Reverse Lights On a TAB 400

falcon1970

I collected my TAB 400 at the dealer on Friday.  It is about 3.5 hours home from the dealer and I got back after dark.  Trying to back the trailer into a narrow and dark driveway I discovered the benefit of that monster light bar on the 320 Boondocks!  My umbilical receptacle on the truck has a connection for "reverse lights" and I'm wondering if the trailer umbilical cord has a wire for them.  Has anyone added reverse lights to a TAB 400?  If the wire for them exists in the umbilical cord and that wire is connected to somewhere in the converter it might not be too hard to mount lights on the trailer that come on when the TV is put into reverse.  Does anyone have any input?

N7SHG_Ham

If NuCamp used an off the shelf trailer lead, it will have a conductor, however they may have snipped that off someplace near the hitch? In any case I doubt that lead goes to the converter as vehicle lights and brakes do not terminate there. Best case is there is a dead end lead buried someplace near the back of the unit near the taillights. Worst case you have to splice on someplace near the hitch and run a wire to the back for the backup lights.

Does anyone know if the 320 light bar is interfaced with the reverse circuit? My guess is that is manually switched on from the trailer.

falcon1970

@N7SHG_Ham That sounds logical that it would be manually switched.  As a matter of fact that sounds like a better plan than mine of having it tied into the TV reverse lights. And it would probably be easier to install. 

ScottG

Some wiring schemes utilize the center pin of a 7-pin receptacle as a back up light circuit. On my 320, that line from the pigtail dead ends in the junction under the front of the trailer (see photo below).

If your vehicle wiring harness is set up with this backup circuit, and your 400 is wired similarly to the 320, running a line from this unused junction back to your new back-up lights should be relatively straightforward.

I had this photo already in my stash, which makes me think this was discussed at some point in the past. You might do a search and see if you can find the previous thread(s).

Dalehelman

ScottG said:

Some wiring schemes utilize the center pin of a 7-pin receptacle as a back up light circuit. On my 320, that line from the pigtail dead ends in the junction under the front of the trailer (see photo below).

If your vehicle wiring harness is set up with this backup circuit, and your 400 is wired similarly to the 320, running a line from this unused junction back to your new back-up lights should be relatively straightforward.

I had this photo already in my stash, which makes me think this was discussed at some point in the past. You might do a search and see if you can find the previous thread(s).

Don’t forget you have to run a ground wire also. That’s what I did works like a champ.

falcon1970

@Dalehelman Are those NiLight lights you mounted?  How did you mount them?  What do they mount to?

Dalehelman

@falcon1970
LED lights 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EA0ZB7I?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf
Mounted on roll pan under license plate. I am not afraid to drill a hole or 2 if necessary.

Michigan_Mike

Are you happy with the amount of light projected at the rear of the trailer Dale?  I see they have another set rated at double the light for an additional $5.00.  That might be an Arizona project for me this winter on the 400 if I can locate the termination block and assess the wiring difficulty to the rear.  Good looking mod!  

falcon1970

@Michigan_Mike The termination block is located in front of and on the front crossmember just to the rear of the "A-Frame."  According to Creed the terminals are 1. Ground, 2. Brakes, 3. Tail Lights, 4. Battery, 5. Left Turn and Running Lights, 6. Right Turn and Running Lights, and 7. Auxiliary.  I do not know from which direction they are numbered but at the moment I am assuming from left to right.  I am still studying it all to figure out how to run the wires to the rear and to determine a good anchor point for the lights.  Creed suggested running the wires inside the plastic trim.  He says there is room there but on initial survey I don't see a way to access that.  It appears that trim is glued on and I am sure if I pried the glue loose I would never get it re-attached as well.  Maybe down the frame rail?  More research needed.  If you have ideas yet I would like to hear them.

rcuomo

Falcon, here is how I ran my back up camera cable along the frame.

Dalehelman

@Michigan_Mike
Those lights provide plenty of light, but for another $5 why not. Although you might blind someone guiding you into your camp site. Honestly they are quite bright.

Michigan_Mike

Thanks Dale,  I'll take your word as you certainly don't want to blind anyone .  @Falcon1970, I probably won't be able to do this one until January as my plate is full at the moment.  Might be some spots along the frame you can run some self tapping screws into in order to allow you to run the wiring.   And agree, I wouldn't mess with the under body protective covering either unless there was a way to let it down along the side easily.  

PamandJohnUpNorth2

This is a modification I am quite interested in. Thanks @Dalehelman for blazing the trail (pun intended) with a great mod and sharing with the rest of us!

N7SHG_Ham

I would think if you can access the STT wiring path from the junction box, you could run the reverse light wiring along that route to the back?

Dalehelman

I fed a long fish wire along the inside of the C channel frame. It took some time and patience but worked well.

ScottG

N7SHG_Ham said:

I would think if you can access the STT wiring path from the junction box, you could run the reverse light wiring along that route to the back?

IIRC the STT wires run inside the T@B in the same wire loom that carries the battery/converter lines. From there they run under the shower and benches into the hollow tailpiece where the lights are installed.

You might be able to fish another wire or two through that loom, but it looks pretty tight. Accessing the empty tail might also be difficult on newer models that feature the storage cubby under the rear shelf. (on older T@Bs that space is marginally accessible by removing the rear shelf and a sheet of foam insulation.)