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Have you removed your clearance lights? Have you been busted for non-working or total removal of your clearance lights?


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I want to keep things as simple as possible with the re-do of my Sunrader and all I can think of when I look at those clearance lights is unnecessary energy usage (even with LED's), and numerous points for potential shorts and leaks.

1) Have you ever been ticketed for non-working clearance lights or heard of anyone that has? (Granted, I do see non-working clearance lights as an excuse for cops to pull you over.)

2) Have you removed your clearance lights or know anyone that has and has any cop bothered you or them about not having clearance lights? (I'm thinking if I remove them, or most of them, that its doubtful any cop would even think about them not being there.)

Thanks

Steve

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i have a feeling it will depend on where you are, state, city etc. for instance calif doesn't watch the expired tags are cars very close, personnal experience, but in washington state i had a city patrol follow me into parking at the airport in seatle to write me a ticket, they had been paid, just not put on. personally i wouldn't risk it. if ticketed you would have to drill new holes and worry about the wireing to satisfy the ticket.

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I know one Sunader owner who removed and glassed over all the clearence lights. Looked great. I drove my Nissan from New York to California with no working clearence lights and never got stopped or asked about them and drove plenty of those hours at night. Only serious issue I can see with removing them completely is if you ever get in an accident, the insurance company can say you are at fault because you removed the clearance lights and were not visible. Also apparently they are stricter in Canada if you want to visit

Linda S

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Just did some checking and DOT says 80" or wider requires at least two front and rear on the corners so I guess the Toy home has to have them it's closer to 90" wide. In Maine it won't pass state inspection (I asked before I replaced all of mine with LED's). Is it worth the chance of a fine to find out?

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That's 80 inches including the side mirrors. My Sunrader is just barely 80 inches wide but side mirrors put it well over the limit. Don't know why but the new Nissan NV van is 82 inches wide including side mirrors but it has no clearance lights. And how about those Hummers. Early Sunraders, up to about 1980 are the same width as mine too and they don't have clearance lights either. Like this

Linda S

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Good idea about checking with my insurance company Linda and thanks. I just called AAA and the agent immediately answered without hesitation that AAA doesn't care about clearance lights at all. Cool! Does anyone know how I could find out what happens in the real world in Canada if you don't have them? I'm thinking if they don't exist and there is no evidence that they were ever there that its unlikely cops would even think of that stuff.

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Good idea about checking with my insurance company Linda and thanks. I just called AAA and the agent immediately answered without hesitation that AAA doesn't care about clearance lights at all. Cool! Does anyone know how I could find out what happens in the real world in Canada if you don't have them? I'm thinking if they don't exist and there is no evidence that they were ever there that its unlikely cops would even think of that stuff.

Not your insurance company. The people who might hit you. I had Allstate try to tell me an accident was my fault, other drivers ins, even though the shithead that hit me got a handful of tickets for the accident. I actually had to get a lawyer to make them pay damages. I didn't have collision coverage at the time and your going to have a very hard time getting collision coverage for an 82 motorhome.

Linda s

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A LAWYER TOLD ME ALLSTATE IS NOT A COMPANY YOU WANT TO HAVE TO GET ANYTHING OUT OF. i CARRY FULL COVERAGE ON EVERYTHING GRANGE OF SEATTLE COVERED 87 DOLPHIN FOR 8.000 total loss. I DO NOT THINK IN WASH STATE YOU COULD GET BUY WITH REMOVING LIGHTS THEY WILL PULL YOU OVER FOR NO REAR PLATE LIGHT HERE.

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And did the other guys insurance company try to use your lack of clearance lights as a way to weasel out of paying?

No not a toyhome in that accident but they will use anything they can find. Also have to consider what the other guys are saying. Different states are stricter about regulations than others. Have to consider where you might be going. My Nissan clearance lights don't work so I am just going to make them look right. If I ever get stopped I will go Oh MY ,I had no idea. Unfortunately you might not be able get away with what this old lady can

Linda S

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i agree with you.

they are a useless waste of power.

mine are all led and i still want to just cut the cord.

