Little Guy Ruggedized for Fire-road Runner

[Scott B.]

For brakes, suspension, fenders, gas can mounts, take a look at my build thread.

I went through a lot of the same thought processes as you are going through - some of my ideas may help your decision making.

Either way, it's great to have another off-road Little Guy!

EDIT: I will second the idea of talking with eTrailer about your brake controller.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

As I understand it from the paperwork given me it states:
The Prodigy RF employs an inertial sensor. It senses deceleration and generates an output that is based on deceleration, thus the term “Proportional Braking”.
The Prodigy RF will “HOLD” your trailer with 25% of power setting while you are at a standstill with brake pedal applied for longer than 5-7 seconds.
The Prodigy RF will brake proportionally in reverse. It will apply the appropriate brake voltage based on deceleration.

Here is the link to the product: http://www.tekonsha.com/products/br...s/prodigy-rf/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB508pViEKmVBf

I saw it on a rental trailer and had one put on mine, all I know is on my teardrop, it works really well.

SoCal Teardrops installs these. I have rented them twice from OTG Rentals and am a big fan of this particular brake controller.

 

[fike]

That looks pretty darn cool. So the base unit is used to adjust settings, and the trailer mounted unit monitors the brake lights to decide when to activate instead of putt No that function under the dash. I assume the base unit lets you wirelessly set the boost and delay on-the-fly.

I could never quite understand why the brake controller couldn't be mounted at the back of the tow vehicle or on the trailer near to the 7-pin connector. Do people really adjust the settings that often. I would think once you get it dialed-in, you would leave it mostly alone.

 

[rnArmy]

That looks pretty darn cool. So the base unit is used to adjust settings, and the trailer mounted unit monitors the brake lights to decide when to activate instead of putt No that function under the dash. I assume the base unit lets you wirelessly set the boost and delay on-the-fly.

I could never quite understand why the brake controller couldn't be mounted at the back of the tow vehicle or on the trailer near to the 7-pin connector. Do people really adjust the settings that often. I would think once you get it dialed-in, you would leave it mostly alone.

At least with the P3, there's a lever you can manually work the electric brakes. And yes, we sometimes do adjust the brakes after it has been dialed-in.

 

[fike]

At least with the P3, there's a lever you can manually work the electric brakes. And yes, we sometimes do adjust the brakes after it has been dialed-in.

What is the P3? I like the idea of having a brake switch in the trailer.

 

[rnArmy]

What is the P3? I like the idea of having a brake switch in the trailer.

A P3 is a Tekonsha model P3. Check out the link below from etrailer; it has a very short video description of the P3 (7 minutes long), and it shows how to use the manual override lever.

http://www.etrailer.com/Brake-Controller/Tekonsha/90195.html
The P3 comes with a mounting bracket and harness to connect to the wiring you run from the back of your trailer into your cab. Obviously, this is not a wireless set-up. But with this set-up (vehicle 7-prong wiring kit below), you've got a constant hot-wire all the way back to the connector on the back of your vehicle, so when you plug it up to your trailer, now your trailer also has a constant hot wire. So if you wanted to hook-up some camp lights or whatever on your trailer, you've got constant power from your tow vehicle's battery to your trailer.

Literally, I've got a cardboard box sitting in my garage (that arrived in the mail yesterday) to wire my truck with a seven-prong outlet so I can tow my trailer with my truck (the Jeep's already wired with the same set up). Check out the links below. The contents of the box includes:

http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/etrailer/ETBC7.html (the wiring kit and plug that mounts to the rear of the truck)
http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Draw-Tite/20127.html (additional plug for P3 so I can move my P3 from one vehicle to another)
http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Tekonsha/TK5906.html (another mounting bracket for the P3 so I can move the P3 controller from one vehicle to another)
I wired a 98 Jeep ZJ with this set-up, and we took the Jeep and trailer on a 10,000 mile trip from TX up to Inuvik (northern Canada) and back to TX (and it all worked flawlessly). My TJ is also wired for the P3. And now I'm getting ready to wire my truck the same way. The instructions are very good detailing how to run the wires and such in your vehicle.

