Had the Montero wired for trailer lights. I took it to a local hitch shop. They tapped into the wires that are underneath feeding each tail light using snap connectors. The driver side tailight has 4 wires feeding it so it looks pretty clean. The passenger side has a bunch of wires. Unfortunately, they had to "probe" each wire to find the correct one. This probing left a small pencil lead size hole in each wire. I got a little liquid electrical tape and covered each spot. Obviously, to get to the wiring on each side they had to pull the wiring out of the plastic sleeve. They recommended leaving the wires out of the sleeve because they tend to hold moisture and dirt. I don't know but I sure don't like all the wires hanging out there. I'm thinking about wrapping the wiring back in a sleeve. I wish there was a better way for trailer wiring but I guess this is about the only way. Now to bolt on the pintle hitch.
Thanks,
Jim
'89 two door v6 auto

Because I had extra parts, I made my own plug in connectors for a trailer wiring harness. The wire loom goes through large grommetted holes under the light fixture on the rear of the Montero. If moisture is allowed to get past, especially because the tire will spray that area, you'll get rust forming below the light. That area has two body mounts on the SWB, too. I'd seal everything back up with the intent of making it water proof. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

I own a hitch shop, and just did mine last week. I don't agree with not using the split loom, but ya, there isn't really a good way to go. There isn't a T harness available for our rigs like a "modern" truck. Hard wiring is the only option. Fortunately, we don't have to have a dual bulb converter box. I guess a guy could go further under and tap the wires in the main harness, but I don't really see a need. Mine came out pretty clean, but you can still see my new green and yellow wires. I just ran them alongside the split loom, because I didn't want to open it. I also made my scotch-lock connections up inside the taillight housing to keep them out of the elements.