How to Buy Tow Truck Bar Lights Online
When you are working on a disabled vehicle or towing one with your truck, it is important to have the proper equipment to keep you and the passing vehicles safe.
Tow truck drivers and their vehicles provide a vital and often risky service to the general public. One sure way to ensure safety for the disabled motorists, the passing drivers, you and your tow truck is to make sure you have the proper lights for your truck. LED bar lights for tow trucks are the most efficient and durable lamps on the market today. Here at LED Equipped, we have a team of knowledgeable experts on standby, ready to assist you with creating your very own LED light bar system.
Continue reading on to make sure you have made the right selection for your tow truck or even your fleet of trucks.
Check the Laws for Using LED Tow Truck Light Bars in Your Community
When selecting and planning the perfect LED lighting bar system for a tow rig or truck, you must consider what exactly your needs are.
One of the most important factors to consider when selecting LED lighting is the legality of your usage. In most places in the country, law allow that technician, utility and construction vehicles, tow trucks and other non-emergency vehicles and professionals are allowed to mount and use LED lighting lights. However, the laws in most municipalities, towns, cities and counties detail what type of light or flash patterns and colors are allowed to be used by non-emergency professionals.
These lights are generally referred to as courtesy lights, as commuters do not have to yield to a vehicle that uses them. First responder emergency lights, on the other hand, must be yielded to by motorists on the roadway.
Before purchasing and using any two truck lighting systems, non-emergency personnel should contact their local authorities to make sure that their lights follow all local laws and regulations.
Determining Your Need for LED Tow Truck Light Bar Features
Once you know which laws you must follow, and which flash patterns and colors you can and cannot use, it is time to consider which features and specs you would like for your LED light bar system.
First, and possibly easiest to consider, is the actual placement of your light bars. Consider also what method of wiring to the electrical system that any potential LED lighting system requires.
Placement & Mounting of LED Tow Truck Bar Lights
There are several places on the vehicle where you can mount LED lights. The first is the most typical place for tow truck and other utility and service drivers’ LED light bars to be: the roof of the vehicle. These mountings can either be permanently attached to the roof or mounted using a form of magnetic LED light. These can be attached to the roof temporarily and removed after a call or whenever you want it removed.
Your LED lighting system can be either wired directly into the electrical system or it can be powered via a power cord that can be plugged directly into the cigarette lighter or other onboard power adapter. This literal plug-and-play approach is how most LED light bars work.
If you aren’t sure which options will work best for you, contact us before choosing your equipment. Our helpful team members can assist you in selecting the correct equipment to get the results you seek.
Placement & Mounting of Other Types of LED Tow Truck Lighting
Alternative two vehicle LED light mounting locations are a little bit more out of sight than roof-mounted light bars.
If your tow truck serves other purposes (also the case with many truck-mounted snowplows), selecting an LED lighting system that either blends in with the vehicle or can be removed and reinstalled easily may be the better option for you.
LED Equipped offers LED light bar systems that can be installed into the running boards of your vehicle, blending in with them when not in use. It is also possible to have LED lighting installed into the front grille of your vehicle. These options are designed and installed in such a way that they appear to be part of the hardware of the engine block under the hood. We also have LED lighting options that can be mounted to the front windshield or dashboard via suction cups. These are also typically powered through the cigarette lighter adapter.
It is important to consider how you will use your LED lighting in advance, to be sure you are getting the correct product to meet your needs.
Shape & Brightness of Tow Truck LED Lighting
There are many other options to consider for your tow truck LED light bar system, such as the shape and size of the LED light bars, how many rows of bulbs you want or need, and what beam pattern you would like your LED light bar to have.
Shape is primarily an aesthetic choice and doesn’t affect operation. Your options are either straight or curved LED light bars. There is no significant discernable difference between the actual operation of the two. The difference is based purely on what type of look you would like. Most customers select bar shapes based on the actual shape of the roof of the truck, as well as the make and model of the vehicle itself.
The next important decision to make is to select how bright the light you would like your LED light bar to produce. The brightness of any given fixture depends on the number of rows of LEDs the bar has (usually a maximum of 2 rows) and the actual length of the LED light bar. Bars typically are available with a minimum length of four inches up to as much as fifty inches. The wider the bar and the greater number of rows of LED light bulbs in the bar, the brighter the LED light bar will be.
Tow Truck Light Bar Patterns
Once you have selected the size, shape and number of bulbs, it is time to consider the effect or effects the LED light bar will give off, aka, the light bar’s beam pattern. There are four basic beam patterns that are the most commonly used. The two most basic are the spot and flood beam patterns.
The spot beam pattern is best used for traveling on the road and for lighting up a specific, relatively small spot a significant distance away from the emitter. The flood beam pattern, however, is best used to create a localized “wash” of light in the immediate area of the LED light bar, which literally floods the area next to the vehicle in light able to be used for your work.
The other two more basic beam patterns utilize both the flood and spot beam patterns, but in drastically differing ways to one another. The combination and the multi-beam patterns are both produced from the same LED light bar. The combination beam pattern uses a combined beam of both the spot and flood beam patterns at the same time, while the multi-beam pattern allows the driver to toggle between the two beam patterns via a switch.
The Best Online Tow Truck Light Bars are at LED Equipped
These are just some of the highlights of the types of products we carry here at LED Equipped. Contact us today for personalized assistance and recommendations for all of your tow truck LED light bar needs.
We have made it even easier for our customers to make the selections by offering LED discount light bar kits for tow trucks. These value-added packages make it even easier for you to select, mount and wire your LED lighting bar system to your vehicle.
Our professional team members are standing by to assist with any help you might need to make your LED lighting system perfect for you. Browse our website or contact us now to discuss your snow plow or two truck light bar needs.
LED Equipped offers the best and most diverse inventory available on the market today. Contact us today for answers to any question you might have, or browse our website to see our vast inventory of fire truck LED lighting options.