Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Posted: **Mon Apr 15, 2013 6:58 pm**

How many and at what locations do you have marker lights on your build? What size is your trailer? Orange or red marker lights? Using any reflectors rather than lights?

My travel trailer is 6 feet x 10 feet and 6 feet high. Right now I have 2 orange led lights for the lower front sides, 2 red led lights for the upper back sides and tail lights that also have lights on their sides. I have 4 orange reflectors that I plan to attach around the top. I also plan to use a third brake light.

I sometimes see trailers with a LOT of lights all over them. I wonder if I'm doing enough.

Posted: **Mon Apr 15, 2013 7:39 pm**

Here's a link to the NHTSA Chart of required lights.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/standards/conspicuity/trlrpstr.html
My trailer is narrower than 80" but a CHP officer pulled me over and "recommended" that I add front and rear clearance lights, so I did.

I have an amber LED clearance light at the front of each side and a red LED clearance light on each side at the rear.

I used these lights
http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lights/Optronics/MCL13A2B.html

I have large (~3" dia) red reflectors on the back of the trailer below the tail/stop/turn lights on each side.

<Chas>
:beer:

Posted: **Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:05 pm**

Irving wrote:How many and at what locations do you have marker lights on your build? What size is your trailer? Orange or red marker lights? Using any reflectors rather than lights?

My travel trailer is 6 feet x 10 feet and 6 feet high. Right now I have 2 orange led lights for the lower front sides, 2 red led lights for the upper back sides and tail lights that also have lights on their sides. I have 4 orange reflectors that I plan to attach around the top. I also plan to use a third brake light.

I sometimes see trailers with a LOT of lights all over them. I wonder if I'm doing enough.

Do you really want it to look like a rolling Christmas Tree....

Minimum NHTSA requirement is usually enough...

Dale

Posted: **Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:52 pm**

Do you really want it to look like a rolling Christmas Tree....

If it saves getting hit, yes.
All my highway lights are LED.
I have two tail/stop/turn on the rear, one third brake/clearance/turn on the hatch, two front side amber, two rear side red, one red one amber on each fender (forward & aft) & one amber turn signal on each side up front, mid height.
When I have our bike rack on with the bikes it has one 15" light just like the third tail/stop/turn.
I have 3 red reflectors on the rear and one amber reflector on each side of the tongue.
When I went in for inspection the trooper in charge walked by and said "everything looks top drawer".

Danny

Posted: **Tue Apr 16, 2013 4:32 am**

In the UK with an 8ft trailer, you don't technically need any I don't think (except rear lights of course)

But ive got 4 US Pathfinder lights on mine. It completes the American look I was going for.

Its personal taste but I like lights

Its not quite a coca cola xmas truck yet though!

Posted: **Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:33 am**

I am with Danny, anything that keeps you from getting hit is a really good idea. I have marker lights at the outside edge of the fenders so that I know where they are at night.

Posted: **Tue Apr 16, 2013 6:48 am**

Side marker lights are to help those approaching from a 90 degree angle to determine how big the vehicle is. The ambers are front and top and the reds are to determine the end of the vehicle.

I would rather be a christmas tree than a dead branch ran over in the intersection so I lit mine up.

Chubby has 3 amber and a red clearance on each side. I had a set of led tails installed under the lexan skin in the rear but decided I needed to add surface mounted rear tails and about 6 tiny reflectors at the bottom of the gally hatch help to get the tiny trailer noticed

The barn has a amber front and a red rear.

I left the stock tails but continued to worry about someone behind with their head up their butt not noticing them because they were so low so I added a 3rd brake light. It is mounted in the red lantern above the rear doors.

Posted: **Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:38 pm**

I have the standard lights that come with the trailer. More would have been nicer but I built on a budget.

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 2:31 am**

GuitarPhotog wrote:My trailer is narrower than 80" but a CHP officer pulled me over and "recommended" that I add front and rear clearance lights, so I did.

That CHP officer is wrong. The clearance lights are there to warn others that the vehicle is wider than normal. A narrow trailer or vehicle should not have them.

If you have wheels and fenders that stick out from the sides, I'd light them with marker lights at their widest extents.

