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I know a lot of you do towing so I'm looking for input on truck-side trailer plug sockets. I need something heavy duty, and since I live in an area with high salt usage in the winter, I'd like something non-corrosive. Also, would prefer a 7-blade and 4-pin combo (though I rarely use 4-pin trailers anymore). 7-blade minimum.
https://www.easternmarine.com/metal-...-socket-118030
I have my eye on this one, as it looks to be chrome plated. Stainless would be ideal, but I haven't been able to find any. The plastic ones I've tried just don't hold up (covers break off too easy, or housing breaks). The cheap die cast metal ones corrode quickly.
Any first hand experience would be greatly appreciated!
I too have fallen victim to the broken lid on a 7 way plug, but only once and the outlet was 15 years old. I put a new 4/7 pin common connector on the truck when I bought it 8 years ago. Then I installed one in the bed as well for the 5th wheel.
If you really wanted to get rugged, look into military style cannon plugs/connectors. Although, you will have to do your own wiring, which is easy but needs to be done right to be reliable.
I mounted the Hopkins Endurance (distinguished by the hexagonal shape of the lid) on one truck, and after that, vowed I never would again.
The plastic that the Hopkins Endurance feels cheap and chinsey. The lid spring is noticeably thinner in wire diameter, compared to, say the Pollak brand. And the foam gasket seal isn't as robust.
Having said all that, the Hopkins Endurance is probably the best made plastic one that is available at retail stores, without special ordering.
Hence, I special order trailer connection sockets when setting up a truck..
I've liked and used the Pollak brand since 1979. Pictured below is a truck I set up 40 years later, still using Pollak (although Pollak as a company has changed hands several times over the years, including changing hands last year, in the the time since I ordered the connectors for the truck pictured below).
Pollak has a metal RV 7 way flat blade, but the black nylon reinforced version that I chose, as illustrated below, has a better sealing lid with a deeper pawl to help retain the trailer side connector better, as well as more support underneath the trailer plug.
This particular truck tows equipment trailers with hook and lunnette eye pintle hitches, as the same trailers are also tag towed by Class 8 bobtails now and again, hence the need for the 9 way round pin, which has a far more robust trailer connection in every way imaginable. So most trailers that are owned have this connection... but the problem is... most rental trailers are set up with either 4 way or 7 way flat blade RV. If a piece of equipment is rented, it often isn't planned, nor is the rental yard typically local, so being prepared for all possible trailer wiring configurations has saved the day (literally), and as such, a spring loaded drop down door behind the license plate hides a few more quick adapters, all of which mate to the 7 way RV Flat, which by far is the most commonly found nowadays on light trucks.
If, despite changing ownership hands once again, the Pollak brand has maintained the quality that made them the go to brand of decades gone by, then I'd recommend looking at what Pollak has to offer to meet your requirements, which I assume are commercial, not recreational, based on my memory of your unique cab chassis truck with the outboard cylindrical fuel tank.
All trailer sockets are RECESSED into stainless pockets, which has eliminated trailer socket lid breakage from boots kicking the lids off when climbing in and out of the back of the truck.
Being an "incomplete vehicle" when delivered by Ford, I don't think this truck had a factory connector. I assume the body builder was who crudely hacked a hole in the dump body subframe for the trailer connectors (7 pin "commercial" and 7 blade "RV"), both of which were corroded beyond use when I bought the truck. I installed a cheap plastic one from Walmart so that I could be up and running right away, and it did last a few years so I can't complain too much. Y2KW57, you are correct that this truck is used commercially, which includes backing into things such as snowbanks, or various places to dump various loads of material or brush. I should also invest in stronger taillights.
Sous, I will be doing my own wiring, as I have with many other things on the truck. I use either adhesive heat shrink crimp connectors, or more recently, the ones with low temp solder as well (based on a recommendation from you, I believe).
