theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
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Post by theresa on Nov 27, 2016 18:43:48 GMT -8
Please bear with me; I know zero about wiring, and I whether I choose to tackle it myself or enlist a qualified friend/professional to help, I still want to understand it. So, my next step in my rebuild involves getting the tow wiring locations worked out before flooring over the frame. This is what I understand and where I need clarification, simple as this seems to most people.
The tow vehicle has will have a plug end that will plug into the trailer's tow wiring/7-way receptacle. This will be located at the very front of the tongue area, with plenty of wire available to accommodate any tow vehicle. So I will purchase a wiring harness with plenty of length. This wiring harness will run to a junction box located somewhere underneath/inside near the front of the trailer (unsure yet where I'll locate mine). The 7 colored wires have a direct purpose depending on their color, which I've read extensively on all the threads in this board. From the junction box, each of the colored wires will run through the length of the trailer to their respective location (i.e. - brake lights, running lights, etc.). So I need to purchase the wiring harness with plug receptacle end, junction box, and colored wire to run from the junction box to the necessary locations? Am I anywhere close to understanding this or am I confusing the supplies and their duties?
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Post by danrhodes on Nov 27, 2016 18:54:58 GMT -8
Please bear with me; I know zero about wiring, and I whether I choose to tackle it myself or enlist a qualified friend/professional to help, I still want to understand it. So, my next step in my rebuild involves getting the tow wiring locations worked out before flooring over the frame. This is what I understand and where I need clarification, simple as this seems to most people. The tow vehicle has will have a plug end that will plug into the trailer's tow wiring/7-way receptacle. This will be located at the very front of the tongue area, with plenty of wire available to accommodate any tow vehicle. So I will purchase a wiring harness with plenty of length. This wiring harness will run to a junction box located somewhere underneath/inside near the front of the trailer (unsure yet where I'll locate mine). The 7 colored wires have a direct purpose depending on their color, which I've read extensively on all the threads in this board. From the junction box, each of the colored wires will run through the length of the trailer to their respective location (i.e. - brake lights, running lights, etc.). So I need to purchase the wiring harness with plug receptacle end, junction box, and colored wire to run from the junction box to the necessary locations? Am I anywhere close to understanding this or am I confusing the supplies and their duties? Sounds right to me. I mounted my junction box right on the tongue. The 6 footers were much cheaper than the longer ones and we saw no reason to tuck it away considering the tongue is pretty utilitarian already.
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Post by vikx on Nov 27, 2016 22:18:19 GMT -8
I think you're close. I put my J box under the trailer and use a clamp to adjust the 7 way cord length. That way, you can tow it with several vehicles with a minor adjustment. Also, I like the tow wiring to be accessible under the trailer so usually run it alongside a joist or use body clips on the metal frame. I like 4 way ribbon wiring but always use the 7 way color code.
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Nov 28, 2016 5:02:56 GMT -8
I think you're close. I put my J box under the trailer and use a clamp to adjust the 7 way cord length. That way, you can tow it with several vehicles with a minor adjustment. Also, I like the tow wiring to be accessible under the trailer so usually run it alongside a joist or use body clips on the metal frame. I like 4 way ribbon wiring but always use the 7 way color code. How does that work if you use the 4 way ribbon, but are going to a 7 way plug?
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mrmarty51
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1972 HOMEMADE
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Post by mrmarty51 on Nov 28, 2016 5:28:52 GMT -8
I think you're close. I put my J box under the trailer and use a clamp to adjust the 7 way cord length. That way, you can tow it with several vehicles with a minor adjustment. Also, I like the tow wiring to be accessible under the trailer so usually run it alongside a joist or use body clips on the metal frame. I like 4 way ribbon wiring but always use the 7 way color code. How does that work if you use the 4 way ribbon, but are going to a 7 way plug? Just add additional wires laid in with the trailer harness. That is how I do it anyways. I like to have the blue for brakes and add in a red for the on board battery, so it can get charged up when plugged into the connector. Only thing about the marine style batteries is they do not like to be charged at high amperage rates, I need to do a search and see if there is an adapter that will allow only 2 to 5 amps to enter the battery and incorporate that into the trailers wiring harness.
