Pop-up camper needs new lights

[PabloCruise]

I have a 1982 Rockwood 1460 pop-up and the lights are toast, wiring is a mess.

There are at least 2 different lighting wire harnesses present underneath.

I think my best bet is to gut the existing lights and wiring and replace.

My only hesitation is that the thing has front and rear marker lights. What is everyone's favorite way to tie front and rear side marker lights into the wiring?

Any favorite sources for pop-up camper light kits?

Thanks!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Marker lights shouldn't be a problem... You want them on when the tail lights are on... Just wire them, serially, in the tail light circuit.

How much electrical does your pop-up have? Does your trailer have a converter/battery charger and battery?

The one real suggestion I have, without knowing what electrical components your pop-up has, is replace all lights with LEDs... They use very little electricity.

I did this with my Casita 17' Travel Trailer and, since I now only run LED lights off,the electrical system, I can charge my trailer battery, with either solar or generator and have it last through the next day.

 

[PabloCruise]

Thanks! The camper has no battery, I am just looking to create a 4 pin set-up with tail lights and marker lights.

Yes, I agree on LEDs, want o find some that fit well...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Should be pretty straightforward on the trailer end, especially if you can simply follow the way the current lights are wired. If you can't and are unsure, I would suggest, perhaps, buying LED trailer lights and replacing the old fixtures entirely.

 

[PabloCruise]

Do people simply splice into the running lights wire for marker lights? I do not like splices...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Maybe THIS will help... There's more in this than you need for,your trailer, but you can see the wire runs you need, as well as the suggested wire gauge, etc.

You will need to run, from trailer tongue to lights and splice into that run to run marker lights. But, it's not a matter of simply stripping wire, twisting new wire on an taping it... There are various ways to make good splices... for example, you can cut the wire and a 3-WAY splice connector (crimp it or solder it).

They also sell the same splice connector, for 4-WAY... for your tail light run, you could run a tail light wire, from the connector (at the trailer tongue) to the back of your trailer.

• Cut this wire level with the first pair of marker lights
• Add a 4-way splice connector
  • Splice the cut, using opposite sides of the 4-way
  • Run one side to a marker light
  • Run the other side to the other marker light
• Continue the run and cut the tail light run level with the next set of marker lights
  • Splice the cut, using opposite sides of the 4-way
  • Run one side to a marker light
  • Run the other side to the other marker light
• Continue the run and splice in a 3-way connector
  • Run one leg to one tail light
  • Run the other leg to the other tail light

You will also need wire runs for your stop lights and turn signals.

If you are running your wires in an area that is subject to getting wet, you'll need to figure out how to best waterproof your connections. It could be as simple as bringing the wire into the trailer, to make splices.

You could also use a bus bar or circuit breaker box, but that seems like overkill for the application you've described.

There are a lot of YouTube videos available that show how to splice wiring... Be sure you are looking at automotive or trailer wiring (12vdc), not house wiring... 12v is not nearly as hot and is much easier to properly splice.

HTH

 

[PabloCruise]

Maybe THIS will help... There's more in this than you need for,your trailer, but you can see the wire runs you need, as well as the suggested wire gauge, etc.

You will need to run, from trailer tongue to lights and splice into that run to run marker lights. But, it's not a matter of simply stripping wire, twisting new wire on an taping it... There are various ways to make good splices... for example, you can cut the wire and a 3-WAY splice connector (crimp it or solder it).

They also sell the same splice connector, for 4-WAY... for your tail light run, you could run a tail light wire, from the connector (at the trailer tongue) to the back of your trailer.

• Cut this wire level with the first pair of marker lights
• Add a 4-way splice connector
  • Splice the cut, using opposite sides of the 4-way
  • Run one side to a marker light
  • Run the other side to the other marker light
• Continue the run and cut the tail light run level with the next set of marker lights
  • Splice the cut, using opposite sides of the 4-way
  • Run one side to a marker light
  • Run the other side to the other marker light
• Continue the run and splice in a 3-way connector
  • Run one leg to one tail light
  • Run the other leg to the other tail light

You will also need wire runs for your stop lights and turn signals.

If you are running your wires in an area that is subject to getting wet, you'll need to figure out how to best waterproof your connections. It could be as simple as bringing the wire into the trailer, to make splices.

You could also use a bus bar or circuit breaker box, but that seems like overkill for the application you've described.

There are a lot of YouTube videos available that show how to splice wiring... Be sure you are looking at automotive or trailer wiring (12vdc), not house wiring... 12v is not nearly as hot and is much easier to properly splice.

HTH

That helps a great deal, thank you!

 

[TomH]

There is nothing wrong with splicing wires, it's a very common assembly process. That said, I would never use one of the 3-way or 4-way splices linked above.

Get some good parallel splices, calculate the CAU of the wires, use a good crimp tool, insulate the crimp with some adhesive lined heat shrink tubing and you'll never have a problem. Parallel splices are designed to take multiple wires as long as the total CAU of the wire is within the range of the splice. Wires can come from one direction or both directions.

I recommend Googling AMP 34130, 34137 and 34138.
Then Google circular area units or circular mil area.
Then maybe M23053/4

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I always use parallel splices as well... Simply because that is how I've always done it.

But, I'm curious... Why would you "never use the 3 and 4-way splice connectors"?

 

[rusty_tlc]

Marker lights shouldn't be a problem... You want them on when the tail lights are on... Just wire them, serially, in the tail light circuit.

........

I think you meant to say parallel, if the lights are wired in series when one goes out they all do.

