LED trailer lights, and why I hate them

[Duck]

LED lights are bright, last a lot longer, and draw 1/10th as much power as regular bulbs.

They're also instant on/off and therefore are more noticeable when you've got your signals or 4-ways on. I do believe they add to safety on the road, when half the people around you are probably texting their "BFF" or screwing around with their GPS.

But the fact they don't produce heat angers me every winter.

Not so much on cars that are aerodynamic and have good wind flow over them, but on semi-trailers that are completely flat in the rear, (yes, even flatbeds) there's a suction or low pressure area back there & there's no wind blowing over the lights.

I've lost track of how many times I've stopped to make yellow snow during a blizzard & on my walk-around I've had to take my glove & knock the snow off those LED tail lights. Driving in snow, I see trucks with LED tail lights covered with snow all the time.

I only drove in snow once last winter, so I'm wondering if the industry has come up with a solution for that, or even addressed the issue.

The easiest solution I can think of would be a hybrid LED/incandescent light. (Or just using the cheap-ass conventional lights, but that wouldn't be "new and trendy" enough for some people.)

My idea is to use conventional incandescent bulbs for all lights on the rear of the trailer that are on steady, and only have the turn/brake lights be LEDs, which are embedded in the lens of a conventional tail light. The light from the incandescent can be seen right through the LEDs, and some LEDs can be lit too just for the hell of it. The heat from the regular bulb keeps the lens warm enough to melt off the snow. When you step on the brakes, you get the instant on/off flashing, and the benefit of the LEDs higher visibility too.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Here's a pic of the tail lights on a Utility trailer. That crap around the lights is probably there to protect the lights from when you back into a dock or something that ain't lining up with the rubber blocks. But it makes snow buildup even worse.

View attachment 6856

 

[Racer X 69]

. . . . . . . . so I'm wondering if the industry has come up with a solution for that, or even addressed the issue.

No they have not and they likely won't.

If they mix incandescent with LED in the same bulb housing the incandescent will burn out years before the LED's fail. Then you have a bulb that only half works, and have to throw the expensive LED part out.

I think using a coating on the lens that sheds the ice and snow would be a better solution.

 

[Marc Letourneau]

My grandfather said the same thing when we got the new tank trailer that had LED lights..

Actually it went like this "Those new LED lights are nice, And his reply was Yeah till it snows and you can't see the damn things". You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

 

[blackw900]

I like them and have never had much trouble with them in snow...I just brush them off every time I stop and do a walk around, The facty that they're so bright makes them visible right throught the snow buildup as long as you don't let it get too thick.

 

[DubbleD]

Any thoughts or opinions?

Here's a pic of the tail lights on a Utility trailer. That crap around the lights is probably there to protect the lights from when you back into a dock or something that ain't lining up with the rubber blocks. But it makes snow buildup even worse.

Exhaust extensions...

View attachment 17979

View attachment 17979

 

[Gased]

Totally off topic but those Utility Trailers are some of the best riding trailers I have ever pulled.

As for LEDs, they sure are purtty.

 

[Tazz]

Nothing from nothing but I have had conventional lights cover with snow as well. Frequent walk around's and De-Icer spray keep them clean for awhile.

Maybe some venting from the side exhausting between the lights?

 

[rebel]

I saw a pick up the other day in front of me and he had red LED's across the back right over the rear bumper.
He had it hooked up for brakes and turn signals. It looked like a red rope light, like you see in bars and stuff.
Pretty cool looking.

As far as melting the snow.......my first thought was exhaust also.
But maybe a long, flexible, sealed line that ran hot water/antifreeze thru it along the back of the trailer would work.
Either that, or just an overhang, deep enough to keep it clear. I dunno.

 

[Duck]

There's gotta be a simpler way to do it without modifications to the trailer for wind scoops, air ducts, etc.

Pulling over every 5 miles to sweep them off isn't acceptable. I have had them get covered with snow in less than 5 miles while driving in snow. And I mean when the snow is still falling. At night the LED light will penetrate the snow, up to maybe a one inch thick layer but not very well. In the daytime they're either totally blocked or obscured enough you have to actually be looking right at the tail lights to notice when the brake lights come on. I've been behind other trucks when their tail lights were blocked with snow.

A hybrid incandescent/LED tail light doesn't HAVE to be permanently sealed so you can't replace the incandescent bulb when it burns out.

 

[Marc Letourneau]

Heat tape inside the light boxes or housings..

 

[Tazz]

That would kind of kill the energy savings of an LED wouldn't it? Would it be on full time,hardly necessary in West Texas in August:eviltongue:

Still have the long life I suppose.


I agree Duck, just spit balling ideas. Figured alleviating the low pressure would throw the snow away instead of drag pulling it in. I was also thinking shaped lenses but wet snow particularly like that found around roads that are partially salted will stick to anything destroying the shape, negating the effectiveness.

I just don't think anyone will pay the extra expense of LED if any part of it will require changing more often like the hybrid you propose.

 

[Duck]

That would kind of kill the energy savings of an LED wouldn't it? Would it be on full time,hardly necessary in West Texas in August:eviltongue:

Still have the long life I suppose.


