Lance Bed Plug Location in 2017-2019 SuperDuty?

For reference, the blue plug is oriented correctly with the Pollack plug. For example, the one large connector at 7 o'clock on the blue plug matches up with the (-) negative terminal at 7 o'clock on the Pollack plug.

bradw

OK, my plug is going here.

Ain't nothing like the thrill of drilling 1-3/8" hole in a new $60k truck! :)

bradw

The "class K" 8 awg copper welding wire (161 strands of 30awg) I used to rewire my jack controller inside the TC has a resistance (R) of 0.000772 ohms per foot.

Doesn't seem like much, but when you include the overall length (L) of the circuit (positive + negative cable lengths), a voltage drop (Vd) will occur depending on the current (I) in amps.

Vd = R x L x I

Voltage (V) at my truck alternator is usually around 14.4

Voltage at bed plug (Vbp) = V - Vd

Whether this is an issue or not depends on your use. Running a "12" VDC device is usually not an issue (typical input VDC tolerance is 10.5 to 15.4) just check your device manual.

Just the voltage drop to the bed plug results in Vtc = 14.2 @ 10A; 14.0 @ 20A; 13.8 @ 30A. The final voltage drop at the batteries will be even greater, depending on the wire gauge and the length used from there to inside the TC to the batteries or device.

As the voltage drop causes the voltage at the batteries to approach the "Float" voltage, very little charging is occurring. For charging 220 Ah and larger AGM battery banks, short lengths of larger diameter wire are used to recharge the batteries in a reasonable time, while driving.

You might ask Buzzcut1 what he typically has experienced after the 3 hr drive from the Sierra, as he has the 8 awg Lance Bed Plug.

NRALIFR wrote:
That’s pretty much the way my 2016 F450 5th wheel plug was. I tapped into the clearance light, turn and brake light wires behind that plug as well. I ran my own 4 awg wires for the 12 volt charge wires going to the camper battery. The wires going to that plug are far too small to be of any use for my needs.

That's pretty much my plan, except for using 8 ga wire to the battery. I think the 8 ga wires will be about 12' long.

bradw

That’s pretty much the way my 2016 F450 5th wheel plug was. I tapped into the clearance light, turn and brake light wires behind that plug as well. I ran my own 4 awg wires for the 12 volt charge wires going to the camper battery. The wires going to that plug are far too small to be of any use for my needs.

:):)

That's interesting that the plug is just a pass through connectorish thing. Thanks for the picks BradW

Here are some photos of the factory 5th wheel plug removed.

bradw

My 2018 F350 factory 5th wheel plug is wired like this. The bed plug can be removed by removing the 2 larger hex bolts holding the bracket to the bed wall.

You can then unplug the bed plug from the wiring behind it. That wiring is actually a separate pigtail and is about 3' long. It has three plugs. One goes into the back of the 5th wheel plug. The other two plugs go into the main wiring harness along the chassis on the driver's side.

So, you can remove the pigtail and make the tie-ins without laying on your back under the truck, then reinstall it.

I have the fifth wheel prep package which puts a plug in the bed behind the drivers rear wheel. I need to crawl under there and figure where it's tied into the harness. I would like to put a plug up front too. I have a longer cord for my Arctic Fox that is easy enough to use.

depends on the truck camper, AFAIK there are no standards with campers. My first one the plug was front drivers side, current one the cable is rear drivers side so the factory 5th wheel location works well.