marker lights and tail lights

[runaway parents]

Who makes the best any ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hot Rod]

You'll get a hundred opinions.  Which will be interesting 'cuz hopefully these guys will dig up some cool trick of  the week stuff.  BUT, in my opinion, I stick with tried and true.  Truck-Lite, get them in LED, you won't have any issues, and you will always be able to pick up a matching replacement at any truck stop or truck parts supply in any town.

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

Send a message to Nuke-E... David knows best about this.

[ALLOY]

I just replace everything with OPTRONIC

http://optronicsinc.com/products/ledlighting/ledstopturntail.aspx

They make several different price points. 

I also split the signal lights off from the brake lights to have separate (yellow) signal lights on the bumper and 3 on each side of the trailer using 1 of these.

http://www.curtmfg.com/part/56196

 

 

 

 

[Big5er]

Don't forget, most LED lights do not incorporate any type of reflector in the lens like the old incandescent lenses. That means you will need separate reflectors.

[HERO Maker]

Nuke E has presented what the needs are at both the National Rally and the ECR.  Come to think about it, it may be on the Rally site from Hutch.  Do a little research on last years rally, and you just might find the presentation.

[alan0043]

6 hours ago, Big5er said:

Don't forget, most LED lights do not incorporate any type of reflector in the lens like the old incandescent lenses. That means you will need separate reflectors.

Hi runaway,

I second the idea of sending Nuke-E an e-mail. He has Deep Space Lighting. I got my lights from David. They are LED's with reflectors built in. There are Truck Lite brand. Remember you get what you pay for. David can also make the wiring harness for the rear of the truck also. It makes it nice to plug and play. The new wiring harness just plugs into the stock truck plug. I went with David and he was a big help with getting lights for the rear of my truck.

Keep asking questions,
Al

[Big5er]

Alan, I haven't been to Dave's web site in a long while but he primarily sells headlights. The OP is looking for "marker lights and tail lights".On Truck Lites web site under the section "Stop/Turn/Tail Lights" they show 9 with reflectors and 165 without. I will stand by my original statement.....Most LED lights (of the sort being asked for here) do not incorporate any type of reflector into the lenses. You will need separate REFLECTORS.

[Star Dreamer]

Confirming what Big5er states MOST do not have the reflectors. You need to find the ones that do have them or add a separate reflector. 

The Optronics ones we used do not have the reflectors (thanks Phil for letting us know awhile back) so I added a temporary reflector and just recently received the permanent ones that I will be installing soon.

Either way works, all depends on what look you are after as long as you comply.

Dave

[ALLOY]

The Optronics LED marker lights matched the old lights on our Cameo and have reflectors.

http://optronicsinc.com/PRODUCTS/LEDLighting/LEDMarkerClearance/Products.aspx?SeriesID=474

[HERO Maker]

Sorry for the mislead.  I didn't find anything from the last presentation David did at the national Rally.

But I did find it at the ECR.  Here is the link.

[Nuke-E]

7 hours ago, Big5er said:

Don't forget, most LED lights do not incorporate any type of reflector in the lens like the old incandescent lenses. That means you will need separate reflectors.

I came here to point this out.  Far too many RV haulers are missing them, and quite a few mass-produced RVs are too (RickW's glitzy new mega-bucks Entegra Anthem has ZERO reflectors).

38 minutes ago, Big5er said:

Alan, I haven't been to Dave's web site in a long while but he primarily sells headlights. The OP is looking for "marker lights and tail lights".On Truck Lites web site under the section "Stop/Turn/Tail Lights" they show 9 with reflectors and 165 without. I will stand by my original statement.....Most LED lights (of the sort being asked for here) do not incorporate any type of reflector into the lenses. You will need separate REFLECTORS.

My presentation and a short "shopping list" are up on the ECR website, with marker/clearance lights that are reflectorized (from Truck-Lite).  But yes, with reflectors the options narrow a LOT.  I don't have anything posted for the lights themselves on my website, mainly because I don't do any real volume and do it more as a favor for this crowd.  If I can't get a better deal than the average Joe, I can't mark it up and be competitive.

[JCZ]

I just finished adding two sets of LED run/turn/brake lights to the back of my 41' 5th wheel.  Felt way to vulnerable with just one set way down low, by the street surface.

[runaway parents]

Well a lot of good advice thanks I picked up an old flat bed last weekend and is going to repurpose it so it will look like a modern 30 year old bed . I bet when they built this thing they was not thinking about l e d lights .Hey big fiver question is conspicuous  tape required on these private rvs ? Lights with reflectors that rings a bell. Thanks for reminding me. going to be a while before I need the lights. Dw wants this thing lit up so you can see it from outer space. So I have my work cut out for me better get cracking

[Big5er]

JCZ, how many of those lights have reflectors? Looking at your picture, I'm betting none of them. Those LEDs are deceptive. What looks like reflector is actually diffuser for the LED bulbs. Shine a flash light around some night and I think you will be shocked. I know I was a few years ago. That is how I discovered the difference in lenses between LEDs and incadescents. 

