# Cat skidsteer



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

Anyone come up with a good clean install on a cat skidsteer for strobes....I have a duel rotation beacon on the top of the cab...and people still say from a car level(eye level) they cant see the rotator from behind...the rear work lights kinda cancel out the rotating beacon...I was thinking about adding strobes at the bottom of the machine by the tie downs. I would like to add hide-a-ways in the factory lights in the rear door....but I dont want red.

Also I was thinking white with a relay activated be the backup alarm.
Any ideas or pics...Please post


----------



## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

The problem with adding anything down low on a skid steer is knocking it off by mistake. It's for that reason that we only use mini bars (strobe, not rotators) on our New Holland skid steers. They're all mounted to the rear / top of the cab like yours and come on with the 4 ways. Remember, some people wouldn't see a warning light if it were inside their eye lids.


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

Thanks, I am sure my guys...If they want to keep their job...will not knock it off...none of my machines have counterweight wear...I will not allow it.
Thanks for the advise, I will come up with something.


----------



## peteo1 (Jul 4, 2011)

If they can't see a dual rotator and the work lights at night they have no business driving. I like the part about the no wear on the counter weight. 

On a more helpful note, try stopping in at a heavy truck place. They have risers for lights so you can mount them on the headache rack on a dump. That way they so up above the front part of the rack do they ate visible to oncoming traffic. Worse comes to worse maybe a piece of C channel bolted to the roof.


----------



## TKLAWN (Jan 20, 2008)

Couldn't you put hideaways in the rear work lights just like a truck?


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

work light are to small...
And as far as a piece of angle iron...it might work but if you read my thread I want a clean job...thanks


----------



## icudoucme (Dec 3, 2008)

you could mount led's above the two reflectors on the back, or take out the rear running lights (the red ones) and or LED flashers or insert hideaways in the case there is enough room I just checked on mine.


----------



## 90plow (Dec 22, 2001)

How bout the oval cut in led flashers just drill the holes where you want them on the back door. Too low and they wont be visible either.


----------



## RBRONKEMA GHTFD (Dec 17, 2006)

What series cat it is? do you have any pics? I have a couple ideas up my sleve for one of these.


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

It is a 287B track skid steer

The Picture of the machine I posted is not my machine...mine is on a jobsite and didn't have time to take a picture...but this one is for sale on Machinerytrader.com and I downloaded it for this conversation. All that being said...so as to not hear anyones B.S.

The words (Machinery trader.com) are not on the machine

I would like to hear any Ideas.

I am thinking a pair of stobes and more amber E-3's on the outside and a white in the middle...just over the engine door on the black deck(grill) for the radiator...just over top of the red rear running lights.
I am think about a relay hooked to the backup alarm...so they only come on when the machine is backing up.
This also takes it out of the operators hand...so he doesn't forget to turn them on...LMAO

View attachment img.axd.jpg


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

Some thing like this...excuse the photo shop


----------



## FSLC (Nov 5, 2012)

You should buy some surface mount leds like the nova sl ultra, sl mini, or th whelen 500 series and mount them on the right and left next to the tail lights. They're surface mount so it would be a very clean install, plus you wouldnt need an external flasher. Also i think a continual warning would be best and you could wire a relay into the on/off key wiring so they would automatically come on when the skid steer is powered up.


----------



## RBRONKEMA GHTFD (Dec 17, 2006)

Okay so here is what I came up with. I would shy away from mounting them on the grille of the skid as thats where the radiator is and it would take some time to mount those and make them look good on the machine. Not just throw on. I personally would mount them either on the door or the sides of the door in pic 1. But the only issue I can see with mounting them like in pic 1 is when the door opens it could hit the led head and break it. So for me I would mount them on the door like they are shown in pic 2. Then I would mount the white work light in the middle of them. You can just wire the positive of the led work light to the positive on the back up beeper. The led work light isn't going to draw enough amps to have create a cause of concern for the electic on the machine. Its only going to be on for a short period of time then shut right back off. I would use whelen linz6s or lin 3s. Then on the side of the machine I would mount 2 more leds. 1 on each side. Like show in pic 3, but I would mount them up against the cab. Just make sure the arms aren't going to block the light output when they are down. The way it sounds is there wont be a issue for that as the arms are going to be up a little bit while pushing a box or something. Ok enough rambling on by me here are the pics.


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

I like it...But, My other concern is that I don't want to drill any holes in the door...(resale) Next person might not want them.
For side protection...I have a dual rotating beacon light on the roof...Just trying to add something that catches someone's eye when the machine is backing up...people see the rotating beacon and somehow get used to in as the get closer....all of a sudden the machine backs up...(parking lot) at a 24 hour a day location....I want something that goes with the backup alarm.
Maybe you location with some good double sided tape....Thats why I was thinking the rear grill.


----------



## RBRONKEMA GHTFD (Dec 17, 2006)

Oh okay, I thought you wanted to do away with the overhead. Oops. Anyway, if you took a piece of flat bar steel and mounted the light to that you could use magnet(s) and mount them on either side of the door. If you wanted to hook all 3 to the back up beeper you could add a relay for extra insurance. Just wire the positive and negative of the relay right to the battery. The trigger pin on the relay will go to the "hot" for the back up beeper and the load pin will go to the "hot" for the leds you want to add. This is what I would so instead. Put one on each side of the door with a led work light on each side and warning light on each side.


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

Yeah...I am thinking about amber on the outside of the (area) and white strobes just to catch an eye.
Did you ever see the E-3 or E-4 strobes from strobesandmore.com 
For like 7 or 8 bucks each they have mounting brackets that are thin enough to bend to the right angle...and mounting to the grill...(holes are already there) wire right through with a couple zip ties and right down the side of the grill and to a relay(good idea) and triggered by the back up alarm. Clean and removable.


----------



## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

Just out of curiosity, what kind of halogen rotator mini bar do you run? If its a Star, I have a modification that significantly increases light output. It involves "slotting" the colored filters that are used with a clear outer dome. Here's what the slots look like in a Star Interceptor bar I recently built for a friend:










As you might guess, the slot gives a white "pop" that really helps get folks attention.


----------



## CaptCaveman (Nov 26, 2009)

Nice job...do you have a video of it running?


----------



## Grassman09 (Mar 18, 2009)

I had some magnets from some other lights and made a cheap and dirty bracket. The backhoe is not mine so I didn't want to drill into it. The lights were only $60.000 and they are Whelen Ions.

Whelen Ion LEDs

I have a Whelen L32 on the roof of my cat. So far so good haven't knocked it off.


----------



## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

CaptCaveman;1563538 said:


> Nice job...do you have a video of it running?


Unfortunately no. Trust me though, the difference is day and night. I've made slotted filters for a number of folks running amber (plowing / construction), blue (volunteer fire fighter) and even red (fire chief) filters and everybody who uses them raves about them.


----------

