Water leaking into taill lights

[revjeffrey]

I also copied Jamie's Flex Seal solution. I did order LED taillights from the company Axis Earl recommended. Look at replacement Led tail lights closely many do not have the reverse as LED? I also felt I needed extra lighting due to my bike rack.
I added 3M stick-on Double Light LED strips. These are the lights guys use under their tailgates on trucks and they just stick on & plug into your 4 prong hitch plug. Cruise light, Brake, Turn Signal, Reverse in Super Bright White. The reverse lights alone were worth me adding this. Daylight City Bright in reverse.

This photo does no justice to how bright these are this photo was taken in a very well lit parking lot. Next weekend I will post night photos unit is at storage. My kids are asking me if this is a "Mod or a Hack" ???

[JamieGeek]

Wow me thinks some brake light mods are in store for our Axis this spring !

I like the idea of having more on the RV so I don't need more on the toad.

[Long & Winding road]

Revjeffery - that looks great. Do you have the light strip on the ladder itself? It looks that way in the pick.

I thought about adding the same light strip but just above the bumper running horizonlly.

I have this leaky tail light fix on my short list. I hope to complete this winter.

My RV is in storage building when not in use so I dont have a leak - yet. But I dont want to worry about damage down the road.

[revjeffrey]

Both strips are 3M stuck on the back unit . I just followed the inside of the corner trim for straight lines. The wiring in at bottom. I did not have to drill any holes with this install. Each WHOLE strip acts as a full turn signal, brake, reverse. It's not that I didn't feel safe before but night driving visibility is insane now. Reverse backing at night is a flood light effect. Total mod around $70.00.

[Live Oak1]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

How did you fish the wires down to the existing lights for the high mounted ones? (A really good idea!)

Went thru behind the tail lights into the rear compartment. Drilled a hole down thru the closets on each side of the bedroom and pulled the wires up to the point where I drilled a small hole where the lights would be mounted. Covered all the wires with black plastic wire looms and siliconed all the drilled holes. Attached the wire looms w/wires to the corners of the closets with my hot glue gun.

Sorry about the pics. Not sure why they are flipping sideways.

[mmthor]

I checked the rear lights on my new 2019 23U and sure enough the right light had water in it. It's amazing they're still using a known defective method for sealing these lights. Thanks to this forum I knew to check so it was caught before it caused any damage. I let the wood dry out and then reattached the lights and siliconed around the perimeter. Longer term I'd like to change these out to a LED replacement that seals better.

[axis earl]

Very cool Rev! Did you use the foam "seals" they sent you with the new taillights or did you use an alternative? The foam seals are really a big part of the problem.

[revjeffrey]

I did use the foam but after reading your other posts, I purchased the Duro tape and will reset them. Agree with you foam is big part of the issue.

[scubes3]

Originally Posted by revjeffrey

I also copied Jamie's Flex Seal solution. I did order LED taillights from the company Axis Earl recommended. Look at replacement Led tail lights closely many do not have the reverse as LED? I also felt I needed extra lighting due to my bike rack.
I added 3M stick-on Double Light LED strips. These are the lights guys use under their tailgates on trucks and they just stick on & plug into your 4 prong hitch plug. Cruise light, Brake, Turn Signal, Reverse in Super Bright White. The reverse lights alone were worth me adding this. Daylight City Bright in reverse.

This photo does no justice to how bright these are this photo was taken in a very well lit parking lot. Next weekend I will post night photos unit is at storage. My kids are asking me if this is a "Mod or a Hack" [emoji38]???

Did you clip the right turn light wire for the left led strip and the left turn wire for the right led strip so they would operate properly when indicating a turn?

[revjeffrey]

Originally Posted by scubes3

Did you clip the right turn light wire for the left led strip and the left turn wire for the right led strip so they would operate properly when indicating a turn?

Yes, that is exactly what I did right near the light strip end. Leave yourself a little room in case you make a mistake you have enough wire. The wire is a super tiny gauge

[gator]

Originally Posted by revjeffrey

I also copied Jamie's Flex Seal solution. I did order LED taillights from the company Axis Earl recommended. Look at replacement Led tail lights closely many do not have the reverse as LED? I also felt I needed extra lighting due to my bike rack.
I added 3M stick-on Double Light LED strips. These are the lights guys use under their tailgates on trucks and they just stick on & plug into your 4 prong hitch plug. Cruise light, Brake, Turn Signal, Reverse in Super Bright White. The reverse lights alone were worth me adding this. Daylight City Bright in reverse.

This photo does no justice to how bright these are this photo was taken in a very well lit parking lot. Next weekend I will post night photos unit is at storage. My kids are asking me if this is a "Mod or a Hack" ???

The LED strips are badass, thanx for sharing!

