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Excellent, you found your problem. I checked your profile before I asked which model and year because my method of troubleshooting is to start from the beginning and there are year to year changes in each models manual as the company improves their products. So I went to my 2017 LEII and turned on every 12v DC light, inside and outside which included the outside courtesy lights. I then went to the attic breaker panel and turned of the last breaker on the left, labeled Cabin Lights. All of the lights went off including the outside courtesy lights. So I now know that all lights are controlled by a single breaker and if I remember that, I’ll know when I begin troubleshooting in the future that if a single light or set of lights are not working, it’s not a power problem coming from the breaker. For my future reference, I went to my printed manual and made a note that the cabin light breaker controls all of the 12v DC lights Mike Edit: The basement light fixture is not powered by the cabin light breaker in the attic.

We bought a 2016 F-150 when we got our LE2. Very happy with it so far. Tows the Ollie very well. I would recommend the Anderson WDH, not that you really need it... a half ton pick up would tow the LE2 easily, but for the liability. Here is an interesting article on that: https://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/get-sued-tow-trailer-with-pickups/ Good Luck, Scotty

Relax Mark. As Overland said everything works seamlessly together. The transfer switch he mentioned keeps two 120VAC sources from entering the trailer at the same time or keeps power from a generator attached to your trailer from trying to exit if you’re plugged in. Example: let’s say you’re parked somewhere and hooked up to shore power. It’s a hot night and you really are enjoying the cool air from the fine air conditioner mounted on your new Oliver. Suddenly the power goes off. You go outside, set up the generator and turn it on. Soon you’re relaxing in the coolness again. Without the transfer switch silently doing its job your generator would be backfeeding 120 volts into the grid. A lineman working to fix the fault could be electrocuted and possibly killed because of this. In addition, your batteries are being charged while going down the road by both the solar panels and the truck. The truck’s alternator has a voltage regulator to prevent overcharging any battery connected to it. The solar system has its own charge controller to prevent overcharging from the panels. All this will quickly become second nature when you’ve gotten your trailer and started to use it. Have fun.

John, to answer your question, I did do a before and after comparison. As you probably know you can induce a trailer to sway just by making an abrupt maneuver such as changing lanes quickly, a well balanced trailer will sway, and then settle back down or self correct. The swaymaster uses gps to determine your speed and an internal gyroscope to detect motion, the system is inactive until 45mph, at that point the gyroscope takes over and applies the trailer brakes if you make an abrupt maneuver, I have been able to get it to activate intentionally and accidentally, it worked just as they say it will. I won’t use the system on snow or ice covered roads however, preferring to be able to modulate the brakes myself in that situation. Nothing really works on icy roads, since i’m retired now I no longer have to drive on them, so I don’t, I’ll just wait the storm out. Steve

Having never towed anything as big as our Oliver before, I add the ASA Electronic backup camera for a little piece of mind. With 2 years and 20,000 miles behind me, it clearly helped many times. Last trip out to the Rally, the screen was all cloudy. I thought maybe the camera was just dirty. A closer look found that it was full of moisture! I sent ASA an email and that got right back to me. Bad seal was the diagnosis. They issued a RMA and I removed it and shipped it out to them. A week later I got a Brand new camera. No charge. Got to love companies who do things right. Thanks ASA, you have a customer for life.

Those Benchmark Atlases are the best. The apps we use are All Stays, Ultimate Campgrounds, RV Parky, Overnight RV Parking, iOverlander and Boondocking - all for iOS though most will have android versions. We'll also visit the BLM and USFS pages for the areas we'll be traveling, to check out camping opportunities and download maps. You can also order MVU maps from the USFS for free that will tell you along which roads you can camp. But yes, we've found that a quick visit to a local USFS or BLM office for recommendations is what often leads to the best campsites. It also lets them know that you're out there in case something were to go wrong. Your best bet east of the rockies will be national forests, though sometimes other departments have free dispersed camping. Different states have different rules about overnighting at a rest stop. Generally, big rig drivers don't like RVers in 'their' areas, like truck stops - but then, those are usually noisy and smell like diesel anyway so not the best place to stay a night. If you're in desperate need of a place to overnight, stop by the local police or sheriff and ask. Often they'll know a safe place and will let their officers know that you'll be there so that you won't get bothered.

