Your professional opinion!

[CraftyBigDog]

What is the best bang for your buck in light bars I want to put a permanent on my Dodge. I like LED but I heard they coat up with snow and I dont believe amp draw is an issue for me. But what is your opinion.

[ULM2004]

Well, in reality, they all work very good. Iv used all. Im a fan of halogen and strobe. Amp issue is not an issue for me either. Rotators keep a true guidance marker and can been seen exelent throguh the snow. Strobes are intense and cut through the snow and are extremely bright at night. The strobes really dont bother me at night but some say they do as I guess it depends on the person. Rotators are also good because they reflect off buildings. For strobe lightbars, I prefer whelen edge bars. For rotator lightbars, I prefer the MX7000 or Vista lightbars which have exlent components and quality. You can find good deals on lights on ebay. Thats where I buy most of my lights. Hope that helps.:zoom

[CraftyBigDog]

Thanks alot!

[Pelican]

My preference, with no other considerations , is a halogen rotator. They are very visible both day and night and offer a sharp flash with the proper rotator speed. They cast a focused beam that can be followed by the eye to determine center even if you can't see the vehicle. A rotator offers 360° coverage with the same intensity at any angle.

Strobes are what I use though for the power savings. They aren't quite as bright and this is most noticeable during the daylight hours. They can be used for 360° coverage, and even focused strobes emit some flash to the sides.

LEDs use even less power than strobes and are just as bright with the latest technology, but are pretty directional. By that I mean they lose their intensity quickly if you drift off from 180° of the light. There are some 360° beacons out there, but I haven't been impressed by them.

Halogens and strobes have about gone as far as they are going to go as far as technology is concerned, but LEDs are being improved almost daily.

On another note, I'm not in the camp that more is better. My first 2 trucks I had a double beam "Gumball machine" on the roof, that's it. My next truck had a double rotator lightbar that also had 2 beams dedicated to fire use. My 550 has a single roof mounted strobe beacon with some LED flashers to the rear and sides, these get activated when backing in to traffic. The 350 has 2 strobe beacons with LEDs on the rear corners, again for backing.

I've read numerous studies that show more lights don't offer more protection, in fact the opposite can be true. You want to attract enough attention so that people know where you are, but not so much that you are a distraction and draw them to you like a moth to a light. Studies have shown that emergency vehicles parked with multiple lights flashing are involved in more accidents than those with more reserved lighting. Take it for what it's worth.

[ratlover]

If I was going to mount permanently I wouldnt mount to the cab, I'd mount to a backrack ect.

I agree with the rest of what was said though.

[wyldman]

I think the halogen rotators offer great 360 degree economical light output,both night and day.

Strobes are more efficient,but the effect can get to you after a while.

I haven't been a fan of LED bars,as most of the ones I have seen aren't bright enough,and too directional.That was until last weekend at a local Santa Claus parade.They had a lineup of police cars used through the years,and they had everything from the old incandescent dual beam rotators to the new LED stuff.They had a brand new Intrepid cruiser outfitted with an LED bar,that was extremely bright,and had full 360 degree coverage.It stood out from all the others,yet was not obnoxious or objectionable.It looked like a Whelen style bar.The biggest thing is the price.I bet a bar like thet would be well over $1200 or so.

[Mark Oomkes]

I bought a new mini LED\strobe combo for my new truck. It came from Sho-Me, although I can't find a link. The strobes are off a mirror in the corners and there are 4 LEDs with multiple flash patterns front and back and 2 on each side.

I just wish they would put a simple on\off flash pattern instead of all the stupid double\triple\quad flashes etc. I read the same articles Steve did. A simple on\off for about equal times was shown to be the most effective warning, less FPM were also shown to be better. It even said that at an accident scene that all but one emergency vehicle should have it's warning lights shut off.

[Will]

Rotators all the way. I have both a FedSig FireBeam and a Sound-Off Predator. Not only was the FireBeam cheaper, but it's good for 360 degrees. The LED is not.

[CPSS]

Our local fire chief has one of the new Whelen LED bars, and even under State contract pricing, he said it cost $5000! :zoinks

We have 2 trucks with Whelen strobe bars and I am very satisfied. One truck has the additional ft/rear halogen flashers, the other truck has the ft/rear LED flashers. The LED's are very bright, but also very directional. Directly to the front or rear, they are great. A little off to the sides, and the lights are impossible to see in daylight.

Another of our trucks has a simple Whelen rotator, and it's amazing how noticeable the truck is in a parking lot. I agree that simple is better.