To ensure maximum towing safety when on the road, your trailer brake system must be working perfectly. This means that your trailer brake wiring system must be expertly connected to function optimally. Today, most vehicles designated for towing come with a ready-to-use wiring system for trailer brakes. This makes it easy for you because all you have to do is insert your trailer plug into your vehicle’s system, hitch the trailer, and start towing.
However, when your towing vehicle is not pre-wired, you’ll have to use a wiring harness to connect your trailer to your tow vehicle or find a professional installer to do it for you. As a towing enthusiast, you’ll be better off knowing your way around trailer brake wiring. These three tips will come in handy.
1. Your Trailer Brake System Controls Your Trailer Lights
Typically, most trailers have three basic sets of lights — the taillights, left brake light, and the right brake light. Every time you’re out on the road towing your trailer, you want all your trailer lights to function properly to enhance your towing safety. The taillights flash every time you apply brakes, signifying the motorists behind you to slow down. When you’re making a right or left turn, the right and the left brake lights will flash to show every motorist which way you’re going. Properly functioning trailer lights increase your road safety when towing, especially on busy North American roads.
In light of this, you must connect your wiring system for trailer brakes skillfully for your trailer lights to function effectively. To their credit, most trailer wiring plugs are easy to connect. The standard trailer connector has four pins and an extra ground wire. The ground wire prevents the trailer brake wiring system from shorting in case of an electrical surge. The four pins connect to the two taillights and the right and left brake lights. Once you plug in your trailer brake controller to your vehicle, you only need to test if the lights are working well, and you’re good to go.
2. When to Buy Trailer Wiring Adapters
In the best-case scenario, your towing vehicle is pre-rigged, so all you have to do is plug in your brake controller, test it, and proceed to tow. However, it’s not always as easy. There are some instances where you’ll need to be ingenious. For instance, your towing vehicle may be pre-wired with a seven-pin wiring system connector, while your trailer has a four-pin connector. In such a scenario, a wiring adapter will save the day.
You’ll find different wiring adapters from the best trailer brake controller dealer. In this case, you’ll need a seven-pin to four-pin adapter. In other cases, your trailer may have five-pin or six-pin connectors. Likewise, you’ll need a five-pin to four-pin adapter or a six-pin to four-pin adapter.
3. When to Buy a Trailer Wiring Harness
When your truck isn’t pre-wired for towing, you should make use of a trailer wiring harness. The modern wiring kits are easy to install since you don’t need to solder, splice, or tape any wires. Once you install the wiring harness or have a professional install it, your wiring system for trailer brakes will function perfectly. You only need to get the right trailer wiring kit specifically made for your vehicle’s model. Fortunately, the top dealers will have the right wiring harness for any car model. These include Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hummer, Infiniti, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury, Nissan, or Toyota.
Having a good wiring system for trailer brakes will boost your towing safety by a large margin. If you’re among the 30 million RV enthusiasts and RV renters as estimated by RVIA, it’s important to know your way around trailer brake wiring systems. This will make you a better RVer besides boosting your towing safety on U.S. roads.
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