Light Board Removal - Making life easier

smallribber · 05 September 2020, 10:00

I think making things as quick and simple as possible when you launch your boat is important.

One of the thinks I hate is removing the light board and cable from the trailer before you dunk in the water.

It is possible to use LED lights that are 'waterproof' so you don't remove at all and if you can make this work then excellent.

If not I think the next best thing is just to put a connector on your light board so that you can leave the cable in place and just disconnect and remove the board.

Less time and mess in the car etc.

I like to disconnect the plug also at the car end before I reverse into the water to ensure no short and no fuses blow. I don't think this would actually happen but I do it any way

All the bits are available on the Bay

Allye · 05 September 2020, 10:28

No long term damage from dunking the cable and plug?

smallribber · 05 September 2020, 10:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allye

No long term damage from dunking the cable and plug?

If there is I can live with that for the hassle it saves. The wire is sealed and the wire connectors are screwed tight and the plugs are designed to be out in the weather. Yes I know salt water is worse

These items are very cheap so if they do fail in the longer term I still think it is well worth it.

I once accidentally dunked my whole light board in the sea (forgot to take it off) and it worked fine for years after

jakew009 · 05 September 2020, 11:01

Sod the light boards and messing around with plugs full of salt water, these are much easier again.

https://www.edwards-trailers.co.uk/t...railer-lights/

smallribber · 05 September 2020, 14:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by jakew009

Sod the light boards and messing around with plugs full of salt water, these are much easier again.

https://www.edwards-trailers.co.uk/t...railer-lights/

They look interesting but you still have the number plate to think of

Peter_C · 05 September 2020, 19:02

I just do not understand why across the pond they remove a "light bar" let alone what is the purpose of a light bar??

Our trailers in the USA have the lights and license plates permanently attached. It gives the transom a solid tie down point too, requiring no straps over the tubes. Our only plug is hopefully above the water level at the vehicle. Today's LED lights are well sealed and dunking them is the norm.

ShinyShoe · 05 September 2020, 19:46

Small ribber... ? You have me beyond confused. You disconnect the board. You leave the cable in place and dunk it. Why? Why is the cable the hard bit?

And if you only plan to replace it when it fails.. you have left it too long. Lights on trailers are A PITA already,. You've added more to go wrong and purposefully exposed it to submersion in salt water rather than spray with rain water.

Peter_C - the overhang is often too far to have lights on the trailer. And there is a minimum height required in UK law... And you have to have an illuminated license plate. Plus until the arrival of LED units the need to be able to change a bulb wasn't great for the need to be water tight for immersion. Do we tend to have shorter trailers in the UK to make storage when unladen easier?

Orwell boy · 05 September 2020, 20:24

just keep dunking these ,never had a failure so far .
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRAILER-H...YAAOSwNCRdZ-Ql

Peter_C · 05 September 2020, 20:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Peter_C - the overhang is often too far to have lights on the trailer. And there is a minimum height required in UK law... And you have to have an illuminated license plate. Plus until the arrival of LED units the need to be able to change a bulb wasn't great for the need to be water tight for immersion. Do we tend to have shorter trailers in the UK to make storage when unladen easier?

Not sure I understand the overhang part. With an inflatable boat the tubes always stick out past the trailer as the trailers in the USA generally end at the transom. No one wants to have their boat and vehicle rear ended so we all want good lighting. We can only have parts hang so far off the sides and rear.

What is the minimum height? I could see the height requirement being an issue. We too must have an illuminated license plate. That is a none issue. Solder and heat shrink all wiring. LED's are sealed units. We are also required to have reflectors on the sides and rear. Side marker lights are required, and if a longer trailer it is a really good idea to have turn signals on the sides.

How does a light bar make storage any easier? As our trailers end at the transom I park my trailers, and I am done, with nothing to remove.

This is kinda a standard 'round here.

HDAV · 05 September 2020, 21:00

We have different load regs on reg plate locations, over hangs, etc
Like where the lights are in relation to the end of the load, the reason our trailers are the way they are is due to the laws. Like why all trailer over 750kg gross have brakes.....

Trailer boards are a necessary evil the 30 seconds you save not running the cable 4m or less is well 30 seconds what would be useful are som ready to use cable carriers

jeffstevens763@g · 05 September 2020, 21:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by HDAV

We have different load regs on reg plate locations, over hangs, etc
Like where the lights are in relation to the end of the load, the reason our trailers are the way they are is due to the laws. Like why all trailer over 750kg gross have brakes.....

