| Author |
Message |
Sean Welsh (Sean) (64.81.73.194)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 10, 2004 - 4:31 pm: | |
I have one of the R&M fiberglass "camera pods" glassed in to my rear cap. These pods have a round "cutout area" in the center for the camera itself, with rectangular recesses on either side for auxilliary lamps. I'd like to install some kind of recessed lamps in these areas, with a flood beam pattern, to be used as auxilliary backup lamps (will come on with backup lights whenever marker lights are also on).
My question is this: has anyone done this? If so, what lamps did you use? Any problems?
While I'm on the subject, I'd also like to put some kind of clear window into the round opening, to protect the camera itself from dirt and moisture. Any tips on how to accomplish this are also appreciated.
Thanks.
-Sean |
TWO DOGS (65.179.200.17)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 10, 2004 - 5:21 pm: | |
I worked at a glass shop for YEARS....find the diamiter of the hole and 1/2 inch...tell the glass shop you want a 4" diameter piece of double strength..(or whatever fits) & I'd silacone it in from the inside...it will have to be held in place with tape for 24 hours... |
TWO DOGS (65.179.200.17)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 10, 2004 - 5:28 pm: | |
sorry....I meant ADD 1/2" to the hole dia......that way you have 1/4 " all the way around to silacone to the fiberglass... |
RJ Long (66.229.97.200)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, May 10, 2004 - 10:40 pm: | |
Seah -
Might consider Hella or Cibie fog lights up there in that camera pod. 55w 12v H-4 bulbs, also available in 24v.
Mount one normally, turn the lens assembly over for the other one, and you'll have real FLOOD lighing back there.
Put 'em on a separate switch, and you can zap the idiotic four-wheeler behind you who refuses to dim his headlights, too! (You DO NOT know where you got that idea, ok?? LOL)
HTH,
RJ
PD4106-2784
Fresno CA |
Sean Welsh (Sean) (64.81.73.194)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 1:32 am: | |
RJ,
Thanks for the suggestion, but, frankly, I am looking for pointers to _specific_ products that will work in this application.
I've already been through the Hella catalog, as well as about a half dozen others. (Have not checked Cibie yet).
The application requires a flush-mount unit, and the only flush-mount lights Hella makes are work lights which are too big for the application. In fact, Hella only makes one fog lamp whose lens would fit the cutouts, but it is part of a bumper-mount lamp assembly. Now, it's possible that the lamp housing could be disassembled and the lens and bezel somehow flush mounted into the pod, but one can not discern such from the catalog -- it would require one to actually disassemble the lamp.
This is why, as I say, I am looking for a pointer to specific product that someone already knows can be made to work.
By the way, I believe the fog lamp bulbs are actually H3. H4 is a dual-filament headlamp bulb (hi/low beam).
Regarding the idiot-zapper switch, the coach had one when I got it, which activated the 55-watt rear-facing fog lamps mounted in the rear bumper (unfortunately, also too big for the cutouts on the R&M pod). Of course, it also had dash-mounted switches to dump gray water and macerate and dump black water while underway -- I guess in case said idiot did not respond well to photons alone!
-Sean |
RJ Long (66.229.97.200)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 2:29 am: | |
Sean -
I mentioned the Hella fogs because my son picked up a set at Pep Boys, and flush-mounted them into his friend's F-150's front grill a couple of months ago. (It's a custom show truck.) I know he disassembled the original plastic rear housings off the lenses, then fabricated some simple hold-downs from behind. An idea, anyway.
Have you checked with R&M so see what lights they used when setting up the pattern for the pod? A phone call may help you solve the problem. . .
Keep us posted!
RJ |
Robert Wood (Bobwoodsocal) (4.63.41.14)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 3:05 am: | |
-snip- it also had dash-mounted switches to dump gray water and macerate and dump black water while underway -- I guess in case said idiot did not respond well to photons alone!
That is TOO FUNNY!!! HAHAHAHAHA |
TWO DOGS (63.185.81.189)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 8:35 am: | |
something else to think about.....the lights could be mounted elsewhere.... |
Sean Welsh (Sean) (64.81.73.194)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 1:04 pm: | |
RJ,
If you have the Hella model # for the ones your son used, let me know.
The boys at Infinity Coach are checking with R&M to see if they have a specific recommendation. Bear in mind, though, that the design for this pod is ancient -- cameras were 4" in diameter by 10" long back then, and the design reflects this.
Two Dogs: For me, this is as much about aesthetics as illumination -- the camera pod has obvious recesses for lights, and I'd like to have lights there to present a finished appearance.
-Sean |
David Anderson (168.215.176.171)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 6:44 pm: | |
Sean,
I bought a couple of rectangular spot lamps from Autozone that would fit the hole. I think they were about $12 each.
I cut out the hole with an abrasive blade in my skill saw.
David |
Tim Jones (Torquester) (12.73.179.49)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 10:22 pm: | |
Hi Sean,
Take a look here:
http://members6.clubphoto.com/tim393476/133205/guest.phtml
click on the "J-Box" photographs, then click on "view full image".
These lights were in the coach when I bought it.
They seem to be cheap Auto Zone type flood lamps. The cut-out in the cap was made very carefully to fit a "rabbett" on the lights lens. A small bead of silicone on the outside seals it. The mounting brackets on the inside are held to the cap by epoxy glue.
I built the junction box around it so I could make an area for other wiring and for later repairs if needed.
When I wired the lights I installed a relay to fire them. The relay coil is energized when the reverse lamps come on. I also installed a switch in the engine compartment which will energize the relay coil for light while performing hitching operations. This switch has proven to be a great tool.
HTH, Tim '74 Eagle, Colorado |
JimStacy (209.247.222.83)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004 - 10:27 pm: | |
I talked to Richard from R & M several years ago about this. If I remember right he had designed the camera housing to accept the common 55 watt lights sold in every parts shop and J C Whitney. He said to get the type that had a removeable lens and bezel. Cut hole slightly undersize, mount body of light inside and attach lens and bezel from the outside with longer screws, if necessary. HTH
Jim Stacy |
Sean Welsh (Sean) (64.81.73.194)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 2004 - 3:06 pm: | |
Update:
Thanks to everyone who responded.
The answer Infinity got from R&M was essentially the same one that Jim Stacy posted.
What I've discovered, though, is that the small, simple, rectangular fog lamps that were once ubiquitous are now impossible to find. AutoZone, JC Whitney, Kragen/Checkers/Schucks, and the like all carry quite a selection of fog lamps: oval, round, tiny, huge, etc. etc. -- just none of the old-fashioned H3-bulb rectangular lamps.
Infinity found ones that will probably fit at, of all places, TruckLite. It is model #80526 (clear fog -- or 80525 with driving beams instead) and apparently came to the TruckLite lineup with their acquisition of Signal-Stat a couple years ago.
This unit takes regular H3 lamps, and comes with 12-volt 55-watt burners installed. (We'll be changing those out for 24-volt 70-watt burners.) They run about $20 for the pair.
I'll post a photo on our web site when they're installed.
-Sean |
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