The Right Kind of Connection...

[AIR-Quarius]

Soon we are going to get a truck at the end of this month and we are adjusting the truck to the Airstream.....On the Airstream, we have a six-hole plug. On the truck there is a plug also but we have not looked closely at it yet but will soon. For some time I have figured all those trailer plugs are the same...are they? What can anyone say to pitch in.

[cameront120]

The Airstream should have a seven hole plug. Did you count the hole in the middle? Some vehicles are set up with a 4-pin plug.

[overlander64]

The trailer connectors come in two basic varieties. Today, the one most commonly used is the 7-pole blade-type connector. When your coach was new, it very well may have had a 7-pole pin type connector -- these were common at the time and are said to be less prone to corossion problems. My rule of thumb has always been to have a new end for both the trailer and tow vehicle when changing to a new tow vehicle -- doing so insures that you will have everything you need when making the connections the first time.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

P.S.: If you haven't towed this coach yet, be prepared for the possibility that it may not be wired to the modern standard as Airstream utilized their own schematic until not to very long ago. Some owners convert their coaches while others convert the tow vehicle -- by converting the coach, you simplify getting your coach safely to a campground if the tow vehicle is disabled and you must have a tow company tow the trailer to the nearest campground. When the alternator failed on my Cadillac, I was relieved that my Minuet was wired to the modern standard as the tow truck driver used his personal van to tow my trailer to the nearest campground.

[AIR-Quarius]

Alas. it truley is a seven hole...and we have towed this one from Amarillo to here in Altus, 200 miles away...The break lights worked and everything...now we still have to venture back to the truck lot and take the next look closer at what kind of plug it has, hope it matches...if not then do we go to an autozone or an RV center, there is an RV center outside of town and there is another in Elk City. Thanks, it really helps to have you guys (and Gals) back us up with your feed back. When we get to the point where we have the stablizer hitch we will be ready to make the maiden voyage.

[cameront120]

Find out what the truck has and then, if necessary, you can get an adapter to get it to work for your 7-pin plug. Here are a bunch to illustrate what I mean:

Trailer & RV Wiring - Connector Adapters

[danalee]

Congratulations on becoming independtly mobile. Be careful and have fun!

[AIR-Quarius]

Originally Posted by cameront120

Find out what the truck has and then, if necessary, you can get an adapter to get it to work for your 7-pin plug. Here are a bunch to illustrate what I mean:

Trailer & RV Wiring - Connector Adapters

I shot up to the car lot and took these pictures ...here is the seven pin plug on the Airstream...and then the one thats on the truck now...from what I can see the one on the truck is a seven pin too, but its smaller and has round pins...whereas the Airstream has the six slots with the hole in the middle...I did bookmark the connection link and will go looking thru it too...Regardless, the one on the Airstream is in very good condition. By the way, what do you all think about the truck?

[overlander64]

The connector on the trailer is a 7-Blade type connector while the connector on the truck is a 7-Pin type connector -- they will not match up without changing one or the other or an adapter will be required.

Kevin

[slpiotro]

The adapter cords/adapter worked well for me. My issue was the LED lights on the 07 trailer working with the 7 blade on the tow vehicle, something about the computer not sensing the LED's because of draw. The adapter quickly solved the problem and all lights work all the time. I suspect that allows the alternative tow vehicle if needed, just by not having the adapter. Inexpensive fix, compared to the cost of rewiring the socket completely.

[Gene]

Make sure the leads to the blades and pins are for the same things. I think the ground or 12v hot wire have changed positions in the past. Adapters may be for pin to blade, blade to pin, or for different positions of the leads, so check everything carefully to make sure you've got the right adapter. LED's may not work because some aftermarket ones have different polarity and the leads on the bulbs may have to be reversed, though I don't understand how a trailer plug adapter would do that, so this is news to me. I think Airstream owner's manuals tell you what each pin does, but I'd have to go out to the trailer to check. In my experience, wiring codes on vehicles are not always the same as the colors on the wires you have, or the colors on the wires are hard to interpret, so before you drive away, make sure everything works the way it's supposed to. If someone changed the plug on a used vehicle, make sure they didn't change the colors because they only had one or colors of auto wire.

Here's a website that explains more than you wanted to know, although I would do more research to make sure these guys have it right: Marksrv.com 7 way wiring diagram page

Gene

[AIR-Quarius]

Cameront120 if you get back to this thread, I am going to ask you if you can look into that site (and by looking at my photos) and see what kind of adapter we would need to order....Can you do that? I also called Andy at inland and am waiting to hear back from them.

[richinny]

andy may tell you to convert to the round pin connector as they are self cleaning and much less prone to poor connections.

[cameront120]

I'm not sure what the appropriate adaptor would be. I don't see anything on that site for a 7-pin to 7-blade connection.

[AIR-Quarius]

Ok well next step I will ask the car dealer (a cowboy mechanic) about it in his knowledge. I am not looking forward to a major do over...and possibly this all will be easier than I think...and I will learn about something new...

[overlander64]

Greetings redhawkerII!

Originally Posted by redhawkerII

Ok well next step I will ask the car dealer (a cowboy mechanic) about it in his knowledge. I am not looking forward to a major do over...and possibly this all will be easier than I think...and I will learn about something new...

Believe me, this is not a difficult job if I can handle it -- I am not a do-it-yourselfer, but have replaced the ends on both the tow vehicle and trailer -- it is not a terribly complex job. When working with the tow vehicle end, you will need a test light and probe. On the trailer side a pair of test wires with alligator clips as well as a small 12-volt battery for circuit investigation. The first time through, it took me about three hours -- now, I have it down to less than 90-minutes.

Good luck with your project!

Kevin

P.S.: Looking at the photos, I think that I would consider replacing both ends with new matched equipment. It appears that both ends have a fair amount of visible corossion. The connectors aren't terribly expensive in either blade or pin type.

[AIR-Quarius]

We (I remembered) have some friends down the street that we will consult with about this project...Butch, the fellow, is who was kind enough to come over and spend the afternoon hooking up our vent fan will probably go for this next project. So I will keep everybody posted and will look into the proper places for the correct parts for this....