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Old 10-16-2018, 06:36 AM   #1
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Parking Backing up at night

What have you done to improve your night time vision of RV mirrors when backing up / parking at night?

Those with docking lights , do they help much ?

The rear view camera was near useless , conditions were pitch dark.
Coach is a 32 SA Tiffin without docking lights and I did not have a spotter.

Unfortunately I had to get out of the coach about 10 times to jockey the coach into it's parking position.

Thanks
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Old 10-16-2018, 06:48 AM   #2
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I added Docking lights just to be able to see my rear wheels at night in the mirrors while backing up (like turning into a spot while backing).

My stock backup lights do a good job of lighting the area behind the rig, but the camera does not cover the entire range. It's okay for seeing the ground near the hitch area, but does not show things in the air (like tree branches). Ask me how I know.

I'm going to add a second backup camera (mount on license plate frame) that will give me additional views to the rear. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/rand-mc...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

Of course the best thing is to have a spotter - but when none is available, you just need to make it work with what you have. Getting out the coach 10 times to look, is smart, and much better than guessing and then paying for body damage repairs.
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:00 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter M View Post
What have you done to improve your night time vision of RV mirrors when backing up / parking at night?

Those with docking lights , do they help much ?

The rear view camera was near useless , conditions were pitch dark.
Coach is a 32 SA Tiffin without docking lights and I did not have a spotter.

Unfortunately I had to get out of the coach about 10 times to jockey the coach into it's parking position.

Thanks
For me - It's Simple - After dark park in the Wal*Mart - roll into the CampGround in the AM. Trees - Rocks - Fences - Neighbors - all deserve Light and correct time of the morning. -

Friend, with a New Essex - Rolled into a CG late and took a turn a little tight - almost $20k in Damage to the side of the coach Boulder to keep you Off the Grass destroyed the side of the Coach. - - -

I have not Pulled into a CG after Dark for 25 years - just not Smart. -

JMHO,

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Old 10-16-2018, 07:03 AM   #4
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Suggest you get four to six of the inexpensive LED lanterns and place them along where you are trying to back in. Using them is a whole lot cheaper than body repair and will speed up parking if your site is in the dark.
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:09 AM   #5
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Originally Posted by NITEHAWK View Post
Suggest you get four to six of the inexpensive LED lanterns and place them along where you are trying to back in. Using them is a whole lot cheaper than body repair and will speed up parking if your site is in the dark.
Very clever!
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:11 AM   #6
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Get a couple of small orange or lime traffic cones, with reflective band, and put a few in a straight line in your parking area. Put them on the inside of the turn, so you can see them the whole time. You only have to get close, then pull ahead to straighten if necessary.

Put the first one where the front of the coach should be, so you don't back too far (if there's an obstacle behind you), or if the spot is long, put the first at the corner of the turn and once in the spot, walk off the additional distance to move back and move the cone back as a reference. With the reflective strips, you should be able to see them even with the light from the side markers, though a little white light would certainly help.

Flat soccer markers will work, too, but in the dark I would think reflective strips would be paramount. You can also get lighted cones. You really only need a couple of them, one for each corner on the inside of the turn, so even if they're a little pricey (lighted), it's still not much money.

Two or three cones is like having a painted stripe, which is as good as it gets for backing anything including trailers.

I do something like that when backing my 30 ft boat trailer into its dog-leg parking spot at night, as even with reverse lights on the trailer, it can be hard to see the edge of the black pavement, and backing too far would put the prop into the front wall of the garage.

https://www.trafficsafetystore.com/t...omy-18#CL18RC6

https://express.google.com/product/1...CABEgLoBvD_BwE


(I have no connection to either vendor - they're just google search results for examples)


Edit: Wow, four responses in the time it took me to find some examples.
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:33 AM   #7
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I installed a bright 6 LED work light and upgraded my old B&W rear view camera to a color version.

Rear camera replacement and rear LED work-light – 1999 Southwind 35S


..
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Old 10-16-2018, 08:50 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Busskipper View Post
For me - It's Simple - After dark park in the Wal*Mart - roll into the CampGround in the AM. Trees - Rocks - Fences - Neighbors - all deserve Light and correct time of the morning. -
Well, some times of the year you would have me at Walmart before supper...

Quote:
Friend, with a New Essex - Rolled into a CG late and took a turn a little tight - almost $20k in Damage to the side of the coach Boulder to keep you Off the Grass destroyed the side of the Coach.
Sounds like the rock worked. I can bet the rock did not move between the time the headlights and coach hit it. Any "driver" that could hit a rock next to a CG road could just as easy hit a wrinkly with a walker waiting to cross the street. The bad part is likely most of the cost was paid by insurance company...

For the OP, first step, shut off your headlights, and roll down the windows. At parking speeds headlights hurt night vision. After a few seconds your parking lights will let you see enough in front, and you can see better behind. And the reflections off the window glass can block what you need to see, and distract you. Daylight or dark, you need to look over the site, plan the route to miss the hazards and get to where you want to be. "If I get close to that, I will miss that and that. But your lantern or flashlight so it lights up the first "that". When next to that point, move your lantern to the next.
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Old 10-16-2018, 09:28 AM   #9
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Docking lights along with back up lights let us use the camera. Works fine and was well designed by Thor.
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Old 10-16-2018, 09:29 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NITEHAWK View Post
Suggest you get four to six of the inexpensive LED lanterns and place them along where you are trying to back in. Using them is a whole lot cheaper than body repair and will speed up parking if your site is in the dark.
For dark campgrounds or sites, makes a lot of sense
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Old 10-16-2018, 03:37 PM   #11
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Thanks all for the great suggestions. The plan is to install docking lights and backup lights for the rare time I will back into my driveway at night.
I do have my fair share of orange cones. Regarding campground parking I always plan to arrive well before darkness unless I have a pull through space.
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:05 PM   #12
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Saw a guy once pointing a hand held spot light out the drivers window toward the rear of the coach. Seemed to work. Just looked a little funny,.
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Old 10-16-2018, 07:19 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter M View Post
Thanks all for the great suggestions. The plan is to install docking lights and backup lights for the rare time I will back into my driveway at night.
I do have my fair share of orange cones. Regarding campground parking I always plan to arrive well before darkness unless I have a pull through space.

I'm just in the process of installing 6 of these 4-docking and 2-backup. Installed one this afternoon and just went out in the dark and it looks GOOD!
Replacing Halogen Lights that were drawing 3 amps and burning up wires. These Led's draw .25 Amp!
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Old 10-16-2018, 10:00 PM   #14
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Our MH has docking lights, and rear flood lights under the rear spoiler. The rear view camera has infrared lights to see at night; all this makes backing up at night quite easy. That said, one time I backed into a CG site after dark, centered in the concrete pad on the first try. I was proud of myself for the good job. Then DW pointed to the huge tree limb about 6" from the roof___. I no longer back at night if there is any other choice. We now get off the road between 3 and 4 PM.
Those lights haven't been used in 3-4 years now.
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