Here Goes with My Cargo Trailer Conversion, In this Sub-Foru

[CaleyAnn]

Since I have basically given up on the lead acid power system, I won't need a trailer extension, or any of the other things I would have had to do to get the system working. I am going to just stay with my Lithium Ion battery packs and my Duracell 26aH Powercell, all of which I can recharge off my generator or solar panels.

I got away from doing just a basic conversion like I was going to do, and got hung up on adding neat features like that teardrop door. I am sticking with those four computer cooling fans, the four 12VDC power sockets, the 2 LED lights and the everything power panel. I will also have my little 1200BTU A/C and the portable generator to power it. Other than the bed pallet I installed, and the little fold down table, that is all I am going to do. This has taken too long to do, and has kept getting more complex, ending up with big mistakes made.

If I cannot get Interstate Trailers to send me a new replacement door, I will live with what I have already, as the Teardrop door does have that slide up window with screen. I'n ot even going to fool around with modifying my bed platform. I will enter and exit using the big door, as I should have done all along, If I could have figured out the $10 bolt solution before investing in nearly $500 of stuff I will never use.

In other words, except for finding the short in the trailer signal and running light system, I am done.

[hankaye]

CaleyAnn, Howdy;

Ok ... you've made up your mind I can see that.
Happy camping!

hank

[flboy]

Since I have basically given up on the lead acid power system, I won't need a trailer extension, or any of the other things I would have had to do to get the system working. I am going to just stay with my Lithium Ion battery packs and my Duracell 26aH Powercell, all of which I can recharge off my generator or solar panels.

I got away from doing just a basic conversion like I was going to do, and got hung up on adding neat features like that teardrop door. I am sticking with those four computer cooling fans, the four 12VDC power sockets, the 2 LED lights and the everything power panel. I will also have my little 1200BTU A/C and the portable generator to power it. Other than the bed pallet I installed, and the little fold down table, that is all I am going to do. This has taken too long to do, and has kept getting more complex, ending up with big mistakes made.

If I cannot get Interstate Trailers to send me a new replacement door, I will live with what I have already, as the Teardrop door does have that slide up window with screen. I'n ot even going to fool around with modifying my bed platform. I will enter and exit using the big door, as I should have done all along, If I could have figured out the $10 bolt solution before investing in nearly $500 of stuff I will never use.

In other words, except for finding the short in the trailer signal and running light system, I am done.

CaleyAnn, best of luck going forward. Don't be upset for trying. There was a time when I broke more stuff than I fixed. It was all part of the education and now I fix more than I break (still breaking stuff occasionally though) . Don't ever give up. You have what it takes..else you would have never even started the project. Start using your trailer and enjoying it and then just do little things as you go.

I always say... you are never done building the CTC. There is always something to do. I have been using mine for over a year now and I still have little things to finish and stuff I'd like to improve. For me... it is part of the fun!

[McDave]

Hey Caley Ann,
I'm with Don on this one. Probably time to use and enjoy trailer for a while. Take some time and remember why you were doing all this. Sometimes you just have to let things happen, and not try to make things happen.
Have Fun! We'll be here if you need us.

McDave

[CaleyAnn]

I took apart one whole wall I had fixed with all the wanted trimmings in search of the shorted wire. I found a wire where a screw had went through it. The wire was basically intact, so I just straightened it, and wrapped it with electrical tape.

I also went to Auto zone for a few more types of car fuses just in case something blows again. And while at it, I asked what I needed to do to see if I had any more shorts. The guys said use a volt-ohm meter. Apparently I just stick the red probe in the trailer hookup slots, and touch the black probe to the trailer. Results are, from the biggest slot, I see the meter jump. The one next to it also jumps, and the other two get no reading. I need to find out on the internet just which ones are supposed to get a reading, if I can figure out what to ask for. I get the feeling I should only have a reading on the big slot, and there must still be a short somewhere.

I get the feeling I will have to remove everything I put in the trailer to track this problem down, and then put it all back together.

I finally found out what these four pins are for. The big one is the ground, the next is tail lights, and the other two are for turn signals. Apparently I still have a short in my tail lights wires somewhere in the trailer, so I will have to completely remove everything I installed in the trailer, in order to find the problem. Here goes another week or more of work to fix my problems caused by inexperience.