Hopefully your trailer comes wired with a seven-prong harness (for electric brakes) so it is ready to plug in and go. Since I built my trailer, I had to wire it myself. I used this wiring harness and junction box on the trailer:
https://www.etrailer.com/Wiring/Hopkins/H20046.html (trailer wiring harness)
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Spectro/38656.html (junction box - and you want to use a junction box)

I've got no connection to etrailer (I'm an Army Nurse by trade) other than they are my go-to store for this kind of trailer stuff. They are very helpful to include videos and instructions for installing the parts they sell.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

This is what you want to look at.

http://www.tekonsha.com/products/br...s/prodigy-rf/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB508pViEKmVBf

 

[rnArmy]

This is what you want to look at.

http://www.tekonsha.com/products/br...s/prodigy-rf/TzaIxkVx1cI5XOy!osRB508pViEKmVBf

Looks like with this wireless module, your tow vehicle still needs to have a 7-prong wiring harness wired-up (I went to the link and looked at the install instructions).
Quote:
Your Prodigy RF Power Module has a molded
Bargman® 7-Way cable that will plug into the tow vehicle.
Refer to Wiring Diagram for location of pins and
function. When all connections are made, this connection
supplies all power and signals to both the Power
Module and to the trailer. The trailer 7-Way cable is
connected directly to the 7-Way connector on the rear of
the Power Module. There is no additional wiring necessary
on the trailer.

 

[Kmrtnsn]

Looks like with this wireless module, your tow vehicle still needs to have a 7-prong wiring harness wired-up (I went to the link and looked at the install instructions).
Quote:
Your Prodigy RF Power Module has a molded
Bargman® 7-Way cable that will plug into the tow vehicle.
Refer to Wiring Diagram for location of pins and
function. When all connections are made, this connection
supplies all power and signals to both the Power
Module and to the trailer. The trailer 7-Way cable is
connected directly to the 7-Way connector on the rear of
the Power Module. There is no additional wiring necessary
on the trailer.

A 7-pin harness is no big deal. Most are custom made for the vehicle and snap right in. The Mopar 7-pin harness I put in my Jeep took all of 45 minutes to install.

 

[rnArmy]

A 7-pin harness is no big deal. Most are custom made for the vehicle and snap right in. The Mopar 7-pin harness I put in my Jeep took all of 45 minutes to install.

I'm just trying to figure the advantage of the wireless module if you still have to wire your tow vehicle with a 7-pin harness, and with the wireless you don't have the ability to manually override the brake controller(?). Maybe you don't have to route wires through the firewall into the cab like you do with a hard-wired unit? Maybe if your tow vehicle is one of the lucky ones you can get a custom made wiring unit to snap right in?
It takes me way longer than 45 minutes to wire a vehicle for the 7-pin harness, but I spend a lot of time fussing with the routing of the wires (and lots of zip-ties) and figuring how to breach the firewall. I'm not complaining though; I figure if I wire it I know it is done right (or I don't have anyone to blame but me).

 

[Kmrtnsn]

I'm just trying to figure the advantage of the wireless module if you still have to wire your tow vehicle with a 7-pin harness, and with the wireless you don't have the ability to manually override the brake controller(?). Maybe you don't have to route wires through the firewall into the cab like you do with a hard-wired unit? Maybe if your tow vehicle is one of the lucky ones you can get a custom made wiring unit to snap right in?
It takes me way longer than 45 minutes to wire a vehicle for the 7-pin harness, but I spend a lot of time fussing with the routing of the wires (and lots of zip-ties) and figuring how to breach the firewall. I'm not complaining though; I figure if I wire it I know it is done right (or I don't have anyone to blame but me).