[csseeker]

Just got back from a 2 week trip to Texas. Pulled the tail lights and found a tiny bit of moisture in the right lens. No pooling. Just a tiny bit of wet wood, no damage. All the screws were rusted though. I replaced the foam gasket with the tape mentioned. I used stainless steel screws. I then sealed them with clear silicone. The biggest problem I found was the bottom screw in the middle on each lens was screwed into nothing. The screw hole was into the wiring hole. I added a small piece of wood into the wiring hole to give the new screw something to hold onto.

[Choxnpinz]

I was going to post about this, but it seems you've already got it figured out. I like the fixes you've figured out, but I was merely going to drill a tiny hole at the bottom of the lens to allow water and moist air to vent itself and add the o-rings as mentioned above. Thoughts?

[blw2]

Originally Posted by Choxnpinz

I was going to post about this, but it seems you've already got it figured out. I like the fixes you've figured out, but I was merely going to drill a tiny hole at the bottom of the lens to allow water and moist air to vent itself and add the o-rings as mentioned above. Thoughts?

I had considered doing the same thing....
would be more likely if I could see a way to do it under the fixture...a vertical hole... perhaps drilling a very small diameter hole at an upward angle...

then
I considered what I think may be a better way to go...venting to the inside of the coach. Just drill right on through the back side of the light recess, into the bedroom. Plug on the inside with something like a 2 inch diameter soffit plug vent, or even like a small ac duct louver to match what's in the coach....something like that.
I figured a larger hole like that would also double as an inspection port in a way...
or go even bigger
a full hatch large enough to change the bulbs from inside the MH.

My entire back wall was replaced under warranty, and the body repair guys at camping world seem to have done a great job of caulking and sealing the fixtures so I never did the vent modification. Just might though, if I ever need to break in there to replace a bulb or chase a leak.

While I'm sharing thoughts on the topic....another idea I had when reading some of the repairs that require enlarging the routed recess...(sorry if I've posted this before, can't remember)
I have kicked myself many times for not thinking of this at the time they replaced the wall. I wish that I would have had them not do the recess cut out, but instead surface mount some nice low profile LED tail light like I've seen on some other brands of class C's
so my idea, extending from that afterthought
if I ever need or want to replace the fixture I might think about filling that void completely, and covering it with a nice looking decorative cover made from a thin-ish sheet of plastic or something, just slightly larger to overlap &
epoxied or otherwise bonded and sealed to the surface...then surface mounting a fixture on top of it.

[Hugh.vines@att.net]

Originally Posted by mcr1010

Yes, I would be interested in changing mine out for led's also especially if they come with real gaskets and not the crappy ones on the originals.



Leaking taillights has been just one of the more serious problems with the Axis- Vegas if not taken care of before rot sets in. My fix and others have been to remove the gaskets, dry out the plywood sockets, poly coated the sockets and re-install lens with sealant.

Will these work for taillights on 2016 axis
Command

003-3000M1--LED SEALED TRIPLE TAIL LIGHT

[Hugh.vines@att.net]

Originally Posted by JamieGeek

Wow me thinks some brake light mods are in store for our Axis this spring !

I like the idea of having more on the RV so I don't need more on the toad.

Did you put led taillights on your axis. What kind. Did you have to cut to fit

[axis earl]

Originally Posted by Hugh.vines@att.net

Will these work for taillights on 2016 axis
Command

003-3000M1--LED SEALED TRIPLE TAIL LIGHT

I would call Command Electronics and ask if they are plug and play models. It makes it much easier on the installation. I found the leads into the original tail lights to be very tight so don't be afraid to cut off some of the zip ties underneath to give yourself some additional slack when installing.

[dallasjim7]

Originally Posted by mcr1010

Wonder if Thor has changed the design and upgraded the tail lights in the later models? Maybe some late model owners could comment on this. I would think after having some serious issues with water damage Thor would take notice.

As of the 2020 Thor Quantum is still using the LED triple function Tail lights from Command

[blw2]

Might not be so bad if they changed the material used for that back wall to something not containing wood, and that could handle the water + drain

[blw2]

some few years ago I replaced my incandecent fixtures here with the sealed LED versions.
was extremely careful to seal them to the wall with butyl
and to seal teh screws very well
and careful to not overtighten the screws or otherwise crack the sealed units.

well, on my last trip out I discovered that one of them had leaked. Thankfully it looks to be the fixture cracked somewhere at a corner where it's welded together and no water got behind... just inside the fixture. I went ahead an ordered replacements because I know it won't last long. In the mean time I drained tit as best as I could.

I'm on the fence about using something like 3M 510 adhesive sealant to install them and just leave the screws out all together. can't decide if it would be more likely to bind up with an adhesive holding against thermal expansion.... or if more likely to get bound up and crack do to either overtightened or restricted movement at hardware.

I wish I could find a source for truly sealed LED fixtures... I've been through now two sets of overcab LED clearance lights, and now this tailight. All supposedly IP rated and sealed... doesn't take long for moisture to get in...