LOL.... Trailer lights. I struggled with lights and wiring on trailers for many years. I finally went with a whole new system right from the start with a used trailer. The other issue was springs and rollers. In my case I was dealing with salt water. I finally switched to an aluminum trailer, SS hardware, torsion suspension. It was a blessing to help deal with saltwater environment conditions. Boats.... lol.... love'm or leave'm
Being a used boat buyer; and seeing this brings back not so fond memories of the happiness of and frustrations of being a boat owner. Most used boats are just like yours. Mine was worse than yours so far. I worked on my boat more than I went fishing the first year I had it. Tires, wheel bearing, lights, boat bunks, safety chains were just part of the joy of boat ownership. No one tells you about these little unmentioned parts of fishing boats. 😅😂😄✨😱✨
And because most don't mention these fun jobs is exactly why I did this video. I want everyone to know just how much actually goes into fixing up an old boat!
Another great video. I was so glad to hear you talk about soldering the connections at the end. A good soldered connection with double heat strink will last a long time. Also the best wire to use is the stuff that they use on transport trailers. It looks like black extension cord. They sell it at automotive suppliers. And one last tip, run a ground wire to each light. Don't rely on the frame of the trailer. It causes issues over the years. I believe this to be the best. Happy fishing 🎣 😀
Having owned a doez+ trailers over the last 20 or so years, I can feel your pain :) These days, when I get a used trailer (especially for a boat) I just go ahead and pull all the old wiring and start over... Even trailer I have bought new eventually develop issues, between driving country roads, snow/ice/ road salt/ vibrations etc. Another good tip/ trick is to get a kit that includes a junction box you can mount mid trailer. This makes sorting out issues and making repairs easier by being able to seperate out (test) circuits. Hope this helps someone!
Well your making progress, and thats what its about. Glad to see its coming together and before ya know it, it will be finished, at least till something else goes bad. But thats the joyt of owning a boat...you never run out of things to do....God Bless and have a good week.
As others have said “I can feel your pain”, however with a good solid understanding of electricity, proper wiring techniques, tools, connectors etc, it can be very rewarding experience in the end. I love using high quality crimp type connectors “marine type” that you crimp and shrink, these also contain a sealant inside that flows out when shrunk, thus sealing out water completely. Unfortunately these type connects usually can’t be found at common hardware stores “at least where I live.” My other favorite method would be a quality crimp butt type connector with shrink tubing over it that has this same type sealant in it, or better yet, twisted & soldered wires with shrink tubing over the connection. Some crimp connectors also are designed for a double crimp, one on the wire connect portion, and the other crimp being on a special skirt section on end that acts as a strain relief boot. For multi-wire connects with wire nuts, they have wire nuts with a waterproof silicone jell inside them. Also if one must use electrical tape, there is in my opinion no substitute for 3M brand tape, such as Super 33. One can even coat the electrical tape with pvc cement to partially dissolve the tape together so it wont ever unravel. I have even caulked standard wire nuts after twisting with clear 100% silicone rubber for great under water performance. I also tend to believe that the total less connections you have to make in a functional circuit, the less potential failure points you have. I think it’s safe to say that anyone that has done a lot of wiring, would also likely agree that not all crimp connectors are created equal. Some connectors are just plain garbage, and the same goes for the crimpers being used. I have also found that some crimper pliers and connectors just don’t crimp/work well together, even with proper gauge wire. Also common type crimp connects are designed for joining stranded wire only. I have never cared much for using Scotch Locks in the past, as I have found that wire insulation thickness can vary wire, causing improper cut-in and wire bonding. Yes Scotch Locks can work in a pinch and quickly if your wire likes them. But as you correctly mentioned Tom, the common type are not waterproof, and require tape or shrink tubing to offer some water protection, and to hold them together if the latches were to snap off with brittleness. Good luck Tom, I hope you get your boat in the water soon & do some fishing. God bless 😎👍
Mike it sounds like you know a lot more about connectors than myself! And the marine grade connectors aren't available locally here either but if I went anywhere near salt water that's what I would have used. But I'm just fishing in fresh water so hopefully these will hold up for awhile?
@@TomRiverSimpleLiving Thanks for the reply. You did a great job with what materials you had on hand without question. I’m sure things will work just fine. I always try to share in what I’ve learned in past 35 years with electronics and wiring with others. I genuinely respect and care for others such as yourself Tom, and your intelligent subscribers that love to learn. Life is a continuous and fun learning experience. I thank you Tom for sharing your knowledge with others and myself through your channel. I appreciate everything you have taught and shared in the past, it has been an absolute pleasure learning from you my good friend. Take care & God bless ✌️😎👍
I have to do that too. I didn't like it the first time I had to. I like the music too. The tune sounds a bit like "Down home Girl" by Old Crow Medicine Show.