Your trailer electrical still needs power for the brakes and controller to operate. That electrical power also recharges your deep cycle trailer battery. Think of 7-pin wiring as the electrical bus that provides that energy. The difference between 4 pin and seven pin is signal for brake activation and electrical power from the vehicle battery.

What kind of vehicle do you have? If you have a newer pickup or with a tow package, it's more than likely already wired for 7-pin or 90% so.

This is a picture of the 7-pin harness for my JKU. A plug into the tail lights, a plug into the 7-pin outlet, and wiring to the engine compartment, where it connects to the battery and can feed into the cab for a old-school wired controller if needed. Took more time to fed the loom through the frame than for anything else.

 

[rnArmy]

Your trailer electrical still needs power for the brakes and controller to operate. That electrical power also recharges your deep cycle trailer battery. Think of 7-pin wiring as the electrical bus that provides that energy. The difference between 4 pin and seven pin is signal for brake activation and electrical power from the vehicle battery.

What kind of vehicle do you have? If you have a newer pickup or with a tow package, it's more than likely already wired for 7-pin or 90% so.

This is a picture of the 7-pin harness for my JKU. A plug into the tail lights, a plug into the 7-pin outlet, and wiring to the engine compartment, where it connects to the battery and can feed into the cab for a old-school wired controller if needed. Took more time to fed the loom through the frame than for anything else.

Yes; my lil' trailer pictured in post #21 above (with electric brakes) is wired with a 7-pin harness (part numbers and links all in post #21 above). The trailer used to have the flat-four wiring harness, but when I added the electric brakes I rewired it with the 7-prong unit. And my 98 Jeep TJ is wired with a 7-pin harness so I can connect the TJ and trailer together and use the hardwired P3 brake controller. I've got a hot wire on my trailer with the 7-prong harness (currently capped-off - someday will have a dedicated trailer battery) when the two are plugged in. And I'm getting ready to wire my truck (1996 Dodge Ram 1500 pictured above) for a 7-pin harness to also allow the P3 brake controller to work on the truck for the trailer (I just move the P3 controller from one vehicle to another).

But I'm still wondering, if you've got to wire your tow vehicle with the 7-pin harness anyways for the wireless brake controller to work, what is the advantage of the wireless unit over a hard-wired unit (like a P3 unit)?

And I would love to have a small narrow(er) light(er) weight teardrop I could pull behind my four-cylinder TJ (the truck could handle a larger one, but I wouldn't want the teardrop wider than the tow vehicle). They are just too cool, and maybe my wife would be more willing to go on extended adventures if I had one.

View attachment 372682

 

[fike]

I have a seven-pin harness, so that is okay. I think I am inclined to go with the wireless setup because it involves less monkeying around with my subie.

 

[fike]

Aside from the brake controller stuff, my thinking has evolved on some topics.

* The built-in shower nozzle isn't needed. I will use a 5 gallon roadshower instead
* I will add a privy shelter and Thetford toilet to the roadshower for some civilized wash facilities
* Considering the woefully small water tank (3 gallons) I will get two-gallon rotopax to attach on both sides behind the fenders. These mountings will make it easy to connect a hose and drain the rotopax into the inlet for the built-in water tank.
* This little gadget solves my battery monitoring problems

 

[fike]

My big dilemma now is how to gradually figure out how steep and rugged a trail I can tow with a Subie. I can get to some pretty cool spots in a subie, but I am not sure if I can get there WITH a trailer.

I drove up a boulder-strewn road this weekend, and I couldn't decide if a trailer could have made it. It wasn't too hard...a few rock shelves, some bowling-ball-rock trails and some swails that needed decent breakover angles. I could carefully place the subie tires where I needed. Doing the same with a trailer might need three miles of a patient spotter walking along. (It was flagpole knob in GW National Forest).

I know of a nearby spot in GW national forest where there are some really nice and private campsites, but the access trail is very steep and windy, though only mildly slippery with mixed gravel and dirt...no problem with the subie, but I am not too sure with a teardrop.

I guess I will just have to work my way up with progressively more challenging terrain.