MASH BUS Blog

MARKER / CLEARANCE LIGHTS

Another chapter in our L.E.D. bus conversion was to change over the marker and clearance lights on the old MASH Bus.   We needed to replace 7 amber and 5 red light assemblies.  The original light assemblies were wedge shaped  

We elected to purchase all new marker/clearance lights from SUPERBRIGHTLEDS.com.  They had a fair price and offered replacement light assemblies that were as close to a direct bolt in replacement as anyone could offer.

MBC Series Cab Top
Marker/Clearance Lights
Clearance Marker Light with 24 Super RED or AMBER LEDs
measures 1.25h x 2.5w x 3.375 inches
Grounded mounting hole and 5″ long positive wire
Current Draw: 0.150Amp (150ma)@13.5 VDC – PC RATED
DOT SAE Approved

Price: $9.95 each

Link to SUPERBRIGHTLEDS.com

We ordered online and paid with a debit card.  The lights were shipped USPS direct to us.  Upon initial examination the lights appeared to be fine, a bit lighter weight than the original assemblies but that is due to the fact that the original lights had a steel base plate and the new lights were all plastic.

Upon further examination one of the amber lights was damaged.  It appeared the light was damaged in manufacturing and somehow got through the QC before shipment.  One phone call and I had a new light shipped to me next day no hassle no muss no fuss, SuperBrightLEDs just shipped without issue.  SuperBrightLEDs customer service was GREAT.  The only requirment was to put the damaged light into a supplied envelope that was postage paid and send it back.  The best thing was SuperBrightLEDs shipped me the new replacement BEFORE I had to return the damaged light.  By not waiting to ship me the new light it allowed me to move forward with the project with little to no down time.

Each light came with a die cut foam pad and mounting screws.  The light assemblies had two mounting holes each with brass grommets.  Only one of the mounting hole grommets was grounded to the light assembly.  The positive lead of the light came directly out of the back of the unit.  The positve leads were all ready stripped on the end for connection, this was a really nice feature and made installation a snap.

Wiring was easy just clip off the old light assembly near the base of the light and use a butt connector to hook up the wiring harness lead to the positive lead on the new SuperBrightLED clearance light.  They only issue was we had to make sure we did not let go of the wiring harness lead as it might fall back into the bus body.  Twice we let the wiring harness lead fall back into the bus body and we had to use a coat hanger to fish out the lead.

After mounting the new lights came the moment of truth.  Were these SuperBrightLED marker lights super bright?  Well – in short – YES, they were very bright.  The 24 LED’s are placed in such a manner that they really make these light shine.  The marker / clearance lights are much brighter and the colors are more rich than the OEM equipment we discarded.

In conclusion, the lights are bright and we are very pleased with the lights but the customer service of SuperBrightLEDs has won us over as a customer because they were so easy to work with.  We hope in the future to be able to review more of their products here.

MASH Bus will NOT be in attendance at the December 2009 First Saturday Sale.  Some team members have schedualing conflicts that preclude us from attending.

We are sorry to miss everyone but we will be there for January 2010.

MASH Bus
Staff

We at MASH Bus are very cost conscious and when it came time to replace the front fender mount turn/park signal fixtures we shopped out our purchase on the Internet.

What we needed to replace was the OEM 5″ square two post turn/park signals mounted on the front fenders.  Spacing on the two posts was 2″ on centers with the three wire lead dropping down in the middle between the posts.

We considered numerous brands before we settled on Heavy-Duty Lighting brand.  MASH Bus choose to use model number HD50118RY-L2 (left mount) and HD50118RY-R2 (right mount).

Heavy-Duty Lighting Web Site

OVERALL IMPRESSION . . .

Holy BRIGHT LIGHT – Batman !!!  These fixtures are by far the brightest of any brand we have tested.  They are so bright it is difficult to look straight at them for long periods of time.  We took a video with the cell phone, while the quality is not great I think you will get the idea.  Click on the link to see the video.

- VIDEO -

We purchased the new fixtures off eBay for about $100.00 or $50.00 a fixture.  The lights had 118 L.E.D.’s per fixture, 6 diodes on the side marker, 64 front facing amber LED’s and 48 rear facing red diodes.  The lights were pre-wired and came with a thin gasket. 

We compared this brand against Grote, Truck-Lite and Dialight.

Heavy Duty Lighting Fender Mount Park/Turn Signals

QUESTIONS and CONFUSION . . .

One thing we did not like was we had to contact the factory to find out the spacing between the posts.  The post spacing was not published data by either the seller or the manufacturer.

Another point of confusion was the description of the posts themselves.  The seller and manufacturer described the posts as – “twin 5/16″ mounting studs.”  In actuality the lights came with two threaded posts but they were NOT 5/16″ thread.  I checked the posts with a thread gauge for 5/16-18 and 5/16-24.  Neither post was 5/16″ thread.  The posts were actually M8×1.25 - which is only about 0.0025″ difference but none-the-less they were not 5/16″ threads.

The fixtures did come with all mounting hardware, nuts, washers and lockwashers.  We elected to drop the supplied flat washer and use a larger fender washer along with the supplied nut and lock washer.

OVERALL IMPRESSION . . .

These Heavy-Duty Lights brand fender mount park/turn signals are an outstanding value and are by far the brightest of all turn signals we have tested.  We are very impressed and will now set our sights on longevity of the product.  The overall construction of the lights appears to be up to par with any other brands available, but the last word is being seen while in traffic and I can say without a doubt that these lights are the brightest I have seen thus far.  I have no concerns that other drivers will not notice when we activate these signals.

