Huh, this is interesting. Looks like Truck-Lite has a new (partial) line of LED sealed beams. This pic greeted me today on their website, and the lamps themselves are:
7" round
200mm rectangular
165mm rectangular low beam
165mm rectangular low beam, heated lens
165mm rectangular high beam
165mm rectangular high beam, heated lens
I call this a "partial" line because of no heated 200mm and 7-inchers; maybe those will come later. It's also missing 5.75" round, but then again that's not as popular of a format*.
I hope to give these some close attention when I get the chance, but right off the bat notice a few things:
-Made in USA. Call me old fashioned, but I like to see this. Not only because I like for there to be jobs for my friends and neighbors, not only because QA-QC is easier to do when it's "buy here-pay here" rather than reliant on reports generated far away, but also because I think it's wasteful to be burning up tons of the dirtiest kind of fossil fuels to ship headlamps from the other side of the world.
-Mechanical aim. Um...reality check, what year is this? These lamps do not have VOR, VOL, or VO lens markings indicating visual-optical aimability. Which also, in turn, indicates photometry in accordance with the 1997-'98 revision of FMVSS 108. Their lens markings and aim pads (the three protrusions in a triangle formation on the front of the lens around its perimeter) mean these were designed to conform to the photometric requirements of FMVSS 108 as of 1977. That's 45 years ago, for those keeping score at home!
This doesn't necessarily mean they're automatically bad, but it does mean there are certain tight limitations as to where they could put certain amounts of light. These limitations aren't in (or at least aren't as tight in) the later revision, which also requires better performance in a variety of ways. It's a puzzling decision by Truck-Lite, and the only reason I can think of why they would do this is because they thought that was the only way to be 100% "scrubbed behind the ears" legal, reasoning that with a visual-optical aim headlamp, horizontal aimability is prohibited, but these are intended to go into sealed beam mounts that have horizontal aimability provisions. The problem with that logic is that the prohibition on horizontal aimability doesn't apply if a VHAD is provided (vehicle headlamp aim device...such as those three aim pads!). There's nothing to stop a maker from producing and marketing visual-optical aim headlamps equipped with a VHAD...and Truck-Lite is a big enough operation with enough smart people in it to know this.
It's possible these lamps produce a visual-optical aimable beam pattern, but then it would be "you just have to know" situation since there's no lens marking telling whether to aim as per VOL or VOR. So my best guess is these are purely mechanical-aim headlamps, not producing beam patterns in accordance with the newer specification, and properly aimable only with those mechanical aimers now found only in memorabilia shops, museums, service stations closed down in 1974, and on Ebay.
*though there are now finally good 5.75" round LED sealed beams that, unlike the JW Speakers, actually fit in unmodified buckets. They're made by Weldex. Stern (my "dope dealer" for headlamps!) sold me a pair of them for my old GMC.
7" round
200mm rectangular
165mm rectangular low beam
165mm rectangular low beam, heated lens
165mm rectangular high beam
165mm rectangular high beam, heated lens
I call this a "partial" line because of no heated 200mm and 7-inchers; maybe those will come later. It's also missing 5.75" round, but then again that's not as popular of a format*.
I hope to give these some close attention when I get the chance, but right off the bat notice a few things:
-Made in USA. Call me old fashioned, but I like to see this. Not only because I like for there to be jobs for my friends and neighbors, not only because QA-QC is easier to do when it's "buy here-pay here" rather than reliant on reports generated far away, but also because I think it's wasteful to be burning up tons of the dirtiest kind of fossil fuels to ship headlamps from the other side of the world.
-Mechanical aim. Um...reality check, what year is this? These lamps do not have VOR, VOL, or VO lens markings indicating visual-optical aimability. Which also, in turn, indicates photometry in accordance with the 1997-'98 revision of FMVSS 108. Their lens markings and aim pads (the three protrusions in a triangle formation on the front of the lens around its perimeter) mean these were designed to conform to the photometric requirements of FMVSS 108 as of 1977. That's 45 years ago, for those keeping score at home!
This doesn't necessarily mean they're automatically bad, but it does mean there are certain tight limitations as to where they could put certain amounts of light. These limitations aren't in (or at least aren't as tight in) the later revision, which also requires better performance in a variety of ways. It's a puzzling decision by Truck-Lite, and the only reason I can think of why they would do this is because they thought that was the only way to be 100% "scrubbed behind the ears" legal, reasoning that with a visual-optical aim headlamp, horizontal aimability is prohibited, but these are intended to go into sealed beam mounts that have horizontal aimability provisions. The problem with that logic is that the prohibition on horizontal aimability doesn't apply if a VHAD is provided (vehicle headlamp aim device...such as those three aim pads!). There's nothing to stop a maker from producing and marketing visual-optical aim headlamps equipped with a VHAD...and Truck-Lite is a big enough operation with enough smart people in it to know this.
It's possible these lamps produce a visual-optical aimable beam pattern, but then it would be "you just have to know" situation since there's no lens marking telling whether to aim as per VOL or VOR. So my best guess is these are purely mechanical-aim headlamps, not producing beam patterns in accordance with the newer specification, and properly aimable only with those mechanical aimers now found only in memorabilia shops, museums, service stations closed down in 1974, and on Ebay.
*though there are now finally good 5.75" round LED sealed beams that, unlike the JW Speakers, actually fit in unmodified buckets. They're made by Weldex. Stern (my "dope dealer" for headlamps!) sold me a pair of them for my old GMC.
