Lights for dinghy

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by empty_nest

What type of light set-up are you running for your towed? Magnetic lights seem economical and easy to set up. Wiring harness with separate bulbs does look a lot cleaner but a little more expensive and would likely stay with vehicle if you ever traded or sold. Just trying to weigh the options. Thanks.

"...but a little more expensive..."

When it comes to lighting, it's SAFETY that's of major concern. You want good, well seen, properly functioning lights back there for following drivers to see, in all kinds of conditions. How one does this is of course, up to them. When you understand how a reflective background is designed in a tail light, it's setup so that the ORIGINAL bulb creates maximum effect of the light. Installing EXTRA sockets and bulbs is not the best choice due to the fact that they are not placed where it's of prime benefit. Sure, lots of folks use them for their reasons. Mainly it's because they're affraid of tying into the factory wiring.

Well, for about 99.999999999999% of the toads out there, tying into the factory wiring so that the factory bulbs can be used as toad lights is actually very easy. And it's no more costly than adding sockets and bulbs or any other way. There's primarily two ways to do it. I've done it the "manual" way for decades. That is, I simply tie into the factory wiring with some wires and solder and a diode from Radio Shack. The other way is to purchase a complete diode/wiring/kit from places like Camping World, etrailer. com and more. Those come with some really fancy diodes and some push on connectors etc. The factory wiring is still cut into, just differently.

When done this way, your toads tail lights act the same EXACT way when towing it, as they do when you're driving it. People following it will not get confused due to the lights working as normal. Your choice.
Scott

[TonyDi]

I am wired with diodes. Saves the battery on long trips.

[empty_nest]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

"...but a little more expensive..."

When it comes to lighting, it's SAFETY that's of major concern. You want good, well seen, properly functioning lights back there for following drivers to see, in all kinds of conditions. How one does this is of course, up to them. When you understand how a reflective background is designed in a tail light, it's setup so that the ORIGINAL bulb creates maximum effect of the light. Installing EXTRA sockets and bulbs is not the best choice due to the fact that they are not placed where it's of prime benefit. Sure, lots of folks use them for their reasons. Mainly it's because they're affraid of tying into the factory wiring.

Well, for about 99.999999999999% of the toads out there, tying into the factory wiring so that the factory bulbs can be used as toad lights is actually very easy. And it's no more costly than adding sockets and bulbs or any other way. There's primarily two ways to do it. I've done it the "manual" way for decades. That is, I simply tie into the factory wiring with some wires and solder and a diode from Radio Shack. The other way is to purchase a complete diode/wiring/kit from places like Camping World, etrailer. com and more. Those come with some really fancy diodes and some push on connectors etc. The factory wiring is still cut into, just differently.

When done this way, your toads tail lights act the same EXACT way when towing it, as they do when you're driving it. People following it will not get confused due to the lights working as normal. Your choice.
Scott

Very interesting!! More to consider. Well put and I really appreciate your point of view. You make some great points.

I love these forums for just this kind of information and different ways to think about things. Thanks again!

[Waiter21]

On my ole Civic, I installed a female flat four under the hood and wired it direct;ly to the front lights, exactly like I would if I was wiring it in the back for trailer lights. . I spliced into the front turn signals and parking lights. I made a cable that plugged into the MH and the other end plugged into the flat four on the civic.

On my Saturn Vue, I did exactly the same thing, but instead of a flat four, I used a regular ole 7 pin receptical that I spliced directly to the Saturns front light wires. I then have a 4 ft cord with a 7 pin plug on both ends. One end plugs into MH the other plugs into the front of the Saturn.

Works great.

The only issue with this wired direct approach, If I turn the lights on in the toad, it powers the lights on in the MH.. Diodes would prevent this, but its not a big deal..

[dix39]

Ours are wired into the single connector at the back of the MH and when the MH lights are turned on all the lights on the toad, except headlights, are on. As mentioned, and I would agree, it makes the toad more visible than a lighting system that has a single light on each side at the rear.

Steve

[CountryFit]

bought a toad harness kit from a website coming with 4 diodes and wires. followed the instrctction and got it done on c-max. a half day job. about $40.

that was my second time doing it. the first one was on a honda fit back in 2012.

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by lllkrob

No ouch, they have now been on 4 different toads, and two different coaches without a scratch or electrical connection problem.

I could same the same thing about a set of wired magnetic lights at less than 1/8th the price. So yeah, OUCH!

[walt2137]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

"...but a little more expensive..."

