Towing my airstream.

[brownd355]

I have a '70 Safari and have yet to take it anywhere as i am renovating it. I have the 7 pin round connection on my AS and will more than likely be towing with a 7 blade connector on my vehicle. Should i replace the connector to a 7 blade on my camper or stay with the 7 pin. If i go either
Route what all do i need to buy? Will the same 7 blade plug work on my vehicle and camper as in they are both male and the connectors on each end of the cable are female?? Any advice will help.

[overlander64]

Greetings brownd355!

Originally Posted by brownd355

I have a '70 Safari and have yet to take it anywhere as i am renovating it. I have the 7 pin round connection on my AS and will more than likely be towing with a 7 blade connector on my vehicle. Should i replace the connector to a 7 blade on my camper or stay with the 7 pin. If i go either
Route what all do i need to buy? Will the same 7 blade plug work on my vehicle and camper as in they are both male and the connectors on each end of the cable are female?? Any advice will help.

My suggestion is to stay with the round-pin-style connector on your Airstream. I didn't take this suggestion for many years, and went through the annual process of removing the corossion from my blade-type connectors on both trailer and tow vehicle with the alternate year replacements of both connectors. Five years ago, I took the advice to switch to the heavy-duty round-pin connectors that are typically utilized in the over-the-road trucking industry (basically the same design as utilized by Airstream in the 1970s). I haven't needed to clean terminals nor replace connectors for the past five seasons . . . and a recent check shows that all is good for this season as well.

You can find an adapter to switch from your trailer's pin-type connector to the blade-type connector at this link. I carry one of these adapters as an insurance policy in the event that my trailer must be towed by a vehicle with blade-type connector. I converted my tow vehicles to the pin-type connectors so I don't utilize the adapter on an ongoing basis.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[A W Warn]

My first two trailers had the 7 pin round when I bought them. I changed the plug on the end that plugged into the tow vehicle to a 7 pin flat, to match the plug that came from the factory. I never had any problem in the several years I towed them.