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  1. #1
    Left The Driveway
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    So embarassed...

    New owner of a XLS 23BHE (first camper). Towing with a 2018 Silverado 1500 High Country.

    Signing paperwork for the camper while the techs throw on the Equalizer WDH. Little old man gives us a walk through of the camper.

    Shake hands, smiles, and wife and I begin our journey home (about a hour away). I tested trailer brakes several times on the trip, everything checks out. Get home...park camper in the driveway. All is well.

    Fast forward to a week later on our maiden voyage. Hook the camper up to the truck, plug in the 7 pin, and see a small spark come out of the hitch pin lock area. Didn't think much of it, made a call to my father and he said it could have been static electricity or some other small fluke. So we head out. Notice that my trailer brakes seem to be lagging a bit. Get up on the interstate going about 45 mph and squeeze the brake controls. Nothing. The trip is mostly flat so we continue on. I call the dealership (the salesman) while in route and tell him what's going on, he asks us to bring the camper back to him when we get time.

    Camping trip to KOA goes fine and we return home. A few days later I hook the camper up again and there's more sparks this time. Also can hear a strange clicking noise coming from an electrical box on the frame of the camper. I load the kids and wife up in the pickup and we start our journey to the dealership. Still no brakes.

    70 mph on the interstate, about 20 miles away from home...and guess what? My trailer brakes decide to work. But by "work" I mean the damn things locked up COMPLETELY. Screeching halt on the side of the interstate, smell of burnt rubber, scared the hell out of everyone. I crawl under the camper to inspect brakes, luckily the interstate was wet from a recent rain...but yup those suckers are locked down tight. I unplug the 7 pin and decide I'm gonna pull this sucker the rest of the way with no brakes, no lights, no nothing. We made it...no issues.

    The camper is at the dealership for over a week when I get a call. "We can't find anything wrong with your camper. Can you try and get your 7 pin tested on your pickup?" Sure thing....I use a friend to help me test everything out. We do find that the fuse for the trailer brakes on the truck is blown. Get it replaced. Hey...I got it figured out...awesome!

    Head back to the dealership a few days later to pick up our camper. Salesman says go hook it up and pull it around here a bit just to make sure we got it figured out. OK.

    Wife and I proceed to hook the camper up....more FREAKIN sparks from the hitch!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?! Not to mention, camper battery is almost dead and there's not enough juice to run the tongue jack. Ugh. I unhook the 7 pin and the salesman brings us a jump pack so we can run the tongue jack to get hitched. I tell him there's still sparks. He says "That is so strange I have never even heard of this." He then plugs in the 7 pin to the truck to see the sparks for himself....

    That's when I knew.

    All this time. 3 separate "trips". I had been plugging in my 7 pin to the pickup...upside down. The receptacle on the pickup was so worn out it was actually allowing me to do so (yes I know there's a groove and it's only supposed to go in one way). I felt two inches tall.

    My wife noticed it too. I thought about just not telling the salesman but my soft heart got the better of me. Stood right there in the lot of the dealership and I said these exact words to the guy:

    "Now...Eric. I want you to remember two things. Number one, I bought a $25k camper from you. Number two, you are making good commission off of this camper." (I said it with a straight face and Eric facial expression turns into one where he thinks he's about to get yelled at.)

    "With those things in mind, I want you to know that I've been hooking this damn 7 pin upside down...and I'm the biggest idiot you've ever met."

    Laughs. A feeling of relief that I got my "issue" resolved.

    Don't be like me, please. Please.

  2. #2
    Rolling Along
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    It's a good story with a happy ending. Glad nothing went really bad on your journey.
    Charles and Susan
    2021 Ram 3500 Laramie, 6.4 Hemi, 4x4 CCSB
    2021 337rls w/ Andersen hitch.

  3. #3
    Seasoned Camper jh.xsnrg's Avatar
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    Jun 2018
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    Iowa
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    Welcome to camping, and nice job telling the story. Glad nothing worse happened.
    2019 F350 6.7L PS SRW CCSB Platinum
    2021 28BH with theater seating and 2nd AC
    2019 Imagine 2400BH w/solar (sold)
    https://rolling.howardweb.info/

  4. #4
    Long Hauler DaveMatthewsBand's Avatar
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    Oct 2017
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    So embarassed...

    Quote Originally Posted by sargentjosh View Post
    New owner of a XLS 23BHE (first camper). Towing with a 2018 Silverado 1500 High Country.

    Signing paperwork for the camper while the techs throw on the Equalizer WDH. Little old man gives us a walk through of the camper.

    Shake hands, smiles, and wife and I begin our journey home (about a hour away). I tested trailer brakes several times on the trip, everything checks out. Get home...park camper in the driveway. All is well.