NOTE: The MASH Bus is an AMERICAN made 1971 IHC 1703 chassis with a Blue Bird body as such, everything on the bus is imperial in inches and this was the first use of metric hardware – I guess it is a sign of the times.

The MASH Bus is taking the leap to improve safety by converting existing incandescent lighting to L.E.D. lighting.

Soon we will be sporting new 7″ diameter LED tail lights, turn signal indicators and clearance lights.

The old incandescent lights are approaching 40 years of service and as such have surpassed their life.  The old lights are deteriorating at an alarming rate to such a degree that many of the fixtures are falling apart.  The colored plastic on the clearance lights is cracked and faded.  The lamp sockets are worn and loose.  Wiring on existing fixtures is beginning to wear, crack and deteriorate.

Originally we looked at replacement, new and new old stock incandescent fixtures but many of these lights are so old they are now reserved for restorations and the price many times is as much or more than new LED replacement fixtures.

Power is a premium on the bus as the electrical system usually works overtime to power all the existing incandescent lighting.  Converting to LED lighting only makes sense as the current requirments of LED lighting is a fraction of that needed for incandescent lighting.

Another bonus of LED lighting is the life of the L.E.D. components.  On average LED’s have an average 100,000 hour life as compared to a few hundred hours life for incandecent lamps.  The LED’s are also uneffected by shock, tempature as well as the elements and weather.

Keep watch for the MASH Bus as we will be sporting a new safer LED lighting sytem in the near future.

MASH Bus and the crew will NOT be in attendance at the November 2009 First Saturday sale.  We are sorry for any inconvenience this might cause but we will see everyone in December 2009.

Well we have finally finished securing litter/stretchers for the MASH Bus.  With the overhead racks we now have six litters that mount overhead.  These litters are to be used as additional tables for the bus when we are set up.

We have a Singer 111W Industrial sewing machine and we made our own straps using 1″ nylon web tubing.

Well everyone was in attendance this month at the sidewalk sale.  It was an interesting sale to say the least.  The MASH Bus did not make one sale, while the table that occupied Dale’s space was the main attraction.

We miss Dale but as he would want we move on and we continue to pray for his family.  Any and all leads that might help the police would be greatly appreciated.  The Reward is still in effect but to date has not yielded any results.

We at the MASH Bus are looking at all options and if sales continue to be non-existent we may have to suspend operations.  We will keep everyone posted.

The Sidewalk Sale Fraternity mourns the loss of one of their own.  A veteran vendor of the Sidewalk Sale Herbert Orsburn, affectionately known to all simply as “Dale” was gunned down in the early morning while selling his wares at the July 4^th, event.

Dale, 51 years young, a resident of Lewisville, Texas is survived by his wife, Kathryn Orsburn.

 DALE – YOU ARE LOVED AND WILL BE MISSED BY ALL

Many vendors and customers knew Dale as the “light guy,” as he always had lighted items such, globes, plasma balls, rope light and equipment that would brighten any room.  He always set up in the same spot (Slot # 306) selling from the back of his van on tables facing Field Street.  In the middle of the night coming down the aisle one could not miss Dale sitting on the back of his van usually commiserating with customers and vendors.  

The Sidewalk Sale is an entire culture of its own, words cannot explain the event, to understand it and appreciate it you must experience it.  A family venue, catering to all young and old – violent crime is not a part of the Sidewalk Sale event. 

About this time last year the MASH BUS crew traded in their sales tables and cash drawer for Grills and a Margarita machine.  Instead of selling we set up to cook and serve.  We threw a big party for all the vendors of the Sidewalk Sale and I can remember sharing a hamburger with Dale as we visited and talked. 

We refuse to let the memory of Dale be that of this senseless act of violence – instead we choose to remember the friendship and laugher of a kind and gentle man – a member of the Sidewalk Sale family. 

The Details: 

Early in the morning, an unknown gunman driving a “mustang/coupe,” style car with stripes entered the Woodall Rodgers Freeway from Field Street.  As the gunman drove up the on ramp he opened fire into the crowd of people attending the monthly First Saturday Sidewalk Sale.  From news reports and witness accounts the gunman randomly fired at least 5 shots from a .40 caliber handgun into the crowd of vendors and shoppers. 

Many dove to the ground for cover but Dale, fell to the ground as one of the bullets struck him in the head. 

Dale was rushed to Parkland Hospital where he passed from his wounds. 

The MASH BUS crew did not attend the July 4^th, 2009 sale due to conflicting commitments but we were called within minutes of the shooting from other vendors inquiring if we were ok.  Vendors at the other end of the sale could not see the area of the shooting and people were concerned we might have also been hurt.  Sadly when all was said and done only Dale was injured.  

Schepps Dairy and the North Texas Crimestoppers have posted a $15,000.00 reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman. 

The MASH BUS crew cannot stress enough that if anyone has any information they feel might assist the Dallas Police in their investigation, please call.  One of our friends and family members has been taken from us.  We know that someone somewhere knows something – please help us catch Dale’s killer.  In the mean time, our thoughts and prayers will be with Dale’s family. 

If anyone has information that will help locate the gunman please call Dallas Police Homicide at (214) 671-3661.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, contributions in Dale’s name be made to:

Christian Community Action
200 South Mill Street
Lewisville, TX 75057
972-219-HELP (4357)

 Christian Community Action Website