Warning lights?

Why and when do you use your ,what type, of warning lights? I've seen pictures of strobes, flashers, rotary beacons, full on light bars.

Why the warning lights in the first place? I can see a slope groomer working while skiers are there needing a warning, but other than that?

Tom.

I have to have some kind of strobe for operating on road ways around here as I fall under the same class as a loader. I have one of those cool light bars because I had an extra one around if for the Thiokol. I plan on an led beacon as those have a low current draw and last for ever they can be synced to different patterns if you have a desire for more than one. to meet the state statutes I will have to have mine yellow and blue. if you just want visibility just pick up one for the top of your cat double flash or quad flash tend to have a better signature during daylight hours. rotary beacons work well but can cause vertigo when in fog or heavy snow also there are many more moving parts and more to fail that is why we see the transition to strobes and led's there are also small led lights that look like clearance lights you can sync these and have one at all 4 corners of your cab. mine I use on the roads and when I share trails with snowmachines that us usually travel faster that I do.

I think warning lights(the more the better) are a good way to try and keep snowmobiles from running into your snowcat. They are going a lot faster than I am,and they may even offer some defense in court if someday I do have a collision.

Commercial snowcat ski operations are required to have a yellow beacon. In Colorado, state statue reserves the combination of yellow and blue beacon for government road maintenance equipment (red and blue for police) so check in your state to see what colors you can legally use. Plus, it just seems like a good idea liability wise to be all lit up if someone ever run into you. I've noticed the new bright LED light bars ruin my night vision and kind of blind me when it's snowing hard at night.

I put an LED amber flasher on the rear and an LED amber flasher in the front. Both are about 2ft high as I think the snowmobilers will see them quicker than seeing a strobe on top. They are both sync'd. I like the quicker flashing mode but I slowed them down considerably because the LED's don't become fully lit while on the quicker flashing mode. They show up much better in the slower flashing modes.

Seems many catters are worried about being hit by sleds. I know a few snowmobilers that just tool around on the trails. They sure don't seem to be worried about being tail ended by other sleds running at higher speed. They don't seem too worried about being sued either. Don't sleds just have a brake light on back? In Wyoming, snowcats are classified as snowmobiles

Cletis

I have an amber strobe that I flip on when I am driving my snowcat on the roadway.

we have had several mushers hit by snowmachines up here the last I remember was Lance Mackey I even know the kid who hit him almost all accident's that happened had 3 contributing factors dark , high speed ,and alcohol. the mushers never carry lighting to the rear and by the time a machine get's that close they can't stop my machine can get so much snow on the rear it will obscure the tail lights.

strobes can play havoc in white out conditions.. bright flash of light..
amber rotators enable the operator to track the path of the light and isnt as disorienting.

for normal operation the more the better in my book lol I would also drive down the trail with the rear cargo lights on.

Just a reminder, many of these old snowcats have small alternators and lights tend to draw lots of power. The new LED lights are super efficient. Strobes are reasonably efficient. Rotators draw power for both the light and the motor.

Make sure you check to make sure your electrical system is up to the task of providing all the power you plan to draw.

I had a cop friend who gave me a full light bar off an old squad car because his department was upgrading to more efficient units. I couldn't use it without a major upgrade to my electrical system so I ended up trading it for a lower power smaller unit.

I just installed 4 27W Tuff LED work lights on the corners of the Unimog and coupled them with a SHO-ME Strobe-Style LED Flasher. They are highly visible, especially at night. I may try a similar setup on the snow-trac, maybe in amber.

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I agree with the strobe light
A back-up alarmis also agood idea if your around parking lots our people
If you disagree jut talk to someone who,s had a accident
Worth the expense to me just for the peace of mind

OK, thanks all: Yep what I thought, mostly CYA. I will be spending most, but not all, my time alone on closed (gated) roads. If it were not for the power requirements, I would get a old (real old) wheland 4 beam rotary beacon they only did about 10 rpm. But the reality is a new LED beacon will be better from the power consumption and reliability. I may add low mounted rear facing LED strobes to deter sleds in the tail syndrome when on public land.

I looked at using the new progressive (brightness ramps up then down) LED warning lights until I found out the price tag ( about $4k). oops....

Next issue is the headlights: The previous owner(s) replaced the headlights with rubber body tractor work lights. From the short at night experiences last year that ain't gonna cut it. The LED headlights I liked are $700. oops again.

if your looking for lights my son is one of the importers . I got $35 led lights on my snow trac that are selling for $105 up town.
get with me or him he doesn't advertise and will be running the green snow trac at the 2014 jamboree.
jim
my bombi with hid.