You may recall I had realised the rear lights on the left side of the trailer was going to foul the modifications to the tailgate. The light mounting bracket needed to be set back by 40mm. Well I completed the modification only to realise the light would still foul the tailgate once the spare tyre was fitted. I’ve removed the mounting bracket and will fill in the three original holes. At the moment one of them has a rubber bung in it (left over from the fitout of Waiouru) and the other two are covered in masking tape.
I’ve decided to relocate the brackets higher on the trailer. The side effect of this is there will be a need for more extensive rewiring. After drilling the first set of holes the area was masked and spray painted with galvanized paint.
The bracket and light were then fitted. I also removed the light on the opposite side. As you can see in the photo below, I decided to remove the timber lining glued to the inside of the tailgate. It was chipboard and might start to expand with water absorption.
The drilling of these holes turned out to be more complicated than I’d anticipated as the area was double skinned and I partially struck and internal box section. I also ran out of cable so the internal wiring has yet to be completed.
Don my mother used to tell me stories about her driving me as a toddler (65 years ago) from Waiouru to Napier over the “Gentle Annie” in my parents Ford Poplar to visit her family. In those days the road was unsealed with the numerous streams either crossed using a ford or a timber suspension bridge. Jan and I retraced the route in 2010 discovering it was 85% sealed with concrete bridges, Obviously there have been many improvements in the last 63 years!
Jenny, I never told Jan and gave the appearance of being supremely confident!
Catherine I assume you went via the northern route through the Messenger Tunnel?
3 comments :
Gentle Annie is now fully sealed. I went through there a couple of years ago (Taihape - Napier) and enjoyed the trip. At one point there are spectacular views out to Hawke Bay all the way to Cape Kidnappers. Worth driving if you have the time.
In Britain I think there are rules about how close to the rear of the vehicle the red light must be - that is it must be the rearmost item on the vehicle, or very nearly so.
That ensures nothing significant projects behind the red light. Most importantly it ensures both red lights are visible from a wide angle at the rear. If you move the red lights forward one of them will soon disappear from view when you look at the vehicle off centre, such as on a bend
Are you sure there aren't any similar rules on Australia which stop you moving the red light forwards?
Hi Paul,
The lights are in the same position but higher up.
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