Trailer lights: what kind of connector?

[JBotAlan]

Wow. I never thought I'd find myself writing such a crazily off-topic question on this forum...but hey, that's what chit-chat is for.

My family owns a small Dutchmen pop-up trailer. It has the obligatory two taillights and set of running lights. Obviously, this must be connected to the car's electrical system, and in the past we've paid the trailer dealer to run wiring suitable for said connection. However, a change of vehicles later, we were without a convenient way of connecting this plug.

My parents took the car to the dealership (of the car, not the trailer), and they installed a wire harness coming out of several places under the car to the back. To protect the wire, the whole assembly was mummified with electrical tape. The connection and wire was exposed to the elements (Michigan road salt being one of them), and, not surprisingly, reacted with them, producing a lovely blue oxide and preventing our lights from working at all. At the points where the wire had been crimped into butt connectors (under the car), it snapped, with the same tell-tale blue oxide. We discovered this 5 minutes before leaving for a camping trip, so last-minute I whipped out my FIRST wiring skills, crimpers, wire-nuts, and electrical tape, and jimmied the harness to the trailer. It worked...but I know that I don't want to do that again.

So I'd appreciate suggestions. I'd like to protect this so it lasts a few years at least. It seems that would suggest I need to pull it inside the car during the winter. Also, I have no idea what kind of connector to get. Are there connectors specifically designed to withstand the elements?

Should I even attempt this myself? It seems simple enough...but car wiring seems to degrade handsomely if not totally sealed. Will the dealer actually seal it?

That's my dilemma. I'd appreciate any input on the whole situation.

Thanks,
JBot