Runaway, no. Reflex tape is not "required" on any non commercial vehicle. Doesn't mean you can use it but its not mandatory. The presentation that Dave listed from the ECR is really good except a tad bit confusing in one area for me. He lists the requirements for a "tractor" without a bed and says that it should meet all the requirements already, and that is all correct...UNLESS you register your tractor as a motorhome. Now that exact same vehicle is illegal.

It is nit-picking stuff but look at the Cascadia in the for sale section. It says it is registered as an RV but they obviously never changed the lights. It has no rear side marker lights or reflectors and the stop/tail/turns are still mounted in the center (where the frame is). That is legal for a "truck tractor", but not for a "motorhome" or a "truck". They added a bumper on the rear, woulda been real easy to add side markers and wider spread stop/tail/turn lights while they were there. Nobody says those original lights can't stay, but adding the extra's might mean the difference in getting stopped or not. I also wouldn't want to get hit at night, bobtail, by someone will a smart lawyer and no side marker lights on my "RV". There have been people that have hit stopped trains and sued because the reflective markings weren't on the train cars. I'd hate to think they couldn't see me either. 

[Nuke-E]

41 minutes ago, Big5er said:

JCZ, how many of those lights have reflectors? Looking at your picture, I'm betting none of them. Those LEDs are deceptive. What looks like reflector is actually diffuser for the LED bulbs. Shine a flash light around some night and I think you will be shocked. I know I was a few years ago. That is how I discovered the difference in lenses between LEDs and incadescents. 

Runaway, no. Reflex tape is not "required" on any non commercial vehicle. Doesn't mean you can use it but its not mandatory. The presentation that Dave listed from the ECR is really good except a tad bit confusing in one area for me. He lists the requirements for a "tractor" without a bed and says that it should meet all the requirements already, and that is all correct...UNLESS you register your tractor as a motorhome. Now that exact same vehicle is illegal.

It is nit-picking stuff but look at the Cascadia in the for sale section. It says it is registered as an RV but they obviously never changed the lights. It has no rear side marker lights or reflectors and the stop/tail/turns are still mounted in the center (where the frame is). That is legal for a "truck tractor", but not for a "motorhome" or a "truck". They added a bumper on the rear, woulda been real easy to add side markers and wider spread stop/tail/turn lights while they were there. Nobody says those original lights can't stay, but adding the extra's might mean the difference in getting stopped or not. I also wouldn't want to get hit at night, bobtail, by someone will a smart lawyer and no side marker lights on my "RV". There have been people that have hit stopped trains and sued because the reflective markings weren't on the train cars. I'd hate to think they couldn't see me either. 

The oval lights on JCZ's Momentum have reflectorized trim rings.  Optronics and a few others make similar setups.  Not ideal, but they meet the standard.

You're correct on the conspicuity tape not being required on an RV, but it has nothing to do with the commercial or non-commercial use:

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S6.1.1.1 Conspicuity systems. Each trailer of 2032 mm or more in overall width, and with a GVWR over 10,000 lbs., except a trailer designed exclusively for living or office use, and each truck tractor must be equipped with retroreflective sheeting, reflex reflectors, or a combination of retroreflective sheeting and reflex reflectors as specified in S8.2.

Whether it's a truck tractor or an RV is a black-and-white matter as far as FMVSS, but I'm careful to point out that you can meet both the tractor and motorhome requirements and avoid misinterpretation--leave the conspicuity tape on the sleeper, add the marker, clearance and ID lights and reflectors (why these aren't required on a tractor to begin with is an outdated nod to the 60" long cabover).  As far as FMVSS, it's a truck tractor until the vehicle is remanufactured into a motorhome, which isn't compete until a label is affixed to the door pillar identifying the remanufacturer and certifying compliance with the standards.  Registration doesn't matter legally in the slightest--you won't find reference to it anywhere in 49CFR571--though it's going to make a difference in what an officer thinks it is, and may have some bearing on state law and whether there's a statute that allows a citation to be written.  Unfortunately, none of the DOT guides present a picture of a motorhome that looks like a truck tractor, and there are a number of requirements that are subject to interpretation (e.g. clearance/ID lights--where there is a requirement that they be on the rear, but also as high as practicable).  I'm not capable of the artistry needed to generate a cartoon like the ones in the guides (and evidently the artist has been out of commission since the last cabover HDT truck was offered for sale in the US...), so the tractor and dump truck pictures have to make do.

[Big5er]

Cops do not enforce the FMVSS's. They enforce their state laws and/or the federal commercial regs that the state has adopted. Neither of them, in my state, require reflex tape on non commercial vehicles, Dave. They do, on the other hand require it on some commercial vehicles. I  bet you cannot find a state that has a law requiring it on personal vehicles either. Sorry I wasn't specific enough for you.

