Trailer rewire...

Caver Dave

Caver Dave

Just holdin' it down here in BFV
Moderator
Joined
Mar 10, 2005
Location
Hooterville (24171)
So, after 20+ years the harness on my Hudson 10k is becoming problematic.... between the wire (brittle insulation, corrosion) and the use of fawking crimps/scotch-locks, it's down to about 33% working lights and 25% working brakes. Not to mention the stiffass 12/6 the rocket-surgeon POs used for the umbilical :rolleyes:

Would like to do a total rewire, new LED lighting, umbilical... ALL SOLDERED + heatshrink, but *DO NOT* want to make the harness from scratch.
Looked at a few places (etrailer, etc.) but didn't find anything that appeared very heavy duty... just a bunch of 18-16ga. junk

Any recommendations for a standard 7pin harness source?
 
Do you have Agri-Supply?

They'll have 12ga 7-wire for the pigtail, they'll have the round plugs, and they'll have lights. You can also get lights from eTrailer. I've done some of that.

I ordered a bunch of these:
Amazon.com : Ancor Marine Grade Primary Wire : Sports & Outdoors

And put everything together with these:
Amazon.com : Ancor Heat Shrink and Nylon Butt Connectors : Sports & Outdoors

The heat-shrink connectors are available at Home Depot in the electrical section, but might be cheaper elsewhere in larger quantities.

In my opinion, these are worth every penny:
Amazon.com: Trailer Wiring Junction Box for 7 Way or 6 Way Trailer Wire Connectors: Automotive

They're available from eTrailer, too. And you can buy them with the pigtail included. Although I have no idea if it's long enough for your use.
Amazon.com: Lavolta 7-Way Trailer Plug Cord with 7-Pole Wiring Junction Box - Inline Harness Kit RV Blade Molded Wire Connector - Weatherproof and Corrosion Resistant - 4 FT: Automotive
 
Oh, and by the way, I love those heat-shrink crimp terminals. I'll use those with a good tinned wire long before I'll solder and heat shrink.
 
shawn said:
Oh, and by the way, I love those heat-shrink crimp terminals. I'll use those with a good tinned wire long before I'll solder and heat shrink.
Click to expand...
Definetly, and even better; heat shrink crimp terminals with solder bulb inside, best of both worlds. I buy them at fastenal, pricey but worth the durability.

Matt
 
There's a thread on pirate4x4 I think where a dude said he buys the plug and pigtail plus the junction block, then uses a good grade extension cord for his runs down the frame. That's what I'm doing when I rewire mine. Last year I removed all the shitty scotch locks because my brakes quit working. I used bare crimps then soldered the whole trailer with heat shrink. But the wires themselves were OK. Dads trailer is a few years newer than mine so I'm sure next year I'll be laying under his. I'll probably use the extension cord idea when I do. You can still use white for ground, black for running lights and green for brake/turn one cord down each side. Extra cord to run ground and brake wire. Just need a few single strands to branch off to side marker or clearance lights.

If you don't already have them, led flood lights wired to the reverse light pin make backing at night much easier.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
shawn said:
I used these for backup lights:

Amazon.com: Nilight LED Light Bar 4PCS 4 Inch 18W LED Bar 1260lm Flood Led Off Road Driving Lights Led Fog Lights Jeep Lighting LED Work Light for Van Camper SUV ATV ,2 Years Warranty: Automotive

And, given the choice, I like the idea of running one brake wire down each frame rail, rather than one wire that daisy chains around. It is more resilient, and there's less current on the wire at any given length, which should help a bit with voltage drop.
Click to expand...
Those are exactly the lights I was thinking of. I've got them on my trailers, and two are mounted under the bumper of my truck. The bumper lights are hooked to an upfitter switch in the Ford so I can switch them on independent from reverse. Makes it nice hooking up a bumper pull in the dark.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
The rear set runs through a three way switch, so they come on with the reverse lights, or I can flip the switches on the headboard and have them on all the time.

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Where did you get the weatherproof toggles?
 
YotaOnRocks said:
Where did you get the weatherproof toggles?
Click to expand...

Amazon. They're just cheapo toggles with boots. For what a proper sealed weatherproof toggle costs, I could buy a dozen regular switches. I buy wiring stuff from Del City, eTrailer, Genuine Dealz, and Waytek, but most everything anymore comes from Amazon. They're often cheaper, and almost always faster.
 
Have you contacted Hudson? I contacted them a while back about my 4-ton tag trailer. They were pretty helpful. Even sent me a decal kit free of charge since I was restoring the trailer.
 
Caver Dave said:
So, after 20+ years the harness on my Hudson 10k is becoming problematic.... between the wire (brittle insulation, corrosion) and the use of fawking crimps/scotch-locks, it's down to about 33% working lights and 25% working brakes. Not to mention the stiffass 12/6 the rocket-surgeon POs used for the umbilical :rolleyes:

Would like to do a total rewire, new LED lighting, umbilical... ALL SOLDERED + heatshrink, but *DO NOT* want to make the harness from scratch.
Looked at a few places (etrailer, etc.) but didn't find anything that appeared very heavy duty... just a bunch of 18-16ga. junk

Any recommendations for a standard 7pin harness
Click to expand...
I run conduit for my electrical on my trailers. Usually imc or rigid and I use #12 stranded thhn Copper wire. Usually use 4x4 j boxes at the axle and thenot continue back to another box for the brake lights. I unless nolox on all the connections with heat shrink sta cons. A little more work but last forever and you won't lose you trailer functions because of a stick or peice of retread
 
I don't know if anybody else does this but I like to run a dedicated ground wire to each light and not rely on the trailer frame as a ground. It seems that most of my problems come from the ground wire.

