Do you disconnect the trucks tail lights?

[JaanQ]

Forgive me, I'm new to this and am trying to get my first camper, a 1997 Palomino Bronco 1500, going for next weekend.

Last night attaching the umbilical to the truck (without it being in the bed) I noticed that when say, using the turn signal at idle, the other lights dimmed a little bit. Not too bad, but still...

The camper covers the tail lights when it sits in the bed. Does anyone remove the trucks tail light bulbs so as to put less of a strain on the electrical system?

Here is a picture of the camper as she sits in a truck. My truck is identical, except it's not a dually...

 

[JacintoKid]

I've never heard of anyone doing this but that doesnt mean it won't work, however, if you haven't done it already, clean the pins on the umbilical, you may not be getting a good connection as they will corrode over time. The best thing to use is fine grit sandpaper. Also try to clean the female end as well. You might also clean the lens covers on the camper lights. Good luck

 

[brian90744]

Attach a 12Gage wire from the truck to the camper (Anywhere). Poor grounding will cause other lites to dim.
Does anyone remove the trucks tail light bulbs so as to put less of a strain on the electrical system?= NO
just FYI=brian

 

[Martyn]

Cleaning the plug and socket on the camper hook up should help matters. There should be a ground cable in the wiring. Make sure it has a good ground either to the truck battery or the chassis. The positive wire should be fused to the truck battery. Make sure it is tight, clean, and free of corrosion. Identify the wire for the lights on the truck side and follow it back to where it picks up the truck lights. Make sure the connection is good, tight and clean.

Next step would be to check the wiring for the lights in the camper, make sure the connections are clean and tight. Make sure all the grounds are clean and tight. Lights should perform better, if they don't you have more serious wiring problems.

 

[JaanQ]

Thank you everyone. I've heard of people disconnecting the reverse lights because they reflect into the mirrors so I thought maybe other people had disconnected the other lights...but I found out what my problem was, and you were all right on the money.

I have a 3/4 ton that has a pigtail already available from the factory, so I went to Campers Inn and got a brand new receptacle for the cable. Installed it clean, soldered and heat shrank the wires, with dual wall heat shrink, went through the umbilical, made sure every connection was clean and tight, did the same for the receptacle in the camper itself. Oh yeah, replaced all the bulbs with identical new ones just for good measure.

Turns out, the ground was bad...inside the brand new receptacle I bought. It was badly crimped. It was good enough to show continuity but really was only connected by a couple of strands of wire.

SIGH Well, at least I know all the connections are as good as they can be now lol