Additional routine maintenance

[Ronbrink]

Last Spring while upgrading to Timken wheel bearings, I noticed some of the rubber neoprene runners Oliver places between the aluminum frame and fiberglass hull were out of place. After remounting all of the wheels, I crawled under the trailer to further examine in order to devise a fix. I eventually made use of some trigger clamps to help force the runners back, with varying degrees of success. I had similar issues previously with these ‘cushions’ at the tongue frame and was able to use cable ties to hold them in place. However, due to the tightness at the underbelly supports, the best I could do was attempt to reposition them with thoughts of continued monitoring of future migrations overtime. I did find these runners secured on each end with a screw, which lessened any concern of them falling completely out (think added rubber road debris for motorist to dodge!). 

This is what I found. Note the smudges made first trying to use a rubber mallet to force back in place.

I began by attaching a clamp at the outermost points of concern.

Then used additional clamps to work the runners moving inwards. Easy, right? Not so much, very little clearance tolerance!

 

Retainer screw at each end. It would have been nice if Oliver would have used adhesive, as well, to keep these runners in place!

Cable tie used at frame tongue. No further a problems there at the three points!

To conclude, although I don’t perceive this a ‘major’ problem, these runners were factory installed for a purpose and thus, I feel obligated to maintain them to ensure proper support of the hull’s underbelly. 

[John E Davies]

Interesting, I haven’t heard of this problem before. Thanks for posting the pics.., Could you use a big piece of wood, like a 2”x4”, and a hydraulic jack under the fiberglass to very carefully take the load off the rubber to allow you to push it back into place? Also, some soapy water, applied liberally to flush out the dirt, would act as a lubricant to perhaps help them move a little easily.

Did you check all the big hull mount nuts to see if any were loose? They do loosen, the ones at the jacks especially, and below the propane compartment... I am having a hard time visualizing a situation where these rubber pads would drift out of place if all other factors were normal. This could just be a visual symptom of another problem that remains to be corrected. I suggest that you file a Service Report - they may have other cases like this, and the extra info might lead to a a new technical bulletin.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Geronimo John]

Somewhere in the dark hollows of my brain folds I recall that we have a lifetime warranty on our hulls.  Assuming I've not inadvertently been feed some magic mushrooms on my pizza, is this the case and would it not be a warranty issue?

PLEASE send OTT a service ticket on this.  

GJ

[John E Davies]

13 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

Somewhere in the dark hollows of my brain folds I recall that we have a lifetime warranty on our hulls.  Assuming I've not inadvertently been feed some magic mushrooms on my pizza, is this the case and would it not be a warranty issue?

It is not the fiberglass hull that is affected, just its connection to/ interface with the frame. My hunch is that the “forever hull warranty” applies just to the molded part. Have you noticed how old fiberglass boats never die? The attached parts rot off fairly fast, but the hulls themselves stay intact forever, which is a huge problem in terms of recycling. Ollie hulls are also forever parts, which is why they get that great warranty.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

37 minutes ago, John E Davies said:

attached parts rot off fairly fast, but the hulls themselves stay intact forever, which is a huge problem in terms of recycling.

Disposing of old fiberglass boat hulls is a recognized problem, not just in the US, but around the world.

A lot of research has been done, however, and hopefully before my Ollie is ready for disposal (many, many decades from now), more strides will have been made in recycling fiberglass, keeping old fiberglass hulls out of landfills.

https://www.boatus.com/expert-advice/expert-advice-archive/2020/november/fiberglass-recycling

We do have one company in Florida that does fiberglass recycling, and sells equipment to recycle fiberglass, as well. I think their focus is on manufacturing waste materials, however, not big derelict boat hulls.

Another large recycling company, with branches in Florida, used to accept fiberglass insulation.  Unfortunately,  they filed bankruptcy a short time ago, so that may be gone.

All that said, fiberglass longevity and strength does give it some points, as longevity is a key point in selecting materials for building. 

 

[SNY SD UP]

Ronbrink -
I had the same issue, and have thought about what it would take to get our rubber moved back between frame & belly.  Some areas i was able to do it by hand, although i suspect my efforts would be negated by the forces (wash-boardy roads???) that caused it in the first place. other areas, i could not budge it without having to raise the hull from the frame.

I too thought (and JD validated it) of the 2x6 (or 2x8 to dissipate/spread pressure) for (2) hydraulic jacks on the hull, but have not done so yet.  It should only take maybe 1/8 - 3/16" upward movement to get enough room to reposition the rubber.  I may go a 1/4" to floss out the dirt/dust and apply the "3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 4000 UV " between the frame and the rubber. 

