# Need options for LOW profile lights



## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

I recently upgraded my old, beaten down 1988 GMC 2500 to a nice 2003 2500HD. My old truck had a magnetic rotator light on the roof to help keep me visible when I'm plowing... However...

The magnetic rotator light sits approximately 6 inches from roof to top of the light, and there is exactly 5 7/8 inches between the roof of my new truck and the top of my garage door opening... Needless to say my new truck is a little taller than the old one was... OK, scratch that. It's a LOT taller than the old one was...

So, I'm looking for (hopefully) inexpensive options... I just dropped a ridiculous amount of cash to buy this truck, so I'm out of ready-cash at the moment, but also don't want my new truck hit because some idiot couldn't see me when driving 50mph on an icy road...

Ideally, it'd be magnetic mount, as I'd like the option of removing it if the mood strikes me. Also, I'd like to get as much clearance as possible, so hopefully something that sits no more than 4 inches off the roof, less is better... And it has to provide 360 degree light.

I considered putting strobes in the markers and taillights, but I think the light would be too low to provide enough visibility, particularly in the snow and ice. The old-school in me really wants to see a light on the roof...

I don't much care if it's a rotator, strobe, or LED, as long as it's bright. I also don't care about changing patterns. As long as it blinks and makes me visible, I'm happy...

Anyone got any ideas?


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## GPS (Jun 27, 2008)

http://www.whelen.com/pb/Automotive/ProductSheets/Lightbars/Responder_LP_Series.pdf

These are low profile, and are available with suction/magnetic and magnetic mount kits.


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## Snowzilla (Oct 24, 2009)

I am the same market. From what I have seen I think it is hard to beat the blast of a halogen rotator. The physics of a curved reflector spinning around a bulb means at some point anyone is in direct alignment and creates the burst of light. But opinions vary. Here's 3 lower profile lights I am considering:

1) Ecco mini halogen belt drive rotator 5135. It is belt drive so less noise. Vaccum magnet mount specs. out at 5.1" so may be getting tall for your desire.

http://www.centralparts.com/Accesso...hts/Low-Profile-Stealth-Vacuum-Magnetic/5472/

2) The Nova Micro Bar 360 strobe. 3.8" tall in magnetic verison:

http://www.strobe.com/component/opt...=36&category_id=33&manufacturer_id=0&vmcchk=1

3) The Whelen L360 Super LED Becon. 2.5" tall. Although I am not convinced this is bright enough.
http://www.sirennet.com/whl32haf.html
_____________________________________________________________________
If you like the mini LED bars like the Whelen mentioned in the previous post... here is another one to consider that seems to be a good value. SoundOff Pinnacle 2.93" tall:

http://www.sirennet.com/soepl7.html


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

Lots of options for low profile mini LED bars. I have a ShoMe luminator that's brighter than any halogen light I've ever had and it only sits 2" off the roof. Very nice light, $400 online.


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

Snowzilla;859605 said:


> 1) Ecco mini halogen belt drive rotator 5135. It is belt drive so less noise. Vaccum magnet mount specs. out at 5.1" so may be getting tall for your desire.
> 
> http://www.centralparts.com/Accesso...hts/Low-Profile-Stealth-Vacuum-Magnetic/5472/


I like this. It's close to the right price range (I'm looking in the $100-125 range), but I'd have to go measure again to make sure it'll clear the top of my garage door opening...

I suppose I've got to be wise to the possibility of some ice buildup in the front of my garage could cause the truck to be slightly higher towards the end of the season as well...

5.1 inches doesn't leave me much extra room... I'll have to think about it some more (and measure again to be sure)...

Now why can't they make the same unit, but only 3.5 or 4 inches tall? The bulb itself can't be more than an inch from top to bottom... Redesign it a little so the bulb sits slightly lower, and make the rotators slightly smaller, maybe even recess the magnetic mounts slightly so the thing sits lower on the truck, and you could reduce the overall height by 1.5-2 inches easily! I can't be the only person in the world with this problem... I'd think this is a common problem. A GMC HD truck is a fairly common plow truck, and my garage has standard 9x7 doors...

Ugh...

Still looking...


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## wild bill (Feb 10, 2007)

*lights*

i just got this catalog in the mail today and they have a fair amount of low profile lights and strobe systems .they have a ton of good stuff also .:salute:
http://www.truckntow.com/ check them out !


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## Snowzilla (Oct 24, 2009)

ETMegabyte;859858 said:


> I like this. It's close to the right price range (I'm looking in the $100-125 range), but I'd have to go measure again to make sure it'll clear the top of my garage door opening...


Well this Ecco model is 4.5" in perm. mount. But that probably doesn't help you. Here is a photo of this model on a truck elsewhere from this site. Also you can see this light in photos & video at this link:
http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=88283

Ecco makes and Evolution model rotator that is wider 22" and only 4.3" tall but I think it only comes in perm. mount.

