FALCONER, N.Y. Truck-Lite has introduced two amber LED-Mini marker variations to the 33 Series of lamps. The new Amber Series Clearance and Marker lamps help to eliminate maintenance costs, according to Tim Walker, senior vice-president of worldwide sales.

“Almost half of lighting maintenance costs are the result of physical damage,” Walker said. “For fleets delivering in commercial and residential areas, almost one of every five lamps damaged stem from tree limbs, signs, and other environmental materials hitting the front and sides of trailers. The lamps are flush mounted into the vehicle and are about the size of a U.S. penny, making a very small target as compared to traditional lamps. In addition, all of the components of the lamp are recessed within the vehicle, providing additional protection. Tests have shown that you would literally need to damage the front upper header in order to damage Truck-Lite’s amber 33 Series lamps.”

“Fleets have challenged Truck-Lite to help them reduce their lighting costs,” said Brad Van Riper, vice-president of research and development. “Our engineering staff rose to the challenge and overcame a remarkable feat by releasing the Worlds Smallest Marker Clearance Lamp in 2004. Red marker lamps require 90 of lamp output at .25 candela. Amber marker lamps also require 90 of lamp output but at .62 candela, almost three times greater. This is primarily due to the fact that the colour red grabs your attention quicker and doesn’t need to be as bright as amber. Technology for amber LED’s has yet to meet the levels of red in brightness so it took some engineering ingenuity to meet the high candela standards in such a small package. In traditional LED lamps, you would overcome this easily by adding more LED’s.”

“Even more exciting,” said Bob Ives, vice-president of marketing, “is that engineering not only released a standard amber marker clearance lamp, but they also were able to accomplish the release of a combination version that saves fleets even more money. The 33 Series Combination lamp requires light output at 180 left to right at .62 candela. When mounted on the corner of the vehicle, this allows the lamp to be seen from both the side and front, so that only one lamp needs to be used per side rather than two.”

The 33 Series of lamps require a standard ” drill for mounting both the grommet or flange versions. According to Truck-Lite offificals, trailer manufacturers no longer need special tooling, and Truck-Lite’s Mini-Marker LED lamps require less assembly time. The lamps are so small they can be carried into protective extrusions or mounted below mechanical features, unlike larger traditional style lights.