U-Haul trailer hitch self-install?

[NFATrustGuy]

Did you do wiring as well? I've zero experience with that part.

Check eTrailer for your specific vehicle. If your car is relatively new there’s a good chance the harness will be completely plug and play. You disconnect a few plugs and the new harness plugs inline with the existing wiring. Cutting wires not necessary. Completely reversible. I’ve been able to find a plug in harness for the last 4 or 5 cars I’ve owned.

[Irving]

I picked up a plug and play harness for $54, and a transmission cooler for $85. I could have gotten a harness to spice in for $16 though. I also crawled under to see if a trailer harness was already installed, but no luck.

[NFATrustGuy]

I picked up a plug and play harness for $54, and a transmission cooler for $85. I could have gotten a harness to spice in for $16 though. I also crawled under to see if a trailer harness was already installed, but no luck.

The splice in harness can certainly be done, but I’ve seen many of these installations become terribly unreliable with age. A person really needs to use water resistant heat shrink over all the connections and make a concerted effort to really tie the wiring in place or the $16 solution will eventually fail.

Not having to crawl around on the ground troubleshooting trailer lights will be worth every penny of the extra $38 you spent on the plug and play harness. Besides... think of all the money you’re saving by doing it yourself!

[colorider]

Just a word of caution about the ultimate mx hauler and other hitch carrier products on a smaller suv or other vehicle. Depending on the weight of the bike, it can really sag your rear end and cause some wonky steering. The weight of the bike is compounded by the amount the carrier sticks out from behind the hitch. I had an ultimate mx hauler and it stuck out a LOT further from my receiver than it looked in the pictures online. The bike will probably block your rear vehicle lights as well, so people behind you won't see your tail lights or brake lights. Just a few things to think about. There are a LOT of people who have reports of their experiences using various hitch haulers over on adventurerider.com.
I had an ultimate mx hauler and the standard hitch hauler style from versahaul. Ultimate mx works great! Strap that bike down with redundancy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[CS1983]

Did you do wiring as well? I've zero experience with that part.

I didn't yet, as I wanted to make sure I was definitely getting the right thing.

[CS1983]

Just a word of caution about the ultimate mx hauler and other hitch carrier products on a smaller suv or other vehicle. Depending on the weight of the bike, it can really sag your rear end and cause some wonky steering. The weight of the bike is compounded by the amount the carrier sticks out from behind the hitch. I had an ultimate mx hauler and it stuck out a LOT further from my receiver than it looked in the pictures online. The bike will probably block your rear vehicle lights as well, so people behind you won't see your tail lights or brake lights. Just a few things to think about. There are a LOT of people who have reports of their experiences using various hitch haulers over on adventurerider.com.
I had an ultimate mx hauler and the standard hitch hauler style from versahaul. Ultimate mx works great! Strap that bike down with redundancy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep. I had its earlier iteration the moto jack rack. Kick myself for selling it. My bike is only 279 wet according to Yamaha. I might end up beefing the suspension. Unsure at this point.

[Irving]

What is the deal with a power converter on the wiring harness? Is that so the trailer lights and tail lights don't have to share power from the same circuit? I guess I'm curious why that is available for my newer vehicle, but not my older one.

Also, on my van I have a battery right in the back that I can hook it up to, and not even mess with my main battery at all.

[Irving]

The splice in harness can certainly be done, but I’ve seen many of these installations become terribly unreliable with age. A person really needs to use water resistant heat shrink over all the connections and make a concerted effort to really tie the wiring in place or the $16 solution will eventually fail.

Not having to crawl around on the ground troubleshooting trailer lights will be worth every penny of the extra $38 you spent on the plug and play harness. Besides... think of all the money you’re saving by doing it yourself!

After seeing what is involved with the T-coupler wiring, it looks like it will be one of the most simple things I've ever installed on a vehicle. That will be a nice change.

[brutal]

What is the deal with a power converter on the wiring harness? Is that so the trailer lights and tail lights don't have to share power from the same circuit? I guess I'm curious why that is available for my newer vehicle, but not my older one.

Also, on my van I have a battery right in the back that I can hook it up to, and not even mess with my main battery at all.

Some systems use isolators to protect the vehicle wiring and prevent voltage drops. They may also just be a simple converter - or a combined isolator/converter, that splits a single wire brake/turn on some vehicles into a two wire for the trailer. Newer CANBUS vehicles may also report lamp errors if not properly isolated.

[earplug]

Modern vehicles have lighter gauge wiring that works with LED rear lights. The power converter makes sure the trailer light system does not over load the system.
When you get your trailer, wire it up with LED lights and solder and heat shrink the connections. It will be trouble free.