Wire Recommendation for Rewiring Utility Trailer with Brakes

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Question:

Have a 16foot Utility Trailer that I would like to re-wire using 14 gauge copper wire. Want to use a good quality, flexible wire, something that will last. Will need a four conductor wire brown-yellow-green-blue. Do you recommend I use stranded wire, cable wire, or single wire to effectively do the job. Can you give me a recommendation on the wire that I should purchase? This is a dual axle trailer with brakes on one axle. Thanks...sure could use your help.

asked by: Bill

1

Helpful Expert Reply:

For the brake circuit of your trailer you will want to run 10 gauge wire like our part # 10-1-1 which is sold by the foot and is standard copper primary wire. We use it all the time here on trailers and it works great.

For bonded 14 gauge wire that has 4 wires bundled you would want the part # DW04923-1 which is also sold by the foot.

A lot of times people use junction boxes like the part # 38656 to organize the wires on the trailer. Check out the install video I attached for more info on this.

Additional hardware that you may need is 3/16 Inch Ring Terminals, # 44-5310A, 1/4 Inch Ring Terminals, # DW05702-1, 12-10 Gauge Butt Connectors, # 05732-2, 16-14 Gauge Butt Connectors, # 05731-5, and electrical tape.

I also attached a wiring help article that shows how a trailer typically gets wired.

expert reply by: Jameson C

1

Answer 1

It sounds like you are speaking of the wires for the brake magnets. If this is correct, you will need to connect one of the wires to the brake controller output wire on your trailer connector and the other wire will need to be grounded to a clean…

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Answer 2

While brake assemblies have a distinct left and right hand side the hub/drums do not and can fit on either side of the trailer like with the part #84556UC3.

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Answer 3

I currently have four different self-adjusting assemblies for your boat trailer with 10" x 2-1/4" electric drum brakes. You can choose from the following: -Terran Axle Electric Trailer Brakes #TX97ZJ (3,500 Axles) -etrailer Electric Trailer…

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Answer 4

Dexter brake assemblies like the #23-464-465 are widely considered to be the best and highest quality trailer axle/suspension components which is why they cost more than the #AKEBRK-7-SA. Some of the quality difference wouldn't make much of a…

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Answer 5

That's a very good question, we tend to be extra cautious and say to use 10 gauge wire because that would be more than enough. When you get into longer trailers that will end up using a lot of wire the heavier gauge wire becomes more necessary.…

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Answer 6

If all you want is to prevent the 12 volt power supply of your trailer battery wiring from backfeeding onto your vehicle wiring or vice versa what you need is a one-way diode like part #RM-690. This only allows current to flow in one direction so…

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Answer 7

The only differences between the two hubs you mentioned #8-201-9UC3-EZ and #8-201-5UC3-EZ are that the 8-201-5UC3-EZ is not pre-greased and the other is and they have different bearing between the two. But the bearings both have the same inner…

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Answer 8

You can absolutely wire up a 3-wire breakaway switch like the Hopkins LED Breakaway Switch with 7" Lead Wires #HM20059 to replace your 2-wire switch; the difference is that the 3-wire switch has a dedicated ground wire while the 2-wire switch…

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Answer 9

If you wanted to prevent the 12 volt trailer wiring circuit from backfeeding when connected to your trailer's battery you'd have to use a diode like the part #RM-690. This will only allow the current to flow in one direction.

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Answer 10

The Bonded 4 Wire - per foot #16-4B-1 you asked from would use the brown running light wire for your clearance/marker lights. The LED light you referenced sound like they have two wires so one will be power and the other ground. You can connect them…

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Answer 11

To determine the size of the brake assemblies you need you have to measure the depth and width of the hub drum on the axle like what you see in the picture I attached. The most common size is 2-1/4 inch wide like the #T4071600-500 that you…

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Answer 12

The shop that told you that was correct, since your trailer axle didn't have brake flanges welded already it is much easier to just replace the entire axle. Reason being is, to add brake flanges would require them to be welded square and…

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Wire Recommendation for Rewiring Utility Trailer with Brakes

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