Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Technically I believe trailers 80" or more in overall width need both front and rear clearance lamps and center rear identification lamps. My trailer currently has the front and rear clearance lamps mounted on the fenders. The fenders and wheels make the trailer more than 80" wide. But so far my trailer lacks the center rear identification lamps. Has anyone added them or obtained a teardrop that has them? I am curious as to how and where the rear ID lights might be installed.

This is a link for required lights. The ones in question are areas 6, 7 & 8.
http://TrailerLights.notlong.com

The next link is to a store and pictures the center rear ID lights they sell. It appears the 3 lights are generally mounted on a bar on six inch centers, installed on the trailer "rear, center - facing rearward - horizontally and as high as practicable". On a boat trailer that would be on the frame below the boat. For a teardrop I am not sure.
http://shop.easternmarine.com/index.cfm ... goryID=485

Thanks! Bill

I've got a bar lite on mine plus turn signals on my fenders. Just so the dummies don't have any excuses.

Tail Lites

I'm a big fan on plenty of light on the rear of a tear. I have the usual lights on the fenders, but also I put a complete set under the tear, just in case there is a fender light failure. You can't see them when standing around it, but from a car behind they are plenty visible. R/L brakes/turns and a 3 LED center light. Better safe than sorry.

I have also used a 1950 Plymouth rear trunk light as a 3rd light on the middle of the hatch on the most recent tear. LED's also really punch out a lot of light. I"m not wide enough that I need the side clearance ones. I could be wrong, but it might just be cheap insurance to someone not paying attention. Doug

Nitetimes wrote:I've got a bar lite on mine plus turn signals on my fenders. Just so the dummies don't have any excuses.

Tail Lites

Nice looking! Many thanks, Bill

got me thinking. my t/d is 64" wide, and the fender are 9" wide (I think). that means outside to outside, I am 82" wide..... who would have guessed a little t/d could grow so much..... I'm guessing, I fed it too many french fries..... the wheels stick out quite far because of the torsion axle swing arms.

I won't bother with lights unless I get stopped (or get bored and decide to add some), but I do have reflectors on the back of the tear and on the fenders.

If I ever build a no. 3, I would put the wheels under the body.... for aerodynamic purposes.

pg 13, half way down has a pic of trailer, fenders, reflectors.

My teardrop will be wider than 80". I don't plan on putting the "extra" lights but will pre-wire just in case. If needed, the 3-light bar will be above the hurricane hinge.

aggie79 wrote:My teardrop will be wider than 80". I don't plan on putting the "extra" lights but will pre-wire just in case. If needed, the 3-light bar will be above the hurricane hinge.

That sounds like a good plan, centered above the galley door hinge. There would not be any potential argument about them not being as high as practicable. There is not a rearward facing surface but some sort of mount could be made. Maybe like a very small spoiler or teardrop shape. I would need to add wires to the area but that should be relatively easy inside the cabinets.

Bill

wlooper89 wrote:

aggie79 wrote:My teardrop will be wider than 80". I don't plan on putting the "extra" lights but will pre-wire just in case. If needed, the 3-light bar will be above the hurricane hinge.

That sounds like a good plan, centered above the galley door hinge. There would not be any potential argument about them not being as high as practicable. There is not a rearward facing surface but some sort of mount could be made. Maybe like a very small spoiler or teardrop shape. I would need to add wires to the area but that should be relatively easy inside the cabinets.

Bill

Something to consider...you also want them as far back as possible. It doesn't do any good if someone stops before they hit your bar lite if it's 4' in front of the back of your trailer!!
And high is not necessarily good, I don't know about most people but I know myself I rarely notice that 3rd eye on a lot of vehicles when it is mounted up high. People tend to focus on the location of your tail lites. So that's where you want to keep as much of your lite as possible.
Just some observations from an old trailer building veteran.

Nitetimes wrote:Something to consider...you also want them as far back as possible. It doesn't do any good if someone stops before they hit your bar lite if it's 4' in front of the back of your trailer!!
And high is not necessarily good, I don't know about most people but I know myself I rarely notice that 3rd eye on a lot of vehicles when it is mounted up high. People tend to focus on the location of your tail lites. So that's where you want to keep as much of your lite as possible.
Just some observations from an old trailer building veteran.

