No cut flush mount 6pin trailer plug

The weather resistant trailer light plug included in the factory towing package is a good idea but it has several sortcommings. Neither my boat or my pop-up camper plug fit very well without either trimming rubber off the plug or just being a pain in the butt to plug in. And the location under the bumper makes hook up in the dark difficult since you pretty much have to be down on the ground with a flashlight to get the trailer plugged in.

I decided that I needed to install a 6 pin round connector to make life easier. I purchesed the new 6pin round socket with the correct mounting bracket and my original intent was to mount it in the same location as the factory connector. Even though I find this location less than optimal, I figured it would be easier to hook up than fumbling around with the rubber flat plug. After doing some test fitting to find a good location for the plug under the bumper, I could not find a location that I was satisfied with. Either it was too far under where the little door would not open all the way, it hung lower than the hitch, it interfered with the safety chains or hitch pin or there was just nothing to mount to. I contemplated flush mounting it into the bumper but this would require removing the bumper cover, cutting out some metal and then cutting a hole in the bumper cover. I'm weird about cutting stuff up to install accessories so I was having a herd time with this option.

I got to staring at my bumper for a bit and noticed that the liscence plate lights looked to be approximatly the same diameter as the trailer plug. By reaching up behind the bumper, there is a hole in the metal where the wires for the light go through. It is a tight fit but you can get a finger or screwdriver in here to depress one of the two tabs that secure the light to the bumper and pop it out. The light housing twists off of the socket and then you can just push the socket back through the hole. I test fitted the trailer connector and it is a perfect fit. To secure it, I did need to make two holes for the bolts but that didnt bother me too much. I used self tappers and it seems pretty secure but if it ever pulls out, it will be easy enough to install bolts although I dont think it will. Of course I needed to wire it up before bolting it in for good. I also dont like cutting factory wiring so I also purchased a male flat plug that came with about an 18" pigtail wired to it. I wired the pigtail to the corresponding pins in the 6pin connector (they are labeled & so are the pigtail wires) to build an adaptor of sorts. I plugged this into the factory plug and used a piece of large heat shrink tube to seal it from the elements and road grime. Wrapping it in a quality electrical tape will work just as good. For the light, I removed the bulb and wrapped it real good with electrical tape. Then I just secured the extra wire and light socket to the original harness with a zip tie.

The connector is now easily accessible without crawling around on the ground . The other liscence plate lamp also lights the area so that needing three hands to plug in the trailer and hold the flashlight to hook up my boat in the dark is a thing of the past. Total cost for this project was right at $9. If I were to do it again, I would get the black plastic socket rather than the metal one to match better. I may still swap it out since I'm weird that way.

Disclaimer: Besure to check your local regulations to make sure you can lose the light. As far as I can tell, one is all thats required but dont blame me if you dont make sure first

Thanks for the writeup