[VAC] Still new to a '64 GlobeTrotter

["Harvey Barlow" <harveybarlow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

John,

I'm a new guy to the VACList but not new to trailering or Airstreams so I
will offer you what little I know in response to your question about trailer
brake wiring.

I recently re-wired the connector plug on my vintage '66 Safari.  Early A/Ss
had their own unique wiring code for the trailer connector (the male end),
not a standard industry-wide wiring convention.  At some time, maybe in the
'70s, I think A/S and the RV industry established a standard wiring
convention which would enable any properly wired tow
vehicle to tow any properly wired trailer.

The question you may want to ask is how is the trailer connector currently
wired?  Has the trailer connector been re-wired to industry standard or was
the seller's tow vehicle wired to match the A/S?  If the seller has a
relatively new tow vehicle with a factory tow package including the female
connector and the tow vehicle's connector was not modified, the trailer may
have already been wired to match the tow vehicle.

Don't panic, it can be easily determined and corrected if necessary but you
may want to plan on obtaining the answers to these questions before you
arrive with limited time, planning to hook up your new trailer to your
borrowed Ford and hit the road.  If the trailer and tow vehicle wiring
connectors don't match clearance lights, taillights, stop/brake lights,
charge line, vehicle ground return line, and brakes will not work and fuses
may be blown or circuit breakers tripped.

New pickups, Suburbans, large SUVs, and vans that are delivered with a
factory towing package have the 7 pin female connector wired and mounted
under the rear bumper.  The wiring diagram for the connector is normally
included in the owner's manual or an addendum sheet.  Absent that
documentation, any RV dealer and most Wal-Mart stores have 7 pin female
trailer connectors for sale.  In the package is always a copy of the wiring
diagram showing how the connector should be wired.  Also, some factory
connectors have a neat little diagram inside the lid of the connector
weather cover.  Both factory and aftermarket tow vehicle female connectors
are wired to RV industry standard.  You can use one of these sources to
re-wire the trailer's male connector if they don't match.

Another possible issue to consider is the hitch.  Early, smaller A/Ss used a
2" hitch ball connector.  Later trailers all use a 2  5/16" hitch balls.
Whose hitch head are you using?  Does a hitch head come with the trailer?
Or, are you using a borrowed hitch head that belongs with the borrowed
truck?  If the hitch head belongs with the truck and the truck is set up for
towing a later model trailer, i.e. if it has a hitch receiver platform which
accepts the hitch head, you may not be able to attach a 2" ball socket onto
a 2 and 5/16" ball.  On the other hand, if your purchase includes the towing
hitch assembly, the ball and socket will match but if the relative heights
of the seller's tow vehicle and the height of the hitch receiver on your
borrowed Ford do not match, you may have a very severe mismatch and the
trailer will not be level.  What I'm saying is that the top of the ball on
the hitch mounted on the tow vehicle should be approximately 20 1/2" from
the pavement to match most A/Ss.  If not, the trailer tongue may be pointing
up or down.  Each situation can create instability but such a light trailer
behind a Ford F250HD 4X4 will be safe enough to tow home provided the tongue
is not so low as to hit the pavement when traveling over driveways or other
surface differences or so high as to cause the rear of the trailer to strike
similar irregularities.

Sorry to cause you worry but it is always better to anticipate a possible
problem, ask the questions, and, if necessary, identify a solution in
advance.

If I can help with further discussion or answers, I will be happy to do so.
Good luck.

Harvey Barlow