BBL

It has had several recalls but that wasn’t one of them. I have found it is less of an issue since I installed the Firestone airbags. I have a camper shell on the back and a Bedslide. Those two alone were enough to change the geometry on my truck and raise the front end slightly. It got worse when I loaded down for travel and then hitched up. I now inflate my airbags to give me the “Stock Height” from my tailgate to the ground. That seems to do the trick. Another thing Ford owners do is change settings using a program called FORSCAN and invoke what is called “Bambi Mode”. On a stock Ford truck the fog lights will switch OFF when you turn on the high beams. Bambi mode allows the fog lights to stay on with high beams. They are called fog lights even though they are white and LED so they are still quite bright but they have a dispersed pattern. Brian

I agree - highly recommend…I will have to send you a picture of recent front end work on my F-250. Have you heard about the collaboration between Warn and Ford to create the “kit” to install the 12k pound winch? It looks incredible! @PatriotAdding Link: https://www.levittownfordparts.com/sku/m-1821-sd.html BL

After changing bulbs in Chevy’s, Toyota, Lexus I made it a point to order ALL LED bulbs on my 2020 Ford - have not been disappointed but no matter what I do in terms of keeping the truck level (Air Bags in back, etc) my low beams seem to be too bright for many oncoming cars. It is mainly the cars that are low to the ground, trucks don’t seem to mind. I have to say they are the clearest, brightest lights I have ever had - including some off road lights. Good luck to all the bulb-changers out there. It is not a fun, or easy task. Cheers, BL

Thank you for that update, I missed that one. Although I must say, I don’t like it, it doesn’t make clear sense. A debate for another thread. BL

I apologize, I am not familiar with that term. You have very little (no) information on your profile that would give me additional information about your location, rig, TV, etc…. Please elaborate. BL

“2022 LE II Tail #22-1052” Patrick “Wolfpack”, do I detect a former, and fellow, Airman here? Love the tail number, I may steal the concept - we are waiting on Tail #23-1351 to roll out of the hangar sometime in early March. I was aircrew on AWACS and Joint STARS now retired (21 years) and looking forward to some serious down time. Still need to shake these pesky second and third career moves. Looking forward to pulling the plug in May of this year though. Re the phone…my Apple Watch has tried to “save me” a few times out on the mountain bike trails but, to its credit, I had taken a tumble but needed no assistance. Hope to see you guys at the rally in May. Brian

Bet it was - I am SO looking forward to having a 30 amp cord. I had a 30’ 50 amp cord on the Airstream and I can remember several occasions coming out to disconnect for an early launch in single digit temps. That cord would freeze solid and did not want to curl up, not to mention how heavy it was! It would go in the back of the truck for that leg. Happy to see you put this in writing, I was wondering if I was the only one thinking this. You can either get a longer replacement cord or get an extension cord but they are not interchangeable. Always good discussions here! Brian

There just might be something in the works... BL

I got my Part 107 license a few years ago. I really enjoyed the study material as I have a background in Air Force aviation and it brought back many memories. You only really need it IF you are going to use the UAS (unmanned aerial system) to make money e.g. Commercial UAS Pilot License (Part 107). Otherwise, it’s kind of like having a 2 5/16” hitch, you might not really need it but it has a “cool factor” with it. Fly Safe, Brian

After I posted this I contacted my sales rep. Within an hour he replied with our Hull # (1351) and a build sheet with our VIN. We had seen the same thing on the registration form. We will now be able to register as owners! Cheers, Brian

@chiwald Nice looking rig! We will be all white with a Ford as well. Not scheduled to pick up until 3/8/23. Where are you from? (Might want to update sig block) — I assume that decal is from Etsy? We have been looking at similar decals but yours is the best we have seen so far. B&B

@Steve and Deb your profile says Hull #1360; has Oliver provided you with a Hull number already? Our delivery is set to be 3/8/23 and we have not heard a thing on that front. Brian

Very good points and I am familiar with the Ocean Air shades having just sold our Airstream. Maybe the combination of the Ocean Air shade and the tinted window would provide the 99% solution. It’s great to have this dialog and have some options to consider. Thank you all! Brian

This mod looks great. I am currently looking into this as one of our first mods when we take delivery. A few weeks ago I was in an RV dealer looking through their parts department and they had a very nice Lippert display. The Oliver doors are made by Lippert. Has anyone tried the Lippert “Thin Shade” mod or compared it to this one? I looks really nice and gives you a much better view through the window. https://store.lci1.com/thin-shade-complete-window-kit-for-rv-entry-doors-806621 Let me know what you think. Brian

Parks on the Air (POTA) is one of our favorite activities. I got my New Year’s day contacts yesterday and then some! My wife and I are discussing an “Activation” of the Lake Guntersville State Park (K-1044) during the rally. I will likely bring my FT-991A and a Chameleon vertical antenna and setup somewhere in the campground but we can discuss options. 73 de AF1US Brian