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Post by rogerthedodger on Nov 28, 2016 6:36:01 GMT -8
Mrmarty5v1, most charge lines in tow vehicles only charge at 2-3 amps because of the voltage drop of the long wire from the alternator back to th e trailer battery. Roger
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mrmarty51
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1972 HOMEMADE
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Post by mrmarty51 on Nov 28, 2016 7:46:43 GMT -8
Mrmarty5v1, most charge lines in tow vehicles only charge at 2-3 amps because of the voltage drop of the long wire from the alternator back to th e trailer battery. Roger I guess that problem is solved easy enough. LOL Thank You Roger.
Also, I would like to apologize for hijacking this thread. At the moment I thought it could be some pretty good pertinent information.
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Ten
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70 Shasta 16SC + 1964 Airflyte
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Post by Ten on Nov 28, 2016 9:19:35 GMT -8
theresa , Don't feel bad knowing nothing about wiring. Even the seasoned veterans run into conflicts since the wiring color codes changed over the decades. If you are using existing wiring, it will be best to isolate the circuits using a 12-volt battery or power supply, and connecting to each wire individually. If you are completely wiring from scratch, I would suggest using the coding that is attached to the new plug wiring. And even that can be a bit confusing, depending on the plug. This is the packaging that was attached with the new 7-way plug harness for my 16SC: Just to confuse the issue a little, this is the package that was on a 4-flat plug for the trailer end just purchased... Obviously the discrepancies are easily avoided by following the first instruction, "Attach to the SAME FUNCTIONS (not colors) on the trailer (sic) " Most of the campers were all wired with a majority of the tow wiring enclosed inside the walls. If you are running all new, this is not really necessary, except for the part where you have to come in behind the tail and marker lights. Your new wiring can follow the frame rail from front to rear, then enter the wall there, or you could opt to run it inside the cabin to protect it from the elements. The 7-wire plug setup has become fairly universal, especially in vehicles that ship with factory towing packages installed. That said, the common elements in trailering include the signal and running lights...that means a four-wire ribbon can be used from front to back. The other wiring includes and auxiliary feed of live 12-volt, to run any onboard charging of batteries or lighting while the trailer is in tow, and the braking system, which is two wires of much heavier gauge than the lighting. Those three wires are run separate from the tail/running light wiring, and can be run from the junction box without being tied to the 4-wire ribbon. This means also that you could use a 7-wire harness on a trailer that does not include brakes, but it is a bit of overkill for just running lighting. On the 16SC, I was fairly lucky in that the wiring was all intact and I really did not need to rewire anything except the harness. Originally it had a 6-wire plug, which is almost obsolete in today's standards. I used the Hopkins harness and a Bargman junction box to tie the system together. The harness is held up with a couple clamps that allow for extra length if needed but also keeps the wiring well away from being dragged. I located the junction box on the bottom of the propane rack, and all the trailer's wiring easily reached this location. Two words of caution if you were to decide on this setup. One, watch the placement of the junction box that the bolts holding it on the rack do not interfere with the placement of the tanks. Two, mounting it upside-down like this allowed water to accumulate inthe cap of the box. I ended up draping a piece of thin rubber (roofing material) over the box to shed the water away.
