Adding Back - Up lights

Bionic Man wrote:
I had a set of fog lights wired up when I first bought my RV. They are wired so they are off, on, or on with reverse. Really helps when backing up at night.

I did the same thing and hid the switch up under the rear out of direct peril. Great when you need to see behind late at night, or to notify the person behind they need to clear out.

Well, I am almost done. The 1/2 EMT is all installed. I installed a J-Box under the front of the trailer to get to the Yellow Back-up power on the cord. Pushed #12 wire from the J-Box to the back of the trailer. Really just need to mount the lights and tidy up the last connections. I think with two 1200 Lum. LED's they will provide plenty of lumination for my wife to see where I'm going..............

I pulled the tail light out of my 5th wheel and saw a yellow wire so I tested it and sure enough it had power only when the truck was in reverse. So it was easy for me to add back up lights.

RoyB wrote:
Just be mindfull that any of the DOT Safety lights have requirements on both the lenses and the installed location of lights... There will be a DOT number stamped into the lens. Backup lights general have to come ON only when you are in reverse and not from a toggle switch on your dash somewhere...

I would check with the local DOT/DMV guys and see if what you are purchasing and doing will pass safety inspection...

I installed some lights once and had to remove them to be able to pass safety inspection...

Roy Ken

Counterpoint: toy haulers and horse trailers that have rear facing loading lights. They are all on toggle switches. That's how they came from the manufacturer. And they are brighter than backup lights.

Back up lights on a trailer are fairly useless.

First anytime you are backing you should have a spotter out.

Second, the illuminated area will be behind the trailer where you cant see.

Third...if you need to back into a particular place at night...say a very dark site or up your driveway...take your Maglight flashlight and place it on the ground where you want the wheels to be...then back down the light beam.

This is much more practical and useful than back up lights and it's the trick pro drivers (truckers) use to get into dark inside docks from the bright outside of daylight.

I just use a backup camera with infrared illumination. Then I don't bother my neighbors.

Vintage465 wrote:
I can't hardly believe my trailer came with out back up lights! I'm going to intercept the Yellow Wire in my 7 wire cord where it goes into the trailer. Then I am running some 1/2" EMT from the front of the trailer to the back and then split it off through a box and feed a couple of LED work lights. Hopefully this will make it better when we arrive at campgrounds after dark.

Since I can't see thru my trailer, I have never considered lighting behind it to be an issue. Why would I need to light up the opposite side of a wall? My spotter is the one watching behind the trailer.

I have considered using some sort of lights that illuminate the area around the trailer tires so I can see where they are tracking.

The best and simplest thing to do is cover the the tow vehicle rear lights. The reflection off the front of the trailer prevents you seeing anything beyond that point. I keep two shop towels that I can easily place over the tow vehicle rear lights when backing the trailer after dark.

Just be mindfull that any of the DOT Safety lights have requirements on both the lenses and the installed location of lights... There will be a DOT number stamped into the lens. Backup lights general have to come ON only when you are in reverse and not from a toggle switch on your dash somewhere...

I would check with the local DOT/DMV guys and see if what you are purchasing and doing will pass safety inspection...

I installed some lights once and had to remove them to be able to pass safety inspection...

Roy Ken

I added some to the back of my 5er. I had some driving lights I was going to add to an MC but never got around to it. So I stuck them on the back bumper. Ran a switch up to a side compartment on the curb side. I didn't want to have them hooked up to the trucks reverse lights because when you pull forward to set yourself up to back in the lights would be off. When we get to a CG and it's dark, the wife steps out and turns on the lights. I now have lights on the whole time.

I just bought a magnet mount flashlight and slap it on my bumper when i need to back in at night. I hardly ever get to a site after dark so I couldnt justify wiring in new lights for the amount of times id actually need it

A good wide angle flashlight works just as good