FJ Cruisers of Northern California

7 Pin Trailer Hitch Install

So, I have all the wires, brake controller, and am pretty much setup do the install. But I want to mount the 7 pin socket into my rear ARB bumper. Problem is everywhere that makes sense would force me to drill through the rear frame cross bar...which i'm not thrilled about doing. Anybody have any mounting ideas?

Right now i'm thinking underneath the rear bumper, just a PITA to plug and unplug.

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Permalink Reply by 5150 Cruiser on April 19, 2011 at 8:04pm

I installed mine in my factory rear bumper and yes, i had to drill through the factory cross member. Its really not that big a deal, you just need to make sure you drill in the right spot. This is your best bet other than putting the plug under the bumper.

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Permalink Reply by Boss73 on April 19, 2011 at 8:49pm

The rear bumper on pits old FJ ( 4x4 labs ??) they just cut out the the entire damn thing out when they did the bumper install. I think that your ok

Its good to know B has already done this..

And since this is the sort of thing he kind of does, I would say he knows what he is talking about...

(now his head is going to get big) LOL

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Permalink Reply by Ross Woody on April 22, 2011 at 8:04am

Luke replaces the Rear cross member that he cuts out. Unfortunately (for me) it prevents installing the All Pro exhaust as well as the Man-a-fre aux tank.

As for the connector -- I would suggest drilling the bumper to the right or left of the cross member if you can.

Did you use the Toyota harness? My investigation showed that you do not want to "tap" into the existing harness, as the harness is wired for the current to those lights only. The toyotat harness (about $100) includes relays to separately power the trailer lights

Now, if your trailer uses LEDs, it's probably not an issue. But incandescents will also cause the blinker relay to flash fast.

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Permalink Reply by Boss73 on April 22, 2011 at 6:55pm

Cool thanks for the correction. I knew something was cut off back there. Hehehe

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Permalink Reply by DWH on April 19, 2011 at 8:58pm

I installed a 7 pin connector and a trailer brake controller on mine. I installed the 7 pin vertically on the forward side of the rear bumper. That way it is completely tucked up out of harms way. I also made a separate 3 foot extension to connect between the vehicle connector and the trailer connector.

So far, so good.

Let me know if you need a hand. Or want to see how I did mine.

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Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on April 19, 2011 at 9:04pm

Do you happen to have the drill bit you used :-)

I may hit you up on that offer, I'll do all of the other work but could probably use a hand drilling through :-).

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Permalink Reply by DWH on April 20, 2011 at 9:40pm

I did not drill through the bumper. I mounted the connector with a bracket to the back side of the bumper.

let me know when you want to try it

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Permalink Reply by 5150 Cruiser on April 21, 2011 at 4:48pm

Hey Boss, when we goona get some beers again in Livermore? (Man its been a while!)

I believe the hole saw i used was 1-7/8". Like i said beofe, you just need to make sure you drill in the right place. There's a gap between the top of the bumper (were you step) and the frame. so you won't be able to go all the way to the top. You'll need to go a few inches below so you have a clean cut in the frame rail.

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Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on April 23, 2011 at 11:28am

So here (red dot on left) is where I am thinking of drilling for the connection, Anybody think that would be too far away? Many thanks for the input!

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Permalink Reply by PBn'FJ on April 23, 2011 at 12:30pm

I would tend to want it closer to the hitch/center of the truck but understand not wanting to lose clearance. You are going to need to run the wire to center or put a lot of slack in for when you make right turns.

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Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on April 23, 2011 at 2:25pm

Yeah I'm trying not to have to drill through the cross bar in the rear. I figure I will route the cable through the to the center and then to the trailer...crossing my fingers the trailer wire is long enough lol. I think i'll do everything but drill the hole for now ;-P

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Permalink Reply by Estysalinas on April 24, 2011 at 6:58pm

well ended up drilling through the cross-bar and it wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. I think the key is to drill a pilot hole from the rear so you can see where to center your cutout. Also you should make sure you don't cut the bottom or top of the bar (make for a more difficult install) From there the rest of it went pretty easy. Thanks all for the input!