is there a good reason why trailers do not have backup lights?

Really no need, you got your flashers and a really loud horn, once your in motion people will see 70ft moving long before they see 2 lights.

 

I actually just learned something there.

 

They are called 4 ways. When they are moving backwards that is.

There is additional wiring needed above and beyond current set up. I imagine someone will invent a wireless backup light but it's not worth the trouble. There is already one on the tractor.

 

You can get reverse lights/work lights/ditch lights that turn on with the blinker or 4 ways. And no they don't flash

 

You can get back up lights on trailers. All the new trailers at Bison have backup lights that come on when in reverse by motion sensing. They will turn off again if you pull ahead or turn off key when backed into a dock. They are really neat. We also have lights under the trailer that can be turned on for inspections.

 

My last post made me a idiot. I remembered you can place floods on the flatbeds and so on for getting into dark areas off road when trying to position for loading and or unloading where necessary.

 

Like peterd mentioned Bison has back up lights. We pick up new trailers from all sorts of manufacturers. One company will order the absolute legal minimum of equipment. The next will load it up with all sorts of cool stuff, safety, convenience, and appearance items. The managers and bean counters differ greatly. Most are cheap bxxxxxxxd's

 

The reason is simple...............money.
And if a driver hits something or someone,just blame the driver.
Wellcome to the wonderfull world off trucking.

 

people wire accessories into the abs power. like that light on the front of the trailer for the tire inflation system that tells you tires are low and using air. no reason at all you couldn't wire in some led backup lights and trigger a relay with the 4 ways. it just isn't done, because people have lived without it so far. kinda like abs, disc brakes, regenerative braking. technology is there, but won't be equipped till it's a law.

 

A little more difficult than just tapping into 4-ways with a relay. 4-ways use the same wires as turn signals on the trailer. You'd have tap into the 4-way power ahead of the flasher to prevent the backup lights from flashing with the 4-ways. Then you'd have to feed it down a seperate plug to the trailer anyways.

I'd use a relay in parallel with the backup light switch on the transmission, then run that feed down a 2nd accessory plug for the trailer. Lots of folks use an additional 4 or 7 way plug for accessories on a trailer (on-board scales, lights, lift axles, dump gates/locks etc).