There I was, driving in Arizona to visit my brother, when a big 18 wheeler going about 75 mph went past my Aerbus. He signaled to return to the right lane, and he had turn signals and brake lights on the top corners of his trailer. “Cool” sez I.
Over the ensuing 5 years I have seen perhaps a half a dozen big rigs with such taillights.
I have been very impressed with them, since such a location is easily visible, even when a car (or several) directly behind the truck blocks view of the lower brake/turn lights. A number of station wagons and SUVs have a similar concept, Honda CRV, Volvo, and Chevy vans to mention a few. And since all autos must have a high center brakelight, the government must think it a good idea too. No question in my mind it is a real plus for safety. Besides, it is so cool!
“Dumb” says Linda.
I went to the Lancaster Rexhall rally and heard a couple guys complaining that their toad on occasion has blocked out their turn signal, and recommended that the taillights be raised. I have noted subsequently that some other manufacturers do have their tail lights a bit higher, but not much. Since I had had a few years to think about the issue, I recommended to Rexhall that they wire the two upper outer “marker” (tail lights) to be brake and directional lights. They were about as excited with the idea as my wife.
I have heard that some motor homes do have such lighting but I have never seen any.
Ken Wilson, perennial writer for FMCA had an article several months ago about installing an upper center brake light on his diesel pusher. Good article with his usual excellent handling of the step by step process. I wrote him with my idea, and he said “Why don’t you write the article?” So much for getting out of it myself.
So with my one year old Aerbus eagerly waiting, I said, “Sure, I can do this, and I probably should try it before I write about it.” I have wanted to do it since seeing that first 18 wheeler, and I know it will be soooo..,cool!
“I still think it is unnecessary and dumb” says Linda. “And by the way, it can’t change the look of the rear end. No big round ugly looking lights.”
As in my other Tips, I believe there are two approaches to this type of project. The first is to do it all yourself. And for the handy, doing the projects is often more fun than the final results. If you are not handy, yet think the idea is a really a good one for you, the other method is to utilize your local RV technician. Explain to him what you want and ask if he can do it and what the cost would be. A third options is a combination, where you do the parts you can and have him do the parts you can’t.
The first step was to find some taillights. The Rexhall marker lights are actually rectangular. The screws holding them in place are on 3” centers. Peterson Manufacturing Company makes a number of different styles of taillights, and they are only a tiny
bit bigger than the Rexhall lights, and although I didn’t care for the rectangular choice, the oval ones (V135R) look almost identical to the existing ones from more than 10 feet away. They have two bulbs, and with a minor modification to separately wire the two bulbs, they become independent, one for the marker tail light and the other for the brake/turn signal. I put the brake/turn on the outside.
Another choice might be to use the side marker lights. These are both marker lights and turn signals and appear to me to have a single bulb with a double filament. The amber plastic cover could be replaced with a red one. I have not investigated this option.
The second, and in my opinion the toughest part, was to run a wire from each of the outer marker lights down to underneath the coach. With the bedroom slide in the out position, I could fairly easily expose the inside of the marker lights, and run the two wires down and through the floor such that they could not be seen (even by Linda). On some coaches this would require running the wires forward, and then down, usually in the bathroom.
The existing wiring supplying the taillight is identified inside, cut, and extended to reach out through the hole. The old taillight is removed (screws, 3”centers) and the extended “hot” taillight wire and ground are pushed through the hole along with the new brake/signal wire.
The new marker/brake lights were wired such that the inside bulb continued to be a taillight, and the outside bulb was connected to the new wire which would subsequently be attached to the brake/turn circuit. The existing ground is used for both circuits.
The new Petersons have 3” centers and fit right into the old holes. A little caulk before screwing them in completes the process.
The only thing left to do is to attach the previously threaded brake/signal wires to each side of the lower (regular) brake light/turn signal wires underneath the back of the rig, and you are finished.
The Peterson lights are about $4 each. The wire will probably run less than $5. Throw in a couple of bucks for connectors and caulk. You will have to value the enjoyment factor, but for me it was gigantic.
Since our new Aerbus is our “forever” rig (meaning we don’t plan to buy another for a long while at least), I would expect Rexhall to make it standard next year. But if they don’t and you think it is a cool as I do, you too can have it.
“Well, it looks good, and I am glad you are happy. I still think it’s dumb.”
Doug
doug@rexhalltips.com
PS If I were doing this today, I would probably use some type of LED, light emitting diode that would be a little brighter.