out with the old in with the new

[Ford Prefect]

Well I would most certainly recommend the "White Rim Trail" in Canyon Lands National Park, near Moab Utah.

It is amazing, and the sights are something else. Just be sure to check the map for the camp sights. You have to reserve them well in advance, and some of them are only a few miles down the trail. IE a 90 mile trail if you get to your camp after just ten miles that means the second day is going to be a long long day.

[GregB_00XJ]

Well greg, we are planning a two to three month Mexico trip for next winter and whenever I can semi retire we will start on some longer trips. Central and South America for sure but I really like travelling in Canada too so another cross Canada trip will be made but longer. Whenever transiting through the USA I will take some time and visit the many great spots there too, just soooo many places to go!

Sounds like a good plan!! Mexico is nice and warm, great place to spend a winter I bet!!

[pods8]

Sidebar question: How do you like those fuso tail lights by the way? I need to get a setup for my flatbed and the fuso ones look decent. Is the backup decently bright, etc? I can get a set of take offs for $60 with brackets and I assume they're weather sealed since they're normally exposed.

Evaluating that verse other stop turn tail lights and/or potentially separate brighter reverse lights.

[SkiFreak]

Given that I have a Fuso too, I guess I could comment on the rear lights...
The OEM reversing lights are to let someone else know you are going backwards; they are not really designed for illuminating the area behind you so you can see where you are going in the dark.
In my opinion, install something like a LED light bar and hook it up to the reversing circuit. I would also have an independent switch so that the light bar could be switched on by itself. Many people do this as a light source for setting up camp at night.
You might also want to consider simply using LED tail lights.

[pods8]

Given that I have a Fuso too, I guess I could comment on the rear lights...
The OEM reversing lights are to let someone else know you are going backwards; they are not really designed for illuminating the area behind you so you can see where you are going in the dark.
In my opinion, install something like a LED light bar and hook it up to the reversing circuit. I would also have an independent switch so that the light bar could be switched on by itself. Many people do this as a light source for setting up camp at night.
You might also want to consider simply using LED tail lights.

Generally what I suspected on the reverse lights part, figured I'd end up doing secondary switched reverse lights if I wanted good illumination. Is it accurate that the light units are sealed up or no? Generally speaking for use under a flatbed those fuso lights are decent looking in my opinion (amber/red/reverse all separate and visually okay looking) and getting a pair new take offs for $60 seems reasonable. Any further input on your end since you've got first hand experience?

LEDS: lots out there, generally though you're either looking a buying a $120 pair to cover stop/turn/tail/reverse in one smaller housing or 2-3 separate lights ($15-20 a pop) on each side to handle that and making/buying brackets group them up, etc. Since these are running off the normal truck I'm not worried about the power savings of LED specifically (and normal tail lights done usually chew through bulbs either). The idea of the fuso lights already definitely meeting DOT regs and just mounting two known housings had some appeal at the moment verse piecing something together.

[SkiFreak]

I do not know what IP rating they would have, but I had a look at my OEM tail lights today and they seem to be pretty well sealed up.

[dhackney]

Kudos on a fantastic build.

Agreed on how we perpetually underestimate the time and effort required. You'd think we'd learn one of these days...

I would also have an independent switch so that the light bar could be switched on by itself.

Auxiliary reverse lighting on a separate switch worked very well for us.

I mounted one on the back and one on each cab door mirror bracket (facing aft). The ones on the sides turned out to be more useful than I thought they'd be.

I put the backup alarm on the same switch. There are times when you want to use reverse without bright lights or an audible alarm going off.

[westyss]

Given that I have a Fuso too, I guess I could comment on the rear lights...
The OEM reversing lights are to let someone else know you are going backwards; they are not really designed for illuminating the area behind you so you can see where you are going in the dark.
In my opinion, install something like a LED light bar and hook it up to the reversing circuit. I would also have an independent switch so that the light bar could be switched on by itself. Many people do this as a light source for setting up camp at night.
You might also want to consider simply using LED tail lights.

Hey Owen nice web site!

I have been looking at a thinner tail light in Led just because the Oem ones are pretty big, they take up a bit of real estate back there and that is where I will have the grey water tank on the drivers side and another storage site on the passenger side. But Pods8, they do work well and if the mirrors are clean shed enough light to be useful when backing up at night, even though I mostly use the Braille method.

[westyss]

Kudos on a fantastic build.

Agreed on how we perpetually underestimate the time and effort required. You'd think we'd learn one of these days...



Auxiliary reverse lighting on a separate switch worked very well for us.

I mounted one on the back and one on each cab door mirror bracket (facing aft). The ones on the sides turned out to be more useful than I thought they'd be.

I put the backup alarm on the same switch. There are times when you want to use reverse without bright lights or an audible alarm going off.

Doug thanks very much, and any time I look at your build thread I am always amazed at what you did getting all that work in such a short time, but getting it accomplished in a short time you avoid the changes that start to creep in all over the place making things sometimes drag on, I keep having to tell myself "its only a camper, Is there an easier way?"

Definitely reverse lights on a switch, and the backup alarm, my truck came with two?? I was mucking around on the lights a while back and thought that I had disconnected the back up alarm so that we could do some stealth campsite entries at night without waking people up but while backing into a spot the other alarm under the cab somewhere blared away, haven't looked for it yet.

Did the side lights get damaged at all and what did you find useful about them? Would having the side lights lower down still make them useful?

[westyss]

Generally what I suspected on the reverse lights part, figured I'd end up doing secondary switched reverse lights if I wanted good illumination. Is it accurate that the light units are sealed up or no? Generally speaking for use under a flatbed those fuso lights are decent looking in my opinion (amber/red/reverse all separate and visually okay looking) and getting a pair new take offs for $60 seems reasonable. Any further input on your end since you've got first hand experience?

LEDS: lots out there, generally though you're either looking a buying a $120 pair to cover stop/turn/tail/reverse in one smaller housing or 2-3 separate lights ($15-20 a pop) on each side to handle that and making/buying brackets group them up, etc. Since these are running off the normal truck I'm not worried about the power savings of LED specifically (and normal tail lights done usually chew through bulbs either). The idea of the fuso lights already definitely meeting DOT regs and just mounting two known housings had some appeal at the moment verse piecing something together.

They are sealed units and have a tin plate protecting the back of the unit making it fairly sturdy.