I can't comment on boondocking in the East except that it is extremely limited. Nearly all the public land is out West. You can't just stop somewhere at random and cross your fingers. You need maps. Start with Ultimate Campgrounds - it lists most public camping sites and has clickable links so you can access webpages and get site info (requires a cell signal and data plan). http://www.ultimatecampgrounds.com Unfortunately it doesn't have very complete maps, though it did recently get the very nice Google Terrain Maps, so you don't know what is private and what is accessible. Even if you are in a National Forest, you might find yourself in one with checkerboard ownership - scattered blocks of private land embedded within the federal land. The Premium membership of this app works great. You can layer all sorts of info over base maps, for example forest MVUM (motor vehicle use maps) and public land ownership on top of topo or NFS maps, or on top of the wonderful National Geographic Trail Maps. https://www.gaiagps.com Combine it with an iPad or similar tablet and you have a great way to get around in the boonies. It is pretty hard to use well on a phone.,,, Some map types are downloadable, so when the cell signal fades away you can still figure where you are going, if you took the time to preload the map data onto your device. If you plan to buy a device, get the largest drive offered because map files are huge depending on the zoom levels; some are several GB. I have over 45 GB of maps on my iPad Mini 4. There is a ton of info available, you need to do some reading and watching videos. You need to learn about two separate things: overland navigation and RV boondocking. The subjects overlap but they are NOT the same thing. Expedition Portal is a great start. And this has a discount code for Gaia: http://www.lifestyleoverland.com/this-is-the-best-outdoor-navigation-app-ever/ You always should have a paper backup map, I strongly recommend the Benchmark state atlases for out west. They are really nice. You can buy a digital version, but IMHO if you are miles back in the desert or forest and your car nav system shows a big grey blank, you need a paper backup in case your other device dies. .. https://www.benchmarkmaps.com/atlases John Davies Spokane WA

5.0 is a great engine too. It should tow fine assuming you don’t overload the payload and rear axle rating. If it needs to downshift, let it, the 5.0 can rev just fine.

You haven’t provided enough info for us to judge..... https://www.holidayfordusa.com/blogs/2548/uncategorized/ford-f-150-towing-capacities-by-engine/ Ratings change yearly, so research your particular truck. They are also significantly affected by added accessories (bumpers, racks, canopies), oversized tires, external cargo, etc. If yours is borderline for a 6000 pound towed load, a rating below 8000 pounds, you will probably be fine to start out. You can always swap out the ring and pinion(s) later if you feel it is struggling on high elevation grades in summer heat.... That takes way less cash than buying a replacement truck. Other than forced induction, that is the single best mod to gain lots of power. If your truck is tired, lacking power and payload, AND without modern towing aids, consider a newer one since they are so much better and safer at the job. Or better yet a HD model. Please go to your personal forum page, click the gear in the upper right corner and fill out your profile, including a signature with your truck and Ollie info. John Davies Spokane WA

I first towed my LEII with a 2011 F-150 ecoboost and now tow with a 2017 F-150 ecoboost. Both trucks had the Ford tow package but the second truck has the "offroad" package. I find that the suspension on the second truck is a tad more firm (which I prefer). Make sure that you get the tow package (makes the brake controller use a no-brainer) and make sure that the truck has the larger gas tank (particularly if you plan to tow out West). Finally, in addition to the liability issues that Scotty mentions, note that the hitch on the Fords has a little label on it which states that you need a weight distribution hitch when towing anything over 500 pounds hitch weight. Bill p.s. I could not be happier with either of these two trucks and have never had a single problem with either one. Both were the first Fords I've ever owned. There is a reason why Ford sells more F-150's than any other brand.

This video, Hobo. It came out last year.

Also if you go to the Oliver University link that you’ll find in the Travel Trailers section of the menu above, you can download the current owners manual which will help get you familiar with the trailer’s systems.

To answer your first question, this forum is a darned good place to start. As for your second, all the electrical components play well with one another and you can’t really damage anything unless you try hard. The chargers (solar and shore power) can both operate simultaneously and neither will charge the batteries unless they need it. Then there’s an automatic transfer switch that prevents you from, say, trying to charge your batteries by plugging into a wall socket and a generator at the same time. Fairly fool proof, really. If you want to learn more, there are plenty of folk here who are very knowledgeable about trailer electrics, and someone posted a link to a good primer from Victron a few months ago that I’ll try to dig up and link to again.

