Is there a way of powering lights on a trailer board without a tow bar socket

[Hawk Tuah]

If I've got my bikes on the back of the car, I could be done for having my lights obscured.

I don't have a tow bar or socket fitted to plug a trailer board into.

Are there any products out there that can display brake lights and indicators without having to get a tow socket fitted to the car?

How to others manage with rear mounted bikes? Is it just a case of winging it?

 

[Scania]

If I've got my bikes on the back of the car, I could be done for having my lights obscured.

I don't have a tow bar or socket fitted to plug a trailer board into.

Are there any products out there that can display brake lights and indicators without having to get a tow socket fitted to the car?

How to others manage with rear mounted bikes? Is it just a case of winging it?

Many just wing it - and I’ve seen a few getting pulled for it over the years....

I’d imagine any half competent tow bar specialist can discretely - and cheaply - mount a standard electrical connector under your bumper so you can use a normal light board.

 

[gailjon]

You can buy wireless lighting boards but they all require a 7 pin connection. You can't control the brake/indicator lights unless the car sends the signal to the socket through the 7/13 pin socket.

Winging it is not an option. Any accident you might be involved in, regardless of fault would automatically see your insurance voided I would imagine.

A bit of information from Towsure here

 

[bremen1874]

You used to be able to buy trailer boards that had suckers that attached to the lenses of the car's rear lights. The suckers were wired to the board and used sensors to detect when the car's lights were on. The board was powered from a cigarette lighter plug that you fed through the boot.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

If I was going to the effort of getting a proper towing socket wired up, I may as well get a tow bar fitted as well - making a bike carrier a waste of time, because I'd use a tow bar version instead.

Looks to me that there's a gap in the market here. Trailer board powered by a couple of 18650s, with a wireless connection to a sender attached to the ODB port.