Fluffywhitedogs
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2016
- Posts
- 56
I have a 2017 Dodge Durango, towing a 2023 Heartland North Trail 21RBSS. I previously towed a Coachmen Clipper with no issues.
I live near Toronto, and picked up the North Trail at Couch's in Cincinnati on my way south on my way to camp and then visit family. All legs so far were in daylight so I don't know if the lights were functional. On the way back North from Kentucky, at night, I realized that my running lights weren't on. I pulled over at a Walmart until daylight and headed home. Once home, I determined that the fuse in my Durango for that circuit had blown. I replaced it and successfully used the trailer for a couple of weekend trips. At this point, I thought it was an isolated fluke, and I installed a backup camera and side marker cameras.
Then it blew again. I replaced it and at that point, it started blowing immediately when the headlights were turned on. I uninstalled all the cameras just to be certain and started troubleshooting. I got a tester to check the vehicle plug and everything appears fine. I found a couple of wire connections on the trailer that looked potentially compromised, so I re-connected them, but to no avail. No matter what I did, the fuse would blow. I even changed out the main power cord, as I'd seen it suggested as a possible cause. Nope. (And to add insult to injury, the fuses in question are micro-cartridge fuses that I can't find locally and are about a buck and a half each on Amazon!)
I went through the aggravation (I knew what I was getting into!) of trying to find a dealer that would look at it, but nobody would service a unit not purchased through them. I finally got approval from Heartland to use an independent tech. He came over and tested, tightened, tidied, and inspected things. He found a few wires that may have had poor connections, and some wires in "the vault" that weren't tightened as snugly as they should have been, but could not isolate exactly where the issue was. But something he did seems to have worked. He also reinstalled the cameras for me.
Well, this weekend, about 45 minutes into a trip, it blew again. (It's easy to notice now, day or night, because my cameras shut down.)
The tech that I used has suggested that I have the truck checked, but that seems improbably to me after "fixing" the trailer side extended/changed the fuse-blowing time frame. I don't mind doing it, but it seems like a waste. I also don't know anyone locally that I could ask to try on their vehicle
Does anyone have any valuable insight? I love this trailer and overall I've been quite impressed with the build quality, but this problem is making me nuts! I want to be able to travel at night, and I really like my cameras as I normally camp alone and love the ease of back-up!
I live near Toronto, and picked up the North Trail at Couch's in Cincinnati on my way south on my way to camp and then visit family. All legs so far were in daylight so I don't know if the lights were functional. On the way back North from Kentucky, at night, I realized that my running lights weren't on. I pulled over at a Walmart until daylight and headed home. Once home, I determined that the fuse in my Durango for that circuit had blown. I replaced it and successfully used the trailer for a couple of weekend trips. At this point, I thought it was an isolated fluke, and I installed a backup camera and side marker cameras.
Then it blew again. I replaced it and at that point, it started blowing immediately when the headlights were turned on. I uninstalled all the cameras just to be certain and started troubleshooting. I got a tester to check the vehicle plug and everything appears fine. I found a couple of wire connections on the trailer that looked potentially compromised, so I re-connected them, but to no avail. No matter what I did, the fuse would blow. I even changed out the main power cord, as I'd seen it suggested as a possible cause. Nope. (And to add insult to injury, the fuses in question are micro-cartridge fuses that I can't find locally and are about a buck and a half each on Amazon!)
I went through the aggravation (I knew what I was getting into!) of trying to find a dealer that would look at it, but nobody would service a unit not purchased through them. I finally got approval from Heartland to use an independent tech. He came over and tested, tightened, tidied, and inspected things. He found a few wires that may have had poor connections, and some wires in "the vault" that weren't tightened as snugly as they should have been, but could not isolate exactly where the issue was. But something he did seems to have worked. He also reinstalled the cameras for me.
Well, this weekend, about 45 minutes into a trip, it blew again. (It's easy to notice now, day or night, because my cameras shut down.)
The tech that I used has suggested that I have the truck checked, but that seems improbably to me after "fixing" the trailer side extended/changed the fuse-blowing time frame. I don't mind doing it, but it seems like a waste. I also don't know anyone locally that I could ask to try on their vehicle
Does anyone have any valuable insight? I love this trailer and overall I've been quite impressed with the build quality, but this problem is making me nuts! I want to be able to travel at night, and I really like my cameras as I normally camp alone and love the ease of back-up!
