2012 4Runner (5th Gen) Factory Trailer Plug

[ckran]

We also had our hitch cut a little shorter so the pin would go in the 2nd slot. We had this done down the road from Escape trailer at Trademasters. They had it done in minutes.

[msweet]

Originally Posted by ckran

We also had our hitch cut a little shorter so the pin would go in the 2nd slot. We had this done down the road from Escape trailer at Trademasters. They had it done in minutes.

I think I will drill an additional hole and trim the shank to move the ball closer to the rear axle. I'll call Trademasters and get a quote. Thanks!

Originally Posted by ckran

We had the same issue with our 5th Gen 4runner and 19 ft trailer, I went around a corner and lost connectivity!! We had ETI replace the original cord for us (I think they extended it about a foot). Seems to work fine now, and I don't recall that it was very expensive to get this done.

That sucks! I think I am going to need to extend the wires using a 10' wiring kit even if I trim the shank. Unfortunately the standard length is 8' and the longer lengths are difficult to find.

[ckran]

Yes, we only had to cut about half an inch, so made no difference in our case to the cord length requirements (We have the equilizer hitch sold by ETI in 2010, not sure they still carry this).

[float5]

Originally Posted by msweet

I think I will drill an additional hole and trim the shank to move the ball closer to the rear axle. I'll call Trademasters and get a quote. Thanks!



That sucks! I think I am going to need to extend the wires using a 10' wiring kit even if I trim the shank. Unfortunately the standard length is 8' and the longer lengths are difficult to find.

Don't know where we got ours but plenty of places have them and I think etrailer might be one.

[msweet]

Originally Posted by float5

Don't know where we got ours but plenty of places have them and I think etrailer might be one.

I found one at etrailer (7-Way Molded Connector w/ 10' Cable) but they want $35 for it plus $40 for shipping it up to Canada. Add the 30% exchange on top of all that and it is one expensive cord!

We do have the option of shipping to a receiving company just south of the border in Blaine. I might have to do that if I can't find it locally.

[gbaglo]

Phone etrailer and ask if the item can be shipped from their Ontario facility. It will arrive by Canada Post without customs clearance charges etc.
I've bought several items by phone.

[msweet]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Phone etrailer and ask if the item can be shipped from their Ontario facility. It will arrive by Canada Post without customs clearance charges etc.
I've bought several items by phone.

Great advice! Thanks!

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by float5

Also, don't know how such a change affects the rest of the WDH working together.

With the ball a bit closer to the rear axle, the reduction of front axle load will be a little bit less, so the WD springs will need a little less force to reach the right setting... but we're only talking about a couple percent change, so it should be a moderate tweak in setting.

[float5]

Originally Posted by msweet

I found one at etrailer (7-Way Molded Connector w/ 10' Cable) but they want $35 for it plus $40 for shipping it up to Canada. Add the 30% exchange on top of all that and it is one expensive cord!

We do have the option of shipping to a receiving company just south of the border in Blaine. I might have to do that if I can't find it locally.

That IS a bad price. It certainly makes a difference when going from the US to Canada, unfortunately. Same problem many of us had when shipping items to ETI. Dropped the idea for a certain sink becuase of that.

Probably a number of places in Canada have them for less but you would have to find one.

[Brian B-P]

Paying more for shipping than for the product is certainly annoying, but this is a substantial chunk of heavy cable with a connector already on the end - the cost doesn't seem that bad to me.

From a recent discussion, some notes on buying this cable:

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

... This type of cable is available as an assembly with the 7-pin plug already on the end, to avoid making the seven connections at that end. If you do buy the cable separately:

• get the right kind - the 7-conductor cable used to connect commercial trucks to their trailers doesn't have the heavy-gauge conductors that you want for the ground and battery power, so you want cable specifically for the RV-type (or "blade" style) connection; and,
• connect it in the right direction - the electricity doesn't care which end is which, but the cable has the colour-coded wires arranged the same way as the plug for easy connecting... but if you use the wrong end the wires will all be in a mirror image of where they should be.

Typical appropriate cable includes

• 14 ga: red, brown, yellow, green (lighting)
• 12 ga: blue (brakes)
• 10 ga: black, white (battery charge and ground)

The commercial trailer cable is usually all just 14 or maybe 12 gauge, or at best all 12 gauge except one 10 gauge for ground.

I did a quick online search of likely local (or nationwide Canadian) sources, and I didn't find a good and inexpensive source of the cable or cable assemblies with connector. Any RV parts store will have suitable cable assemblies... for about CA$75.

[msweet]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Any RV parts store will have suitable cable assemblies... for about CA$75.

I tried 4 or 5 RV stores in Calgary a few weeks ago and no one carried the 10' length. Everyone stocked the 8' which they called standard and they were confused why I would need a longer cable!

I will likely just ship the cable to Blaine and pickup along with a few items from REI in Bellingham.

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by msweet

I tried 4 or 5 RV stores in Calgary a few weeks ago and no one carried the 10' length. Everyone stocked the 8' which they called standard and they were confused why I would need a longer cable!

Good point - they all have cable assemblies, but that doesn't mean they're long enough!

The other solution is to buy bulk cable (in whatever length you need) and install a connector on the end yourself. Sorry, but even as separate parts I don't have a good suggestion of a current Canadian source. The last time I bought this cable and connector was a decade ago.

[float5]

Originally Posted by msweet

I tried 4 or 5 RV stores in Calgary a few weeks ago and no one carried the 10' length. Everyone stocked the 8' which they called standard and they were confused why I would need a longer cable!

I will likely just ship the cable to Blaine and pickup along with a few items from REI in Bellingham.

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk

Probably no one would keep those in stock. Some of them should be able to order them in the longer length. If they don't want to, then you have to go to mail.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by msweet

I tried 4 or 5 RV stores in Calgary a few weeks ago and no one carried the 10' length. Everyone stocked the 8' which they called standard and they were confused why I would need a longer cable!

Originally Posted by float5

Probably no one would keep those in stock. Some of them should be able to order them in the longer length. If they don't want to...

Most RV parts stores get everything from one or two of the major distributors. They only stock a fraction of the possible items. If any item (such as the longer cable) is in one of the catalogs, they will usually bring it in from the distributor's warehouse in a couple of days, without any shipping charge because that's already accounted for in the retail price; they're usually happy to make the sale, and accept that many parts must be ordered in.

[msweet]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Most RV parts stores get everything from one or two of the major distributors. They only stock a fraction of the possible items. If any item (such as the longer cable) is in one of the catalogs, they will usually bring it in from the distributor's warehouse in a couple of days, without any shipping charge because that's already accounted for in the retail price; they're usually happy to make the sale, and accept that many parts must be ordered in.

I was running out of time so I ended up getting ETI to complete this work for me. They cut the original cord, installed a new weatherproof junction box under our new storage box and then used a new standard length cable. Overall it was just over $90 which is close to what I was going to pay for a new longer cable. The bonus is it was finished in time to use the WDH for our trip.

Sent from my D5803 using Tapatalk