Trailer running lights help

[MJWBuffalo]

All:

So I am a few weeks out from running my trailer lights and I figure it's time to start wrapping my head around it!

I have a standie that is under 6'w, 9'H (from street) and 11'L. I need my array of amber running lights up high in the front middle and corners as well red running lights up high in the middle and corners at the rear in addition to the brake, turning and plate lights. I would like to hide all my wiring within the sides/roof of the trailer to protect it from the weather.

With previous trailers I have owned, there always seemed to be an issue with lights eventually.... either a bad ground or loose wire or something. So with that in mind, does it make sense to incorporate wiring blocks in a couple of places? that way if one light or series of lights is malfunctioning, I can trace it back to a wiring block instead of a loose connection in a daisy chain type setup? or is this a case of adding more potential failure points?

Thanks for the help. I am over analyzing myself into circles and figured it's time to group think this to settle it once and for all.

Matt

[twisted lines]

Some of the lights / holes you are talking about are only required, Over 80" wide unless I am missing something and I do that a lot.
I am running almost all my wiring inside 1/2" drip irrigation tubing, and most of it I should be able to re pull
Thanks for that suggestion to this site somewhere

This is a test fit of the tubing in one junction box I am using, I will have one four prong plug elsewhere with easy access

[Shadow Catcher]

All lights need to have both positive and negative wires and not grounded to the frame
A seven wire junction box simplifies things
https://www.online-led-store.com/7-way-trailer-wiring-junction-box-accepspwr0086

[halfdome, Danny]

All lights need to have both positive and negative wires and not grounded to the frame
A seven wire junction box simplifies things
https://www.online-led-store.com/7-way-trailer-wiring-junction-box-accepspwr0086

I run my wires through flexible conduit from the above box to each light.
Danny

[ArkansasDon]

solder "all" your joints & shrink wrap them it may take longer you wont have loose connections. I done this with my last 2 trailers builds. Ground wire, clear \ remove the paint drill & run a stainless screw instead of the standard metal screw run sealant over it. Never had any issues with trailer lighting this way, no rusty screws for the ground, no bad or loose connections. Each lamp needs to be grounded, either through its mounting studs direct contact with the trailer chassis or by having a jumper wire ran from the lamp to the trailer frame. Your battery should be grounded to the chassis also.

[MJWBuffalo]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am about a week away from tackling this. Due to all your input, I feel a little more confident in tackling it

After reading all the comments, I will have access panels in close proximity to the lights with individual grounds to the trailer. I will solder and shrink wrap all the connections to ensure they last and will go all LED.

Thanks again for the help!

Matt

[halfdome, Danny]

Its best to run the grounds through a 7 pin connector to the tow vehicle.
Grounding through the frame of the trailer is not the most reliable ground.
Danny

[MJWBuffalo]

I only have a 4-pin flat connector back to the tow vehicle.... what's the next best option?

Matt

[halfdome, Danny]

Check to see if the ground wire to your tow vehicle is connected to the
4 wire plug.
Danny

[Aguyfromohio]

We put a full set of running lights on our little trailers.
When we looked into the regulations and requirements we found it not worth the trouble. Instead we went down to a local travel trailer dealer and took photos of the lights on a brand new teardrop trailer and just installed that set of running lights. If it's good enough for them in every state, it should be good enough for us.

When we were wiring the lights, all those marker lights added up to quite a few wires. If I build another I will install a separate terminal block for those running lights, and just feed it with a positive and a negative from the main terminal block.
We are using these kinds of terminal blocks from the big box store. Without the running light terminal block I had lots of jumpers down the row.

[swoody126]

this is always a "fun" subject to deal with

the attached diagram shows what you need(note the 80" and wider requirement of 3 lights in the middle on the back)

wiring_diagram.jpg (25.68 KiB) Viewed 2458 times

when measuring the width of your trailer you are basically measuring the TOTAL WIDTH of it's shadow at high noon in the middle of the summer(not just the width of the box)

if it is over 80" wide wire it for all the lights in this diagram

if it is under 80" wide you do not have to include the 3 lights centered on the back

it is not a bad idea to run a "ground" wire(labeled as WHITE in the diagram) directly to each light though it isn't always practiced even by commercial manufacturers

bolted together frames do not carry the grounding effect well thru the bolted elements and therein lies the prime source for trailer light failure/issues

totally welded frames work better("better" is a relative term here) when grounding to the frame

i have gone to using the self drilling/self tapping galvanized screws that metal buiding constructors use(removing the rubber washer) as a grounding screw on most of my trailers and it works quite well even for boat trailers that get dunked in salt water

if you are not running a battery charging system from the TV to the trailer or trailer brakes you will do just fine with the 4-prong flat plug

if you are charging a trailer/house battery from the TV while going down the road and/or you are running trailer brakes you will be well advised to use the 7-pin(flat pins) RV round plug (wiring instructions come in the package)

¿ clear as mud ?

BON CHANCE

sw