camped for a night or two. I guess maybe because we're used to boats, we're not bothered by the little movement.  Perhaps I'm "desensitized", since I'm used to everything moving around on a sailboat.

The slight movement we feel is not an issue, imo. More importantly, we've never experienced any separation or other  issue, like some sob trailers , like airstream. (16 years in, 150k miles)

It does, however,  give us a little bit of understanding of what happens,  going down the road. If the hull didn't "flex" a bit  as necessary,  something else more catastrophic might occur. 

Stationary,  at a campsite, you can add extra jack supports, if it's disturbing,  without harm to anything, except extendimg your setup and breakdown time. 

Me. I'm in the it "is what it is" category, and happy to not have to worry about a tent in the wind and rain. 

[ScubaRx]

49 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

Must say this is very surprising to me, I would’ve thought the Oliver fibreglass structure/body is much more sturdier than an SOB! 

It would be surprising to me also, if I could duplicate what has been said to be happening. The dual hull design of the Oliver TT is more rigid than any other trailer on the market. Anyone who has seen one that has been rolled can attest to the fact that, after it’s all done, there is no resulting distortion or twisting of the body. 

Normal use can cause the frame to flex and twist but not the body. 

The body of your trailer moving independently of the frame would indicate to me that one or more attachment points have loosened. If that be the case, you need to get under your trailer and tighten the nuts. 

[MAX Burner]

1 hour ago, SeaDawg said:

We rarely even use the rear jacks, if camped for a night or two. I guess maybe because we're used to boats, we're not bothered by the little movement.  Perhaps I'm "desensitized", since I'm used to everything moving around on a sailboat.

Same here.  We're not bothered by the slight movement - and like @SeaDawg, we're a long time sailing family and actually don't notice movement inside the Casablanca much at all.  If it was rock'n inside - I'm sure it was self-induced....

[rich.dev]

1 hour ago, ScubaRx said:

The body of your trailer moving independently of the frame would indicate to me that one or more attachment points have loosened. If that be the case, you need to get under your trailer and tighten the nuts. 

I’m not sure the body is moving independently from the frame (hope not!), yes there’s motion, more than our 4 previous trailers, but like I said before, the Ollie with only 3 stabilizers I would expect more movement than an rv with 4. The movement is not unbearable, I’m just looking at options to better stabilize it. Anyway, I will check the nuts that attach the body to the frame…..just to make sure! Thanks for the heads up @ScubaRx

[Townesw]

@ScubaRx, et alia: Watch video. Disregard cicadas and dog panting.  Note movement of body relative to frame. It is not a “distance from wheel skirt to lens vs. frame to lens” optical illusion. Check your Oliver and tell me what you see. I’ve seen it on John Roemer’s hull 92 and my hull 313. I bet they all do it. You’re chasing your tail trying to make it “non wobbly”. 
 

 

 

[ScubaRx]

@Townesw This was the statement from which I drew my conclusion..."While watching the frame area and the right rear jack atop the modified jack stand we noted how much the fiberglass body moved. We asked her to exit and re-enter and to move around inside the cabin and noted that even though the frame was stationary there was considerable movement in the body."

After watching your video, I'll admit that was not what I expected to see. I was thinking of side to side movement rather than up and down. As all my physician friends say when they don't have a clue what could be wrong with a patient, "Hmmm, interesting."

I think you at 100% correct in saying, "You’re chasing your tail trying to make it “non wobbly”".

[Townesw]

Has anyone else looked at their Oliver and seen this movement? Surely hulls 92 and 313 aren’t the only ones that exhibit this condition?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

10 minutes ago, Townesw said:

Has anyone else looked at their Oliver and seen this movement? Surely hulls 92 and 313 aren’t the only ones that exhibit this condition?

Has anyone reached out to Oliver?  I wonder if there is some form of intentional damping.

[ScubaRx]

33 minutes ago, Wandering Sagebrush said:

Has anyone reached out to Oliver?  I wonder if there is some form of intentional damping.

