7-way connector fastening

memphiahn

I want to share a tip related to fastening 7-way connector.

Last summer, I hit the road to enjoy my road trip from Memphis to Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Idaho, and to Yellowstone for 40 days. But, my long trip abruptly stopped in the area of Amarillo, TX because of an unexpected incident when my 7-way connector was loosened to the highway floor making sparks, which was observed by a fellow driver who honked at me to notify me that. After I pulled over my truck and T@G trailer, I found my connector remaining only half and I couldn’t connect between my truck and trailer any more. I surveyed and thankfully found a good trailer repair shop around the Palo Duro State Park. They fixed and replaced my connector at a decent cost and gave me a tip to fasten my connector using the bungee cords. Since then, making sure to fasten my 7-way connector was the first and last one to double check before hitting the road. I hope you enjoy your camping with T@G.

Best,
Memphi@hn

Michigan_Mike

I think the 7 way connector is a good topic to discuss and when I first got into teardrop trailers I had a similar experience but thankfully didn’t severely damage the plug end, but did scuff it up pretty good. Since this cord is so long I normally unhook the plug from my truck, wrap it around the trailer tongue jack and point the plug end down to eliminate water from entering the terminals. This process is reversed when reattaching the plug when I hook back up.

It is always (hindsight here of course) a good idea to double check your trailer, the safety chains, wiring harness, check the hitch secured properly, hitch locked in place, tire inflation, lug nuts, check the tail lights, lock trailer door and rear galley area, etc. and walk around the trailer a few times to make sure things are in order before leaving home or from the campsite.

Another good tip is to always place wheel chokes under the tires to eliminate having the trailer take off after unhitching. And before unhitching and deploying the stabilizers make sure the trailer is level from side to side as you might need a leveling block or two. I use the stick on levels and once the trailer is level you can place them in s handy area and use them without the need to find a level.

One more quick tip, if you are stopping by a campground just to sleep and plan to leave things hooked up (e.g. trailer attached to your tow vehicle) so that you can depart quickly the next day, make sure you unplug the 7 way plug from the vehicle or you may run the battery down. This has happened to many of us and is why you need to pay attention and survey things well before leaving the campsite.

Happy Trails!

SueJ1959

Unplug the 7 way if plugged in at a campground that has electricity?

Michigan_Mike

https://teardrop-trailers.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/comment/5262#Comment_5262

I’m referring to remote camping or in camping areas without electric. If you don’t unplug your tow vehicle from the trailer you risk running your vehicles battery down and might not be able to start your vehicle the next day.

TomD

My 7 pin plug will only sit/connect in place when connected properly. It has a tab that flips down when it’s inserted correctly and stops the plug from inadvertent release. It’s worked well for me. I always test everything before going out on the road as well.

csonni

@Michigan_Mike said:
If you don’t unplug your tow vehicle from the trailer you risk running your vehicles battery down and might not be able to start your vehicle the next day.

What exactly does the Shut Off switch in the Tongue Box do? Would that eliminate the need to unplug?

csonni

@memphiahn said:

fasten my connector using the bungee cords.

Our setup will even need a bit more consideration as we'll be using the Curt Echo as our Brake Controller. That adds 6 inches or so. Might end up wrapping both connections with strips of bike tire inner tubes.

We haven't received our T@G yet, but I'm wondering how much cord slack one should leave for tight turns.

LuckyJ

@csonni said:

@Michigan_Mike said:
If you don’t unplug your tow vehicle from the trailer you risk running your vehicles battery down and might not be able to start your vehicle the next day.

What exactly does the Shut Off switch in the Tongue Box do? Would that eliminate the need to unplug?

The is only the trailer battery kill or on/off switch. It prevent the trailer's battery from being used or being charged.

But if you leave the trailer connected to the Tracking Vehicule, then the TV battery is now the trailer battery.

Only solar can still charge the battery when siwtch is off, cause connected directly to the battery. Unless the new permanent roof panels are wired in a different manner.

HellFish

On the topic of the connector. I once noticed that some of the running lights on my T@G were illuminated even though the trailer was not connected to my tow vehicle. Turns out my connector was hanging down and the cap that protects the contacts was on and full of water. I dumped out the water...problem solved. Something was shorting and completeing a circuit.

Michigan_Mike

The LED lights are very sensitive and require minimal voltage to light up. I’ve seen it myself on former trailers and have heard of others experiencing the same phenomena and solution. And since the battery hot wire connection is in the plug, water that collects in the plug provides an electrical path for voltage to flow.

Michigan_Mike

As for unplugging, Luc is correct. If you turn off the battery you are in effect isolating the trailer battery and won’t have voltage to any of your 12V components (e.g. LED lights, TV/DVD, frig, etc) inside the trailer. So you still should unplug the tow vehicle when you pull over for the night or risk depleting the vehicle battery.

On the flip side, if you were to leave the trailer plugged into the tow vehicle and plugged the trailer into shore power the electric converter inside the trailer would charge up both the trailer battery and the tow vehicle battery. 🥳😀👍🏻

WilliamA

There are a number of smart battery isolators on the market. I think I paid something like $30 bucks for mine. It's small and easy to mount and wire into the trailer. A battery isolator can perform a number of functions. Some, (the more expensive models) are programmable. Mine disconnects the charging line whenever the charging line voltage from my tow vehicle drops below 12 volts. That keeps the trailer from robbing power from the TV if left plugged in. It's essentially a relay, but has a voltage monitor circuit to prevent over/under voltage from the TV.

I also use mine to turn on a red light on the tongue to tell me when I plug the trailer into the TV that the trailer parking brake is on. I can also turn off the isolator to keep the batteries separate without unplugging my trailer harness. When I start my TV, the isolator senses the voltage increase, compares the two voltages and reconnects if trailer voltage is low.

So it actually does a lot of things besides the basic stuff.

Mostly, I installed it so I don't have to worry about forgetting to plug in the trailer. I just leave it plugged in whenever I'm connected to the TV. Easy.

WilliamA

LuckyJ

@williamA, on top of your head, w/o doing research, would you have the name/model of that thing?

Could be interesting for me and for sure others!

😉

WilliamA

WilliamA

ras

Before you purchase better look at the reviews. It is not waterproof, only water resistant. Not all owners are happy.

WilliamA

It's been my experience that most bad reviews come from unrealistic expectations. It's worked perfectly since I put it in there, though I admit I've never submerged it.

WilliamA