Okay, so my girlfriends grandparents gave us an older 3 axle 32ft. goose stock trailer. The frame itself is in really good shape and other than a new floor there are only a few minor things things that need to be done or replaced, like: new kick panels (ordered metal today), 4 tires and wheels, new paint, and some other misc, welding.
The major problem is that most of the wiring is basically shot and will have to be replaced and I am NO electrician!!
First Ill let you wiring gurus know what I want to have in the trailer:
Running lights (14)
Clearance lights (5)
Reverse lights (2)
brakes and turn signals (4)
interior lights (4)
outside "work" lights on the back and sides (4)
~20 in. fans on the inside (2)
wall outlets for pluggin stuff in (2)

Now that that is out of the way Ill also tell you that the trailer already has trailer brakes but they will have to have new wires run to them. Also I would like to be able to run the fans while going down the road (beef show steers have to stay cold
)
So heres the questions:
Should I use 6 or 7 way wire for the build?
About how much (6 or 7 way) wire will I need (full 40 feet?)
Is it possible to run a regular wall outlet fan while goin down the road?
If so, how do you do it?
Can anyone give me a basic wiring over view (which wires should go where?)
and finally, Are there any special fuses/ relays I will need for all those lights?

Thanks in advance for the help. It seems I will be learning alot about wiring over the next couple of weeks or maybe months .
Scott

 

it sounds like you are in the same boat as I was. I have been rebuilding a 32' gooseneck horse trailer as seen in my pictures. It is a full steel trailer so it was structually sound, but we did do some sanding and a little bondo work and some re-painting and it looks much better, but it is still is an old farm trailer. One thing I would definately do is take all of the wheels off and grease/inspect the hub/bearings/brakes.

Instead of trying to repair the current wiring, I opted to buy all new lights and wire and start from scratch. http://www.delcity.net was is a great place to order all of this (much cheaper than anywhere else). I ended up buying a 100' roll of 6/12 wire because it was the same price I could buy 40' locally. To have your reverse lights working AND your accessory lighting, you will need 7 way wire. I recomend putting a ground in the front and rear of the trailer to ensure good grounding. I asked a similar question a while back, https://www.dieseltruckresource.com/...threadid=37809, and everyone told me to solder/shrink wrap the connections. I did this, and though very time consuming, everything seems to work well and should last a long time.

Brakes are easy to hook up, you dont have to worry about connecting the right wires, just ensure the brakes are wired in parallel. I would also suggest connecting the ground brake wires directly to the ground wire in your 7-way. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions, I am just now finishing up mine.

 

your gonna have to have a generator to run those fans. I assume they are 110v? I used to show cattle, and I know those fans really draw some power, and I know that the power from the truck isnt going to support them!!

We hauled in an open stock trailer, so the flow of air was no problem, and we didnt need fans in it.

As far as the brakes and other wiring goes, Matthopp summed it up pretty good.

 

Thanks for the help guys. I kinda figgerd that the fans will have to run off of an outside power source and Im sure there will be plenty of air flow goin down the road. The only thing I may try is runnin some smaller 12v fans off of the aux wire for the times where we end up sittin in Ft. Worth or Houston traffic .
Thanks for the link and advice MattHopp. Your trailer looks like it is from the same era as mine is .
I rewired the trailer brakes today and now I am on the search for some used 8 lug wheels (not as easy as it sounds) because 4 of the 6 wheels are split rims . In the past I have only been able to find ONE person who still changes split rim flats and it aint cheap. Apperantly they can be VERY dangerous .
Thanks again for the help guys and if you have any more suggestions feel free to let me have em'.
Scott