10" Drop Hitch = Leverage

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Rich said:
It's however you wire it. I run my brake ground directly to the trailer frame, and there's a ~12 ga. ground wire going to the ground pin on the 7-way from the frame.
Never trust colors.. ONLY pin position. Pull the wiring out of the loom from the conenctor to the trailer, and start from ground zero. Or at the very least check for continuity between the brake pin on the connector and the other end of the wire... you can't have the end connected to anything when you do this test.
Are you sure your brake controller wiring from the dash to the back of the truck is good? have you hooked to a good trailer to test it, or tested it another way? What kind of brake controller do you have?
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We'll I got the brake controller and the 7 pin plug installed by Raleigh Hitch before I left School last semester, but you made a good point I have never actually hooked to anything with working brakes to test mine out. The brake controller they installed was the drawtie one. All the lights work and when i hit the brakes the little light comes on the brake controller but It never registers that I have any trailer brakes hooked up to it when I was trying all the different wiring combo's. I'm probably gonna have some time this weekend to mess with it I got a friend who has a trailer with good trailer brakes I might end up going over to his place and comparing how his is wired up etc.
 
by the way, how are you determining that they aren't working?
 
Is the LED supposed to show when a trailer is connected? I.e. mine is off with no trailer, green with a trailer connected, and varying shades of amber to red when the brakes are getting voltage.

Does it do that?... you can test by hooking a light bulb getween the brake output and ground wires. No, I'm serious... a light bulb. It needs a little resistance to show connected.

P.S. enough ground for the lights doesn't necessarily = enough ground for the brakes.

You should only hear a slight whine when you manually activate the brakes fully while stopped.

I won't even ask if you have a breakaway box on there, and what shape the battery is in.
 
BOOOO unsafe towing practices
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red_stripe_commercial.jpg

HORRAY BEER!!!!
 
In a perfict world the wire for the elctric baraks would be a blue wire in the #2 spot on your plug. The #2 spot is the one to the left of the notch in your trailer plug looking from the back side so you can see the screws where the wires hook up. The ground should be white and on the right side of the notch. Its the same ground for everything on the trailer. These are the only two wires you need for the brakes to work. Both these should be at lest 12 gauge.
 
If Raleigh Hitch did the install odds are the brake controller is a Drawtite 5500( if it has the LED read out) if so, the controller wil have an indicator that it is getting brake feed (lil red light, bottom right of display when brake pedal is pushed, only with out trailer)

IF you have continuity between the controller and the trailer, when you apply the brakes the numbers will appear and rise as the intensity increases.

If you have no numbers there is no connection between the trailer and the controller.

DO NOT trust that the trailer will ground to the truck thru the ball/hitch, RARELY will that ever be a confident connection. ground wire from the connector to the trailer frame. and the same on the truck side.

This doesn't discount the fact you are an idiot for even trying to repair a trailer hitch let alone how you managed to destroy it in the first place.
 
Yea its grounded to both the truck and trailer. And it is the drawtite I don't know what model but it seems like the one that you were describing cause i get that red light when i hit the brakes but im supposed to see the numbers like you said when i have the trailer hooked up but nothing happens so something obviously isnt hooked up right.

As far as what battery im runnin is an optima red top so that should be able to get it done but yea absolutly nothing happens when i tryed all the different wiring combo's but yea I'll mess with it some more this weekend and see if I can't get it working.

As far as fixing the hitch the hitch isnt whats really bent its my frame, it ripped the frame and bent the crap out of it but only slightly bent the hitch itself. So i mean even if i bought a new hitch my frame would still have to be fixed/patched/welded/gusseted/etc.
 
jrraw23 said:
As far as what battery im runnin is an optima red top so that should be able to get it done
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What does your truck's battery have to do with the price of tea in China? :confused:
 
I'm going to say this because everyone is thinking it,
Your running a back yard fab shop and pulling stunts like this? And you can't wire your trailer brakes or use a meter? :eek: That's scary. Please let me know when your towing so I can get my family off the highway. :mad:
 
Rob said:
I'm going to say this because everyone is thinking it,
Your running a back yard fab shop and pulling stunts like this? And you can't wire your trailer brakes or use a meter? :eek: That's scary. Please let me know when your towing so I can get my family off the highway. :mad:
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Backyard Fab Shop? Please explain. (you mean for himself or other people he does work for?)
 
The battery question was in regards to your breakaway box. This is a totaly separate box that contains a independent battery. The point of this is that it is mounted on the trailer. If your trailer comes loose, or "breaks away" from the truck (which it almost did) The breakaway box activates the trailer brakes. This keeps it from careening down the road by itself. The box is activated by a small piece of aircraft cable that you attach to the truck when you hook up. If the trailer comes loose, the cable pulls out and activates the battery.

If you do not have the proper weight on your registration, leave the trailer at home. You would be looking at serious fines.