Id like to install a switch turn them off for short in town trips and then turn them on for a 100 mile trip where the deep cycles are full.

im not going to like uninstall the actuall lights. In fact they are led now they should last a thousand years.

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some time ago there was a post on here about someone buying a moterhome where the marker lights had been replaced with reflecters and at the out of state insp they where told they would have to fix all of them to pass the state inspc

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well I think the best solution is to get a switch into the line to turn them off and on.

I encourage someone to do a write up including where to buy the switch and the location of where it goes.

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That's 80 inches including the side mirrors. My Sunrader is just barely 80 inches wide but side mirrors put it well over the limit. Don't know why but the new Nissan NV van is 82 inches wide including side mirrors but it has no clearance lights. And how about those Hummers. Early Sunraders, up to about 1980 are the same width as mine too and they don't have clearance lights either. Like this

Linda S

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Campers, box trailers and RV's All though I did not have several hours to read the DOT stuff height figures into it also. I guess any state has a dept. that deals only with trucks interstate stuff etc. maybe they could help you out. Frankly as slow as they are I like all the lights I can get at night on the interstate!

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For safety purposes, I'd happily swap the rear 'clearance lights' for a 3rd brake light any day, unless I drove a lot in an area with VERY low flying aircraft. If someone driving up behind me can't see the (relatively) large tail lights, I seriously doubt the 5 little rear 'clearance lights' are going to make much difference. Want to be seen better in low visibility? Install a rear fog light like they do in Europe.

The front one's make no sense at all to me. I've never seen a low bridge get out of the way.

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The only time someone would know that a clearance light is broken or missing is at night. So get some of the reflective tape and cut it light size and install it in the proper place. That way when some passes you at night they would see "working" clearance lights

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Well I did some looking last night and lots of states have vehicle safety inspections and the clearance lights on an RV must be in working condition. So I would not recommend removing them if you ever might want to sell it or might move to another state. Here in California they only care about smog. No lights or brakes is fine.

Linda S

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Derek, I have to agree with you about the front clearance lights not being necessary. In fact, all of the clearance lights could be removed and I doubt that any police force or state agency would care. So anyway, everybody out there that wants to remove the clearance lights on their motorhomes, go ahead and do it. You won't have any problems, I'm sure. If you do get stopped either on the road or at the inspection station, have them call me, I'll straighten it out.

John

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Derek, I have to agree with you about the front clearance lights not being necessary. In fact, all of the clearance lights could be removed and I doubt that any police force or state agency would care. So anyway, everybody out there that wants to remove the clearance lights on their motorhomes, go ahead and do it. You won't have any problems, I'm sure. If you do get stopped either on the road or at the inspection station, have them call me, I'll straighten it out.

John

Unless you live in a state with vehicle safety inspections. Then you won't be able to register your vehicle.

Linda

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I remember my dad being stopped in Wisconsin for having a burnt out clearance light, but

that was back in the early 70s. It was a Ford pickup with a full size drop in camper, worked

out to be about the size of our Toyotas.

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I want every opertunity for on coming cars or passing cars to avoild hitting me, I wouldn't mind a buble light on the roof if I could get away with it.

So why would you not want markers lights? :cold:

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The ideal with front clearance light is width so one a single lane road people will know coming towards you that your wider then a car obviously the same from behind when passing. I wouldn't mind strobes!

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Hey Linda, regarding the Sunrader in the photo you posted (#5) without clearance lights - do you know if it came like that from the factory?

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My boss was a Wisconsin State Patrol vehicle inspector for 35 years. I asked him about the clearance lights. He said that any police officer looking for a reason to pull you over will use the missing or non-working lights as an excuse to pull you over. They will PROBABLY issue you a ticket for improper/inoperable lights. Some people think that the State Patrol Vehicle Inspectors can only inspect commercial vehicles, they are wrong. They can pull over any vehicle for an inspection.

