Trailer light recommendations

[nater]

I was starting to look around for new trailer lights for my boat trailer. The ones that came with it kept giving me problems and you could barely see them during the day. Any suggestions whether they be waterproof or not or LED or not.

Thanks a lot.

[BoxMN]

100% LED. Have them on two boat trailers, a utility trailer, and as they blow, I am going to put them on my sled trailer.

Nice thing, we don't unplug lights anymore now that we have LEDS.

$50 gets you the lights and wiring, from Northern Tool.

[Dozer]

LED, Check at Fleet too, I built a trailer last year and Fleet had the best prices on LEDs

[BobT]

I don't unplug my lights now when I back in but I'd still vote for the LED lights. Less load on your vehicle's electrical system, longer life, and brighter.

[JimBuck]

Another vote here for LED's. I picked them up 3 years ago and never have to worry about bulbs burning out or unplugging when backing in. They are really handy also if you fish at night as they really kick out the light for backing in and out of the launch. Well worth the ching.

[nater]

Thanks guys, I figured the LED would be worth the extra money for the increased brightness. Just wasn't sure if there are better brands or places to get them. I'll check the two places mentioned. Maybe they will be on sale this time of year!

[bucketmouth64]

Yup, LED's. I had to replace a bulb at least once, then if I had no signal I had to take cover off at look at bulb. Not with LED. They are brighter and I haven't had a problem with them for 2 years even backing them into the water.

[spearchucker]

Why would you not have to unplug the LED lights?

[Valv]

Why would you not have to unplug the LED lights?

They are not incandescent lightbulbs. Most of the problem with regular bulbs is water (cold) getting in contact with hot bulb and blowing it up (literally).

LED is the way to go, you can leave them underwater for a long period of time and will not get damaged, there's no temperature impact and not shorting risks. You can also leave them on with your truck shut of and will draw 1/10th of the power regular bulb do.

[spearchucker]

I understand the heat shock, but they can still short out.

[Surface Tension]

If your lights are not bright enough during the day then your ground is at fault. So what ever lights you go with you have to make a better ground from trailer to tow vehicle.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I understand the heat shock, but they can still short out.

Unlikely on a 12 volt system. I think you would be surprised at how long the electrical system will continue to work on a submerged vehicle!

[BobT]

Originally Posted By: spearchucker

I understand the heat shock, but they can still short out.

Unlikely on a 12 volt system. I think you would be surprised at how long the electrical system will continue to work on a submerged vehicle!

At 12v, the potential isn't enough to draw significant current. At any rate, a short-circuit across the wires supplying your light wouldn't damage the light but would blow your fuse in your tow vehicle instead.

You'd be surprised at how much resistance lake water has. There are plenty of times when someone is electrocuted by charged water from 120v power sources. If lake water was a good conductor it would trip the circuit breaker but instead it has enough resistance that it doesn't and so there remains an electrical charge in the water strong enough to cause problems. That's why there are rules about power cords and such on docks and boathouses.

[spearchucker]

I know the fuse can blow on the vehicle, that was my point. This will happen regardless of LED or regular bulb. It matters how sealed up the lights and wires are.

As for not having the potential to draw significant current from a 12V system, there can be close to 100A drawn when starting your vehicle. I have accidently welded wrenches when shorting to the battery of a car. It has everything to do with the size of the conductor.

[Jeremy airjer W]

I know the fuse can blow on the vehicle, that was my point. This will happen regardless of LED or regular bulb. It matters how sealed up the lights and wires are.

Once again unlikely whether or not they are sealed, open, regular bulbs or LED. I've pulled sockets out of lenses that you could have used for an aquarium. The bulbs where exploded but no blown fuses. Even after hundreds of hour of operating time.

[BobT]

I know the fuse can blow on the vehicle, that was my point. This will happen regardless of LED or regular bulb. It matters how sealed up the lights and wires are.

As for not having the potential to draw significant current from a 12V system, there can be close to 100A drawn when starting your vehicle. I have accidently welded wrenches when shorting to the battery of a car. It has everything to do with the size of the conductor.

I don't think you're quite understanding. The current draw on a power supply (battery) is the result of the load applied, not the power supply. A 12v wet-cell battery is capable of some extremely high current under the right conditions. If you could provide a zero ohm conductor between the (+) and (-) terminals, you'd see currents nearing immeasurable levels just before the battery exploded.

What I was trying to explain is that lake water is not that good a conductor and therefore it has a resistance high enough to minimize the load on the battery to a level that it won't draw enough current to blow the fuses.

The reason for disconnecting your trailer lights is not because you will likely blow the fuse but because the hot bulbs will shatter when they come into contact with the cold water. The sudden change in temperature causes the glass to shrink too fast and it loses its integrity. Trailer lights that are sealed are protected from this situation because the bulbs don't get exposed to the cold water.

LED lights are super efficient and operate at very low temperature rise. Therefore, when exposed to the colder lake water the temperature change isn't enough to shatter the lamps.

[spearchucker]

I understand just fine, just never had a bulb shatter on a trailer yet. If your trailer is grounded good, the path of least resistance is going to be back to the battery through the frame and wiring anyway.