Y2KW57, thanks for the recommendations, I will look at what Pollak has to offer. That is a very impressive setup on that truck! My "larger" trailers also use hook and eye hitches. I had much fun one day confusing all the experienced salesmen at the local auto parts stores when I used the term "lunette eye". They all knew what a pintle hook is, but had no clue about the other half of the connection. And they even advertise that they sell "HD truck parts".
I mounted the Hopkins Endurance (distinguished by the hexagonal shape of the lid) on one truck, and after that, vowed I never would again.
The plastic that the Hopkins Endurance feels cheap and chinsey. The lid spring is noticeably thinner in wire diameter, compared to, say the Pollak brand. And the foam gasket seal isn't as robust.
Having said all that, the Hopkins Endurance is probably the best made plastic one that is available at retail stores, without special ordering.
Hence, I special order trailer connection sockets when setting up a truck..
I've liked and used the Pollak brand since 1979. Pictured below is a truck I set up 40 years later, still using Pollak (although Pollak as a company has changed hands several times over the years, including changing hands last year, in the the time since I ordered the connectors for the truck pictured below).
Pollak has a metal RV 7 way flat blade, but the black nylon reinforced version that I chose, as illustrated below, has a better sealing lid with a deeper pawl to help retain the trailer side connector better, as well as more support underneath the trailer plug.
This particular truck tows equipment trailers with hook and lunnette eye pintle hitches, as the same trailers are also tag towed by Class 8 bobtails now and again, hence the need for the 9 way round pin, which has a far more robust trailer connection in every way imaginable. So most trailers that are owned have this connection... but the problem is... most rental trailers are set up with either 4 way or 7 way flat blade RV. If a piece of equipment is rented, it often isn't planned, nor is the rental yard typically local, so being prepared for all possible trailer wiring configurations has saved the day (literally), and as such, a spring loaded drop down door behind the license plate hides a few more quick adapters, all of which mate to the 7 way RV Flat, which by far is the most commonly found nowadays on light trucks.
If, despite changing ownership hands once again, the Pollak brand has maintained the quality that made them the go to brand of decades gone by, then I'd recommend looking at what Pollak has to offer to meet your requirements, which I assume are commercial, not recreational, based on my memory of your unique cab chassis truck with the outboard cylindrical fuel tank.
All trailer sockets are RECESSED into stainless pockets, which has eliminated trailer socket lid breakage from boots kicking the lids off when climbing in and out of the back of the truck.
That is a work of art, thank you for sharing. What type of truck is that attached to?
I find that the usual cause of failure in these things aside from backing into things and smashing them to pieces is moisture getting into the back shell and corroding the crap out of the internals. That is why I fill the cavity with electronic potting compound.
I find that the usual cause of failure in these things... is moisture getting into the back shell and corroding the crap out of the internals.
Good point.
Permanent encapsulation in an epoxy like electronics industry conformal coating is tempting, but if I understand it correctly, might make for a messy and prolonged in field repair, with having to cut the harness and recrimp new terminals on each wire (while losing harness length for the drip loop) to accommodate a new towing socket, should the socket get damaged by other means.
Funny you should ask today. I ordered a Pollak 12-703 from Hanna RV a few hours ago. https://www.hannarv.com/P/24918/Poll...PlugVehicleEnd
It was cheaper than Amazon, even with the shipping charges. It will be interesting to see what the build quality is when it arrives. For the price, I think it will be a good choice. I really would have preferred something in stainless, but I couldn't find any trailer connectors in stainless.
Glen, keep us updated on your thoughts, I get the feeling a few people are watching this thread.
I asked because I was out loading firewood into the back of the truck and glanced at the plastic 7 way I installed in the bed of the truck several years ago when we bought our first 5th wheel. Coincidence maybe...
Not everyone can say they have a bed rail made of cedar (or whatever that wood is).
The wood species for those swing down stake gates is Keruing, more commonly known as Apitong.
It is a hardwood, much of which is found in the Philippines and other Southeast Asian islands, with characteristics quite similar to that of Ipe from Brazil.
Cedar is too soft of a wood for truck duty, and wouldn't last a month.
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