2016 Ford F150 with Oliver Elite 2

[ScottyGS]

Just wanted to post a few observations about towing an elite 2 with a Ford F150.

 

Mirrors - I thought I would need the trailer mirrors or the cheaper slip on plastic alternative. Nope.... The regular mirrors are just fine. The Ollie is just about the same width as the F150 and with the curves the regular mirrors provide a good view. Add the rear view camera to act as a rear view mirror and you are good. At night I switch the camera off to reduce panel glare.

 

Ride - Read a lot of comments like..  "you don't even know the Ollie is there it tows so sweet".  Sorry.. it's about 6k lbs. You KNOW it's there. That being said it tows very well. Some buffet from passing eighteen wheelers ( not much ) and if you get too close behind one you do get some buffet that makes you want to back off a few hundred feet. NO SWAY at all. Thank you Anderson Hitch!   On bumpy roads you do get some pogo effect, but the truck trailer combo takes it well.

 

MPG - the F150 computer showed north of 12 mpg and it was backed up by good old fashioned pencil and paper... had to take my shoes off, but the numbers stood up. Go V6 ecoboost. (The bigger one)

 

Backing up - WHOA! I am NOT an experienced trailer guy.   Ok..... I have NO Experience whatsoever!   Pro back up assist is AWESOME! Read the instructions, place the sticker, put the numbers in... And it is easy!     EASY!     Really.... It's EASY!   Sticker fits real nice just behind the bulldog hitch.

 

Electronic Brake Assist - when first hooked up the gain was set at 10 and the trailer wheels were free turning. Tommy Staggs said he would be surprised if 10 would lock up the trailer wheels at all. After a bit of playing around I settled on a 6. Appreciate any comments or advice on this.

 

BIG HILLS! - drove some pretty big hills. The kind where there are all kind of signs warning the big rigs about speed. The tow haul mode provided automatic engine braking and helped control speed very well. Big Plus for the Ford.

 

FLAWS & Problems - Not all fun and games. We had a problem with a trailer disconnect message that kept coming up. At first no problems. Then we hit some rain and got the disconnect message. Stopped and checked to make sure the lights were all working and they were. Noticed some moisture in the connection so I took some electrical tape to tighten the connection. Didn't seem to help and kept getting the message even when it was dry.

Would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, etc. about solving this problem. Not sure if it is the trailer or truck.

 

All in all very happy with our choice of the F150 as a tow vehicle.

 

Disclaimers -  This post is just MY observations about the F150 and the Oliver LE2.  Before picking up the Ollie I did a lot... LOT... of wondering how things would work out.  Wanted to share my experience with others ...    AND...   happy to have advice from other F150 towers out there.  Really... very happy.. .in fact, ecstatic!    Especially about the trailer disconnect message.  Gotta get that fixed. 

 

Thanks and Happy Travels!

 

Scotty

 

 

 

 

[Try2Relax]

Scotty, while I have a GMC 1500, I will agree that I have settled on 6.5 for the brake controller setting, I would guess that the output should be pretty stable across the field, the differences would be in the weight of the trailer, so full water and load maybe a notch higher.

 

As far as the connection issue, I think during all my research I remember something about the Ford connectors, I think it was somewhere in the airstream forums, if I come across it I'll forward it.

[topgun2]

Scotty,

 

Mine is a 2011 V-6 ecoboost F-150.  I've been set at a 6 on the brake controller since about day 3 after starting there, going up and down and then getting back to the 6.  While one should adjust this depending on conditions (wet roads, dirt or gravel roads, certainly ice and snow) I have just let it stay at 6.  Of course, so far, I've not driven Twist in snow.

 

With regards to the connector - I presently have a problem with my left turn signals.  While the right turn signal functions properly, the left will blink all lights on the left plus the backup light on the right.  There is no indication of a problem on the screen inside the truck.  Since I'm going back to the Mothership in early July, I will ask them to look into the problem.

 

Just think of what the pogo effect would have been without the Andersen.

 

I get just shy of 14 mpg - cruise on 65 mph max or 5 mph below posted and only use the tow/haul function in really bad hill country.

 

I do use larger extended mirrors - the kind that slip fit over the existing mirrors (I already had these from towing a different camper).  They do help me see just a bit further behind Twist thus making changing lanes a bit easier.

 

Have you tried some electrical grease in that connector?

 

Bill

[ScubaRx]

...FLAWS & Problems – Not all fun and games. We had a problem with a trailer disconnect message that kept coming up. At first no problems. Then we hit some rain and got the disconnect message. Stopped and checked to make sure the lights were all working and they were. Noticed some moisture in the connection so I took some electrical tape to tighten the connection. Didn’t seem to help and kept getting the message even when it was dry. Would appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, etc. about solving this problem. Not sure if it is the trailer or truck.  Scotty

 

It's the trailer. We have had the same problems. Traced the issue to a poor ground inside the trailer in the harness that comes from the truck. It’s an easy fix. But earlier this year we drove about half of a 7500 mile trip with either intermittent or zero brakes.

