I just received my Reese hitch ,and want to install and wire up the harness this weekend, but I was wondering if anyone had tips on how to wire into the tailights and what they used to convert from the 3 light system on the truck to the 2 light system on the trailer.

Thanks in advance.

 

what gen do you have?

my 3rd has a trailer wire that you plug into right there on the hitch.

 

Sorry,

I have a 2000 SR5, where would I look for the wire? And what kind of plug did you get and where?

Marty

 

I have a 2000 SR5 also, but mine came w/ the tow package. I believe there is a place to plug the converterinto the existing wiring but I couldn't tell you. The dealer had to replace the converter twice and he stated that all they did was plug them in.

 

I could not find a plugin location on a '99 without a tow package.
Some splicing and a UHAUL adapter did the trick though.

 

oh yea if you didnt have the tow package come with the truck, you have to get the wiring put in (according to a dealer -- that was a lame selling point on my sr5 when i bought it... "plus it has the towing package, no need to have wiring put in!")

mine lis located on the left side of the hitch.

ive never used mine (though i will be soon...), so dont ask me anything more

 

You can buy and aftermarket wiring harness to hook up, if your truck did not originally come with a tow package there will be no harness. Mine did not come stock with one, so I did it myself. With a screwdriver, wirestripper, and electrical tape/soldiering iron. It takes about an hour. It's pretty easy you have to tap into your rear tail light, and then run the wires down to your hitch. Some are even easier and come with factory plugs where you can just plug and play with no splicing or wiring at all, here's a company after a quick google.

 

Well,
I just had to rewire mine because of a lake incident blew my box... My box was located on the right side behind the side panel. Its really easy to access. Just take out the bottom piece that goes allong the bottom of the floor and unscrew the pieces for the roll-away cover and pull carefully. You do need to put some muscle into it, and you might want to get some gloves, but you also don't want to break any of the tabs. Its quite possible that the wiring is there, but if not, I'd suggest getting someone else to do it. Ie u-haul or, if you have to, the stealership. If the wiring IS there, then you can head down to your local parts store and pick-up a universal one for $10-$20. If there is a plug back there, the best thing would be to go to a junk yard and get a yota one w/o the yota mark-up, plug it in and voala

 

Try this for adapting. According to JCWhitney you just need one of THESE

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks,

I'll ceck to see if I have the trailer package connector, and if not, that'll work great!

Marty

 

Trailer wiring is pretty simple and basic; you can either get a plug and play harness ( if all you need is lights and signals) which usually has a flat four pin connector (standard for small utility trailers, small boat trailers, etc), or buy a converter and a appropriate receptacle and wire it yourself (which I did and recommend). also doing it this way you can mount a round 7pin connector (standard for camp trailers including small tent trailers) the 7 pin allows for electric brakes and a hot wire to the rear (both need to be ran from the engine compartment to the plug and needed for a camp trailer)

Let me know which way you decide to go
Chris

 

Well I just installed the hitch, really easy, but alas no wire harness, so now I'm looking for instructions on how to tap into the wiring. I only tow a utility trailer, so 4 wire is all I need. Any help out there??

 

A plug in converter and plug combination from wal mart

 

I have to agree with shovelhead since you only plan on towing a small utility trailer. Most kits out there are of fairly equal quality so go with best price. the only other suggestions that I have are make sure that you have a good ground on the truck side, and zip ties are cheap use plenty to keep wire from falling down and snagging on something and tearing the harness up.

Chris