Interesting feedback from Hawk Trailers re: Interior Lights LED vs non LED

[Xctrygirl]

So while talking to the sales department at Hawk I mentioned we were looking into having LED lights put into our new trailer and could he please quote me for that.

He replied:

"We do not use LED lights in the horse area. Reason being is they cast shadows and spook the horses. I have had many conversations with the light manufacturers about this and are working on a lower brightness light. Other manufacturers are using them and it is great for the handler (not the horses), we will not because we are all about the horse. "

I have honestly never heard about this. Of course my trailer is from a time before LED’s existed in this usage, and I don’t know which brands currently use LED’s in the horse area, so I am not sure who would have had this experience.

Has anyone here seen this or heard of this??

~Emily

[wildlifer]

I agree that I would not want very bright lights in the horse area, but not because they “cast shadows.” (ummmm, all lights cast shadows)

Rather, because equine eyes adjust from light to dark much more slowly than ours do, so if you are loading/unloading in the dark & flip on blazing LEDs, your horses are essentially blinded. Here’s a PHENOMENAL overview of why that is plus a fantastic education about your horse’s visual world: http://equestrianoutreach.com/Equestrian-Outreach-Equine-Vision-Page.html

[Jim_in_PA]

The rub for me in that statement is that this is less about using LED technology as it is on the fixture and how it filters the light. And LED light sources are easily dimmed using an appropriate control. I actually use that capability for LED lighting I’ve installed in certain areas of our home. In other words, this is not an insolvable problem and LED technology is significantly more reliable and long-lived than incandescent bulbs…by a mile. LED lamps CAN be brighter, but they don’t have to be brighter. That’s the bottom line.

[Heart_s_Journey]

I recently got a new LQ trailer and it has LED lights. There is a long one on the outside of the trailer that is fantastic and very bright for when you have happy hours, dinners, etc under your awning.

There is another one in the rear tack and one in the horse area. I haven’t used them yet, so I don’t know how my horse will react. However, everyone LOVED the strip light under the awning.

[China_Doll]

Just got a new trailer and it has lots of led lighting. I really like it.

[soloudinhere]

My trailer also has LEDs. I don’t turn on the interior horse lights ever, really, I unload by the loading light and don’t use the interiors, but the one time I did I turned them on before we left and they were on the whole ride. My LED loading light is AWESOME and practically lights up the entire barn.

I got some weird impressions from Hawk that instead of trying to get with the times, they were trying to convince me that buying a new version of the same trailer they’ve been making for 20 years was somehow better. I got more for less money not buying from them.

[goodhors]

We added an LED fixture to the inside of the stock trailer and like the better lighting it provides. Brighter than the regular old bulb fixtures. Horses don’t care about shadows in trailer, they load when asked. Better lighting is for PEOPLE to see what is going on back there, find things inside the trailer at night.

I like the LED lights, lots more light in the same space than any bulb fixtures. We put LED tail lights on that trailer as well, MUCH more visible to cars behind in daylight or dark.

[AKB]

My year old Sundowner has LED lights that are great. My horse and I are both happy with the lights. There is no glare and there are no shadows. When I was loading him at 3am for our trips to and from Florida, I was delighted with how well those lights worked.

[judybigredpony]

Xcgirl…were you talking to a Sales,person at a dealership?
Why not call,Hawk directly,in WI…there is NO sales,department there since they don t retail from the plant…Ask,them for a current correct answer

[kdow]

[QUOTE=Jim_in_PA;8170232]
The rub for me in that statement is that this is less about using LED technology as it is on the fixture and how it filters the light. And LED light sources are easily dimmed using an appropriate control. I actually use that capability for LED lighting I’ve installed in certain areas of our home. In other words, this is not an insolvable problem and LED technology is significantly more reliable and long-lived than incandescent bulbs…by a mile. LED lamps CAN be brighter, but they don’t have to be brighter. That’s the bottom line.[/QUOTE]

My housemate is a horrible geek and does all kinds of weird things around our house with LEDs (we have little motion sensitive LED lights on the stairs so if you need to use the stairs at night you don’t have to turn on all the lights to not die, for example) and this is essentially what I thought when I read the OP’s post.

I talked to my housemate VERY briefly about it, and he expressed some concern that if they’re that behind the times on the details of what you can do with LED lighting or not asking questions of their suppliers (assuming they order the lights pre-made and don’t construct them in-house) then are they properly up to date on other elements that might be more critical to the safety of the trailer? (Neither he nor I know enough about all the bells and whistles that you might find on a horse trailer these days to guess if there is anything that could be an issue where the technology has changed - maybe improvements in brake types or the like?)

