Trailer wiring

[BIGSHOW]

I am buying a Ranger boat and I noticed when looking at The trailer wire the plug had 5 prongs. Although my old one had brakes it only had 4. My 2011 f-150 has a standard 4 prong and a round plug i've never used. My question is.. Is there a adapter for the round plug to go to a 5 prong or do I have to get the 4 to 5 prong adapter and tap into my reverse lights? Thanks in advance for any help

[mikesmiph]

The 5 prong is flat?

[thedude]

There is an adapter for Round to flat-5 and it will work with the brakes/backup lights.  You can also cut the flat-5 off the boat and just wire the 5 wires into a standard round connector, you will just have 2 terminals unused on it.

Additionally, you can usually plug a flat-5 into a 4 in a pinch. The wires line up correctly from the ground, the 5th wire just doesn't plug into anything.

In most cases, all the 5th wire (brakes) does is disengage the brakes via a solnoid in the tongue of the trailer so you can backup without engaging the brakes. Most systems have a manual way to lockout the brakes as well so the 5th wire isn't always necessary.

[Lightningboy]

The dude is correct.  The fifth wire (blue) is a reverse lockout that disengages the trailer brakes so you can back up.  You can manually block the surge brakes, but it's kind of a PITA to have to every time you want to back up.

I extended the blue wire along the trailer frame to a small set of amber clearance lights on the back of the trailer.  They only go on when you are in reverse.  Makes it easier to recognize my trailer comming down a busy ramp after dark.

All you need is a 5 flat to 7 round adapter.  It's just plug and play, no wiring needed.  You may need to check a few places, as 5 flat is mostly a boat trailer plug & not all auto stores carry them.

[BIGSHOW]

I called a few places and they said that you can get an adapter from the round plug to a five prong so everything works