When it comes to lighting, it's SAFETY that's of major concern. You want good, well seen, properly functioning lights back there for following drivers to see, in all kinds of conditions. How one does this is of course, up to them. When you understand how a reflective background is designed in a tail light, it's setup so that the ORIGINAL bulb creates maximum effect of the light. Installing EXTRA sockets and bulbs is not the best choice due to the fact that they are not placed where it's of prime benefit. Sure, lots of folks use them for their reasons. Mainly it's because they're affraid of tying into the factory wiring.

Well, for about 99.999999999999% of the toads out there, tying into the factory wiring so that the factory bulbs can be used as toad lights is actually very easy. And it's no more costly than adding sockets and bulbs or any other way. There's primarily two ways to do it. I've done it the "manual" way for decades. That is, I simply tie into the factory wiring with some wires and solder and a diode from Radio Shack. The other way is to purchase a complete diode/wiring/kit from places like Camping World, etrailer. com and more. Those come with some really fancy diodes and some push on connectors etc. The factory wiring is still cut into, just differently.

When done this way, your toads tail lights act the same EXACT way when towing it, as they do when you're driving it. People following it will not get confused due to the lights working as normal. Your choice.
Scott

Scott one problem with the diodes or extra socket if you use a toad brake that mashes the brake pedal is the brake lights will cover up the signal lights when the brake system is working if you dont install a brake light bypass.
I like stand alone lights and use LED light strip on my truck and lights in the Kia wher red reflectors were installed , i really dont like to cut into my light system for diodes JMT.

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by walt2137

Scott one problem with the diodes or extra socket if you use a toad brake that mashes the brake pedal is the brake lights will cover up the signal lights when the brake system is working if you dont install a brake light bypass.

not always. out of curiosity i just tested this on my c-max in my garage with ceiling lights off. i went through the exact procedure - started engine, moved gear selector to N, turned the engine off. while the garage was dark, i pressed the brake pedal to see if rear brake lights would come on. no, it didn't!! ymmv.

scott was correct and clear .

[empty_nest]

I ordered this kit. Based on advise here and reviews and youtube videos, this looks to do the job and appears to be an easy install in our towed. Thanks everyone!!

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by walt2137

Scott one problem with the diodes or extra socket if you use a toad brake that mashes the brake pedal is the brake lights will cover up the signal lights when the brake system is working if you dont install a brake light bypass.
I like stand alone lights and use LED light strip on my truck and lights in the Kia wher red reflectors were installed , i really dont like to cut into my light system for diodes JMT.

Walt,
I certainly agree with you in terms of a toad braking system having the ability to actuate the toads own brake lights. It can and often does happen. And yes, there are ways around that. I did it the "manual" way. Simply put, when we towed our '04 Jeep Rubicon, it was one of the vehicles that would activate the brake lights on the Jeep, with the use of the Ready Brake system I was using. But, I had tied into the Jeeps wiring with my diode system, as I always do.

So, to keep the conflict at bay, I installed a two-way toggle switch in the door jamb of the Jeep. I ran the brake light switch output wire from the Jeeps brake switch up to the middle post of the toggle. I ran a wire from the one side of the toggle, all the way to the dash on the coach where, I hooked an LED light to it. I then ran another wire, from the other side of the toggle, down to where the output wire of the brake switch would normally go.

Now, when we towed the Jeep, I'd flip the switch and, the brake light signal from the Jeeps brake switch, would go to the dash, telling me that the brakes WERE ACTUALLY BEING APPLIED in the Jeep, via the Ready brake.

But, when we drove the Jeep, I'd flip the switch the other way, and that would send the signal from the Jeeps brake switch, to the Jeeps brake lights, like it should. It was my way of handling the issue you spoke of.

Originally Posted by CountryFit

not always. out of curiosity i just tested this on my c-max in my garage with ceiling lights off. i went through the exact procedure - started engine, moved gear selector to N, turned the engine off. while the garage was dark, i pressed the brake pedal to see if rear brake lights would come on. no, it didn't!! ymmv.

scott was correct and clear .

CountryFit,
I appreciate the vote of confidence. By the way, you didn't have to go through so much movement and actions, to test your brake lights. It's simple. All you need to do is this. Open your car door, without any key in the ignition, apply the brakes. You either will or will not, see brake lights. Some toads do activate the brake lights without the key and some don't. As stated earlier, my '04 Jeep Rubicon did but, one of our present toads, an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extended Cab 4x4, DOES NOT activate the brake lights with the pedal depressed, and the key is off or, not even in the ignition.

