Help with Tail light and marker lights

[60's Iron]

Help!! I'm trying to get my new to me 58 Travler road worthly by next week. I ran into a wiring problem. The connection to the tow vehical was pinched, I went to make repair and found wiring insulation shot!! Touch it and it cracks ( It is almost 50 years old ). Does tail light wiring run under belly pan or through the walls. This is turning into a hugh project right out the gate. I was hopeing for a few weekend trips before resto. looks like I'll be doing majar repairs before first trip !!!

[C Johnson]

I don't know if this will help or not. In my '65 the wiring runs under the floor in the belly area then up the walls from the bottom. You can most likely patch it together if you attach new wires somplace under the tounge area/front were they weren't exposed to the elements. Check the bottom for an access panel of some sort near the front. You could run new wires to there for the short term. Hopefully someone with a '58 will chime in !

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by 60's Iron

Help!! I'm trying to get my new to me 58 Travler road worthly by next week. I ran into a wiring problem. The connection to the tow vehical was pinched, I went to make repair and found wiring insulation shot!! Touch it and it cracks ( It is almost 50 years old ). Does tail light wiring run under belly pan or through the walls. This is turning into a hugh project right out the gate. I was hopeing for a few weekend trips before resto. looks like I'll be doing majar repairs before first trip !!!

60's,

Are you just trying to make the trailer road worthy to tow home or to use for a while? If just to get home, purchase two tail lights at an auto supply store and run the wiring outside the trailer, tape up with aluminum tape, not duct tape and go.

I am still using this set up to move the Liner while undergoing rebuild.

Bill

[MarkR]

Tail Light and running light wiring in my early 50's Flying Clouds is in the walls. The wires go up thru c-channel in the front then down the sides - up maybe 12" or 18" above the floor.

You can also purchase those temporary Tail Lights w/the magnetic bottoms that you set on your bumber. And then string the wires thru or on the side of the trailer to your Tow Veh. Plug - just to get by for a trip or two. With that short of a trailer I'm not sure the running lights are "critical" (although they may be required (legally speaking)).

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by MarkR

Tail Light and running light wiring in my early 50's Flying Clouds is in the walls. The wires go up thru c-channel in the front then down the sides - up maybe 12" or 18" above the floor.

You can also purchase those temporary Tail Lights w/the magnetic bottoms that you set on your bumber. And then string the wires thru or on the side of the trailer to your Tow Veh. Plug - just to get by for a trip or two. With that short of a trailer I'm not sure the running lights are "critical" (although they may be required (legally speaking)).

Mark,

You are correct about the wiring, it is inside the skin on my 1954 Liner also. I have been using the temporary lights for over one year, in fact we towed the Liner from Tampa to Orange, CA last year. We don't have running lights, but then I do not tow at night.

Bill

[Creampuff]

My '57 FC is wired inside the walls running down the streetside.

[S C Streamer]

Untill I fixed my wiring, I used these ,http://grote.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi...number=65402-4 . $65.00 , worked great.


Mark

[60's Iron]

Thanks for Info. folks. I already have a set of magnetic lights, thats how I got it home. I was hoping to wire it once to the T/V for brakes. I hope the wiring inside the wall is in better shape. I'll get alook this winter when I replace the front floor. I hope it's the eliments that toasted the wire insultion and it is still good inside the trailer. I don't feel like taking out the walls just yet!
Greg

[HowieE]

You should not have to get into the walls just yet. The "Pig Tail" that feeds from the tow truck to the trailer should have a temination block just inside the trailer at which point the wireing changes to the interior wires. It is common for the Pig Tail to degrade with the sun and time but the interior wireing should be OK. Change the Pig Tail.