# Will Strobes drown out reverse lights?



## fisher_ma (Oct 26, 2013)

I have been reading around on this site for a while but this is my first post. After a few close calls last year I have decided to add some lights to my truck to hopefully make myself more noticeable. I don't have a lot of money to spend on this right now and so I am planning on doing it in stages. Since I do only residential plowing my biggest hazard is backing out of driveways so I feel the first lights I should add would be tail light strobes. Since I live in mass the only legal color is amber and the only place i could mount those on my 2011 silverado would be the reverse light section of the tails my concern is this will drown out my reverse lights when plowing at night? Am I correct or will this not be an issue? Any help you guys can provide would be great or any other set ups you mass or chevy guys have used that work well!
Thanks!


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

If money is a concern, get two inexpensive rooftop beacons that plug into your lighter / power adapter if equipped. Way cheaper than strobes, take em down when not in use, and because they're higher, will be more noticeable.


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## fisher_ma (Oct 26, 2013)

I had thought about that but since this is a pretty new truck I would like to put the best I can afford into it in stages as opposed to replacing cheap stuff each year. I will be able to add more lights once the snow starts falling I just purchased a new mower this summer so i'm lacking funds right now.


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## TJS (Oct 22, 2003)

Beacons are more visible than reverse hide away strobes.


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## fisher_ma (Oct 26, 2013)

Would you guys think i'd be better just getting a good mini light bar than beacons considering a magnetic mount would cost about the same amount as the strobes installed


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## Too Stroked (Jan 1, 2010)

Hideaways are cool and all but invisible when you're not using them. (That's important to some folks.) They also don't add any roof clearance issues. But, they're a PITA to install. 

I've always been a fan of roof mounted warning lights due to the 360 degree visibility / warning they give. You can remove them when you're not using them too. And unless you go the LED route, you can get one (strobe or halogen rotator) relatively inexpensively.

BTW: The contractor I work for has used Star mini bars on everything we own for years. Inexpensive, bright and easy to repair if they ever need it.


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## Wilnip (Oct 4, 2011)

Rooftop lights won't provide the warning hide a ways will when you are backing out of a driveway lined with hedges and visibility is at a minimum. So to answer your question, kinda. When the strobes flash, you will see yellow snow behind you instead of white snow from the back up lights. You can always add auxiliary back up lights if needed.


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## jhall22guitar (Dec 11, 2011)

Fisher, I would get a nice minibar from strobes n more (located in RI so shipping takes 1-3 days) and it would run you about $200-$300. I believe that all trucks with a plow on it in MA are required by law to have a beacon on the roof if i remember correctly, maybe its 360 degrees to alert people. Ill see if i can find the place i read it.


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## fisher_ma (Oct 26, 2013)

Wilnip;1657100 said:


> Rooftop lights won't provide the warning hide a ways will when you are backing out of a driveway lined with hedges and visibility is at a minimum. So to answer your question, kinda. When the strobes flash, you will see yellow snow behind you instead of white snow from the back up lights. You can always add auxiliary back up lights if needed.


Thats what I was afraid of with the roof top beacon but if I have to add auxiliary back up lights then that adds more cost to the project 



jhall22guitar;1657105 said:


> Fisher, I would get a nice minibar from strobes n more (located in RI so shipping takes 1-3 days) and it would run you about $200-$300. I believe that all trucks with a plow on it in MA are required by law to have a beacon on the roof if i remember correctly, maybe its 360 degrees to alert people. Ill see if i can find the place i read it.


I have been looking at SNM for my lights i'm not to comfortable doing the wiring on my truck after my buddy set his truck on fire after adding HID kits so I would probably have them install any lights as well. And if you could find any more info about that law that would be great!
Thanks guys


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

Rooftop light will be MORE visible than just rear strobes. 360 degree vision, mounted higher as opposed to directional light mounted lower. That's physics. 

But you want rear strobes. Get what you want. Enjoy.


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

Oh, and if you're not comfortable wiring a beacon (plugging a lighter in), then you'll really enjoy running strobes. That's way easier. Smh


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## Wilnip (Oct 4, 2011)

Sawboy;1657189 said:


> Rooftop light will be MORE visible than just rear strobes. 360 degree vision, mounted higher as opposed to directional light mounted lower. That's physics.
> 
> But you want rear strobes. Get what you want. Enjoy.


When you are plowing a wide open lot, yes. Not when backing out of a driveway lined with trees or hedges. The OP read and understood what I was commenting on. But thanks for chiming in.


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

Wilnip, thanks for your .02 as well. The OP and you for sure would benefit from a physics class. As I see it, your stance is that when backing out of a driveway lined with trees hedges light from the top will not be seen against the same trees and hedges. Only light that is low and focused backwards can do this. 

Yep, makes sense to me. Maybe you can explain this phenomena to me. 

Thanks for chiming in.


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

Well once again we did a kick azz job of answering the original question....

No strobes will not drown out the reverse lights with a proper patten.


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## jhall22guitar (Dec 11, 2011)

fisher_ma;1657169 said:


> I have been looking at SNM for my lights i'm not to comfortable doing the wiring on my truck after my buddy set his truck on fire after adding HID kits so I would probably have them install any lights as well. And if you could find any more info about that law that would be great!
> Thanks guys


Wasnt able to find it but if i stumble across it I will let you know.