I guess all rotators will be taller than most LED lights. If you want really low you may have to go LED. Low looks nice but I think taller lights with larger reflectors=brighter light.

The Strobe Microbar would get you down there a little more. I am just not sure about strobes. The Dodge pictured has this bar.

Here's a youtube link on that one in blue daytime:




nighttime:





This bar is the nearly the same as the AWDirect model:
http://www.awdirect.com/microbar-36...2-watts-amber-mb360faa/strobe-mini-lightbars/


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## groundbreakers (Jan 16, 2004)

wild bill;859863 said:


> i just got this catalog in the mail today and they have a fair amount of low profile lights and strobe systems .they have a ton of good stuff also .:salute:
> http://www.truckntow.com/ check them out !


i second that i got my mini liberty with extra set liberty leds in the middle for a total of 6 for $600 .. of course there show room is excellent im about 30 min away from there warehouse...

ETMegabyte - how much you have or want to spend???


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## Snowzilla (Oct 24, 2009)

Another thought... sometimes electric garage doors hang down a little when open & you can sneak a little more height by tweaking a little with the opener travel adjustment.


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## SafetyLighting (Jul 23, 2005)

http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=89437


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

Snowzilla;860113 said:


> Another thought... sometimes electric garage doors hang down a little when open & you can sneak a little more height by tweaking a little with the opener travel adjustment.


LOL, that's a big part of why I have to re-measure. When I measured before, the door was just slightly lower than the opening. I have since adjusted the travel on the door opener and the door now opens to above the opening, but I haven't re-measured it yet...

I had planned on sticking with the 5 7/8 idea, though, only because if I plan on being lower than that, when the ice builds up in front of my garage and the truck ends up slightly higher at the end of the season, I'll still have that slight amount of extra wiggle-room... I REALLY don't wanna hit the garage with the light. Both the garage and the truck are brand new to me, so damage to either is a bad thing...


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

groundbreakers;859936 said:


> ETMegabyte - how much you have or want to spend???


How much do I WANT to spend? As little as possible 

Because, though it would be annoying as hell, I have the ability to put my rotator on the truck every time I take it out of the garage, meaning I have lights I could use if I had to, I dind't want to dedicate more than $100-150ish to this.

I just use my truck for myself, and a few select others (neighbors and family), so I just can't justify $600 or $700 on lights... Not after just dropping $19k on the truck and plow...

Maybe, if I don't find something good this year, next summer when prices come down I'll get something better... I dunno..


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## ultimate plow (Jul 2, 2002)

BUY this right now!!!!!!! Its a federal signal!!!!
http://cgi.ebay.com/FEDERAL-SIGNAL-LED-Mini-Lightbar-High-bidder-gets-it-P_W0QQitemZ320447830602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9c2dda4a


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## SafetyLighting (Jul 23, 2005)

That's a permanent mount bar.


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## ultimate plow (Jul 2, 2002)

sweet. buy 4 magnets and put a cord on and you got a 300 led mini bar for a fraction. PS this bar has better off axis lighting than the whelen responder linear


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

My vote would be to spend a little extra on an LED low profile bar. This of course after I saw the roof of my friends superduty after he forgot to take his rotator bar off before pulling into the garage and "rolling" the lightbar between the soffit and the roof of the truck. The repair went well over the $1k mark.


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## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

SafetyLighting;860196 said:


> http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=89437


That looks like a nice little bar, nice price too.

http://www.sirennet.com/soepl7.html



ultimate plow;860322 said:


> BUY this right now!!!!!!! Its a federal signal!!!!
> http://cgi.ebay.com/FEDERAL-SIGNAL-LED-Mini-Lightbar-High-bidder-gets-it-P_W0QQitemZ320447830602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9c2dda4a


That appears to be a great deal. That is the Highlighter LED, no?
http://www.fedsig.com/products/index.php?id=259

Not a cheap bar.
http://www.truckntow.com/showproduct.aspx?affiliateid=10050&ProductID=22988


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

ultimate plow;860322 said:


> BUY this right now!!!!!!! Its a federal signal!!!!
> http://cgi.ebay.com/FEDERAL-SIGNAL-LED-Mini-Lightbar-High-bidder-gets-it-P_W0QQitemZ320447830602QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9c2dda4a


I threw in a bid for the halibut... Reserve still not met, but... I'm just not willing to go $200, even for a nice bar like that. That may change before the auction's over... I dunno...


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

Bah! Someone scooped it. I had the high bid and someone did the buy it now thing... Ah well... Still looking...


