Accent lights for safety?

[neilnoff]

Our ride height control crapped out this morning on I45 north of Huntsville, TX headed to our FMCA chapter rally. I called Spartan & they contacted Coach-Net & they came out & confirmed the problem. The lever mechanism was just hanging & the plastic part was broken. Replacement part is being over-nighted & we are on the shoulder of the access road and content to wait it out. Our reflective triangles are out but we’re between towns & it’s going to be pitch black. Finally my question: thinking of turning on security lights & accent lights just to make us more visible on the dark shoulder. Will these be ok to run & not drain my batteries? We plan to run the genset for a few hours before bedtime but don’t really want to run it all night. Thoughts or recommendations? Thanks!

[DebbieMH]

You can’t move and get to a parking lot at least?

[Podivin]

Isn't that exactly what the flashers are for?
Personally I'd turn those on, but yes turn on something so that you can be seen farther away. Triangles only reflect light, which means that car has to be somewhat close. Flashing lights will get someone's attention from farther away, and who knows, they may even change lanes or move over to give you some space.
I would assume that the flashers are run off the chassis battery, if that runs down you can use the Aux Batt switch (or whatever yours is called) to get things started again. Or go ahead and run the generator all night, might as well use it as longs as it's there.

[neilnoff]

Originally Posted by DebbieMH

You can’t move and get to a parking lot at least?

Front bags are totally deflated & Spartan said not to drive it at all. A minor bump or pothole could cause serious damage with basically no front suspension.

[DeWat]

That is a very hard call! I know that you're asking for the purpose of knowing if your batteries can handle it, but here is something else also to consider. Common sense says yes, turn on more lights for safety. However, there are times when those lights can also cause a drowsy, distracted, or impaired driver to get tunnel vision and steer directly toward the lights (there is a name for it when you drive in the direction you are looking, but I just can't remember it right now... it is very well known in the motorcycle community). This is why emergency and service vehicles all lit up on the side of the road still get hit or sideswiped.

[lwmcguire]

Every driver safety class I ever attended said to pull off as far as possible and never use tail or marker lights due to drivers following them

Especially so if fog or any visibility issues were present

The jury was out on the flashers

[Gary.Jones]

No reflective triangles?? Cones?? You should probably have three and spaced properly behind the coach. That will also decrease the tunnel vision business....

[neilnoff]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

No reflective triangles?? Cones?? You should probably have three and spaced properly behind the coach. That will also decrease the tunnel vision business....

Yes, as I mentioned, my reflective triangles are positioned & spaced out as required behind the rig. Frankly, never thought I’d use them and never did with my previous two coaches but certainly glad I had them for this fun event!

[777 Driver]

I know this won't help with your current situation, but, I was waiting for a required vehicle safety inspection and perusing the available reading material and came across an ad for these:



https://internationaltowingmuseum.or...ve-over-arrow/

Looks like a nice thing to have that you hope to never use.

Take care,
Stu

P.S. I think that I'd keep the flashers on, just my opinion (worth about half of what you're paying for it). Good luck!

[Grower15]

If you have a toad, put the flashers on it as well. More flashing lights are better.

[Ann n Gene]

For safety I would get some lights on(flashers preferably) and set the AGS so it will only start if your batteries get low. JMHO

[DeWat]

Originally Posted by 777 Driver

I know this won't help with your current situation, but, I was waiting for a required vehicle safety inspection and perusing the available reading material and came across an ad for these:

Attachment 275085

https://internationaltowingmuseum.or...ve-over-arrow/

Looks like a nice thing to have that you hope to never use.

Take care,
Stu

P.S. I think that I'd keep the flashers on, just my opinion (worth about half of what you're paying for it). Good luck!

Stu, I really like that, but I still don't know how well it would work in preventing "Target Fixation", the term I couldn't remember yesterday.

[neilnoff]

Thanks for all of the comments & I will check into those arrows - looks good. The final verdict was that we turned on both the DS & PS security lights & the entry door light. Set the AGS & all was fine. After dark I walked pretty far to the rear and shined a flashlight on the triangles & Wow - they lit up! Really jumped out as advance warning for other drivers. Thanks again for the input. Already had a call from Coach-Net this morning & our part is out for local delivery via Fed-X. Regards to all

[brobox]

Glad all went well. We spent until almost midnight on the side if I-75, in the rain no less, with a coach that was unmovable. That is one hell of a scary feeling. For others that think "it will never happen to me", just like bad fuel, it can come at anytime.