Jackalopee Trailer/Truck Converter

[trimster]

Thoughts on these as the interface from the hdt to trailer solution?

Bob

[Seniramsu]

I think most everyone goes with it. It's an easy solution and has been very reliable for me. Henry ,who is on this forum, is the one who produces them. He installed mine a few years ago.

[DJohns]

Works great. easy to hook up and all your connections are in a watertight box.

[Hewhoknowslittle]

33 minutes ago, DJohns said:

Works great. easy to hook up and all your connections are in a watertight box.

I wouldn’t go as far to say watertight, I have seen 3 with water in them and one was mounted at a downhill angle. 
That being said a great unit for sure!

[Parrformance]

Suggest not mounting where the Jackalopee will be in direct sunlight.  Mine warped slightly, but still works fine.

I do recommend it as it made the conversion so easy.  The instructions are fantastic and it made the set up seemless.

[chief916]

6 minutes ago, Parrformance said:

Suggest not mounting where the Jackalopee will be in direct sunlight.  Mine warped slightly, but still works fine.

I do recommend it as it made the conversion so easy.  The instructions are fantastic and it made the set up seemless.

My box is mounted on the back outside wall.  For about 5 years now I've noticed condensation inside the box on the clear plastic cover.  It shows up everytime when it rains.  I've tried taping all the openings but that didn't help.  I now have a piece of thick milled black plastic garbage bag taped over it.  Thinking about relocating box into my left side storage compartment.  Has anyone else done this before and if so...how did it work out?

 

[trimster]

Thanks. 

Ordered!

Bob

[rpsinc]

1 hour ago, chief916 said:

My box is mounted on the back outside wall.  For about 5 years now I've noticed condensation inside the box on the clear plastic cover.  It shows up everytime when it rains.  I've tried taping all the openings but that didn't help.  I now have a piece of thick milled black plastic garbage bag taped over it.  Thinking about relocating box into my left side storage compartment.  Has anyone else done this before and if so...how did it work out?

 

Could the water inside issue be a result of condensation from the humidity in the air in the enclosure?  It likely wouldnt take much to make water even if the box was watertight.  Just a few heat/cool cycles and you have it.  Wonder is venting the bottom somehow could help.  Maybe something like a duck bill device like you see on boats or a couple small louvers.

[alan0043]

6 hours ago, trimster said:

Thoughts on these as the interface from the hdt to trailer solution?

Bob

Hi Bob,

I think there is some old threads about the subject somewhere on the forum. But I can't find it right now. I even have a picture or to for you on how I did mind but I can't send it because the file is to big. I was trying to send it to by a p/m..Sorry about that. It just won't go.

Edited August 14, 2020 by alan0043

[alan0043]

1 hour ago, alan0043 said:

Hi Bob,

I think there is some old threads about the subject somewhere on the forum. But I can't find it right now. I even have a picture or to for you on how I did mind but I can't send it because the file is to big. I was trying to send it to by a p/m..Sorry about that. It just won't go.

I hope this thread will help.

[phoenix2013]

The Jackaloppee is waterproof to commercial standards, the screws and cover are gasket-ed, the cables and wires go through pass-throughs which seal those by cranking the outer nut and compressing the rubber seals. Everything is relative, are these to the standard of Virginia class submarine seals on torpedo doors and periscope, NO. Have I seen water in Jackalopees, yes. Big5er had his mounted under the ET in the back of his truck, with a 15 foot wire run from the DOT plug. There was 2 inches of water in his Jackalopee and the sucker still worked, "kind off".

The culprit is not the case or it's seals, it's the cable and wires going into it. It's not molded it's sheathed.

The outer jacket somewhat conforms to the outside wires in the bundle, but the gaps between individual conductors are not filled and able to transmit moisture down the cable.With the successive hot and cold cycle and moisture in the air, water will travel down the cable. That's why it's suggested that the unit is mounted above the plugs and sockets to which it is connected and that the cables go up to it rather than down to it.

The last area where moisture gets into the unit are the individual wires going into the unit from batteries, brake controller, back-up lights, etc. The pass--throughs will seal around those wires if you tighten the outside nut, but will not close a hole if you leave it empty.

