wrx -> shifter kart?

[Jarrett Gorlick]

alright, so the new thing is getting the HF trailer tomorrow, and we're going to grab some good wheel bearing grease.
I'm looking into hitches and I'll probably just go buy one from uhaul so I can actually get it in person.
I am still nervous about the wiring harness though. I'm terrible with wiring and still don't completely understand the $60 kit from etrailer.com
Any subaru guys have experience/tips involving wiring the trailer lights?

[Mako Koiwai]

Did you email Darren Cole and ask him about making the hitch work with his WRX? I thought he had some issue?

Darren Cole mnemosynedc at hotmail dot com

[Will Kalman]

Go to etrailer.com and buy a hitch and wiring kit for your car. Almost certain to be as pain-free as it can possibly be. For my Odyssey, it was 2 minutes to pry an interior panel off and connect to the factory harness connector. Nobody cuts and splices factory harnesses any more unless absolutely necessary because the car has no accessible connectors remotely close.

[Rick Brown]

alright, so the new thing is getting the HF trailer tomorrow, and we're going to grab some good wheel bearing grease.
I'm looking into hitches and I'll probably just go buy one from uhaul so I can actually get it in person.
I am still nervous about the wiring harness though. I'm terrible with wiring and still don't completely understand the $60 kit from etrailer.com
Any subaru guys have experience/tips involving wiring the trailer lights?

If you get the smallest HF trailer, the kart will not fit on it directly, as the trailer is 40" wide x 49" long and the kart is 55" wide by 60" long. You will need to make a platform for it that at a min sits on the fenders and is supported at each end. I'll try to remember to take some pics of my trailer to show what I did. I have a raised platform on each side that is the same height as the kart stand so it's easy to load and unload the kart to the trailer and high enough to put the collapsed kart stand underneath. And since each is just a bit wider than the tires I have access to the bottom of the kart when it's on the trailer.

[Jarrett Gorlick]

mako - I emailed him a bit ago but he unfortunately can't find the hitch :/
Will - thanks for the info, I'm going to look into finding the oe harness connector.
rick - thanks for the heads up. I definitely didn't think about that but its a good call. I'll figure out something, fortunately a friend of mine is really good with designing and fabbing things up but I would love even like a cell phone pic to get an idea.
How sketch would it be having the kart sit on the trailer's fenders and strapping it down really tight, with either the front or the back of the kart touching the trailer, like diagonal if looked at from a profile view? Of course, very very tied down?


from what I've read, the 03 wrx sedan doesn't seem to have a harness connector...sorry I'm so terrible with wiring, but the harness kit from etrailer seems like it requires some splicing, not just plug it in plug it in...
http://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Vehi ... d=20039016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Randy Chase]

You are really going to want to build a raised platform on that trailer to make it work. Not restrained to the fenders. And as mentioned by Rick, you want a place to put the kart stand that you either have, or you will be getting. I highly recommend not trying to just make this work the easy way. In the long run you will fight this.

[Randy Chase]

My background is designing and selling aftermarket hitches back in the day (MR2 and then MR2 Spyder) and now selling trailers as a side business.

It is easy to mate up to the existing wiring harness using those blue piggyback wiring connectors. You close them over the other wire and it splices into the insulation and makes a good connection. Not what we would recommend for a military or racing installation, but for a hitch on a street car, it works fine.

It is not that complicated for the simple 4 pin straight trailer connector (no brakes on the trailer, as is the Northern/Harbor Freight models). You are just tapping into the turn signals, ground, and the tail light connection.

[Rick Brown]

from what I've read, the 03 wrx sedan doesn't seem to have a harness connector...sorry I'm so terrible with wiring, but the harness kit from etrailer seems like it requires some splicing, not just plug it in plug it in...
http://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Vehi ... d=20039016" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow, does it really need all that? Does your car have separate turn and brake lights? If yes, then it is more complicated.

[Jarrett Gorlick]

I really appreciate it Randy. I think I'm going to get the trailer today so I'll start looking into making a platform as I really don't want to half-ass something as important as the kart. And my car does unfortunately have separate brake and turn signal wires so it will require more than a plug-in wiring harness.
I posted about the trailer wiring on a subaru forum and someone confirmed that my car does not have a harness but all I would since its a small trailer with basic lights and no brakes is a non-powered 2 or 3 way converter from autozone or pep boys. Anyone do the same?

[Rick Brown]

Email sent with pictures of my trailer.

[Arthur Grant]

I really appreciate it Randy. I think I'm going to get the trailer today so I'll start looking into making a platform as I really don't want to half-ass something as important as the kart. And my car does unfortunately have separate brake and turn signal wires so it will require more than a plug-in wiring harness.
I posted about the trailer wiring on a subaru forum and someone confirmed that my car does not have a harness but all I would since its a small trailer with basic lights and no brakes is a non-powered 2 or 3 way converter from autozone or pep boys. Anyone do the same?

If you don't already have a hitch, have U-haul do the installation. They are great and they will get the wiring right.

[Arthur Grant]

alright, so the new thing is getting the HF trailer tomorrow, and we're going to grab some good wheel bearing grease.
I'm looking into hitches and I'll probably just go buy one from uhaul so I can actually get it in person.
I am still nervous about the wiring harness though. I'm terrible with wiring and still don't completely understand the $60 kit from etrailer.com
Any subaru guys have experience/tips involving wiring the trailer lights?

Let u-haul do the install.

[Randy Chase]

I really appreciate it Randy. I think I'm going to get the trailer today so I'll start looking into making a platform as I really don't want to half-ass something as important as the kart. And my car does unfortunately have separate brake and turn signal wires so it will require more than a plug-in wiring harness.
I posted about the trailer wiring on a subaru forum and someone confirmed that my car does not have a harness but all I would since its a small trailer with basic lights and no brakes is a non-powered 2 or 3 way converter from autozone or pep boys. Anyone do the same?

