Trailer Wiring Harness on a 2012 Toyota Tacoma

Updated 05/19/2017 | Published 05/18/2017

Products Featured in This Question

T-One Vehicle Wiring Harness with 4-Pole Flat Trailer Connector

(742)

$59.44

Adapter 4 Pole to 6 Pole and 4 Pole Trailer Wiring Adapter

(67)

$40.31

Adapter 4-Pole to 7-Pole and 4-Pole

(659)

$61.55

Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 4 Axles - Proportional

(2763)

$159.19

Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller - 6-Way and 4-Way Flat - 10 Gauge Wires

(9)

$73.23

Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller - 7-Way RV and 4-Way Flat - 10 Gauge Wires

(3397)

$121.19

Question:

hello, i have a 2012 toyota Tacoma, i need to buy a trailer wiring harness. my trailer has a circular plug with six pins in a circle. Can you help, im not sure what i need.

asked by: Devin

Expert Reply:

It sounds like you have a 6-way trailer connector on your trailer. Either that or a 7-way. If it looks like the picture with 6 round pin holes you have a 6-way. If it's a 7-way it will look like the second picture with the 6 "blades" around a single pin in the middle.

Whichever one you have the easiest way to install the correct harness on your 2012 Toyota Tacoma is to start with a 4-way trailer connector. For the 4-way you can use # 118496. This installs by plugging in behind the tail lights of the truck. Or possibly along the truck's frame rail. I've linked an install video to help.

Once you have the 4-way you'll be able to convert it to either the 6-way or 7-way. There's a couple of ways you can do this depending on your trailer. If your trailer has brakes you'll need the connector to be fully functional. If the trailer doesn't have brakes and you only need to power the lights then you can use an adapter from the 4-way. If that's the case you can use # 37175 for the 6-way and just cap off the extra wires. For a 7-way use # 37185 and do the same.

To power a trailer's brakes you'll need the connector to be fully functioning and the wires to power each pin will need to be installed. Luckily we have kits to make this process a little easier. If you have the 6-way use our # ETBC6 kit. If you have the 7-way it'll be the # ETBC7 kit. They both install in a similar fashion except the ETBC6 is missing a pin that's usually for back up lights on a trailer that has them. I've linked a help article that includes diagrams to show you the function of each pin on both types of connectors.

In addition to the connector you'll also need an electric brake controller to power a trailer's electric brakes. I recommend the Prodigy P2 # 90885 for you. It's one of our top sellers because of how reliable it is. Everything needed to install the P2 will either be included with it or part of the kits I mentioned earlier.