You have a very good point. The requirement says the location should be "on the rear, center - facing rearward". That would certainly be easier to accomplish more or less in line with the tail lights. In the next column under "height" it just says "high as practicable". Even though the functional purpose of the lights is to "Indicate presence of a wide vehicle" I am beginning to agree that puting the lights on or near the rearmost point is more important than height, in the case of a teardrop.

Thanks! Bill

I've noticed on the new dually pickups, that the light bar is now in the middle of the tailgate rather than the top of the cab.

I think lower is probably better, but I will have a license plate and bracket and hatch handle in the "centered area." So, I guess have to sort all of that out.

anyone with a h/f trailer, it is prewired.. the lights and wires are out there already... very easy access.

wlooper89 wrote:

aggie79 wrote:My teardrop will be wider than 80". I don't plan on putting the "extra" lights but will pre-wire just in case. If needed, the 3-light bar will be above the hurricane hinge.

That sounds like a good plan, centered above the galley door hinge. There would not be any potential argument about them not being as high as practicable.

While pickups have indeed moved to putting them on the tailgate, there isn't anywhere higher which is unlikely to be blocked by cargo, and my guess is that is the reason for the move.

Most cargo trailers put them over the rear cargo door, but it's easy with a vertical surface. Boat trailers do put them down on the frame, since there's nowhere else for them to go, and the teardrop bumper (or rear crossmember if there's no bumper) seems like a legitimate option to me.

wlooper89 wrote:... There is not a rearward facing surface but some sort of mount could be made. Maybe like a very small spoiler or teardrop shape. I would need to add wires to the area but that should be relatively easy inside the cabinets.

Bill

My travel trailer has a curved shape, so there would be no vertical mounting surface, but a mounting area is moulded into the body shell shape. This lack of a vertical surface is a common problem for the forward-facing identification lights on trucks, so they use individual lights - or bars of the three lights - with integral mounts which might be the right shape to work above the hatch on a teardrop... but the forward-facing lights are amber and the trailer's rear-facing identification lights need to be red.

Chevrolet did it this way on the 2009 Dually Silverado. The center rear identification lamps are just above the bumper/license plate with clearance lamps on the rear fenders. The new Ford dually is about the same. I was a little concerned about how it would look to have the three lights above the license plate. But now I think it looks good. I would put the 3-light bar where my plate mount/integrated light is now and mount the license plate about 2 inches lower, with power source the same for both.

Regarding the front and rear clearance lamps that are on my trailer fenders, I like being able to see the front ones in the rearview mirrors even during the day if the vehicle lights are turned on. This confirms to me the trailer lights are working.

Found this picture online. I am trying to get a ruling from NHTSA on any 80" wide lamp requirements for a teardrop including location and height. In the absence of any official new info I plan to put an ID lamp bar on the rear above the license plate. This is a case of conflicting requirements, "on the rear and as high as practicable". I think we can always say "to put them any higher would not be on the rear". Teardrops 80" or more wide are unusual enough that troopers probably will not bother us if the rear ID lights are on top, on the rear or none.

Bill

My question for the topic was about rear identification lamps because Little Guy had already installed front and rear clearance lamps at the factory, and those lamps simply go at the “widest point, and as high as practicable”. The front and rear clearance lamps are also among those needed on 80" trailers, to be fully legal. This photo shows how Little Guy did it on our 90" wide-at-the-wheels "Double Wide" model. There is a single housing on each fender with the amber lens facing forward and a red lens facing rearward. Power wires go into the housings through small raceways on top of the fenders. These lamps are not combined with turn signals and may be off during the day, but I usually turn on the tow vehicle lights so the trailer lights will be on day or night. By comparison the big-rig box-shaped trailers have the rear clearance lamps at the left and right top corners on the rear of the trailer, if that is the widest point. The three rear ID lamps at the top center.

Digressing a bit, the photo was taken on a cold morning near Columbus, GA. During the night Paige, our camping kitty, got out of the tent. When Patricia woke up later and discovered her missing it gave us quite a scare. We were very thankful to find her in the woods nearby. She seemed happy to get back into the trailer with us and we have since sealed up a small opening in the tent at the right wheel. The tent snaps onto the trailer around the right door.

Bill

My new center rear ID lamp bar came via UPS today. It is Wesbar brand and comes with the lamps mounted on 6 inch centers on a stainless steel housing. Now I will soon be a legal beagle.

The light bar is to go where the license plate light/bracket is now and the license plate will be mounted about two inches lower. I'll add a pic of the completed installation.

Regards, Bill