Question about "Trailer Tow" option...

[zman]

Does anyone know if a truck purchased without the "trailer tow" option still has the wiring in place for hooking up a trailer brake box? Other than the hitch and the plug, what else is missing? Thanks.



Steve

 

[Fireman Dave]

Steve:



I think the tow package is the hitch. I think the camper package is the swaybar, overload springs, and wiring.



Dave

 

[Briar Hopper]

Steve, I think there are "T" adapters on the market, available at WalMart, AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, and RV supply places, that simply plug into the truck's existing wiring harness, at a connector under the rear of the truck bed. That will give you the standard flat plug 4-wire connection. But if you mean the special wiring set up, the 3 wire connector under the dash that enables you to hook up a trailer brakes control, then I don't know.

Check with a mechanic at your nearest RV dealer, they'll look at your truck for free and tell you what you need.

 

[WMann]

Hi Steve. When I bought my 2001. 5 3500 ETH DEE I was not going to get the hitch because I was going to put a class 5 hitch on the truck and it didn't make since to pay for two hitches. I told the sales person I was working with what I was planning to do and he said that he had run into this before and told me to wait one minute while he checked with the mechanic that does the custom work on the trucks. He came back and told me that if you don't order the hitch, the truck will not come with the wiring harness or the heavy duty flasher. He said that this was a way for the factory to save alittle money. So I would check with your dealer and see if you get the same story.



It would be nice if you could find a 2500 or a 3500 on a lot somewhere without the hitch so that you could look underneath the truck and see if it has the wiring harness or not.



Wayne

 

[roycrown]

Mine does not have the trailer tow package, but did have the 4 wire plug adapter for trailer brake control under the dash. Bought the needed pigtail to go from brake control to the plug under dash for $8 at Camping World (this same pigtail is usually found in the glovebox if you have trailer tow package)

 

[SClegg]

On my 2001. 5 I was able to take the controller out of my 98 1500 Ram and plug it right in. There was no wiring harness for the 5vr lights, had to do it the old fashion way and tap into the lights and brakes.

 

[Stroke This 24V]

DO you need the Pigtail?

If you need the pigtail that goes from the Brake controler to the wiring harness I have a few of them laying around and I think I have a few of the 7-pin -> 4-pin too.





Zman just PM me and I will get with you if you need one.

 

[Michael Hughes]

I would not use one of the T adapters to get your lights from the back of the truck. I did this on my 97 gaser and had to replace my headlight switch after smoking it. It took about a year for this to happen, but it wasn't fun. Going down the highway and had the headlight go out on me.



If the trucks that don't have to tow package come with the brak contoller connector under the dash, is the wiring that goes to the back of the truck there? On my 97 there was no trailer wiring at all.



Does anyone out there know for sure?

 

[SlyBones]

The way I read my 97 info package here it looks like



HD Service Group includes: ( I think this is std on diesels ?? )

136 amp alternator

750 amp battery ( 2 for diesels )

HD engine cooling

Aux transmission cooler

Transfer Case skid plate

HD Signal Flasher



Camper Package:

Springs

Rear Swaybar



Trailer Package:

Hitch

Wiring to rear of truck

pigtail

4 pin adapter

 

[Mr. Brewski]

My '99 didnt come with a trailer package (What else would someone use these trucks for?? ) I bought the wiring harness from Dodge for trailer towing. It's an easy install and it come with a relay for the running lights to keep you headlight switch from smoking. It also has the electric brake wire included for the brake controller, the trailer charge wire and fuse, and the 7 pin RV plug to mount on the rear of the truck. Took me about an hour and a half to wire the truck completley including the brake controller, and the harness was $100 and change. I highly recomend it, at saved a lot of time and hassle and I know the wiring is correct.

 

[mikel]

My '01 did not come with the trailer tow, but the wires are there under the dash and back to the connector behind the front wheel where the wiring harness connects from the front of the truck to the back. The back half of the truck does not have any of the trailer harness wires installed. $. 05 saved for DC. I don't know about the heavy-duty flasher. I guess I'll find out next weekend when I hook up.



Good luck,

Mike

 

[MikeR]

I do know for sure!!

Of both 2500's I have bought,one had the factory tow pkg and the did not have it. It was odd that it had the camper pkg but no tow pkg.



