Three lights on rear cross member have a plug..

[Hugh]

this is on a 2012 aluminum trailer 26M.
I did a search but couldn't find anything on this.
We've only pulled our three times and only noticed the lights while backing into the driveway.

Two questions:
What is the plug for? an extra remote running light for trailering?
Are these three lights running or both running and brake.

I did a search but couldn't find anything on this.

EDIT: of course I should ask Does anyone use this plug for extra lighting while towing? if so how/what do you do it?

Hugh

[Baerkanu]

Yes, the extra plug is for the 2 red lights that attach to the end of the mast when it's in trailering position; the 3 lights in the center of the rear crossmember are just running lights, as are the mast lights. When I bought my boat from BWY, the mast lights were included in a box with a bunch of other stuff. I think they're a factory accessory, but if you bought your boat used, they seem to me to be something that some people would just lose and forget about.

I used to use the mast lights; my new trailer doesn't have that plug (though I'm considering adding one). Unless I was trailering lost distances at night, it was kind of a PITA to attach the lights, since I don't carry a ladder.

- Clay

[Y.B.Normal]

For night towing or long distance towing, I put a marker light in the hub of my OB. It's just below eye level and is at the aft most part of the boat (except for the mast). I figure the mast is above most vehicles if they're close to the stern of the boat, and the marker light is easier to see than a mast light. It's plugged into the trailer taillight wires.

[BOAT]

I have the plug on my trailer - why it's way down there I'll never know - it would be a lot easier to hook up the little red lights from one of the taillights but I assume they did not want the mast running light to blink with the blinker or brakes.

Also, Why two Lights?? Why two of them?? I don't get it?

I think I will be running an extension from the middle bar light to a plug in a more convenient location near the license plate or something.

[Russ]

Also, Why two Lights?? Why two of them?? I don't get it?

My guess is the mast sticks out so far and is so high that to be legal in some states you need another light. *shrug*

I think I will be running an extension from the middle bar light to a plug in a more convenient location near the license plate or something.

That's a fantastic idea. If I towed at night I would do the same thing.

--Russ

[BOAT]

Hey Russ! Were you asking to see pictures of the trailer spare tire? I posted them on the other post called "spare tire" ( or something) for you.

[JoeG]

My guess is the mast sticks out so far and is so high that to be legal in some states you need another
--Russ

When I asked my dealer about that light he told me it was required in California

[Boblee]

On the old steel trailers the factory lights were illegal as they were too far under the boat so we installed a plug for a light board which hangs over the back of boat but with the new modified trailer I am in the process of sending for gal dipping I have extended the frame back for fixed lights but the idea of a light on the mast sounds good too even in daylight.

[Tomfoolery]

Instead of a single light on the mast or outboard, I mounted conventional LED (non-submersible) stop/tail/turn/side marker lights on a structure that slips over the outboard's lower unit and is held on, just in case, with a bungie. Extra lights are about eye level for a little insurance against the nitwit riding my butt, or the trucker who can't see under the boat to where the trailer lights are.

They're plugged into an extension I wired into the trialer lighting, and obviously don't get used when there's no boat on the trailer. The trailer is perfectly legal from a lighting point of view, with no boat on it, so it passes inspection every time.







Oh, that 3-light bar is required by DOT (federal) for trucks and trailers over 80" wide, having lights spaced 6-12" apart, though those little bars are normally only found on boat trailers, with individual lights on most other applications. Also required are red clearance lights at or close to the widest part of the trailer, facing aft, and independent of tail/brake/turn lights (so-called 'over 80' tail light units have a separate light for this, if you look closely), and the same facing front (amber) at the widest part, along with the usual side markers. An additional side marker at the midpoint of the length is required if the trailer is over 30 ft long.

If you were going to hang a red light off the mast, I'd use a beehive style, pointed down for 360 degree visibility, but I'd put it on the outboard myself for better visibility.

[Tomfoolery]

The last almost 8 ft would be dark without the extra lights with side markers.

[Catigale]

If you follow that last light on the left it points to North....

(Sorry, coudnt resist)

[Tomfoolery]

I'd better turn it all around then, 'cause the tow best is pointing north.

[Hugh]

thanks for the help.
Tkanzler I like your set up.
It only took how many posts for this thread to go south?

Hugh

[Tomfoolery]

Bada-bum crash!

[Tomfoolery]

Tkanzler I like your set up.

Thanks. It's just a pair of 2x3's, a strip of some scrap plywood with a plastic finish on it that I had laying around (I think it was from a packing crate), a set of cheap-o Harbor Freight non-submersible trailer lights, a pair of screw eyes for the bungie that runs under the engine, and some 4-conductor trailer wire (by the foot at my local trailer shop), and a plug. I mitered the face of the 2-bys so it was vertical with the engine tilted all the way up, and glued and screwed it all together. I also lined the inside of the 2-bys with bunk carpet so it doesn't scratch the OB. I could probably drill a hole for a locking cable, but if I'm overnighting somewhere, I can just take it off, as it only takes a minute. It would take seconds if I moved the electric connection to the back of the trailer instead of the junction box in the front, which I'll probably do at some point. Would've saved a lot of wire, too.

It worked out better than I thought it would. I would have used hardwood instead of scrap if I knew I would like it as much as I do. I should probably slap some finish on it, though I doubt I ever will. Next time I'll use some material that's actually nice to look at rather than scrap framing lumber and plastic coated plywood.

Oh, and if you look at the first pic, you can see how easily someone behind the trailer can lose the brake lights. I think I was just standing, and probably close to a car length behind, with the regular trailer lights hidden under the boat. It would be worse for someone sitting in a truck, higher up, where you lose the lights from further back. I can see why some countries require boat trailers to be longer (ending closer to the stern) than in the US, though the frame location shouldn't be the issue - light visibility should be, and that's easily fixed by putting lights on the goal posts. But who am I to tell other countries what to do.