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## 02DURAMAX (Dec 27, 2006)

ultimate plow;860332 said:


> sweet. buy 4 magnets and put a cord on and you got a 300 led mini bar for a fraction. PS this bar has better off axis lighting than the whelen responder linear


Those suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have one on my C4500...NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:realmad:


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

02DURAMAX;861115 said:


> Those suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> I have one on my C4500...NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:realmad:


Well, not to put a fly in the ointment or nothing, but how about telling those of us who are less informed WHY it sucks.


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## Snowzilla (Oct 24, 2009)

Given your requirements for low profile light at reasonable cost I think this may be a good solution. Looks well designed and flashes impressively in video. Like the flexible magnets since most roofs have curvature to them.

SafetyLighting has also mentioned this one:
SoundOff Pinnacle Mini Lightbar
http://www.sirennet.com/soepl7.html

I have been monitoring this thread because I am trying to narrow my decision also. Right now I am leaning between the SoundOff light or the Ecco halogen rotator mini bar I mentioned previously. http://www.centralparts.com/Accessor...Magnetic/5472/

I guess another advantage old technology halogen has is that it self defrosts when in use.

There's no doubt you'll have to go >$200 for LED. It must be the law. :laughing:

The Whelen Responder flash patterns I have seen on Youtube don't look too exciting to me.


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## 02DURAMAX (Dec 27, 2006)

ETMegabyte;861127 said:


> Well, not to put a fly in the ointment or nothing, but how about telling those of us who are less informed WHY it sucks.


Its not a Sealed Light!

Water, Dirt, & all kinds of Sh!T get into the Light Housing!

The top Cover just snaps into place and No Silicone!!!

Don't buy one they just bend you over.

I'll get some pics of it so you guys can see what Im talking about.


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## 02DURAMAX (Dec 27, 2006)

This is the best light out IMO!

http://www.sirennet.com/ab12-1224-000.html


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## SafetyLighting (Jul 23, 2005)

"Use of a magnetic mount on vehicle in motion will violate warranty.
Neither SIRENNET or the manufacture recommend use of magnetic mount on a vehicle in motion. "


LOLOL, really?


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## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

SafetyLighting;861486 said:


> "Use of a magnetic mount on vehicle in motion will violate warranty.
> Neither SIRENNET or the manufacture recommend use of magnetic mount on a vehicle in motion. "
> LOLOL, really?


Got liability? 

Magnetic stuff stays on pretty good, the CB antenna held on until 115 MPH going to Canada a few years back.


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## MattyK (Dec 16, 2008)

i know you like the thought of a light bar on top, but have you thought about interior lighting? I'm going to be taking my light bar off the top of my truck and running 6 whelen slim misers. 2 in the top corners of the windshield, 2 in the top corners of the back window, and 1 in each of the rear passenger windows. You could easily get away with 1 in the front and 1 in the back. not too expensive and can easily be installed with the suction mount and cig plug.


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## Hubjeep (Jan 9, 2002)

MattyK;862903 said:


> i know you like the thought of a light bar on top, but have you thought about interior lighting? I'm going to be taking my light bar off the top of my truck and running 6 whelen slim misers.


:yup: I have one arriving today for the Cherokee back window. I plan to trim the plastic shroud to match up with the angle of the rear window, mount it with screws to the window frame and use a small bead of black silicone where the plastic meets the glass (should eliminate any flashback). :yup: Looks like a nice slim light for a nice price. 

I may run a LIN 4 on each side rear window too. Two more slim misers would be another option, but may be a bit too much for a small Cherokee.


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## mikelawtown (Dec 5, 2004)

i have one and it's not bad, if you use those pieces of door protection rubber, you know the strips you put on the edge of your door so you dont cause dings to other cars ..cut them to fit the light, and you wont get vibration.


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

OK, I don't get it. Why are these units so expensive? $75-80 dollars for flashing LEDs? It's made from DIODEs, the same things we used to get at the electronics store for about 2 cents a piece or less? OK, so they glow brighter than those did, but 60 LEDs for $80?! That's ridiculous!

At $25, I'd say that it's a good deal. At $40 it'd be a decent deal. At $80, it's highway robbery!

You guys are seriously ok with this price?! I'll bet that Whelen's cost to put this thing together was about $8.00 or less. And that includes the electronics that control it, the parts to make the unit, and the labor to get it all together... There is no R&D here, guys. These are LEDs. The same things that have been used for years and years in everything electronic.


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## ETMegabyte (Nov 11, 2009)

Well, I managed to find me a light bar... Whelen 9004 half-bar strobe with take downs...

The guy who had it had it mounted on his truck. He flipped the switch one day and the strobes didn't work, so be bought a new one, and sold me the old one at a good price...

I brought it home, found a corroded wire, replaced it, and it works just fine...

Now I just gotta figure out how I wanna mount it to my truck...


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