Trailer Wiring

[Bob in Tucson]

Some of you guys out there who pull trailers-where did you put the 5-4 converter and the plug which connects to the trailer? I would rather these items not be exposed to water and debris kicked up by the tire. Has anyone put them inside the fender light unit that is not used anymore after 1986? Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks

[Torch]

Mine is under the trunk with the wires ran down the saddlebag support arm and then out under the fender. I have the Marvella hitch and like the fact that I can remove the ball and put in a LED light there.

[Mike in Pekin , Il]

Good old Walmart in the trailer section, while you are there you can get the LED light package for about

[Chris near Kansas City]

Didn't use a converter. Put the plug right next to the fender, under the saddlebag. Made my own bracket that attaches to the hitch and no holes drilled in the plastic. Ran the wiring up the vertical support for the hitch. Putting the wiring where the old fender light used to be is a good idea, but, I'd rather have the benefit from having that light operational and find another spot for the wiring/plug.

I have seen some that mount the connector right above that light and below the license plate, but I too, would be concerned from the miles and miles of road debris getting kicked up. But, a custom mudflap would pretty much take care of that. Mine comes up a bit, if I recall. It comes up at least level with the rear axle. Have to take a picture when I get a chance.

There are clips on the inside of the rear fender on the LH side where you could just run your bundle of wires up to the connector under the trunk, if you chose to either put the trailer connector in the light area or actually in the fender itself above the light area and below the license plate frame. If I had to do it over again, I'd probably just make a mini cruise box looking thing and mount it near the LH side above the light but below the license plate.

Here's where mine sits now:


My mudflap looks like it stops right at the lower corner of the fender. But it doesn't. That's just where I had to cut in for clearance of the hitch tubing that runs forward to the saddlebag mounts. If you follow the RH edge of the fender up, you can see just a little tab sticking out. That's how far up my mudflap goes. It takes the brunt of whatever comes spitting out of the back tire. So, if the wiring was to come up the middle of the fender, it shouldn't get hurt. Plus, an extra layer of convoluted tubing would pretty much eliminate the worry factor. A once a year inspection of the wiring, if you run it that way, would be enough to catch any potential problems with it.

Chris

[richardb, austin]

I've got my 4 pin connector on a 3-4 ft "extention cord". 99 days out of a hundred, its folded up behind the passenger seat. Strung out to the hitch behind the saddlebag for that one time I use the trailer.

[Chris near Kansas City]

Richard, that's a good idea! I've heard of people putting their tool bag their also.

[doug of so fla]

I have a 4 to 5 pin adapter also, but you can do this with any type. Just add led's or standared brakes lites to the bottom brake lite area either internal or mounted on the lens area it self, cut holes & insert lites. etc, etc Then just use your trailer plug to power them, that way when you hook up your trailer, they go out of use you can not see them any way and it keeps the plug clean and out of the way and gives you xtra brake lites when you are not pulling your trailer.

[Chris near Kansas City]

Dang! You guys are coming up with enough new ways to do stuff, it almost makes me want to get another bike and start over.

I say "almost", LOL.

[Nathan (South Carolina)]

I use the Hoppy 5 to 4 wire adapter purchased from WalMart which is waterproof and I have it mounted under the right saddlebag, zip tied to trailer hitch bracket under the saddlebag. It has not failed during the 7 years that it has been on my '01 Voyager XII.

[LASER917]

I used a 5 to 4 converter that I got from a local auto parts store. The 3 relays to the left are wired to the output of the converter and powered by their own 12VDC fused power source, this way the trailer is isolated from the bike. The converter is held in by 3M double sided trim tape.