I got lucky on the music. RU-vid actually has a music library that I just found where creators can use the music there with no copy write issues and that just seemed fitting. And figured wiring a trailer isn't the most exciting thing so I had better add a little music to make that video bearable! LOL
Tom, I like ya buddy. Love the videos. I gotta call you out on this one tho. Wire nuts and splicers on a boat trailer?? You'll be lucky to get two years b4 you have problems with those lights. The only way to wire a boat trailer that will last is soldering all your connections and heat shrink. Lots of heat shrink. Take it from a guy that learned it the hard way. Look at it this way, you wouldn't treat your model 70 like that 😁
Big Daddy, I don't mind being called out when I'm wrong. And I don't remember if I mentioned it in the video but I was actually planning on soldering the connections but my old soldering iron died on me. That's why I ended going with wire nuts and tape. But since I don't do salt water that should last me a little while???
There is a magic place on a river somewhere in British Columbia (that's as much info as you get about location) where fly fishing for seriously big rainbow trout is as good as it gets... anywhere. Perhaps one reason it isn't all that crowded when we get there is that you have to travel about 120 miles over what might be the worst gravel roads on the planet. Vehicles and boat trailers take a terrible beating. You have to budget for at least one ruined tire per trip, both vehicle and trailer. Trailer wheel bearings have been known to fail with one trip. Once, one of the vehicles blew two tires... at the same time. My trailer for my aluminum boat gets bounced up and down, plus a fair bit of sideways. I count on having to repair the wiring roughly every year. I redo the lights and wiring about every five years. No matter how skookum I do the wiring, it is no match for the forces of nature. I do recall one year (and only one) where we got in and out without a single mechanical issue, so hope springs eternal. And yes, it's worth it. Between the pristine beauty, listening to rain fall on a tin roof at night, wilderness cooking and casting flies over pure, clean cold water for majestic rainbows, what's a little time doing some work on the trailer?
Stephen, I think you just came up with a universal human truth there, the tougher the journey the better the destination. We used to have some really special remote isolated places but it seems like the population of the whole south east has exploded and now those places are gone. I had a really nice stretch of trout river a couple of hours north west of me (nothing like you're talking about but it was nice). The last time I was there the small primitive camp ground (4 spots) that I used to camp at had been turned into a full fledged hippie commune, and I'm not exaggerating on that. The national forest restrooms in the area (very small isolated primitive restrooms) literally had signs saying people couldn't live there. 20 years ago I would have never seen another soul in that area. There were houses in the back ground on the local lake where I first carried my boat out to see how it was going to run. Where those houses were was all old forest with not a single house the last time I was there. That whole lake (12,000 acres) has now been developed from the damn to the tributaries and there literally are no lots left on it. I just can't believe the population growth here with so many yankees leaving the north east. The places like you described are pretty much gone here and just a thing of the past. Even the coastal swamps and waterways. The east coat has pretty much become like Great Britain where decent hunting and fishing are things reserved for the rich that can afford the land and keep everyone else out. Treasure what you have there my friend because those place now only exist as memories for me. Now on a more positive note, I have been watching a channel called Wild Fly Productions. I don't know if you have seen them but it's a channel you might like? The first video I saw from them (Norther Natives) they were fishing in Canada for Bull Trout and that looked like a lot of fun! And they only fly fish. I have been watching them mainly because I have been so impressed with how well their videos are made but also because there is just something special about fly fishing.
I'm going to watch that slowly and duplicate it as much as possible when I re-do mine again. A lot of work to do before, though on the deck and carpet. Oh, and 25 MPH winds in my 83 Alumacraft 17 ft Super Bandit...I call that a hurricane on Weiss Lake. Having been caught in a summer Thunderstorm once was my last lesson. Faster motor and I'd have missed it.
LOL a faster motor would have just gotten you further down the lake before you realized what was coming! And yes I've been there before myself and it's not a bit of fun! And it's funny but we seem to be work at this from opposite directions. I plan on redoing my deck and carpet this summer, and modifying the rod box. My kayak stores rods better than this box. And hopefully we both end up in the same place which is 2 boats ready for some serious fishing!
@Tom River - Simple Living An alternative is fill wire nut with thick Dielectric grease and tape up good. Also they make the heat sealed butt connectors with different sizes on same connector so you can put 2 wires in one side one in the other, or use a larger size to join 4 wires with 2 going into each side.
Ken, I had to laugh when I read your comment because I was planning on soldering the connections but my iron went out right when I started and I needed to get this done. I'm also just using this boat in freshwater so the wire nuts should be fine for years, but salt water would be a different story.
It certainly isn't. The funny thing is after all of these years I can finally afford the parts and I know what do but I don't particularly feel like doing it any more! LOL A little age certainly comes with it's own ironies.
