Adding extra run/turn/brake lights to the rear of trailer?

[TonyG109]

I'd like to add additional run/turn/brake lights on the rear of my 32RLS. The OEM lights are small and located down low. When I load up the bicycles on the rear hitch mounted carrier, the lights are barely visible and the right light is already located behind the roof ladder. Even without the bicycles mounted, I still feel adding lights up high is a good idea from a safety standpoint. Below is a picture with the proposed location of the lights.

What I'd like to do is to mount a pair of 15" or so lights horizontally up high, one above each existing tail light which will put them above the roof line of most cars, making them more easily visible to multiple cars following behind. This places them above the huge rear window. But the problem is how to properly and cleanly run the electric lines! I'd like for them to be concealed within the wall but how does one accomplish this?

The more I look at it, the more I think the best way is to remove the rear window to gain access to the wall cross section. Once removed, I could probably fish the lines through the foam insulation with, admittedly, a lot of effort and swearing.

Has anyone added lights to their rigs? Or removed that back window? Thoughts? Ideas? Laughter? Prayers??

 

[BryanValRox]

I'd like to add additional run/turn/brake lights on the rear of my 32RLS. The OEM lights are small and located down low. When I load up the bicycles on the rear hitch mounted carrier, the lights are barely visible and the right light is already located behind the roof ladder. Even without the bicycles mounted, I still feel adding lights up high is a good idea from a safety standpoint. Below is a picture with the proposed location of the lights.

What I'd like to do is to mount a pair of 15" or so lights horizontally up high, one above each existing tail light which will put them above the roof line of most cars, making them more easily visible to multiple cars following behind. This places them above the huge rear window. But the problem is how to properly and cleanly run the electric lines! I'd like for them to be concealed within the wall but how does one accomplish this?

The more I look at it, the more I think the best way is to remove the rear window to gain access to the wall cross section. Once removed, I could probably fish the lines through the foam insulation with, admittedly, a lot of effort and swearing.

Has anyone added lights to their rigs? Or removed that back window? Thoughts? Ideas? Laughter? Prayers??

View attachment 3865

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Got Boogey Fever This Weekend​

I installed running/brake/turn/and reverse.
I ran them vertical next to the trim strip and hid the wires inside the the strips.

You have an additional challenge, as I see your ladder is mounted far right.
You might consider some longer ones that would run from the edge of each side to a distance of your choice over the window. This way you could hide the wiring in the trim strips.

I am very happy with my Boogey Lights!

 

[Lantley]

Not the greatest pictures but I added stalk lights to the rear of my 390MP.
Relatively simple to do and it would resolve your visibility issue.
Lights are very similar to these

 

[TonyG109]

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Got Boogey Fever This Weekend​

I installed running/brake/turn/and reverse.
I ran them vertical next to the trim strip and hid the wires inside the the strips.

You have an additional challenge, as I see your ladder is mounted far right.
You might consider some longer ones that would run from the edge of each side to a distance of your choice over the window. This way you could hide the wiring in the trim strips.

I am very happy with my Boogey Lights!

Using the trim pieces is a great idea. I'd love to find some longer lights. 15" is the longest the local trailer shop carries. I wouldn't mind running them vertical, but that darn ladder! Do you have a picture of your trailer?

 

[TonyG109]

Not the greatest pictures but I added stalk lights to the rear of my 390MP.
Relatively simple to do and it would resolve your visibility issue.
Lights are very similar to these

Those stalk lights are nice. Thanks for the pictures. But I'm afraid I'd hook them on something! I'm really looking to get the lights up high so they're visible over any following vehicle.

 

[BryanValRox]

Using the trim pieces is a great idea. I'd love to find some longer lights. 15" is the longest the local trailer shop carries. I wouldn't mind running them vertical, but that darn ladder! Do you have a picture of your trailer?

Consider going the LED route and check out Boogeylights.com, they have LED option up to 72 inches(I Think)

 

[BryanValRox]

Starting at the bottom, there are 22 inches of white LED’ for reverse light and then stacked above, 52 inches of Brake/ Tail and Turn. Plus I have stalk lights like Lantley suggested. I installed them so I had a better visual reference to the end of the coach. The are flexible and knock on wood, I haven’t hook them on anything yet🤣

 

[Oregon_Camper]

Here is how I did it on our 340RL

 

[TonyG109]

Thanks to all the suggestions, I think the Boogey lights are the way to go! My particular trailer configuration presents some minor mounting decisions/issue to be dealt but I think I can make them work. Thank you everyone for pointing me in the right direction. It may take a while, but I'll update when I make some progress!

If anyone has other suggestions/ideas, please speak up. I'm always open to new ideas!

 

[TonyG109]

Installation complete! I went with the 42" Boogie Lights self adhesive Heavy Duty LED Light Strips to use as tail/turn/brake lights. I also ordered the 3M Adhesive Primer and, out of laziness, also got two 10' the Power Lead Extension Kits. The kit included 5 conductor leads (although labeled 4 conductor), crimp splices and heat shrink tubing.

I started by attaching the 10' leads to the LED strips using the supplied crimp splices. Since I was going to hide the lead in the slender vertical corner trim on the rear corners of the trailer, I staggered the splices to keep the leads slim so they would fit. I used my own heat shrink tubing to tidy up the splices and used Liquid Electrical Tape to seal the ends.




Next, I removed the flexible plastic trim cover (just pinch and pull it) on the trim to expose the pan head screws used to attach the trim. These screws protruded too far to allow the leads to fit in the channel, so I removed them. I then countersunk the holes and installed #8 stainless steel 1" screws.





