Waterproof trailer lights!

vince · 29 January 2007, 15:41

Anyone tried these? How would they mount on a moving tail-bar?
http://www.ecs-marine-equipment.co.u...tem-32781.html

Biggles · 29 January 2007, 16:22

Seem very expensive.

vince · 29 January 2007, 16:28

Most l.e.d lights do. Why is that? The led`s themselves are cheap as chips!

jyasaki · 29 January 2007, 17:47

214 pounds for 4 LED lights? (speaking of which, why 2 number plate lights? Are you required to run twin license plates over there?) Seems *really* expensive to me.

Our lighting requirements here consist of running/brake/turn signal combination lights, with the left one having a hole in the bottom (or separate white LEDs) for illuminating a license plate. There are also side marker lights mounted about a third of the way back on the trailer (usually.)

Over 80" trailers, in addition to the above, get a rear center clearance light, and clearance lights (visible from the front and side) at or near the widest point of the trailer. Usually, the combo light will have a lens (or LED) facing outwards on the side as well.

All lights except brake and turn are wired to the running light line.

I replaced all the lights on my (over 80") trailer last weekend (while I was at home with a cold... nothing like working outside when you should be at work.) Two combination lights, a center 3-light marker, two marker lights per side; the lights themselves ran a total of maybe $80 US (probably less. It was a while ago.) Bit of a pain, because the new lights used 2-hole mounting rather than sinlge stud. I made up some adaptor plates out of HDPE that allowed me to mount them without drilling (plus gave me chance to give the new Dremel router a bit of a workout.) I did run dedicated ground wires to all light units, and used adhesive lined shrink tubing on all soldered connections.

Despite all the housings being "sealed" (as per the advertising), I sealed all seams and other potential openings with silicone caulk. I think next time I'll take my friends advice and go over all the fixtures with 3M 5200. The silicone doesn't stick really well to the thermoplastic they use.

jky

nik · 29 January 2007, 18:16

This seems a bit more reasonable.

http://www.mobilecentre.co.uk/index....products_id=51

vince · 29 January 2007, 18:21

Thats more like it, nik, but are they waterproof? jky, was the reason you did youre lights like that so you dont have to bother taking the trailer board off? I like the idea of just being able to slide a board with waterproof lights/plate etc in and out of the back of the trailer when launch/recover. Its such a pain with the removable one

sparkey · 29 January 2007, 19:41

Try :
http://stores.ebay.ie/LED-AUTO-LIGHTS

I got some direct from this company last year as hella would not supply any to any european order.
On the trailer now for 12 months and no problem's.
Glad to see hella now importing the lights into europe.

jyasaki · 30 January 2007, 00:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by vince

jky, was the reason you did youre lights like that so you dont have to bother taking the trailer board off?

It is very rare here to see a boat trailer with a light board. My lights are permanently attached to the trailer. No boards, nothing removeable. This is the normal setup. Which, of course, means a couple of things: 1) The lights have to be designed so as to either be completely sealed, or at least use something like the "bell jar" design to keep the majority of water off the contacts, and 2) they typically have to be replaced at way-more-often-than-one-would-think intervals. The second statement, in my case, is either because (on non-sealed units) the metal bits corrode, or because (in the case of sealed units) they flood or otherwise fail.

I am pretty anal about wire connections (either solder and adhesive lined shrink tubing, or adhesive lined butt connectors), so I rarely have wiring issues. The fixtures themselves are another matter entirely. For whatever reason, a $60 set of lights has about $2 worth of materials, assembled in the cheesiest manner possible.

As I said in another post, in the US, all trailer lighting has to be DOT approved, which sort of removes the option of my building a bulletproof set of lights. Though I may do it anyway, just to be a bit of a rebel. Haven;t really convinced myself yet.

jky

Nos4r2 · 30 January 2007, 04:14

Define 'Dot approved'. Does it have to be approved when attached to the trailer or can it be removable? If it can,why not just build yourself a lighting board with Dot approved lights?

vince · 30 January 2007, 12:12

Thanks Sparkey. I think I might just order some. Very good prices! I`ll have some reversing lights as well, and use them as deck lights! I take it that you run the light cables up through the trailer chassis, that way they`ll be invisible. Dam, another project to stay awake with!

jyasaki · 30 January 2007, 16:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Define 'Dot approved'. Does it have to be approved when attached to the trailer or can it be removable? If it can,why not just build yourself a lighting board with Dot approved lights?

The DOT approval involves (I think) testing the light units themselves for things like on-axis brightness, off-axis brightness, stuff like that. The DOT approval has nothing to do with water-tightness or durability or any other real-world desirable factors. It just states that the light meets the brightness requirements.

I do not know what the penalty would be for running non-approved lights, but I would assume that, in case of an accident at night, it would open up a lot of liability issues (what doesn't), so its not really something that I would suggest taking lightly.