Trailer boards are a necessary evil the 30 seconds you save not running the cable 4m or less is well 30 seconds what would be useful are som ready to use cable carriers

Yep saving 30 seconds

ShinyShoe · 06 September 2020, 06:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffstevens763@g

Yep saving 30 seconds

And how many hours tracing the corroded 7 core fault...

ShinyShoe · 06 September 2020, 06:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peter_C

Not sure I understand the overhang part. With an inflatable boat the tubes always stick out past the trailer as the trailers in the USA generally end at the transom. No one wants to have their boat and vehicle rear ended so we all want good lighting. We can only have parts hang so far off the sides and rear.

Someone will be along to quote the regs. But I think 1m (3ft in your money)..

But...

If you a thriving a truck, and it's only 70cm of boat overhanging you still want to be able to see the lights.. truck driver is much higher...

So it would be common to either put the lights on the boat (e.g. the a frame) rather than under the boat. Or to attach to
some extended bars that project back

Quote:

What is the minimum height? I could see the height requirement being an issue. We too must have an illuminated license plate. That is a none issue. Solder and heat shrink all wiring. LED's are sealed units. We are also required to have reflectors on the sides and rear. Side marker lights are required, and if a longer trailer it is a really good idea to have turn signals on the sides.

The picture you show doesn't show a licence plate.

While I'm sure many of us would quite like it not to be visible so that speed cameras can't catch us, it's the kind of thing that will get you pulled over and then a traffic cop with a grudge looking for every possible defect...

Quote:

How does a light bar make storage any easier? As our trailers end at the transom I park my trailers, and I am done, with nothing to remove.

Potentially Makes the trailer shorter

The other reason is you can't break the light by hitting it with the RIB when coming in, depending where you mount it.

Generally in the UK we want our trailers light to minimise tow weight because we tend not to drive 3Litrr gas guzzlers.

Height:

There are some flexibilities allowed but basically quou want the boat as low as possible to make launch and recovery easier and stability on the tow and the lights higher than as low as possible!

smallribber · 06 September 2020, 07:20

It takes loads more than 30 seconds to take off the cable, wind it all up and then do the reverse on return. Next time time it. As for the theory about corrosion in the plug end of the cable it just is not a problem.

smallribber · 06 September 2020, 07:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Small ribber... ? You have me beyond confused. You disconnect the board. You leave the cable in place and dunk it. Why? Why is the cable the hard bit?

If you dont know why the cable is the hard bit I suspect you have not done it many times and enjoy scrabbling about on the ground feeding a cable along and around a trailer with you rib tubes in your way then winding it around the light board to put in your car

smallribber · 06 September 2020, 07:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

And how many hours tracing the corroded 7 core fault...

Zero because if that happens after many years just buy a new light board for about £20

smallribber · 06 September 2020, 07:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

just keep dunking these ,never had a failure so far .
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRAILER-H...YAAOSwNCRdZ-Ql

These are very good but quite big and if you have no where to fit them on the actual trailer they are quite big on the light board

Poly · 06 September 2020, 09:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallribber

Zero because if that happens after many years just buy a new light board for about £20

Do you keep a spare? I share your view that making trailing and launching as faff free as possible is the route to happy boating. My experience is the cable is minimal faff, for me mounting the board takes longer - but that is my (American) trailer design which has no brackets (it’s been on the todo list for 15 yrs!).

What I have found is I’ve wasted far more time fixing faulty bulbs, connection, corrosion (without even dunking anything) and those things might actually stop a day out...

ShinyShoe · 06 September 2020, 10:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallribber

It takes loads more than 30 seconds to take off the cable, wind it all up and then do the reverse on return. Next time time it. As for the theory about corrosion in the plug end of the cable it just is not a problem.

I've done it loads on all sorts of trailers. It's only ever an issue if the lead is too long (need to coil up the spare) or too short.

If you were wanting an easy fix... A couple of velcro straps to hold the cable might be a good solution.

ShinyShoe · 06 September 2020, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by smallribber

If you dont know why the cable is the hard bit I suspect you have not done it many times and enjoy scrabbling about on the ground feeding a cable along and around a trailer with you rib tubes in your way then winding it around the light board to put in your car

Don't wind it round the light board. You just have to unwind it when you are reversing the procedure. Place it neatly in the car