Out of Hibernation

It's Alive!

My goal for this outing was to check out the lights, brakes and the brake controller I'd installed in our Toyota Highlander. The Highlander has a 5000lb tow capacity and 500lb hitch capacity so it should easily handle the Boles.

I'd installed a OEM tow hitch and Redarc Tow Pro Elite brakes controller. I like both of these vs the many other options because they have that integrated factory look. The Redarc unit is hidden up under the dash and the controller knob looks like just another factory knob with all the other switches.

I put the wheels on, checked the tire pressure and took the Boles off the jackstands that have been supporting it during the renovation process. Then I backed up the Highlander and connected the 7-blade connector and proceeded to check out the lights.

The Hookup

Exterior lights are simple enough but I'd kept the central brake light and wanted to see if they way I'd wired it worked out.

Most camp trailers didn't have turn signals until much later than 1948. My Boles originally had only a center brake light/license plate light. A prior owner had installed turn signals (a couple cheap "cake lights" with plastic lenses). When I tore down the Boles it was apparent that they'd originally used a couple side marker lights on each side, one for the brake and one for the turn signal. This won't work with modern trailer wiring because the brake and turn signal are carried on the same wire.

Since the holes were there for the side marker lights I decided to go with that approach. But that meant I'd need to sort of the brake/turn signal wiring issue. In the end I found a small device used for classic cars that originally used a single center light.

The added complexity made checking out the exterior lighting something that could end up requiring rework. Fortunately I'd wired everything right and the lights functioned properly - mostly. A couple of the lights were getting power properly but it turns out the glass lens was pushing on the bulb disconnecting it from power. Installing bulbs with smaller sized globes fixed that issue.

After a bit of dinking around with the hitch (the release had rusted shut) I was able to hooked up the trailer and drive around the neighborhood. The brake controller and brakes work great. The Redarc controller has both proportional and manual adjustment modes along with manual override for both. It seems really nice. The lightweight Boles needs very little braking force.

I also checked the tongue weight of the Boles and it came in at 225 lbs dry, very close to what I'd planned for in my early calculations (237 lbs). I hope to get by the scales to see what the total weight is. Worst case loading (full freshwater tank & empty propane tank) would put the tongue weight at just under 10% of gross weight which is lower than recommended (10-15%) but I think my gross weight estimate is a little high so I'm probably in the window of what's recommended.

Next up is polishing.