I agree Duck, just spit balling ideas. Figured alleviating the low pressure would throw the snow away instead of drag pulling it in. I was also thinking shaped lenses but wet snow particularly like that found around roads that are partially salted will stick to anything destroying the shape, negating the effectiveness.

I just don't think anyone will pay the extra expense of LED if any part of it will require changing more often like the hybrid you propose.

There really is no reason for LEDs if the only purpose is the lower current draw. It would only matter to somebody who intends to light up their trailer like it's part of the Las Vegas strip.

People choose them because they're brighter & more visible, and they last longer. Truck tail lights are typically sealed and you replace the entire thing, not just the bulb inside. It can be a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes getting them in and out of those rubber gasket things. If there was a removable socket so you can change the bulb, the same way you change a headlight (or a traditional incandescent car tail light) and it could be designed to be shielded from the elements to prevent electrical contact corrosion, it would be a better option than LEDs, at least for the tail lights that are on steady.

I just think the heat from conventional bulbs, on steady, since it will warm up the lens and melt the snow off, is a better way to go than LEDs. The turn/brake lights can still be LEDs, embedded in the lens, to provide nice, highly visible signaling and instant on/off flashing. And for the identifier lights, on the rear, they should just be regular plain old ordinary incandescent bulbs.

Side marker lights don't have the problem with snow buildup due to the wind, so LEDs are the better option there. (as long as you don't operate anywhere near the Mexico border where they'll get stolen)

 

[Tim]

There was talk at the Truck Show in Louisville last year about an LED light maker working on a LED light that would have a heat tape like strips in it much like a rear window defogger that would turn on at around 25 degrees.

Haven't heard anything else about it and I cant remember who it was that was working on it. May have been Grote.

 

[Racer X 69]

Truck tail lights are typically sealed and you replace the entire thing, not just the bulb inside. It can be a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes getting them in and out of those rubber gasket things. If there was a removable socket so you can change the bulb, the same way you change a headlight (or a traditional incandescent car tail light) and it could be designed to be shielded from the elements to prevent electrical contact corrosion, it would be a better option than LEDs, at least for the tail lights that are on steady.

The lighting on tractors and trailers used to be sockets and removable lenses but the sealed units replaced them because they are more resistant to the elements, and the bulbs are supported inside to isolate them from vibrations, ensuring longer life.

Going back to that type of replaceable bulb would be a giant step backwards.

 

[Les2]

IIRC they make a ring that goes around the light that is heated to help reduce buildup. It runs off the power to the light, you just take them off in the summer... Now that I think about it I know they make it, I've seen it on a trailer before.

The old seal beam light always had enough heat in them to melt snow. The biggest problem would be it dried the salt and road film to them and you would have to clean that off.

My Mac is horrible for covering the back end!

 

[Duck]

There was talk at the Truck Show in Louisville last year about an LED light maker working on a LED light that would have a heat tape like strips in it much like a rear window defogger that would turn on at around 25 degrees.

Haven't heard anything else about it and I cant remember who it was that was working on it. May have been Grote.

IIRC they make a ring that goes around the light that is heated to help reduce buildup. It runs off the power to the light, you just take them off in the summer... Now that I think about it I know they make it, I've seen it on a trailer before.

The old seal beam light always had enough heat in them to melt snow. The biggest problem would be it dried the salt and road film to them and you would have to clean that off.

My Mac is horrible for covering the back end!

Those two replies are exactly what I was looking for when I started this thread. I was wondering if that issue had ever been addressed by the industry & if any solutions had been developed.

The lighting on tractors and trailers used to be sockets and removable lenses but the sealed units replaced them because they are more resistant to the elements, and the bulbs are supported inside to isolate them from vibrations, ensuring longer life.

Going back to that type of replaceable bulb would be a giant step backwards.

LEDs are getting cheap these days. How about a sealed beam incandescent with LEDs embedded in the lens like I first suggested? When the incandescent element burns out, you throw the whole thing away & replace it? For the slight increase in cost due to the LEDs, you get the benefit of not having to pull over every 5 miles during a snow storm to sweep the snow off your tail lights.

 

[Micabay]

Heat tape inside the light boxes or housings..

How do you generate enough amperage to efficiently do this?

 

[Duck]

How do you generate enough amperage to efficiently do this?

It wouldn't take that much juice to do that with a few tail light lenses. Consider the fact the electric defroster grid on a car's rear window is on a 30 amp fuse and covers a MUCH bigger surface area than a few truck tail lights.

 

[Micabay]

It wouldn't take that much juice to do that with a few tail light lenses. Consider the fact the electric defroster grid on a car's rear window is on a 30 amp fuse and covers a MUCH bigger surface area than a few truck tail lights.

Also it is much farther away from the source of electricity causing the resistance to increase. Which means more amperage needed to do the same task... Now how much more resistance, I don't remember the formula which widely depends on the gauge of wire used too. Bigger the gauge, the more cost... Copper doesn't just grow on trees ya know.

 

[rebel]

I like the heat strip/tape idea.

Besides it looking really cool, that truck I saw the other day with the rope light set up was really attention getting.