2017-2018 Lance Bed Plug Location

[BradW]

Anyone have any photos of where they installed the Lance bed plug receptacle in their 2017 or 2018 F-350?

Thanks,
Brad

[MiniAdventures]

BradW wrote:

MiniAdventures wrote:
My experience has been that the 12v option on the
frig does not work very well, anyway.

The Dometic in our Lance has worked great on 12V for 22 years except for the large draw on the battery. We had problem with the gas side. Could not keep the pilot lit over about 40 mph. I tried all the "fixes" back in the 90's; nothing fixed it. 🙂

Brad

Glad it worked for you. The 'drain' on the battery you mention was one we found out about the hard way. That, coupled with the fact that the cooling was nowhere near as good as with AC or propane for us, was why we stopped using it on DC. We did have some success with a 'filter' attached over the external exhaust panel when on propane, but I did not like the idea of running on propane at 70 mph. :E

[BradW]

I've never seen the bed plug mounted in the front spacer board. I like that idea. I'm not sure if I will end up needing a spacer board or not. We have one currently on our 2006 F350; otherwise the camper would contact the truck taillights.

Thanks for posting,
Brad

[NRALIFR]

Brad on my previous trucks that were all bought used, I didn’t even hesitate to take a hole saw to the bed and mount the plug where it was most convenient for me. For some reason though, I just couldn’t cut a hole in my brand new 2016 truck. I know Ford made some major changes to the Superduties in 2017, but hopefully this detail hasn’t changed.

On the front wall of the bed, there are a couple of holes with plastic plugs in them. I used the one on the driver side as a pass-through hole for the camper plug wires.



I also needed a 2.5” spacer at the front of the bed to keep my the camper from touching the truck taillights, and I was installing 4 awg wires to the truck batteries at the same time. That’s why I have the board at the front, and the two plugs mounted in a plastic box.



The two 12 volt wires are in the big 2-pin Pollak plug, and the marker lights, brake/turn signals, and backup lights are in the smaller 4-pin plug. I spliced those four wires into the 5th wheel plug at the rear of the bed.



:):)

[jaycocreek]

The extension will solve all your problems.The guy I bought TC from had Gall Boats and RV in Missoula make him one for his Dodge dually.Works great without having to be under the TC to plug in and I have a plug-in in the front fender well.

[Gary_Morency]

The cord I bought from Lance was 9ft long just hooked a 7 pin on the other end and plugged into the outlet at the bumper works great,no cutting into the wiring of a new truck.

[BradW]

Yep, we never did install the larger 8 ga wire to the truck battery. So when we ran our frig on 12V on the highway, the camper battery would be pretty much dead if we drove over 8 hours.

[Freep]

BradW wrote:


The Dometic in our Lance has worked great on 12V for 22 years except for the large draw on the battery. We had problem with the gas side. Could not keep the pilot lit over about 40 mph. I tried all the "fixes" back in the 90's; nothing fixed it. 🙂

Brad

We have the same issue, which is why I bit the bullet and had the correct bed plug and proper wiring installed on our truck. Since then I always use DC when driving and gas or AC when stationary.

An added benefit is the battery charges faster now.

[BradW]

MiniAdventures wrote:
My experience has been that the 12v option on the
frig does not work very well, anyway.

The Dometic in our Lance has worked great on 12V for 22 years except for the large draw on the battery. We had problem with the gas side. Could not keep the pilot lit over about 40 mph. I tried all the "fixes" back in the 90's; nothing fixed it. 🙂

Brad

[MiniAdventures]

My experience has been that the 12v option on the
frig does not work very well, anyway.

[BradW]

The fridge in our new Lance is a 2-way frig, which I assume does not have 12V operation.

[Freep]

I don't have a Ford. But I installed the receptacle low on the driver side bed wall near the cab. I do have to stop during loading and unloading to plug/unplug.

Make sure you use the right gauge wire. This is vital. I used an adapter for a while to use the factory receptacle, but it couldn't handle the electrical load to run the fridge on DC during travel.

If I had to do it over, I might locate it directly behind the driver and low.

[BradW]

For me, it really would be easier than the Y-connection extension because we ordered our truck with the 5th wheel plug already in the truck bed. I could just make a 5' extension which plugs in there. But then I would have a good reason to hole saw a big hole in my truck bed.....and I do so like cutting holes in a brand new truck. 🙂 🙂 🙂

[bikepsych]

I just got an extension and run it to the trailer connection. Prior to loading I can lift the extension out of the bed of the truck after lining the truck up under the camper so as to not pinch it. Have about 20,000 miles that way so far. I did pull a motorcycle trailer with the camper on and since Ford thoughtfully put both the 4 pin square and the round 7 pin next to each other, it worked out great! If I get a bigger trailer with brakes, then I'll have to get the "Y" connector.


Bruce

[Dome]

Seems to me you could make your own Y adapter . Order what you need and you should be able to make your self what you need.