I understand the point that you may not be able to afford a propper tow rig, so the best option for that is to remove the hitch, fix the frame, and put a 1 7/8" ball in the bumper. The reason for this is that you will not be able to safely fix the hitch, even if it is slightly bent. You would need a new one. It would be a miracle if this did nmot happen again. The reason for the 1 7/8" ball in the bumper? I suspect you will be asking how you would be able to hook a tow strap without a ball. If you have a small ball you will not be able to hook up to much more than a boat trailer, and with your lift, that would be damn near impossible.

Don't take this as a personal attack, but it would be better if you did not tow with that truck. Borrow someone elses truck, with brakes, and ask them to drive it. I know I will feel safer.
 
dude he runs BEAST INC THE ULTIMATE MUD AND RETARD FAB SHOP
 
Metto said:
dude he runs BEAST INC THE ULTIMATE MUD AND RETARD FAB SHOP
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by run you mean he gets business from you guys to fab stuff up? I never heard of him? So it is just in teh backyard kind of thing with a welder and tube bender?
 
Hey Guys,

I've dealt w/ Ricky more than a couple of times.....he's always been straight up & honest w/ me. Everyone's got to start somewhere business-wise & lord knows he's payin' his dues w/ posts like these.

Ricky,
I hate you got banged up on the way home from the farm...could've been a lot worse! Good luck w/ the Ford...they make good tow rigs! LOL

Later!
Doc
 
doc said:
Hey Guys,
Everyone's got to start somewhere business-wise & lord knows he's payin' his dues w/ posts like these.
Doc
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I understand this but we are not saying anything bad about his business. If anyone can understand how business start off very small it is me. I was just wondering. The thing people are commenting on are the driving habits and totally lack of saftey. Most people will draw that if he is not safe on the road......well you get the rest.
 
As far as the buisness thing its just work I do for people I know or people I know's friends mostly whenever I feel like it. Anything from a little 2" suspension lift to fabbin a suspension or bumpers etc. but yea it's nothin serious its just like for people i know whenever I have time cause I enjoy doing it and make a little money on the side.

Yea there is alot of common sense little stuff that I don't know much about like wiring, etc. cause I just learn stuff as I go pretty much, so until I need to do something I don't know how to do it then I figure it out and know how from then on. After I get this trailer working I'll know how to wire a trailer up for instance.

Yea I get the breakaway box thing now, def would be something that would be safer, all the boat trailers that I work with have em but there built into the hydraulic tongue braking system on the boat trailers so I'm not familiar with the electric versions of them.
 
Ricky

We've been in your shoes at some point!!!

I think the moral of this story is you "make yourself an easy target for abuse". We are all human and...humans all make mistakes.

Honestly, I believe that no one on here wants to see anyone get hurt. But you have to make wise decisions, just like on the trail & everyday life.

If you don't have the right equipment, ride along, watch the videos, save your pennies, get someone else to help you out, etc.

So first get your truck fixed & trailer fixed. Then, If you're gonna tow anything at all on that trailer, at least get some trailer brakes on it. I would not haul any big heavy trucks or anything else. Borrow a "Towing Vehicle" or get someone else to haul those loads for you. Also, don't use that big drop down hitch if you can help it.

I really think folks on here want to help you. Maybe when you planning your next mission...ask for some advice beforehand istead of showing us the next set of carnage photos... Although they are interesting, they look expensive.
Not good if you're going into business to keep backing up all the time.

Let me know if I can help you out in the future.

John
 
jrraw23 said:
As far as the buisness thing its just work I do for people I know or people I know's friends mostly whenever I feel like it. Anything from a little 2" suspension lift to fabbin a suspension or bumpers etc. but yea it's nothin serious its just like for people i know whenever I have time cause I enjoy doing it and make a little money on the side.
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People you know and people you know's friend's parents will have no problems suing you when their precious little one gets hurt when something fails. They will also sue your parents since you live at home and they know you are doing work at their house. I assume they have deeper pockets than you...
Fabbin' Suspensions huh? Please no.
You are breaking the law everytime you hook up that trailer, before you even put anything on it.
You have asked and been warned about the shortcomings of your towing setup, including the extra leverage the drop hitch adds.
You got hit from the rear with minimal damage to the truck that hit you and the hitch ripped off of the frame and the frame ripped. What is that telling you about the strength of your truck?
For God's sake, take some of the advice of the people here who have been where you are and made some of the mistakes already.
If your momma tells you the stove is hot, do you still need to touch it to find out.
Damn.
 
jrraw23 said:
Yea there is alot of common sense little stuff that I don't know much about like wiring, etc. cause I just learn stuff as I go pretty much, so until I need to do something I don't know how to do it then I figure it out and know how from then on. After I get this trailer working I'll know how to wire a trailer up for instance.
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Save your self some time and get a diagram form a trailer place or an RV dealer. They install these plugs every day and most will probly give you a copy of the diagram so you will know how its supposed to be wired. If I had a scanner I'd post one for you. If you find a real nice one they may even plug the tester in your truck to check your wiring. I wont say a word about your tow rig or trailer ( or your Buddy's )but at lest get some brakes on it.
 
hey now i tow a car hauler with my 1500 GMC sierria z71.

oh but wait it was special ordered with 2500 drivetrain and sup.

lol get a tow vehicle and lose the huge drop.

later, and good luck with the brakes.
 
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