Mystery Wire by rear hitch under trailer

[Suregrip391]

Hello group, I’ll probably have to crawl under and grab a pic but there is a wire hanging down under my trailer located just behind the rear receiver hitch on my 5.0 TA. It look like it had a round connector on the end that is partially broken away ( like it would slip over a stud of some sort). I’m thinking this is a ground wire? Does anyone know what I’m talking about offhand? Is this a ground wire and for what? Thanks!

[cpaharley2008]

Perhaps it was a hitch wire for lights.....

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Suregrip391

Hello group, I’ll probably have to crawl under and grab a pic but there is a wire hanging down under my trailer located just behind the rear receiver hitch on my 5.0 TA. It look like it had a round connector on the end that is partially broken away ( like it would slip over a stud of some sort). I’m thinking this is a ground wire? Does anyone know what I’m talking about offhand? Is this a ground wire and for what? Thanks!

Hi: Suregrip391... It's on the wrong end of the trailer to be an "Underwire bra". I'm thinking your grounded theory is correct!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[DanK]

Single wire ? What color ?

[Centex]

FYI pic of the WFCO 'ground' wire under my 2021 5.0 on the driver's side. In the pic ...

• UP is the rear of the trailer
• LEFT is the driver's side main frame rail
• the 'ground' wire is screwed to the 2"x2" tube across the rear of the trailer immediatly under the back edge of the shell
• Ignore the clamp and piece of dirty white-painted plywood at the top of the pic - that's stuff relating to mock-up of a mod unrelated to this topic

Perhaps that 'ground' wire is what is dangling? The crimp-on 'eye' that should be under the screw into the frame broken? It's a hex-head screw, apparently of the self-tapping type commonly used by ETI.

Close inspection may reveal the screw with no apparent purpose, or may reveal the near-flush broken screw (absent the head) in the tube. If broken in the tube that happens when those are over-torqued on installation (or the head may snap-off when you try to remove it), just abandon it in-situ and install another self-tapping screw adjacent. IMO it's not worth messing with trying to extract the broken end.

Hope that helps, good luck.

[Suregrip391]

Hey thanks crew !

Attached is a pic of the wire in question on the 5.0TA. It comes straight down out of the floor about 4” to the left of the rear receiver hitch mount as looking at it from standing behind the camper. Appears to be a ground wire of some sort. What I did forget to look for is a hole in the frame for it to screw to (if indeed a ground?).

[Escape_19]

Be careful.....

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Suregrip391

... (if indeed a ground?).

Rest assured.

If disinclined, find and follow it where it enters under your dinette bench.

[Suregrip391]

Originally Posted by Centex

Rest assured.

If disinclined, find and follow it where it enters under your dinette bench.

Where it comes up through the floor nothing can be seen with the vinyl flooring and insulation under that….the wire must run under all of that stuff…….

[Centex]

Originally Posted by Suregrip391

Where it comes up through the floor nothing can be seen with the vinyl flooring and insulation under that….the wire must run under all of that stuff…….

Awkward to access but look / feel at / under the back edge of the WFCO (or remove the 4 retaining screws and pull the WFCO slightly forward from the face of the bench base).

The shell / floor penetration may not be directly above where you see it exiting the spray-on insulation under your trailer (it may run ~horizontal within the spray-on insulation below the shell).

I've not encountered any mention ever of ETI running any wires under the vinyl flooring material - that vinyl flooring is bonded to the plywood subfloor before any interior components are installed. Every wire / pipe penetration I've seen personally or depicted on the forum is a hole drilled or cut perpendicular through-and-through the vinyl flooring, subfloor, and shell.

Distinct from the floor, ETI does route wires between the shell walls and the wall covering and resilient foam insulation on the walls.

[mr.stang]

Yes a ground, escape uses or has used self tapping screws to fasten it to the frame. Depending on model there are multiple grounds attached to the frame, therefore common. I used a heavy duty connector and through bolted to the frame. After doing this my 12v lights stopped flickering. Stan

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by mr.stang

Yes a ground, escape uses or has used self tapping screws to fasten it to the frame. Depending on model there are multiple grounds attached to the frame, therefore common. I used a heavy duty connector and through bolted to the frame. After doing this my 12v lights stopped flickering. Stan

Yes, and the hex head can't be far away. New ring terminal and re-attach.

Ron

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Escape_19

Be careful.....
(Reddy Kilowatt toon)

hahahaha. In hte 1960s, my dad worked for PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric, the major utility in all of central and northern California) in the Public Relations department in their downtown SF headquarters... He used to bring home all sorts of Reddy Kilowatt booklets for me, as I was fascinated by all things electrical and electronic. IIRC, the character was actually the property of some marketing firm that licensed it to various electrical utility companies.