[low277]

You are doing good at the trouble shooting. Once you identify from the trailer plug which wire does what, it should help lead you to the problem! You got this!!!! If you are willing to try, that is half of the battle!!!!!! Lots of good people here to help you to!!!

[CaleyAnn]

I got a reply from Interstate Trailers, and they will send me a replacement for $431 that includes tax and shipping to the Redlands, California store. I sure hope I can install this myself, as I know how much labour costs. Probably tell me it is a two hour job, that costs $200. Hopefully it is like hanging a regular door. I will have to look and see just what is involve, and hope I can do it myself.

Also sent a reply asking if they provide slide up windows installation, and hopefully they will say yes.

Now, once I have the door installed, I will have a teardrop door that I will need to unload. Cost me $360 new. I guess that since I installed this, it is used. what would any of you ask to someone who would wish to purchase this door which I would also have to charge shipping.

[John61CT]

Your cost shipping will be much higher than theirs.

Good luck finding someone local to buy it.

Maybe put off buying the new one until you get a buyer for the old one?

I would find a workaround or just leave it for now.

[CaleyAnn]

I talked with Interstate Trailers, and they do have an option for a window, but the rep suggested the best place for the window would be in the side, which I do agree with. At least I will have the option to put one in when I have some money. Found out that I cannot install the door myself, as these doors have to be fit by someone who knows what they are doing. Apparently each door made is just a little different.

I will hold on to my Teardrop door for that just in case I ever attempt to actually build a teardrop trailer. And, of course, as you suggested, there is always the possibility of someone locally who would take it off my hands for a few hundred dollars, which I feel is a good bargain, considering the door is basically new.

I tore the whole interior of my work apart, and stored those parts in my shed. I looked high and low for a short, but could not find one. Talk about frustration. Maybe that little deflection on my ohm meter is just normal. It definitely wasn't quite as much of a deflection as the place where the wire got skewed with a screw.. But I will not be putting any of the interior back inside. I will leave it bare for the guys in Redlands, who will be putting in my new rear door, have a look to make sure I do not have a problem with a short. Just hope that if there is one, the car system will not die until I get to the dealership.

[jmanscotch]

Just to claify: Measuring between the trailer wire and the frame, using the ohm setting on the voltmeter, only the ground wire should read 0 ohms or very little ohms.

A small number like 1 to 20 ohms would indicate a short, typically. Sometimes a short will have some measureable resistance in the circuit and that's why it won't read an exact 0 ohms.

A large number like 536 K Ohms or "OL" (open lead) would indicate no short, as intended for the other 3 wires on the trailer harness.
*On an analog meter, a low reading will meant there's likely a short. A pegged out reading will indicate no short*

Edit: nevermind on the OL and high number examples, those are for digital volt meters, you said there was some "deflection" on your volt meter, which means you're using an analog meter...assuming it's a sub $75 one, I wouldn't trust the Ohm function of it. The ohm reading is a more delicate reading on volt meters and cheap ones tend to have some resistance in the meter itself (which is seen via the meter swing). What is the meter showing for resistance on the one questionable wire?

[CaleyAnn]

I had my meter set at Rx1K. Withe the short where a screw went through the wire, there was a definite deflection. But with this other apparent short indication, the needle basically goes up to about 500.

OOPs! I think I found my problem. I had tried to adjust to zero with the thumb dial. I just found the screw below the meter scale, which I imagine is what you use to zero out the reading initially. That means there is no short, or I certainly will discover one way or the other when I connect the electrical to my car, turn the car on, and check the lights on the trailer.

[hankaye]

CaleyAnn, Howdy;

Good to hear that you can get, "just a door". .

Where inside the trailer did Interstate have your wires run originally?
Up along the juncture of the walls and ceiling or along the underside of the trailer?
For 12vdc trouble shooting I've always used a 'Test Light'. easy-peasy, something like this
https://www.elliottelectronicsupply.com ... light.html

Clip little do-da with teeth to frame (screws and stuff with no paint are the best),
scrape pointy end or stick it into the wire or hold against terminal end wire is better
be careful not to stab finger tip (not fun).
No light = no electricity in wire. Good if you are looking for a short. BAD if you are
supposed to have electricity there.
Light = electricity in wire. Good if electricity is supposed to be there BAD if it's not!
There's your short.
Basic simple tool, no numbers to worry about, no formulas to remember, just clip, stab. light/no light ...

hank

[CaleyAnn]

Hank, what an expensive learning experience. Yes, I will get a new door, but I have to pay for it to be installed. Probably another $200+. Next time I will know to ask when I purchase another trailer, about options such as doors and windows, and battery boxes.

