Tools for Installing a Trailer Wiring Package

Series Summary

Wiring a trailer can be a frustrating ordeal if you have never installed a trailer wiring package before. The directions on a trailer wiring package or schematics for trailer wiring can usually help, but instructions from a mechanic make the job much easier. Would you like to know how to wire a trailer yourself? The process is not as complicated as it sounds, and makes a great do-it-yourself weekend project. In this free video series learn how to wire a trailer from certified mechanic Nathan McCullough. Nathan will tell you what tools and steps are required for wiring a trailer. He will demonstrate how to strip the wiring on a trailer, how to remove old trailer lights, how to rewire trailer lights, how to remount the license plate light assembly on a trailer, how to mount marker lights on a trailer, and how to attach the white ground wire of a trailer wiring package.

Video Transcript

"In this step we're going to talk about the tools required in order to wire and mount lighting on a small utility trailer. What I have here first is a magnetic tray to hold all my fasteners. Next I have my terminal pliers for squeezing our connectors together, they are color coordinated and will correspond with the terminals that you're using. From there I have a set of heavy duty nylon zip ties, we'll use to mount our wiring to the frame of the trailer with. I have here in my hands, heavy duty waterproof type butt connectors. Now your trailer wiring package will come with a hardware kit. Inside that hardware kit is something they call a scotch lock, that's the scotch lock right there. These things are great for the interior of a vehicle, however being that they don't have any waterproof abilities on a utility trailer, or any other device that you're going to be towing. The trailer of course has wheels on it which will flick water and road debris on to this connection and eventually degrade it. These guys here are the most common failure for a trailer. So we're going to use our waterproof connectors instead. These are fine, they work as long as they're in a very dry environment. We've got the rest of our hardware kit in there. I have a hand lighter for shrinking the heat shrink tubing on my waterproof connectors. I've always used the lighter, the directions are going to tell you to use a small heat gun, or a mini torch, I use a lighter so I'm ensured not to use too much heat on my connectors. From there I have my Black and Decker kit with a drill, we're going to need to poke some holes in the frame of the trailer to mount our lights, along with a couple of other screwdrivers and of course your trailer lighting package. Which is going to include, a new license plate mount, and a wiring harness kit, along with all the other necessary lights. These are the tools required and the supplies necessary in order to properly wire your trailer and mount your new lighting."