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Old 08-08-2005, 09:36 AM   #1
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Stop Lights and Collisions

After the recent rear end collision of Barkingspider it occured to me that a brighter stop light might help prevent some rear enders.

I did a search and did not come up with anything.

Has anyone done bright stop lamps or flashing stop lights?
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Old 08-08-2005, 10:27 AM   #2
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There can never be enough lights on the back of an Airstream. I have the LED stop lights on the back of the 19' Safari, and they light up rather nice, but I am considering some additional lights around the license plate area which is about eye level to most drivers. I'll have to check my state laws before I make that leap. If your stop lights are conventional, here is a site that offers halogens. They're a bit pricey but have a "lifetime" warranty. My grandfather had a saying about lifetime warranties: "Guaranteed for life... if you die when you should."

http://www.safedrives.com/proddetail...n-20112&cat=15
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Old 08-08-2005, 10:30 AM   #3
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None of that matters if the driver behind you is distracted, by talking on a cellphone, eating, or fooling with their CD player/radio.
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Old 08-08-2005, 10:50 AM   #4
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I don't have marker lights above my windows on the crown pieces, but wouldn't it be cool if they had some that acted completely normal - except that when the brakes were applied, they would pulse on and off?

I think it would definitely catch people's attention behind you, but wouldn't change the appearence of your trailer! In the Rockies a couple years ago, there was intense fog one night, and it was my first time towing anything. As soon as I saw headlights behind me, I would pump the brakes and then turn on the hazzards until they passed.
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Old 08-08-2005, 11:15 AM   #5
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LED bulbs

I have been contemplating adding these to the vintage taillights:

LED bulbs

John
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Old 08-08-2005, 11:47 AM   #6
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I will be replacing the wedding cake lights with 7" School bus LED stop lamps.
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Old 08-08-2005, 01:42 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AYRSTRM2
I have been contemplating adding these to the vintage taillights:

LED bulbs

John
They absolutly SUCK.

Autozone carries simular. I was going to swap all on my tow vehcile to help with power demands. They had worse light then the stock indandecents. Also they have to be pointed top out to be effective and most trailer lights the bulb is mounted sideways so that the lense doesnt have to be as deep because they are surface mount.

I'm trying to warm my wife to the LED's like on InlandRV's site for the back of our 59. She wants original look and wants to get some repo 99's. All but diehards would notice and a lot of them would understand. I'll live with the diehards scowel to have tail lights I should never need to ever mess with again and twice as bright as stock.
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Old 08-08-2005, 01:55 PM   #8
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Deceleration Warning & High Mount Lights

I'm also concerned about getting the attention of distracted tailgaters. I've installed a high-mount third brake light (high brightness LEDs above the rear window), and a motorcycle decleration warning pulser. When you hit the brakes it pulses all the brake lamps rapidly then slows to full on in a fraction of second. Very effective.

I've also seen people use a set of "portable" towing lamps with suction cups just set inside the rear window and wired to the brake lamp circuit. It gets noticed and is easy to install.

I've also installed strobe bulbs in the stop/turn cans that I can turn on for emergencies/ tailgator back-off warning. Of course we know we're not supposed to use these when moving!

Peterson and Grote (NAPA, Advance auto) all make these devices and have great online catalogs.

I agree - for the moment- that some for the LEDs may not be "apparently" bright enough equals to the incandescent bulbs but actually these devices must meet federal candlepower outputs and characteristics.

We have to be careful about the total amps we draw with aux lighting - there is a practical limit - the fuse sizes!
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Old 08-08-2005, 02:04 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AYRSTRM2
I have been contemplating adding these to the vintage taillights:

LED bulbs

John

A few car nuts I know tried this a while back....not sure if they have gotten any brighter since then, but they were not as good as a standard bulb...at least when we all tried it over a year ago.
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Old 08-08-2005, 02:38 PM   #10
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Good, thanks for the input on those. They aint cheap, and I aint wasting my money.

John
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Old 08-08-2005, 05:43 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AYRSTRM2
Good, thanks for the input on those. They aint cheap, and I aint wasting my money.

