Ideas for fastening strobe light to tractor roof

[Hay Dude]

My Challenger has a typical plastic roof shell. Previous owner installed a home-brewed light bar bracket. Looks/works fine except one thing: It makes the tractor about 10’-2” high. I am storing it in a barn with a 10’ door opening for snowplowing season. Figures….

I removed the strobe light from the light bar and leave light bar in place the tractor is about 9’-10” high, so now it fits, but no strobe for snowplowing. If I stuck strobe directly to roof plastic, it would be about 9’11” high-it’ll just squeak through.

I’d like to fasten the strobe directly to the roof plastic to lower my overall height & retain use of strobe. The strobe, normally bolted, has 2 rubber mounting discs about 3” diameter. I presume they are shock absorbing and also leave an opening for the power wire.

I can’t use bolts or drill the roof.

Would large pieces of velcro stuck to the bottom of rubber discs and on top of roof plastic work? I don’t know if velcro adhesive sticks to rubber? It sticks to plastic very well. The power wire could act as a tether if it’s ripped off by a branch.

Or, what would be alternative suggestions would be better to stick directly to roof plastic? Gotta hold pretty good.

 

[2manyrocks]

I wouldn't trust the adhesive to stick to rubber in the cold.

I'm curious if a fishing magnet would stick to any kind of metal support on the underside of the roof? Or if you could glue some large fender washers to the roof top and then use a fishing magnet to hold the strobe to the washers?

 

[Hay Dude]

I wouldn't trust the adhesive to stick to rubber in the cold.

I'm curious if a fishing magnet would stick to any kind of metal support on the underside of the roof? Or if you could glue some large fender washers to the roof top and then use a fishing magnet to hold the strobe to the washers?

I like that idea, but the roof structure on the inside of the cab has a ceiling. I’d have to pull the ceiling down.

 

[Thomas]

Or cab orange top light replace with LED bulbs and wire them up to flasher.

 

[joeyd]

Google Click Bond Studs, they are aerospace quality fasteners that attach to the surface and have studs (bolts) of various lengths that you could attach to. They also have nuts that secure to the surface.

 

[Joe Hickerson]

Is the black strobe bottom metal or plastic?

 

[Hay Dude]

Or cab orange top light replace with LED bulbs and wire them up to flasher.

they already flash

 

[Hay Dude]

Is the black strobe bottom metal or plastic?

Plastic with rubber shock mounts.

I’m thinking about pulling the ceiling down, but what a PITA

 

[Hay Dude]

A little more info: The home made light bar was welded to the 2 flat circular metal magnetic bases mounted to the roof plastic.
I found these: 6” diameter only 2” high with magnetic base.

Maybe I cut off the home made light bar from the 2 bases and just mount these to the flat metal magnetic bases?

2 X 6 Inch Low-Profile LED Beacon Light W/ 3 Flash Patterns - Permanent Or Magnetic Mount

High Quality Beacon Light * Light Color Amber * LED * Made Of Polycarbonate * Dimensions - 4.25 Inch Length - 2.2 Inch Height - 5.9 Overall Length * 3 Flash Patterns * Dome Shaped * Blunt Cut Plug * 12 Wattage * 12-24 VDC Voltage * Sold Individually * Warranty On Beacon Light Against Defects In...

www.4statetrucks.com

 

[2manyrocks]

I wouldn't pull the ceiling down not really knowing if a magnet will actually hold the lights to the roof that way.

I probably should mention that even a small fishing magnet has such a strong grip that it could be a pain to remove the lights from the roof, especially being so far up in the air.

 

[Rustyiron]

On the top of the back of the cab (that's a mouthful)
where the challenger decal is just might be where they'd mount a license plate in Europe. If you're lucky there might be some type of threaded hole provided from the factory. If you're that lucky you could make a mount of some sort and keep it as low as possible.
If you got a pair of mini strobes, the mirror arms look like a good option also.

 

[stumblinhorse]

I would take some conduit and mount the light on top and then fasten it with a u-bolt to something like the grab bar or something. You then can make it whatever height you need. And take it off. Could just put alligator clips on for leads to make it very simple.

https://www.amazon.com/Flashing-BessieSparks-Rotating-Flexible-Warning/dp/B0816MH53H

 

[LittleBill21]

Honestly I Would cut the rubber spacers down till they were flush with the power wire, then use a product like geocell and glue it to the roof with a caulk gun.

https://www.amazon.com/Geocel-GC281...95275d955618f&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

 

[WranglerX]

I like stunblinhorses idea but make it a telescoping mount....

 

[jyoutz]

Contact cement will stick to rubber. Glue the Velcro to the rubber with contact cement and use the glue backing to stick the other side to the roof plastic.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

I wouldn't put any penetrations in my roof because ive seen that work out so well. I'd get on one of the steel corner posts, probably bolt holes already there.

 

[Captain Dirty]

Thinking out loud again and taking stumblinhorse's suggestion a little further. Mount a hinge on the lower lip of the roof in way of the "Challenger" decal (holes would let water drain from inside roof); weld an "L" shaped bracket to the hinge so the strobe would sit atop the roof but could be swung down. A suitable ring welded near the angle of the "L" could allow movement of the bracket with a pole like a boat hook or an iron rake. This would work until you came back tired and forgot about the light, but you might be able to fabricate some leading curved piece of metal that would flip the bracket down when you drove under the door lintel, or perhaps some hanging alarm to alert the operator.

 

[bigtiller]

I caulked a 4x4x.5 inch flat steel to the Gator roof with a product called Lexel that I bought at Ace Hardware. It says it will stick to almost anything, waterproof, mildew resistant and paintable. So I gave it a try.

I stuck my magnet base beacon light on the flat steel and plugged the power cord in. What was just a "temporary" setup has been there for two years now.

 

[TractorTYMe]

I made a video on this subject

 

[Boss 302]

That's a bad machine, mount that dude wherever you want.