I have used CB on the trails in CO, GMRS is becoming the de facto standard as they are easier to use and you can get hand-helds just about anywhere. I am also a licensed amateur (ham) operator and fully endorse getting a license if you plan to use GMRS. The use of the spectrum is gauged by how many people get licensed, not by how many people use it and that spectrum can be auctioned off making the service and all the radios go away. I mostly use VHF/UHF (2 meter and 70 cm) while mobile but carry an HF and antenna to communicate long-range while camping. There is an activity in the ham world called POTA (Parks on the Air) where people take radios to state and national parks and monuments and set up radios. Others call in and “log the park”. This does several things. It gives you a good idea of how far you can talk on your radio, what conditions are like that day and it generates a tremendous amount of interest in radio. The annual Oliver rally is held at a State Park! Does anyone ever talk radios/communications at the Rally? Would anyone be interested in a CB/GMRS/FRS/MURS/HAM discussion/demonstration?? I think this would be a great topic. Especially for those looking to caravan up to Canada (different rules) and Alaska. My Amateur Callsign is AF1US (Air Force 1 United States) - see you on the radio. Brian

We just visited the factory at Hohenwald to take some measurements and pictures. We live about 90 minutes away so it is easy to do. While we were there, one of the techs mentioned Truma had issued a service bulletin on the screws originally sent with the air conditioner units and advised Oliver to not use them. Truma sent new screws to use for installation of the a/c units to prevent leaks. You might want to have a conversation with them to determine if the additional caulking was the appropriate corrective action or if something else needs to be performed to prevent leaks down the road. Brian

That is true on the plant tour but not the showroom. I don’t disagree with the policy. Not everyone wants to be posted all over the internet just because they were doing their job. Also, corporate espionage is a real thing. Proprietary techniques and processes should be kept private. We spent over an hour in the LE II outside, the showroom was empty due to the company Christmas party, we tried out the Truma furnace and ran many other systems completely unplugged. The Truma did not disappoint. We got all the measurements and pictures we wanted from a true 2023 model. Brian

@Steve and Deb ok, sounds good. We are stopping by the Oliver plant on Friday. Let me know if there is anything you might need me to measure on the 2023 model. We will be measuring and taking pictures. BL

@Steve and Deb did you see the attachment from my previous post? I failed to properly address is to you. Brian

Steve, not trying to one-up but I am really looking forward to some Pappy Van Winkle…or maybe Woodford. Here is what I got from Oliver back when I was sorting through mattress decisions. Brian Elite-II-Cushions-Rear-Seat-Twin.pdf

Steve - we are scheduled to pick up about 20 days before you guys and we ordered the standard cushions with the same plan in mind, go find something that we like later. Maybe if you take your standard cushion to TOMF after you take delivery, they could get as close as possible and you could see what the gap would look like? I am following this so we will know if this is an option for us. It sounds like a great plan. Brian

We recently sold our 30' Airstream Flying Cloud, it had two Dometic A/C units, one 15,000 and one 13,500. They have ducting called "Quiet-Stream" and it is generally very quiet. If it's not too hot out, those a/c units will freeze you out of there but the challenge in an Airstream is that they are all metal (inside and out) with a thin layer of Eco-Batting (essentially wool insulation) between the skins. We were a bit disappointed when we first got our Airstream and the dealer told us how to cover all the windows from this inside with Reflectix and said, when it gets hot out, that's the only way to keep it cool in there... We also noticed the wild price increase over the last few years. Three years ago we saw the 33' Classic (top of the line) at the Hershey RV show and it was $145,000. The 2023 retails now for $199,000!! Looking forward to getting our LE II in March 2023 so we can get back to camping. Brian

Kirk - I did make the mistake in assuming this was a recent video and didn't check the date but, I have to say, I was just quoting the CEO. It's good yours have heaters, and now that I think about it, they have the little jumper wires that connect to themselves, correct? I remember those from the Airstream batteries. Surprised BB has not added a remote disconnect (On/Off) switch. I know there are many ways to do this. My preference was a BlueSea battery disconnect switch. I am guessing your truck has one? Thanks for the continued discussion. Brian

I really like Will's videos, my wife thinks he's a little quirky but I remind her he's an engineer. This is a great video and Battleborn makes a great product. I got two takeaways for those of us that will be using Lithionics batteries. I also really like Lithionics, 100% made in USA. 1. Battleborn "is going to install internal battery heaters in the near future" - Lithionics already has internal heaters. 2. Battleborn recommends if you are connected for a long time, like at your house, to "disconnect the batteries". Lithionics has On/Off switches that make this easy. I believe there are many good choices on the market today and people should get what suits them best. I am happy we are going with Lithionics, Victron and Xantrex and we will make the most of our situation. Information sharing is how we all learn, thanks for posting. Brian