[ScottyGS]

Steve,

 

Thanks for that information.  Is this something I can fix myself?  Any info you can provide would be much appreciated.  If I need to make the trip back to TN, I guess i can.   I would bring my golf clubs and play at that local course we passed between the Fall Hollow campground and Oliver.

 

Scotty

 

 

[Overland]

How much compression are you guys getting in the rear suspension?  We're waiting on the new F150 Raptor to come out before ordering and my only concern is that with the softer suspension on that model we'll need to install air bags to compensate.

[ScubaRx]

Steve, Thanks for that information. Is this something I can fix myself? Any info you can provide would be much appreciated. If I need to make the trip back to TN, I guess i can. I would bring my golf clubs and play at that local course we passed between the Fall Hollow campground and Oliver. Scotty

 

 

 

In order for the brakes on the Oliver to work properly, they MUST be properly grounded to the truck. This connection is made starting with the 7 pin connector on the back of the Tow.

 

Lift the cover of the left hand seat of the forward small dinette. This the seat next to the pantry/cupboard. Connected to the frame there will be a grounding strip, it will have lots of yellow wires running to it. This ties all the grounds in the 12 V system to the frame.  You will need to locate the bundle of wires coming from the front of the trailer that is tied to the 7 pin connector mounted on the front outside wall of the Oliver.  Inside this group of wires there is a white wire (as well as blue, green, brown etc.) It is the ground coming from your truck via the 7 pin connector at the rear of the vehicle and the double male ended umbilical attached to the trailer.  This white ground wire must have a jumper to the grounding strip.  Otherwise all the grounding the trailer is getting from the truck is thru the hitch ball. This is NOT enough for the brakes to work consistently.  The lights and everything else will probably work just fine however...

 

Hope this helps.

[ScottyGS]

How much compression are you guys getting in the rear suspension? We’re waiting on the new F150 Raptor to come out before ordering and my only concern is that with the softer suspension on that model we’ll need to install air bags to compensate.

We had to put the Anderson Hitch Ball in the top position to get the truck trailer to ride level.  I just uploaded a close up Pic to my profile of the hitch ball.   Air bags would make things much simpler, but imho... not needed.  At least for me.  YMMV.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Scotty

[topgun2]

Overland,

 

I think that there just might be a bit of confusion going on in this discussion, or at least a bit of "apples and oranges".  On my 4x4 2011 F-150 Ecoboost there is about a 3 inch compression at the rear if I do not use my Andersen WDH.  This amount of compression is nothing different than what I would expect if I were to put 450 to 500 pounds in the rear of the bed of the truck.  However, the very nature of WDH is to distribute the weight more evenly between the truck's two axles.  Therefore, when using a WDH the rear comes up a bit and the front of the truck goes down a bit.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Bill

[Overland]

Thanks for the info. We're planning on getting a multi-axis hitch so no Anderson for us. So it looks like we'll definitely need the air bags.  There's a company that makes a pneumatic bump stop for the F150 that might be a good choice though it comes with a hefty price tag. But of course it shouldn't be nearly as prone to failure as an air bag.

[ScottyGS]

Steve,

 

I checked / traced the wires coming from the 7 pin connector and found that the jumper from the white ground is attached to the grounding block.

 

My next steps are to 1.) get some dielectric grease and make sure there is enough on the connection, and 2.) get a trailer emulator to make sure the problem is not with the truck.  This may well turn out to be a ground problem as the connection goes south after hitting bumps in the road.

 

Will keep all advised and if you think of something I am not.. would appreciate the advice.

 

Thanks again,

 

Scotty

 

 

[topgun2]

" Will keep all advised and if you think of something I am not.. would appreciate the advice"

 

Scotty,

 

On a hot Sunday afternoon I'm sure that a cold beer could help find the problem : ).

 

Bill

[ScottyGS]

or TWO! :-)

[ScottyGS]

Update on the trailer disconnect problem.  I put a meter on the jumper from the ground to the grounding block and the connection is good.

 

So, it is NOT the ground connection.  Will try some more grease and then get that trailer emulator to see if the problem is in the BRAND NEW TRUCK!

 

That would figure ... wouldn't it?  :-)

 

 

 

 

[rideandfly]

Scotty,

 

Hope the electrical problem is resolved.

 

Attached the following Air Forum threads about the same issue:

 

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/ford-f150-trailer-disconnect-warnings-143245.html

 

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/trailer-disconnect-with-2015-ford-f150-137280.html

 

Hope this helps.

[Geronimo John]

On 6/11/2016 at 5:23 AM, ScubaRx said:

In order for the brakes on the Oliver to work properly, they MUST be properly grounded to the truck. This connection is made starting with the 7 pin connector on the back of the Tow.

ScubaRx is spot on.  For newer owners here is a summary of how to verify that the brake magnets are getting the POWER they need.  Simply measure the amps going to and coming back from them.  

 

Testing Trailer Brake Magnets.docx