Portable Toilet Trailer: Wiring

Today Tom completed wiring the lights and the charge wire for the trailer breakaway kit.   With a few tools and a little know how, anyone can complete a simple wiring job.  Tom used: fish tape, an ohm meter, wire cutter, wire stripper, soldering iron, shrink tubing and a heat gun.

A few wires were needed in order to correctly establish lighting for the trailer.  A reliable lighting system requires grounding the trailer through wiring.  You should avoid using the ball and coupler as the only ground.  Necessary wiring includes: clearance lights, running lights, right tail, left tail, and the electric brake wire off the control of the truck. 

Good electrical wiring is vital to any trailer.  Proper lighting insures safety and good visibility, especially for those night time pick-ups.  Good brake lights and blinker lights are mandatory by law.

A trailer breakaway kit is the safety mechanism for the trailer.  If the trailer comes unhooked from the truck for any reason, the breakaway kit becomes necessary to avoid a runaway trailer.  The battery built into the breakaway kit activates the electric breaks so the trailer stops.  An additional charge wire from the towing vehicle is also required to charge the emergency battery.

A breakaway kit can be purchased and consists of a battery and a switch that activates the trailer breaks.  Tom purchased his breakaway kit at C&S Tractor in Laramie Wyoming.  A breakaway kit is easily found at any tractor supply or auto supply store.