Nantucket - Monday July 26, 2010
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Trips:
Nantucket Trip August, 2005
Nantucket Trip August, 2007
Nantucket Trip August, 2008
The plan for today is/was to install a back up camera, trailer wiring & trailer brake controller in the RAV4. One would think that if one ordered a trailer package option on a RAV4 that it would include the wiring to connect a trailer, or even a hitch. Nope - Toyota gives you a larger alternator, a transmission cooler, larger radiator, but only what they call "trailer prep" which, as far as I can figure, it to label a space for a 30 amp trailer fuse in one of the 3 fuse blocks in the car. You need to buy a $150.00 wiring kit, add a hitch (Toyota only sells a class 2 which won't work with an Equalizer hitch) and spend a couple of hours tearing apart the left side paneling to run the harness from the rear to the connection under the dash.
And don't get me started on the under dash connection. It is almost impossible to get at and there are empty spaces for connectors within easy reach 6" away. I would have had Toyota do the installation, but I need a brake controller since the trailer is over 1000 lbs. Since the trailer package gives the RAV4 a towing rating of 3500 lbs, they should have also included pre wiring for a brake controller like most trucks. Since Toyota will not install any hardware they don't make, and they don't make a brake controller, I figured I might as well run the trailer harness at the same time as the camera & brake wiring. After starting the process, I'm not sure that was the right decision. They must have smaller, more agile mechanics at Toyota - I sure don't fit under the dash as well as I used to! Oh well, what better way to spend a sunny day on Nantucket!
I didn't finish the job, so I will probably put in at least another day. The back up camera is in, the trailer harness run (except for the final connection). Tomorrow I hope to finish. Don & Anne didn't make it today, but they did finish the pool, or at least got it enclosed enough to be legal. They are coming tomorrow.
Since I had a sandwich for lunch, I think we will just do snacks for dinner. It gets a little confusion around here since I usually don't eat lunch and David usually doesn't eat dinner.
Till tomorrow.
Back to Jon Vermilye's Photo Page
Other
Trips:
Nantucket Trip August, 2005
Nantucket Trip August, 2007
Nantucket Trip August, 2008