ScottyGS

JBM, much thanks for the update. Do you have the service bulletin number handy. I want to get this done and be able to be specific with Ford. thanks again Scotty

JBM, Thank you for the update. Really appreciate your taking the time to let us all know about the Tow Ready. I have the Tow Ready but as the trailer is in storage about an hour away have not tested it. I have already switched over the setting to "electric over hydraulic" brakes. I will try that setting first without the tow ready to see how things go. When you say "albeit reduced braking", what exactly do you mean. does the truck send a "weaker"signal to the electric brakes causing them to be less effective? Is there a safety concern using this setting? I have to admit that I don't really have a feel as to how much braking the trailer is doing vs. the truck. Inexperience induced :-) I have been told that if you don't have any trailer brakes you WILL KNOW IT. But not sure I will be able to sense reduced vs. full. Thanks again. I will be bringing her home for a waxing in July so will have an update then. Thanks, Scotty

Junior BirdMan, thanks very much. Will try changing that setting and report back to the group as soon as we hit the next road trip. If anyone else try's this please report back your results. thanks again, Scotty

Don't worry. The window shades work fine. There are two shades in each window frame. One that is see through and one that is not. At campsites the shade will make it dark enough to sleep fine. I made these to keep the heat level down while the trailer is in storage OR for those time s when you overnight at a Walmart. The parking lot lights can be annoying. 'Welcome to the family and please post some pics of your Ollie on the forum. Scotty

Hey Bill... and Everyone, OK.. I have had the trailer back at Ford. They checked everything out and found nothing. NADA. No codes indicating problems and they checked the wiring at the plug and all looks good. Yeah Right. I have received the Towready from eTrailer but have already put the trailer back up at storage. So, I wont be able to check it until next trip. Not sure when that will be. I will have to bring her home at least sometime in July to Wax. So, unfortunately for now I have nothing to report. I will try the Towready and if that does not do the trick then will run a jump ground wire. Good Luck, Scotty

Had this idea last year but did not get around to executing until this week. I was thinking that keeping light out of the trailer when it is in storage would keep the heat level down. As an added benefit, if you need to overnight at a Wal-Mart or other parking lot with all night lighting, this might let you get some sleep. All I did was remove the window shades and cut the reflectix to size. Then it is easy to install / remove and roll up and store. The roof vent for the MaxxAir Fan and the Door Window took some velcro and duct tape to make work but it was pretty easy to size and put up. Easily removable with the velcro. The last picture of the interior was taken on a bright sunny day around noon. When you first enter and close the door it is pitch black inside. When your eyes adjust you can see the interior enough to move around. Some light still gets in but not enough to keep you awake. Hope you enjoyed this. Best, Scotty

Dennis, Thanks for the picture. I will have them put that in when we have the repair done. I guess that will make our Oliver a 2016 and a HALF! We were the experimental unit for the 2017 stripes and with the door I think we can claim half status. Thanks again, Scotty

Welcome to the Forum and THANKS for your help with my IPN remote. Scotty

Had an issue with the IPN Remote display not showing any data - See picture #1. Was advised by Ryan at Blue Sky to unplug the data line at the back of the remote for a few seconds - See picture #2. Problem solved with a screwdriver and a phone call. My kind of problem. :-) Posting here in case anyone has the same issue. Easy fix. Scotty

Dennis, DANG! ... Wish I had known to take a look at it at the Spring Fling. There is a pic of your trailer on the picture page and I can see the door but not well. Would you post a pic when you get a chance? No rush. Won't have to make a decision on this for months, but I would like to get it teed up with the folks at Oliver. Makes a lot of sense to provide better access to that area. Thank You for that info. Hope our paths cross again some time soon. Scotty

Update: I spoke with Jason about the furnace noise and he said that they would need to either align the wheel or replace the unit. This will involve a trip to the mothership this year. I asked about the procedure for removing the furnace thinking I might be able to do this myself. This proved to be wishful thinking. The furnace must be removed through the basement area. Jason did say that they could cut into the hull and create an access door to get the furnace out and a new one back in again. I am thinking that this idea makes a tremendous amount of sense. That would make future adjustments / repairs / replacements a fairly straightforward job. I may explore having this done when in Hohenwald for the repair. In the meantime... Thinking about picking up one of these. http://www.mrheater.com/portable-buddy-heater.html Thanks everyone. Scotty

