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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / March 2008is there a "standard" trailer connector?
Hi all, I have bought a camper shell for my old F-150 (gotta love Craigslist) and am going to have to run some wires to hook up the third brake light and dome light. At the same time, I'm thinking towards adding a trailer hitch, so I might as well do the wiring for the trailer plug at the same time. I know that a lot of trailers use a 4-way flat plug, but I also see 6 and 7 pin connectors, either one of which would be the same amount of effort to wire in (and I'll have all conductors available at the rear of the truck to wire either up, save for the brake controller wire, which I might as well just run at the same time as the third brake light wire "while I'm in there.") Question is, which is more common? I don't actually have a trailer, just want to have the option of pulling one if I have to. thanks, Nate  Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Nate If you use the larger 7 pin RV connector on the tow vehicle you can get adapters to use 6 and 4 pin trailers. The slickest one I have seen was on a Dodge truck, it was a 7 pin RV with a flat 4 pin molded to the 7 pin. > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Nate It all depends on what size the trailer is. Personally I install the 7 blade units that have a 4 wire next to them. Gives you either option that way. Plus you can buy adapters that plug into the 7 blade that will handle all the others as well. Either way make sure you install them with good wiring, soldered and sealed connections. Then coat the connectors with grease to keep them from rotting away. For the cap itself I like to wire up a 4 pin connector. You can actually wire in brake/turn/marker lights that way. Plus if you pull the cap you just unplug it. What I have been doing for the interior lights is to connect them to the marker lights. SignatureSteve W. Near Cooperstown, New York Life is not like a box of chocolates it's more like a jar of jalapenos- what you do today could burn your a.s tomorrow! >Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Nate Not really. Hoppy makes some nifty adapters that plug right into the truck harness coupling just left of center in front of rear splash panel. See here: http://www.mtfca.com/encyclo/index.htm If your truck came with the factory tow package, it will have a pigtail for the brake controller under center of dash easy to get to. With that and a brake controller, you can use a 7 pin recepticle to the harness adapter. They make a 7 pin round connector to a flat connector to make it easy for a trailer w/o brakes. You can see some of them here: http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=catalog.catalog&categoryID=284 or http://www.etrailer.com/c-ELEPWF.htm and http://www.etrailer.com/pc-VWH~118316.htm If you have a Northern store around, they stock quite a few adapters. It works a lot better than cutting on a harness. You can adapt it just about any way you want. I have mine setup for the heavy duty 7 pin for the heavier trailer. I have the adapter to plug into it for use with the light trailer or a rental trailer from time to time. If your already has the tow package, it will have a distribution box for it under the hood with the relays and fuses. If it is there, the truck is ready to just plug in the adapters and controller. Lugnut >>Hi all, >> [quoted text clipped - 50 lines] > > Lugnut Heh. Towing package. I wish. I actually have the window sticker for this truck; the original owner kept EVERYTHING. The only options listed are: Automatic trans (E40D) A/C AM/FM stereo Rear step bumper Vinyl rear bench seat that's it! El strippo... but I guess little to go wrong. I did add a tach and a real oil pressure gauge after I bought it. nate Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel > Automatic trans (E40D) > A/C [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > nate HEY - that is like my favorite old truck - 1992 F150. What year is yours? If it is '92 or earlier, look out for the E4OD. It is a weak link unless it has been upgraded. For sure if you are going to do any towing, add a transmission cooler. Ed http://www.trailerwiring.com/ The 7-pin Pollack/Bargman is the most standard after the Flat-4. The extra pins are for trailer battery charging, trailer brakes and a spare (often used for back-up lights). Were it me, I'd put in the 7-pin, so I could hook up a trailer with that connector and also buy a 7-pin to Flat-4 adapter at Wally for those trailers. Pete > > Automatic trans (E40D) > > A/C [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Ed It's a 93. Judging from the owner's manual, the E4OD was a good call as it actually increases towing capacity over the 5-speed manual, even though I'm squarely in the row-it-yourself camp. It worries me a little bit, as I think I can detect it slipping at WOT shifts every now and again (with the 300 I-6, that happens more often than you'd think) but I did have it serviced with synthetic fluid shortly after I got it (and I had new front wheel bearings installed, changed the oil, put Redline Heavy Shockproof in the diff, and ran some fresh brake fluid through, so all fluids should be nice and fresh) and it seems to be much improved. I also have a trans temp gauge that I will be installing this weekend, simply because I had a spare oil pressure gauge and vacuum gauge laying around and a three gauge panel, and I needed somthing to fill the extra hole :) nate > > > Automatic trans (E40D) > > > A/C [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > > nate I'd take those ratings with a grain or two of salt. They also claim that the automatic version of