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Pulling Wiring Through Channel?

LHC30

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New (to us) boat has a 4" closed channel trailer with the typical bend toward the tongue. The builder collapsed the channel on the bends and makes it very difficult to pull wire through that section. Any ideas? I have already tried a standard metal fishtape, a HF plastic fishtape, a length of 12GA solid wire, a length of RG58 coax - all to get caught up on that bend....


I would leave it alone but they put a crimped butt splice on the turn signal wire about half way down the tube and it failed.
 

wsuwrhr

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If a metal fishtape failed.....man you are kinda hosed. Were there wires through it at one time? Kind thinking you are stuck to drilling holes to bypass the crimped section.

Brian
 

LHC30

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there is still ONE wire in the tube....I have had much meditation about pulling it as a fishtape to pull two wires....

I'm still confused how the builder did it! LOL
 

hallett21

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Can you seal both ends with your hands a shop vac a string through it? Need to tie something to the string. Big enough to cause drag small enough to get through the "collapse"
 

wsuwrhr

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there is still ONE wire in the tube....I have had much meditation about pulling it as a fishtape to pull two wires....

I'm still confused how the builder did it! LOL
Yep, that is why I asked. I would do exactly that. Make sure it pulls smooth first. ;)

Solder the new wires onto the pull wire, don't use tape. Stagger them a bit so the mass isn't so big.

Easy job.
 

LHC30

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thought about that after using the "plastic baggie on a string" for conduit work successfully but the trailer maybe has too many openings...Might buy a roll of duct tape and give it a try before pulling that last wire out.

thanks
 

LHC30

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looking at the bend, it seems the only openings are at the very top and very bottom of the channel.
 

wsuwrhr

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there is still ONE wire in the tube....I have had much meditation about pulling it as a fishtape to pull two wires....

I'm still confused how the builder did it! LOL

Builder prolly installed pull wire in the tube before bending. Or someone spent time fishing a pull wire thru....
 

LHC30

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I swore with my last boat (also a closed channel frame) I would demand a galvanized "C" channel on my next boat....but I bought used :-(
 

02HoWaRd26

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Can you possibly drill a hole on the bottom of the frame on each side or possibly first try just on one side of the bend and use that as an access hole to work it through that area of the bend??
 

Icky

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Can you seal both ends with your hands a shop vac a string through it? Need to tie something to the string. Big enough to cause drag small enough to get through the "collapse"
I've done this with a balloon taped to the string. Don't inflate it much, just enough for the vacuum to have something to suck, even deflated would probably work
 
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