suggestions and recommendations please

beaujo_fire · Post by **beaujo_fire** » Sun May 25, 2003 6:04 am

Hello to the group. I am in the planning and design stage of a vehicle warning light system. This truck is my personal truck that I use in my electrical construction business. OSHA requires that an amber warning light that is visible 360 degrees around the vehicle be displayed when I am a certain distance near a roadway. So I am designing my lighting system to accomplish this. However, this vehicle is also used occasionally for runs with my volunteer fire dept. Normally this truck is not used for that purpose as my bronoco is, however, if i happen to be in the truck when a run is dispatched, I would also like to be able to run emergent in the truck.

Here is the vehicle description and what I wish to accomplish.

the truck is a 4x4 F350 4 door power stroke with a custom contractor type shell on the bed. the contractor shell has doors on both sides that swing up and two doors on the rear that open up... So with that I would like to install the following as a minimum.

no top mounted lights of any type on top of the truck due to ladders and pipe etc that is carried up there on the ladder rack. Plus, I do not like the look of amber lights on top anyhow.

I would like a traffic director built into the back of the shell over the doors.
once again i need 360 degrees of visibility. I have ideas about headlight mounts, reverse lights, dash lights etc.. and mounting in the shell is ok..

So let me have your suggestions... LED's, strobes, combination of both... What do you all say.

Thanks for any and all help.

Dave

nmfire10 · Post by **nmfire10** » Sun May 25, 2003 8:03 am

For the rear, you can use surface mount or flush mount lighthead mounted right to the back of shell. I would go with Whelen 400 or 500 series strobes.

You can do the same for the sides of the shell too.

For the front, a set of amber grill strobe (either in or behind the grill would do just fine.

I don't know what more you want in the way of lights for responding. The new Whelen Talon dual LED is about the latest, greatest, and brightest dash light known to man right now. If you can use wig-wags, I'd get those too.

As for power supplies, a CSP690 is not expensive and works great.

jim · Post by **jim** » Sun May 25, 2003 8:51 am

If that truck was brought to my shop for this, I would install body-mount (flush) strobes on the front and sides. For the rear, a flush-mounted Code 3 Arrowstick or Federal Signal Director would be my choice.

If you plan on using this alot, I wouldn't use Whelen- especially if you travel rough terrain or are exposed to constant moisture. Whelen power supplies and light heads make me ALOT OF $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ from the constant failures of their cheaply built power supplies and not-so-waterproof light heads. I change these things constanty in fire and EMS vehicles. Whelen, however is acceptable if this will just be for an occasionaly use here and there.

I would recommend the Tomar or Code 3 light heads. For power supplies, Tomar and Sound-Off both build great units that are proven over and over to be reliable. The Tomar has a hermatically sealed light head and epoxy-potted power supply that can take anything you can dish out at it- they also have a 5 year warranty on them. It will work under water. If a Whelen fails, have fun replacing it under warranty and bend over when you get the bill. Many see the "5 year warranty" on Whelen and think that is actually a 5 year warranty. Read it closely- it's only a year free replacement and the charge you per-year after the first year. For "hideaway" type strobe tubes in the factory lenses, I use Whelen (yes, I do like some of their products!), Sound-Off or even Sho-Me and have no problems with any.

Stay away from LEDs right now. These are VERY new on the lighting market and don't offer much in terms of a wide-angle light as required in your work conditionls. These lights DO fail, contrary to what some say. How many trucks and buses with LED brake lights already have a complete row of LEDs out?? Quite a few.

As for headlight flashers (wigwags), make sure that the white flashing light is okay with the OHSA nazis and your local codes.

apco25 · Post by **apco25** » Sun May 25, 2003 2:33 pm

My suggestions

For the amber work light issues I'd simply install amber strobe hideways on each corner of the vehicle and use an arrow-stick flush mounted on the exterior or on the interior of the bed cap shell.

For the fire dept useage I'd go with alernating headlights, grill mounted strobes to the front, removable dash light to keep your vehicle low key and install hideway strobes and or a traffic backer type brake/tail/stop light flasher in the rear.

Tomar and Sound as per Jim make excellent lighting products, you can't go wrong with those. The Tomar Police Light II is extremely effective as a persuit light and would work nicely for your application.

jim · Post by **jim** » Sun May 25, 2003 3:58 pm

...and before somebody criticizes me fore being a Whelen basher, I just love their new Alpha12Q siren! It's about time somebody made something with the old GE PowerCall tone.

beaujo_fire · Post by **beaujo_fire** » Mon May 26, 2003 6:46 am

Thank you to everyone that responded.

The truck is pretty heavily susspened and is a rough ride normally. Though it doesn't go off road much at all. Well not what people think of as off road. It does drive around unimproved job sites a lot.

I like all the ideas presented and well look at the various websites and such to get size ideas and such. I was hoping to build my own traffic director out of LED surface mounted lights. Individual one and build it into the topper instead of buying a ready made one and mounting it on the back. Is that feasible at all since all they are is 8 or so mounted lights on a bar and the control box does all the work.

I am not sure yet what to do with the emergency lights. In colorado we can only run red and white lights for volly fire depts and such.

I am continuing to entertain any and all suggestions and ideas..

Thanks for the help

jim · Post by **jim** » Tue May 27, 2003 6:11 am

If you want to build a director, just get a new control head from a Star or other inexpensive unit.

For lightheads, go to the auto parts store and get rubber grommet-mounted truck lights in amber LED. These mount in a 4-1/2" hole in the body. Usually, 7 of them are needed.

I'm sure somebody here may even have a used Code3 Arrowstick or other controller.