# How do you feel about flashing lights inside the cab?



## Strobesnmore (Jan 31, 2007)

I get lots of customers looking to use dash lights and other lights inside the cab of the plow trucks. We have always steered customers away from this idea as they make it very difficult to see at night especially lights in the rear window when backing. 

As a rule of thumb we advise against anyting inside the cab and from the top of the font window forward. #1 reason being flashback. Lights in the front headlights or grill seem to bounceoff the wet plow and back up into the window. 

Our #1 setup is a roof light and strobes or LEDs in the taillights. This setup seems to provide the best all around coverage, does not interfer with the drivers visibility, and depending on the system is reasonably affordable. 

Let me know your thoughts and experience. Keep in mind these issues are not as dramatic during the daytime but at night.


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## nixray (Jan 31, 2008)

I used to have the following and LOVED the setup a Whelen dual avenger dash light and a visor light, in the front and a pair of tir's in the back


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## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

My interior lights are not distracting at all, I trimmed the shroud on the rear one to the contour of the window. Maybe bigger lights would be. It is nice to not have to clear the snow from around a roof light.


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## 7d9_z28 (Dec 3, 2010)

i had a whelen visor strobe in the front on the right visor, and a strobe right next to each headrest in the back window. only used them when in the road, when plowing lots and stuff i just ran my rotators. I liked the lights i had inside


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## H&HPropertyMait (Oct 17, 2011)

I have an axixtech xtreme titan dash light and it's awesome, no flashback and it fits right up under my mirror out of the way. extremely bright also.


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## grec-o-face (Jul 7, 2009)

H&HPropertyMait;1340822 said:


> I have an axixtech xtreme titan dash light and it's awesome, no flashback and it fits right up under my mirror out of the way. extremely bright also.


I have the same light. And I love it! No flash back, no problem.

I also have two rear window mounted LEDs facing rear-ward (inside of course) and they don't flash back either.

I guess with quality products, it's all good.


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## H&HPropertyMait (Oct 17, 2011)

grec-o-face;1340966 said:


> I have the same light. And I love it! No flash back, no problem.
> 
> I also have two rear window mounted LEDs facing rear-ward (inside of course) and they don't flash back either.
> 
> I guess with quality products, it's all good.


It's an awesome little light! I'm happy with it


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## Red02F250 (Nov 7, 2011)

Its all in the installation. I have operated emergency and plow vehicles in all sorts of weather for 12 years and used both exterior only and interior only setups as well as combinations. I really like not having to clean snow and ice off a lightbar. LEDs don't get warm enough to melt anything and even strobes won't melt it if the white stuff is coming down hard enough.

As long as the interior lights are installed properly with a shroud or flash guard that fits neatly against the glass and the glass is kept clean, I prefer the interior mount. With adequate heat/defrost, your glass should stay clear and you don't have to worry much about the light being obscured from snow and its one less obstacle when cleaning off your vehicle. Also, the interior lights are a lot harder for someone to steal.


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## cartec01 (Jul 4, 2008)

Louis,
I run your e4's directly under my plow lights on the western uni-mount. They are mounted to the housing for the headlights on the plow. No flashback at all, except a little bit if the plow is all the way up but hardly noticable or a concern. I also run your D12 (last years model) in one of the pick-ups. I plan to add weather stripping around the bezel to eliminate the small gap between light and windshield however it is not bad at all when plowing. I plow in some heavily congested areas (pedestrian wise) including a Mega Church (fun around Christmas time) so any form of flashback or other distraction would be detrimental. I actaully feel that the setup I have now on that truck is far less distracting to a driver then any of the halogen rotator style lightbars I have run for 11 years prior to trying these LEDs. The LEDs are as bright as anything else to the people you want to see them. (peds, other cars, kids, ect..) however they do not seem to throw light outward anywhere near a halogen or strobe. And what I mean by that is my amber lights are not reflecting back at me off every object with-in a miles range, however from a mile away looking towards me the LED's are just as bright or brighter.
I have never seen anybody put warning lights on their plow before, but last year the e4's held up fine, and I think it was the perfect solution to wanting more warning out front with-out flash-back, and with-out a light on the top of the cab like everyone else. The E4's and the D12, plus the E series HAW's and E3's on the back make this truck noticable. I did the E3's on the back bumper by the license plate so they point at about a 45 degree angle towards either side and not straight back. Great off axis light for plowing drives and back into the roadway. I'll try to put up some pics tomorrow. I am going to slow change everything over to LED's starting with another truck and my compact loader, just waiting for the Friday after Thanksgiving since that is the only shot I have at affording what I want....


