Truck-Lite Company, Falconer, New York, unveiled an LED side-turn signal lamp and a stop/turn/tail lamp that uses a single diode. Both products meet or exceed all applicable Department of Transportation (DOT) and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standards.
Super 60 STS is Truck-Lite's first LED side-turn signal lamp. An amber six-inch oval light emitting diode (LED), the side turn signal (STS) and marker lamp exceeds all standards for both types of lights. Previously, LED side turn lamps could qualify only as legal side markers, but could not qualify as side turn signals under SAE J2039. Truck-Lite used its specially customized Advanced Optics Design software to develop a single lamp that exceeds the requirements of both SAE J2039 and FMVSS 108.
The latest revisions to the SAE Recommended Practice call for side turn signals located along the side of a long trailer of a combination vehicle to meet minimum luminance requirements at angles that would normally be in the line of sight of drivers of vehicles being passed or passing the combination vehicle. The requirements cover a range of conditions; from drivers of small automobiles being passed by 53-foot van trailers to drivers of cab-over tractors being passed by drop deck or lowboy combinations.
The company also announced it has developed a stop/turn/tail lamp that uses just a single light-emitting diode. The Super 66 red six-inch oval LED stop/turn/tail (S/T/T) lamp is the first of a new series of single-diode safety lamps now in various stages of development.
The Super 66 is less directional than multiple-diode LED lamp designs. It produces a more homogeneous appearing light pattern, similar to that of an incandescent lamp. Since it looks more like a traditional incandescent lamp, the Super 66 will be less prone to theft.
The new LEDs are available with grommet mounts or reinforced flange mounts for greater security against theft. Standard trim and protection rings for Model 60 lamps will fit the Super 66. Super 66 S/T/T lamps are available for order on new trailers and for retrofit through authorized Truck-Lite distributors and dealers.