Which Wrangler Wiring Kit

[TheBelchers]

Statgeek, what system did you hook up your jeep with. I have a 2011 Jeep Sahara hooked up with a blue ox Aventa tow system and the patriot braking system. There are so many choices and connectors out there.

Dave And Wendy
Winnie Vista LX 35f
Jeep Sahara 2011

[TheBelchers]

and one last (probably a stupid question) but with the new wiring hooked up with the cool tech system, does this effect the existing light system when the toad is removed from the RV and driving without connection?

[RnG]

TheBelchers, I ordered the CoolTech harness Friday. Expect to see it to arrive this week. Not sure if I'll use their 4 pin round connector or buy a 6 pin round connector. Haven't yet purchased the umbilical to go from the RV to the Jeep. Thinking 7 to 6 pin in case I want to run a charge line later. I did get the Blue Ox Aventa tow bar. Still a bit undecided on a brake unit. Will check Craigs list again this week.

My understanding is that there should not be an issue with the jeeps existing system when disconnected from the RV. That is where I have had a bit of a concern on my choice of harness. In my search through this forum, I noticed a couple of people have had issues and complaints, other have not and are perfectly happy. Some of the happy people use a battery disconnect. Can't really tell if other happy people don't use the disconnect. I definitely do not want to use a disconnect.

Was hoping to get more responses from CoolTech users out there. I still have time to change to a Hopkins, but like the idea of only hooking up to the left light.

Ron

[Statgeek]

Originally Posted by TheBelchers

Statgeek, what system did you hook up your jeep with. I have a 2011 Jeep Sahara hooked up with a blue ox Aventa tow system and the patriot braking system. There are so many choices and connectors out there.



Dave And Wendy

Winnie Vista LX 35f

Jeep Sahara 2011

BlueOX Aventa, and instead of a base plate, I connect directly to my front bumper (XRC by Smittybilt). My jeep was the prototype for BlueOX to fabricate the adapters for the fairly standard front bumper Connectors.

[TheBelchers]

great set up! looks great... I installed the baseplate..(so far the easiest part of the job, haha) works great.....nice job

[CampingCajun]

I had the Cool Tech on my '03 TJ & also on my '13 JK. Easy install, no problems.

[RnG]

CampingCajun, good to hear. Do you use a brake pedal actuated braking system (like a Brake Buddy)? If so, do you let the Jeep actuated brake lights override the RV actuated lights are did you add a brake switch relay (or pull brake fuse)?

[Statgeek]

RnG--I currently am using the M&G braking system with our DP, but previously when we had a Gas Class A (in my pics above), we did use the Patriot braking system, which is the Brake Buddy but sold by Blue Ox. It is the unit that sits on the floor of the Jeep and attaches to the brake pedal, and when inertia is strong enough, it pushes in on the Jeep Brake.

So with the CoolTech LLC wiring harnes, if I hit my RV brakes gently enough so as not to require the Jeeps's Patriot brake to actuate, I would get the Jeep brake lights activated via. the wiring from RV to Jeep. The center light above my Jeep's spare tire would NOT light up, but the brake/turn signal lights do.

If I hit the brakes in the RV hard enough that the Patriot box also pushed in on the Jeep's brake pedal, this would illuminate the center brake light above the spare tire in addition to the usual brake/turn signal lights.

Hope that answers your question.

[RnG]

Thanks Statgeek -- Good to know that you didn't have an issue with the Jeep brake lights overriding the RV lights with the CoolTech harness installed. I assume that you lost turn signals also on some braking occasions. I personally don't see an issue with this since it probably doesn't happen unless there is hard braking anyway.

I just received the CoolTech harness in the mail. I like that the wires are well protected inside an outer sheath. Don't know if there are any sharp edges inside the frame where the wire bundle will be routed, so this extra protection is a good thing.

[DeeGee]

Statgeek, is the SmittyBilt bumper rated to tow with? Most bumpers are not, and although the mount points can be used for recovery, they are not strong enough for long-term towing. There are some manufacturers that do rate their bumpers for full time towing.

[Statgeek]

DeeGee- I can't speak for all makes and models, buy the D-rings on the front of my XRC are 1" thick, solid steel, and are double welded on the outside (i.e. visible) of the bumper and the inside of the bumper (where you cannot see it). The bumper bolts directly to the frame in exactly the same place as the base plate would. It is overbuilt for sure, and fully capable of this task. Is it "rated." I don't know. I don't even know if there is such a thing, or if any company is using a rating system. I'm very confident that it is every bit as strong as any base plate I have seen to date.


RnG -Jeep brake/turn signals are not either or. When I turn and brake at the same time, for example turning right, the left (non blinking) brake light stays solid lit, while the right one blinks on and off as you would expect. So as far as I can tell, the only difference between this and when I am physically driving the jeep in terms of the lighting is that the third brake light above spare tire is not lit from the RV brakes.

[DeeGee]

Sounds like you're good to go. Some bumpers are only welded on the outside, and some have surprisingly thin metal where the large D-ring attachment points are. I've seen some manufacturers explicitly state that towing was not OK.

I have a RockHard bumper on order, and it is definitely towable.

[TBray]

I have a few questions. I have a 2016 Wrangler that is earmarked for being the toad.

With the Mopar or similar harness, other than hooking up to the RV how many other steps are required before being ready to go?

Which of these systems bypass the brake lights / turn signals so that the RV is controlling them, not the brake light switch? My Wrangler doesn't have separate lamps for turn signals and brakes.

If the toad brake system needs the brake light signal, is it fairly straight forward to tie into that with these harnesses? Related, how hard is it to add a wire to charge the battery from the RV if the brake system needs DC power?

[JFNM]

With the CoolTech (and I assume Mopar but no experience) there is ZERO to do. The harness hooks into the existing harness. Nothing needs changed in tow versus drive mode - the same lights are used for both. As hard as it is to believe, once installed, everything just works - very simple and painless.