OK, I am a newbie when it comes to the 5 pin trailer plug.
So, my 2006 pickup has the tow package with 2 different trailer wire connectors...
The standard 4 pin (in-line) style which handles my boat trailer, AND...
The 7 pin round style which handled my TT (after I purchased and installed a brake controller).
Towing the boat and the TT has worked great!
Now comes a new boat with a 5 pin (in-line) plug. The boat trailer has surge brakes. I have an adapter that plugs into the 7 pin round and everything works great.
But what is the extra (5th) wire for??? If the boat trailer brakes work off the "motion" of the tow vehicle then why do the trailer brakes need a power source?
What if I had a rig that only had a 4 pin plug? Can the 5 pin be "adapted" to a 4 pin recepticle?
I admit to needing some insight with this if anyone can help me.
Electric brakes usually. The 5 pin will plug into the 4 pin just fine. It lets the extra pin dangle.
Bobbo, Linda and the furry kids (1&1/2 German Shepherds)
2007 Winnebago Outlook WF331C on a Ford E450 Super Duty Chassis
2010 Subaru Forester w/BlueOx baseplate & Ready Brute Elite towbar
The extra wire will be hooked up to your back up lights. This allows a solenoid in your surge brakes to energize which will let you backup without locking up you trailer brakesCheck here
Lance920 wrote: The extra wire will be hooked up to your back up lights. This allows a solenoid in your surge brakes to energize which will let you backup without locking up you trailer brakesCheck here
So this gadget is a "work around?" That is , it prevents the brakes locking up when one does not have the 5th wire? Or am I thinking about this wrong?
After thinking about it some more I think Lance920 offered the link as an explanation for what the solenoid does... on the trailers with surge brakes.
So, if I had a tow vehicle with a 4 pin plug I would need to wire its backup lights (just one or both?) to the 5th pin on the trailer in order to tow the trailer without fear of the brakes locking up on me in when in reverse.
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