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I just got a new F-250 and was looking for recommendations on how to light this truck up for safety at night? I snow plow in the winter and help stranded motorists in the mountains where the roads are pretty dark. My 2011 F350 was almost hit three times in the last year when idiots coming flying down mountain roads at 90mph and don't see me even with every light in the truck on and hazards flashing.
Was looking for some recommendations from FTE and I wanted to try and do the install myself.
1) Where is the best place to mount strobes for visibility
2) Is there a brand / product you would recommend
3) Trying to avoid adding a light bar on top....don't want it looking like a cop car
I've been to several websites advertising LED strobes and I'm leaning that way. Would like to get some advice from you guys. I want the new truck to look like a Christmas tree at night and hooked to my upfitter switches. Thanks!
Whelen makes some very good strobe equipment.
One place to put a unit would be in the front and rear
turn signal assemblies. Also if you have clearance lights.
putting a strobe in there might help some. If you do
a yellow/amber then your less likely to be thought as
law enforcement even if you use patterns that they use.
Now one thing to think about and it may just be urban myth
is flashing lights at night draw in drunks.
One good place to find some info might be your local DOT
inspection station. At least they can tell you what is legal and
what is not.
No need to be complicated, just get something like this. These are what most plow guys around here use, and what I used to use when I plowed. Put it on the roof when you need it, take it down when you don't need it. Up high on the roof is the best place for warning lights, especially for plowing. You can add the hide-a-strobes for a secondary warning light source, but your primary warning lights should be up on the roof.
As of now I'm not plowing with my truck, but I still do snow removal/supervise/vehicle recovery so I have a light setup right now that I am pretty happy with. I've got four Whelen TIR3's (3-led strobe heads) up front, two in the grille and two on my push bumper. I wish they were a bit brighter, so if recommend LIN-6 or an E6 from Strobes n More. Out back I have a Strobes n More E66 LED lightstick mounted way up high on my backrack. The thing puts out an insane amount of light and does regular warning patterns along with all the arrow patterns you would need. It's super low profile too.
For plowing, having something in your upper windshield would be more beneficial than in your grille, so both Whelen and Strobes n More (can't peg them enough, their products are top notch) have good super bright LED window options. I'm a fan of low profile lighting, stuff where you don't notice there are strobes until you light em up. That's my $.02
Whelen is the way to go. Our whole fleet of ambulances is WELL lit with more LEDs than any ambulance I've ever seen.
But even with all the lights we have, including on the inside of doors for when they are open, and an entire rear facade with reflective chevrons, we still get hit.
Lights do attract drunks. And lookyloos.
I recommend hideaway LEDs. The gap under the tailgate is a good spot. Also drilling the tail lights and placing them in there works well. Don't over do it. Blinding people is bad too. 4 rear facing is max I would do, example maybe two on a headache rack and two before the task gate. I recommend placing one head (flashing unit) at each corner as far to the corner as possible. This clearly defines the location, size, and sometimes orientation of your vehicle. Always consult local DOT or State Patrol before outfitting your vehicle as to stay is legal. Don't just assume because someone else did it. The fines are hefty.
As of now I'm not plowing with my truck, but I still do snow removal/supervise/vehicle recovery so I have a light setup right now that I am pretty happy with. I've got four Whelen TIR3's (3-led strobe heads) up front, two in the grille and two on my push bumper. I wish they were a bit brighter, so if recommend LIN-6 or an E6 from Strobes n More. Out back I have a Strobes n More E66 LED lightstick mounted way up high on my backrack. The thing puts out an insane amount of light and does regular warning patterns along with all the arrow patterns you would need. It's super low profile too.
For plowing, having something in your upper windshield would be more beneficial than in your grille, so both Whelen and Strobes n More (can't peg them enough, their products are top notch) have good super bright LED window options. I'm a fan of low profile lighting, stuff where you don't notice there are strobes until you light em up. That's my $.02
How did you mount your grille lights? Didn't know if you had any pictures of the front / back to show how you mounted them. Also curious if you installed the lights on your own? How difficult was it?