John
John, I used something similar on my Argosy. In fact, we changed out all the clearance lights as well. The LED tail/brake lights worked very well for me, as the lights on the Argosy are oriented to point outward instead of upward.
Soemthing I have seen done, is the backup lights have been replaced with second brake lights. This would be very easy to do with those particular lights, as they are red tinted already, and you woudn't have to change lenses.
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Old 08-08-2005, 08:33 PM   #12
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The 7" school bus LEDs have several LEDs and are very bright.I've been coveting the ones on the city buses for some time now.Had a difficult day a few months ago when a bus blew its transaxle and was parked in front of my house all day.I've seen them online for $49 and will order some soon.

http://www.sbsales.com/detail.aspx?ID=187
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Old 08-18-2005, 08:20 AM   #13
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LEDs

Hey try out Wal-mart.
they have a nice selection of led lights that could be adapted for use.
If your not totally into vintage there are some really cool milled alluminum motercycle brake lights that could be added as an aux brake light.
joker is the manufacturer.
As an a/s owner im sure that you can bend metal, well you could design you own custom aux light. Lets start a new trend for safety sake.
I'll bet you that mine will be the coolest. lol
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Old 08-18-2005, 12:14 PM   #14
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Good Ideas

I'd kinda like a proximity warning to tell me when some little compact was trying to climb in my rear bumper. Then I want a hydraulic lift on the bumper lid followed by deploying a 50 mm machine gun (gatling style like on the A-6 Wart Hog) to discourage tailgaters.

Or in a kinder gentler world maybe just a paint gun.

God made big men, God made little men, Smith & Wesson made them all alike.

Tin Lizzie

Hmm.... or maybe just a sign that says "Tailgaters beware, sewage tank may discharge unexpectedly!"!
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Old 08-18-2005, 04:36 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by PaulaFord
Tin Lizzie

Hmm.... or maybe just a sign that says "Tailgaters beware, sewage tank may discharge unexpectedly!"!
I had a bumper sticker with the legend "I BRAKE FOR TAILGATERS".
Don't know if it worked, but I was never rear-ended while driving that vehicle.
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Old 08-18-2005, 05:30 PM   #16
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Post

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fast Rob
After the recent rear end collision of Barkingspider it occured to me that a brighter stop light might help prevent some rear enders.

I did a search and did not come up with anything.

Has anyone done bright stop lamps or flashing stop lights?

I ordered & replaced all my clearance lights with LED's last summer from
superbrightleds.com
They have a large selection of different LED products
I'm been very happy with what I have,
Don
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Old 08-18-2005, 06:28 PM   #17
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LEDDDDDDDDDDDDD's

My favorite Light emitting diodes are the ones that you can string around the window in lots of colors. Then when you wire them to brake lights they light up like a rainbow and really gets the idiots attention. But I really like the idea of a big bumper sticker that says "Short leash on my sewer dump for tailgaters" and then perhaps really have a little dump ready for some folks as I really think a 50 Caliber bullet from the back of an airstream might get one in a little bit of trouble in some state. Me being a libertarian with a little ' l ' I do hope we all carry some guns in our life for idiots who tailgate and act belligerent.
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Old 08-18-2005, 06:55 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulaFord
I'd kinda like a proximity warning to tell me when some little compact was trying to climb in my rear bumper. Then I want a hydraulic lift on the bumper lid followed by deploying a 50 mm machine gun (gatling style like on the A-6 Wart Hog) to discourage tailgaters.

Or in a kinder gentler world maybe just a paint gun.

God made big men, God made little men, Smith & Wesson made them all alike.

Tin Lizzie

Hmm.... or maybe just a sign that says "Tailgaters beware, sewage tank may discharge unexpectedly!"!
We have had several bumper stickers...but never that one My two favorites were, "Keep honking...driver reloading" and "Horn is broke, watch for finger"

IMHO I don't care how big and bright a tail light you put back there, there is always going to be some idiot that is going too fast, or not paying enough attention and it going to plow into you regardless..Yes a center mount light MAY reduce the number of incidences, BUT the odds are someone will get you ...

Aaron
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Old 08-18-2005, 07:47 PM   #19
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I put a rear deck on my old Champion and mounted a poly trouble box and generator on it. The rear lights made me worry about the rearener factor so I opted for a new rear bumper...

http://www.truckchrome.com/prod_deta...&userid=123118

Heavy chrome, three lights on each side, very bright indeed... between the high polish of the chrome and the bright lights it really made the difference. $250 delivered.
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Old 08-18-2005, 10:07 PM   #20
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Paula??? Putting the Warthog's 'stinger' out the back might work. The kick would put you over the trailer tires' rated speed I fear -- BTW, they're 30mm, not 50 caliber. You sure this is what you have in mind? At least your tongue weight will decrease!!!
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