N00b failure- Need advice on wiring a dumptruck.

[kadetklapp]

Ok, I've been tasked with installing some effective lighting on the town I work for's snow plow. It's a 92 Chevy 3500 dump. It's rustier than a Greek freighter and it's only source of warning is a single strobe beacon, which doesn't always work. :?


Lightbar will be placed on the top of the dump bend on the overhang. It is a 60 inch MX-7000 take-off from a wrecker. The lightbar was basically destroyed, save a couple of domes and the frame. I'll be rebuilding it using spare parts. The plan is four rotators on top. Along the bottom I plan on a row of takedowns. On the back will be a pair of worklights and maybe a pair of flashers or stop/turn/tail.


I'm thinking I will have to "junction" the wires up near the lightbar. Being as this is a dump bed, I have to run wire clear to the back from the bar, safely hinge the harness, and then run it back the length of the truck to the cab. I've never done this before on a truck, so I'm a little nervous about it. I don't want the lights shorting out.

 

[Jarred J.]

um ok so why not just mount it and leave a tail long enough for when it reaches the height that the bed can acheive that the harness just extends? seems like it would be unneccassry to run 40 feet of lightbar cable when 10 could do it?


have you thought of coiled cord? like a semi's trailer wiring?


You said its an older truck just ghettofy it. :lol:

 

[kadetklapp]

um ok so why not just mount it and leave a tail long enough for when it reaches the height that the bed can acheive that the harness just extends? seems like it would be unneccassry to run 40 feet of lightbar cable when 10 could do it?

have you thought of coiled cord? like a semi's trailer wiring?


You said its an older truck just ghettofy it. :lol:

Well I hadn't thought of that. I guess it wouldn't hurt anything to try. Coiled semi cord might be an idea.


Here's an example. Little salty though. Not sure what they will think of that.

 

[pondfly]

I ran them down the bed frame and then left about 4-6" extra at the hinge point with a slight coil to permit the movement of the bed. Yes, it's a long run, but it's the safest route to go.

 

[JHEATHJR]

Why the dump bed??? Why not the cab where it will be safe(er) from damage?


The ""Operators"" may not treat the box so well. they will Drop the box hard to the frame at times, dump rocks/concrete and such in it hard, tree limbs, Etc.Etc.


A Strobe or LED Beacon (and cage) on the cab and a pair of Strobe or LED boxed (for protection) lights on the rear works just fine.


I think you will end up having a problem with the long run of wire (and AMP's needed) for the light bar going from the cab, to the rear of the box, and back up to the front and top of the dump.


My idea, Keep the MX, put it on the cab and just use 2 outboard lights and diamond mirror (or trade diamond mirrors with someone with the cascade mirrors, unless it already has them as it is/was a tow truck light bar)


and have a simple oval box


http://www.awdirect.com/truck-light-mou ... -cabinets/


http://www.awdirect.com/polyethylene-mo ... -cabinets/


http://www.awdirect.com/double-faced-mo ... -cabinets/


on each rear side for oval LED (LED is my choice as it just needs a Power wire, You can Sync it if you want to run 2 wires)


less trouble, less wiring, will be easy to service and will stand up to Harsh Treatment.

 

[DaveCN5]

DO NOT leave the wires hanging from the top of the dump bed. As you said, it's a plow truck for a municipality. This means they are going to be putting down salt/sand. As the bed gets empty, they are going to have to raise the bed, while moving. This wind resistance will cause the cord to go underneath the box and when put down the wires will get pinched or cut off. And if they are using a Calcium Chloride mix, it will literally eat through the wires (it can shrink shoes by 3-4 sizes in a day). However, it is a good idea to keep the lightbar on the overhang for this reason, even with the dump bed raised, you will be able to see the truck from 360 degrees.


When installing, just raise the dump bed, put the safety bar in to keep it from coming down on you and just make the long run down the frame of the bed to the factory wiring harness. It's the safest bet.

