Had a blow out and the debris from the tire ripped out trailer lights and wiring. So, in the process of updating new wire and all the lights. I’m defiantit going led, 7 wire with back up lights. However, not familiar with specific brands.
Also, for 6″ ovals, I see 10, 12, and 16 led lights. Pros/cons?
Not Superbright LEDs. After having them replace 4 lights under warranty, I gave up. Went with Blazer after than, and they were good.
Went with the kit on special deal from West Marine. So far so good.
Had a couple side light leds from fleet farm that crapped out. Their taillights weren’t no better.
Went with the kit on special deal from West Marine. So far so good.
Had a couple side light leds from fleet farm that crapped out. Their taillights weren’t no better.
What brand? If they are crap, I would like to avoid them
Not sure the brand, just what they have on the shelf that’s sold individually.
I have installed 3 sets of Blazer LED lights and all 3 have worked flawlessly.
I have noticed however that the Blazer lights IME have always required a separate ground for each light. I’ve tried 3 times to get away with the common ground and NOPE! Never works.
The Blazer light kits that I have bought do not come with side marker lights. Instead of LED side markers, for about 20 years I have been using the lights that are for semi truck trailer side markers. They have 2 bulbs in them and if 1 bulb fails, the second keeps working. They are available last I checked at Fleet Farm. They take an incredible beating and you can actually buy replacement lenses for about $3.
Nick is right, my father bought the Fleet Farm GeneraLight specials and this year we had to replace the left side. I bought him a Blazer kit because the right side GeneraLight will be going out any time now.
For a while now I have been making my own version of steel tail light / side marker light protectors that I call FlakJackets. They protect the lights from stones and road debris. Everyone I’ve ever made them for is astonished at how long thier lights last now that the FlakJackets are taking the shotgun blast of road debris, especially the long haul guys that do Canada trips. I don’t install new lights on anyones rig now without installing these.
Grouse
I buy mine from Walmart/fleet farm… Same thing.
Back in February I tried to back my trailer over a snowbank at the back channel ramp and busted a light lens. Oops.
7 months later the led lens is still broken, but shining bright as can be.
I suppose I should fix… Maybe eventually the board will oxidize and quit.
I’ve been running led for several years, only problem is if you don’t do a good job wiring and connections go to crud.
Now, navigation LED’s are another story
Last spring I replaced my incandescent trailer lights with LEDs. I bought Optronix M/N TLL90RK for the back and MCL134ATRC clearance lights. I continue to be astonished at how bright these lights are. I thought about adding a back up light, but honestly a touch of the brake pedal lights up half the lake. So far no problems at all. And I don’t have to worry about dunking the lights under water any more.
Grouse I don’t understand your comment about grounds. The “ground” side of the trailer lights has to end up common somewhere, at least at the connector. I ran a dedicated “ground” wire to every light assembly and don’t use the trailer frame as an electrical connection at all, maybe that’s the difference. LED’s are diodes, which means they need a minimum voltage before the do anything. Incandescent bulbs will dim as the voltage goes down, LEDS will quit.
S.R.
7 wire with back up lights. However, not familiar with specific brands.
Also, for 6″ ovals, I see 10, 12, and 16 led lights. Pros/cons?
The way most LEDs are built, a single led (in a cluster) going out, means the rest are still working. I would say more is better.
Are you talking a 6″oval taillight that fits into a frame opening using a rubber gasket? If so, that will limit your brand choices. Petersen is a quality brands and used by many.
For off the shelf rectangular taillights w/ built in side makers (for over 80 inch wide trailers) I like these because the side marker bulbs are also LED. ( many LED taillights use incandesant(sp) for the side lights)
Hope this helps.
I ran a dedicated “ground” wire to every light assembly and don’t use the trailer frame as an electrical connection at all, maybe that’s the difference. L
I do the same.
Are you talking a 6″oval taillight that fits into a frame opening using a rubber gasket? If so, that will limit your brand choices. Petersen is a quality brands and used by many.
Hope this helps.
Yes, my trailer has the 6″ oval that fits flush in the rubber gasket
I found the best prices for Peterson lights on Amazon and eBay. They required a minimum quantity when going directly to the Peterson website.