There is no dampening built into the trailer. The hull sits directly on the frame separated only by quarter inch strips of rubber between them. The attachment bolts go through the hull, rubber, and frame from the inside. 

[Rivernerd]

2 hours ago, Townesw said:

Has anyone else looked at their Oliver and seen this movement? Surely hulls 92 and 313 aren’t the only ones that exhibit this condition?

Hull #1291 exhibits nearly identical flexibility up and down when someone is moving about the trailer.

Such movement is particularly noticeable when someone is climbing the stairs to enter the trailer.

[Steph and Dud B]

It's a trailer. It's going to move. When Steph says it's moving too much I go outside and give the rear jacks a little nudge. It's still better than our fifth wheels. 

[Mike and Carol]

1 hour ago, Steph and Dud B said:

It's a trailer. It's going to move. When Steph says it's moving too much I go outside and give the rear jacks a little nudge. It's still better than our fifth wheels. 

Agree.  It’s never been an issue for us, not something we’ve ever been concerned about.

[MAX Burner]

On 9/10/2023 at 11:36 PM, ScubaRx said:

"Hmmm, interesting."

@Townesw's video shows a movement between the hull and right rear frame member, as Steve mentions.  I've got some time today - I'll set up a test for Casablanca, Hull 226.  We'll see what happens.  My original thought was that any movement detected inside was a function of a lack of jack stability.  Interesting, for sure.

[Townesw]

19 hours ago, Townesw said:

Has anyone else looked at their Oliver and seen this movement? Surely hulls 92 and 313 aren’t the only ones that exhibit this condition?

I asked this as a rhetorical question. I’m not concerned about the movement because I think all hulls have it. I’m surprised that apparently no one else has seen it or has been out to see if their trailer has the movement since I posted my video. One can use all kinds of jacks, chocks, braces, voodoo, magic, etc. but you aren’t going to get the “Ollie Wobble” out of your Ollie. Hence my comment “You’re chasing your tail trying to make it “non wobbly”.

 

[Hokieman]

21 hours ago, Townesw said:

Has anyone else looked at their Oliver and seen this movement? Surely hulls 92 and 313 aren’t the only ones that exhibit this condition?

I see no movement of the body relative to the frame on our #797.    Considering how the body mounts to the frame (see @ScubaRX comments), I’d be concerned some bolts are loose.   I assume Oliver is not mounting the bodies any differently on later models.    I’m camping for 2 weeks on gravel, and in addition to the 3 stabilizers down, I’ve got 2 Camco 3 ton jacks placed firmly under the frame at the forward  Jack Points, and X-Chocks between the wheels on both sides, so 5 stabilization points in all, not counting the 4 wheels.    This keeps the trailer fairly stable, especially when going up and down the stairs.   I do not use the 3 stabilizers to lift the trailer.   They are firmly placed on jack blocks but just enough to stabilize the trailer motion.   I think there is some confusion about your question, perhaps they have not watched the video carefully.   Of course the trailer moves quite a lot when moving around inside, but the body is not designed to move relative to the frame.  I’d be interested in reading what Oliver Service would say about this. 
 

 

 

[Townesw]

1 hour ago, Hokieman said:

Of course the trailer moves quite a lot when moving around inside, but the body is not designed to move relative to the frame.  I’d be interested in reading what Oliver Service would say about this. 

I’m not saying my hull moves on the frame, I’m saying my hull flexes. My bolts are tight. If I were to stand beside your trailer or any other Oliver I’m going to bet all of the hulls flex just like hulls 92 and 313. My point is you can make the frame as immovable as possible and you’re still going to have movement in the cabin due to flexing of the hull. 
 

I’m done. 

[Hokieman]

9 hours ago, Townesw said:

I’m not saying my hull moves on the frame, I’m saying my hull flexes.

OK I understand what you mean now.  My comments not just intended for you, some seemed to suggest  the body may be flexible mourned to frame.   Just responding to your request to give you feedback.   I could not get mine to flex like what I see in the video.  Maybe my Jack blocks are absorbing the shock, might look different if I was on concrete like in the video with a wood support.