Marker Lights On 5th wheel

[jkxtreme]

Marker light visibility.
When we lived on our boat, there were a few times when we came across tug boats towing barges. On several occasions the barge was some 600 ft behind the tug and neither the barge nor the tow cable had lights. Our radar saw the tug and usually saw the barge but not the tow cable. If the barge was less than 6 feet high, our radar wouldn't see it. Had it not been for a radio call from the tug captain, we would have run into the tow cable.
I have a similar concern with the 5th wheel trailer. The side marker lights are pretty small and if the center marker light fails the trailer is less visible.
Has anyone installed additional marker lights on the sides or under the trailer to make the trailer more noticeable at night.

[Mikendebbie]

I don’t recall this topic ever coming up here in the forum since I have been reading (Jan 2018). I had to look at a pic of mine to see how many side markers I had…

[MandK]

Yep, 3 here also. If you are concerned about that, you could put some DOT reflective tape on your drop frame. It’s Mandated on semi trailers and can be purchased on line or at truck stops. I have some on my pinbox to make the nose of my rig more noticeable at my storage facility as it sticks out further than any other rv in my row. I also have some on the hitch in back, can never have too much visibility back there, especially if your are carrying bikes back there. I have also seen it on slide outs and morryde steps for better visibility when wallydocking. It really lights up when headlights hit it. Just a thought.

[DutchmenSport]

I've got 3 locations also, actually 4 ... only because I added my Furrion Observation Camera side cameras and if I installed them in the same spot as the original side marker, the baggage door hinge would have blocked half the view. So, I installed them higher, so actually there are 2, one higher and the original up front.



Now, I used the red / white reflective tape on some key places on my Montana also. I put tape on each slide so it could be seen from the front or the back. And I put it on all the slides. I also put the tape on my solid steps also. My camper has a back door on the opposite side. It's uncommon to see a camper with a door on the "other side", so when parked along the side of a road, or even at a truck stop, oncoming traffic from behind just do not see the steps on the passenger side. So the reflective tape down the side of the step does help.

I put some on the rear, under the hitch frame so it can be seen from the rear. But I never thought about putting any in the middle, under the frame.

[Carl n Susan]

Nothing beats LED lights mounted along the frame for night time visibility.

[jkxtreme]

Thanks to all for the great ideas. I will install reflective tape and LED lights along the frame. My son and brother-in-law are truck drivers and both have had instances where drivers pulled out from side roads and almost hit their trailer because they saw the tractor but not the trailer.

[Derby6]

Originally Posted by jkxtreme

Thanks to all for the great ideas. I will install reflective tape and LED lights along the frame. My son and brother-in-law are truck drivers and both have had instances where drivers pulled out from side roads and almost hit their trailer because they saw the tractor but not the trailer.

No amount of lights will fix that stupidity. I think stock is fine, but I like chicken lights so would add them if I was worried. Would look cool anyway.

[Wisconsin Retiree]

I like the reflective tape idea.

[SuperDuty2]

I took off my regular lights and replaced all of them with LED lights, a big improvement. I will add reflective tape in places as well. I think that is a great idea