I recently bought a travel trailer and now I need to run a 12 volt wire to my 7-way connector. Where is the best place to get the 12 volts from? Should I just connect staight to the battery or is there a better location? Thanks.

 

i would put an inline fuse but run it from the battery

 

when you park for any length of time unplug the trailer or you can land up with dead batt,if you plug in the trailer to 110 the trailer converter can overcharge truck batt. so make sure its unpluged again

 

I was planning on using a fuse/breaker. I just wasn't 100% positive that the battery was the best location to get power. I'll try to remeber to unplug the trailer after I'm set up. I believe the wife would only let me forget once. Thanks.

 

There should already be one 12v+ on the 7 pin. If you need another and the amp draw is not great just piggyback that one.

 

What he said^^^^^ If you dont have power back there check the under hood fuse box

 

"I believe the wife would only let me forget once"....I've been there a few times....the hard part is that she's usually ALWAYS right!

 

If you have a 7 pin connection on the truck all ready, it should have 12v for an onboard battery. Check this URL for a picture of the connections. Use a voltmeter and check these out. Make sure you have a fuse or breaker in the fuse box. Normally 40 amp.

http://www.dodgeram.org/tech/mods/el...ailer_wire.htm

Bob

 

I guess I should have mentioned that my truck did not come with the tow package. I knew I would probably be getting a TT so when I installed for the Gooseneck(6-pin), I put in a 7-pin connector and have been using an adapter.(There is also a long story about how my father-in-law wires his trailers.) It has saved me from having to change everything out, but I do have to add the power wire. The link was interesting but I'm not sure if it all applies to my truck. I do have the 40-amp fuse but the wires are nowhere to be found. I thought buying a truck equipped with the camper package would have had all of the wiring installed. I guess that's what I get for thinking. Thanks for the responses. As always there is plenty of help on this forum.

 

They don't usually have different wiring harnesses for different options. The wires are usually there just tied back. However the tow package could be left out from connector C129. Just about everything for the trailer goes through this connector, there are 8 pins in it. The connector is located on the left frame rail. If you look just behind the front wheel on the left side you'll see the cab mount bracket attached to the frame. Connector C128 is also right next to it and a couple of items go through it. C129 contains the 12V+ you are looking for, it's pin 6 and it's a 12 gauge red and orange wire.

 

Busboy, you are correct. I got under the truck today and found the connector you refered to. The red and orange wire goes in but it does not come out. I checked it with a test light, had power with trailer tow fuse in, no power with fuse out. I'll splice into it here when I can work on it later this weekend. Happy and safe 4th to everybody.