No,if you don't get the factory tow pkg,then you will NOT get the wiring that goes all the way to the rear of the truck. The brake contoller plug will still be present under the dash,but the wires for it are only 2 feet long and they terminate at the next junction connection under the front of the cab. Just buy the factory tow pkg,it will cost alot cheaper that way and you'll have the hitch in case you ever rent or borrow a flatbed or U-haul. Also,the factory wiring is still nicer and run cleaner than the add-on Dodge wiring.



My '00 didn't have the factory tow pkg(bought off the lot),and even with my employee discount it still cost me more to install the hitch and wiring than it would have been if it was factory installed.



-Mike

 

[zman]

Thanks!

Thanks guys. A friend of mine is considering a new CTD. He is trying to decide whether to get the trailer tow option since he will be putting a class 5 hitch on it. Seems like it might be cheaper to not buy the trailer tow option and buy the harness for $100. He could use the $150 saved towards the new hitch. Thanks again!



Steve

 

[Josparkz]

Relays, too

Someone touched on this. The tow package had the extra lighting relay set up. This is why the ones that didn't have it had a tsb on it. It was to keep the headlite switch from having a melt down.

As my memory serves me.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

My 97 did not come with the trailer two package. However, it had the relay etc. in the power distribution center and had the 4 blade connector near the brake pedal, as others noted above. I planned on running 8 gauge wire from the battery to the 7 blade connector at the rear bumper so the truck could recharge the trailer battery in a reasonable amount of time, and that accounted for two wires that terminated at the connector behind the front wheel. If you got the trailer package, the harness going from there to the rear of the truck would have those wires plus one more: trailer brakes (I wanted to upgrade to 10 gauge for that anyway). The other four leads can be accessed at the rear (I soldered the trailer leads to the harness leads): brake lights, left and right turns, and backup. So, I did not lose anything by not getting the trailer package. I planned to upgrade the wires that were not present, the connector for the brake controller was present along with the harder to route front harness, and the cost of a 7 blade rear bumper connector is low. I did not want the marginal Dodge hitch receiver, and already had a Drawtite Ultra frame hitch. I posted some details on this, if I recall, about 1. 5-2 years ago but the post might be hard to find by now.

 

[BV]

Tow Package

Here is my opinion:

Get the tow package unless you like laying on your back pulling wire. I threw the OEM hitch in the shed and installed a real one but the wiring is worth the $.

Here is a note on the Draw-Tite site that indicates the factory wiring is only good for one extra light. The wiring is very light guage so they add a seperate set just for the trailer.



Footnotes:

Electrical: Standard 2 wire system

Parts: Per Dodge owner's manual: If trailer is equipped with more than standard lighting (1 tail light per side), use of Modulite or dealer supplied harness is required.

 

[Randy J]

Does anyone know what the difference in towing capacity is for a truck with, vs. without, trailer towing option?

Thanks

 

[klenger]

Randy J:



The towing package does not change the towing or load capacity at all. Neither does the camper special package. The only options that change towing capacities (GCWR) are the axle and transmission combinations. Any other options reduce the payload because of the weight they add to the truck. The GVWR is fixed for the model (2500 or 3500) of the truck. See attached towing charts for 2001 trucks.



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[JimP]

Tow package

Steve:



I ordered a 96 E/C 2500 4x2 V-10, with the camper special kit and it came less all the wiring for towing. I thought it was a pain to connect all those wires for the brake controller ,then run all the wires to the rear for my 5th wheel. I now have a 2001 Q/C 2500 4X2 TD that I included the towing package and the camper special kit, and I feel it was money well spent. When I recieved my new , all I had to do was plug everything in and go.



Good Luck:



JimP

 

[rrl989]

I ordered my 98 w/o the tow pkg. knowing I would buy a slide-On Camper. Funny thing was, I remember arguing with the Lance dealer when they wired in the needed harness as I knew of the headlamp switch melting problem. Well, I went about a mile before I blew out the fuse and had to turn around. Their solution was a larger fuse, I realized you get what you pay for. When I reworked what they did, I found everything was ok, except I relocated the running lamp splice from the truck line to the unused pin of the connector behind the DS wheel well (that is what the 40 amp relay is for). My Lance camper adds about 18 running lights, just think about who these experts are when you let them "touch" your truck. "Don't worry, we've be doing Dodge's for years and NEVER had a problem"... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .....



Ron