Learn from my mistake and don’t forget electrical connection maintenance. There are many things to maintain on your RV and tow vehicle. Sometimes you’re not even aware of items that need attention. One thing that is often overlooked is the electrical connection between your RV and tow vehicle.
Why Electrical Connection Maintenance is Necessary
The electrical connection between your tow vehicle and your RV naturally corrodes over time causing a weak connection.
When this connection becomes dirty and corroded, it can present itself in different ways. You may have lights that don’t work properly, your tow vehicle may not recognize your trailer when you plug it in, among other problems. This can all be caused by an inconsistent flow of energy through the connection.
A while back I was getting a warning light on my truck dash alerting me that my trailer lights were throwing a fault message. It’s worth a try to spend a few minutes cleaning the connections before you try other more expensive solutions. Better yet, perform this electrical connection maintenance every few months to avoid these problems altogether.
After doing a little research I decided the problem could be the electrical connection between the truck and trailer. The connections can get corroded over time and need to be cleaned. That was something I had never thought about.
This is what the female end of my trailer connection looks like. The bright, shiny copper turns dull and dirty looking and needs to be cleaned. There are several styles of connectors so take a look at yours and see what you might need to clean it up.
How To Clean The Connection
There are lots of methods for cleaning these but I opted for a straightforward approach. I used this cleaning kit meant for all types of connectors along with some cotton swabs followed by dielectric grease as a preventative.
As you clean the connection use compressed air to blow the debris out and the dielectric grease will help protect your connections from further corrosion.
Once I cleaned those connections, the error message I was getting stopped. Make sure you take a look at your electrical connection before your next trip and routinely maintain these connections.
You may also like, My Travel Trailer Checklist For Safety and Peace of Mind.
My Travel Trailer Checklist For Safety and Peace of Mind
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Thank you once again for this important piece of information. It’s always the little things one needs to care for.
Terri,
Thank you! I often wonder what other things I should be doing but don’t know about.
Juley