Our other present toad, a '15 Jeep JKUR, DOES activate the brake lights without the key. So, this is something that, if you wire up a toad, to use your stock tail lights as towing lights, you really need to do this check. There are actually quite a few people out there that are actually towing toads, that have conflicting tail light signals and don't know it. They wired the coaches lights/turn signals/brake lights into the factory wiring which, is ok.

And, many of those people do a light check, each and every time before they depart their present location. All is well, right? WRONG! What they don't see is that they are doing a NON MOVING light check. That will indicate everything is fine. But, when moving, and using brakes, the auxiliary braking system will apply the brakes in the toad, which in turn, sends a brake light signal to it's own brake lights. Well, guess what, if you have a turn signal heading to one of those lights on the toad, and send it a brake light signal at the same time, THAT'S NOT GOOD!

But again, much of this dilemma is dependent on whether or not, your particular toads brake lights are activated WITHOUT the toads key in the ON position or not.


The above scenario happens frequently but folks are unaware of it due to not knowing all the facts and, checking toad lights from the coach, when not moving. Now, for us, in our situation driving a diesel pusher, we have air brakes. And, there's a company called M & G Braking. There unit, sits in between the power brake unit and the master cylinder. It is activated by pressing on the brake pedal in the coach which, sends air to the unit in the Jeep and the truck.

But, because it's not depressing the brake pedal in either one, there is no activation of the brake switch and that means, no brake lights from the toads system. So, no conflict of signals to the toads tail lights. But, this is primarily a diesel coach/toad brake system. And, it may not always work because, M & G doesn't make its unit for all possible toads. So, just some info for ya.
Scott

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

CountryFit,
I appreciate the vote of confidence. By the way, you didn't have to go through so much movement and actions, to test your brake lights. It's simple. All you need to do is this. Open your car door, without any key in the ignition, apply the brakes. You either will or will not, see brake lights. Some toads do activate the brake lights without the key and some don't. As stated earlier, my '04 Jeep Rubicon did but, one of our present toads, an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extended Cab 4x4, DOES NOT activate the brake lights with the pedal depressed, and the key is off or, not even in the ignition.

Our other present toad, a '15 Jeep JKUR, DOES activate the brake lights without the key. So, this is something that, if you wire up a toad, to use your stock tail lights as towing lights, you really need to do this check. There are actually quite a few people out there that are actually towing toads, that have conflicting tail light signals and don't know it. They wired the coaches lights/turn signals/brake lights into the factory wiring which, is ok.

And, many of those people do a light check, each and every time before they depart their present location. All is well, right? WRONG! What they don't see is that they are doing a NON MOVING light check. That will indicate everything is fine. But, when moving, and using brakes, the auxiliary braking system will apply the brakes in the toad, which in turn, sends a brake light signal to it's own brake lights. Well, guess what, if you have a turn signal heading to one of those lights on the toad, and send it a brake light signal at the same time, THAT'S NOT GOOD!

But again, much of this dilemma is dependent on whether or not, your particular toads brake lights are activated WITHOUT the toads key in the ON position or not.


The above scenario happens frequently but folks are unaware of it due to not knowing all the facts and, checking toad lights from the coach, when not moving. Now, for us, in our situation driving a diesel pusher, we have air brakes. And, there's a company called M & G Braking. There unit, sits in between the power brake unit and the master cylinder. It is activated by pressing on the brake pedal in the coach which, sends air to the unit in the Jeep and the truck.

But, because it's not depressing the brake pedal in either one, there is no activation of the brake switch and that means, no brake lights from the toads system. So, no conflict of signals to the toads tail lights. But, this is primarily a diesel coach/toad brake system. And, it may not always work because, M & G doesn't make its unit for all possible toads. So, just some info for ya.
Scott

well said scott, i got it all!
i like m&g too. i called them in march for my this toad, unfortunately the master cylinder on my c-max does not have the space to mount their cylinder . wish someday they would come up a solution...

[harleyjt]

Although I'm still puttinmg things together for towing the Grand Cherokee, this is what I ended up with for lighting.
RVHW32 Wireless RV Tow Light Package
jt

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by harleyjt

Although I'm still puttinmg things together for towing the Grand Cherokee, this is what I ended up with for lighting.
RVHW32 Wireless RV Tow Light Package
jt

$325? .
if you do a standard tie-in to the existing lights, it would only cost you about $40-60. it's not that hard, why not try it i am sure you will make it.