Trailer Lighting Boards

Alan · 22 November 2001, 11:40

Anyone know where I can buy a decent trailer lighting board? Preferably one with decent quality light units not those bl**dy awful square £2.99 jobs where the terminals fall off half way down the road and corrode to buggery in an instant! Also needs to be 6ft wide and have around 7m of cable.

All advice gratefully received.

Alan.

Charles · 22 November 2001, 20:19

Now here is a subject quite close to my heart, or more aptly put,'
Something that annoys the sh*t out of me because no-one in this part of the world is able to make proper trailers with a decent set of tail lights.

A large South African trailer manufacturer put some serious thought into these very problems Alan has mentioned and what he came up with was to incorporate the lights into the trailer, superbly galvanised recesses with water-proof rubber boots which the lights are housed in. One simply reverses into the water and you launch your boat..... no mucking about with boards and cables and plugs that corrode to buggery!
Just look at theis picture of what I mean, this is the ONLY way to go. Anyone know any good trailer manufacturers who can build a trailer with this concept as standard!?They can learn a thing or two by checking out these trailers. Simple and practical..

Charles · 22 November 2001, 20:29

Look at how the lights are done.....

John Kennett · 23 November 2001, 08:29

They do this in the US too, but I've never seen it in the UK. Perhaps there is something that doesn't meet the legal requirements here?

It is true that most trailer boards are junk, but there are some good ones around. My best guess would be to find who supplies vehicle recovery companies with theirs -- the AA for instance have some seriously heavy duty ones!

Alan,

I've had a Google around and drawn a complete blank. How about stopping the next recovery truck you pass and asking the driver?

John

Charles · 23 November 2001, 11:57

I did check with the authorities here in Jersey (DVS-Driver Vehicle Standards) with regards to your thoughts John, and they commented on how good it was and that if only all trailers were done like this. This was amazing, because they are even more pedantic than their counter-parts in the UK.

sirzap · 23 November 2001, 14:01

Wesbar and Anderson are the waterproof lights of choice...
try www.theshadconnection.com

aladdin · 23 November 2001, 21:50

Completely agree, the trailer board supplied when we brought our trailer lasted about 8months! two years and three more boards later I built my own.

Board of timber with light fittings sealed with silicone it has now been going some 6years.

seajay · 24 November 2001, 00:21

Looks like a neat set up. The only issue with the lights would depend on the rear overhang, i.e. the distance from the lens to the rearmost part of the boat. Thats why the usual set up is a board, which sits at the rear of the load. The chevrons are very useful - help to prevent maniacs shunting you up the rear on motorways !!, however depending on the type of material the yellow sections (if they are reflective) would contravene the Road Vehicle Lighting Regs.

(Seajay-CJ)Might not know that much about boats, but we all have our uses...!!...

batfalcon · 26 November 2001, 12:27

Besides the use of the waterproof lights that came with the trailer, I usually use a pair of lights made by me. I took a piece of plastic, around 1 m long and 15 cm wide, secured a pair of back lights on it and made the proper connections. When I have a long way to go with the trailer on the back, I hang this thing from the A frame, so the lights can be seen from a VERY long distance on the highway.