Military to Civvy lighting and towing connections

From: Glen Closson (glen_closson@earthlink.net)
Date: Fri Feb 10 2006 - 18:41:08 PST

Hi Robin,
Good points!

Here is how I did it:

Problem:
I wanted to somehow tow my Mule with My Mutt so that I could bring both to a
meet.

Solution:
1. Purchased a small Snowbear trailer that the Mule will fit into.
2. Removed the pintle hook from Mutt and replaced it with a ball/pintle
from U-Haul. Same bolt pattern!

What about the lights?
1. Found 2 composite lights.
2. Found M416 harness.
3. Found wire extenders.
4. Mounted lights on the back of the trailer via brackets from Home
Depot (Stanley corner brackets).
5. Connected harness, extenders, viola!

Result:
Can take Mule to meet towed by the Mutt. All lights work.
Can take Mule or other junk with civy car. All lights work.

Caveat:
The stupid composite lights needs BOTH mounting bolts connected together to
work properly.

Regards,

Glen

Mater tua criceta fuit, et pater tuo redoluit bacarum sambucus

-----Original Message-----
From: Military Vehicles Mailing List [mailto:mil-veh@mil-veh.org] On Behalf
Of Robin Craig
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 4:51 PM
To: Military Vehicles Mailing List
Subject: [MV] Military to Civy lighting and towing connections

For those of you with MV's and the desire to tow civvy small trailers there
has always been a couple of issues. I have gone through the learning curves
and would like to enlighten those who have the same issue.
 
Lets deal with towing first. I do not like, infact I detest drilling new
holes or welding anything to an MV. It is a pet peeve and I try at all costs
to ensure that any civvy alterations are done in a manner that do not deface
the original MV no matter what the subsequent usage. Call me a purist or
retentive what you like.
 
If you are fortunate to have a British vehicle like a Land Rover then you
have the rotating jaw hitch or pintle with the added beauty that it can be
locked in place. I made up and adapter fixture using square hollow stock
with a plate on the bottom with the locking nut welded to it. The top plate
has a small section of the same square stock on its underside and a hole
pierced in the top. Through this one passes an extra long ball which in
effect sandwiches the upper and lower plate in place, the square stock may
have to have a smidgeon ground off the flanks to make it pass through the
pintles. Now you can draw a civvy small trailer like a boat or utility
trailer behind your MV. If you have the British style hitch then you can
stop your hitch rotating and binding by adding a tang on the bottom plate to
engage the rotating lock. IF you have an M series vehicle you may want to
figure something out, if you dont then your hitch may bind at some point.
 
Now for the lighting, as we are dealing with small trailers I will presume
that you are going to use the four pin system that is common to smaller
trailers. As MV's have a NATO standard light socket and use a separate
circuit for brake and signal lamps then you will come up against a problem.
The four pin system uses a common brake and turn signal bulb. Hence one can
illuminate a trailer but not show brake lights, if you erroneously wire the
brake and turn wires togther then the brake lights on the truck will glow
constantly.
 
We were fortunate enough to have a male military trailer plug in stock that
had a split housing that enables you to de-solder the original wiring and
plut in your new stuff. soldering the joints is the only way to go. I detest
those crimp style connectors as the weather always gets inside eventually,
leading to the growth of that green fuzz that knocks your lights out.
 
So after the usual testing the pins with a multimeter or whatever your
device may be, a bell or buzzer or lamp work well if your doing things
alone. You can deduce that one of the pins is a ground and then break out
the function of the remaing pins. Dont forget to turn all lights off and
find the pin that is live all the time, this is rarely used but can be nice
to use for a light operated by a switch such as inside a trailer when you
open the top like under the hood.
 
We purchased a Drawtite part number 18130 which by virtue of a small block
containing some diodes that allows the conversion of the 4 wire plus ground
down to 3 wire plus ground system. It cost about $20 and was readily
available. Using this assembly suitably shortened I soldered in the
connections and resealed the housing using a tiny bead of silicone. The exit
hole was lined with the sheathing of the original wiring, again siliconed
in, with the remaining air gap around the wires gooshed with more black
silicone and left to sit over night and harden.
 
Now before you all jump of your perches and tell me that it wont work
because of voltage issues just hold the bus a minute. The vehicles I am
working with are GS (General Service) in British MV parlance and are
therefore 12 volt. I have not yet checked to see if Drawtite's magic
converter system will work for 24 volt vehicles but will do soon.
 
Now we can pull and light civvy trailers with our fleet of MV's.
 
If anyone has questions please contact me off line as I dont always look at
all the posts on the list.
 
I can provide pics if required on a cd if anyone wants them.
 
CAVEAT:- I take no responsibility for your own stupidity in welding or
towing or making electrical connections and this series of notes are not
instructions but merely and enlightenment of technique. If you try to sue me
for your own stupidity, good luck, my ex got most of my money, but I have my
sanity!!
 
Rgds
 
Robin Craig
 
 

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