Trailer plug conversion to automotive style

troverman

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Kubota M4D-071 and Kubota ZD-1211-72
Jun 9, 2015
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Just bought a new Kubota M4 and it has a trailer plug connection on the back. I sometimes move a gooseneck trailer and I would like to have the basic lights on the trailer illuminated when the tractor lights are on. Can someone send me a link to an appropriate adapter?
Thanks in advance.
 

troverman

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Kubota M4D-071 and Kubota ZD-1211-72
Jun 9, 2015
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So the tractor has a 7 pin round “heavy duty” design and the gooseneck has the typical 7 pin flat spade RV style.
 

North Idaho Wolfman

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troverman

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Kubota M4D-071 and Kubota ZD-1211-72
Jun 9, 2015
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Wolfman and NCL, what you guys posted is I believe what I need. I do appreciate everyone else making an effort without seeing my setup. In hindsight I should have posted a pic of the actual plug on the tractor.
Thanks again!
 
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Thunder chicken

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Dec 29, 2019
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Id make up an adapter as shown above if you have a need for the existing plug. I did not, so i simply changed the tractor side to the 7 pin like my trailers have. (M7060 tractor)
Use a multi meter to verify things.... you probably wont have any brake lights as the tractor probably does not have a switch on the pedal.... that'll also render the trailer brake wire useless too. Annd, verify if the tractor has 12v live on one wire or not (trailer battery charging) i seem to remember somethung weird about that. When i plugged my trailer in, the trailers 12v battery backfed into the tractor and lit up the running lights! It wasnt as simple as it should have been for reasons i can not remember!
 

torch

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Annd, verify if the tractor has 12v live on one wire or not (trailer battery charging) i seem to remember somethung weird about that. When i plugged my trailer in, the trailers 12v battery backfed into the tractor and lit up the running lights! It wasnt as simple as it should have been for reasons i can not remember!
There's a lot of opportunity for "weird" when it comes to the 7 round pin trailer connector. I've come across 3 different and conflicting patterns -- there may be more. The largest pin #1) might be ground or left hand tail/markers. The centre pin might be reverse lights or left hand tail/markers. Etc. It seems to vary by region or country or application. Is a Kubota tractor (or Chinese adapter) wired to conform to Australian RV standards or NA transport truck standards?

By comparison, the 7-pin RV connector (6 flat and one centre round) pattern is pretty much standardized. There's a couple of wire colour variations, but whatever the wire colours if you plug an RV male into an RV female, the trailer lights will function as expected.

If it was me, I'd pitch the round connector and replace it with the RV style rather than mess with adapters. As mentioned above, you don't likely have a brake switch or separate turn signals on a basic tractor but you'll still need the two wires for 4-way flashers on the trailer. And one for the tail lights and of course carry the ground wire, don't rely on the hitch.

You might want the 12v Aux power for something in the trailer (interior lights, powered tongue jack, etc). If you are going to be using this at night, consider the reverse lights -- even if you wire that to a separate manual switch in the tractor. Backing a trailer at night is SOOOOO much easier with reverse lights!

Just my 2¢.
 
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nbryan

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I'd be looking for a pig-tailed plug for each of the tractor and trailer. The out comes the digital multi-meter and start with checking which wires are ground. Then running lights, signals, brakes. With one tractor wire hot, like running lights, connect the ground wires then use the hot wire to test which trailer wire goes where. Solder connect which wires are needed for whatever lights you want to run and heat-shrink seal each connection. Then have a large diameter heat-shrink to seal them all.
Done.
That's how I'd approach it, anyway.