As for the high middle tail light like cars have, I'd have one. It isn't required. I'd out it at a height appropriate for being seen by car drivers.

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:41 am**

Bogo wrote:
GuitarPhotog wrote:My trailer is narrower than 80" but a CHP officer pulled me over and "recommended" that I add front and rear clearance lights, so I did.
That CHP officer is wrong. The clearance lights are there to warn others that the vehicle is wider than normal. A narrow trailer or vehicle should not have them.

If you have wheels and fenders that stick out from the sides, I'd light them with marker lights at their widest extents.

As for the high middle tail light like cars have, I'd have one. It isn't required. I'd out it at a height appropriate for being seen by car drivers.

NO the CHP officer is correct.....

Go back to this site...

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

Go to this section....

BASIC EQUIPMENT REQUIRED ON ALL TRAILERS

And read items 3 & 4....

The 80 inch rules are under this header..

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR TRAILERS EXCEEDING THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS

Dale

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 4:49 pm**

Greater than 30' long, greater than 80" wide...

The lights on the upper corners are fine for smaller trailers, but not required. The three ones in the middle top are identification lights. Don't install them unless your vehicle is 80" wide or wider. I was getting identification lights and clearance lights mixed up.

There is something that I bet allot of people don't have, and that is the reflective strips. They used to be optional, and now look to be mandatory. Years ago I put them on all by farm equipment for safety reasons. The rules are a bit different for slow moving vehicles.

Dale M. wrote:
Bogo wrote:
GuitarPhotog wrote:My trailer is narrower than 80" but a CHP officer pulled me over and "recommended" that I add front and rear clearance lights, so I did.
That CHP officer is wrong. The clearance lights are there to warn others that the vehicle is wider than normal. A narrow trailer or vehicle should not have them.

If you have wheels and fenders that stick out from the sides, I'd light them with marker lights at their widest extents.

As for the high middle tail light like cars have, I'd have one. It isn't required. I'd out it at a height appropriate for being seen by car drivers.

NO the CHP officer is correct.....

Go back to this site...

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

Go to this section....

BASIC EQUIPMENT REQUIRED ON ALL TRAILERS

And read items 3 & 4....

The 80 inch rules are under this header..

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR TRAILERS EXCEEDING THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS

Dale

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 6:21 pm**

Dale M. wrote:
Bogo wrote:
GuitarPhotog wrote:My trailer is narrower than 80" but a CHP officer pulled me over and "recommended" that I add front and rear clearance lights, so I did.
That CHP officer is wrong. The clearance lights are there to warn others that the vehicle is wider than normal. A narrow trailer or vehicle should not have them.

If you have wheels and fenders that stick out from the sides, I'd light them with marker lights at their widest extents.

As for the high middle tail light like cars have, I'd have one. It isn't required. I'd out it at a height appropriate for being seen by car drivers.

NO the CHP officer is correct.....

Go back to this site...

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

Go to this section....

BASIC EQUIPMENT REQUIRED ON ALL TRAILERS

And read items 3 & 4....

The 80 inch rules are under this header..

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT FOR TRAILERS EXCEEDING THE FOLLOWING PARAMETERS

Dale

It doesn't much matter, I added them anyway.

<Chas>
:beer:

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 7:13 pm**

My tear is well lit and highly visible. I risk a ticket for too many lights any time.

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:26 pm**

The irony of all this is you can probably put as many lights as you want as long as you fulfill legal requirements.... BUT if you have "extra" lights mounted and not functioning (not wired or bulbs burnt out) you can be cited for non functioning indicators in some states, Calif is one of those states... But this will probably only happen if cop is a a$$....

Dale

Posted: **Fri Apr 19, 2013 10:10 pm**

TPMcGinty wrote:I have the standard lights that come with the trailer. More would have been nicer but I built on a budget.

Technically your marker (clearance) lamps are wrong.... They are not supposed to be mounted at frame level but at upper most section of trailer body.... The only reason the are on frame level with HF trailers is because at time of sale and to have legal lighting the frame is highest portion of trailer....

BUT I seriously double an enforcement officer will take issue with where they are mounted....

Dale

Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

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