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
----- Original Message -----
From: John Eckman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Multiple recipients of VACList <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2001 1:42 PM
Subject: [VAC] Still new to a '64 GlobeTrotter
> Hi Folks,
>
> I wrote a few weeks back and got some great advice from many of you about
> whether to use my 4cyl. Toyota to tow a '64 GlobeTrotter 19'. Most of you
> will be relieved to know that I'm borrowing a friend's diesel, Ford F-250
> 4x4 crew cab--a massive vehicle--for our maiden voyage from Maine down to
> home in Virginia over this weekend.
>
> Having never towed a trailer in my life, I want to be sure I avoid any
> unpleasant surprises, so I've got some beginner's questions.
>
> I'm buying this trailer (Gulp!) without every seeing it in person--through
> good friends. It's in fine working order and was on the road just last
> summer. I'm arriving in Maine with brand new rims/tires which I'll switch
> out for the original split rims. (New rims are from Inland (gasp!$) and
> tires are fine Goodyears--all up to specs.
>
> I'm assuming that the standard brake setup on the F-250 tow package will
> work with the '64 A/S brakeline and that I don't need any extra special
> adaptors. I've seen pictures of the '64's electric brake hookup, and they
> certainly look the same and seem to be standard. Please let me know if
> there's anything unusual I should be prepared for.
>
> I'm packing a bunch of tools and plenty of warm gear. Any other
> advice/warnings would be greatly appreciated, either through the list or
to
> me directly at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> I'll soon be joining your happy ranks.
>
> Many thanks,
>
> --John
>
> John Eckman
> 1964 Globe Trotter 19'
> Shenandoah Valley
>
>
>
>
> To unsubscribe or to change to a daily Digest, please go to
> http://www.airstream.net/vaclist/listoffice.html
>
> If replying back to this message, please delete all the unnecessary
original
> text from your reply.
>
>
>
To unsubscribe or to change to a daily Digest, please go to
http://www.airstream.net/vaclist/listoffice.html
If replying back to this message, please delete all the unnecessary original
text from your reply.