    Fast forward to a week later on our maiden voyage. Hook the camper up to the truck, plug in the 7 pin, and see a small spark come out of the hitch pin lock area. Didn't think much of it, made a call to my father and he said it could have been static electricity or some other small fluke. So we head out. Notice that my trailer brakes seem to be lagging a bit. Get up on the interstate going about 45 mph and squeeze the brake controls. Nothing. The trip is mostly flat so we continue on. I call the dealership (the salesman) while in route and tell him what's going on, he asks us to bring the camper back to him when we get time.

    Camping trip to KOA goes fine and we return home. A few days later I hook the camper up again and there's more sparks this time. Also can hear a strange clicking noise coming from an electrical box on the frame of the camper. I load the kids and wife up in the pickup and we start our journey to the dealership. Still no brakes.

    70 mph on the interstate, about 20 miles away from home...and guess what? My trailer brakes decide to work. But by "work" I mean the damn things locked up COMPLETELY. Screeching halt on the side of the interstate, smell of burnt rubber, scared the hell out of everyone. I crawl under the camper to inspect brakes, luckily the interstate was wet from a recent rain...but yup those suckers are locked down tight. I unplug the 7 pin and decide I'm gonna pull this sucker the rest of the way with no brakes, no lights, no nothing. We made it...no issues.

    The camper is at the dealership for over a week when I get a call. "We can't find anything wrong with your camper. Can you try and get your 7 pin tested on your pickup?" Sure thing....I use a friend to help me test everything out. We do find that the fuse for the trailer brakes on the truck is blown. Get it replaced. Hey...I got it figured out...awesome!

    Head back to the dealership a few days later to pick up our camper. Salesman says go hook it up and pull it around here a bit just to make sure we got it figured out. OK.

    Wife and I proceed to hook the camper up....more FREAKIN sparks from the hitch!!! WHAT THE HELL?!?! Not to mention, camper battery is almost dead and there's not enough juice to run the tongue jack. Ugh. I unhook the 7 pin and the salesman brings us a jump pack so we can run the tongue jack to get hitched. I tell him there's still sparks. He says "That is so strange I have never even heard of this." He then plugs in the 7 pin to the truck to see the sparks for himself....

    That's when I knew.

    All this time. 3 separate "trips". I had been plugging in my 7 pin to the pickup...upside down. The receptacle on the pickup was so worn out it was actually allowing me to do so (yes I know there's a groove and it's only supposed to go in one way). I felt two inches tall.

    My wife noticed it too. I thought about just not telling the salesman but my soft heart got the better of me. Stood right there in the lot of the dealership and I said these exact words to the guy:

    "Now...Eric. I want you to remember two things. Number one, I bought a $25k camper from you. Number two, you are making good commission off of this camper." (I said it with a straight face and Eric facial expression turns into one where he thinks he's about to get yelled at.)

    "With those things in mind, I want you to know that I've been hooking this damn 7 pin upside down...and I'm the biggest idiot you've ever met."

    Laughs. A feeling of relief that I got my "issue" resolved.

    Don't be like me, please. Please.
    I don’t understand how a 7-pin connector could possibly be “worn out” that much on a 2 year old truck.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by DaveMatthewsBand; 05-28-2020 at 11:33 AM. Reason: I smell BS
    Resistance is Not Futile, It's Voltage Divided by Current.


  5. #5
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    I'm confused how you were able to hook it up. There is a lug on the connector that prevents it from being hooked up wrong.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
    2023 Ford F-450

    SOLD - 2021 Reflection 311BHS
    SOLD - 2017 Momentum 399TH

  6. #6
    Fireside Member PHMadness's Avatar
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    Jun 2019
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    Sorry. None of this holds water.

  7. #7
    Left The Driveway
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    Ok Ok Ok boys...settle down. And for the record, it'll hold way more water than that goofy cowboy hat you're wearing (which is alot). If you'd like to make a trip up here to Wyoming, I'll show you how the 7 pin was plugged in upside down...and done numerous times.

  8. #8
    Site Sponsor JCR GD's Avatar
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    Time for a new receptacle!
    Jim (& Sharon)
    2015 GD Momentum 385TH - SOLD
    For Sale - 2015 Ford F-350 DRW 4x4 Lariat w/ AirLift bags, Titan 65 gal. OEM replacement fuel tank.
    The toy:
    2017 RZR XP 1000 EPS SE

  9. #9
    Rolling Along vonzoog's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by FT4NOW View Post
    I'm confused how you were able to hook it up. There is a lug on the connector that prevents it from being hooked up wrong.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    He did say it is a Chevy. Sorry....you opened the door, Couldn't resist. Still a good story.
    2018 Momentum 376TH
    2016 RAM 3500 Dually

  10. #10
    Left The Driveway
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    I take it you didn't check the lights before you got out on the road?

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