Gooseneck wiring

It is best to put a electric plug in the bed of the truck?
Ive got the factory one on the bumper. Would you use that to hook up the lights for the gooseneck or add another plug?
I doubt that i will pull a gooseneck trailer over 4 or so times a year
Thanks
 
I use the factory one on the bumper. I only tow mine 10 times a year or so. If using a lot, I?d likely opt for one in the box.
 
(quoted from post at 05:46:23 02/03/19)
I just drop my plug under the tailgate and plug it in.

I used to do it that way. Apparently my trailer has more of a pigtail than it needs because somehow all of the excess found its way over the tailgate and there was enough that it almost was dragging on the road. That is what convinced me to install a second plug inside the box.
 
(quoted from post at 08:12:32 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 05:46:23 02/03/19)
I just drop my plug under the tailgate and plug it in.

I used to do it that way. Apparently my trailer has more of a pigtail than it needs because somehow all of the excess found its way over the tailgate and there was enough that it almost was dragging on the road. That is what convinced me to install a second plug inside the box.

Rusty, if you look at my post again you will see that I said that it goes UNDER the tailgate, which clamps it firmly and in twelve years it has never moved a mm.
 
I like a bunch of the other poster only use a gooseneck maybe 6/8 times a year so I use the truck connection under the bumper but here is what I do. Hook the trailer up and plug in the lights, then take a small hose clamp and clamp a 24 inch rubber tarp strap about 3 foot back on the wire then make a place there in the middle of the neck right over the bumper and fasten the other end. That lets the wire go in either direction and still keeps it from getting down and jerked out by the trailer hitch or something else, may take a little playing to get it right but sure makes for peace of mind.
 
(quoted from post at 11:29:07 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 08:12:32 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 05:46:23 02/03/19)
I just drop my plug under the tailgate and plug it in.

I used to do it that way. Apparently my trailer has more of a pigtail than it needs because somehow all of the excess found its way over the tailgate and there was enough that it almost was dragging on the road. That is what convinced me to install a second plug inside the box.

Rusty, if you look at my post again you will see that I said that it goes UNDER the tailgate, which clamps it firmly and in twelve years it has never moved a mm.

I understand that, but the male plug on mine is too big to fit through that gap.
 
(quoted from post at 15:09:28 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 11:29:07 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 08:12:32 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 05:46:23 02/03/19)
I just drop my plug under the tailgate and plug it in.

I used to do it that way. Apparently my trailer has more of a pigtail than it needs because somehow all of the excess found its way over the tailgate and there was enough that it almost was dragging on the road. That is what convinced me to install a second plug inside the box.

Rusty, if you look at my post again you will see that I said that it goes UNDER the tailgate, which clamps it firmly and in twelve years it has never moved a mm.

I understand that, but the male plug on mine is too big to fit through that gap.

my gap is only a half inch and my plug is one and a quarter. I bet that yours would go through. What do you have for a truck?
 
(quoted from post at 15:47:44 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 15:09:28 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 11:29:07 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 08:12:32 02/03/19)
(quoted from post at 05:46:23 02/03/19)
I just drop my plug under the tailgate and plug it in.

I used to do it that way. Apparently my trailer has more of a pigtail than it needs because somehow all of the excess found its way over the tailgate and there was enough that it almost was dragging on the road. That is what convinced me to install a second plug inside the box.

Rusty, if you look at my post again you will see that I said that it goes UNDER the tailgate, which clamps it firmly and in twelve years it has never moved a mm.

I understand that, but the male plug on mine is too big to fit through that gap.

my gap is only a half inch and my plug is one and a quarter. I bet that yours would go through. What do you have for a truck?

'01 Silverado, 1 ton dually.
 
I do the same thing on my bumper pull so cord doesn't drag on ground . The only thing is that I use a spring instead of a tarp strap or bungey cord. The spring has more give than a tarp strap and find the cord to soft.

cvphoto11865.jpg
 
This is what I did. After it caught the hitch and ripped off the second time, I put in a junction box and ran the new cord forward and taped it to the post. Just enough slack in the cord to plug it in so it can't drag. I run it under the tailgate as I have been told it is a violation to drape it over.
cvphoto11863.jpg


cvphoto11864.jpg
 
I pull 3 different goose neck trailers, make the cord go to the goose neck hitch. And just run it over tailgate to factory plugin. My buddies do also. That way we can plug and play.
 
I pulled ours out of the gooseneck holders so it could drop down to the rear outlet. I would fasten the slack up to the rear stack pocket tie down with a twisty tie. Keep it from dragging and it could pop free if it needed to.
 
There are easy to install kits to put the plug in the bed. Curt is one brand. They plug in between the original plug and vehicle harness. This way you have the best of both worlds. Bumper plug still works for your bumper hitch trailer and you have the box plug for your gooseneck. Plugging in the box keeps the cord safe from something yanking it out on the road or getting pinched between the trailer and top of the box.
 
(quoted from post at 22:27:47 02/05/19) There are easy to install kits to put the plug in the bed. Curt is one brand. They plug in between the original plug and vehicle harness. This way you have the best of both worlds. Bumper plug still works for your bumper hitch trailer and you have the box plug for your gooseneck. Plugging in the box keeps the cord safe from something yanking it out on the road or getting pinched between the trailer and top of the box.

Running the cord under the tailgate keeps the cord safe from something yanking it out, or getting it pinched between the trailer and top of the box without having to add a second recepticle.
 
Running the cord under the tailgate keeps the cord safe from something yanking it out, or getting it pinched between the trailer and top of the box without having to add a second recepticle.

As someone else stated earlier, the plug will not pass through the gap between the tailgate and the bed. Someone (you?) "refuted" that by stating a plug dimension that was MUCH LARGER than the gap betweeen the tailgate and bed, and that it should pass through just fine???

On an older truck you could just lift one end of the tailgate off the hinge and slip the wire past, but on a truck made in the last 10 years with power lock, and/or backup camera, and/or spring-assisted lowering, removing the tailgate is major surgery.

So how do you defy physics?
 
(quoted from post at 23:50:27 02/16/19) Running the cord between the tailgate and box isn't convenient and looks like a hack job...

Well, it is very convenient for me and nobody can even see it down there, so it cannot possibly look like anything.
 
It has become pretty common around here with goose necks and fifth wheel campers to just plug the cord into the bumper plug. The wiring is already there,the brake controller is hooked up,why add to the complexity of the wiring. That is not the way I was taught, but it is the way I do it now.
 
Use the bumper plug. Wiring one in the pickup box is one more invitation for wiring trouble down the road. If you think the cord is too long tie it up somehow securely to shorten it up.
 

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