I put one of those testers on my wish list on Amazon. I will just have to wait a few months before I start getting some of those items. I am tapped out because of the new door, and installation charges.

[flboy]

CaleyAnn, Howdy;

Good to hear that you can get, "just a door". .

Where inside the trailer did Interstate have your wires run originally?
Up along the juncture of the walls and ceiling or along the underside of the trailer?
For 12vdc trouble shooting I've always used a 'Test Light'. easy-peasy, something like this
https://www.elliottelectronicsupply.com ... light.html

Clip little do-da with teeth to frame (screws and stuff with no paint are the best),
scrape pointy end or stick it into the wire or hold against terminal end wire is better
be careful not to stab finger tip (not fun).
No light = no electricity in wire. Good if you are looking for a short. BAD if you are
supposed to have electricity there.
Light = electricity in wire. Good if electricity is supposed to be there BAD if it's not!
There's your short.
Basic simple tool, no numbers to worry about, no formulas to remember, just clip, stab. light/no light ...

hank

Hank, Those lighted probes are great for finding an open (where voltage is lost due to no contact), but not useful for shorts. You should not apply power to find a short. I like those probes for finding blown fuses or loose contacts or things like that. However, to light them up, you need power applied. Maybe you were thinking of an open.. many use those terms loosely. I keep one in my toolbox.. they are very handy.

CaleyAnn,

I think an ohmmeter (resistance) would be best for finding a short. Low or 0 ohms to ground on a line that should only see 12 VDC is usually bad unless is is going through a filament bulb to ground in which case it is very hard to tell unless you remove the bulbs.

If you have LED lights.. no issue with an Ohm meter on the 12VDC side. If you have incandescent bulbs you just need to remove the bulb(s) while looking for shorts in the circuit. The multi-meter does not source enough current to thermally change resistance of tungsten filament and it will look like a short to ground to the ohmmeter.

At the end of the day, if you cannot find the short (physical location), but you know what leg (wire run) the short is on, cut the wire at both ends to isolate it and run a new one instead of taking everything apart. That is what I'd do.


If that trailer does not have brakes there are only three wires to chase from the trailer pigtail connector (maybe 4 if they are using the accessory 12VDC for an interior light) If you have incandescent bulbs in the running lights or brake lights, remove them from the sockets. Find the line that is low resistance to ground and you have found the leg. The running lights may be harder to isolate, but the brake lights and blinkers all run front to back. Once you have found the bad leg, cut the wire and each end and run a new one.

If you find the running light circuit is the culprit... they are usually daisy chained so you can make clip half way and will get it down to 50% right away. The running lights typically use a hot wire run all the way around the trailer terminating at the last light (a 12vdc bus of sorts) and just tap off for each light. All of them are in parallel from an electrical perspective.

Did you take out that DC Panel you wired up? It should have nothing to do with the trailer wiring unless you had an interior light that was running from accessory and somehow you tied all that together?? Most likely a screw through a wire or pinched insulation when you put the paneling back up... lots of opportunity in the build process..

Sorry you have to go through this.

[CaleyAnn]

Gentlemen, No need to worry anymore about the trailer. I took it down to the Marine Base, and let them use it for target practice with small arms, and then a few anti-tank weapons. It now is lying peacefully at the bottom of a ravine.

Now that that story is done with, listen to this. Since I have gone to every extent to determine where a possible short was, and found nothing, the conclusion is that my meter was incorrectly adjusted, and therefore no short existed, with the exception of the wire where I put a screw through it.

As a consequence of that train of actions and thought, I just went out, hooked up the trailer electrical to my own cars electrical, and turned on the ignition, and then the lights. I checked the operation of all lights on both vehicles, finding them in good running order. I did this several times, and no fuses blew in my car. Conclusion is that I was chasing a ghost because of my lack of experience with my very old (Archer/Radio Shack 1970's era) volt-ohm meter.

Since this problem seems to be put to rest, tomorrow I will start replacing things, starting with my foam insulation. Looks like I need more of that silver aluminum foil tape so I can close the gaps where the seams are. The rest should be pretty straight forward, as I have a lot of experience putting up, and taking down things.