Read this
http://www.autoaccessories4less.com/hop ... -46155.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not a big deal. The unit is basically diodes so things don't feed the wrong way. But it worth spending on. You can find these all over.

[Jarrett Gorlick]

Thanks again Randy, you're a really knowledgable guy, I appreciate it.
Arthur - thats a great idea, I'm probably just going to have them install/wire it tomorrow so long as they don't charge like $600 (what subaru quoted me at).
Just an update, the trailer is about put together, we just need to get some good grease and lube up the bearings, then ideally thursday evening we'll go grab the kart.
Thanks everyone, you've made it all happen for me, otherwise who knows what I would have done.

[Arthur Grant]

The hitch for my 1990 Corvette, cost $354 installed, that's hitch, wiring and install, with 2 year warranty. My 2007 Santa Fe was about the same.

It really is hard to beat them. I use the one down in San Clemete, there are several closer to me, but I have never met a nicer team than the one down there. They custom ordered the Vette hitch, they had never done a 1990 Corvette but it is a great install. I am sure any of the u-haul installers will do as well.

[Arthur Grant]

After watching Tom Berry take that kart out at the last practice, you might have competition, he had one big smile afterwords.

[Jarrett Gorlick]

how much was the hitch itself for either the vette or santa fe cause if its anything like the one for my car thats like 220 in installation.
and I will have tons of competition haha. In the same kart (ron's of course) Ron ran a 54 when I hit 61 so I have a whole lot to learn. But...I weight 140 lbs, and am in potentially in the best shape of my life (19 y/o) so I might have some of these older guys...haha

[Arthur Grant]

The hitch was $199.50
The wiring kit was $18.55
The install was $130.00

Peace of mind for having a pro do well I went off and went sailing priceless.

I just made an appointment, dropped off the car, came back that evening and picked it up.

[Jarrett Gorlick]

I definitely wouldn't mind dropping $270 on everything including a professional job...good call Arthur, I appreciate it bud.
Jarrett

[Jarrett Gorlick]

alrighty, so the trailer just needs to be greased (I'm getting good grease not the HF garbage) and I need to register it.
Next wednesday I have an apt with uhaul and they are installing and wiring my hitch for $240 (including the hitch of course).
I intend on having the trailer ready to get registered as soon as I get the hitch on but I was wondering since AAA theoretically will evaluate the trailer to make sure its safe, I shouldn't have the platform on the trailer, aka leave the trailer "stock" for registering it. Am I correct in my thinking? I plan on making the platform and taking it off for the registration part, then throwing it back on.

[Rick Brown]

alrighty, so the trailer just needs to be greased (I'm getting good grease not the HF garbage) and I need to register it.
Next wednesday I have an apt with uhaul and they are installing and wiring my hitch for $240 (including the hitch of course).
I intend on having the trailer ready to get registered as soon as I get the hitch on but I was wondering since AAA theoretically will evaluate the trailer to make sure its safe, I shouldn't have the platform on the trailer, aka leave the trailer "stock" for registering it. Am I correct in my thinking? I plan on making the platform and taking it off for the registration part, then throwing it back on.

Yes, register it "stock".

[Arthur Grant]

alrighty, so the trailer just needs to be greased (I'm getting good grease not the HF garbage) and I need to register it.
Next wednesday I have an apt with uhaul and they are installing and wiring my hitch for $240 (including the hitch of course).
I intend on having the trailer ready to get registered as soon as I get the hitch on but I was wondering since AAA theoretically will evaluate the trailer to make sure its safe, I shouldn't have the platform on the trailer, aka leave the trailer "stock" for registering it. Am I correct in my thinking? I plan on making the platform and taking it off for the registration part, then throwing it back on.

By the way on the grease issue if this is a concern for you, it's not too expensive and it makes the system nearly bullet proof, do what boaters do install bearing buddies. http://www.bearingbuddy.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; as they say problem solved

[Jarrett Gorlick]

I appreciate the heads up but we lubed the bearings up really well with synthetic mobile 1 grease, which felt infinitely better than the garbage that was on there, which didn't even seem like there was physically enough...
My friend is going to do all the wiring for the trailer tomorrow, and we'll get started making the platform so the kart can sit on it safely.
Then wednesday I go to uhaul, register the trailer, and go get the kart!

[Randy Chase]

Keep a grease gun handy before trips (or during very long ones). Check the caps and the lube before trips. Maybe squeeze a bit extra in.

Make it part of your routine when trailering. Check tires for cracking wear. Check pressures. Check your straps to be tight. Make sure nothing is moving around. Check then hitch, chains, and electrical.

Glance at the trailer occasionally while towing to make sure nothing bad has happened (like a tire failure or bearing fire). Don't be like that old couple that towed a flaming car trailer behind their RV setting 100 miles of roadside on fire.

Make it a habit when stopping for gas to give it a quick look over and check the straps again. Tires can deflate a little and things loosen up.

This will all be second nature when towing a kart.

[Arthur Grant]

As with anything new it needs to be checked more as things settle and loosen,straps stretch and grease flows. No need to be paranoid but cautious will prevent you from suffering loss an liability. I assume you have a spare tire even though the ones on the trailer are new. Hopefully you went for the 12" tires. You do know your now consigned to the slow lane and 55mph (read earlier threads on tickets). I haven't see the photo's of the kart specific layout, but there are some nice features for the HF trailer that make tie down easy. So when you done if you can post some images we can discuss. If you don't want to go bearing buddies HF has some nice caps with grease fitting and viewing window so youcan check your bearing easily. I bought my trailer used, so don't know if it was an add on or came with the trailer, but you have chains correct?