Wired or Wireless Tow Lights? | TowBrite

Wired towing lights have been around for a very long time.  Nobody knows when tow truck operators started putting magnet attached lights on the vehicles that they were towing, but it was probably right after some tow truck operator got hit in the back because they were essentially invisible in the dark.

Wired tow lights consist of a few simple parts.  A trailer connector to connect to the towing vehicle, a cable with with at least four wires (left turn signal / brake, right turn signal / brake, running lights and ground), and usually two LED lights with magnets or suction cups.

Wireless tow lights are a fair bit more complex.  The same trailer connectors are used as compared to the wired tow lights, but instead they have small PCB inside them which acts as a wireless transmitter.   The tow light(s) themselves are a little different as well, they have an internal lead acid or lithium battery, and a small PCB that receives signals from the transmitter and illuminates the lights on the tow light.

In general, wired tow lights are cheap, but the wire is a very big disadvantage.  It can get caught up in the tires of the thing that you are towing, it can drag on the ground and they can even damage the trailer or car that you are towing.

Wireless tow lights on the other hand are a fair bit more expensive.  They have the advantage of having no need for wires, making them easier and faster to deploy.  The biggest disadvantage of wireless tow lights is that you need to remember to charge them a few times a week.

For the most part tow truck operators across Canada and the United States use wireless towing lights almost exclusively.