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Trailer Plug Won't Stay In

xteacher
Explorer
Explorer
Wondering what the problem is with our trailer plug into the tow vehicle receptacle. When the weather is either cold or hot, the plug will not go completely into the receptacle on the tow vehicle and seat itself under the lip of the receptacle cover that holds it there. The other morning in very cold weather, no matter how hard we tried, it wouldn't go far enough in to be able to go under the lip of the receptacle cover to hold it in. DH had to jimmy-rig several heavy duty rubber bands to hold the plug in place, so we'd have lights and brakes for our trip. Even in decent weather, we have to work at getting the plug to settle in correctly. We've already had it replaced once. What's the deal?
Beth and Joe
Camping Buddies: Maddie (maltese/westie?), Kramer (chi/terrier?), and Lido (yellow lab)

2017 Keystone Bullet 248RKS
2014 Aliner Expedition Off Road
2013 Ram 1500 HEMI
20 REPLIES 20

mkirsch
Nomad II
Nomad II
Look for a bent-over or out-of-place pin in the plug.

Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.

2oldman
Explorer II
Explorer II
BenK wrote:
First check out if there is something 'in' there, or worn bit of plastic
x2
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

jerem0621
Explorer II
Explorer II
This is a less than $30.00 repair... Inspect the veicle side connector.. it could be a simple twig that found its way into the 7 pin connector. If needed replace one or both ends of this connection.

This is a major major safety issues.

Thanks!

Jeremiah
TV-2022 Silverado 2WD
TT - Zinger 270BH
WD Hitch- HaulMaster 1,000 lb Round Bar
Dual Friction bar sway control

Itโ€™s Kind of Fun to do the Impossible
~Walt Disney~

Miles_Away
Explorer
Explorer
I have experienced this same issue. I found, after changing trailer plugs, that the new one was slightly longer than the original, therefore it would not go in far enough for the retainer tab on the receptacle cover to drop down and lock the plug in place. A little work with a file allowed me to shave enough plastic off both side so that it now fits and locks properly. After the fix we took a 5K trip this summer and and had zero issues.
M & M :C On the road again!
2007 GMC 3500-SRW-Duramax-longbed-4X4
2008 Keystone EVEREST 348R 5th wheel
2002 SUNDOWNER gooseneck horse trailer

myredracer
Explorer II
Explorer II
rhagfo wrote:


X6 or whatever, Clean inspect Repair correctly or replace bad parts, Bungee cords and Velcro have their place, they should not be needed to hold the connector in place.


Ditto.

This is a important safety related issue and most definitely a band-aid approach should not be taken. The plug should go in easily and be held captive the entire time. Do visual inspection first to see if it's corroded, dirty and/or misaligned.

The recept. on our '09 was corroded badly when we got it 2+ years ago and had to be replaced. It doesn't necessarily take long for these things to go bad. A hitch shop replaced ours with an aftermarket part instead of an OEM one for a fraction of the cost.

rhagfo
Explorer III
Explorer III
BenK wrote:
Ditto...fix it or replace

Connectors of this type are designed to mate repeatedly

First check out if there is something 'in' there, or worn bit of plastic

If me, I'd replace as DE and others recommends. If you are not handy
in this area, then any trailer/UHaul/etc can also do the replacement

On this type of thing, I'd not spare pennies and get the better one.
They all have have the same form factor, as that is an industry standard


X6 or whatever, Clean inspect Repair correctly or replace bad parts, Bungee cords and Velcro have their place, they should not be needed to hold the connector in place.
Russ & Paula the Beagle Belle.
2016 Ram Laramie 3500 Aisin DRW 4X4 Long bed.
2005 Copper Canyon 293 FWSLS, 32' GVWR 12,360#

"Visit and Enjoy Oregon State Parks"

Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Explorer III
If receptacle mounting bolts/screws have been installed too tight it will warp the receptacle.
Once warped they stay warped
Is it time for your medication or mine?


2007 DODGE 3500 QC SRW 5.9L CTD In-Bed 'quiet gen'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
US NAVY------USS Decatur DDG31

DutchmenSport
Explorer
Explorer
Had a similar problem with my last camper. Turned out one of the pins was not aligned right, preventing it from seating completely. The problem was with the truck female end. The trailer pig-tail was fine. One of the slots the pin slipped into was bent.