[Xctrygirl]

[QUOTE=judybigredpony;8172717]
Xcgirl…were you talking to a Sales,person at a dealership?
Why not call,Hawk directly,in WI…there is NO sales,department there since they don t retail from the plant…Ask,them for a current correct answer[/QUOTE]

This was a conversation directly with Bob Owen from Hawk in Wisconsin.

According to his email signature they absolutely have a sales department. Now he and I are both clear that I would need to order the trailer through a dealer, but I went to the manufacturers first, including Dalton who makes the Adam trailers, and asked what they could do before going to a dealer to see how much it costs. I have some specific things I am looking to do and I wanted to see if it was possible first. Also both companies were great about picking a dealer to refer my interest to.

Here’s Bob’s signature:

Bob Owen

Sales Manager

Hawk Trailers

1220 Depot Street

Manawa, WI 54949

~Emily

[Personal_Champ]

I just picked up a new trailer Saturday (downsized from a 4H goose to a 2H straight) and the LEDs are AMAZING and my horse does not appear to be traumatized by them, either.

[SLW]

My trailer has traditional lights in it but when I haul at night I leave the interior lights on in the horse section while hauling. I think it helps cut down on the shadows and contrast caused by the lights of other vehicles passing my rig. Ditto the street lights and such.

I respect the man’s opinion but LED lights in the horses section would not be a problem for me or my horses.

[goldenrow]

Myself, I hate LED lights. They are like laser beams into the back of my skull, and trigger my migraines.

It’s a battle in today’s LED world!

[judybigredpony]

Yes Sales…But not retail…I to,have utilized Hawk and specifically Bob to get parts for my existing Hawks and also used their own design engineer to work on plans I then had priced out at DiBella s.
Why vilify Hawk over LED lights…just get a rig from a manufacture who installs them…or have DiBella modify and install at delivery…sheesh…

[soloudinhere]

[QUOTE=judybigredpony;8175845]
Yes Sales…But not retail…I to,have utilized Hawk and specifically Bob to get parts for my existing Hawks and also used their own design engineer to work on plans I then had priced out at DiBella s.
Why vilify Hawk over LED lights…just get a rig from a manufacture who installs them…or have DiBella modify and install at delivery…sheesh…[/QUOTE]

Calm down.

Nobody is going to take your hawk away from you, so if you’re happy, who cares?

She is questioning the information she was given, that’s all. We don’t have to blindly trust people on the internet who bought a trailer 10 years ago and will die on the stake of that being the only trailer anyone else should ever buy.

We all have different needs and I would have called BS on that explanation as well.

When I was looking at trailers, the hawks were the least innovative and most outdated trailers I looked at. I passed on them pretty much immediately.

I’m glad to see you’ve finally given up insisting that it is spelled “Hawke,” however.

[PeanutButterPony]

shrug.

When my Merhow’s interior horse-box lights burned up due to too-bright bulbs, they ship LED replacements and an LED strip for the rear loading lights. None of my horses seemed to notice as there was zero reaction.

[Xctrygirl]

One thing we’re checking on is to see if it’s possible to have dimmable interior LED lights installed.

I know it’s “not done” yet in most trailers, but if we get to start from the ground floor we both figured, why not ask?

I want to say that the brands I have been talking to and their dealers have been very attentive and willing to take on the ideas and questions we have had coming in the door. While Hawk doesn’t want to use LED’s, that’s not really a huge issue. It was odd, so I posted here, but they’ve sent us a floor plan and quote for all the specs I was looking for and the costs between brands are all pretty much in line.

We’re still hemming and hawing over which brand and what elements we like or not. Thankfully it’s not a rush and overall I am looking at the lengths and trying to get a feel for what is ‘too’ big and what would be ok.

~Emily

[grinanride]

Hello - if you order just tell your dealer to order LED’s, I use them all the time, no horse issues with it at all, they are more expensive than standard dome lights… and what ever else you can think of you might like just ask / Hawk is extremely flexible /
Risa
HappyTrailsTrailers
BalancedRideTrailers

[QUOTE=Xctrygirl;8176265]
One thing we’re checking on is to see if it’s possible to have dimmable interior LED lights installed.

I know it’s “not done” yet in most trailers, but if we get to start from the ground floor we both figured, why not ask?

I want to say that the brands I have been talking to and their dealers have been very attentive and willing to take on the ideas and questions we have had coming in the door. While Hawk doesn’t want to use LED’s, that’s not really a huge issue. It was odd, so I posted here, but they’ve sent us a floor plan and quote for all the specs I was looking for and the costs between brands are all pretty much in line.

We’re still hemming and hawing over which brand and what elements we like or not. Thankfully it’s not a rush and overall I am looking at the lengths and trying to get a feel for what is ‘too’ big and what would be ok.

~Emily[/QUOTE]

[MSP]

I just bought a Hawk last fall and it has LEDs. The trailer was not built the way I requested but I own it now! I have no problem with the LED lights.