I then mounting the LED strips horizontally above the rear windows with the wire leads pointed to the outside edge of the trailer. The surface was first cleaned with alcohol and then primed with a swipe of the adhesive primer. The LED strips were pressed in place using a pencil line that was already drawn as a guide. Since this installation was on the back of the trailer and not subjected to high winds like other locations may be, I chose not to put screws in the holes provided in the ends of the LED strips. I just couldn't bring myself to put holes in the exterior walls unless I felt it was absolutely necessary. The self adhesive strips on the back of the LED strips seemed to provide a very secure attachment.



I cut a small slit in the flexible plastic trim cover to allow the lead to enter the trim channel, put the lead in the channel and replaced the trim cover. At the bottom of the trim, I cut an exit hole for the lead. The lead was then routed under the trailer and up behind the tail lights to be spliced to the correct existing wires.





Once under the trailer, I identified the correct wires, cut and spliced the LED leads using closed end crimp caps. All loose wires were secured using zip ties and zip tie anchor mounts screwed to a solid surface using a stainless steel screw.



I then used some clear Lexel sealant to seal all the crimp cap connections. I also sealed the wire lead entry point on the plastic corner trim and ran an inch or so bead on the sides of the plastic corner trim near the bottom to help secure the plastic trim to prevent it from accidentally being pulled out. I left the exit point open to prevent any water/moisture from being trapped in the channel.

Of course, I failed to get a picture of the lights in action! I'll correct this the next time I have the truck hooked up. All in all, a fairly easy project and I'm quite satisfied with the results. The lights are up nice and high and should be visible to all following vehicles.

Notes on the lights and installation
The LED's are available in several different configurations. I purchased the red and amber lights in hopes of using the amber lights for turn signals, but couldn't easily do this since the same wire is used for turn and brake function. The strip contains 3 red LED's, each with it's own wire. One LED is used for tail (or running) lights. Two LED's are wired together to create a brighter light for the turn/brake function. I still wired up the amber LED and left the wire disconnected for possible future use.

I chose to go horizontal because the ladder prevented a straight piece of real estate to run lights vertical and could completely block the view of the vertically mounted strip. Utilizing the trim channel to hide the wire lead , the horizontal location provided a clean installation and highly visible location.

 

[BryanValRox]

Installation complete! I went with the 42" Boogie Lights self adhesive Heavy Duty LED Light Strips to use as tail/turn/brake lights. I also ordered the 3M Adhesive Primer and, out of laziness, also got two 10' the Power Lead Extension Kits. The kit included 5 conductor leads (although labeled 4 conductor), crimp splices and heat shrink tubing.

I started by attaching the 10' leads to the LED strips using the supplied crimp splices. Since I was going to hide the lead in the slender vertical corner trim on the rear corners of the trailer, I staggered the splices to keep the leads slim so they would fit. I used my own heat shrink tubing to tidy up the splices and used Liquid Electrical Tape to seal the ends.


View attachment 3916

Next, I removed the flexible plastic trim cover (just pinch and pull it) on the trim to expose the pan head screws used to attach the trim. These screws protruded too far to allow the leads to fit in the channel, so I removed them. I then countersunk the holes and installed #8 stainless steel 1" screws.

View attachment 3918
View attachment 3919
View attachment 3917

I then mounting the LED strips horizontally above the rear windows with the wire leads pointed to the outside edge of the trailer. The surface was first cleaned with alcohol and then primed with a swipe of the adhesive primer. The LED strips were pressed in place using a pencil line that was already drawn as a guide. Since this installation was on the back of the trailer and not subjected to high winds like other locations may be, I chose not to put screws in the holes provided in the ends of the LED strips. I just couldn't bring myself to put holes in the exterior walls unless I felt it was absolutely necessary. The self adhesive strips on the back of the LED strips seemed to provide a very secure attachment.

View attachment 3920

I cut a small slit in the flexible plastic trim cover to allow the lead to enter the trim channel, put the lead in the channel and replaced the trim cover. At the bottom of the trim, I cut an exit hole for the lead. The lead was then routed under the trailer and up behind the tail lights to be spliced to the correct existing wires.

View attachment 3922

View attachment 3923

Once under the trailer, I identified the correct wires, cut and spliced the LED leads using closed end crimp caps. All loose wires were secured using zip ties and zip tie anchor mounts screwed to a solid surface using a stainless steel screw.

View attachment 3924

I then used some clear Lexel sealant to seal all the crimp cap connections. I also sealed the wire lead entry point on the plastic corner trim and ran an inch or so bead on the sides of the plastic corner trim near the bottom to help secure the plastic trim to prevent it from accidentally being pulled out. I left the exit point open to prevent any water/moisture from being trapped in the channel.

Of course, I failed to get a picture of the lights in action! I'll correct this the next time I have the truck hooked up. All in all, a fairly easy project and I'm quite satisfied with the results. The lights are up nice and high and should be visible to all following vehicles.

Notes on the lights and installation
The LED's are available in several different configurations. I purchased the red and amber lights in hopes of using the amber lights for turn signals, but couldn't easily do this since the same wire is used for turn and brake function. The strip contains 3 red LED's, each with it's own wire. One LED is used for tail (or running) lights. Two LED's are wired together to create a brighter light for the turn/brake function. I still wired up the amber LED and left the wire disconnected for possible future use.

I chose to go horizontal because the ladder prevented a straight piece of real estate to run lights vertical and could completely block the view of the vertically mounted strip. Utilizing the trim channel to hide the wire lead , the horizontal location provided a clean installation and highly visible location.

Congratulations on your project, I am glad the Boogey Lights worked out for you!
Thanks for sharing the results. Looks Great!