JesLookin
Explorer
Explorer
I'd look closely to the plug and receptacle. Looking for any flashing, from the molding of the plastic part, that is preventing the plug from going all the way into the receptacle.
2013 Arctic Fox 27-5L
2014 Ram 3500 6.7L CTD, Crew Cab

skipnchar
Explorer
Explorer
Rubber bands and bunge cords are NOT the thing you want to use to keep something as important as your brakes working properly. I'd recommend you use some electro wash and lots of it to try and clean out whatever is preventing it from fully seating. Use the spray on both male and female ends. If it won't go in far enough to "latch" then it's not fully seated and there is a good chance it will spark and overheat which will only make the problem worse.
Good luck / Skip
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer

US Govt survey shows three out of four people make up 75% of the total population

Gonzo42
Explorer
Explorer
For want of a nail....

Spend some time on close inspection first. I consider that the first rule of troubleshooting - LOOK AT IT. If you have to spend some money, consider it cheap insurance. If a failure occurs while under way, Murphy's Law clearly says it will happen at the worst time and location. Don't take the risk.
MOTHER SHIP Winnebago View 24H (2007 Dodge Sprinter 3500 Chassis, 2008 Body)3.0 L M-B Diesel V6 bought used with 24K miles. Toad: ROCKY the Flying Squirrel.

BenK
Explorer
Explorer
Ditto...fix it or replace

Connectors of this type are designed to mate repeatedly

First check out if there is something 'in' there, or worn bit of plastic

If me, I'd replace as DE and others recommends. If you are not handy
in this area, then any trailer/UHaul/etc can also do the replacement

On this type of thing, I'd not spare pennies and get the better one.
They all have have the same form factor, as that is an industry standard
-Ben Picture of my rig
1996 GMC SLT Suburban 3/4 ton K3500/7.4L/4:1/+150Kmiles orig owner...
1980 Chevy Silverado C10/long bed/"BUILT" 5.7L/3:73/1 ton helper springs/+329Kmiles, bought it from dad...
1998 Mazda B2500 (1/2 ton) pickup, 2nd owner...
Praise Dyno Brake equiped and all have "nose bleed" braking!
Previous trucks/offroaders: 40's Jeep restored in mid 60's / 69 DuneBuggy (approx +1K lb: VW pan/200hpCorvair: eng, cam, dual carb'w velocity stacks'n 18" runners, 4spd transaxle) made myself from ground up / 1970 Toyota FJ40 / 1973 K5 Blazer (2dr Tahoe, 1 ton axles front/rear, +255K miles when sold it)...
Sold the boat (looking for another): Trophy with twin 150's...
51 cylinders in household, what's yours?...

D_E_Bishop
Explorer
Explorer
I have to agree with donn0128, fix it or replace it. No one has suggested fixing it, so I will. Take the vehicle socket(male)and disconnect it from the vehicle and the cable, then take the cable plug(female) and disconnect it from the trailer. Now sit down at your work bench or any well lit place and plug the two parts together and try and observe where the problem is. Often it is a lousy casting or a socket or maybe a foreign object in one of the sockets in the trailer plug. There is something wrong with one of the two mating parts. If your truck came with the seven wire connector and the trailer with another brand, could be they weren't meant to mate.

And yes in my 60 years working mostly in the electrical field, I have run across this problem more than once where there is no "Written Standard" like the NEC. Even in the four wire flat connectors, there is a huge difference in plug ends.

I'd take both ends to NAPA or U-Haul or some company that has several makes of connectors and try and mate up one of the connectors to a new one. It may require spending some of your hard earned money but those bungies cords or what ever it is you jerry rig your connection weren't free.

By the way we're talking about less than twenty dollars and in most cases less than ten.
"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to go". R. L. Stevenson

David Bishop
2002 Winnebago Adventurer 32V
2009 GMC Canyon
Roadmaster 5000
BrakeBuddy Classic II

donn0128
Explorer II
Explorer II
I just see no reason to micky mouse things when there are safe plausable ways of doing things. If you choose to do something unsafe and put yourself at risk, go ahead. Just let the rest of us know what roads you will be on so we can avoid them when your there. Have you ever had the umbelicable cord come loose and had to panic stop with only the TV service brakes?