Selecting Boat Trailer Lights

 

Any boat owner who trailers their boat can attest to the fact that no matter how much effort is spent maintaining the boat trailer lights they seem to fail at the most inappropriate time. Thankfully the trailer lights have become more robust with the introduction of sealed led trailer lights. If considering upgrading or replacing all the boat trailer lights, a trailer light kit might be a better choice than trying to replace the lights individually.

 

A boat trailer led light kit will contain a length of trailer light wiring with a pre molded plug on one end and submersible trailer lights such as, trailer taillights, and trailer clearance lights.

 

Maintaining Boat Trailer Lights

 

LED boat trailer lights are brighter and consume less power than conventional filament bulb type lights. This has the disadvantage of the boat trailer tail-lights operating even if any of the connections are sub-par. A sub-par connection if submerged with current flowing causes rapid damage by electrolysis and should be avoided by making sure all electrical connections are well made and properly insulated from water intrusion. Boat trailer taillights encompass the taillight the trailer brake lights, and the turn signal in a single unit. American automobiles use a combination taillight where the taillight and the brake light are combined and the difference between the two is that the break light is brighter than the taillight.

 

In imported automobile the two lights are independent from one another thereby requiring a trailer light adapter to correctly operate the lights of a trailer. There are several manufacturers such as Wesbar®, Anderson Marine®, and Peterson® that offer led boat trailer lights, LED trailer marker lights and a boat trailer light kit to suite any application. These manufacturers also provide documentation that will assist in choosing the correct lights and instructions on how to successfully complete an installation.

 

Also, some of these manufacturers manufacture trailer lights for other application other that marine. For example, Wesbar® trailer lights are also available for horse trailers or semi-trailers, and one should not assume that any trailer light will work on a boat trailer, therefore it is prudent to make sure the kit is specifically made for boat trailers and can safely be submerged.

 

The plugs and sockets for the trailer wiring also on occasion need attention of some kind. Whether it is a complete replacement, an adaptor form one pin arrangement to another or a repair there is a large assortment of options available. The differences in plug styles, wire harness lengths etc. becomes apparent when renting or borrowing a different trailer other than one’s own and the need for adaptors becomes apparent.

 

Boat Trailering Parts

 

Boat trailers in general require significantly more maintenance than their land lubber counterparts and that is mainly due to being subjected to the intermittent dunking in either fresh or salt water. Saltwater immersion is the harshest on equipment even if it is diligently rinsed with fresh water afterwards. Components such as bearings, leaf springs, hidden wire harnesses and the trailer jack are difficult to protect from the ravages of corrosion from the saline environment and will require replacement at some time in the useful life of the boat trailer frame. In the meantime, we can continue and try to prolong the life of such components with regularly greasing, painting and other preventative maintenance procedures.