LED Tail Lights For Shorelander

surfinjoe

surfinjoe

New Member
Feb 23, 2007
946
Michigan
Boat Info
220 Sundeck 2007
Engines
350 MAG w/Bravo III
Has anyone upgraded their lights to LED's? The connections in my Shorelander are starting to get rusty, so I am thinking about swapping out my lights for enclosed/sealed LED's.
 
And just to clarify, I am not talking about replacing the actual bulbs with LED's. This would be replacing the entire assembly.
 
I did it a number of years ago with mine (also a ShoreLand'r). It's pretty straight forward. The set that I got had self-grounding housings. It could be because my trailer is a '99, galvanized and oxidized (although I did clean the contact points), but I had a heck of time getting everything to work. Part of the problem was the housings (of the marker lights, not the tail lights) - as you tightened the attaching screw it would cause a gap in the self-grounding feature. It was over the course of a year or so that I figured this out. When I first installed them, they worked fine - after a while they started working off and on. What I had to do was to take each one apart and solder a lead to the grounding plate inside. I then attached a ring terminal to that lead and used Tek screws to attach it to the frame. It's been good for about 2 years, now.
 
I've put LED's on my boat trailer, landscaping trailer, and tow dolly. When trying to light those trailers lights, I found they were not bright because of power consumpion. Then I changed to LED's, what a difference it made...
... I buy mine at Harbor Freight $39.00... 20% with coupon from my newpaper..
 
That's what I am thinking of getting. They have some at Overtons for more money, but the look to be the same light as Harbor Freight.

mstang64bb said:
I've put LED's on my boat trailer, landscaping trailer, and tow dolly. When trying to light those trailers lights, I found they were not bright because of power consumpion. Then I changed to LED's, what a difference it made...
... I buy mine at Harbor Freight $39.00... 20% with coupon from my newpaper..
Click to expand...
 
I will keep that in mind Dennis. My issue is the the actual bulb holders on my trailer are starting to rust, so I am getting annoyed.

Lazy Daze said:
I did it a number of years ago with mine (also a ShoreLand'r). It's pretty straight forward. The set that I got had self-grounding housings. It could be because my trailer is a '99, galvanized and oxidized (although I did clean the contact points), but I had a heck of time getting everything to work. Part of the problem was the housings (of the marker lights, not the tail lights) - as you tightened the attaching screw it would cause a gap in the self-grounding feature. It was over the course of a year or so that I figured this out. When I first installed them, they worked fine - after a while they started working off and on. What I had to do was to take each one apart and solder a lead to the grounding plate inside. I then attached a ring terminal to that lead and used Tek screws to attach it to the frame. It's been good for about 2 years, now.
Click to expand...
 
surfinjoe said:
I will keep that in mind Dennis. My issue is the the actual bulb holders on my trailer are starting to rust, so I am getting annoyed.
Click to expand...

That's pretty typical, given the type of metal that they're made of. In most cases, it looks a lot worse than it really is. Some dielectric grease (once you clean the contact area) can help to lessen this problem, though.
 
I'll give the dielectric grease a try, but the plan is to eventually upgrade to LED. I get tired of replacing bulbs as they seem to crack alot.
 
BTW Dennis - I never did end up making my bow filler cushion. It got too expensive. I found one on ebay (just the cushion) but I missed out. It sold for like $150.

One of the problems I am having is the vinly. I have to order way more than I need.
 
surfinjoe said:
I'll give the dielectric grease a try, but the plan is to eventually upgrade to LED. I get tired of replacing bulbs as they seem to crack alot.
Click to expand...

you likely already know this and may be practicing it but if you unplug the lights from the tow vehicle as soon as you arrive at the ramp and start getting the boat ready for launching this will give the bulbs a chance to cool down before they are submerged in water and lessen the chance the bulbs will burst.....i know most tail light assemblies are supposed to be 'submersible' and not allow water to contact a hot bulb during launching a boat but the seals in the assemblies can and do dry out over time so that they are no longer water tight.....

cliff
 
Cliff - I do practice this during the day however my boat launch is pitch black at night. When I pull my boat out at night, I have to leave my lights pluged in so I can see. My trailer lights are submersible, but the cold water still contacts the bulbs. I have changed most of the bulbs to LED's already, but they still have corrosion issues.

CliffA said:
you likely already know this and may be practicing it but if you unplug the lights from the tow vehicle as soon as you arrive at the ramp and start getting the boat ready for launching this will give the bulbs a chance to cool down before they are submerged in water and lessen the chance the bulbs will burst.....i know most tail light assemblies are supposed to be 'submersible' and not allow water to contact a hot bulb during launching a boat but the seals in the assemblies can and do dry out over time so that they are no longer water tight.....

cliff
Click to expand...
 
Last weekend I was able to update my trailer lights to all LED. They are much brighter and better looking. I went with Optronics. They fit well and seem to be made for Shorelander.
 
My initial install was just using wire nuts. I am thinking I should solder the wires for a more permenant connection (and to reduce the impact of corrosion). Does this sound like the right thing to do?
 
Only solder if you are very good at it. The downside is that if even just a little too much is used you create a "flex" point and you'll end up with the wire breaking. But, YES, get rid of the wire nuts - that's for home use only. Common practice is to use crimp connectors and shrink tubing. Done correctly that will pretty much be a permanent, solid connection. The typical all-in-one crimp tool that comes in the set with some connectors is junk. Get yourself a good one - it's money well spent (and really isn't that much). There's more than one "good" one out there. Personally I have this one, made by Klein: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Crimping-Cutting-Tool-Non-Insulated-Insulated-1005/100630657 and it was well worth it. If you want to get fancy, you can even get adhesive-lined shrink tube.

EDIT: If you want to get super fancy, the cat's meow is to use a butt connector (crimp) that has adhesive-lined shrink-tube already attached. FYI, Ancor makes very good quality, "tinned" connectors.
 
Last edited:
Good advice Dennis. I have soldered all the connections in my boat and haven't had any issues. Is a trailer a different animal?
 
Whether it's the boat or the trailer, vibration is the problem. I'm not sure that one is really any better or worse than the other. Over time, it can eventually fail possibly causing a spark, or worse, depending on the wire and location. Keep in mind, it's not always about "haven't had any problems". That can sometimes be more accurately stated as "haven't had any problems, YET". Now, in saying that, you know your soldering skills better than anyone so if you're comfortable go for it. I can tell you that, without trying to sound "full of myself", I am quite confident in my soldering skills and still prefer to use butt connectors. There's times that I will solder, but 9 times out of 10 it's crimp connections.

Although many manufacturer's don't use shrink tubing, it is indeed a better way of protecting connections. So, with whatever way you decide, take the extra step and use the shrink tubing. A side benefit is that it gives the connections some strain relief. In fact, if I know that a certain connection has a possibility to work itself into a stressful bend (which I always try to avoid) then I'll often use multiple layers of shrink tubing and gradually step them up towards the connection.
 
I 2nd the use of crimp terminals, and particularly the heat shrink able ones in a moist or wet environment.

Against soldering for the exact issue in the previous post.

The aircraft industry doesn't solder because of the vibration factor.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,154
Messages
1,427,367
Members
61,060
Latest member
Danileo
Back
Top