Wiring... Don't do this.

[Ron Dickey]

When I first built my trailer it started as a boat trailer fraim. I added would to the out side so it was square. It started out "T" shaped. Making the trailer square out of would I had no metal to ground the lights to so I ran a gound wire too.

I enclosed the trailer top and bottom with wood sheets to give it more support. between these two sheets sat the wiring. I installed a hinge on one side so I could get at at them if I needed. I drove it down to the DMV and got it licensed as a platform.
Then I put the trailer body on top. and bolted it on. Then I drove it off to my first meet around the mountain at Mantan De Oro. In my driving back and forth between home and camp site the wires got cut by the hitch.
see my alubum
Now I just have Lights but no turn nor brake lights. I conected the broken wire from the truck put on a tester and all worked fine.

I then put on a new coupler on the trailer making sure each wire was with the correct wire color. hooked up the truck same problem. That means that one of the wires in the trailer body .... inside the sandwige of plywood and 2x4 sides.

I have two choises.
1. remove the upper part to which I have not quite figured how.
1a make a Deck to rest the upper body on
1b put it in the bed of my truck.
2. just run a new set of wires and connect to
2a existing lights
2b put in a separte set of LED lights just for brakes and turning.

Why do I like 2b? best, Maybe I'll get a set of Morris Miner lights.

At any...rate if you are making a triler make sure the wires are where you can get at them in emergancies.
The lights worked great and the trailer

[Mike C.]

Ron,

I think I would vote for 2. or 2b.

[Miriam C.]

Ron,

I think I would vote for 2. or 2b.

both If part of your wiring is compromised sooner or later the rest will be too. run your lights under the trailer and you will always be able to get to it.

Can I move this to the Electrical section?

[Ron Dickey]

Ron,
Can I move this to the Electrical section?

If you have one of those magic wands, you can.... I know she was here a second ago... Poof .... so this is electrical.
Ron

[starleen2]

Happened to me too – dang them little gremlins. Option 2b was my best bet too. Gave me a good excuse to add recessed LED lights and new LED side marker lights. I tried to splice and fix what I had, but the aggravation factor, not to mention the number of splices necessary, made the cost of new wiring attractive! Now I have both New wiring and LED lights

[Ron Dickey]

I was hoping to try and make it to or close to the Death Valley meet turned out I had 4 days off.
But NO I feel like I am working on an old car that just won't go. Or am about to push a new boat out in the water that quickly fills with water and sinks.
I Ran the new wires and on a wild shot
tryed hooking them to the exsiting lights; I have some wires in the back to plug in upper body lights.
NO GO.
Regular light work fine... no turn or brake ....
2b is now my nest move LED are my next move.
I have a tester for the back of the truck wires and it says I am ok there.
boo ho know freezing my butt off in the deasert or seeing more trailers that I had not seen before. I could Drive up and back but other things are afoot now.
It is always better to be safe then sorry .... Far From Home.

Ron D.

[ARKPAT]

Same here!

I did the new LED Lights thing and ran new wiring under in conduit.


I glad I did the lights are better seen and alot brighter that the originals HF trailer light that came in the kit.



Pat

[Miriam C.]

Ron,
Can I move this to the Electrical section?

If you have one of those magic wands, you can.... I know she was here a second ago... Poof .... so this is electrical.
Ron

Ok I finally moved it here because I think lots of people have light issues and this is a great question.

Ron, I double grounded my brake lights. They are run normal and I put an extra ground to the frame of the trailer. They work great now. The white is the extra ground and meets the other light, then the frame.

[Ron Dickey]

I kept try to make the old system work and realized that I was at the point where new needs to replace old. The light almost never got used but the were bulb and I saw Led in the store are almost double the price.
A Freind gave me some money for doing him a favor and it should cover the cost of the new LED lights so I cut out most of the visable wires and will be installing LED's soon.
I also realized I may never part the top from the bottom. In time I may build the equipment that will help me lift if off but it will be sometime before I do. but the Light will remain mostly part of the lower section and the lights on the wires on the upper body will have plugs, where the upper and lower seperate.

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Efficiency: LED's are very energy efficient and consume less power (amp draw)...up to 90% less power than incandescent bulbs. This reduces the load on your electrical system including your battery, alternator, and power converter resulting in direct money-saving benefits.

No Heat: LED lights generate no heat therefore they are cool to the touch and can be left on for hours without incident or consequence if touched.

Longevity: LEDs are rated for 100,000 hours compared to 3,000 hours for incandescent bulbs. Consider real world circumstances where more incandescent bulbs need to be replaced within one year. An LED light will last over 20 years before needing a replacement.

Fusing: Due to the low energy draw of LEDs, the gauge of wire used can be reduced. Caution: Typical incandescent fusing requirements are too robust for LEDs and therefore, fusing must be sized for the low LED circuit draw. Incorrect fuse sizing can cause damage to your electrical system.

[brian_bp]

I like LEDs, and think they're quite appropriate for trailers, but there is some misinformation floating around about them.

No Heat: LED lights generate no heat therefore they are cool to the touch and can be left on for hours without incident or consequence if touched.

No, not quite.
A very low output LED, such as an indicator on a dashboard, will put out so little heat that it is inconsequential and can be ignored; however, anything which is not perfectly efficient produces heat, and LEDs are very far from perfect. The highest-output LEDs consume several watts and run noticeably hot. Clusters of LEDs used as replacements for bulbs in reading lamps are routinely mounted on aluminum heat sinks, just like other high-power electronic devices. One of the major challenges in the design of high-power lamps (such as headlights) based on LEDs is heat management.

The heat is not a problem for trailer lights... but it exists.

[Ron Dickey]

Got a set of rear LED lights from Wal Mart they are the type that can go under water. For those deep river crossings.
I have both LED and reg. marker lights.
Will try and put them in when it stops raining for a few days.
Ron