Road lights for the trailer. What's allowed?

[ukewarrior]

My little HF trailer I use for general hauling has been hit from behind 3 times.
I believe the lights are too low and hard to see.
That isn't easily fixed. (although I did upgrade to LEDs which is a huge improvement in light output)

However, for my tear build, I want as much lighting as possible on this beast.
So, is there a guideline for what you can and can't do to illuminate your trailer/camper?

I saw one post where someone put a third brake light on their unit and I plan to do that.
I also plan to move the brake/tail lights onto the back hatch and off the side trailer mounts.

How about additional running lights? What's allowed?

[bobhenry]

No one is gonna call the light police for having too many lights. I put redundant tail lights on my teardrop ( yep two full sets of tail stop and turn). I installed a 3rd brake lite on the barn camper and each and every trailer has high clearance lights with yellow front and center and red at the rear for easy side detection. I am still thinking of adding the 3 high clearance lites in the center. Yes by all means add as many as you can afford. The laws as written are minimums I am sure you have passed the occasional semi with 20 - 30 lights on the sides of their trailer and a grill full of lights just go crazy.

[Dale M.]

This is what NTSB/DOT recommends/requires minimally....

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/standar ... rpstr.html

A second set of lights higher up on sides and high center mount stop light If you do not have one) would not violate minimum requirements...

Dale

[Runabout]

You might try retro reflective tape, available in sheets and rolls from 3M or a supply house like Grainger. Diamond bright is the type used on school buses, and it is very effective. The tape can be a fairly neutral color, grey or black, but really catches headlights and is impossible to miss.

The problem with tail lights is, in part, depth perception. People see the lights and judge distance based on car dimensions. So the lights appear farther away as they are closer together. Adding a big retro reflect box, like a "slow moving Amish warning" will help both visibility and identifying it as a trailer.

An

[jandmz]

I know that in Ohio, you are not allowed to have any white "running lights" visible from the rear (other than the license plate light). In other words, if you have backup lights, they can't be on when you are going forward on the road. Other than that the required lights are stated as "minimum" requirements.

[kayakdlk]

I went with lights on the trailer down low, More lights plus backup light higher up in the hatch and a 3rd brake light even higher up. Since my trailer is over 80" wide it has the over 80" lower lights in the center and I added fender lights for when someone is passing or off to the side. I also put reflectors along the top on the sides, and painted it bright yellow.



The specifications are usually the minimum. I didn't want to get hit and didn't design in a bumper so I thought lights the more the better. No one said a thing when I registered it. Now all I have to worry about is looky-loos focusing too much on the trailer and not on their driving.

Dan

[ukewarrior]

are there multiple break lights or just one set?

I went with lights on the trailer down low, More lights plus backup light higher up in the hatch and a 3rd brake light even higher up. Since my trailer is over 80" wide it has the over 80" lower lights in the center and I added fender lights for when someone is passing or off to the side. I also put reflectors along the top on the sides, and painted it bright yellow.



The specifications are usually the minimum. I didn't want to get hit and didn't design in a bumper so I thought lights the more the better. No one said a thing when I registered it. Now all I have to worry about is looky-loos focusing too much on the trailer and not on their driving.

Dan

[Kharn]

I put a third brake light at the top of my hatch like on kayakdlk's tear.
Mine was from Frank Bear, it's a four wire design so the left or right side will blink when turning. Just be aware that the boss for the wires is off-center, so measure twice, drill once.

My brake/turn lights are each 10 LEDs like these, you can't miss them if you're anywhere behind the trailer.

Also, make sure the sides of your trailer are well lit so people do not merge into you. I used 4 LED units

[kayakdlk]

are there multiple break lights or just one set?

There are brake lights on each side on the bottom of the frame, one on each side higher up in the galley hatch and a single center red brake light even higher up for a total of 5 brake lights. I have a turn lights on bottom frame one each side, and backup lights one each side in the galley hatch. I figure letting everyone know I was braking was most important

Dan