[yoblount]

I don't have the luxury of a pickup truck, nor do I want to waste money on gas, insurance, and registration of another vehicle that will not be used regularly.
So that left me thinking "why not just get a trailer for those times I need to haul something?" By "those times I need to haul something..." I mean the times when you want to take the Lawn mower in for service, or you buy a new washer/dryer.

I know there will be someone that says "I would never tow with my BMW" or "Get a truck/SUV!" -- If you are going to post anything along those lines, please just click the Back button in your web browser...


Hitch from etrailer.com
- Curt model # C11033

Wiring kit from Amazon
-Hopkins 46255 Powered Taillight Converter

Trailer from local hardware store (Lowes)
-4'x6' Wire Mesh Utility Trailer with Ramp Gate


The hitch just bolts on - no drilling or cutting.

The tail light converter taps into 4 wires - Parking light, brake light, right turn signal, left turn signal. Since it gets power from the battery directly to car does not throw any bulb out codes. (Note: This converter does not communicate with the car so it does not go into "tow mode.")

Here's how I wired the converter with my pre-lci tail lights:

Remove the left tail light access panel inside the trunk.
-Use wire tap to connect BROWN wire of converter and GRAY/VIOLET wire of left tail light. This is the parking light

-Use wire tap to connect YELLOW wire of converter and BLUE/GREEN wire of left tail light. This is the left blinker.

-Use wire tap to connect RED wire of converter and BLACK/YELLOW wire of left tail light. This is the brake light.

-Cut away about a half inch of insulation from the GREEN wire of the converter and extend the length of this wire a little more than 4 feet. I had a spool of 16-gauge power wire laying around so I used that.

- Remove battery access panel to expose the battery and right tail light. Also remove the brace/bracket above the battery.

-Run GREEN, RED, and WHITE wires behind trunk liner and rout under the bottom trunk seal to the right side of the trunk. Feed the three wires behind the trunk liner and into the battery compartment.



-Use wire tap to connect GREEN wire of converter and BLUE/BROWN wires of right tail light. This is the right turn signal.

-Disconnect negative battery terminal.

-Crimp RED wire of converter and the provided inline fuse together. Connect this wire to the positive battery terminal.

-Re-install the battery bracket and connect the WHITE wire of the converter to the top screw and tighten it back into place. This is the ground.
(I did not want to drill a hole in the body of my car like the converter's instructions advised to do)

-Connect the negative battery terminal.



Here are the wiring diagrams I used for the tail lights -

[yoblount]

Here are some pictures of my car and trailer.

My grandmother wanted to replace one of her old swamp coolers that was nearly rusted through so we went to the local home improvement store to see what they had in stock. She found one that she liked but there was no way it would fit into either one of our cars... Oh wait, I've got a small trailer! I loaded up the new swamp cooler, hauled it over to her house and installed it.

My grandmother gave the old unit to me. I slapped some casters on it and now use it as a portable A/C for the garage.

[RioGrandeValley]

Thx for sharing this very creative and works. Buddy of mine did similar on his Cayman S. Uses the small trailer to tow his tires to/from track. No sense spending money on a truck.

Tomato