Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

by **savano** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 1:13 pm

Yes, I know, I have been lurking too many months without introducing myself. This is a great and valuable forum. Thank you, all. I have gotten so much inspiration and information from the people on this forum that I am now trying to put together a HF trailer. I do not have the skills or resources to move the axel back a foot, so it remains where it was designed to be.

I was able to bolt the trailer frame together in 3 days, but it has taken me over 3 weeks and counting to get the right tail light to work. The green wire turn signal works, but not the brown wire light. I read in a post, I think by Madjack, about the grounding connection to the trailer sometimes not being sufficient, and having to run an additional ground wire to the frame of the tow vehicle. I tested this by hooking everything up, lights on in the tow, and touching the back bolts of the tail light fixture to the tailpipe of the tow, and voila! the lightbulb came on! Am I making sense?

Anyway, my questions are: is this a grounding problem? If it is, how do I correct it?

This will be the only electrical wiring I will do, I plan to use solar. UPS delivered my "Stainless steel solar fan" yesterday. What a beauty! I didn't even have to put the batteries in, I just set it outside in the sun, and the fan started whirling. So I have a working fan but no tail light. I will be using solar battery rechargers to keep the lights on in the cabin at night, and maybe next year buy a larger solar panel to keep my ibook, ipod and XM radio going.

Any advice is welcomed. Sally

by **Joanne** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:12 pm

savano wrote:Yes, I know, I have been lurking too many months without introducing myself. This is a great and valuable forum. Thank you, all. I have gotten so much inspiration and information from the people on this forum that I am now trying to put together a HF trailer. I do not have the skills or resources to move the axel back a foot, so it remains where it was designed to be.

I was able to bolt the trailer frame together in 3 days, but it has taken me over 3 weeks and counting to get the right tail light to work. The green wire turn signal works, but not the brown wire light. I read in a post, I think by Madjack, about the grounding connection to the trailer sometimes not being sufficient, and having to run an additional ground wire to the frame of the tow vehicle. I tested this by hooking everything up, lights on in the tow, and touching the back bolts of the tail light fixture to the tailpipe of the tow, and voila! the lightbulb came on! Am I making sense?

Anyway, my questions are: is this a grounding problem? If it is, how do I correct it?

This will be the only electrical wiring I will do, I plan to use solar. UPS delivered my "Stainless steel solar fan" yesterday. What a beauty! I didn't even have to put the batteries in, I just set it outside in the sun, and the fan started whirling. So I have a working fan but no tail light. I will be using solar battery rechargers to keep the lights on in the cabin at night, and maybe next year buy a larger solar panel to keep my ibook, ipod and XM radio going.

Any advice is welcomed. Sally

Hi Sally!

Joanne here. Welcome to the list and I'm glad that you have joined the active members. What part of Arizona are you in? We have some Arizona members and maybe one of them could help you move the axle to the correct location.

If you are trying not to do any wiring, there are some battery powered lights that folks have used. They were advertized on TV for a while as a way to add a light to a closet or other dark area without running wires. I know we have chatted about them before, but I don't remember the specific thread. Maybe someone can come up with a picture.

Good luck on your build! And as MadJack says, "We love the pictures!".

Joanne

by **Hardin Valley Magic** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 3:18 pm

Sally, I just put the same together for a friend of mine. No he's not building a tear he just needed a small trailer. Any way, I had problems with the lights as well. What I done was run a single wire from the tailight bracket bolt up to the ground screw on the tounge. Any walla they work perfectly.
Hope this helps. Also make sure you have a good ground on the vehicle pigtail.
Welcome aboard and keep us up to speed with the build. And most of all just have fun with it. :thumbsup:

by **savano** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:51 pm

Thanks Steven, I will try that. I think I have tried everything else but that. Hope it works. This problem is holding everything else up. Need to get it registered then go to HD for ply, then to Pamplin Grove!