Waytek is great as long as you hit the minimum. I don't like there not upfront shipping costs.
 
Great ideas!
Next questions:
- What do you do for the connectors when doing "T"s off the main wire to individual lights?
- The taillight assys. (x4) are the old style round 2 stud mounts... does anyone offer a similar LED housing or am I better off using LED lamps in the existing housings?
- Any likes in the orange/red LED marker lights that have the protective saddles (top/bottom)?
 
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maulcruiser said:
Have you contacted Hudson? I contacted them a while back about my 4-ton tag trailer. They were pretty helpful. Even sent me a decal kit free of charge since I was restoring the trailer.
Click to expand...

Sure have... about 10 years ago when I got the trailer. Since the "mobile home" style axles were replaced with regular axles to facilitate brakes, Eddie(?) even offered to send me a new VIN plate uping the max (as built) past the current 10k#, which I declined.
 
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I used a light box. Works fairly well. All connections are nice and protected inside the box. You can get them in single, double, triple round and oval. Not the cheapest route.

For the T's, I strip the main wire about 1/2" and then solder the wire onto it then shrink wrap it.
 
OK, here's where I'm at... Yanking it ALL out, starting over fresh, and hoping it outlasts the trailer!
Most of this is sitting in Amazon wish list waiting to pull the trigger, so help me button this up!:
  • New pigtail w/ junction box & breakaway switch
    • Will I get reamed by the PoPo/DOT for running the breakaway from the winch battery?
  • Running PVC 3/4"-1" conduit from junction box with "pull boxes" (LBs) at each location a secondary will jump out at (lights, brakes at both axles [though only on rear axle ATM])
    • Shooting it to the bottom channel with steel conduit clamps & self-tapping bolts
  • Running 14AWG marine wire for the lights with dedicated grounds
  • Running 12AWG marine wire for the brakes & 12VDC... OR SHOULD I GO 10GA? (truck & pigtail is only 12ga)
  • Planning to use the crimp & heat shrinks with "stepdowns" or 3wire (14AWG>12AWG) for secondary 14AWG wires off the primary light wires or possibly small terminal strips in each box
  • New LED Tail (likely going square over the current round incandescent), side marker, ID bar & reverse lights (wired like @shawn )
Additional prep:
  • Mounting winch with battery & controls inside tongue mounted toolbox
    • For the winch battery, does anything need to be done for charging other than connecting to 12V from truck thru a circuit breaker or fuse? Was told inrush from truck to dead winch battery could cause issues? o_O
  • Brake hardware refresh & service bearings
  • 2 new tires (2 are 1 year old) with old tires going to spares (currently have 2 extra rims)
 
I don't think you'll have any issues using the winch battery for a breakaway. I'd run 10ga wire to the axles for brakes. If you're Daisy chaining them across the axle you could run 12 for that, but I like to run down both frames and power each wheel independently. You want power and ground for brakes to be the same gauge and the bigger the better for less voltage drop. Every bit of voltage lost in the wiring isn't applying the brakes.

You may have problems if you kill the winch battery most trailer connector 12v pins are protected by a 20-30 amp fuse using 12 or 14 GA wiring. If the battery is low enough and the alt on the truck tries to push it can pop a fuse.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
If you have a welder, just buy 3/4" EMT and weld it to the trailer for your conduit runs.

I just use butt splices for tees. Stick two wires in one end, one wire in the other, crimp and heat. It's not "perfect", but it's a shitload better than scotch locks.
 
Tim C said:
I'd run 10ga wire to the axles for brakes.
Click to expand...
Done

Tim C said:
You may have problems if you kill the winch battery most trailer connector 12v pins are protected by a 20-30 amp fuse using 12 or 14 GA wiring. If the battery is low enough and the alt on the truck tries to push it can pop a fuse.
Click to expand...
Not likely to happen between trickle charger & tow rig, but will throw a CB in-between just in case ;)

shawn said:
If you have a welder, just buy 3/4" EMT and weld it to the trailer for your conduit runs.
Click to expand...

That's where I'm waffling... Part of this to hedge against what's already happened, hauling logs out of cut sites full of bramble ripping the wires daisy chained along the sides or hanging from flatwashers under each cross channel :rolleyes:
Granted the EMT will "armor" the main runs, but with PVC (stoopid easy to work, no rust/corrosion), it would also be 99% sealed to further protect the wires/joints.
 
OK, as the parts are rolling in, I'm thinking about crimpers... currently have a set of Sta-Con branded plier-type crimpers.
Wondering if I'd be better served to grab a set of racheting-style with die(s) for each size connector? Crimps would all be the same (shape/tension wise), less worry about barking the insulation, etc...

Any favorites under $50
 
For your conduit, you can use irrigation system Funny Pipe https://www.walmart.com/ip/The-Toro...75035&wl11=online&wl12=33778172&wl13=&veh=sem
It has 1/2'' connectors of many styles and you can make solid runs to electrical conduit boxes. You would need to check the inside of the barbed fittings to make sure you can get all of your wires through it before purchasing. Lowes/Home Depot had them in stock. Search funny pipe and fittings for a visual.
 
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