I guess I should also open a ticket and add pictures.

 

B~Out 

[Ronbrink]

2 hours ago, John E Davies said:

Could you use a big piece of wood

I ruled out trying to lift the hull in any manner for fear of cracking the gelcoat/fiberglass. Oftentimes when I attempt to do something “very carefully”, stuff happens! However, your suggestion to use soapy water to cleanse and lubricate is a good one. Also, I will take a look at the hull nuts, as well. Thanks for your response.

59 minutes ago, SNY SD UP said:

I had the same issue

I don’t know how commonplace this issue is, but other’s suggestions to open a service ticket may have some merit. It would be interesting to know Oliver’s thoughts regarding a lift to the underbelly or some other proven remedy for the fix.  Since I’m a ‘huge’ DIYer (yet another thing that drives my wife nuts!), I’ve learned to be very resourceful and handy at making and fixing things over many, many years, thus reluctant to ask for help. That said, you will probably submit a service ticket long before I give thought to it.  I transit mostly paved so I can rule out “wash-boardy roads” as the culprit in my case. My thought on use of an adhesive/sealant was to simply run a bead along the edge of the runners, rather than attempt to adhere them at the mating surfaces; not there yet.

Did someone say ‘magic mushrooms’?
 

 

[Geronimo John]

Interesting out of the very many OE2's, the first two owners to mention this problem are both 2022 builds.  Good move Ron and SNYSDUP!!  

I am guessing that before 2022    2020 there was somewhere around say 500 that came off the line. pre-Covid. 

Either we have a LOT of owners that don't crawl laps under their trailers, or something changed with the design, or installation, or both. 

Worth a question for sure.  And I'll be inspecting mine this summer as well. 

GJ

PS:  Likely there will be a lot more of these.  Question is how widespread through the fleet is the situation.  Service Tickets all on this one.

PSS:  We need a catchy name for this syndrome.  Covid Slip maybe?  

Edited December 11, 2023 by Geronimo John
TYPO in Red/Green above

[Geronimo John]

What root causes can you think of for this problem?

• Change in the bedding material to one that is more dense.  Softer material would crush on both sides of the frame thereby form a channel that would keep it in place.  More dense could slide out.

Your turn!

GJ

[John E Davies]

We need to understand if the strips were supposed to be glued down to the frame rails, with VHB tape for example, prior to mating the frame to the hull.  If that step were omitted, intentionally or by Covid accident, then that could be the root cause of the slippage. Oliver Service will certainly be able to clear that up.

If there is indeed supposed to be something binding the strips to the frame or to the hull, then an easy field repair would be applying beads of a good adhesive/ sealer to the edges along the accessible areas. That should suffice to hold everything in place. And it will help to keep road grit out which is very destructive (in the long term) to fiberglass that is under a load, but always flexing a little. It acts just like grinding compound.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

FYI slightly related topic:

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/3330-how-to-remove-modify-the-cover-over-the-waste-storage-bay/

Check your clearance the next time you are poking around under the frame.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Ronbrink]

14 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

Interesting out of the very many OE2's, the first two owners to mention this problem are both 2022 builds.  Good move Ron and SNYSDUP!!  

GJ, I think you meant to write 2020 builds, Hull 579 for me and 665 for Bryan, both Twin models. 

[Geronimo John]

thanks Ron.  Corrected typo above in RED and GREEN.

🙂

GJ

 

 

 

 

[Ronbrink]

11 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

Interesting out of the very many OE2's, the first two owners to mention this problem are both 2022 builds. 

My 2020, 579 was picked up pre-COVID, Bryan’s 2020, 665 likely COVID. 

[ScubaRx]

The early models were notorious for this happening. I fixed mine and several other owner's units back in 2015 using jacks with supporting pieces of 3/4" plywood on either side of a cross brace. You don't need more than 1/8" of clearance to put the rubber strips back into place. The fiberglass will easily give that much without damage. Wetting the area well helped to facilitate. Using the quick clamps as above should make the job easier. The sealant mentioned by @SNY SD UP between the frame member and the rubber is an excellent idea.

[Ronbrink]

5 hours ago, ScubaRx said:

The sealant mentioned by @SNY SD UP between the frame member and the rubber is an excellent idea.

Next ‘go’, I may try the board and lift method. If enough clearance, a may slip some cable ties around the truss to hold the rubber runners in place, as opposed to an adhesive.