Umbilical cord replacement

[Wantoride]

Has anyone replaced the trailer cord, not the shore power cord but the travel umbilical cord. I have a Ford F-150 and the current keystone cord is not and has never really matched well. If someone out there has had that issue, what cord have you tried in replacement .
Thanks. Larry

[chuckster57]

We use Bargman brand. What’s the issue with your current one?

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Wantoride

Has anyone replaced the trailer cord, not the shore power cord but the travel umbilical cord. I have a Ford F-150 and the current keystone cord is not and has never really matched well. If someone out there has had that issue, what cord have you tried in replacement .
Thanks. Larry

https://www.amazon.com/Bargman-Molde...33246916&psc=1

[JRTJH]

Earlier model Keystone trailers used a 4x4 metal junction box to house the umbilical/trailer wiring interface. There is a "new style" junction box that simplifies the connections and keeps things in order. In addition to the new umbilical/connector cable, I'd also order a junction box if your trailer has the "metal house box with all the twist connectors inside it".....

https://www.amazon.com/MICTUNING-Way...7QDQRX7P&psc=1

[Wantoride]

Sorry for the delay but we are traveling, I get a trailer fault notice. Everything works but the brakes are spotty. If I cram tin foil in the brake pin enough to close the gap it’ll make a connection that’s solid but as soon as I hit bumpy roads I loose the brakes. I took it back to the dealer years ago and they dressed the plug a bit and cleaned it and it was fine for a couple years. Now that won’t really do much.

[Wantoride]

I was planning on getting a wire and box from E trailer

[Javi]

Originally Posted by Wantoride

Sorry for the delay but we are traveling, I get a trailer fault notice. Everything works but the brakes are spotty. If I cram tin foil in the brake pin enough to close the gap it’ll make a connection that’s solid but as soon as I hit bumpy roads I loose the brakes. I took it back to the dealer years ago and they dressed the plug a bit and cleaned it and it was fine for a couple years. Now that won’t really do much.

That's because the cord on the trailer is cheap Chinese junk and the truck is a Bargman.

[bobbecky]

No need to replace the cord, just replace the plug.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by bobbecky

No need to replace the cord, just replace the plug.

While I agree with that, I like the idea of a molded plug versus hoping the cord stays dry, and the connections stay solid, I have done both for customers.

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by Wantoride

Sorry for the delay but we are traveling, I get a trailer fault notice. Everything works but the brakes are spotty. If I cram tin foil in the brake pin enough to close the gap it’ll make a connection that’s solid but as soon as I hit bumpy roads I loose the brakes. I took it back to the dealer years ago and they dressed the plug a bit and cleaned it and it was fine for a couple years. Now that won’t really do much.

Keep in mind it may not be the trailer. Fords have had the issue, including our 2016 F-350, where the 7-way plug in on the back of the truck is the problem. I was also getting a fault with our horse trailer and sometimes the camper, and would lose brakes on the them. Messed around with dielectric grease, cleaning the trailer ends thinking that had to be the problem. It didn’t make a difference. They also worked fine if plugged in to a different truck. So, ended up having the truck end of the plug in replaced by Ford. New one worked great. I was told by the dealer they had seen this issue before and were not surprised by it.

[JRTJH]

^^^ In addition to what lynette said, if you crawl under the back of your Ford truck, you'll find that there is a "plug behind the plug". On the rear of the 7 pin plug is another plug that uses a "jumper to the in bed 7 pin option" for trucks that have a fifth wheel umbilical connector in the bed. That "plug behind the plug" can and will corrode, causing problems with the "trailer disconnected" error signal.

[vampress_me]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

^^^ In addition to what lynette said, if you crawl under the back of your Ford truck, you'll find that there is a "plug behind the plug". On the rear of the 7 pin plug is another plug that uses a "jumper to the in bed 7 pin option" for trucks that have a fifth wheel umbilical connector in the bed. That "plug behind the plug" can and will corrode, causing problems with the "trailer disconnected" error signal.

You reminded me. Ours also had the “plug behind the plug”, even without the in-the-bed connector portion, which was not an option on our truck. It took the Ford tech about 5 minutes to change it out since it had that hidden plug under the bed/ behind the bumper.

[CedarCreekWoody]

When I had a gooseneck ball installed they also installed an in-bed outlet. When I started having trailer brake issues after a few months I found they had done a sloppy install of the outlet. Rather than using a plug in adapter they had simply clipped onto the trailer wiring, damaging my wiring and causing intermittent connections. I replaced their mess with a proper cable that plugged into the factory wiring connector.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by CedarCreekWoody

When I had a gooseneck ball installed they also installed an in-bed outlet. When I started having trailer brake issues after a few months I found they had done a sloppy install of the outlet. Rather than using a plug in adapter they had simply clipped onto the trailer wiring, damaging my wiring and causing intermittent connections. I replaced their mess with a proper cable that plugged into the factory wiring connector.

When I had my F150 and bought our first fifth wheel (26'/8000 lb wonder that it was) I did the same. CURT sells in bed adapter cables for most truck brands that "jumper behind the bumper 7 pin connector" and prevent the need to use "sloppy rewire connectors" that will fail as soon as they get wet and corrode.

https://www.curtmfg.com/towing-elect...sion-harnesses

[CedarCreekWoody]

I failed to say the reason I mentioned the bad install is that the OP may want to verify the problem is not on the vehicle part of the umbilical cord before replacing the cord on the camper.

[flybouy]

Had the same issue with our F150 KR when we bought it '09. Constantly disconnected, had to stop and reseat it. One trip I took my pocket knife and put a curf on the front edge of the plug and secured it with a mini bungee cord.. that worked but it always bothered me.. I installed a new cord and never had another issue..

When we bought our current trailer part of the deal was replacing the cord with a Bargman. I wasn't going to go thru that headache again.

[Wantoride]

Originally Posted by Javi

That's because the cord on the trailer is cheap Chinese junk and the truck is a Bargman.

That’s what I really needed to know, what plug would work best with Ford

[be18driver]

This worked great for me. https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...ad.php?t=85781


Ken

[Gunny Mike]

We had to replace ours last month due to operator error causing some road rash. Cost us about $140 for the cord and to install it. We were fortunate to be the first RV drive up for work that morning and we were back on the road in 45 minutes. Next time ill remember to bring it up and then wrap it around the jack one time.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Gunny Mike

We had to replace ours last month due to operator error causing some road rash. Cost us about $140 for the cord and to install it. We were fortunate to be the first RV drive up for work that morning and we were back on the road in 45 minutes. Next time ill remember to bring it up and then wrap it around the jack one time.

I lock my coupler with a long shank lock. The lock is long enough to hold the cable while locked. I thread the cable thru the lock with a curve in it just long enough to accommodate turning.