 

[kitn1mcc]

i am not a fan of bars on dump trucks. they are silly and useless


beacons are the way to go





http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d20/k ... ge%200801/





http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d20/k ... /?start=20





http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d20/k ... CCM%20111/





http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d20/kitn1mcc/cccm107/

 

[pondfly]

When installing, just raise the dump bed, put the safety bar in to keep it from coming down on you and just make the long run down the frame of the bed to the factory wiring harness. It's the safest bet.

I can't begin enough to stress this point, that is what nearly killed me and put me into my position I'm in now.


For the others trying to tell the OP to change things, he's been given something and he's got to work with it. Sometimes you're dealt a bad hand, but you still have to play your cards.

 

[usdemt]

Watch for pinch points and also dont forget to pay close attention to what amperage you are running that beast at. By the time you get from the switch box all the way to the end of the bed and back its going to be a hefty run and you will more than likely have to have heavier gauge wire to handle the length.

 

[Shawn L]

here is a truck i did for my self, the bed got raised from time to time but it was mainly a city truck for me to work out of in town, not the best incident response truck but it worked for a while it was a loaded 58 inch mx7000, it was visible, it had 6 h/s rotators, 2 front flashers (amber) 4 front flashers, (red) flashing take downs, intersection sweeps and alley light, in the rear it had an 8 light arrowstick and 2 red rear flashers the clear outboard domes hadnt showed up when I got the truck done so it rolled out of the shop with the cruddy looking amber domes, under the bed by the mudflasps we installed 4 semi truck style led lights, they were wired to a sho-me flasher and they worked great , not the brightest lights but when one got smashed due to the nature of where they were located we didn't get much grief over the damage, the lights cost 11.00 in the end after we bought a bunch in bulk. the front of the truck had a red dual predator, and front corner strobes and a headlight flasher. to do it right you will need to run the cable like you had mentioned, its not hard, just a little extra work.. we do all of our trucks at work this way. its the only way to go, I generaly use a semi truck style weather proof junction box mounted at the rear frame crossmamber, the wires come from the cab to that and then up to the lightbar, makes the swaps and stuff alot easier.


the lightbar cant go on the cab, cause generally the cab guard sits above the cab, and like stated some times for sanding / salting the bed must be lifted, we use all in bed conveyor fed drop in sanders so the bed cant be lifted, but mounting the lights o the top of the cab guard gives the best visibility

 

[JohnMarcson]

Even if it's all he has, it's the wrong equipment for the job. A good halogen rotator or min bar can be had for under $100 and will be a better fit and require a smaller cable. He could also cut down the MX.... but a 60" lightbar on a dump bed is not a good fit.

 

[kadetklapp]

The bar is what it is. It's too big for the cab and it's not visible from 360* in that spot. I already tried. I was going to mount a 42" MX on the cab, but that still left the problem of no rear warning. Also, this guy wanted to mount lights on the overhang so when he was just plowing, he could see. I can integrate everything into this bar without a bunch of light heads hanging around to get knocked off. Can also put work lights to the rear of the bar to keep an eye on the spreader and the salt bed. The good thing about the 60" frame is that I can mount the work lights FURTHER out toward the edge of the truck. When he plows, he plows almost strictly at night (small town) so he can see into the corners real well with this set up. I had an MX7000 on my '79 Scottsdale 4x4 plow truck. I removed the intersectors and installed alley lights along the entire bottom front and into the corners. I could see everything I needed to before I had to make a turn plowing in the dark.


I might still go the coil cord route. The reason is that he doesn't really raise the bed much and if he did, it wouldn't be very high. I think I can tuck it up out of the way of the frame rail.


*ETA* This truck is strictly a snow plow with a salt bed. No magnesium or any of that nasty stuff. Like I said, the truck is a PILE of crap. Only 70,000 miles but I can see thru the floorboards, and the bed is rustier than a locomotive. This is not a candidate for LED lights and light cabinets.