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## Plow man Foster (Dec 10, 2010)

Hubjeep;1337034 said:


> My interior lights are not distracting at all, I trimmed the shroud on the rear one to the contour of the window. Maybe bigger lights would be. It is nice to not have to clear the snow from around a roof light.


I agree with one of your comments/ replies on that video. "Why not put more in the front"
Its so dumb for a plow truck IMO. Im always moving WITH traffic. except for a feww times and at those times people can see my lightbar. Aso when im doing that im focused on gettin' the he!! out of that position!

I dont put ANYThing that flashes back in the front....Because on my 48th hour of straight plowing thats the last thing i wanna see! (Pink pandas and "disco lights!")

I use dash lights, ABLE 360 Led mini bar, and a couple strobes in the back.


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## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

Plow man Foster;1351169 said:


> I agree with one of your comments/ replies on that video. "Why not put more in the front"
> Its so dumb for a plow truck IMO. Im always moving WITH traffic.


Thanks. I started a thread last year about that, but it turned into a thread about using lights on the road between jobs.


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

I personally try to keep everything out of my truck as much as possible during the winter time.

Visor lights, and anything that goes behind the rear-view mirror is fine if installed correctly, but ultimately I don't want any extra wires or any sort of dash mount that will interfere with my line of sight when plowing.

I've stuck all my lights on the out-side. Another part of that reason is I occasionally use my strobes during the landscaping season when parked on streets or otherwise.

....


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## cartec01 (Jul 4, 2008)

for those of you saying it is "dumb" to have warning lights on the front, you have obviously never plow a busy parking lot with lots of people coming and going. It is about getting noticed. People walk in front of cars all the time in parking lots, they back out of spaces in front of you, etc.... No, before you get all upset and tell me how dumb I am again....I do not want a lightbar or roof light on my trucks anymore, so with-out the windshield or plow lights I have no forward warning.
I can not believe how anybody could get hit at night, I mean with the head lights and all how could somebody hit them, or pull out in front of them? A little extra warning is never a dumb idea, and when people see the warning lights they pay a little more attention. If I was just doing driveways then I would probably not have any forward warning...


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

cartec01;1351252 said:


> for those of you saying it is "dumb" to have warning lights on the front, you have obviously never plow a busy parking lot with lots of people coming and going. It is about getting noticed. People walk in front of cars all the time in parking lots, they back out of spaces in front of you, etc.... No, before you get all upset and tell me how dumb I am again....I do not want a lightbar or roof light on my trucks anymore, so with-out the windshield or plow lights I have no forward warning.
> I can not believe how anybody could get hit at night, I mean with the head lights and all how could somebody hit them, or pull out in front of them? A little extra warning is never a dumb idea, and when people see the warning lights they pay a little more attention. If I was just doing driveways then I would probably not have any forward warning...


I ran into that problem last year. I originally only had hideaways in the front parking lights and two oval strobes on the rear.

When throwing salt, with the plow up, nobody could really see my front flashers, so this year I installed two surface mount led flashers facing forward on the top lip of my cab-over to solve this problem.

I also have my back-up alarm on a switch, so that no only does it sound when backing up but I can turn it on for constant warning in any direction.

....


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