Flat Tow Wiring for a 2008 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited

Question:

2008 Jeep wrangler Sahara Unlimited. Question on the Hopkins Custom light kit HM 56200. How is this different than the Cool Tech LLC? I read about the cool tech in the irv forum. Sounds real good but expensive. I will be using a brake assist but I think they all plug in to the towed vehicle and some of these harnesses say to disconnect the battery. I was hoping to use the existing wiring in the jeep now but dont know which way to go. Can you help?

asked by: Don F

Expert Reply:

From the little bit that I could tell from the Cool Tech website, it looks as though their wiring harness works the same as the Hopkins Kit that we offer. The big difference is that the Hopkins Kit already has the 4 pole harness installed whereas the Cool Tech version you would have to attach the 4 pole wiring harness so that you can connect your wiring to an adapter for your RV.

The Hopkins Custom Tail Light Wiring Kit # HM56200 that you referenced plugs into your Jeep's tail lights without having to do any splicing and it doesn't require the factory tow package. The rest of the setup that you will need so that you can connect this wiring to your RV is the 4-Pole Loop with Cover # HM47115 and the Adapter 7 Pile to 4 Pole # 47345 to connect this wiring to the harness on your RV. Your Jeep has a combined lighting system, which means that your brake and turn signals are carried through a single wire so you will need to use a brake relay, like part # RM-88400. This brake relay will allow you to keep your battery connected while flat towing.

Since the brake and turn signals use the same wire, your Wrangler could potentially apply the brakes when you are just using a turn signal and not braking, like switching lanes on the highway. This is why some of these harnesses require that the battery be disconnected.

If you do not have a supplemental brake system for your Jeep, I recommend using the Roadmaster Even Brake # RM-9400 which is a portable system that can be used on almost any vehicle.

I have attached some demonstration videos for you as well.