Federal Requirement for Trailer Lighting and Best Options for Adding Lights to a Utility Trailer

Question:

I have a 5×8 utility trailer, I want to customize the lights on it. And i was wondering if there is a DOT law on how many Aux clearance/mid turn signals I can put on it

asked by: JEFFREY P

Expert Reply:

There are minimum lighting requirements for trailers that vary based on trailer size and weight, but to our knowledge there are no maximum limits for trailer lights, provided that all the mandatory lighting is installed. We've recapped the federal requirements in the linked article which will give you specifics. I am sure there is a law enforcement officer out there somewhere that might pull over a motorist for having what he/she considers "excessive" trailer lighting, lighting that is considered to be a distraction to other motorists, but to my knowledge this is not quantified formally.

One thing to keep in mind as you plan the trailer's lighting upgrade is that your Grand Caravan's wiring harness has a finite current capacity. This maximum cannot be exceeded by the total combined power draw from all of the trailer lights. In other words it is possible to overload a wiring harness. For instance, among the 4-pole wiring kits we offer for your 2003 Dodge Grand Caravan we have maximum outputs of 2.1 and 5-amps per circuit for the Tekonsha # 118376 and 3.0 and 6.0-amps per circuit for the Curt # C55376.

Overloads can be avoided by using high-efficiency LED type lights on the trailer. These draw typically about 1/10th the power of standard incandescent bulb lights. I have linked you to our main page for LED trailer lighting products.

expert reply by: Adam R