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08-31-2015, 06:34 PM
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#1
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: WA
Posts: 31
Year: 1997
Chassis: International 3800 AmTran (wish it was a TransAm)
Engine: DT466E
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Anyone modified the flashing safety lights into something cool?
The school district I bought from removed the switch for the flashing safety lights at the top of the bus and painted over them with black so as of now they are useless.
I am interested in turning the lights in the front of the bus into an extra set of off-road lights (e.g. something like this).
Does anyone have any experience with modifying these in any way? Is it safe to remove the alternator-thing that makes them flash instead of staying on permanently? Anyone done anything cool at all with them?
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08-31-2015, 07:33 PM
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#2
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Moderator
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NUNYA
Posts: 4,236
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: 3800
Engine: DT408, AT545
Rated Cap: 23 500 gvw
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Having off-road lights isn't illegal but in some states they must be covered while on the road like California.
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08-31-2015, 07:52 PM
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#3
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: New Hampshire
Posts: 218
Year: 2001
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: MVP ER
Engine: Cat 3126b 210 HP 605 ftlbs
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I am thinking of doing the same thing, maybe some LED's round 6'' offroad.
two in the front and two in the back. The back I will put on dimmers. think it will work in theory. It would be nice to have the front ones on some backroads.
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09-01-2015, 12:27 AM
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#4
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Stony Plain Alberta Canada
Posts: 2,937
Year: 1992
Coachwork: Bluebird
Chassis: TC2000 FE
Engine: 190hp 5.9 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
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Your better off sealing them up. They allow moisture to get into the forehead of the bus when driving in rain.
6 inch light bars are a better bet if you want light. They surface mount, so there is no water infiltration.
Nat
__________________
"Don't argue with stupid people. They will just drag you down to their level, and beat you up with experience."
Patently waiting for the apocalypses to level the playing field in this physiological game of life commonly known as Civilization
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09-01-2015, 06:20 AM
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#5
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Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 100
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nat_ster
Your better off sealing them up. They allow moisture to get into the forehead of the bus when driving in rain.
6 inch light bars are a better bet if you want light. They surface mount, so there is no water infiltration.
Nat
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And they can be stealthily mounted in the radiator grill in the front (less police attention).
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09-01-2015, 09:14 AM
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#6
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: MNT CITY TN
Posts: 5,158
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you also dont want lights above if you have a windshield...even with shields the glare is horrible
Most states have light laws governing they must be covered if above xyz (it used to be 54 inches to the center in VA)
__________________
Our build La Tortuga
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
George S. Patton
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09-01-2015, 06:55 PM
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#7
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: WA
Posts: 31
Year: 1997
Chassis: International 3800 AmTran (wish it was a TransAm)
Engine: DT466E
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Yeah, here in WA they must be covered. I think I am going to follow some other threads' advice and use some old sheet metal to cover them up. If anything, I'll do a light bar. like nat__ster recommended. Thanks!
The stock lights on my bus are just so bad lol. They barely provide illumination. I was hoping to have a little extra for darker roads when I am alone.
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09-01-2015, 08:03 PM
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#8
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: ...little north of Toronto Ontario
Posts: 606
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Thomsass
Chassis: FreightShaker
Engine: 5.9 Cummins 5 speed
Rated Cap: 2 ATV's and friends
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Thought about putting in head lights as well. Was going to graft in a couple of 5" round head lights from a two lamp system so I had the adjustment screws for aiming....could use high or low beam bulb.....but as mentioned, keeping the rain out will be tricky....it already has rain/water damage from leaking.
May just fill....
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09-01-2015, 08:06 PM
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#9
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Arkansas (For Now)
Posts: 26
Year: 2001
Chassis: Thomas
Engine: 3126b CAT
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We had the paint shop leave the holes on the top of our bus and I'm going to be mounting offroad lights in them: http://www.naturalstatenomads.com/wp.../09/ourbus.jpg
I'm hoping it looks pretty sweet when it's all said and done.
__________________
The adventures of two full-time travelers from the Natural State, living in a bus and exploring life, one road at a time.
Follow along at: www.naturalstatenomads.com
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09-01-2015, 08:34 PM
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#10
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Montana
Posts: 1,626
Year: 1995
Coachwork: Blue Bird
Chassis: All-American R/E
Engine: 8.3 Cummins
Rated Cap: 72
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REDD
Thought about putting in head lights as well. Was going to graft in a couple of 5" round head lights from a two lamp system so I had the adjustment screws for aiming....could use high or low beam bulb.....but as mentioned, keeping the rain out will be tricky....it already has rain/water damage from leaking.
May just fill....
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Get hold of Daniel - Daniel Stern Lighting Consultancy and Supply
He'll give you some effective ideas for headlamps.
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09-02-2015, 03:10 PM
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#11
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Bus Nut
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: ...little north of Toronto Ontario
Posts: 606
Year: 2000
Coachwork: Thomsass
Chassis: FreightShaker
Engine: 5.9 Cummins 5 speed
Rated Cap: 2 ATV's and friends
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Quote:
Originally Posted by opus
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Well that's bizarre, my old man was top salesman for CIBIE in British Columbia in the 70's, he/we got transferred out to Ontario in '75 to bigger territory. A few years later they screw him so he quit. A very good product.