Also, In my state you cannot own a personal "truck tractor". That designation is reserved for commercial trucks which are REGISTERED with either apportioned, combination, farm tractor registration or a few more obscure ones. The only way to have a personal HDT is to register as a truck or a motorhome. The lighting required on a truck is not the same as a truck tractor. Once again, cops do not give a damn about what the FMVSS's says. How it was "made" isn't what it is now. Registration isn't mentioned in 49CFR because the feds don't control registration, the states do. My registration says my HDT is a motorhome. Go into court and convince a judge otherwise. Registration DOES matter, why else does everyone in here fight so hard to register their HDT as a motorhome?

Sorry if I hurt your feelings about your presentation but how a vehicle was manufactured and what the officer looking at it sees are two different things. There is NO enforcement of the FMVSS's by cops on the street. Only limited sections of 49CFR  are adopted by the state's for enforcement by their officers. And if the state doesn't adopt it, it isn't the law in that state and isn't being enforced. There is no federal agency that enforces the FMVSS's on the motoring public. There has never been a traffic citation written for violating a manufacturing standard which is exactly what the FMVSS's are. They are federal regulations specifying design, construction, performance, and durability requirements for motor vehicles and regulated safety-related components, systems, and design features. They are not traffic laws. They are manufacturing standards.

You make headlights. Good for you. You must manufacture them to a specific standard, as specified in the FMVSS's but your standard is not enforceable on the street. That standard is not what cops enforce. We can argue it all day and you can continue to throw your FMVSS's standards around to contradict me all day long but it simply doesn't work that way in real life. You make the headlights, the FMVSS's tell you how to make them but it has no law saying that I have have my vehicle that way. That is the state traffic code and they were not even close in comparison. The FMVSS's got us Nader pins in our car doors. But show me a law that says I must have them on my personal vehicle. You must manufacture a car using them but I don't have to have doors. The FMVSS's regulate the breaking strength of a seat belt. Show me a traffic law that covers that? 

Speaking of specifics, how do you get around the rule about advertising with your signature?

Quote

Rule #9: No commercial advertising, or spamming, is allowed. The only exception is posting of private party ads in the marketplace. See the rules listed on the main pages of each of the marketplace forums.

[runaway parents]

Got it l e d lights with reflectors built in check. Reflex tape haven't made up my mind guess better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. DW wants it lit up that's what she will get. thanks for the advice.

[Pat & Pete]

25 minutes ago, runaway parents said:

Got it l e d lights with reflectors built in check. Reflex tape haven't made up my mind guess better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it. DW wants it lit up that's what she will get. thanks for the advice.

The ladies do seem to like those Christmas trees .

[noteven]

My entry for 25 trivia points:

LED rear lights do not melt snow off the lens.  They are bright enough to show through if the are mounted flush with the body work or are a surface mounted design. 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

11 minutes ago, noteven said:

My entry for 25 trivia points:

LED rear lights do not melt snow off the lens.  They are bright enough to show through if the are mounted flush with the body work or are a surface mounted design. 

If you are that far north, my advice would be to crank up the truck and head south.

[noteven]

14 minutes ago, GeorgiaHybrid said:

If you are that far north, my advice would be to crank up the truck and head south.

I am and I do - but I is only allowed to remain in the USA a certain length of time each visit... 

105F and no shade is highly over rated anyways... 

[Rick & Alana]

You can go to Truck-Lite.com and see diagrams of required FMVSS lighting 

http://www.truck-lite.com/content/education/FMVSS

find the picture that matches your rig the closest, it will show lighting and reflectors in the positions required. 

 

[runaway parents]

21 hours ago, noteven said:

My entry for 25 trivia points:

LED rear lights do not melt snow off the lens.  They are bright enough to show through if the are mounted flush with the body work or are a surface mounted design. 

You had to mention that four lettered word (snow)grrrr I think I am developing an allergy. Don't  think penicillin can fix this.ha

[JCZ]

A wealth of information here.  I will be adding the conspicuity tape below the ramp door and all the way across, from side to side.  Regardless what the law or enforcement is, I want to be safe when I'm broke down on some two lane road out in the middle of podunk America.  

Thanks a bunch for the suggestion guys and bringing it to my attention that the LEDs are not reflective.  They look great at night (actually kind of bright, compared to the stock OEM lights) but I also want to be safe when the lights are turned off.

Snow?  I never considered pulling that trailer in snow.  I don't mind driving the truck in snow.....I'm originally from Sacramento and so I've drove up Donner Pass many, many years to go skiing but never considered pulling this in the snow.....we don't get snow in San Diego.  I retire and go full time in less than three weeks and my intentions are to be far from snow each winter.