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The revised rules for lighting and signage for trailers launched at the beginning of the year mean all trailers must have a proper functioning light system if travelling on public roads. Jude O’Mara from Rockfit Technologies based in Shannon, Co Clare, showed the Irish Farmers Journal the system the company uses for upgrading light systems. He showed us an Ifor Williams tipper trailer with a decayed lighting system in need of repair and upgrade. RockFit uses a ‘‘plug and play’’ light-emitting diode (LED) kit with steel wire armoured cabling and an impact resistant seven-pin moulded plug as a lighting solution for such trailer light upgrades. To fit the kit, Jude first had to remove the trailer’s existing lamps and wiring that had degraded with age and wear. New holes had to be drilled in the chassis to make way for the cable of the lamps and allow the bolts from the lamps be secured to the trailer. Jude used a pre-printed sticker which acted as a guide to pre-drill the holes the correct distance apart on the frame. With the Rockfit system, each lamp has been pre-wired with a plug. This makes fitting easier than with conventional hand wiring options. To fit a lamp, the pre-wired plug is placed through a freshly drilled hole in the chassis. The bolts in the back of the lamp are also pushed through two holes in the chassis and they are then secured in place with washers and nuts.
The revised rules for lighting and signage for trailers launched at the beginning of the year mean all trailers must have a proper functioning light system if travelling on public roads. Jude O’Mara from Rockfit Technologies based in Shannon, Co Clare, showed the Irish Farmers Journal the system the company uses for upgrading light systems. He showed us an Ifor Williams tipper trailer with a decayed lighting system in need of repair and upgrade. RockFit uses a ‘‘plug and play’’ light-emitting diode (LED) kit with steel wire armoured cabling and an impact resistant seven-pin moulded plug as a lighting solution for such trailer light upgrades. To fit the kit, Jude first had to remove the trailer’s existing lamps and wiring that had degraded with age and wear.
New holes had to be drilled in the chassis to make way for the cable of the lamps and allow the bolts from the lamps be secured to the trailer. Jude used a pre-printed sticker which acted as a guide to pre-drill the holes the correct distance apart on the frame. With the Rockfit system, each lamp has been pre-wired with a plug. This makes fitting easier than with conventional hand wiring options. To fit a lamp, the pre-wired plug is placed through a freshly drilled hole in the chassis. The bolts in the back of the lamp are also pushed through two holes in the chassis and they are then secured in place with washers and nuts.
When both the rear lamps and number plate lighting were fitted, Jude turned his attention to side lighting. Side lamps are required in the revised 2016 rules. He fixed a plastic mounting bracket on the side of the trailer to hold the side lamp. Again, this side lamp is fitted with a pre-wired plug which cuts out hand-wiring once mounted.
Once all the lamps were positioned and fitted, it was time to fit the loom and the junction box. The Rockfit kit has steel wire armour cable throughout, which goes back to a completely watertight and submersible junction box where the unit is pre-wired for the user. To attach the lamps to the main cables, it is simply a matter of plugging one end into the other. The cables for the left and right rear lamp plugs are marked to avoid any problems with fitting. At this stage, it is usually best to check that all lamps are working correctly before connecting the loom to the chassis, according to Jude.
Once all lamps are working and the junction box is fitted, the cables can be mounted on the chassis. To secure the cables in place, Jude usually uses plenty of cable ties but steel clips can also be used. A holder for the plug is fitted on the draw bar of the trailer and Jude made sure that there was enough cable left free for connecting to a power source.
Agricultural trailers must be equipped with side lamps, rear lamps, stop lamps, indicators and number-plate lighting. They must also be fitted with a marker lamp on their right-hand side if, when coupled to an agricultural tractor, the overall length of the combination is more than 10m.
Agricultural trailers with a design gross vehicle weight over 3.5t must also be fitted with reflective rear markings.
If these trailers form part of a combination of vehicles that is over 10m long, they must also have reflective side markings. A “long vehicle” marking must be fitted to agricultural trailers forming part of a combination of vehicles over 13m long.
LED lights
Trailer lights have a difficult working environment being subject to physical damage and attack from livestock, weather, corrosive chemicals, fertilisers and dung. It is common for farmers to find their trailer lights are not all working. The tailboard has been the traditional quick fix for decades. These are usually cheap and cheerful but, in reality, don’t offer a long-term solution.
LED lighting systems have been making inroads though as they are particularly suited to the agri-sector. Pricing has come down as they become more popular and the big advantage for agricultural users is that they do not use conventional bulbs and associated bulb holders.
Instead, LED light units – whether they are rear lamps, side-markers or number plate lights – use multiple small but bright LEDs to perform the function of a conventional bulb. The majority are sealed-for-life units with many thousands of hours working capability before possible failure of an individual LED bulb.
Cost
The Rockfit kit, which covered this 12ft Ifor Williams trailer, costs €185 including VAT. This would be more expensive than conventional lighting systems but Jude says the advantages far outweigh the cost in terms of life expectancy, a five-year guarantee and ease of installation.
The cost of fitting the system ranges from €50 to €80 per trailer.
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