The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Turn Signals, backup lights, reflectors

I have a 1948 Chevy 1.5 Ton Flatbed that I am building a bed on (see the body shop) and I was wondering what lighting/reflectors I need. All that it has is brake lights. Do I need turn signals, backup lights, liscence plate lights, reflectors, or what on the back or sides of it. Is there some place that I can find out? When did these start to become required? I would like it to be fairly original, but I like being safe, so I have tentative plans to put in the 7-wire turn signal setup for the brake light. The truck has turn signals on the front fenders, but I don't like them, and will remove them at some point if I can. Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

Turn signals and reverse lights were not original equipment on those, and you're not required to add them. Running lights and brake lights that were original are all that's legally required. Isn't your license plate lit by a clear glass panel on the tail lamp? I don't believe there's a Washington law requiring reflectors, but they're a very good idea, and would fit the look of the truck.

If you're not going for total resto, you might want to switch to dual sockets and add turnsignals. You know what they say...Safety Forced.

One tail light \stop light is all that thy came with and all the law requires.One thing to think abought though is your safty.Doing right turns with no blinkers,alot of people wave at me.Alot of people have no idea what hand signals are.Driveing at night with .out turn signals is just plain scary.just my .02 cents worth

Thanks for the help. I might add a couple of reflectors, but I think I'll keep the original taillights. Sure enough, the lights do have a clear window to shine on the license plate. Is it better to have the dual base taillights for turn signals, or just to use the brake lights as turn signals with the 7-wire kit from Chevy Duty? I would like to know pros and cons of each. Also, for the front, I am planning on removing the fender blinkers that have been added on, becuase I don't like how they look. Do you guys have an idea as to where I should put the front blinkers, or can I use the parking lights or something? Are the front ones as necessary? Will I still need to arm signal if I have back turn signals but not front ones? Thanks for any help you can give me.

Man ,I got lights all over my my '49 2 ton . Dont use 'em 1/2 the time. The spotlight is fun though . I gotta tellya nothing beats a borderline safe loose kingpin & brakes that pull to one side or the other in traffic. I just roll down the window & light up a cigar [ avaliable from Rugo ] & zig-zag my way around down the road .Everyone stays da hell away from me on the road !. I guess they think I am nuts ! It helps to have spare fenders , doors & hoods floping around in the bed to keep people off your [censored] in traffic. I like to assume my position in the slow lane & let everyone go around me [ since top speed in my 2 ton is 50 ].

The front parklights will have to be changed to dual lead sockets; the rear sockets are already dual filament and the "clamp on the column" kit takes that into account. You can also wire 4-way flashers through that signal kit, a nice safety feature to consider.

edit: Do you have one or two bulbs in your taillight housings?

My '49 2 ton has era correct " guide" turn signals
front & rear along with the " signalstat " column lever. The flatbed body has 4 clearance lights at all 4 corners " grote 47 " [ red in the rear & yellow up front]. I installed 2 backup /load lights near the rear of the cab " hellas " [ same as a 67 volkswagen b/u light]. I also installed 2 era correct marble reflectors on the rear of the bed. I installed a seperate light switch on the dash which activates both the high & low beams of the headlights along with the extra fog/driving lights [ this switch is labeled] " blaster " on the dash.

Turn signals ? Hey what happen to your arms ?

Turn signals need the 7-wire to work in your tail/brake lights or you will need seperate lights in back if you have 5-wire signal switch.
I put lights on front and sides of my beds, need yellow and red, with yellow at front or front corners of bed. Wire these up to the taillight wire. I use the kits for trailers, just pick ones with lights you like, OR, buy the long trailer light harness and get Brown, yellow, green and some white for ground to wire lights. I run them up to the fuse box on the firewall and inside to the switch for signals, and you have to go thru the brakelight switch to signal switch to have brakes at same time as turns on.
The signals on top of fenders belong there, I use them. Anything 1-ton or bigger had those. You can see them and know you left signal on too! I can't see the one on right in daylight and always left it on in my 54. You can see the light at night. The hood bumps up too high to see light on mine. Course, you could put dual filament sockets in the park lights! I just built a wood bed and lights on my 50. Send me your on-line address and I can scan some pix to send to ya. My address is in link above or [email protected]. It has the seperate turn signals in back. I just put white reflectos on the sides as that's what they had on old bed. You can get away with just reflectos on sides and corners, just use yellow on front. Most trailer wiring kits show the wiring needed for most trailers, is same for beds. I also have the three little red ones in center, it looks neat!