The best logging Truck???

[Ray Cecil]

I guess anger is the wrong emoji..

😖 Absolute frustration is more like it.

"It's yours if you want it. It's not going anywhere."

Seven hours later, poof, it's gone.

You have my number.

Call me and tell me it's a race for who comes first, with the cash!

At least, call and tell me you've sold it. 🙄

Yeah, people don't care Jim, you know that.

Okay, trailer wiring questions....

My silverado has a 7 way plug from factory. Do I already have what I need at the hitch to control electric brakes? I do need to rewire the trailer with a 7way harness. Its got a 4 way, and the running light function isn't working, but brake lights and blinkers are working.

There is a 12-volt lead in the 7-way that I can use to charge a 12volt aux battery mounted to the trailer. That can control the winch. Do the e-brakes use that battery, or do they run of a dedicated circuit from the 7 way plug?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I guess anger is the wrong emoji..

😖 Absolute frustration is more like it.

"It's yours if you want it. It's not going anywhere."

Seven hours later, poof, it's gone.

You have my number.

Call me and tell me it's a race for who comes first, with the cash!

At least, call and tell me you've sold it. 🙄

Yeah, people don't care Jim, you know that.

Okay, trailer wiring questions....

My silverado has a 7 way plug from factory. Do I already have what I need at the hitch to control electric brakes? I do need to rewire the trailer with a 7way harness. Its got a 4 way, and the running light function isn't working, but brake lights and blinkers are working.

There is a 12-volt lead in the 7-way that I can use to charge a 12volt aux battery mounted to the trailer. That can control the winch. Do the e-brakes use that battery, or do they run of a dedicated circuit from the 7 way plug?

Strip all the wiring off the trailer and start fresh when you get the axles installed.

Use good connectors, and pack all sockets with dielectric silicone.

Gary & I have some discussion up in Tips & Techniques.

The Scatch has a lot of experience as well. (Shame that his thread got ruined. ☹️)

Brakes are powered by the battery and triggered through the connector.

Gary can help you there.

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, yes. I think electric brakes are going to happen. I have a brake controller in Little Blue 82. I don't plan to haul with little blue, so I will install that onto the Silverado. Then, buy an electric brake kit. Any suggestions on which kit to purchase? I plan to go ahead and replace axle bearings just to have the piece of mind that they are brand new. So, while in there, I will install brakes.

I believe you are right about the battery. I'm not sure what the circuit would look like, as I am not very good at electronics.

I think I will go ahead and outfit this trailer and see how the Silverado performs with it. If it is clear that I will need a heavier truck....I might just get one!

Jim - That stinks!

Ray - I don't know about brands of electric brakes. I just bought mine from the local trailer supply store. But I see on Amazon that there are lots of kits that come with the bearings, so that would kill both birds with one stone.

As for wiring the auxiliary battery, the 1985 EVTM's Charge & Power Distribution - Gasoline Engines section shows the auxiliary battery relay on Page 15 and the battery itself on Page 20. But, I like the Cole Hersee Smart Battery Isolator better than just a dumb relay.

The difference is that the Ford wiring will parallel the batteries when you turn the key to On. But that can be problematic if you frequently drain one battery. Let's say you pull the battery on the trailer way down and then start the truck. Now the main battery is both trying to charge the trailer battery as well as start the truck at the same time. But the Cole Hersee isolator doesn't parallel the batteries until one or the other of them has been charged to something like 13.2 volts, and will disconnect the batteries if they get below something like 12.7 volts so you don't drain the main battery.

[Gary Lewis]

I guess anger is the wrong emoji..

😖 Absolute frustration is more like it.

"It's yours if you want it. It's not going anywhere."

Seven hours later, poof, it's gone.

You have my number.

Call me and tell me it's a race for who comes first, with the cash!

At least, call and tell me you've sold it. 🙄

Yeah, people don't care Jim, you know that.

Okay, trailer wiring questions....

My silverado has a 7 way plug from factory. Do I already have what I need at the hitch to control electric brakes? I do need to rewire the trailer with a 7way harness. Its got a 4 way, and the running light function isn't working, but brake lights and blinkers are working.

There is a 12-volt lead in the 7-way that I can use to charge a 12volt aux battery mounted to the trailer. That can control the winch. Do the e-brakes use that battery, or do they run of a dedicated circuit from the 7 way plug?

You will need the 7-way wiring for the trailer. And Jim is right - strip the old wiring and install a new harness. It'll be less expensive and a whole lot easier.

But the e-brakes don't use the trailer battery. There's a separate little battery that is designed to charge quickly when the trailer is connected, and only provides power to the brakes in the event of a breakaway. Otherwise the tow vehicle's trailer brake circuit supplies power to the brakes.

[Ray Cecil]

You will need the 7-way wiring for the trailer. And Jim is right - strip the old wiring and install a new harness. It'll be less expensive and a whole lot easier.

But the e-brakes don't use the trailer battery. There's a separate little battery that is designed to charge quickly when the trailer is connected, and only provides power to the brakes in the event of a breakaway. Otherwise the tow vehicle's trailer brake circuit supplies power to the brakes.

I am trying to find a 7-way wire harness long enough for my trailer. The longest I see is 10'. That won't get all the way back to the brake lights. Maybe I am missing something. You would think you could buy a 16' car trailer wire harness.....but maybe that makes too much sense??