Then it’s time to start coloring your signature map?

So obviously you all are on your way. Safe travels! And I guess you both are now 20/20?

Since my life doesn't revolve around being able to get onto the Oliver Forum, I find it to be quite acceptable. It's been there when I actually needed it. There are other much larger forums that I frequent more than the Oliver forum and each of them have had their "bad days" too. I still find them useful. I personally am thankful for what we've already got. Improvement is always good, and I'm sure within reason, Oliver will address user concerns as they always seem to do.

Mike, wish w had an lol button. ? Sherry

Big discounts on 2019 trucks are already showing up here in Tampa Bay area. I suspect they'll get better.

And then again, five years later, another bus... http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2009/04/keith_urban_steals_tour_bus_tu.html Really, we often say a license for small boats would be a good thing in Florida. Rvs, maybe. At least, get your ducks in a row...

Nrvale0: I had to replace my bumper pins. Numerous vendors on line. Google “quick release pins.” Opt for stainless steel, 3/8” diameter, and minimum of 3” useable length. My replacements were/are 3.5” useable length and work fine. Good luck. John Shkor. SailorsAshore

You'll find all the info you need here. Ewa Zajch is now at extension 21 rather than 22. Just give her the size of the one you want replaced and be sure to let her know if you want the bright white or antique white color.

PS, holding out on upgrading for the rear patio/ hot tub model. Just kidding. That was a joke a decade ago here. But, a girl can dream... Sherry

John - I assure you that Oliver is aware of the issues with the Forum at the highest levels. While I am not, nor have ever been, an IT guy even I understand that using a tool for a job that it was not designed for can cause both problems and limitations. Certainly losing posts is not desirable and I do know that there are backups of the Forum (in fact, it is highly likely that reverting to these backups is what caused the loss of some posts and PM's over the past day or so). However to think that these backups are done every instant of every day is probably not realistic. When an issue happens that does not allow for an easy fix in real time, I can only assume that the most recent backup that is known to not have this issue is used to then restore the Forum to that "stable" point. Therefore, I would just as certainly not call this action "irresponsible". While I do not routinely visit the "many dozens of websites" that you seem to, I would have to agree that the ones that I do visit are generally more stable and have features that make them a bit more user friendly. However, I can only assume that these sites use platforms that were specifically designed for the kind of use that makes them so user friendly. As I understand it, the platform that we are on is only an "offshoot" of the general software that Oliver uses for the rest of their operations. Thus the issues that we experience. Again, the current platform does not allow for external ads (as far as I know). Even with the limitations that the Forum has, it is still the best source of information regarding our Olivers for the travel of like minded folks, modifications, warranty technical service bulletins, classifieds, general Oliver oriented discussion, etc.. As with all the other things "Oliver", I'm sure that as the Travel Trailer division continues to grow, our Forum will get better. We, the first owner's have a unique opportunity to be a constructive part of this growth. And, as with virtually all growth, there will be some growing pains. Bill

I do not know the exact causes of the recent "hiccups" with the Forum other than there has been work going on to try to clean up some of the "code" and to try to speed it up a bit. However, I do believe that the Oliver people that are working on our Forum are highly capable and hard working (not so dissimilar from most, if not all, the other Oliver folks). These people are well aware of the limitations and issues that are present in the platform that is being used for the Forum. However, it is highly unlikely that we will get a new platform anytime soon due to the fact that most (if not all) the Oliver companies are presently using this software for their needs and we are only a very small part of that rather large picture. Even though we have some "problems" from time to time and our "search" function has never been all that great, it is hard to argue about the price and the lack of advertisements. Oliver is well aware of the benefits to the Company and to each of the Oliver Travel Trailer Owners that our Forum provides. But, they must balance that with the potential costs and disruptions to the total company that a switch to another software platform would cause. Bill

I moved my television to the center mount location in March for many of the same reasons mentioned in this post. I used Mike and Carol's suggestion of a door knob protector to cover the old wiring hole into the attic. I did not like the looks of the door knob protector because the mounting tape was too thick and it left a noticeable gap between the protector and the fiberglass. So I went back to Amazon and bought a 2" white plastic hole plug that worked perfectly. The only problem is it came in a bag of 25. So I have 24 left. If you want to do this mod or already have and need a hole cover, just let me know via PM and include your address. I drop one in mail for you. Now what's on tv? And that’s not a tow vehicle?