Hi Joanne. I have been following your build for several months and I have been quite impressed from the beginning. Mine won't be that complicated. KISTT (keep it simple tiny trailer). I live near Prescott. I have driven thru Las Vegas twice in the last 12 months going over to camp in Death Valley. I spent New Years weekend at Wildrose campground, got too cold there so went down to Panament Springs for a couple of days. I think I know what lights you mentioned. They are tent lights and run on batteries, have magnets on the back to attach to the tent. Those are the ones I will use, permanently affixed inside the cabin. Sally

by **PaulC** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:54 pm

Sally, Welcome to the nuth---- er ---- forum

Have fun with this problem because the continuation from this is actualyy building a TD.
Cheers
Paul :thumbsup:

by **AmyH** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:05 pm

Sally, welcome aboard! Nice to have another female amongst us. :thumbsup:

Just out of curiousity, does your taillight have grounding wires or not? The reason I ask is that the taillights I purchased do not have ground wires and neither do the side running lights. Your question is making me wonder if I will also need to run a grounding wire back to these lights, and if I do, how will I connect them. :thinking:

I am thinking that just running another grounding wire to it and screwing it to the metal holder for the light would work, but maybe the others know more. Steven, do you think this would be similar to what you did?

Amy

by bg » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:08 pm

Amy,

Most trailer lights are grounded through the mounting bolts, you should be able to connect your wire there.

by **Steve_Cox** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:14 pm

Hint for getting an adaquate ground when using frame grounding. Where the lights are bolted up to the trailer. Scrape off a little paint where the bolt is. The paint is an insulator. The only ground you are getting is through accidental scratches in the paint.

However, most of us recommend using a ground wire, but lots and lots of trailer lights work without them... maybe they don't work great, but they work.

by **Miriam C.** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:25 pm

Hi girls (oh and guys) It is so nice that there are so many women on here.

My alum. canoe trailer had the problem and the Uhaul dealer put a metal battery connector clip (auto parts store) so I could clip to the frame bolt on my van. Worked like a charm till it broke. I wrapped the wire around the tongue of the trailer and it has worked ever since. Go figure.
:roll:

SEE BG

Miriam

by **AmyH** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:26 pm

What if you are mounting the lights to wood sides and not to the chassis frame itself? Then what do you do? :thinking:

Amy

by **Hardin Valley Magic** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:29 pm

Amy, try what I mentioned earlier. It will supply a ground for the lights from the tounge. :thumbsup:

by **TomS** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:33 pm

AmyH wrote:What if you are mounting the lights to wood sides and not to the chassis frame itself? Then what do you do?

Amy

I had that problem with my license plate holder mounted on my wood galley hatch. I attached a ground wire to one of the mounting screws using lug purchashed at an autoparts store. The other end attaches to the negatively grounded frame.

BTW -- It's great to see many women building TD's!

by **AmyH** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:43 pm

Steven and Tom, thanks a bunch, that is exactly what I was thinking, and it is great to see the photo Tom!! :thumbsup:

Amy

by **oklahomajewel** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:57 pm

Hey ! Welcome, some more estrogen on the forum !!!! And not just talking about recipes and curtains... hahaha :dancing

I haven't started building mine yet (expected start date: Mar 4 !!!

Sounds like you started a good discussion, I'll point my friend/neighbor here or "reo-ron".... wiring is something that I'm going to let a pro handle!

I do like the solar idea... keep us informed about that!

Welcome to the nut house!!!

Julie
near OkC

by **Katie&Craig** » Fri Feb 24, 2006 10:39 pm

Hi Sally,
I too have been lurking and finally signed on. I am stilll in the planning stage and I have read so many of these posts my head is spinning with idea overload! This forum is great!

I would like more info on the stainless steel solar fan you mentioned. Where did you get it and how much was it? Is it quiet? I am not convinced of our need to have a battery. Laterns work fine for me and we will have a shore power connector to plug in the electric blanket if cold in the winter. The only thing I couldn't figure out was the fan, which would be a great addition as we tend to camp in hot areas in the summer. A direct solar fan might be the solution!
Katie

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

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