Greetings guys. My agency wants to use Feniex for one of our new 2019 Tahoe AWDs. We have everything figured out accept the back of the rigs. Historically we've used the Whelen Outer Edges which work well for any time the tailgate is open. The Feniex LB is very low profile, so I need to get aux lighting to the back of the vehicle what doesn't get covered or realigned once the tailgate is opened. I need ideas and suggestions. Do the Cannons work well in the Tahoe taillights? Can you recess the Fusions in the interior trim so they come on when the gate is open? Any help with this is greatly appreciated!
I wouldn’t go too crazy with a lot of warning lights intended for when the rear lift gate is open. Yes, I definitely think they’re important, BUT if you’re doing a lot of reaching into the rear of your vehicle (with you back to traffic and no other EV behind you), then you should probably reposition your vehicle for your safety ;-)
Yes, you can recess the fusions and cannons under the tailgate, but I prefer the larger footprint of a fusion (preferably the wide angle 180 optic).
This is just my opinion, but the newer gen Tahoe brake/turn lights are not ideal for mounting LAWs b/c there isn’t a good place to mount the cannon where it truly fills up the reflector (due to the design of the current housings), unlike older designs where there was a lot more open space and reflector surface area to reflect the LAWs off of. We have LAWs mounted in all of our Battalion chief tahoe brake/turn lights, and they are pretty weak
IMO. The reverse tail lights are a smaller housing than what I’d prefer to mount LAWs in. That being said, if I’m gonna mount LAWs anywhere in the rear, the only place I would mount LAWs in the newer Tahoe’s is in the tail lights by replacing the reverse light bulb with dual color cannons (clear for reverse, safety color for warning) because they seem to fill the entire housing with their footprint when flashing.
Some other food for thought....u can mount T3’s in the trailer hitch area and you can mount cannons on the vertical rear pillars like a poor man’s vertical outer edge (if you insert them from behind the pillar, then they’re less conspicuous since they don’t require the surface mount flange on the outside). These are just ideas for you from what I’ve seen, but I personally hate surface mounting LAWs and think it’s often a waste (unless it’s a super covert unmarked vehicle, which this does not sound like)
When spec-ing lights, I would use linear optics for ALL exterior mounted lights (lightbar and perimeter warning), such as the 180 fusion optic and widelux), and use
TIR 40 degree optic for all interior mounted lights that are mounted behind tint (rear headliner, rear side window, etc). Also, the overwhelming majority of our members here will agree that you should avoid flashing clear/white to the rear because it’s blinding at night....stick to the traditional safety colors for rear warning (blue, red, amber). Feel free to PM me if I can be of any help