You certainly can build your light board with DOT approved lights, and I've seen a few smaller inflatables that have done just that. There is some spec that defines the heights that the various lights must be within, but I have no idea what those are, but I do recall that they would have come into play on my boat (assuming the board would be mounted on top of the tubes.)

Personally, I think I would find removing and installing the light bar to be something of a hassle. That's just me, though. I can see how it would add to the longevity of the units themselves, though.

How do you guys wire the board to the trailer (if at all)? Is it on a pigtail going to a connector mounted on the trailer, or are you just using wiring direct from the tow vehicle with the wiring separate from the trailer?

jky

vince · 30 January 2007, 16:13

The cable is wired direct on to the light board, then it trails all over the boat to the front, where it is then connected to a removable pin connector situated on the towbar of the vehicle. Its a pain in the preverbials, cos you have to make sure it doesnt flap about, chaffe the tubes, fall off, where do you put the light board while youre out on the boat etc. Would be a lot less hassle just to be able to dunk them in!

Biggles · 30 January 2007, 16:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by vince

Its a pain in the preverbials, cos you have to make sure it doesnt flap about, chaffe the tubes, fall off, where do you put the light board while youre out on the boat etc.

Its the biggest pain about trailer sailing.

Poly · 30 January 2007, 16:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

You certainly can build your light board with DOT approved lights, and I've seen a few smaller inflatables that have done just that. There is some spec that defines the heights that the various lights must be within, but I have no idea what those are, but I do recall that they would have come into play on my boat (assuming the board would be mounted on top of the tubes.)

I think most people in the UK mount the trailer board on the trailer rather than at tube height (normally using some extension poles which ensure it is behind the engine.) A few people seem to mount it on the A-frame - although I am not sure if that is technically legal (I think we too have an upper height limit).

Quote:

How do you guys wire the board to the trailer (if at all)? Is it on a pigtail going to a connector mounted on the trailer, or are you just using wiring direct from the tow vehicle with the wiring separate from the trailer?

Normally they are wired direct to the vehicle. We do not have any requirement for side markers on normal rib sized BOAT trailers - which may have an impact on you.

If you invested the time you spend rebuilding your lights every year you can very quickly create a simple system where the trailerboard is fitted to the trailer but easily removable (some people here, like me, tie it on - which is time consuming - but with a little ingenuity it shouldn't be difficult to engineer a quick fit/release option).

Poly · 30 January 2007, 16:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by vince

The cable is wired direct on to the light board, then it trails all over the boat to the front, where it is then connected to a removable pin connector situated on the towbar of the vehicle. Its a pain in the preverbials, cos you have to make sure it doesnt flap about, chaffe the tubes, fall off, where do you put the light board while youre out on the boat etc. Would be a lot less hassle just to be able to dunk them in!

Vince - fit the board to the trailer rather than the transom and then your cable just goes under the chasis - easy enough to wrap around the trailer or for a quicker option use some sort of velcro tie to hold it in place.

Biggles · 30 January 2007, 16:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

Vince - fit the board to the trailer rather than the transom and then your cable just goes under the chasis - easy enough to wrap around the trailer or for a quicker option use some sort of velcro tie to hold it in place.

Thing I hate about trailer boards is that the cable seems to get covered in crap off the slip and then gets stuffed in the car where the crap manages to transfer itself on to my back seats. I've been looking for a bag big enough to put the whole lot in but no doubt that would collect the same crap so I would really need a big supply of them.

Its a shame we have a country full of thieves because it would be good if you could leave the board on the trailer. However I have a feeling this is a bit impractical because of the laws regarding lights and reflectors on trailers and their height and fitment etc.

Biggles · 30 January 2007, 16:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

Vince - fit the board to the trailer rather than the transom and then your cable just goes under the chasis - easy enough to wrap around the trailer or for a quicker option use some sort of velcro tie to hold it in place.

I find winding the cable round the trailer a bigger pain than just throwing it over the boat and feeding it down the fairlead to the rear of the car.

vince · 30 January 2007, 18:30

Exactly the issues we`re having. Hence the fit and forget idea! You should still be able to slide the 2 bars in and out to make the trailer shorter/longer, but no need to take the thing off at any time. If you were to route the cable through the trailer box section, even better.

sparkey · 30 January 2007, 18:40

LED lights fitted to sliding bars at back of trailer
Cables ran inside of trailer box section
All electrical connections soldered and covered with heat shrink.
Last section of cable before lights is multicore spiral that expands and contracts when the bars are moved ( Cable like keypad cable or power cable from electric razor).

Poly · 30 January 2007, 19:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biggles

Thing I hate about trailer boards is that the cable seems to get covered in crap off the slip and then gets stuffed in the car where the crap manages to transfer itself on to my back seats.

Don't you take the board and cable off before you reverse down the slip?

Quote:

I've been looking for a bag big enough to put the whole lot in but no doubt that would collect the same crap so I would really need a big supply of them.

What like this?