Trailer lighting.......side lights etc...

[Ken A Hood]

How do most people run the wiring for the running lights?[stop, trun, side lights] Thru the frame? And if so aren't you worried about water getting in? And if their run thru the frame dodn't you have to worry when welding the frame up? Anyone have any detailed pics? I might just route out the ply dech under the wall and make a wire chase to run the running lights.

Since I got my "refund" from the tax man I'm going to start calling around to get the frame welded up.

[toypusher]

Ken,

You might want to just run the wire along the fram after it is welded. You can get small wire holders to screw into the frame or run some flex conduit. I have a HF trailer and the wiring is just fastened to the frame with some small clips (they won't work on tubing). My Cubby plans call to run the wiring for the trailer and for the 12VDC trough a flex conduit that is just held in place with zip ties. You could also use plastic tubing. If you run the wiring inside the tubing of the frame or in a wire chase, then you may trouble later getting it out and replaced with new if a problem arises.

Hope this helps in some way.

Kerry

[asianflava]

I ran the wires inside the tongue, it is open on both ends. I riveted these cable tiedowns to the inside sections of the frame.

[Dee Bee]

How do most people run the wiring for the running lights?[stop, trun, side lights] Thru the frame? And if so aren't you worried about water getting in? And if their run thru the frame dodn't you have to worry when welding the frame up? Anyone have any detailed pics? I might just route out the ply dech under the wall and make a wire chase to run the running lights.

Ken there are lots of ways to do it. Here is how I did it...

My running lights came with the trailer kit. So the basic harnes will run under the frame in a wire loom, sinched to the frame with plastic wire zip ties.



But I am going to have to splice the running clearance lights on the side of the trailer body into this harness system

As I built my walls I included the wiring


And made sure I the wire leads were long enough, and ended up in the right place to splice into the wire harness.


So my running lights wires are both in the walls, and come through the bottom edge of my deck. These holes have to be caulked with silicon to keep water from entering...

DEE

[len19070]

When I use a Harbor Freight Frame I just run the wires, through a plastic loom through the holes in the existing frame.
when I don't use a HF frame I dril holes to accommodate the wires. Then when I'm done I cover the bottom with a sheet of Polly film, Part Number 8553K303 avail at http://www.mcmaster.com/ The stuffs real cheep about $14 a 100' roll. And yes it is a rigid material. I double it up, its real easy to work with, trims with shears. I use self tapers snd Putty tape to fasten it to the frame. Comes off easy (putty tapes a little gooey) too if you ever have to get back inside to fix anything.

Happy Trails

Len

[doug hodder]

I kept my 2 systems seperate. running lights are under the trailer, interior are in the walls. chances are, you are going to have a problem with running lights as opposed to the interior stuff. It's just my opinion however. My running lights are grounded to the frame, all the interior runs back throught the fuse box. Same thing on my Coleman tent trailer. Doug Hodder

[Kevin A]

I considered running my wiring through the walls during construction, but opted for an easier way. I'm mounting the battery under the galley in the rear of the trailer and running the wiring through the bulkhead and along the floor under the mattress, I'll hide the wires that lead up to the cabin lights with wood trim along the door frame. this will make it much easier to access the wiring in the future, should the need arise. my 110 volt wiring will be confined to the galley area with the exception of the interior GFI socket that will be mounted in the bulkhead facing into the cabin. gotta have somewhere to plug in the laptop and all my other techno toys

[Guest]

My truck's tow package has the round 6-pole electrical connector...
I haven't bought the matching set up for the trailer side yet and I need to know what the diameter of the cord lead is. (I'm guessing about 1/2")
I want to run that lead inside the 2" x 3" tounge. I'm planning on drilling a hole on the sidewall of the tounge and inserting a rubber grommet that will hold the lead secure. I've done some searching and I can't find any hardware that gives me the info I need to get the hole size needed and to show me if anything else besides a grommet is used for a cord stay.
I'm curious to know how others have done this and it even has me wondering if some people use a double "trailer sided" lead which plugs into a "car/truck sided" outlet on trailer tounge and the tow vehichle...

[Sonetpro]

My experiences with trailer lights. If you don't want problems make sure you solder and shrink tube all connections. Make sure you have a good ground to tow vehicle. I like to run everything back to a copper ground bar as the trailer frame connections have a tendency to corrode. on T connection that you can't shrink tube I use liquid electrical tape. Tinning the leads back to the insulation before soldering will also help with corrosion problems .

[Guest]

Steve,
I understand what you're saying and yse I plan on doing that...
What I was asking about was something different.
I'm wanting to know how big of a hole I need to drill into the side of my tounge for a finished/sheathed lead to pass through.
Also, I'd like to know what type of stays people have used, other than a rubber grommet for that lead to pass through.

[Sonetpro]

You could use a locking grommet like the ones used on appliances. It compress's the wire to hold it. Haven't got to that part yet on my tube tear trailer. On my utility trailer I welded 1/2" tube to the inside of the c channel to run the wire. ( I hate wiring problems or wires hanging down.)so I just drilled a hole close to the end of it and tie wraped it.

[bdosborn]

Probably a little over kill but I used flexible conduit (smurf pipe) to run my essential wiring like trailer power and trailer lights under the frame. I routed the interior cables through the walls. I used the same conduit to run wires through the tongue.


Bruce

[Arne]

I run my trailer lights wherever I feel like.... I think wiring is way overthought. You do need a couple of things. It can't rub on any metal, and it needs to be supported.. If it wasn't 15 degrees out, I'd go take a picture and scare everyone.

My light wires run through the tongue back from the car end. Where they exit the tongue, they are wrapped in electrical tape and immediately attached to the plywood to keep chaffing down to zero. Then every 8 inches or so, they have an attachment to something. In some cases it is a commercial thing that goes around the wire and is screwed to the plywood... in many cases, is it a piece of plastic plumber strap I cut and put a screw on each side. I pass it through the frame if there is a hole, if not, I attach it to the ply, go under the frame and back up to the ply with another attachment point....

Where wires go through the frame, I wrap them with electrical tape or, my latest idea, put a glob of silicone to keep the wires from moving. I like that idea a lot.

I have both 12v and shore power running underneath in the same fashion. Everything is exposed, but placed to be as protected as possible. It is supported well, and kept from flapping around.

My 15 y/o utility trailer is wired the same way and has never had a wire problem... hmm, come to think of it, never any problems.... the spare is still unused....

[cracker39]

My chassis will be tubular steel. My "A" tongue pieces will be open on both ends, so I plan on running the wiring through one tongue piece and where it comes out, go right up through the floor to the interior. It will enter inside the electrical/porti potti cabinet. From that cabinet to the underbed storage area, I'll make a chase that looks like conventional floor molding in a house. I'll run all wiring to the rear of the cabin through the chase. That way, I'll have access to most of the wiring after the cabin is finished. Only the wiring for the top lights and fan will go inside the walls or ceiling. As the tongue pieces will be open at the ends, I don't want rusting inside. I plan on spraying foam inside them from either end after the welding is done and the metal is cool enough for the wires to be pulled through. That way, there should be no moisture sealed inside.

[Guest]

Well I solved my problem...
I found a place that sells the 6-way cable and it is 1/2" diameter like I had thought.
I wasn't able to locate the proper chassis grommet, but I found something much better, way more material for cushion... A PVC valve grommet.
I'll be shooting the frame, tomorrow and through the weekend, so I'll post a pic no later than Monday...