Parts Needed To Wire In Additional Tail Lights On A Travel Trailer

Question:

Hi, I was going to add two of these part # STL264RCB to a 32 foot travel trailer/camper. I would mount on the rear facing wall vertically, one on each side, to supplement the existing factory tail/turn lights mid way between current tail lights and top of the trailer. Current lights are smaller, and I want to be more visible. The factory tail/turn lights have no reverse light, so I plan to leave those alone and just run all new wire from the these new lights in the back, along the underbelly, and into the junction box at the front of the trailer which has the wires coming in from the 7-way trailer plug that connects to the truck. I can see the reverse light wire yellow in there form the truck capped and unused, as well as the other needed wires. So my questions: 1 I would need about two, 40 foot runs of 4-way wire, one from each light, up to this junction. So about 80 feet total. What gauge and wire type/style would you recommend using for that length/setup? 2The current turn signal/brake wires from the 7-way red and brown wires are spliced into the existing tail lights so, 2 wires joined. Do you recommend removing the existing splice, and then joining the 3 wires directly from plug + current tail + new tail? Or, do I just leave the existing splice in place and add in a second splice off the 7-way plug feed? What splice would you recommend for the ideal setup? 3 The current running lights are 4 green wires plug feeding into the 2 tail lights, and side markers. I would be bringing in two additional green wires to feed the two new lights. I can remove the existing crimp and would have 6 wires that need to be joined. What product do you recommend to ensure a clean/tight/secure joining of these 6 wires? Picture of the junction box that I will feed the new tail light wires into is shown for perspective. Thanks!

asked by: Steve

Junction Box
(click to enlarge)

Expert Reply:

Hey Steve,

Personally, I hate the metal junction boxes that manufacturers use so I'd yank all of the wiring out of that one and switch to a junction box like # 3375601101. The separate posts will help you easily organize all your wiring and give you a more secure connection using ring terminals over the wire nuts the manufacturer used. This will also come with rubber plugs to help seal up the box and prevent water from getting in and corroding the wire.

I do agree that running some new 16 gauge wire back to the lights # STL264RCB would be the best option to avoid any issues down the road. To save some money you can use 4-pole wire and use the wire white as your reverse and then just splice the ground from the light to the nearest part of the frame. We offer 4-pole wire by the foot part with # 16-4B-1.

This should be a pretty easy job, but will likely be very time consuming. If you have any other questions just let me know.