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Post by vikx on Nov 28, 2016 12:38:59 GMT -8
I think you're close. I put my J box under the trailer and use a clamp to adjust the 7 way cord length. That way, you can tow it with several vehicles with a minor adjustment. Also, I like the tow wiring to be accessible under the trailer so usually run it alongside a joist or use body clips on the metal frame. I like 4 way ribbon wiring but always use the 7 way color code. How does that work if you use the 4 way ribbon, but are going to a 7 way plug? Thanks Ten, for a great post! Very clear and easy to understand. I agree that the smaller 6 way plugs are almost obsolete and should not be used in our vintage trailers... Theresa, It's not that difficult to use the 4 way ribbon. 3 of the colors are correct and exist in the 7 way wiring harness. Only 3 wires are tow lighting, TM (tails/markers), RT and LT. Ground is always white. I use a junction box in the back under the bed bench to make my connections. Here's how I do it: J box near the tongue under the trailer. I use a regular metal two gang box mounted securely. Below, the ribbon has only 3 wires running to the back. The ground was taken off a bolt thru the metal frame at the back, since the frame is one big ground. Connections should always be clean and tight for grounds. The two larger gauge red wires are battery hot and trailer 12 volt hot inside. Even tho Black is hot in a 7 way, I like to use red for battery hot to prevent confusion when connecting battery. The two heavy red wires are connected to the 7 way Black inside the J box. (at the circuit breaker) These large wires are not to be confused with the smaller gauge red LT wire; very easy to tell the difference. Here is a close up of wiring inside the front J box: You can see the two heavy gauge black hot wires; they replace the red heavy wires above. Here is the J box under the bed: 4 way ribbon connected to 7 way wiring using the 7 way code. Green to Green=TM, Brown to Brown=RT and RED TO YELLOW=LT. Of course yellow goes to red in the front J box. In other words, you are using the ribbon for a neat installation and substituting the colors to the 7 way code. Up and into the back J box: 4 way ribbon on the left, tow wiring out to the lights (green, brown, red) and white grounds on the bolt. When doing the above, always keep the 7 way color code in mind. TM is Green, RT is Brown and LT is Red. BLACK is the charge line. Blue is brake Hot and White is always ground. Hope this makes sense. Questions welcome. NOTE: Yellow is a spare and rarely used in a vintage trailer. Often used as backup lights in a modern trailer, it can also be used for a spare power wire. Yellow/aux is the middle post in a 7 way plug.
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mel
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1964 Shasta Airflyte
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Post by mel on Nov 28, 2016 14:10:12 GMT -8
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Post by rogerthedodger on Nov 28, 2016 15:43:42 GMT -8
Theresa, everyone here has given you good info on how to wire your trailer. Just remember, the frame is a good ground, it runs front to back of the trailer. The metal sides and rear of the trailer do not make a good ground, so don't use it. Connect the ground wires of your exterior lights to frame, not aluminum siding. Roger
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Post by rogerthedodger on Nov 28, 2016 15:45:48 GMT -8
Vikx, your pics are excellent. Roger
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theresa
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from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
Posts: 1,055
Likes: 347
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Post by theresa on Nov 28, 2016 17:57:01 GMT -8
Thanks again to everyone for the tips, Vikx for the great photos, and leading me down the right path of an otherwise very scary road.
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theresa
1K Member
from Northern Maine ~ Proud new owner of Lola, a 1960 Shasta Airflyte and Pearl, a 1962 Mobile Scout
Posts: 1,055
Likes: 347
Currently Offline
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Post by theresa on Nov 28, 2016 18:04:08 GMT -8
I'm looking at this set-up from Amazon, and in addition I'll need to buy lots of connectors, colored wire of the correct gauge for the intended purpose.... anything else I'm forgetting? What do I use to ground to the frame? I know this has been covered several times, and I've read all of the threads, but it's still very confusing to me. Link to Amazon Cord
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Post by danrhodes on Nov 28, 2016 18:56:01 GMT -8
I'm looking at this set-up from Amazon, and in addition I'll need to buy lots of connectors, colored wire of the correct gauge for the intended purpose.... anything else I'm forgetting? What do I use to ground to the frame? I know this has been covered several times, and I've read all of the threads, but it's still very confusing to me. Link to Amazon Cord4 foot is pretty short. You'll end up mounting it on the tongue. I bought 6 feet and with a few wraps around the frame for slack, it sits just in front of the body
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