Extra backup lights for trailers

[cat1956]

Yellow is the one.If the female plug on your TV came factory installed it will already be wired to the back up circuit.But if it is a add on you may have to hook it up.

[donjuanss]

I had a Salem 19' Hybrid and it came with the yellow wire already ran to the back of the TT. All you had to do was connect it in the junction box then connect the lights. The new V-Lite I bought had the yellow wire from the TV connector to the junction box but no further. I had to run a 14ga wire to the back to connect the lights. I also used the 55 Watt Utility lights you can buy at Wal Mart for $11. They give more light than most cars headlights do.

[rafcar]

I just finished doing this myself the other day. I put a relay next to that junction box under the trailer. I had a really hard time hooking a wire to the yellow wire from the trailer since it was very short and I didn't want to pull it out to much. I used two 55w fog lamps from Walmart and put them mid way back and just above the tires pointing down some and to the side a little. It actually turned out really good IMO. I'll try to post some pics later.

[cat1956]

Did you use the yellow wire to power the coil in the relay and the trailer battery to power the lights?

[rafcar]

Yes, I used the yellow wire to activate the relay, and I connected the power to the relay by running a wire from the battery + to the relay. The other two connections from the relay are to power the lights, and a ground. This was just a regular 4 prong relay. Hope this helps.

[rafcar]

Here are a few pictures I took the other night. Had to back into the driveway at night and I can honestly say the placement of these two lights is perfect for me.

[CorpusBragg]

rafcar and opcop,

Thanks for your ideas and photos! I plan to do the same, perhaps with Piaa lights. Two directly behind my 34' TT, with two high on the sides rear or middle.

[revrnd]

Dumb question of the day, is the circuit alsways "on" when in TV is in reverse? Or can it be switched on or off independently? Your may not always need the trailer backup lights.

I guess you could add a small switch @ the front or side of your trailer.

[TheSasks]

Use both the light cct and reverse with 2 relays and it will only work with the lights on. You power the 1st relays coil with the light cct and then put the backup light power through the main contacts of the 1st relay and use it to power the coil in the 2nd relay. Run your 12v from the batt through the main contacts of the 2nd relay and you will have a ctt that only provides power with the lights on in reverse.

[MikeA]

On our last TT I add some backuplights in a manner very much like opcop. When I wired them up I wired them through a simple relay to isolate the power from the TV. I also added a wall mounted switch near the entry door to the trailer to operate the lights whenever I want to light up the "back yard" behind the trailer at night.

While I was at it I also added additional turn signal indicators to the sides of the trailer about half way down the length of the unit. I found that making lane changes on busy freeways easier after the change as drivers driving beside the trailer could more easily see my intentions.

Mike