given vehicle gets better MPG than the manual version, and that has been the opposite of my experience. I'll take a manual over an automatic for towing any day. >> > > Automatic trans (E40D) >> > > A/C [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >version, and that has been the opposite of my experience. I'll take a >manual over an automatic for towing any day. I don't know if you guys noticed, but 3-4 years ago, Ford suddenly drop the ratings on many trucks with manual trans. One year truck is X lbs, next year equivalent truck is X-Y lbs. I talked with truck manager at local Ford store and he said the downrate was probably a reflection of driver experience (as measure by customer problems) rather than mechanical experience. Doesn't change the legal problem, but there's apparently nothing wrong with the transmissions, just the driver skill. If you don't believe me, download an OM from Ford for 2001 and then one for 2007 and look at tow ratings therein. Pete >>>>>Automatic trans (E40D) >>>>>A/C [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > Pete I did not notice as I don't really watch some stuff, but that doesn't surprise me. Guess they got sick of warrantying clutches. I thought the Mazda 5-speed was kind of light duty though, or am I getting my anecdotes mixed up? nate Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel >I did not notice as I don't really watch some stuff, but that doesn't >surprise me. Guess they got sick of warrantying clutches. I thought >the Mazda 5-speed was kind of light duty though, or am I getting my >anecdotes mixed up? > >nate Which five-speed? MT and AT come in five-speed on the Ranger. One of the guys on another group has a lot of fleet experience with Rangers and vastly prefers the MT for towing his small RVs. Pete >>I did not notice as I don't really watch some stuff, but that doesn't >>surprise me. Guess they got sick of warrantying clutches. I thought [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Pete I'm talking about the Mazda M5OD (I think?) which would have been the manual transmission installed in a '93 F-150 had it not had the E4OD option. nate Signaturereplace "roosters" with "cox" to reply. http://members.cox.net/njnagel >> I'd take those ratings with a grain or two of salt. They also claim that >> the automatic version of given vehicle gets better MPG than the manual [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Pete fwiw, when I was trying to track down the tow rating for my 90 Chevy, the dealer was more interested in the rear axle that was in my truck than the transmission. Sounds like on the GM side, that's what they use to determine towing capacity. (or part of it anyway.) Ray > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Nate You can get or make a 4 pin adapter if you want to tow a utility trailer that doesn't have brakes. If you're looking to tow a car, you need to run the wires for the brake controller, so the 4 pin won't do. (that said, if you rent a trailer from a place like Uhaul that uses surge brakes on the trailer, you only need the 4 wires.) Ray >> Hi all, >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> see 6 and 7 pin connectors, either one of which would be the same amount >> of effort to wire in > You can get or make a 4 pin adapter if you want to tow a utility trailer > that doesn't have brakes. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > (that said, if you rent a trailer from a place like Uhaul that uses surge > brakes on the trailer, you only need the 4 wires.) I hadn't realised that there was any connector in use other than the large cylindrical one about 2" diameter with the pins arranged around the circumference - like a very large version of the DIN connector used for (European) audio connections to a hi-fi. All the towing hitches that I've seen on cars have this connector. How does the brake controller wire work? Is it a simple on/off wire driven from the brake lights or does the voltage vary with footbrake pressure? If it's just on/off, presumably you need to have sufficient trailer braking to avoid the trailer over-running the towing vehicle and jacknifing, and yet not so much that the slightest pressure on the brake causes the trailer to snatch on the towing hitch and cause the car to lurch. >>> Hi all, >>> [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > not so much that the slightest pressure on the brake causes the trailer to > snatch on the towing hitch and cause the car to lurch. I can't remember if it's volts or amps that varies. I think it's a pulsed voltage - if you hook up a test light and and use the manual control it comes on dimly and gets brighter as you apply more "brakes". There's two types of brake controllers - one is timed - the longer it's on the more it applies the brakes, and the other bases it on how hard the tow vehicle is stopping. But yes, it's more than just a simple on/off switch, otherwise you wouldn't need the brake controller, you could just use the brake light wiring. The better brake controllers come with a range of adjustments - an empty utility trailer doesn't stop the same way as a loaded car hauler. Ray For something like an RV trailer with electric brakes, there must be a brake controller mounted by the driver. When the brake pedal is stepped on, the brake controller is usually activated through the brake lights and then uses various sensing methods to determine how much voltage to send to the brakes on one wire (the driver can also activate the brakes manually by moving a lever). Rental trailers usually come with hydraulic surge brakes, where a device on the tongue is pushed by the tow vehicle slowing and applies the brakes. Pete
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