Therefore, insert a short length of wire into any unused wire hole (10 gauge on the truck side, 16 gauge on the trailer side) to keep the moisture from entering the unit.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by phoenix2013

[rickeieio]

Our Jackalopee used to be on top of the bed, clear side up.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  It got water in it.  Enough to fry the board.  Henry sent me a new board for a reasonable price.  Now it's mounted much like the picture he posted, so water can't migrate through the cord.

Other than having two of the relays go flakey and cause weird light issues, the unit has been trouble free for over 5 years.

[Moresmoke]

As long as your wiring is more graceful than mine. But I got it all in there.

Mounted to the front side of the headboard.

[chief916]

21 hours ago, rpsinc said:

Could the water inside issue be a result of condensation from the humidity in the air in the enclosure?  It likely wouldnt take much to make water even if the box was watertight.  Just a few heat/cool cycles and you have it.  Wonder is venting the bottom somehow could help.  Maybe something like a duck bill device like you see on boats or a couple small louvers.

Rpsinc, thanks for the comeback.  I am going to go over my box with some clear sealant and see what that will do.  Never thought about moisture entering through the wires.... I'll crank those nuts down and pot them as well. I  Also have a can of Deoxit5 that I could spray on the exposed wires inside the box.

[rpsinc]

Not sure that those steps will eliminate the moisture.  If there is a way for ANY air infiltration then you also have humidity which will collect and become wet inside when you get some heat from the expansion/contraction.  I think I would add a couple 1/8" weep holes on the underside of the box to equalize that inside air.

[phoenix2013]

chief916, rpsinc, I actually did not discover the cable being the culprit, it was a customer who made it "his mission" to discover the cause of collecting moisture inside the Jackalopee. After going through the unit and sealing all the possible places of infiltration, it still kept allowing moisture to collect. He then "attacked" the ends of the truck entry cable and trailer out cable. He silicon-ed the area where the wires come out from the jacket but more importantly he drove the silicone in between individual wires to eliminate the gaps between them. He reported that this did the trick.  

[rpsinc]

I bet it did.  And I would think he was very happy UNTIL he needed to do some troubleshooting in that box and needed to pull those wires.  Oh boy, that might be a pain.  I recently did a job that required pulling 1 new wire from a device to a new control panel,  needed 9 wires and previous equipment had 8 available.  On some of the locations(I was doing 7 the same) the previous guys had done that same caulking job described by Henry above.  It took me longer to get the caulkling out of my way than it did to do the whole rest of the job, and what a pain.

It is amazing though, to consider how moisture will appear as a matter of consendation because of heating and cooling cycles.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

On 8/14/2020 at 9:45 AM, chief916 said:

My box is mounted on the back outside wall.  For about 5 years now I've noticed condensation inside the box on the clear plastic cover.  It shows up everytime when it rains.  I've tried taping all the openings but that didn't help.  I now have a piece of thick milled black plastic garbage bag taped over it.  Thinking about relocating box into my left side storage compartment.  Has anyone else done this before and if so...how did it work out?

 

Mine is inside the storage area drivers side.  

 

[RickS]

Yeah same as Jim.....back wall inside cab. It was a tight space since I have the tanks for the sink under there too.

[chief916]

On 8/15/2020 at 7:23 PM, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Mine is inside the storage area drivers side.  

 

Have you noticed any condensation while mounted in the storage area?

[chief916]

15 hours ago, RickS said:

Yeah same as Jim.....back wall inside cab. It was a tight space since I have the tanks for the sink under there too.

Same question for you Rick,. Noticed any condensation?

[alan0043]

Hi Guys,

My Jackalopee is also mounted to the back wall inside the storage area with no condensation problems. Also being inside the storage area you don't need to make it water tight. I have an extra hole that is open. No need to plug it up. Also on my back wall I have a 3/4" piece of plywood (that because that's what I had laying around) that I use to mounts things to. 

Al

[RickS]

I have never noticed any condensation at all in this area.

[rpsinc]

Sounds like a better location!  Thanks for the feedback.  Certainly moisture and its effect can be devastating on electrical & electronics.

[rickeieio]

I can think of one downside to locating the Jackalopee inside.  It makes it inconvenient to use the led's for trouble shooting trailer light issues.  Mine's mounted to the rear of the cab, where I can see it when standing behind or along side the truck, unless the smart is loaded.

No more moisture issues since I remounted so that all cords drape down away from the Jackalopee.