Trailer help needed - hatchery/brooder house

[jenjscott]

Does anyone know what size hitch is standard on a camper? I am supposed to go up to Little Rock today to pick up an old 20 ft camper to convert to a hatchery/brood house. I should have room for all my incubators/hatchers and room to build brooders and store extra equipment. And if the water comes up in the spring, all I have to do is hook up and haul it out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are two standard sizes for the balls, 1-7/8" and 2". It's worth a call to find out which they have. I have both sizes and can switch them out pretty quickly with channel locks.

You might also talk to them about the electrical (brakes, signals) hook-up. I thought they were standard until I went to pick up a trailer. I had to go get a conversion kit. The 4-wire are more common but wouldn't you know it, somebody had a 5-wire on their trailer. Hopefully your luck is better than mine.

 

[Lollipop]

I agree you should call and find out. My 24` enclosed cargo trailer uses a 2 5/16 hitch ball, which is also a standard size for heavier applications. You should also inquire about the condition of the tires and plan on a slow trip home. Borrowing a spare and a jack/lug wrench is also recommended. Good luck......Pop

 

[jenjscott]

Thanks, folks, I will call on the way up and can stop in LR to pick up anything I need. Keeping my fingers crossed that I don't meet "murphy".

 

[muddstopper]

There is a good chance a 20ft camper will have a 2in ball hitch. As otherss have said, You need to be prepared for flat tires, lights/brakes not working, etc. As for connectors, for a camper, it should have the 7pole flatprong rv connector. This is a round connector that uses flat blades instead of round pins for the hookup.. There are two different standards for wiring of these type plugs. Here is a link you should print out and take with you incase you need some wireing help. 9 times out of 10, sometime or other someone has forgot to unplug the wireing connector when unhooking from a camper and have pulled the wires out of the connector.
http://rvbasics.com/techtips/rv-travel-trailer-plug-wiring.html
9 times out of 10, sometime or other someone has forgot to unplug the wireing connector when unhooking from a camper and have pulled the wires out of the connector. To make matters worse, the person rewireing the connector doesnt have a clue as to how it is really supposed to work and therefore wires it wrong. The pics in the link will show you the correct way to wire the connector to the trailer, or to your truck, which ever the case maybe.

 

[jenjscott]

Well, I finally made it back home. The tires were good, just needed a little air, and thankfully the folks had a compressor. The electrical didn't even have a plug on it, not sure if thoses lights would have worked anyway. I bought a set of magnetic tail lights and stuck them to the back bumper plus ran a pull tie around them. I had to connect some extra wire to reach the back of the truck, which had a 4 wire connector. I guess it was good enough, I made it home without getting stopped and without getting tail ended. I bookmarked that wiring diagram page, I may need it . The trailer is in pretty rough shape, but my daughter says, "Mom, its for chickens!"