Hi Mike, You called it. Jason said that this was probably due to over tightening. He is sending me some replacement screws to replace them with. Will let you all know when I get that done. Scotty

Hi Everyone, Waiting to speak with Jason about several issues and thought I would put up a post about this one. I found a small cut off screw on one of the bunks. Then found another.... and another....and... you get the picture. Took off the window shade and found that several screws have come loose from the window frame. They look like they were sheared off. I tried replacing them but they won't screw back in. I will ask Jason about this when we speak and share anything I learn. It might be worth pulling your window shades to make sure you don't have a screw loose. If anyone has solved this little dilemma, please let us know. Thanks, Scotty

Yep... meant for Bill. Sorry about that. I ordered the Tow Ready 20142 and will try that. For less than $25 from etrailer it seemed like a no brainer. I will prep a jumper wire too just in case. The turn signal fault is new... and happens just before the disconnect issue which leads me to believe its the same problem. Might very well be a ground issue. At least we have several fixes to try and a place to compare notes. At the same time I am juggling the furnace issue, the IPN Remote issue, the broken screws on the window issue, and the loose rivet issue. (OK, the rivet thing is maintenance and the easiest thing to fix - but when you are on a roll .... pile on! ) Thanks everyone.

Randy, Hate to be the bearer of bad news but........ At first it was only the rain with us too. Then it was the bumps. Then the turn signal faults started preceding the disconnect message. If I could find a way to disable that damned bell chime sound I might just call it a day and live with it. Let's hope one of these fix's works and we can move on to fixing stuff that breaks on the Oliver. Sheeeesh! It's like owning a boat. There is always something. :-) Thanks again everyone, Scotty

David, Randy, & Karen, Thank you very much. All good information on this problem. We have two things to try: 1.) the 57003 Curt thingie and 2.) the jumper wire. I will try the jumper wire first and see if that does it. Then move on to the 57003 (or smaller version) if need be. Question on the 57003 - This goes between the trailer cable and the truck receptacle. So, I assume that we would plug the cable side into the truck receptacle and then plug the trailer plug into the side with the spring loaded door. Is that right? There is no picture I can find that shows what is behind the door. If this works on the F-150, then we can assume (there is that dangerous word again) that the issue is the Truck computer does not recognize LED lights. Thanks again for you help. Appreciate it very much. Scotty

It sounds like a mouse... or RAT wearing full medieval armor got stuck in the fan cage.... But probably not. Have had the screens since we picked her up last June. It will be interesting to find out exactly what is causing this. This is what the Suburban manual says about noise. ( I am betting on number 4 ) B. Blower Is Noisy: 1. Check for lint accumulation or debris on the blower wheels or possible damage to the wheel. 2. Check for excessive voltage and correct, if present. 3. Check polarity. If reversed, the motor will whine and run backward. Air delivery will be too low to close the microswitch. 4. Wheel may be hitting the housing. Remove the combustion air housing and adjust the wheel with a T-handle 1/8" Allen wrench. On the room air wheel side, a 90* angle 1/811 Allen wrench will be needed to remove or adjust the wheel. 5. At times, insects such as mud daubers and wasps will build nests inside the combustion air housing, coming in from the fresh air intake. Remove any foreign materials and check the combustion air wheel for warpage. 6. If the bushings of the motor are worn and noise persists, replace the motor. Check both wheels for balance and, if not proper, replace the wheel or wheels.

