There's no industry that see's more terrain than the trucking industry. These big rigs drive all across the nation delivering cargo. They drive day and night, through rain, snow, hail and everything in between. They drive through heavy traffic, winding mountain roads, and narrow bridges. Because of this, it's important for trucks to be visible to everyone around them. This is why you see large trucks lit up like a Christmas tree driving down the highway. It's important to make sure everyone on the road is aware of their truck and trailer. The types of lights installed on a truck are what make all the difference. Here are the best lights to install on any semi-truck build for optimal safety and effectiveness on the job.
Work lights can serve a dual purpose on trucks. They can shine while the truck is driving, and also when the truck is stopped and needs the surrounding area lit up. Whenever the truck is being loaded or unloaded, these lights help you see while you're working. Truck drivers unfortunately have blowouts all the time and need to see the ground they're pulled over on. Mounting 3-5 work lights ensures vision is not a problem on any dim night. See
Work Lights
Cargo lights are similar to work lights except they go inside the truck. These lights are much dimmer and are used to light up the cabins of truck drivers. The soft light coming from these lights are meant to provide interior visibility without blinding or distracting the driver. Additionally these lights are suited to be mounted in the trailer of a semi-truck or anywhere cargo is stored.
See Cargo Lights
Light Sticks immensely help make large trucks visible to all driver's on the road. These lights will warn any onlookers of a truck's coming. Mounted Light Sticks are also useful to outline the size and dimension of a truck. Simply install 1-2 Light Sticks on each front, back and side of the vehicle for optimal visibility. Light Sticks come in various sizes ranging from 1 foot to 5 feet. See
Light Sticks
Often overlooked but very important is the interior lightbar. These lights provide a reliable way to warn all front or back facing vehicles in a truck driver's path. The Interior Lightbar is mounted inside the window of a truck where it's safe from dirt, hail, tree falls or any other elements. All Interior Light Bars are made to filter out intense light coming into the cabin so that it's only directed towards the outside of the vehicle. See
Interior Lightbars
No lighting system is complete without a controller to tie it all together. With the press of a button, these controllers turn on all the lights and sirens on a truck. Controllers are also important for choosing the exact light patterns for the job. Different scenarios require different color lights and patterns. Flipping on flood lights is great for low visibility areas, while switching to amber warning lights is perfect to warn fellow drivers on the road. The controller and its functions are essential to any truck build. See
Controllers
Surface Mounts are similar to light sticks only smaller and more versatile. These compact lights can be mounted anywhere on a vehicle's surface. The best part of installing these lights on your truck is the amount of options you get. Modern Surface Mounts can shine up to 5 different colors allowing a multitude of different patterns for the user. Amber is the most popular color for trucks, they also come in red, white, blue and green. See
Surface Mounts
In most cases, the lightbar is the largest piece of lighting equipment on a truck. These lights are special because they shine in all four directions of the vehicle, allowing for maximum visibility. Just like the Surface Mount, Lightbars come in a variety of colors. Amber, red, white, blue and green can all be utilized in the pattern of a lightbar. These large lights can be personalized to any industry by using different color patterns. Whether your profession is trucking, construction, towing or any other truck related job, the lightbar is crucial to the safety of the truck's passengers. Mount one of these on the roof of a truck and see how much more visible it becomes. See
Lightbars
Round STTR Lights are not something you want to forget on any truck build. Nearly every large truck carries some version of the Round STTR Light on their frame. The Round STTR Light is vitally important because it signals when a truck is braking, reversing and turning. Sizes range from 2 to 4 inches, and are perfect for being mounted on the back side of any truck. See
Round STTR Lights
The
6" Oval STTR Light has the same functions as Round Lights only with more surface area. It comes down to a personal preference whether you'd like to install Oval or Round lights. Sometimes both are necessary. In any case, these lights are still vital for any truck build in order to show when a truck's braking, reversing and turning. See
6" Oval STTR Lights
Otherwise known as Chicken lights,
1" Round Marker Lights can be seen on almost any Semi-truck across the nation. These handy little lights are mounted typically in a straight line along the sides of semi-trucks as well as their trailers. Whenever you're driving down the highway at night and can make out the full length and width of a semi-truck's load, it's all thanks to these tiny lights mounted all over. These 1" lights are typically mounted every 2 feet on a trailer. Most semi-trucks mount them along the edges of their trailer to outline the rectangular shape in low light conditions such as rain, fog and night time. Make sure you get high quality marker lights that wont go out on you. See
1" Round Marker Lights