Turn signal indicators

Back when I drove big rig in all 50 states, my KW and trailer had 6 six) turn indicators on each side. The trailer side indicators did seem to help somewhat. However, sometimes, one just has to make a jiggle of the steering wheel to wake up folks.
I do think side indicators would be a help. EXCEPT in New Jersey! I'm kidding.
Thanks

hershey wrote:
I installed my own about a third of the way from the front. I bought the brightest I could find and they are a definite asset when trying to change lanes and Willielumplump is driving along side of you and won't speed up or slow down to let you in. That catches there eye.

Hershey,
Any info/pics of what you did?
Thinking of adding some to my rig.
As you said, definitely a good idea for that situation when traffic seems to just stay stuck right beside you.

AdirondackJack wrote:
...and then there is Florida where maybe only 1 in 5 motorists use their turn signals to begin with. I do think side signals are a good idea though. We need every advantage we can get for driving defensively with a rig.

Utah is the other way - people generally use their turn signals, but the attitude behind them is "I'm going there, get out of the way before I hit you" instead of "I'd like to go there, if you can make room for me great, otherwise I'll just wait until its clear".

Bob Vaughn wrote:
Why don't rv manufacturers install turn signal indicator lights along the sides of RV's? Don't say its because of cost because that just does not compute when you are spending 10's of thousands of dollars .......Retrofitting them is a PITA......

Sorry but I will say it's about cost...everything is. If you are making 10 thousand RV's a year and add just $5 in parts to each unit you have now taken $50,000 off your bottom line. To say nothing of the labor to install, test and QA, order and stock the parts, track the inventory, return faulty parts etc etc. All for something that has no tangible payback in terms of customer satisfaction, loyalty or rise in sales??

There is a cost to everything and most people who have never been in business just dont grasp the full impact of what seems to them a very small change.

hershey wrote:
I installed my own about a third of the way from the front. I bought the brightest I could find and they are a definite asset when trying to change lanes and Willielumplump is driving along side of you and won't speed up or slow down to let you in. That catches there eye.

I did the same several years ago. My coach already had a side turn signal near the rear tire. Once"Willielumplump" passed that side turn signal, he could not see any of my turn signals when I needed to change lanes. I added an additional light near the front tire, and it really does make a difference. (I ran two conductor wire to the front turn signal for power.) Now if "willie" does not speed up or slow down, I at least know it's not because he can not see my turn signal. :)

Fred

A second set came on our FW. Originally intended for those who wanted to carry bikes on the back, being narrow trailers you could get the upper set of lights added as an option, they are now standard.

fj12ryder wrote:

hershey wrote:
I installed my own about a third of the way from the front. I bought the brightest I could find and they are a definite asset when trying to change lanes and Willielumplump is driving along side of you and won't speed up or slow down to let you in. That catches there eye.

And you think they'll actually move over or speed up to help you out? Hmm, you must be living in an alternate universe from mine. :)

Maybe your driving habits differ from mine. I find that by driving with courtesy and defensively, others will respond positively. Lose your quick personal assessments and you may have similar results.

kknowlton wrote:
Heck, most cars don't even have those.

True, I really don't see them as needed, I've seen 100 times more cars "just come over" before being clear than I have seen RV's, what you describe as a problem with the lack of markers on an RV seems to be more of a driver problem.
After saying this, my rear side markers blink with the turn signals, they came that way.

Specularius wrote:
Question for those that added their own, How did you wire them? Do they light up when the brake is pressed or only when the turn signal is on?

I did not add my own. They came on the fiver. The side mounted lights work off the same filament as the turn signal. This means that when the turn signal circuit is energized the side mounted turn signals also come on.

Since many vehicles use the same light bulb filament for both turn signals and brake lights this means that the side mounted turn signals also come on.

Specularius wrote:
Question for those that added their own, How did you wire them? Do they light up when the brake is pressed or only when the turn signal is on?

The ones I have done are hooked to the brake lights- you can use some logic circuits for turn only, but it really isn't worth it. If your rig already has mid mounted clearance lights, you can move the ground for them to the running light circuit, which will let them blink both if the clearance light are on or not (clearance lights on, the ground for the clearance lights is through the turn signals, clearance off, the ground for the turn signals is through the clearance light circuit. This will not work with LED bulbs, without external diodes).