Bill, I have a phone call schedule with Jason tomorrow about several issues I am having. I will ask him about the product and see if I can locate it. Stay tuned for what I learn. Scotty

Thanks Mike. I sent Anita and Jason an email about this and some other issues and hope to speak with him in a day or two. Will report back. Scotty

Is anyone else having an issue with the Furnace NOISE LEVEL? We just got back from the New Hampshire Spring Fling and found that the furnace has developed a rather nasty knocking sound. It sounds like the fan / wheel is hitting the housing. It's loudest under load and pushing on the side of the furnace will lessen the noise. Here are some videos of the problem: (you might need to copy and paste the URL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPu6qkB3E54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66qzXefR4R8 Has anyone else had or solved this problem? Does anyone know how to remove the Furnace? It looks like if you pop the rivits on the exhaust and then remove the screws that mount the unit to the frame you would be able to lift it out. Of course you still need to disconnect power and propane. Any help would be much appreciated. Scotty Flying Sea Turtle - Hull # 145

There seems to be more and more F-150's out there on the forum. I am creating this topic for all of us who have an F-150 and are experiencing or will experience the dreaded Trailer Disconnect Message. This topic will hopefully help us 1.) Understand the issue and 2.) Find a way to lessen / live with it. To start a hearty THANK YOU to all those I have talked to about this, especially Steve / ScubaRX. I also have a request for any who read this thread: PLEASE LIMIT this discussion to the disconnect issue on the F-150 ONLY. Many helpful people who know a lot more about trailer electronics than I do will undoubtedly want to help diagnose grounding issues etc. For the F-150 that would send most folks down a very deep rabbit hole. OK.. and thanks in advance for your help on this. This is what I know / have been able to surmise about the situation: IT's the TRUCK! Not the trailer. If you google F-150 and trailer disconnect you will get a huge amount of hits going back a very long time. Ford must know about this and just not care about fixing it.DON'T worry about your BRAKES! - All the lights and turn signals work fine even when the trucks computer tells you the trailer is disconnected. AND THE BRAKES ARE WORKING TOO! The good news..... no danger, but it still sure is annoying. If you want to check this, use the manual brake controller to apply the brakes when the trailer is showing disconnected. You can also go to the trailer status screen and see the gain when you apply the foot brake. < I worried a long time about the brakes and now its nice to know that they are still there doing their job > This is what I think we might be able to do about it: I read that running a ground jump cable between trailer and truck might help. That is if it is a grounding issue that is causing the trucks computer to think the trailer is disconnected. I am thinking this would involve wire, connectors, screws and drilling some small holes. Does anyone know how to do this? Any help on placing a ground between the truck and trailer would be appreciated. I will get er done and report back on the next trip.Has anyone SOLVED this issue? Either with the help of Ford or on your own?I plan to address this with my local ford dealer, but frankly don't have much hope that they will have a solution. Finally for those planning on buying an F-150 as an Ollie tow vehicle. Everything else about the truck is great. Lots of power. Nice ride. Tows great. And, the Pro Backup Assist helps very much for trailer newbs like me. This is the only issue that drives me a bit crazy. Thanks Everyone... Smooth Roads and Blue Skies! Scotty Flying Sea Turtle - Hull # 145

If you forget to turn on your propane and the truma water heater is on you will hear a weird sound as it tries to fire up. This will keep you awake until you decide to investigate. Do not ask me how i know this. :-) Scotty Hull 145 FST

Yvonne & Doug, CONGRATS! and welcome to the family. Glad you had a safe trip home. I hope you got the Pro Backup Assist in your new Lariat. It makes my life a whole lot easier when in reverse. Would you please post more about the bike rack? Did Oliver do that for you? We have the old style and I would like very much to upgrade. Pics of the rack would be much appreciated. Thanks and Good Luck! Gregg, Donna, and Piper (our 9 month old Westie) Flying Sea Turtle - Hull # 145 and the Blue Whale - 2016 F-150

Stan & Linda, Congrats and Welcome aboard! TWO Olivers in NJ! Who'd a thunkit! We are headed to the New Hampshire Spring Fling on May 11-14. It would be a great shake out cruise for your new Ollie. This is a fiberglass trailer event but you would put the number of Ollies at 4. Best of Luck Gregg & Donna Flying Sea Turtle - Hull # 145

Ok... Stupid question maybe... But...If you go to a propane refill place that services RV's they would likely fill your propane without removing the tanks. The Class B's that have propane with permanently installed tanks can't remove them. You might have to call around to find a place that will but it's got to be easier than lifting those tanks. Scotty Flying Sea Turtle Hull # 145