 

[rusty_tlc]

There is nothing wrong with splicing wires, it's a very common assembly process. That said, I would never use one of the 3-way or 4-way splices linked above.

Get some good parallel splices, calculate the CAU of the wires, use a good crimp tool, insulate the crimp with some adhesive lined heat shrink tubing and you'll never have a problem. Parallel splices are designed to take multiple wires as long as the total CAU of the wire is within the range of the splice. Wires can come from one direction or both directions.

I recommend Googling AMP 34130, 34137 and 34138.
Then Google circular area units or circular mil area.
Then maybe M23053/4

90% of the light connections are inside the body of the trailer so you can get away with plain old insulated crimp connectors. For this application the three and four way connectors will be 100% better that the IDC* connectors used by RV manufacturers.

For the connections outside the body I like the 3M heat shrink crimp connectors with an extra layer of heat shrink tube over the whole connection.

(*For those not familiar with the term IDC= Insulation Displacement Connector)

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I think you meant to say parallel, if the lights are wired in series when one goes out they all do.

You are absolutely correct! I misspoke.. I meant to say 'wire in parallel'... The wiring instructions are correct, the terminology wasn't.

Took me a bit to figure out why MUD was speaking only German! I guess I accidentally changed the language... I got it working again.

 

[TomH]

I always use parallel splices as well... Simply because that is how I've always done it.

But, I'm curious... Why would you "never use the 3 and 4-way splice connectors"?

I wouldn't use them because...
The terminals are held together with a rivet that could come loose over time and cause shorting/bad grounds.
I don't see how you could run power through them because I can't think of a good way to insulate where the terminals are riveted together.
I prefer to keep all my wiring in-line and not going off in different directions.
I consider them very low quality.
I've never seen anything like them used for any production parts.

 

[TomH]

90% of the light connections are inside the body of the trailer so you can get away with plain old insulated crimp connectors. For this application the three and four way connectors will be 100% better that the IDC* connectors used by RV manufacturers.

I disagree. The three and four way would be way more susceptible to vibration failure than IDC. My pop-up bounces around a lot and I could easily see the rivet coming loose and causing a bad connection. I really don't even know how you'd secure the things, I guess wire ties coming from every direction. I think the IDCs would hold up to vibration a lot better. Of course I'm not a big fan of the IDCs either.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I wouldn't use them because...
The terminals are held together with a rivet that could come loose over time and cause shorting/bad grounds.
I don't see how you could run power through them because I can't think of a good way to insulate where the terminals are riveted together.
I prefer to keep all my wiring in-line and not going off in different directions.
I consider them very low quality.
I've never seen anything like them used for any production parts.

So, all personal preferences...

As I said, I haven't used them. But, I can see a number of uses for them, when wiring the splices inside the trailer.

Secure them with cable ties, or plastic straps.

Insulate them with electrical tape and be done with it.

The rivet actually looks quite strong.

But, I don't care how anyone does their own - we all have opinions - I was simply trying to offer something that made sense for Pablo's simple rewire.

 

[PabloCruise]

Thanks all! When I prepped my Pig for trailer wiring I used the parallel splices detailed here:

Ratcheting wire crimpers

Jim S. FJ40 Tuneup

Read here: POTM - March, 2014 - Javelina By Pablo Cruise

 

[TomH]

I don’t have any data to support my opinion on riveted terminal lugs, just preferences.

I prefer to have solid connection points. Terminal lugs should be torqued so they don’t move.

I prefer to insulate with shrink tubing. Adhesive lined shrink tubing will also provide moisture protection when needed. Even good electrical tape will work fine for an inline wrap.

I prefer to make one crimp instead of three or four. I guess as long as you are making a good crimp it really doesn’t matter how many you need to make. More of a time issue on this one. However, I’ve never had good luck crimping cheap terminals and I think the these riveted terminal lugs are cheap terminals.

I prefer to use quality parts and I don’t think these riveted parts are quality parts.

I prefer to secure a single branch and maybe one breakout on a wire bundle. If I use a 4-way then I have wires going in four different directions. Maybe that’s ok depending on the wire routing required but I’d prefer to do a breakout off the main line for routing purposes.

I’ve never used riveted terminal lugs. I have held them in my hand and saw how poorly they were riveted. Maybe I just had cheap ones. Maybe they are an excellent product. I suspect they were designed for a specific application and they probably work great in that application.

 

[rusty_tlc]

If you buy the bubble pack terminals at Walmart you get crap and no amount of skill or quality tools will make them better.
3M and AMP both make high quality crimp terminals which can be had for very little more $ that the garbage.

I could not find the three way or four way splices in either CO's on-line catalog. That probably speaks volumes right there.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I disagree. The three and four way would be way more susceptible to vibration failure than IDC. My pop-up bounces around a lot and I could easily see the rivet coming loose and causing a bad connection. I really don't even know how you'd secure the things, I guess wire ties coming from every direction. I think the IDCs would hold up to vibration a lot better. Of course I'm not a big fan of the IDCs either.

I have a deep and abiding hatred of IDC connectors, the style used in RV's anyway.

Not that I am an advocate of the three way connectors but a screw through the center into a plywood part of the body would secure them pretty well.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

jebus guys, it's all of 12 whole volts...where is the line....just use a scotchlock and call it a day, maybe some 33 tape, and leave yourself a way to gain access to the harness at a later date. either that or break out the soldering iron...shrink tube...and you won't have to worry about which crimpers you should have used...