FEVER Installs: 2015 Ford Escape

Carlos SpicyWeiner

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 3, 2012
5,233
Lakeland, Florida
So I've never really posted any of our installs here before. Typically most users just complain and there are so many things that are out of our control. If I could, we'd do impressive installs on every vehicle but that is simply not possible. We educate our customers about basics in warning. Often times they make their decisions based on their own desires and budget.

This was a bid we won that was just for four hide-a-ways. Customer wanted Whelen Vertex but we came in about $200 cheaper per vehicle. They called up after the bids were tabulated and asked if I could do a conference call to go over the product. I told them I'd rather drive the hour and a half to sit down with them and show them in person.

Once the meeting was underway they asked my overall opinion of their desire to just put the white hide-a-ways in four corners with a switch on the dash. I gave them my honest opinion and told them they'd get more bang for their buck by properly using a surface mounted light instead of a hide-a-way and showed them our demonstration vehicle to point out the Feniex T3. Needless to say they got the visual difference.

I also instructed them on the importance of having at least some Amber in their setup and suggested using split amber/white hide-a-ways to avoid them having to do the bid all over again. They were unsure of the setup they wanted and asked what I would do with a limited budget.

I gave them a few options. They were still only able to buy the four hide-a-ways on that bid so they brought one to us. We threw in the T3's for free on the first one so they would see it in person. They came away impressed and were able to do a change order on the bid if I was able to include the additional equipment and still under the next competitor.

This video is the first one of the group. They have since requested some changes to the front:
1 - They wanted the Cannon 360's in the front because their fleet manager felt the Whelen Vertex would have performed better in the light housing because it would fill the housing better. I DID test both versions of Cannon in the light housing prior to doing this install. I observed no noticeable difference in performance and told them they should save the $10 per light.

2 - They took my advice to move the hide-a-way from the low beam (outer) headlight section to the high beam (inner) headlight section. They wanted something on the extreme corners because I told them they should "Frame" the vehicle previously. The front was an exception because they are required to always have their lights on if the vehicle is running. I wanted it to not be washed out as much by being in the exact same section. It does "pop" better on the newer installs. I'll try to get video of those soon.

They did really like the placement of the switches for better visibility to the driver though. Much better than being down by the lower kick panel where they've always had them done.

Overall not a bad budget install though for under $500.

 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
Less is more sometimes. Good suggestions for the buyer and nice clean look.
 
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NEB

Member
Oct 8, 2015
275
NE
Looks good. Does one of the switches activate the work light mode or is it tied into one of the vehicles system's?
 

Carlos SpicyWeiner

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 3, 2012
5,233
Lakeland, Florida
Looks good. Does one of the switches activate the work light mode or is it tied into one of the vehicles system's?
the right switch is for the work lights. They didn't want the reverse hooked up to like we normally do. The reverse lights on the escape are on the tail gate but we could have made it work
 

Sparky_911

Supporting Donor
May 15, 2013
2,648
Central Illinois
Simple, clean, effective. That looks great for a budget install. FEVER never dissapoints.
 
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MontyMike

New Member
Nov 14, 2016
12
Louisville, KY
Looks clean and simple. How did you get the T3's to sync up to the dual color cannons? (assuming dual colors - it's hard to tell the colors in the rear)
 

Carlos SpicyWeiner

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 3, 2012
5,233
Lakeland, Florida
simply find one of the patterns that sync and hook the sync wire up.
 
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Carlos SpicyWeiner

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 3, 2012
5,233
Lakeland, Florida
It's on all of the packaging. Pretty much just connecting the sync wire once you find the exact same pattern.
 

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