Night driving having trouble seeing the wheels when turning

[silvercorvette]

I do not recall having this problem 30 years ago and maybe it was because I did not drive at night that much or maybe the camper was a smaller non- 5th wheel, but at night I can't see if the rear tire on my camper is going to run over a curb or hit something. Maybe with more experience I will be able to judge if I am not turning wide enough.

If more experience does not help I was thinking of adding some kind of light that would be wired to the turn signal. The light would help me see if I was cutting a turn too short but I would be concerned that the light would not be a hazard to other drivers in I was changing lanes on an interstate.
I posted the in the 5th wheel section because it may be possible it may be a 5th wheel problem that travel trailers may not have the same problem.

[jaycocamprs]

Just put a amber marker light on the frame just a head of the spring hanger, it will light the area ahead of the tires. If you want turn signal also, you can get lights that have that function too.

[silvercorvette]

Rvpapa wrote:
" I do not recall having this problem 30 years ago "
Before doing the light thing it might be a good idea to speak with an opthamologist (sp?) . Had similiar troubles and after cataract surgery it was like haveing night vision restored, and able to read street names a block away again.
Art.

Yes I have noticed my night vision has gotten worst but not bad enough for surgery

Vulcaneer wrote:
You don't need a light. You just need to learn to take up all the road access that you can, to make wide turns ALL THE TIME. ALWAYS make the very widest turns you can. The most problematic are the RIGHT turns. Go as far as you can to the left, or as deep into the turn as you can when making right turns. As far to RIGHT, and as deep as you can for left turns. Do this a while and it will become habit.

And yes....five feet longer can make a difference if you are not used to it.

I am in the habit of making wide swings but still like to see what is going on with the rear tires

bazdad wrote:
Instead of adding lights, plan ahead, do your driving during day time. Problem solved.

Normally (especially if I am driving a car) I always prefer driving at night, because there is less traffic. If I am driving the camper driving at night allows me to pull into a rest stop and take a nap without the need to run a generator and A/C to stay comfortable. A few years ago I was driving a truck camper with a propane generator. the cost of propane needed to run the A/C could have probably cost the same amount of money to stay in a camp ground. The past few years I have driven mostly during the daytime but this last trip I was in a rush to get home so I drove at night/

I also have back and knee problems which require me to take powerful pain killers. What I try to do is start out the drive without any drugs and suffer with the pain, after a few hours when the pain gets to be too much I take a pill and pull over to rest. By the time I have finished my nap the drugs are mostly out of my system so I begin driving again while I suffer in pain. When the pain gets to be too much to take anymore I take another pill and start the cycle all over again. That is one of the many advantages of driving with your bedroom behind you. There have been times when I was driving my car and stopped 2, 3 or more times in one day and paid full price for the room to nap for a few hours.

Regardless of the cost I will never endanger the lives of other motorists if I feel my ability to drive has been impaired.

I remember last year I was driving a Penske moving truck and left a motel early in the morning and only drove for an hour before I felt that it would be unsafe for me to drive. I stopped at what I thought was a cheap but clean room for a 2 hour nap. After a few hours I made up my mind I could not drive further and stayed over night. If I was in my camper I would have had food with me but there was no place to eat close buy I had to raid the snack machine and ate chips and cookies. The next morning I would up and saw a roach walking on the wall, I wanted to get an early start but wound up spending almost 2 hours going though all my bags to make sure I wasn't bringing home a roach with me.

[Rvpapa]

" I do not recall having this problem 30 years ago "
Before doing the light thing it might be a good idea to speak with an opthamologist (sp?) . Had similiar troubles and after cataract surgery it was like haveing night vision restored, and able to read street names a block away again.
Art.

[butchfuzion]

I'm a newbie and still struggle with this. I have a crew cab long bed truck and it helps just to drive the damn thing around the city without the trailer cuz you have to make the square corners all the time. Doing that helps to make it habit. Good luck.

[bazdad]

Instead of adding lights, plan ahead, do your driving during day time. Problem solved.