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09-04-2015, 06:44 PM
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#12
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: central texas
Posts: 170
Year: 1990
Coachwork: Thomas/International
Chassis: 3700
Engine: 7.3
Rated Cap: 72
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I have 2 of the lights on the front and back of my bus with clear lenses, the ones on the front do put a lot of glare on the hood, if you do it you will want to put some type of bracket under the lights so they dont shine on the hood.
Even if you dont use the built in lights you can still use the wires and switch to power other types of lights or bars, just dont put too much power down the wires, the original bulbs probably took 60 to 80 watts.
__________________
my bus thread, https://www.skoolie.net/forums/showthread.php?t=8860&highlight=bubb
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02-12-2016, 11:32 AM
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#13
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Skoolie
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: onboard
Posts: 235
Year: 97
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: BadMuthaFuka
Engine: Cummins 5.9
Rated Cap: All of us
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how do you make them stay on instead of flash in the flash pattern? will just a new switch take care of it or do i have to change something?
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02-12-2016, 01:17 PM
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#14
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: EHT New Jersey
Posts: 1,134
Year: 2003
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: International 3000RE
Engine: T444E/AT545
Rated Cap: 75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jester
how do you make them stay on instead of flash in the flash pattern? will just a new switch take care of it or do i have to change something?
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Rewire them into the brake and turn signals
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02-12-2016, 03:23 PM
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#15
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Mini-Skoolie
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Belgrade, MT
Posts: 65
Year: 1999
Coachwork: AmTran
Chassis: International
Engine: DT466E International
Rated Cap: 72
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Per the State Patrol here in Wisconsin, the upper flashing lights have to be removed, not just covered or disconnected. I asked if I could re-wire them to be "extra" driving and turn lights, and the inspector was quite excited about this idea, since "more lights are safer". I just wired them into the relevant circuits: red for driving, amber for turn. Of course, this thread reminded me that I didn't re-connect the red and amber upper lights in the front of the bus...guess I'll do that as soon as the temps are above single digits again and I feel like working outside ;)
As for getting rid of the "flash pattern", I removed the whole eight-function flasher device and wired the lights directly to their respective terminals in the buss panel.
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02-12-2016, 03:43 PM
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#16
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Salt Lake City Utah
Posts: 1,635
Year: 2000
Chassis: Blue Bird
Engine: ISC 8.3
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FYI: many places restrict red lamps facing forward. I presume it's because of the potential for them to be confused with tail lights of a vehicle going the other way, or with lights of an emergency vehicle.
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02-12-2016, 04:12 PM
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#17
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Bus Geek
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 8,462
Year: 1946
Coachwork: Chevrolet/Wayne
Chassis: 1- 1/2 ton
Engine: Cummins 4BT
Rated Cap: 15
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And from what I understand, many areas prohibit the height of "driving" lights way below where these would be for "on highway" use and require that they be covered when on the road.
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02-12-2016, 05:02 PM
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#18
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Winlcok, WA
Posts: 2,233
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I have seen several different ways in which the overhead crossover lights were repurposed.
The best I have seen was swapping out the stock lights with some very bright LED's to use as yard lights when parked.
I know of no jurisdiction where any sort of driving light would be legal mounted that high off of the ground. I would also be concerned about the glare it would cause for oncoming traffic.
If you do mount some sort of high intensity light they would have to have some sort of cover to prevent some cop who doesn't have anything better to do from giving you a ticket.
Many CA spe'c buses have "eyebrows" over their crossover lights that fold down when the school bus is on a non-school run. Those sort of "eyebrows" would work very well to cover non-standard running lights.
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02-12-2016, 05:12 PM
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#19
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Winlcok, WA
Posts: 2,233
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If you decide to use any lights besides LED's you are going to have to use a switch and a relay in order to power up those lights.
Normal switches are usually not capable of handling the amount of current large incandescent bulbs use.
When you disconnect the wires from the 8-way flasher make sure you mark which ones are the front red/amber and which ones are the rear red/amber lights. With 8 different lights you could wire them up in various different ways to accomplish different tasks. Just make sure that if you make some of the lights some sort of flasher that works like a turn signal that they can't alternate flash. Same way with high mounted brake lights. Alternating flashers would get back to school bus equipment that RV's are not allowed to have.
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02-12-2016, 05:12 PM
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#20
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Bus Crazy
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Billings, MT
Posts: 1,269
Year: 2003
Coachwork: Thomas
Chassis: HDX
Engine: Cat C7
Rated Cap: 84 passenger
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Montana DEFINITELY has some auxiliary light height specs. That high, and I'd be guaranteed a lighter wallet by some nice fellow with pretty lights on top of HIS vehicle.
I might consider turning them into turn signals front and rear and EXTREMELY high mounted brake lights on the rear. On the front? Perhaps BOTH lights on either side into turn signals?
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