CHP assembly line

shues

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
10,276
NW Indiana
This photo reminded me of an old thread that I'm struggling to find. I remember reading that seven forward-facing lightheads were required by the CHP.

CHP-31-__-1045x784-a.jpg
 

CrownVic97

Member
May 21, 2010
3,350
Hazen, ND
Look on the work bench....old Vision domes serving as hardware bins :p.
CHP-21-__-1045x784-a.jpg
 

pdk9

Member
May 26, 2010
3,834
New York & Florida
Cool look into their shop.
I’m way more of a fan of the former front setup with an inboard TD in the center and MR11’s on the ends, though, than this setup (looks like linz6’s on the ends)
 

John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
I love the CHP, but their upfits are crap. Not surprising since they're done in house.

I know I paid a good $5,000 more for my recent builds. But I got a bargain at twice the price for the quality and consistency I got.
 

pdk9

Member
May 26, 2010
3,834
New York & Florida
What’s wrong with their shop & quality? The harnesses look decent and the mounting looks clean in the brief look I got. Although the lin6’s are older lights (I still prefer them over ions for the mirrorbeams), I might upgrade the Libby to Legacy and PB mounted raiders to M-series. Nothing horrible about their lighting setups though IMO.

Their upfit shop is doing a way better job than my dept’s....at least CHP isn’t running TIR3’s or overusing clear. Until a few months ago, my dept’s fleet maintenance was still buying/installing TIR3’s for grill, rear, & running board lights on brand new Tahoes and SuperDuty supervisor vehicles, & the director of fleet mgmt decided on his own that he was gonna start spec-ing Chief/Supervisor vehicle’s with all-white legacy lightbars “cuz clear is bright” (that didn’t last long though b/c every vehicle got sent back, rightfully so, to be equipped with red emergency lights instead)
 
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John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
They aren't terrible, I've seen worse of course, but a few qualms I have is they should be going to SOS for the BluPrint system, the advantages it offers are worth the cost. And I'm not even a huge fan of the nForce light bar, but the system as a whole is top notch.

I also don't like the intersector lights on the pushbar being on the inside. It completely blocks their view to the side. They should be mounted on the outside of the push bar.

Lastly, and I get this is mostly just OCD and preference, but passenger side mirrors and push bar lights should be blue.
 

pdk9

Member
May 26, 2010
3,834
New York & Florida
They aren't terrible, I've seen worse of course, but a few qualms I have is they should be going to SOS for the BluPrint system, the advantages it offers are worth the cost. And I'm not even a huge fan of the nForce light bar, but the system as a whole is top notch.

I also don't like the intersector lights on the pushbar being on the inside. It completely blocks their view to the side. They should be mounted on the outside of the push bar.

Lastly, and I get this is mostly just OCD and preference, but passenger side mirrors and push bar lights should be blue.

I like SOS too, but they’ve been a Whelen dept for ages, and I’m sure they can do great things with carbide if they just had someone knowledgeable about the available technologies out there to give direction. My fire dept has a similar problem where we have ppl on apparatus committees that don’t know about lighting technologies/programming capabilities and don’t upgrade the specs for each new batch of rigs that we buy (typically 1/2 dozen at a time), so we still TIR6 and 400 series for lower perimeter warning (instead of M4/M6 to match the upper level M9’s) & halogen scene lights on brand new rescues/ambulances.

I would like to see intersection lighting (ie M4’s) on the outside of the PB’s too, but I believe the rationale for CHP having the PB lights inside and angled is to protect them from damage (if they do a PIT maneuver or dent the PB some other way). Not saying I agree with it, though.

Personally, I’m not a fan of having vehicles split to being all color 1 on one side and all color 2 on the other side, since red and blue each have their own pros/cons (ie red more noticeable in day, blue more noticeable at night). I like a mix of red/blue on both sides, and it’s obviously even easier to do these days with all the duo technology out there
 

John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
Carbide is decent, and they use it to its capability, but it isn't nearly as advanced as BluPrint.

The amount of time they've been with a company in my opinion shouldn't have anything to do with the choice to stay with that company. Companies are constantly innovating, and we should be constantly re-evaluating. If anything, I imagine SOS would give them a significant price reduction considering the amount of vehicles, and the opportunity to take that market share from Whelen.

I think you're right about the light placement on the pushbars. Still stupid.

I get what you're saying with the red/blue, but the OCD in me just doesn't like it.
 

pdk9

Member
May 26, 2010
3,834
New York & Florida
Oh I agree for sure that time with a company shouldn’t mean anything; I was just assuming that it’s the reason why they're still with Whelen. IMO even if they stay with Whelen, it’s time to upgrade their lighting package
 

John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
I agree. They're probably so big that the guy making the decisions either hasn't ever driven a cop car, or surely hasn't driven one in a decade or two. The Legacy would be a nice upgrade.
 

pdk9

Member
May 26, 2010
3,834
New York & Florida
I agree. They're probably so big that the guy making the decisions either hasn't ever driven a cop car, or surely hasn't driven one in a decade or two. The Legacy would be a nice upgrade.

That’s our head of fleet mgmt lol....I believe he used to manage fleet for one of the major utility companies before coming to us years ago. Instead of listening to NFPA 1901 for lighting, he just uses the argument that it doesn’t apply to SUV/utility vehicles and does what he wants without logical reasons. He has way too much influence over our apparatus committees too....he’s never been a FF or paramedic, but he loves shooting down recommendations of guys on the committee that have been driving out vehicles for 20+ years

Ignoring the insane improvement in brightness of the legacy from the Liberty I, I’m sure there would be a slight improvement in fuel economy (although minor) that could help justify the upgrade, especially a busy highway LE dept like CHP
 

John Smith

Member
Oct 19, 2010
304
CO, US
You're absolutely right about the economy increase. And I know they don't care about petty things like Officer comfort, but overhead bars, moreso the big ones, are incredibly loud, and they shake at speed. They are also more expensive than a similarly equipped interior setup (Though obviously more effective). Lastly, it hurts resale having s hole drilled in the roof.

The noise is the biggest reason all 4 of our new cars are slicktops, but it doesn't hurt that it was cheaper. Even when we added under mirror lights, a 3rd window side light, running board lights, 4 pushbar lights, and some lights on the rear hatch, it was still cheaper than a dual color nForce bar.
 

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