Community Forums

cokeinator · 02-21-2012, 08:04 AM

If you are using a dolly to tow your toad does the toad need to have lights or are the dolly lights enough?

rg neumann · 02-21-2012, 08:14 AM

Having lights on the toad depends on the state your traveling in. Generally speaking most states require lights on the most trailing vehicle which would be the toad. If your are towing on a trailer, generally not the case, the trailer lights would suffice. Easiest way to "light" the toad is with magnetic lights which wire directly to the RV. They can be removed in a few minutes or less, this is preferred approach especially if you intend to tow more than one vehicle.

emiddleb · 02-21-2012, 08:15 AM

Our dolly has fender lights but I do stick a pair of the magnetic lights on the trunk of the toad.

Not sure if "need" to do it (state laws or whatever) but I considered it cheap insurance in case the toad blocks the dolly light from an approaching driver. And it was easier than trying to figure out how to make the actual toad lights work while on the dolly, though others do that and say it's not difficult. Have sometimes stuck the mag lights inside on the deck by the rear window too.

Just figure you can't have too many lights with some of the distracted drivers out there.

JMHO.

srrobe · 02-21-2012, 08:15 AM

You might want to check with your state DMV as to the law. MI says that lights must be at the back of the towed which would mean the vehicle not the dolly. I think this question has come up before so you might want to do a search.

njs42 · 02-21-2012, 08:22 AM

When you say "need" to have lights I assume you mean according to vehicle codes. Well it is a mixed bag state by state. There was a recent thread on this same topic and I looked it up for the state the op was in and the law indicated lights had to be displayed at the "rear most part of the vehicle being towed". I interpreted that to mean the rear of the car others thought the rear of the dolly. So much for consulting the law but the meaning was clear to me. Some folks like to quibble.

My opinion absent the law is that it is better to have lights on the towed vehicle working as well as the dolly. It is the very rear of the vehicle and you want people to stop there at the rear not a little long, if you know what I mean. Also without knowing each states law regarding this by having the lights on the very rear you willl surly meet or exceed every states requirements.

Incidently if you meet Texas law but Arizona or California etc; law is different there is no reciprocity and you must meet the law of the state you are traveling through.

As a practical matter I suppose it would be rare to be stopped if you had dolly ights only but that does not mean you are in compliance. ON the other hand if you get stopped for say speeding, then the light question might be raised and could be tacked on to a speeding ticket with an equipment violation, hypothetical, of course.

njs42 · 02-21-2012, 08:34 AM

Here is some information from Texas vehicle law---see if it applies to you.

Sec. 547.322. TAILLAMPS REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, or vehicle that is towed at the end of a combination of vehicles shall be equipped with at least two taillamps.
(b) A passenger car or truck that was manufactured or assembled before the model year 1960 shall be equipped with at least one taillamp.
(c) Taillamps shall be mounted on the rear of the vehicle:
(1) at a height from 15 to 72 inches; and
(2) at the same level and spaced as widely apart as practicable if a vehicle is equipped with more than one lamp.
(d) A taillamp shall emit a red light plainly visible at a distance of 1,000 feet from the rear of the vehicle.
(e) If vehicles are traveling in combination, only the taillamps on the rearmost vehicle are required to emit a light for the distance specified in Subsection (d).
(f) A taillamp or a separate lamp shall be constructed and mounted to emit a white light that:
(1) illuminates the rear license plate; and
(2) makes the plate clearly legible at a distance of 50 feet from the rear.
(g) A taillamp, including a separate lamp used to illuminate a rear license plate, must emit a light when a headlamp or auxiliary driving lamp is lighted.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 547.323. STOPLAMPS REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer shall be equipped with at least two stoplamps.
(b) A passenger car manufactured or assembled before the model year 1960 shall be equipped with at least one stoplamp.
(c) A stoplamp shall be mounted on the rear of the vehicle.
(d) A stoplamp shall emit a red or amber light, or a color between red and amber, that is:
(1) visible in normal sunlight at a distance of at least 300 feet from the rear of the vehicle; and
(2) displayed when the vehicle service brake is applied.
(e) If vehicles are traveling in combination, only the stoplamps on the rearmost vehicle are required to emit a light for the distance specified in Subsection (d).
(f) A stoplamp may be included as a part of another rear lamp.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.