I'm about to wire a boat trailer also and...before I drop the $150 at the dealer for the factory harness; is the factory harness a "plug N play type? And how easy is it to hook up. Also, is there a GOOD equivalent at a lesser price? Any information would be appreciated.
Thanks, Mark
I had both a factory Toyota and a universal kit in my hands when I wired up a friends '03. I went with the factory kit because of it's high quality. It was not easier to install and required removal of the front seat and a bunch of other plastic parts to connect to the factory plugs. I took my time and spent about a half day installing it, verses an hour it would have taken me for the unversal. I am happy I did it. All the plugs are watertight and the converter box is this big hunking thing with a larg heatsink. The unversal is a small plastic box you splice in then ziptie someplace.
I didn't have to remove the seat on my '04 Tacoma Xtracab to install the factory wiring harness. It was tight but manageable. I agree about the factory parts. They seem top notch.
Aftermarket wiring harnesses made by Cequent are the equal to factory and cost much less. These are sold the brands names of Wesbar, Reese, Drawtite, Hidden Hitch, NAPA, & U-Haul.
Ken
Is there something that could help me determine what's involved with installing the factory harness? Like instructions or a wiring diagram, etc...? Thanks!
See my other post, but in short, you unplug a harness under the seat and plug the new one inline. I recall 2 harness you have to do this with, but I froget the location of the second one. You mount the controller box inside the cab. The instructions will show differtent places depending on what cab you have. You run a wire out the back of the cab (using a factory hole) and back to the hitch. It will have that flat 4 pin plug on it. You will need to use a aftermarket adapter if your trailer is the round 4,5, or 6 pin type.
No cutting of wires is needed, but it does take some time.
Very helpful. Thanks!
R/Mark
It cost me $20 to buy a taillight converter at the farm store. I taped it to the frame with electrical tape, tapped into the appropriate wires and that was that. The only ting that might cause some difficulty is identifying the correct wires, but close observation and a 12 V test light or VOM is all you need to figure it out. Or I'll bet someone has it posted on the web somewhere.
Believe or not. U-Haul had everything I needed. Even in Hawaii...where I live. I think I bought the plug and play wire harness for about 50 bucks. Aloha.
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