Strobes / Flashers / Emergencey Lights

Taaaaaaahoe? · September 3, 2007

I do a LOT of towing, and junk boat removal, spend some time on the sides of busy roads. THe thought of having some flashers which caught more attention would be great.

Not sure whats LEGAL, but I think if i keep them white or amber I am okay. Ideally i'l like to sink 4 flashers in - up front put them in the amber lens part - back put them in the brake light area....

Anyone have any experience w/ this? I was looking at an item like this.. (but with 4)

STROBES

Drill some holes and sink them into the lenses which are there.

Thoughts?

MIKE

-Devil- · September 3, 2007

orange .. and white are all you can legally use ... they are for tow-trucks .. and general non-emergency type rides ... but you do need to have a legit reasion to have them .. or may run into a cop harassing you ..

blue and red are out of the question .. less you are vol fire department .. or police ... i have seen green as well .. but in arkansas that was limited to the game and fish trucks ... haven't seen a law addressing it ..

there is the law about having no 'flashing' lights while driving ... so you may want to double check with the local highway police office in your area and explain to them what you do .. and see what they say is allowed ...

i had white and orange strobe flashers on my car that i used to drive while taking photos for a newspaper and the local police ... but i could 'only' use them while the car was parked ... in a hazardous area .. or if they requested me to at a scene ...

c4cruiser · September 3, 2007

Try Truck 'n Tow for flashers and strobes. www.truckntow.com Check out their "Lighting" section

http://www.truckntow.com/c-146893-.aspx

Green lights are sometimes use for volunteer firefighters for their personal rigs. Red and blue lights are pretty much reserved for police and fire/ambulance. Yellow lights will work and possibly yelow/white combinations. LED strobes will take the least amount of power so you won't have to worry about battery discharging.

Taaaaaaahoe? · September 4, 2007

THanks, ill check out the link.

Typically I am not planning on using them while driving - more of the side of the road thing..

SO how do i keep the white / yellow on the back end. Put the strobes in with the backup light lens I guess.

-Devil- · September 4, 2007

or add an aux light under the bumper or in the back window ...

General Motors · September 4, 2007

I do a LOT of towing, and junk boat removal, spend some time on the sides of busy roads. THe thought of having some flashers which caught more attention would be great.

Not sure whats LEGAL, but I think if i keep them white or amber I am okay. Ideally i'l like to sink 4 flashers in - up front put them in the amber lens part - back put them in the brake light area....

Anyone have any experience w/ this? I was looking at an item like this.. (but with 4)

STROBES

Drill some holes and sink them into the lenses which are there.

Thoughts?

AMBER is USUALLY pretty universal among Towing/Roadside Assistance. Check your state laws as they DO vary, go from there. Strobes can be, but are not always a pain in the ass to install. If you do not want to do the install yourself, find out who does that work on the fire/police/ems vehicles... They should have a contact for you... Labor rates can be as low as $30/hr, up to $60-70/hr... Although someone who does it professionally should not take that long to do it... it is fairly a simple job.

MIKE

Rado10VicRed · September 4, 2007

I installed some on the front of my buddies truck a couple of years back. We just dropped them into the lense without drilling, it was pretty easy. I'm prolly not much help just don't go too cheap bc they will melt and bust.

firefighteremt3100 · September 6, 2007

I do installs on Fire/EMS vehicles. I have a 2004 Silverado that I dropped 2 "Hide-A-Strobes" into the fog lamp assemblies. They require a 1" hole drilled. If you get these type of strobes, make sure to buy the strobes that are the taper stopper type. This will allow you to push it into the hole until its tight. The ones that require screws or adhesive to hold it in place I have found are a big pain in the butt to install, and aren't all that great in areas where winter weather can affect them. They are really easy to install. Just make sure to think ahead of time how many you plan on using so you can buy 1 power supply that provides enough head outlets so you don't have to run more than 1 power supply. I currently run 2 "4 head" power supplies, totalling 8 strobe lights. Again with the colors, you will have to check with your state laws. Each state varies. In Wisconsin RED/AMBER are for tow operations. AMBER is for Highway use. RED/BLUE are police, and RED/WHITE are for Fire/EMS. Green is for command for fire scenes, but those vehicles are always stationary. And purple is for the funeral convoys. It will vary from state to state unfortunately. I dont know why they haven't made it a standard across the country. Politics I'm sure. Also, if you decide to travel outside of your state, make sure you check into the laws of others. Illinois used to make us cover up our lightbars and whatnot if they had red in them while passing through their state. I work for a towing service, so that was a pain in the arse. They have since changed the law not requiring the covering up of the lights. But other states may have some ridiculous laws such as that. Lots of places to check into strobes. But also consider the newer LED modules that come with flashers that produce a strobe like effect. They are cheaper and last longer. They also draw less power and require no power supply. Hope this info helps you...

usmc3529 · September 6, 2007

chevy......... Sorry to hijack ur thread, gotta put up 5 replies to start a thread

99silverado1500 · September 6, 2007

Yeah i have a small compact blue one because I do volunteer with the local fire company, but it just plugs in the 12v outlet and I usually dont keep it plugged in as we dont get very many calls. Orange is allowed anywhere if im not mistaken as construction and most tow trucks have them.

-Devil- · September 6, 2007

Yeah i have a small compact blue one because I do volunteer with the local fire company, but it just plugs in the 12v outlet and I usually dont keep it plugged in as we dont get very many calls. Orange is allowed anywhere if im not mistaken as construction and most tow trucks have them.

been paying more attention the past few days ... i am seeing more orange on highway trucks and such .. and yellow on tow trucks ... but there ain't much of a difference between the two colors.

99silverado1500 · September 6, 2007

Around me its all orange.

Taaaaaaahoe? · September 7, 2007

Thanks guys! Lots of great info..

Any one have suggestions as to where I can get these ones which dont require being screwed in. I dont want the cheapo ones which will not be bright, but not sure how to know if its going to be a quality one or not.

I know the ebay ones which are 4 for $20 cant be much of anything...

What should I expect to pay for 4 lights (each corner of the truck)?