[Centex]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

.... IIRC, the character was actually the property of some marketing firm that licensed it to various electrical utility companies.

Maybe of interest: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reddy_Kilowatt

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by Centex

Awkward to access but look / feel at / under the back edge of the WFCO (or remove the 4 retaining screws and pull the WFCO slightly forward from the face of the bench base).

The shell / floor penetration may not be directly above where you see it exiting the spray-on insulation under your trailer (it may run ~horizontal within the spray-on insulation below the shell).

I've not encountered any mention ever of ETI running any wires under the vinyl flooring material - that vinyl flooring is bonded to the plywood subfloor before any interior components are installed. Every wire / pipe penetration I've seen personally or depicted on the forum is a hole drilled or cut perpendicular through-and-through the vinyl flooring, subfloor, and shell.

Distinct from the floor, ETI does route wires between the shell walls and the wall covering and resilient foam insulation on the walls.

Alan, on our 2021 21 NE, I found wiring under the vinyl at the most forward point of the trailer floor, under the front bench. The vinyl was not bonded to the plywood where it curls upward to meet the insulation on the front wall. The wiring under the unglued vinyl supplies the clearance lights. Escape had cut an exterior hole in the underbelly fiberglass in this area near the center of trailer, with no apparent purpose, and left it open. I sealed the hole from the outside with Permatex RTV Silicone Adhesive a day after picking up the trailer. Before the freeze here in MN, I removed the sealant and drilled up through the plywood to run a ground cable from the negative battery terminal in the storage box to the busbar inside the trailer. Fortunately, I lifted the loose section of vinyl to check for wiring before drilling up through the plywood. I then ran a ground from the busbar to the frame, drilling yet another hole near where the positive, negative and ground cables for the inverter pass through the floor. Escape only ran a very short ground cable from the negative battery terminal to the frame. The 12 volt negative returns were not grounded at all by Escape and they did not install a busbar, contrary to what is indicated in the WFCO instruction manual. And the hex head screw on the frame was beginning to corrode...and.....

I used pilot drill bits followed by Forstner bits to drill through plywood and fiberglass without damaging the fiberglass. Rockler make a nice set of Forstner bits, which I used to make 2 new holes and to enlarge the existing holes for new inverter cables. I replaced the 2 AWG cables with 2/0 cables. Photo of the mystery hole in the shell, as it came straight from the factory - attached. Not so neat.

All of this after you recommended Victon's Wiring Unlimited book to me on this forum some months ago, Alan! Learning much from the knowledgeable folks here.

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

hahahaha. In hte 1960s, my dad worked for PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric, the major utility in all of central and northern California) in the Public Relations department in their downtown SF headquarters... He used to bring home all sorts of Reddy Kilowatt booklets for me, as I was fascinated by all things electrical and electronic. IIRC, the character was actually the property of some marketing firm that licensed it to various electrical utility companies.

John, they might just reinvent Reddy as a solar panel for today's kids.

[Jwinfrey]

I believe that’s one of a few drain holes along the bottom-outside edge of the trailer. If you look, you will see others. If you sealed it after running your cables. Best to clear some away to allow for drainage.

[rubicon327]

Originally Posted by Jwinfrey

I believe that’s one of a few drain holes along the bottom-outside edge of the trailer. If you look, you will see others. If you sealed it after running your cables. Best to clear some away to allow for drainage.

On the gen1 trailers those holes were small and only along the sides of the trailer where the mold bumped down. Not at the front or rear. Not sure about the newer molds but DGLP’s picture looks to me like an errant hole.

[DGLP]

Originally Posted by rubicon327

On the gen1 trailers those holes were small and only along the sides of the trailer where the mold bumped down. Not at the front or rear. Not sure about the newer molds but DGLP’s picture looks to me like an errant hole.

I agree - I think it is an errant hole. Looking at the photo, the hole extends slightly under the foam insulation on one side. The fiberglass on the other side of the hole, away from the insulation, is badly cracked. The shape of the hole is irregular. This does not appear intentional. If a hole this size were placed in this location intentionally, without some sort of mesh covering, it would make an ideal portal for mice, not to mention a curiosity for our local mama raccoon and her 4 kits to explore as they toddle under the trailer. And we do get a good amount of snow and blowing snow up here. The hole might introduce more moisture in than it would allow out.

We were trapping mice in our garage every fall and winter until this year. I sealed up any small opening I could find with the spray foam sealant that is used under the trailer. No mice this year - in the garage.