[Ray Cecil]

I am trying to find a 7-way wire harness long enough for my trailer. The longest I see is 10'. That won't get all the way back to the brake lights. Maybe I am missing something. You would think you could buy a 16' car trailer wire harness.....but maybe that makes too much sense??

I'm thinking maybe to get one of the shorter 7-way harnesses with the Junction box. Mount the junction box near the tongue. Inspect the existing wires and route them into the box. That would make quick work of it. Then I would have the terminals for the e-brakes and a 12vdc in that box. I can trickle charge the remote winch battery from the 12vdc and ground terminals. Then directly hook the winch up to the battery posts. 1 wire from junction box to the e-brakes.

Does this sound about right?

Come to think of it, I think I have a nice sealed stainless Steel junction box in the garage. I think it is 8" x 8" or maybe 10" x 10". I think its a nice Hammond enclosure.

[Ray Cecil]

I'm thinking maybe to get one of the shorter 7-way harnesses with the Junction box. Mount the junction box near the tongue. Inspect the existing wires and route them into the box. That would make quick work of it. Then I would have the terminals for the e-brakes and a 12vdc in that box. I can trickle charge the remote winch battery from the 12vdc and ground terminals. Then directly hook the winch up to the battery posts. 1 wire from junction box to the e-brakes.

Does this sound about right?

Come to think of it, I think I have a nice sealed stainless Steel junction box in the garage. I think it is 8" x 8" or maybe 10" x 10". I think its a nice Hammond enclosure.

Found a 14' long harness, and has a 21' option. This might be the one to get.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1553093106013108467?q=7-way+trailer+harness&prds=opd:15906748787837908406&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju6LXy-NDlAhWEiOAKHYGfBiUQhC0IIygB

 

[Gary Lewis]

Found a 14' long harness, and has a 21' option. This might be the one to get.

https://www.google.com/shopping/product/1553093106013108467?q=7-way+trailer+harness&prds=opd:15906748787837908406&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwju6LXy-NDlAhWEiOAKHYGfBiUQhC0IIygB

Ray - The one in your link is just to go from the truck to the junction box. Then you need wiring to go down each side of the trailer. (Yes, you can cross over, but I don't like doing that as it is a pain.)

But a junction box is the way to go. You'll also need the breakaway switch and battery. I would have thought you could find a kit, but I've not looked. As said, I just went down to the trailer shop and bought the bits and pieces.

[Nothing Special]

.... That being said, is there a better ford diesel? I've seen I think 6.9 and 7.3's. Some have been turbos, and some have been non turbos. Should I be looking for one or the other?

People love the non-turbo 6.9 and 7.3 IDI diesels (up to '93) the same way and for the same reasons people love 300 sixes: simple, efficient and reliable, even if they are bog slow. You can add aftermarket turbos to them, but I've heard that you just can't get very good performance out of them even like that. Still, they have a great following.

Jumping from there to the PowerStroke 7.3L DI turbo diesel ('94 on)... Again, a lot of people love these. Tons of torque, last forever. One potential downside is that they are computer controlled. That doesn't mean they are unreliable, or even all that complicated. But they are more complicated than the completely mechanical engines. And for what it's worth, at least the one in my '02 F-350 got pretty poor mileage (around 13 mpg, and with the higher cost of diesel fuel that puts the fuel cost very close to my 460).

In between those two families are the unicorns that seem the most desirable. Navistar built a 7.3L IDI turbo for a while, and Ford installed it in pickups in early '94. That's as simple as the older engines and makes close to the same power as the more complicated PowerStroke. But it was only used for half a year. I've heard that it was used in medium-duty trucks for a while after that, but take that for what it's worth.

[grumpin]

.... That being said, is there a better ford diesel? I've seen I think 6.9 and 7.3's. Some have been turbos, and some have been non turbos. Should I be looking for one or the other?

People love the non-turbo 6.9 and 7.3 IDI diesels (up to '93) the same way and for the same reasons people love 300 sixes: simple, efficient and reliable, even if they are bog slow. You can add aftermarket turbos to them, but I've heard that you just can't get very good performance out of them even like that. Still, they have a great following.

Jumping from there to the PowerStroke 7.3L DI turbo diesel ('94 on)... Again, a lot of people love these. Tons of torque, last forever. One potential downside is that they are computer controlled. That doesn't mean they are unreliable, or even all that complicated. But they are more complicated than the completely mechanical engines. And for what it's worth, at least the one in my '02 F-350 got pretty poor mileage (around 13 mpg, and with the higher cost of diesel fuel that puts the fuel cost very close to my 460).

In between those two families are the unicorns that seem the most desirable. Navistar built a 7.3L IDI turbo for a while, and Ford installed it in pickups in early '94. That's as simple as the older engines and makes close to the same power as the more complicated PowerStroke. But it was only used for half a year. I've heard that it was used in medium-duty trucks for a while after that, but take that for what it's worth.

I agree with Nothing Special, I had an 88 F250 with the 7.3.

I had to go through the glow plug system, glow plugs, connecters, junction block and so on, and got her starting good.

Also with the factory block heater, I used an appliance timer and had it come on two hours before I left for work.

It would not rocket up a hill with a load by no means, but pulled good. I hauled an older (i.e. heavy) 35 foot conventional travel trailer over two passes. First pass I dropped into 4th and it held at 1800 RPM. 1800 seemed to be the magic number, if it stayed at or above I didn’t downshift.

Second pass was steeper, dropped to 4th and wouldn’t hold at 1800, dropped to 3rd and she held at 1800. Felt like she would do it all day with no complaint.