Grouse I don’t understand your comment about grounds. The “ground” side of the trailer lights has to end up common somewhere, at least at the connector. I ran a dedicated “ground” wire to every light assembly and don’t use the trailer frame as an electrical connection at all, maybe that’s the difference. LED’s are diodes, which means they need a minimum voltage before the do anything. Incandescent bulbs will dim as the voltage goes down, LEDS will quit.
With the old incandescent lights, I could just install the fixture and just clean up the bolt studs. They were self-grounding as long as the white wire was meeting clean metal. Most of these grounds were up by the harness plug at the tongue.
The Blazer LED lights I’ve used include a short white ground wire with a loop terminal end.
I’ve tried to cheat and just put this loop end around the mounting stud or the bolt that holds the light on, figuring it will be good enough to pick up the ground. Denied! Every time I’ve tried it, I’ve had to find a place for a self-tapping screw, clean to bare metal, drill, and install an actual grounding screw right there at the light.
As you correctly say, LEDs are very sensitive to having a voltage flow and below the minimum, they don’t get dim, they just don’t work.
Grouse
Randy, I installed Optronic LEDs also. That was 3 years ago and so far they are still working great. Best thing I ever did was to re-wire and put LEDs on my boat trailer.
Thanks for the opinions. Had to do a mix bag of parts.
Main tail lights I went with the 48LED Bargman
Optronics for all the 2-1/2″ 8 or 12 LED recessed round lights
Command for all the other generic lights and back up lights.
I’m waiting to here back from MaxxTow and a couple other companies that have “Waterproof” light bars. The claim “waterproof” but do not list the IP68 or IP67 ratings. I want a set of light bars that are submersible for back up. So once I find what I want, they will be the redneck back-up lights.
Mighty Cord for new plug/tail to junction box.
Dang this 1 blown trailer tire is getting exspensive
I feel for ya, I had a double earlier this year, 1 was just a quick replace and back on the road a few hours later the other went, no spare now, took out the fender, wiring, lights on the right side, tires were aired properly less than 2k miles on them but were 6-7 old,had to call my auto insurance and have a flat bed come out and carry it the last 9 miles home : (
Tom
I feel for ya, I had a double earlier this year, 1 was just a quick replace and back on the road a few hours later the other went, no spare now, took out the fender, wiring, lights on the right side, tires were aired properly less than 2k miles on them but were 6-7 old,had to call my auto insurance and have a flat bed come out and carry it the last 9 miles home : (
Tom
Crazy how fast the $$$$$ adds up
Blew a moderately aged tire. Same as you, proper air pressure, good tread depth, and no signs of rot/cracked walls
Blew left tire – lost tire, bent rim, trashed metal fender, ripped out wiring, bent rear housing for tail light, lost tail light, 2 back indicator lights, side indicator light, cracked transducer mount, and crushed screens for livewell pumps.
Spare was less than desirable after inspection. Used it to get to nearest open tire store.
Replaced the “spare tire” with the only option they had, Marathon. Ok for a spare, but not what I wanted for regular use.
Previous tire purchased, the dumb-azz used the impact driver to start the lugs and had 4 of the 5 studs cross threaded. Couldn’t find the correct studs at any auto dealers, so I bought a tap and re-threaded the existing studs for temp use. Had to special order the studs and replaced all 5.
Found a matching used rim and bought that way over priced POS.
2 new tires and rotated the “spare” back to a spare position
All said and done, I’m at almost $900 into this incident plus all my time
Great post because the brand (as always) makes a difference.
Got up Friday morning to go fishing and found a flat on the trailer. I bought this rig used so I had no idea how old the tires were so I decided to replace all three. The tires were Goodyear Marathons and they were 18 years old. I guess I got my money’s worth out of them!
S.R.
Got up Friday morning to go fishing and found a flat on the trailer. I bought this rig used so I had no idea how old the tires were so I decided to replace all three. The tires were Goodyear Marathons and they were 18 years old. I guess I got my money’s worth out of them!
S.R.
You are lucky. Blew a GY Marathon about 10 years ago. Was only 2 years old. Tread face came off. Destroyed a fender, fender brackets, light and light bracket. Tire still had 49 lbs of air in it a week later when I got around to fixing everything.
To find out how old tires are look at the DOT number. Last 4 digits are the week and year built.
If last 4 digits are 0814 the tire was built the 8th week of 2014.
I have been told or read somewhere that trailer tires should be replaced every 5 years regardless of what the tread looks like.
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