Project Snowberry

Greetings folks at Prius Chat.

Our household is graced with three Prii that call our residence home. A 2010 named Blueberry, a 2012 that goes by Raspberry and our 2023 named Snowberry.

(I'm a horticulture and crop production major that works in automotive repair so horticulture names were fitting with our vehicles)

All of our Prii have EcoHitches installed and Snowberry is no exception.

Current condition of Snowberry:
TorkLift EcoHitch
Prius Off Road lift

Future plans:
215/60R17 Wildpeak AT Trails on stock 17" RAV4 steelies with hubcaps (original Toyota look)
Complete my wiring harness as stated below for trailer lights:


I do not recommend anyone attempting this without a working knowledge of vehicle wiring and 12V systems.
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This.is.not.a.write.up.on.how.to.do.it
THIS IS A DOCUMENTATION OF HOW IT CAN BE DONE (AND I'LL POST RESULTS ONCE IT'S COMPLETED).
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I tow (EcoHitch by Torklift)
I have a lift (Prius OffRoad)
I need trailer lights.
I work in automotive, I fix stuff and I don't take my stuff to people to have things installed or repaired.

That said:
Nobody makes the proper plug and play wiring harness for these vehicles yet. Given the fact that I'm planning on fishing with the Hobie this spring and needing to bring my little camping trailer with me on trips in the hills, desert etc. I need to be legal in Oregon which means I need lights on my trailer.

Looking through ProDemand at work and checking out wiring harness diagrams I've come to the conclusion that I can make my own adapter and get into the harness to make brake and turn lights work on the trailer.

For starters:
I'm ordering Curt # 55336 which is the cheapest trailer light kit that I could find (that's not a knockoff) and I'll modify that into Snowberry.

Photos show the plug that runs to the rear tail lights that's on the left rear corner of the tail light assembly.

Two photos show the brake light circuit, left blinker, right blinker and tail lights (running lights).
Using the Curt system will allow me to connect and tie into the factory harness without needing diodes to prevent back feeding power and causing the BCM (Body Control Module) from freaking out and giving tail light warnings.
Anyone else think this looks like a fun project?
I considered getting the male and female plugs from Toyota but I'm having a hard with with my wiring schematics to identify the exact plug/connector it calls for. I don't want to spend 15 minutes on the phone with the local Toyota dealership. I think it's PN1 and WR2. I may go that route and make a bridge depending on the cost and availability of them, I'd just need to spend some time and make it happen.



(photos won't upload)

 

to access the wiring, you only need the driver side. All wiring goes out from there.

my 2022 RAV4 when I installed a brake controller the unit backfed power to the BCM. A diode installed was the solution to isolate the brake controller.

i dislike 3rd party hosing sites but I’ll see if I can find one that I can use.

 

(Placeholder for images if I can find a reasonable host)

 

Trailer lights work. Blinkers work, hazards work.

brake lights don’t. Need an additional wire between the brake wire and tied between the left and right blinkers to properly trigger the brake lights.

Will resolve that one another day. For the most part, I’m legal now.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2tfFt1L3Mq/?igsh=MTllNHJmcGJ0YXN6MA==

 

Update:

Brake light install was a "failure". Well not a complete failure but I learned what went well and what didn't work. I realized that while I had everything wired, I did not account for the fact that my RED was actually my brake light trigger. I had this tied to 12V constant, this is why my blinker was alternating in the video referenced above. I had constant brake lights. Oops.

I do/did not want the vehicle harness to power my brake lights on the trailer as they can consume up to 5A of 12V. This stress I don't want on my system. With that said, I'm ordering 5 relays (of which 4 I'll use). If I wanted the vehicle harness to direct power the trailer lights, I could re-route the red wire to a brake wire, tap it and I'd be fine. This isn't sustainable as there are no relays, fuses etc for protection in the system for excessive draw.

One relay will be dedicated to each circuit: Left Blinker, Right Blinker, Brake, Running Light. I already have my dedicated 12V line running to the battery so I can peel that off and run it to my relay board, the ground is there and that's good to head to relay board. Left, right and running lights as well.

Needed to do: Wire up relays and tap into brake light wire to trigger brake relay and light up brake lights as they should. This has added an extra layer of complexity to the project but the final product will be rock solid and capable of any amount of draw my trailer may have.


I will do my best to do a write up once this is done and attach as a .pdf so hopefully it will actually attach.

 

So..
https://a.co/d/4maAkoZ (THIS IS NOT A DIRECT FITMENT KIT FOR OUR CARS) <- cause you know somebody will say it is and cry that they bought it but it doesn't plug in.

This kit, yes it has brake controller lighting but I decided to go cheap and wasn't paying attention to the fact that our cars needed a separate brake and left/right turn wire.

I may though buy this kit, modify it since it has the R/L/Park/Stop as well as is powered by battery.

The listed kit could be modified to fit our cars with ease. Actually, this would have been one hell of an easier start had I been paying attention. So, with that said, through my trials and foibles, I may actually get this kit and modify it. I have this kit in my 2010 and 2012.

Come to think of it, this kit would work. It has yellow, green, red, brown, power in and ground. Perfect for what I need.

See, I went cheap and it bit me in the arse.

 

Well I finished the project with the new controller. It all works as it should. Too bad I can't upload the .pdf file so it can be used by others.

It was clearly documented on what wires to connect to.

oh well. peace out PC

 

Seems the issue is attaching or embedding the .pdf link.

let me see if a link in a message will work.

 

Trailer works well, trailered a trailer to make a camper out of the new to me one.



Wired new trailer, works as it should too. Blinkers, stop, running/marker lighting etc.

 

I have a cargo basket to mount to the hitch. I'll use that when bringing a set of tires from my house to the shop.

The downside is you'll have to turn off your parking sensors or it will automatically slam your cars brakes on when backing up. I'm not a huge fan of the bags. I do have a rack setup from my RAV4 that will mount on top but I just don't like the clamps over the edge of the roof.

When it comes to added weight in the rear, keep in mind the EcoHitch only supports 200lbs of tongue weight and 2,000lbs of pull weight (now that's not saying the car will do it) but that's their engineered load amount. Kids butts in the backseat + cargo basket = lots of weight on the rear springs and a saggy butt.

 

If this link doesn't work I can't help... Can't upload PDF or files related to how this is done.
The "walk through" is not meant to be a complete 'how to do it' but more of something that you can do if you're already capable of minor repair work and comfortable.

I take no responsibility if it doesn't work on yours. It works on mine as I did the pinout chase plus tested all wires before tapping into them.

 

Now running a 225/60R17 with Falken Wildpeak Trail tires.


Car is done aside from adding some more powerful backup light pods and a set of hidden front LED pods.