Command Light - Light Towers - Thoughts on the equipment

[RecElect]

SO,


I know it is just a light tower but I am looking to get peoples input on the CommandLight - light towers. We are in the same county that these things are built and the local market is inundated with them, so to me, the command light is popular. What I want to know is if that extends across the country. SO Do you like them, hate them, have issues, have one that is bulletproof, what you think of their speed, brightness, cost, etc...


If you have used both a wilburt tower and a command light, I would like to know which one you like better and why.


If you have ever had any sort of issue with one I would like to know what the issue was, and how their warranty department was.


I am not looking for how each of the competing light towers work, I am really looking for input on real world experience using them, buying them, fixing them, and options you can get with them.


We are working on a project where any input about these light towers can help us make a few decisions.


Thanks!


Here are some action shots from a wreck last night where they had an LED version up and lighting the scene.

 

[tvsjr]

The downside to the Command Lights is they have a lot of moving parts. One of our neighboring departments has one on an engine... it's gotten stuck up (requiring manual intervention to lower it) on more than one occasion. That said, they aren't known for doing great preventative maintenance.


Fort Worth is running Command Lights AFAIK, and they have them literally on everything. From bat chief rides up to engines, ladders, and squads. Their night scenes look like the surface of the sun. It's great for scene safety. They also have their own dedicated shop and likely do good PM.


Will-Burt has been in the business for a long time doing masts for news vehicles. Their products are largely bullet-proof - again, if you PM them. Neglect them and you'll start having problems with seals, etc.


Make sure you know how to conduct inspections/PMs on whatever light you go with, and ensure that you have procedures in place to perform those tasks on a periodic basis.

 

[Shawn L]

they don't seem to be very popular in the pacific northwest, I haven't seen one in my travels.

 

[RecElect]

they don't seem to be very popular in the pacific northwest, I haven't seen one in my travels.

What do you see? More willburts or something else?

 

[kinnelonfire75]

We have a command light (I think it's a command light). We like it. When we bought our new rescue we moved it from the rescue it was replacing. Its not based in my firehouse so I don't know much about the maintenance aspect of it, however, I haven't heard much complaining about it and it has been with us for many years. Hope that helps.

 

[Zapp Brannigan]

I haven't seen too many Command lights up this way, more Will-Burts. Was always happy with Will-Burt lights.

 

[tvsjr]

And it's the opposite down here. More command lights, less Will-Burts.

 

[Jamey@NNE]

I don't think I've seen anything other than the old havis/fire research lights on pole mounts. Now pioneers and rigid are hitting the area.

 

[rettoded]

I will start by saying that I do not have any experience with the Command Light towers, only with Will-Burt products. They have always provided great lighting coverage. That being said I have not always been a fan, and here is my experience with my former department:


Back in 2008, my former department was designing a command SUV. It was decided to add a Night Scan Chief, which would be a first for this department. The SUV was built by Odyssey and delivered in March of 2009 (Utility 55). When it was delivered we were eager to see the tower in action, and were impressed at it's ease of use, and it's light output. However, some issues were noted.


To some of us, it seemed as if the tower was crooked when it was up, and lead to several discussions:


"Hey, the light tower looks crooked."


"No, that's just the way the picture is."


"But it still looks crooked in person."


"Your head is crooked."


(Friendly fight ensued).


Even if it was a bit off, it was working fine. That was until about 2 months later. While on the scene of a water rescue/search, the light tower was deployed and functioned fine for several hours. However, all of a sudden it shut off, and the top mast section came down. An error code number (19) flashed on the screen. We recorded this, and consulted the manual, however no error code 19 could be found. Several more tests were conducted by running the tower for a while, but we could not replicate this code or malfunction. The truck had to go back to Odyssey for some other work, so we asked them to check the tower. No issues were found.


This malfunction would pop up every so often, but the tower could be put back in operation with no issues. Then we started having bulbs flicker. Eventually 1 of the light tower bulbs blew out and was replaced. The flickering however came back, and so did the random tower shutdowns. Over the course of several months, both Odyssey and Will-Burt were contacted. Odyssey looked at it again, but could not find the issue. Will-Burt directed us to the the local "dealer" (a local radio/install shop that has done some not so impressive installs). They messed around with it but could not find any issues. Over a 2 year period, and much cursing by many of us, these issues persisted. I will admit I bad mouthed Will-Burt because of these issues, and the seemingly lack of customer support.


I did move away from the area and this department, but was still friends with the chief. One afternoon, I popped in to say hello. I was surprised to see a truck from Will-Burt to be at the station. I chatted with the chief who explained what was going on. After so much trouble with Odyssey and the "dealer", Will-Burt wanted to see the issue for themselves. Several problems were found, the most major being:


1. The tower was NOT leveled when it was installed. So it was not an illusion, it really was crooked when erect (hehe).


2. The wiring calls for 2 main power feeds: 1 for the compressor and electronics to run the tower, and 1 for the lights themselves (I may have this wrong, as I cannot exactly recall what each power feed was for, only that it requires 2). Only 1 feed was installed...


Will-Burt leveled the tower, properly wired it, and fixed a few other issues. My former department has had no further issues since it was fixed.


While I recognize this is a rather long post, I wanted to pass along a personal experience. I wanted to apologize to Will-Burt as I had previously bad mouthed them and their product for so many issues. It took a little while, but they did make it right. I am also still disappointed with Odyssey. They have been presented as the cream of the crop for installs, but this whole fiasco really made me look differently on them. While this might be an isolated incident (perhaps the shop was overwhelmed with work due to up-fitting all of these trucks at the same time.), it was very frustrating with how hard it was to work to get this issue fixed.

 

[Shawn L]

What do you see? More willburts or something else?

mainly the standard manually operated pole lights no "light towers" that I recall.