Greetings to all, I'm new to the site and wanted to say hello and share my first project success (so far at least) with you all.
I find myself without a pickup, for the first time in my life, and 1000 miles from where I grew up. I moved to TX from SC a few years ago and gave up my '89 Ford Ranger for my '06 Mustang. This wasn't a problem until my wife and I bought our house. Anyways, long story short I needed to find a way to transport furniture, lumber, etc. so I decided to turn my 'stang into a tow vehicle for a light duty utility trailer.
For starters, I found the best price on a class I hitch at etrailers.com. To my surprise the frame is pre-drilled for the receiver hitch and that took about an hour to install. The next task would be to wire it for trailer lights. Upon removing the plastic trunk trim that covers the taillights I immediately gained a "monkey to a physics problem" stance. There are 7 wires leading to each taillight. So after hours of over-thinking the situation and making it very complex (not to mention spending a few bucks I didn't need to) I quit thinking about it and started testing wires. After which it took me all of 10 minutes to wire it up. The wiring is as follows:
for 4 wire flat (trailer - car):
green - red w/ white stripe on passenger side
- there are 2
yellow - red w/ white stripe on driver side
- there are 2
brown - tan w/ red stripe
- there are 2 on each side
white - ground, either splice into one of the many ground wires attached to the body near the taillights or connect directly to the body
Trailer wiring diagrams:
http://www.accessconnect.com/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm
Later today I am heading to SC to see my folks and my kids. I will have my small utility trailer in tow, and will post on how the trip went when I arrive in SC.
I hope this helps somebody. Also, I can't guarantee this will work for everybody. I just know that this is what has worked for me so far.
Please post if you have any suggestions
I find myself without a pickup, for the first time in my life, and 1000 miles from where I grew up. I moved to TX from SC a few years ago and gave up my '89 Ford Ranger for my '06 Mustang. This wasn't a problem until my wife and I bought our house. Anyways, long story short I needed to find a way to transport furniture, lumber, etc. so I decided to turn my 'stang into a tow vehicle for a light duty utility trailer.
For starters, I found the best price on a class I hitch at etrailers.com. To my surprise the frame is pre-drilled for the receiver hitch and that took about an hour to install. The next task would be to wire it for trailer lights. Upon removing the plastic trunk trim that covers the taillights I immediately gained a "monkey to a physics problem" stance. There are 7 wires leading to each taillight. So after hours of over-thinking the situation and making it very complex (not to mention spending a few bucks I didn't need to) I quit thinking about it and started testing wires. After which it took me all of 10 minutes to wire it up. The wiring is as follows:
for 4 wire flat (trailer - car):
green - red w/ white stripe on passenger side
- there are 2
yellow - red w/ white stripe on driver side
- there are 2
brown - tan w/ red stripe
- there are 2 on each side
white - ground, either splice into one of the many ground wires attached to the body near the taillights or connect directly to the body
Trailer wiring diagrams:
http://www.accessconnect.com/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm
Later today I am heading to SC to see my folks and my kids. I will have my small utility trailer in tow, and will post on how the trip went when I arrive in SC.
I hope this helps somebody. Also, I can't guarantee this will work for everybody. I just know that this is what has worked for me so far.
Please post if you have any suggestions