[JohnBoyToo]

you really shouldn't have to see the tires....

what I did when I first started when hooked up
(actually I started doing this before towing so I would get into the habit)

always drive the truck to the OUTSIDE of the turn...
i.e. if the road turns left , put your front tire as close to the right shoulder as possible which will give you 'swing' room...
if u are turning left, drive straight 'through' the intersection and turn at the last possible moment (again more 'swing' room 🙂

if turning right, same principle applies - drive thru the first lane then turn and don't be rushed into a mistake - even so much as taking up more lane to swing !

get the idea ?!? tee hee - so far it's kept me out of trouble !

and the wife's job was to look pretty, read the clearance signs,
and remind me to 'swing out' when turning 🙂

good luck....

[JIMNLIN]

Be careful adding lights/lighting on the side of a trailer as all of that is controlled by state and fed regs 49 CFR 571.108 http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=686802dad99e6d6ded90c4362c25557c&rgn=div8&view=text&... when on our highways. Lighting the roadway is controlled by roadside DOT and regulations. Around the campground doesn't count so you can add any light you wish as long as it doesn't shine in other drivers eyes.

IMO your state size and weight troopers can help you with the what type of lights and where can you add roadway lighting.

[Vulcaneer]

You don't need a light. You just need to learn to take up all the road access that you can, to make wide turns ALL THE TIME. ALWAYS make the very widest turns you can. The most problematic are the RIGHT turns. Go as far as you can to the left, or as deep into the turn as you can when making right turns. As far to RIGHT, and as deep as you can for left turns. Do this a while and it will become habit.

And yes....five feet longer can make a difference if you are not used to it.

[silvercorvette]

Maybe it is just the newness that has me a little uncomfortable,The Jayco was 28 feet and this one is 33 feet 5 feet does not seem like that much but it is going to take some getting used to. Plus the added weight makes it slower than the old set up. I noticed about 1 mile less per gallon which is probably due to a higher profile and greater wind resistance, but it is a small to pay for a huge bedroom that I can stand up in.

I’ll post some pictures of the new rig when I get a chance

[mdamerell]

About 10 years ago I had a semi trailer that had a white light wired into the midway turn signal that when you turned your turn signal on it would shine on you trailer tires to see corners at night. Never saw it again. Guess the company decided it was not worth the added cost.

In all reality once you get some experience with the trailer you know if you will make the corner or not. X2 on practice......

There is a Federal list of what color, how many and locations of light on a truck/trailer or any other vehicle for that matter. If you add an additional light it has to work or you can get a ticket for a light out even if it's not a "required" light.

[jetboater454]

da.bees wrote:
Lighting the wheel well is an interesting idea. It should actualy make lane changes safer by giving other drivers additional warning.
The light would best be red and mounted so it isn't visiable to cars which are meeting you. The light could include tail,stop and turn or either one.

Don't mount a red light in the middle of the trailer,red means the rear.Only yellow can be mounted in the middle. Just think of some idiot seeing the red light in the fog thinking it's the rear of your trailer and changing lanes. I know it sounds far fetched,but I'm sure you have seen the drivers on the road today in a daze.
A bright yellow LED mounted in the wheel well would help.

[mrquacker]

I like the idea robsouth had, dirt roads and baby powder. A bucket of water spread around would also work.

[rhagfo]

da.bees wrote:
Lighting the wheel well is an interesting idea. It should actualy make lane changes safer by giving other drivers additional warning.
The light would best be red and mounted so it isn't visiable to cars which are meeting you. The light could include tail,stop and turn or either one. If the tail/turn wasn't enough illumination,an orange/yellow light could be mounted to be visiable only from frontal direction. Semi tractor trailers are actualy required to have the same signals. The only obstical I see is how to keep the lens from being covered or broken from debris thrown by tires. Many seasoned drivers would benifit from such light while backing into tight quarters.

Well many 53' trailers have a turn signal about half to the rear of the trailer. that might be nice for the idiots that will sit next to your trailer for miles, and keep you from changing lanes. That might wake them up a bit.
For backing up after dark, good backup lights on both the TV and trailer.

[da_bees]

Lighting the wheel well is an interesting idea. It should actualy make lane changes safer by giving other drivers additional warning.
The light would best be red and mounted so it isn't visiable to cars which are meeting you. The light could include tail,stop and turn or either one. If the tail/turn wasn't enough illumination,an orange/yellow light could be mounted to be visiable only from frontal direction. Semi tractor trailers are actualy required to have the same signals. The only obstical I see is how to keep the lens from being covered or broken from debris thrown by tires. Many seasoned drivers would benifit from such light while backing into tight quarters.