13 replies to this topic

[BMH44]

Hello I have recently purchased a 2018 Hawk out of state. I am prepping my 22 Power Wagon for the 4WC and I am going to install the Atwood female three prong plug into the truck. I have searched this forum and YT for a wiring diagram for the three wires but came up dry. Any info on which wires go to the battery? and the third goes?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

You need to put a multi meter on the camper side plug to determine power and ground.  Third wire is for your clearance lights.

[rubberlegs]

On our Fleet installation done by our dealer, only two wires were used. But I didn't record which two were used. I've since rewired the truck for a lithium battery.

[Jon R]

The wire on my 2021 Grandby was direct burial wire in a molded jacket. The white was battery positive via an isolator, the black was negative, and the green was the positive for the running/clearance lights.

[BMH44]

The wire on my 2021 Grandby was direct burial wire in a molded jacket. The white was battery positive via an isolator, the black was negative, and the green was the positive for the running/clearance lights.

So does the green wire hook up to the battery as well?

[Old Crow]

There's a step-by-step guide to how FWC has traditionally installed the truck-to-camper wiring in this post.  It includes a diagram showing wire colors.  Note that the Attwood plugs have odd colors--- (yellow, black, and blue).

 

Please note that this is an older diagram so it shows an older battery isolator model.  Also, it shows 10-gauge wire.  These days many owners choose to use heavier wire (there are many threads on that).

 

Steps to wiring a truck post

 

The 80" part (on the diagram) refers to whether or not the camper has clearance lights.  Those under 80" wide (like the Fleet and Eagle) don't have clearance lights as they are not required (by Federal law). Hawk and Grandby do have them.

 

Note that step three explains the clearance lights thing.  Conceptually, you are connecting to your truck's tail or license-plate wiring to power the camper's clearance lights when you turn on your truck's lights. 

Edited by Old Crow, 17 February 2024 - 12:51 PM.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

When I bought my ATC Cougar, I changed from the usual way of wiring a truck for power and lights on a popup. I went to the standard 7 pin plug and receptacle system that hard side campers and fifth wheel trailers use.  The reason I chose to do this is because there are plug and play wiring harnesses made for many trucks, and if there is one made for your truck, it makes life much easier,  On my my F350, I drilled a hole on the inside of the driver side bed wall, secured the female receptacle, then routed the wiring harness (under the bed) back to the hitch area.  Next step is to disconnect the truck harness from the trailer lights  connector, insert the tee fitting of the new harness between the existing harness and back of the hitch plug, and reconnect things. That was it for the truck.

 

When Marty arrived with my Cougar, we connected the camper wiring to a new 7 pin plug.  The pin configurations are standard, so it was just connecting the 3 camper wires to the appropriate pins.  
 

To be honest, I don’t understand why this isn’t the standard for all campers.   The harnesses are inexpensive, and can be found at eTrailer/Amazon/auto parts stores.  If I ever decide to go to a lithium battery, I will simply remove the 12VDC power side of the camper plug, then add the heavier gauge wires and Anderson connectors that are needed for a lithium system.
 

[n7wrh]

When I bought my ATC Cougar, I changed from the usual way of wiring a truck for power and lights on a popup. I went to the standard 7 pin plug and receptacle system that hard side campers and fifth wheel trailers use.  The reason I chose to do this is because there are plug and play wiring harnesses made for many trucks, and if there is one made for your truck, it makes life much easier,  On my my F350, I drilled a hole on the inside of the driver side bed wall, then routed the wiring harness (under the bed) back to the hitch area.  Next step is to disconnect the truck harness from the trailer lights  connector, insert the tee fitting of the new harness between the existing harness and back of the hitch plug, and reconnect things. That was it for the truck.

 

When Marty arrived with my Cougar, we connected the camper wiring to a new 7 pin plug.  The pin configurations are standard, so it was just connecting the 3 camper wires to the appropriate pins.  
 

To be honest, I don’t understand why this isn’t the standard for all campers.   The harnesses are inexpensive, and can be found at eTrailer/Amazon/auto parts stores.  If I ever decide to go to a lithium battery, I will simply remove the 12VDC power side of the camper plug, then add the heavier gauge wires and Anderson connectors that are needed for a lithium system.
 

2024 Hawk on order to be installed in a new truck. I am pretty sure the truck will have a 7-way in the bed for a 5th wheel. If I'm following you correctly, wouldn't the 7-way harness + be insufficiently sized to drive a DC to DC charger, hence why you'd want to wire power directly to the truck battery? I can understand wiring to the 7-way for marker lights. I may not be following your post correctly. 

Edited by n7wrh, 17 February 2024 - 04:02 PM.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

2024 Hawk on order to be installed in a new truck. I am pretty sure the truck will have a 7-way in the bed for a 5th wheel. If I'm following you correctly, wouldn't the 7-way harness + be insufficiently sized to drive a DC to DC charger, hence why you'd want to wire power directly to the truck battery? I may not be following your post correctly. 

IMO, there is no way the 7pin could handle a dc-dc charger.  That’s why I mentioned disconnecting that wire from the camper side plug if I ever went lithium.  

[n7wrh]

IMO, there is no way the 7pin could handle a dc-dc charger.  That’s why I mentioned disconnecting that wire from the camper side plug if I ever went lithium.  

Ok gotcha. I think we're on the same page. Maybe it was the lithium statement that threw me off because even with a wet battery you still would not want to use the 7 pin for charging beyond a trickle.