How did you mount your grille lights? Didn't know if you had any pictures of the front / back to show how you mounted them. Also curious if you installed the lights on your own? How difficult was it?
The grille lights are mounted via two custom brackets I made that allow them to screw to an interior sidewall of the grille, and then the other two are mounted right on the push bar. The rear bar is mounted with the included brackets in conjunction with a set of custom flood light brackets and two bolts. I will upload photos of the front and rear setups after work today so you can browse. The only problem I can share with having the strobes behind the grille is that the off-axis lighting isn't as good as if they were open mounted. This is because the light must pass through the honeycomb grille pattern. It is still very bright overall though.
Yes I did all the wiring/install myself, I'm a wiring guy. I setup everything as quick connect harnesses and everything is wired into my 8 upfitter switches on the dash, even the control panel for my rear bar. The wiring is actually fairly simplistic, especially if you diagram it out. The actual process of wiring is a bit slower, mainly due to physically pulling all the wire, running it down the frame rails or through the engine bay, looming everything, all your connections, etc. I would say that if you're comfortable with the basics of electricity and 12V circuitry, save yourself the labor cost and spend a few hours doing it yourself. As a plus, you'll know your own system inside and out if anything ever happens.
Standby for pictures after work in T-minus 11 hours 20 minutes!
The grille lights are mounted via two custom brackets I made that allow them to screw to an interior sidewall of the grille, and then the other two are mounted right on the push bar. The rear bar is mounted with the included brackets in conjunction with a set of custom flood light brackets and two bolts. I will upload photos of the front and rear setups after work today so you can browse. The only problem I can share with having the strobes behind the grille is that the off-axis lighting isn't as good as if they were open mounted. This is because the light must pass through the honeycomb grille pattern. It is still very bright overall though.
Yes I did all the wiring/install myself, I'm a wiring guy. I setup everything as quick connect harnesses and everything is wired into my 8 upfitter switches on the dash, even the control panel for my rear bar. The wiring is actually fairly simplistic, especially if you diagram it out. The actual process of wiring is a bit slower, mainly due to physically pulling all the wire, running it down the frame rails or through the engine bay, looming everything, all your connections, etc. I would say that if you're comfortable with the basics of electricity and 12V circuitry, save yourself the labor cost and spend a few hours doing it yourself. As a plus, you'll know your own system inside and out if anything ever happens.
Standby for pictures after work in T-minus 11 hours 20 minutes!
Alright so here's the front end. The strobes on the push bumper are wired into a harness that then uses a 4-pin trailer connector to plug into the harness for the other two grille strobes. When they're plugged in, they're powered and synced to a set pattern with the grille strobes. If I take the push bumper off, they unplug with it and the grille strobes revert to a secondary pattern.
The rear bar here is mounted right to the back rack with the factory drilled mounting holes, using a second bracket I made that mounts the flood lights.
Put the strobe on the roof where other people can see it - not in the grill or under the tailgate where it will be blocked by the plow or ice/snow on the back bumper.
Even if not blocked, the one thing you don't want is that flash reflecting off that pure white snow and back in the plow driver's eyes at night..
Here is my Jeep with a simple revolving strobe on the roof.. Works great and is mounted permanently.
Put the strobe on the roof where other people can see it - not in the grill or under the tailgate where it will be blocked by the plow or ice/snow on the back bumper.
Even if not blocked, the one thing you don't want is that flash reflecting off that pure white snow and back in the plow driver's eyes at night..
Here is my Jeep with a simple revolving strobe on the roof.. Works great and is mounted permanently.
God you never see Wranglers with clear windows anymore. Looks so utilitarian. How do you keep it so clean with it having plow duty? I've got a white TJ too, but I stick to a soft top (clear windows of course!).
