My fifth wheel does not have marker lights anywhere near the wheels which makes it a bit difficult to avoid curbs (and other obstacles) at night. I bought some LED marker lights to install, but the question is, where?
Both sides have slide outs directly above the wheels. I'm not too keen to run wire up into the slides.
My first thought is to mount them to the frame inside the "wheel well" which would create a glow from behind the tires. Is it ok to put self-tapping screws into the frame?
Optionally, I could mount to the plastic flares over the wheels, but I'm not sure that would be sturdy.
Both sides have slide outs directly above the wheels. I'm not too keen to run wire up into the slides.
My first thought is to mount them to the frame inside the "wheel well" which would create a glow from behind the tires. Is it ok to put self-tapping screws into the frame?
Optionally, I could mount to the plastic flares over the wheels, but I'm not sure that would be sturdy.
Finished up this little project over the weekend. Here are the lights installed.
Spent a little time with the multimeter figuring out which wire was for which circuit. They didn't use the standard colors that I found online. I'm not a huge fan of splice connectors, but they worked fine.
Each light has its own fuse
Unlike my old trailer, the coroplast seems to have been installed from the top and was resting on the I beam. Because of this I couldn't run the wire in the underbelly. I used split loom and mounted it to the existing screws.
For the connections at the lights, I used some cool butt connectors. Basically, you twist the wire together, slide the connector over and heat it up. The heat shrinks the tubing, activates a waterproof glue, and melts some solder at the connection. It was a bit tricky as I had to use a lighter instead of my heat gun as my storage spot doesn't have power.
Spent a little time with the multimeter figuring out which wire was for which circuit. They didn't use the standard colors that I found online. I'm not a huge fan of splice connectors, but they worked fine.
Each light has its own fuse
Unlike my old trailer, the coroplast seems to have been installed from the top and was resting on the I beam. Because of this I couldn't run the wire in the underbelly. I used split loom and mounted it to the existing screws.
For the connections at the lights, I used some cool butt connectors. Basically, you twist the wire together, slide the connector over and heat it up. The heat shrinks the tubing, activates a waterproof glue, and melts some solder at the connection. It was a bit tricky as I had to use a lighter instead of my heat gun as my storage spot doesn't have power.
Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum recommended limit of 640px maximum width.
John Wayne wrote:
Instead of marker light make it a turn signal light then when you need it as a marker light for parking just use the turn signal. And it will give extra an indicator that you are changing lanes when on the road.
Love that idea. The lights I bought came with 5 red and 5 amber. I'll just put a red and amber on each side with the red being for the turn signal. They're pretty small, so I can easily put two on there. Just one more wire to run.
jaycocamprs wrote:
Looks like you have skirting on both sides right behind the wheels. That's where I'd do it.
I was thinking of that as well. I guess if that light clears the curb, so will the tires.
