How come most tractor trailers now have LED headlights

[Vikas]

Is there lot of standardization in headlights for trucking industry or there are only few headlight types for trucks that allow them to have replacement LED headlights available at reasonable cost? Every car model has different headlight appearance. I do see different facia of trucks on the road but may be the actual headlight units themselves are standardized? May be regulation allows trucking industry to have that but passenger cars are not allowed to have that?

It is quite rare to see a tractor trailer truck with halogen light these days unlike cars and SUV which almost 50% or more are still with halogen headlights.

 

[brianl703]

They can get cheap Chinese LED bulbs from Amazon as easily as car owners can.

 

[mk378]

All the major companies replace their tractors about every 5 years. You'll only see a tractor older than that with a total fly-by-night outfit. LED headlights have been standard equipment on new trucks for that long. It is a feature that companies want due to lower maintenance costs.

 

[Vikas]

They can get cheap Chinese LED bulbs from Amazon as easily as car owners can.

As the other reply says, this IS NOT the answer!

 

[Vikas]

All the major companies replace their tractors about every 5 years. You'll only see a tractor older than that with a total fly-by-night outfit. LED headlights have been standard equipment on new trucks for that long. It is a feature that companies want due to lower maintenance costs.

So what happens to the over 5 year old tractor? Does it go to tractor heaven?

 

[nthach]

Seeing how Mercedes-Benz Group used to own Daimler Trucks and the Mercedes S/E-Class provided some of the styling and tech inspirations for the Freightliner Cascadia, some of the rationale for LEDs is from the OEM side. Grote, JW Speaker, Truck-Lite and Dialight make drop-in LED replacements for sealed beam halogen lamps but the Chinese Amazon/eBay specials from Alibaba rule.

City buses are still all sealed beam LED. Unless it’s a New Flyer or MCI with either automotive-style headlamps or projector headlights.

 

[brianl703]

As the other reply says, this IS NOT the answer!

I routinely see dump trucks with LED headlights, and they clearly are old enough to not have left the factory with them. Even though the post is about tractor trailers, the same concept applies.

 

[eljefino]

Why do so many XJ Jeeps have LED headlights? Because they have a standard sealed beam and changing them is simple.

 

[mk378]

So what happens to the over 5 year old tractor? Does it go to tractor heaven?

If it has been scheduled effectively, it will have done 500,000 miles so it's pretty much worn out.

 

[svtrit]

So what happens to the over 5 year old tractor? Does it go to tractor heaven?

A lot of farmers buy retired trucks. Exporting them is big as well.

 

[brianl703]

Why do so many XJ Jeeps have LED headlights? Because they have a standard sealed beam and changing them is simple.

And they invariably replace them with cheap junk where the ONLY difference between high and low beam is that all of the LEDs are powered in high beam.

 

[Vikas]

The average age of cars and semi-trucks rises every year​

The average age of cars on the road today is 12.1 years, which makes the median model year a car from 2009. This is according to CNBC, who utilized IHS Markit research. Meanwhile, the average age of Class 8 semi-truck was 12.8 years old in 2018 according to NTEA. While that’s not a huge age gap, this doesn’t account for every commercial vehicle on the road.

 

[tnt_motorsports]

I put LEDs in all of my vehicles from Amazon btw…. I like the increase in brightness and field of vision. It was worth it IMO. I think truckers would enjoy the same benefits of vision and lower maintenance not to mention a simple DOT inspection can find a burnt out light leading to a ticket.

Just my $0.02

 

[brianl703]

I put LEDs in all of my vehicles from Amazon btw…. I like the increase in brightness and field of vision. It was worth it IMO. I think truckers would enjoy the same benefits of vision and lower maintenance not to mention a simple DOT inspection can find a burnt out light leading to a ticket.

Just my $0.02

I just drive around with my high-beams on all the time. Gives the same effect as putting LEDs in.

 

[Vikas]

Seems like some people do not understand a difference between a legal LED light vs ricer LED lights. I have yet to come across a ricer one on tractor trailer. Only possible explanation is that underneath, tractor trailer have sealed beam and thus standardized form factor and one can get DOT approved replacement with LED. This is just my guess.

 

[bullwinkle]

All the major companies replace their tractors about every 5 years. You'll only see a tractor older than that with a total fly-by-night outfit. LED headlights have been standard equipment on new trucks for that long. It is a feature that companies want due to lower maintenance costs.

More like blown up on the side of I-75... We have so many POS semis running around here it's not even funny (I blame the new AMZN CVG hub).

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I doubt 500k is "worn out". While big companies may replace every 5 years, many other outfits use older rigs. Or so it seems from interstate observations.

 

[brianl703]

Seems like some people do not understand a difference between a legal LED light vs ricer LED lights. I have yet to come across a ricer one on tractor trailer. Only possible explanation is that underneath, tractor trailer have sealed beam and thus standardized form factor and one can get DOT approved replacement with LED. This is just my guess.

There are plenty of non DOT-approved LED sealed beam replacements. They're pretty cheap, I think you can get a pair for $30. You most often see them on old Jeeps, but I've seen them on dump trucks too (which is not a surprise, most dump trucks, at least around here, seem to be owned by people who don't want to spend a dime on them unless they have to).

 

[Trashman]

So what happens to the over 5 year old tractor? Does it go to tractor heaven?

Our company (same as most companies) lease the tractors, after 5 years or 500,000 miles we return the lease and Kenworth sells them as used to some fly by night outfit or owner operator. If the trucks have had proper PM's the engine will last easily to 750,000 or 1,000,000 miles, it is the emissions systems that are a complete headache from day 1. We hardly ever have a truck towed for anything other than
1) Emissions
2) Those goofy self shifting trannies that the company insists saves them a fraction of a MPG on fuel, but costs them thousands on tow bills When we had all Cummins/10 speeds, we hardly had a truck go down, now with the self shifting trannies they get towed left and right.
As far as the LED headlights go..... some of the newer trucks are coming with them (usually as an upgrade), but most of the older ones are driven by the same crowd that drive older jeeps and jacked up trucks and think it's fun to blind everyone else on the road. I wish DOT would crack down on this more at the weigh stations, but they look the other way more than folks think.

 

[PimTac]

Trucks have certain lights that are required like clearance lights and such. Then there are custom lights. I like the LED lights. On a rainy day on the freeway the more visibility the better.