Add taillights to camper?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I'm using an 8' Bronco Popup in a 6.5' Ram 1500 bed with the lowered tailgate supporting the back. Obviously, from a diagonal view, one truck taillight is blocked from view. There are no lights on the camper, and it's advertised for 8' or 6.5' use, so presumably it's legal. IMO, it still might be a good idea to add some discreet lights to indicate stop/turn/running lights?

Has anyone else added lights, and how did you wire them? I'm thinking of getting a trailer wiring harness and plugging it into the bumper receptacle

[RWDIII]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

RWDIII wrote:
Deb and Ed
Thought I would share what the SS1200 looks like on a
ford F250 with 6.9"bed.Tailgate removed.Extends 11 inches from Bumper
Pic when photobucket works better

Nice pic and beautiful camper - but my 1995 camper has a soft spot on the door-hinge-side floor corner. It's not bad enough to make me bother to replace the wood; but I definitely want the very back supported; and on a Ram 6' 4" (shorter) bed, even more so?

I found my roll of Transit Shield and will protect the shiny side of the tailgate with it.

Do the newer Broncos have the steel ribs that run "abeam" (sailing term for "perpendicular to the keel")?? I see that as my easy-peasy way to get the taillight wires from one side to the other!

The best thing for this old guy is the electric top and a dinette '
bed I can actually sleep in.
The top is wired ready for air conditioner
If I want to be more stealth,I can leave the top down and stiil camp

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

RWDIII wrote:
Deb and Ed
Thought I would share what the SS1200 looks like on a
ford F250 with 6.9"bed.Tailgate removed.Extends 11 inches from Bumper
Pic when photobucket works better

Nice pic and beautiful camper - but my 1995 camper has a soft spot on the door-hinge-side floor corner. It's not bad enough to make me bother to replace the wood; but I definitely want the very back supported; and on a Ram 6' 4" (shorter) bed, even more so?

I found my roll of Transit Shield and will protect the shiny side of the tailgate with it.

Do the newer Broncos have the steel ribs that run "abeam" (sailing term for "perpendicular to the keel")?? I see that as my easy-peasy way to get the taillight wires from one side to the other!

[RWDIII]

Deb and Ed
Thought I would share what the SS1200 looks like on a
ford F250 with 6.9"bed.Tailgate removed.Extends 11 inches from Bumper
Pic when photobucket works better

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

mkirsch wrote:
You're not going to get any undue attention for lack of a third eye brake light. It's not required on any vehicle over 80" wide. Your camper is 84".

The clearance lights are a requirement on anything over 80" wide.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/standards/conspicuity/TBMpstr.html

Thank you! This is all good to know 🙂

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

zcookiemonstar wrote:
not sure if these will fit your truck but it's a good price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Torklift-Truck-Camper-Front-Tiedowns-fits-D2119-and-more-for-Dodge-Ram-/181817885968?hash=item2a5530c510&vxp=mtr

Thanks!!! I forwarded to Ed, with a plea 😉 I think the "whump" un-nerved him a bit, too....

[mkirsch]

You're not going to get any undue attention for lack of a third eye brake light. It's not required on any vehicle over 80" wide. Your camper is 84".

The clearance lights are a requirement on anything over 80" wide.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/standards/conspicuity/TBMpstr.html

[zcookiemonstar]

not sure if these will fit your truck but it's a good price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Torklift-Truck-Camper-Front-Tiedowns-fits-D2119-and-more-for-Dodge-Ram-/181817885968?hash=item2a5530c510&vxp=mtr

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

zcookiemonstar wrote:
If your not comfortable with those tie downs you really should upgrade. Why take a chance just to save a few bucks? Glad to hear your adding lights I hate when I can't see some ones tail lights.

I'll be honest - I'm not very impressed by the 2014 Ram 1500 for its "brute strength". It's a GREAT truck when used as a car. Put ANY kind of load on it, and it turns into a mid-grade-gas-guzzling wuss compared to other trucks we've owned (and we've owned a bunch). Since the Torklifts are model-specific, I'll wait until we find the truck we want to keep.

Ironically, Ed bought me a "camper cart": a horribly rusted-out early-90's Ram 1500. It was cheaper than a trailer or heavy cart because it's such an eyesore....LOL! "Trusty Rusty" runs like a champ and has great tires 😉 And doesn't squat like the new truck does under the weight of the camper; and the bedrails are far more robust.

[zcookiemonstar]

If your not comfortable with those tie downs you really should upgrade. Why take a chance just to save a few bucks? Glad to hear your adding lights I hate when I can't see some ones tail lights.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

AnEv942 wrote:
Thats what Id do is add the little box lights at the outer corner, side markers/reflectors, can even be had with LEDS.
LED trailer lights But all kinds of flush mount lights.
Adding 4 pin might be simplest short term, think Id utilize the 7 pin since your already using-likely a lot more wiring involved though.

I ordered some 15" long x 1" tall LED stop/turn/taillights bars and plan to mount them along the "wings"? I think they're sexy 😉

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

zcookiemonstar wrote:
Are comfortable with those tie downs?

To be perfectly honest - no. Those clamp-on tiedowns are depending on the strength of the truck bed rail (which IMO are slightly beefier than HVAC duct) and there's a bit of flex to that rail. Enough so, that when a large tanker-truck flew past us in the opposite lane, the resulting blast of air lifted the front of the camper up far enough to make it go "WHUMP" when it came back down. We now give a wide berth to oncoming big trucks...

IF (and that's a big if) Ed can find a nice used late-model shortbed crewcab F350 diesel in the next 3 weeks.... I'd have a set of Torklifts in a heartbeat. But at the moment, that's been like chasing unicorns.

[AnEv942]

Thats what Id do is add the little box lights at the outer corner, side markers/reflectors, can even be had with LEDS.
LED trailer lights But all kinds of flush mount lights.
Adding 4 pin might be simplest short term, think Id utilize the 7 pin since your already using-likely a lot more wiring involved though.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Thanks for all the tips! I have marker lights that run off the pigtail that I can plug into my 7-way receptacle - I was planning on making another pigtail with a flat 4-way plug for the new taillights (my Ram has 2 receptacles at the rear bumper)

I was concerned that the camper obscures my 3rd brakelight; and with only one taillight being visible at times, I might attract the wrong kind of police attention?



Re the tailgate: yes, I was told to use the tailgate to support the back of the camper. But I appreciate the mention of debris hitting the underside of the tailgate.... I still have some extra transit shield laying around somewhere - I'll just cover it with that.

[mkirsch]

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28448680/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1

Lights are lights. There's no law of man or physics or God that says the lights have to be somehow "special" for the camper, or wired through the camper. As long as they work, are visible, and perform the required functions.

Mostly they have to work. If you add lights you had better make darned sure that they work.