Here in WI, the police pull over a lot of vehicles after 9:00pm just to see if the dirver is drunk. WI has a serious drinking problem and I have seen too many friends killed by druck drivers. I use my cell phone a couple of times a year to report drunk dirvers. I pull over, turn on the speaker phone, hit speed dial 9 (911) and pull back out to follow the drunk. I will not dial or answer the phone while driving.

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Hey Linda, regarding the Sunrader in the photo you posted (#5) without clearance lights - do you know if it came like that from the factory?

Yes they are all like that. All the early ones with the bigger front overhead window have no lights up top. I do see a side light in the back but none over the cab

Linda

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If you're asking why I don't want clearance lights... I said the following when I started this thread: They waste energy, they short out, and they are a common source for leaks.

Many keep mentioning safety checks but I'm going to be titling and registering this in South Dakota and they don't have vehicle inspections there. I'll probably do reflectors instead, which from a safety standpoint, is just as good as lights at night.

So why would you not want markers lights? :cold:

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I N WASHINGTON ST ANY NEW TO THE STATE VECHLE MUST GO THRU STATE INSPECTION (I E STATE PATROL) TO GET A WASH TITLE AND PLATES. THE STATE OF WASH IS VERY STRICT ON TITLE AND LICENSE. AFTER THAT THE SAFTY CHECKS ARE DONE BY GETTING PULLED OVER. I HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER FOR NO REAR PLATE LIGHT .PERSONALY I WANT TO BE SEEN FOR WHAT I AM NOT A LITTLE PICKUP OR SOMTHING. WHEN I SEE ALL THOSE LIGHTS ON SOMEBODY ELSE HELPS ME KNOW WHAT IT IS UP AHEAD OR COMING AT ME ON SOME NARROW TWO LANE ROAD HOW ABOUT A NARROW BRIGE.

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LINDA I WONDER IF THOSE SMALLER ONES WERE EXEMPT FROM SOME OF THE LIGHT REGS AS THEY WERE SHORTER AND LOWER . I KNOW WHERE WE HAVE SIDE LIGHTS FRONT AND REAR I SEE THAT THE BIG CLASS A TYPES HAVE A CENTER SIDE MARKER MY FRIEND HAS A LARGE NATIONAL RV SEA VIEW CLASS A LIKE THAT. BUT IN THAT PICTURE YOU POST IT DOES HAVE SIDE MARKER LIGHTS ON THE FRONT FENDER AND ON THE LOWER LEFT REAR SIDE A RED REAR SIDE LIGHT

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Goofy nanny-state laws aside, I know why I don't want clearance lights but maybe I'm missing something here in regards to safety. So can anyone convince me how a motorhome is safer with them? When some of you say you want even more lights... Why? Because a Toyota motorhome is unwieldy and the lights will make your vehicle seen from a greater distance so you can avoid having to make a sudden maneuver (and possibly rolling) trying to avoid a collision?

And what about having good reflectors up there?

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I personally like these little lights, and it does not take much to replace them with LEDs (<$1 each) and solder them directly to the socket. Put some silicone inside the lense covers, snap them in, they will be set for a long time. I did get a warning ticket for not having sinde marker lights on my flatbed trailer in in Calif.

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The issue you are missing is clearance lights provide information to other drivers that your vehicle is over 80" in width. My thinking is you are increasing THEIR safety.

I installed Superbright LED clearance lights that are visable in daylight hours as well as high output LED parking lights that act as Daytime Running Lights. I spend a lot of time on narrow mountain roads and feel it is only fair to let other drivers know in advance of my over 80" width.

Goofy nanny-state laws aside, I know why I don't want clearance lights but maybe I'm missing something here in regards to safety. So can anyone convince me how a motorhome is safer with them? When some of you say you want even more lights... Why? Because a Toyota motorhome is unwieldy and the lights will make your vehicle seen from a greater distance so you can avoid having to make a sudden maneuver (and possibly rolling) trying to avoid a collision?

And what about having good reflectors up there?

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