RV OPINION
RETROFITTING
Andrew Phillips of the RV Repair Centre and
Coronet Caravans says that reversing lights
can be retrofitted, though it’s not a particularly
straightforward job. All of the pins in a standard
seven-pin trailer plug are used for electrical
connections such as brake lights and indicators,
so fitting a wiring connection for reversing lights
requires installers to swap to a 12-pin plug. But
for new vans it can be problematic, considering
all of the features they tend to be fitted with.
“If we were to wire a Coronet with reversing lights,
we would have to rearrange our plug as all pins are
used, and we have done this in the past,” Andrew
told GoRV. “Don’t get me wrong, we can definitely
do it, but I would not say it’s straightforward. We
have done our fair share of it in the past and I hope
to do more of it in the future.”
The ‘rearranging’ of the plug would probably
involve fitting an Anderson plug, he said.
I checked in with Roy Wyss, the owner of
Queensland’s Sunland Caravan. His response
was overwhelmingly in favour of reversing lights
being mandatory caravan equipment.
“If I had my way, they would also have reverse
buzzers,” he said.
GoRV contributors and long-time caravanners,
Bruce and Marg Gow (also known as the Baby
Boomers on the Road), are also strongly in favour.
They tow an On the Move Grenade, which was
fitted with reversing lights as standard. As Bruce
said, reversing lights are there to make their van
be seen, not for them to see by them.
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“Once the van is hitched up, we have the same
lights as the car, as in we have LED lights on the
van that are linked to the reversing lights on the
car,” Marg said. “We think all vans should have
reversing lights – it seems like common sense.
Knowing the movement of a van, especially when
parking it, must make for a safer environment for
everyone in the vicinity.”
Marg, I couldn’t agree more.
LED indicators and brake lights, but
not a reversing light to be seen.