Hooking up 7-blade for towing

[mike_b42]

I have a 2004 Fourwinds Majestic build on a Ford E450 Superduty chassis, and I am setting it up for towing my Jeep.

I bought a Brakebuddy Stealth, and installed that in the Jeep. That seems to work (testing shows that the brakes are engaged). I am trying now to install the control unit in the RV. I found the tow package hookup in the cabin (hidden well in the extreme left lower corner), and have an adapter that seems to provide all the connections I need for the controller. The only problem is that the current 7-blade has only 4 connections, wired in parallel to the flat-4. The wiring looks like someone simply spliced the 7-blade into the flat-4 connection. That leaves out the break signal and the power connection required for the 7-blade.

I can certainly run a couple of wires under the car and into the cabin to provide power and break signal, but I am wondering if that should be in place. Since I did find the connector for the tow package, wouldn't it make sense that the rest of the cabling is already in place?

I've crawled under the RV, but could not locate any connectors that would look like the tow package connectors, but I may have missed them. Has anybody done this and can give me an indication as to where those connectors could be hiding?

Thanks.

 

[Joe Hogan]

This might be useful if your camper is not equipped with a brake controller from the factory.
You might check the Tow Package Plug behind the vent to see if a wiring package is installed.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-241406.html

 

[mike_b42]

Thanks. But I think that is a newer of different model of the E450. My dash looks quite different. But I think I found the connector at a differenet location (all the way in the lower left behind the emergency brake pedal). I plugged in a harness adapter, and it seems to have the right connections (power, ground, break signal, and a 4th line that is supposed to go back to the towed vehicle. However, I can't find the other end of the cable, and it does not seem to be available at the currently installed 7-blade. My guess is that the tow package was installed, but the wires end somewhere and I can't figure out where. I watched a couple of videos that show connectors under the chassis, but I have not been ale to find them. Perhaps someone here has done the same and has some pointers to where these wired could be ...

 

[Joe Hogan]

Maybe you can borrow a wire tracer at the local auto parts retailer

something like this

The Best Wire Tracers (Review) in 2022

To make searching for a wire tracer easier we have taken the time to look at the best products you can buy and listed them in this guide. Check it out!

www.carbibles.com

 

[mike_b42]

I think I got it all wired up. Will do a test tow...

 

[mike_b42]

Just a quick follow up:

Got everything wired up and installed, and took the Jeep on a test trip (total 170 miles). Worked as advertised. I could feel something tugging at the RV when I stepped on the brake (the Jeep), and there was really no problem with the setup while towing on paved roads.
There was a little issue when we had to drive over some unpaved roads to the campsite, which included a few hairpin turns. Twice the system complaint about a "breakaway", both in relatively steep right hand turns. I wasn't too worries about it, as I could see the Jeep in my rearview camera, and it definitely had not separated from the RV... Something to look deeper into.

The only other thing I have to find a better solution for is the hookup of the safety cables on the Jeep. I have those tow hook on the bumper that would be a good solution, but they are a bit too open for my taste, and I don't want the cable to slip out. So, I wrapped the cable once around the bumper and then used a cable tie to just hold it in place.

There is an extra hole in the Currie tow hooks I put on, which would be almost perfect for a D-ring connection to the frame, but it's in the wrong direction (vertical). I'll have to do a bit more investigating on that one.