Flashing Amber Light selection? Led, xenon?

I operate 99% in Illinois and occasionally do oversize or heavy hauling.

Illinois requires flashing amber lights visible 500 ft in daylight. To date, I used forklift xenon strobe lights just because I had them.

I mounted them on top of my west coast mirrors. Everything worked great but now one light broke and I am looking for options. I have some questions.

1. Are these forklift strobes generally acceptable in other states?
2. Are there decent alternatives of similar format?
3. Are there decent and small LED strobes that are actually well made?

I was at my local friendly truck store and, to my dismay, their strobes had really flimsy plastic mounts that would not survive being mounted on mirrors and the door slamming etc.

Just looking for something decent and hopefully legal in other states.

The strobe I want I would prefer to be like this because I already have a mount for it:

 

I use “Abrams SAE Class-1 StarEye” lights. They’re super bright, LED, and they have strong bases for magnet or permanent mount. You can get them on Amazon. The ones I have do not use that same mount, so I’m not sure if they’ll fit what you have or not. Definitely worth checking into the Abrams brand though.

 

class 1 is for emergency vehicles, fire trucks etc

 

It’s my understanding that Class 1 are required for emergency vehicles, but they can be used for other applications as well.

The information I found before I purchased mine said roughly:

Class 1 are for vehicles moving at the speed of traffic. Class 2 are for construction vehicles sitting stationary or working along the roadside as well as other applications such as pickup trucks plowing snow in parking lots, etc. Class 3 are for applications not relating to vehicles, such as warehouse forklifts, off-road ATVs, etc.

I don’t have the link to verify that info, but I’m sure you can find it on Google.

I figured that if I’m moving at the speed of highway traffic with an oversized load I should have Class 1 amber warning lights. That being said, I’m not sure if there are any states that specify the Class or “power” of your lights, only the distance they must be visible from in daylight and darkness.

I went with the brightest lights I could find. Better safe than sorry, in my opinion.

 

The thing I struggled with was deciding what would be the best all-around setup for 49 states and Canada. I couldn’t find any firm rules, and a lot of the information hasn’t been updated since the proliferation of LED lighting. For example, New York requires a beacon 6” in diameter with an amber bulb inside an amber lens. Obviously that’s not relevant with LEDs.

I went with two LED beacons on the sides of my truck and two on the deck of my trailer at the rear. That gives me 360 degree visibility, which makes everyone happy and gives me the confidence that my warning lights are visible from every angle.

Florida, for example, requires 360 degree visibility. That means that the warning lights installed next to the turn signals on the rear of the trailer aren’t legal there since you can’t see them if you’re standing alongside the trailer facing back. If you search TTR you’ll see plenty of posts where guys were given citations for not having the proper lighting on their trailers.

 

That's incorrect. I also use class 1 amber strobe lights. Some states require a designated size or class, not to say they really enforce it and alot of guys dont abid by it, however you're statement that says they are only for emergency vehicles is incorrect, you can to use them.

 

I forget the model number of the ones I have mounted on either side of my sleeper on the fairings, but they are made by this company & are very similar to the ones listed here. They do have a plastic base & have withstood the rigors of the road. They can be mounted on the mirror or like mine, on a stainless steel pedestal to the side of the truck.

http://www.vehiclesafetysupply.com/star-255-strobes-g-9616.html?cPath=1_15_926

I also have one of these mini light bars made by them, mounted on top of the sleeper. It is extremely bright & has held up well too.

LED Mini-Bar: 9018 Star Lightbar

 

Read his statement again, the word ONLY was not in there ... his statement was absolutely correct, and did not limit the use to solely those vehicles.

 

Oh yeah, what's you're point? I never said he said "ONLY" in his statement, did i?

The OP seems like a good person asking a question looking for a legitimate answer. No one berated him or tried starting an argument with him.

You seem like a crybaby that ONLY wants to start an argument over the word "ONLY".

Now, what was that point you were trying to make? And can you do it without crying?

 

Hello, I wanted to mount flashers on mirrors. I cannot mount flashers on mirrors if these flashers are too bright as they would blind me through the night. Hence I wanted something of limited but decent brightness and thus my question. In Illinois, the law says that they should be visible from 500 ft in daylight, which these flashers were until one burned out.

I bought led flashers from iowa80.com the day before.