Wiring can be a pain, I just wired a minibar, two E6's, two LED spotlights, and a dashlight to a switchbox in my truck this summer. Once you do it once you can get the basics down and learn how to do it faster and smarter, all about the type of wiring you use, the guage, distances, and amps. Thumbs Up

Where are you located?


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## fisher_ma (Oct 26, 2013)

Sawboy thanks for your wonderful responses but when there are 10 foot tall shrubs at the end of a drive that the rear of my truck is sticking out of but the cab is still well within the drive, please explain to me how the car 50 yards down the road is going to see the roof top lights better than the rear tail light strobes... And as for the wiring I meant hard wiring it with a switch not plugging in the 12 volt adapter. And for your information I graduated from college with a degree in construction management and probably took more physics classes than you have.

And Jhall I am in somerset mass


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## Sawboy (Dec 18, 2005)

I bow to your genius Oh Great one. Carry on :salute:


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## 90plow (Dec 22, 2001)

Your strobes will be drown out by the reverse lights. Happened to me when i put them in my truck last year. When i was backing up you couldnt really see my amber strobes.


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## jhall22guitar (Dec 11, 2011)

Fisher you must be a Wentworth graduate? I am a student enrolled there currently.

In regards to your setup Ill tell you why I set my truck up the way I did.

I have a minibar mounted to my backrack for 360 degree lighting and this allowed me to make no holes in my truck. I hard wired it using a 4 pin trailer plug which works as a quick disconnect for the wiring, the one bolt and its off allowing me access to use the back rack, I have two E6 lights from SnM on my back rack that light up everything withing 100ft of the back of my truck probably. And did not require any holes in my truck. So a car should in theory see me backing up, so I added two 1260 lumen spotlights to light up the area behind me even more. Granted some strobes in the back would light the end of your truck better, I would do a combo of the strobes in the rear lights as well as a light bar.


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## fisher_ma (Oct 26, 2013)

Jhall I was going to go to Wentworth but ended up at UMaine because I was a swimmer. The construction management program is awesome though!

And as for your set up I think I may take that route it would be a bigger investment up front but would make more sense for my situation since I have ladders and lumber in the bed all the time. I think to start I will invest in the backrack and a mini light bar to give me complete coverage and then hopefully halfway through the season invest in some rear strobes. Thanks for your help!


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## Mstrfxit12 (Dec 29, 2006)

Fisher_Ma, just to add one more observation that I don"t believe has been mentioned yet. I have noticed with the newer trucks the back up lights are pretty small and seem to rely on optics pretty heavily to get the light out. If you mount a strobe tube or vertex type LED in the backup light housing you can actually cast a pretty good shadow in your lighting area. I have this issue on my truck, its not terrible but its very noticeable. It was easily fixed with some additional back up lighting but just wanted to put it out there.


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## FF/P215 (Dec 5, 2012)

Fisher, have you looked at the Back-up Buddy, gives you a single strobe and aux. reverse lights. They are quality made, here in Mass and let me tell you, strong, I used it as my anchor point to be pulled and pull-out many people, my wiring is now shot, but the product itself is still in great shape. It is a little expensive, but last I knew there was a plowsite discount. That isn't my only warning light, I do run a Whelen LED mini-bar that cost a pretty penny, but I do like the Back-up Buddy. On another note, I take it Eastern Mass law enforcement is a lot more strict on rear-facing flashers? We have plenty of people who run rear-facing red and clear warning lights/ corners. Good luck with whatever you come up with!


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## nixray (Jan 31, 2008)

Why not add in addition to rear(s) side strobes like the t1r-3. Or a similar strobe. There could be a thousand ways to do this.


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## wilsonsground (Jun 29, 2012)

I would go with a light bar. I had 4 strobes in the rear of my last truck, in the reverse lights and the tail lights, with alternating x pattern. However what i found was with them on people are still dumb as ****! i was nearly rear ended whenever i would slow down to turn. people don't pay attention. i have always had a light bar as well on my back rack. So when i got my new truck i said i wasn't doing any hideaways as to me they're just a waste of money when people aren't watching anyhow. At least this way if they do rear end me my brakes or directions were clearly visible. Just my personal opinion. Light bars always reflect through the woods a lot more and are visible for a further distance. I personally like the strobe light bars over the LED. as I'm not spending what they ask for a good LED bar. I also cant say they 'drowned out my reverse lights' as i had LED reverse bulbs, and LED lights mounted up under the bumper attached to my trailer receiver that come on when put in reverse, as well as lights on my rack hooked to a switch.


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## 1olddogtwo (Aug 6, 2007)

fisher_ma;1657272 said:


> Sawboy thanks for your wonderful responses but when there are 10 foot tall shrubs at the end of a drive that the rear of my truck is sticking out of but the cab is still well within the drive, please explain to me how the car 50 yards down the road is going to see the roof top lights better than the rear tail light strobes... And as for the wiring I meant hard wiring it with a switch not plugging in the 12 volt adapter. And for your information I graduated from college with a degree in construction management and probably took more physics classes than you have.
> 
> And Jhall I am in somerset mass


Ha, I love the crack about 10ft shrubs. here's my mental illustration of what you're talking about.....

These overgrown vegetation must be within 6 feet of the curb line and I'm assuming you are back dragging the snow in to the street and the snow piles are to the left and right of the mouth of the driveway.

Once these piles stack up and the fact the city is also piling snow up along the curb line. These piles will inhibit line of sight from oncoming traffic with the strobes in the rear tail lights.

I guess my real question is who or why would have 10 foot rubs covering their entire property line.


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