I have a 2016 F-150 SuperCrew that I am looking to setup with a Amber/White setup for roadside assistance and that leads me to ask a few questions from the wealth of knowledge and wide variety of experiences that reside here in the forums. While I want to do the project right there are several questions I would like to get other members' opinion on:
- What brands are the best bang for buck when it comes to LEDs and Controllers?
- What layouts and angles (eg. 40 vs 180) are most effective for stationary warning?
- Do I need to look for an upfitter/installer or should I DIY the install?
- Is there anything to avoid in the upfitting process, especially specific to the f-150?
I’m personally a Whelen guy, but I think that the 2 best bang for your buck are Feniex & Sound off.
For a controller, the Feniex 4200 mini is one of the best all around and is only $100 bucks. Lots of programming options, rugged, & can mount anywhere.
Generally, for exterior surface mount lights, I recommend linear/180 degree optics because you get a better spread at all angles, while the
TIR/40 degree optics don’t have that “punch” unless you’re looking head-on at them. However, if going through tint (ie rear headliner), the
TIR/40 degree optic is typically what I recommend since the alternative 180 optics don’t “punch” through as well.
For dual function/dual color lights, I would have to go with the
SOS Mpower (which I think is a bit brighter) over the Fusion. One of the biggest pros of the Mpower is how freakin thin it is (half as thick as the fusion, which looks a little bulky when surface mounted, IMHO), so you can literally mount them anywhere. ie instead of having lights mounted on a rear
LP bracket, you can horizontally mount 2-4 Mpower beneath the tailgate. They’re also a bit more rugged (silicone lense), and I think that being thinner/more low profile means they’re less likely to be banged into.
I think that minimal front & side warning is sufficient, since road side assistance & construction vehicles mostly just rely on their rear warning (very rarely do they park perpendicular to traffic or head-on into oncoming traffic)....full frontal interior lightbar & full rocker panel bar seem a bit much & unnecessary
IMO.
FRONT: don’t go with anymore grill lighting....I think that more than 4 ligtheads in a Grill (even if it’s a mix of warning & flood lighting) looks tacky. Mount 2-4 dual color Mpower/fusion in the upper grill (flash amber and have clear for steadyburn). Instead of spacing them out in the grill as your diagram has them, I’d mount them in a straight line so that it looks like you have 2 large grill lights instead of 4 smaller one (it makes for a more powerful overall footprint from a distance). Maybe throw something on the dash too, & call it a day
SIDE:
I’m not a huge fan of rocker panel lighting as your primary side warning since it’s so down low & they’re so expensive. Personally, I prefer mid level lighting like
SOS intersectors mounted under the side mirrors & maybe something mounted on the side of a tool box in the bed (IF you have a tool box) and call it a day
REAR: this is your bread and butter right here (as a roadside assistance vehicle), so this is where you should focus. Do not flash clear to the rear (limit it to amber cuz clear is blinding at night). An 8-head lightstick in all amber on the upper headliner and some lower level warning beneath the tailgate is usually sufficient (if you can, horizontally mount the lower warning, because the spread on any lightheaded is usually better that way than vertically mounted). Another option is getting dual color amber/clear cannons to replace the reverse light bulb (flash amber, steady burn clear for reverse). If on a limited budget, LAWs like cannons are usually the first item that I ax b/c I think that surface mounts give you more bang for your buck than LAWs