October 14, 2024 • 31 mins
Episode 340: The team at SSR Lighting was encouraged to look into options for interior trailer lighting after safety concerns from companies like Ford. After trial and error and thinking through obstacles like forklift strikes, extreme weather, and batteries that can’t sit for months unused, they now have a great product that can light up the inside of any trailer.
In our That’s Not Heavy Duty segment we talk about another kind of lighting, custom truck lighting, some of which is against the law. Tell us what you think, should truckers be allowed to customize their trucks in this way, and should authorities just ignore custom lighting?
Show Notes: Visit HeavyDutyPartsReport.com for complete show notes of this episode and to subscribe to all our content.
Sponsors of this Episode
Heavy Duty Consulting Corporation: Find out how many “fault codes” your heavy-duty parts business has. Meet with us today. Visit HeavyDutyConsulting.com
Hengst Filtration: There's a new premium filter option for fleets. If you're responsible for a fleet, you won't believe how much using Hengst filters will save you. But you've got to go to HeavyDutyPartsReport.com/Hengst to find out how much.
Diesel Laptops: Diesel Laptops is so much more than just a provider of diagnostic tools. They’re your shop efficiency solution company. Learn more about everything Diesel Laptops can do for you today by visiting DieselLaptops.com today.
HDA Truck Pride: They’re the heart of the independent parts and service channel. They have 750 parts stores and 450 service centers conveniently located across the US and Canada. Visit HeavyDutyPartsReport.com/HDATruckPride today to find a location near you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jamie Irvine (00:00):
You're listening to the Heavy-Duty Parts Report.
I'm your host, jamie Irvin, andthis is the place where we have
conversations that empowerheavy-duty people.
Welcome to the Heavy-Duty PartsReport.
In this episode, we are goingto talk about lighting.
It is now October.
The days are getting shorter,the nights are getting longer.
(00:21):
Lighting is a issue this time ofyear.
Interior lighting in trailersis an ongoing challenge,
especially when the trailer isdisconnected from the tractor,
and so I wanted to share withyou an interview that we did
with a client of ours, ssrLighting Solutions.
Now, this interview originallyaired in 2023.
(00:41):
So when you hear me talk about2023, no, I haven't forgotten
what year it is.
It's just that we recorded itlast year, but it's just as
relevant in 2024 and beyond.
So, for those of you who've notheard the interview, this will
be the first time you're hearingit.
For those of you that areregular listeners of the show,
it's been over a year, so it'llbe good for you to hear that
(01:02):
again.
I really like this interviewbecause we talk about the
problem, we go into detail aboutthat, and he also goes into
some real detail about theengineering that went into this
innovative product, so I thinkit'll be good for all of us to
listen to that again.
Hope you enjoy the interview.
I'm very happy to have my guestwith me today.
My guest is Daryl Grady.
(01:23):
He's the Director ofEngineering of SSR Lighting
Solutions.
Daryl is a shareholder andheads up the R&D development at
SSR Lighting Solutions.
His career began in automotive.
We won't hold that against him,because now he's really
motivated on trying to helpheavy duty, so we're very happy
to have Daryl on the show.
(01:43):
Daryl, welcome to the HeavyDuty Parts Report.
Hey, thanks for having me andwelcome to being heavy duty.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you All right, so let'stalk a little bit about lighting
.
You know, I remember many yearsago unfortunately, this is like
20 plus years ago when all of asudden, the LED light became a
(02:05):
reality and I remember, you know, talking to fleets about
getting the LED taillights sothat the light would show up
faster and people would respondto it quicker and there'd be
less rear end collisions.
Like this is going back 20 plusyears.
Led has been around for quite awhile in the industry and yet
we still have issues related tolighting, and that's what we're
here to talk about today.
(02:25):
So talk to me a little bitabout where we are right now, in
2023, as it relates to lighting, semi-trucks and trailers and
the trucking industry.
Daryl Grady (02:36):
Inside of the trailer.
As far as LED lighting isconcerned, we do see trailers
that have LEDs in the ceiling,but when you do see those the
LED mounts they have to bemodified in such a way to have
them installed, so they havebrackets on the outside of them
that are made to hold them inplace and riveted in place.
(02:57):
And then, of course, the entiredelivery system of the voltage
and amperage is something thatisn't even tailored to the
trailer at all.
So you just have these lightsthat are installed and then the
trunk cable that runs down theside is just.
Everything is aftermarket.
It isn't an actual, completedevice that is made specifically
(03:18):
for inside the semi-trailer.
Jamie Irvine (03:19):
Is that because there is a bit of an attitude
towards trailers like they'rejust a box on wheels and so when
fleets are speccing them new,they're not requesting this, and
then it becomes an afterthoughtwhere they think, well, maybe
we need it, so they have to addit in the aftermarket.
Is that how that happens?
Or like, why are we in thissituation in 2023?
Daryl Grady (03:41):
I think it's because an actual entire kit was
just never, up until this point, addressed and invented.
I'm running into people thatit's been a constant need.
But when you do install it in aaftermarket scenario, you're
collecting pieces, so it becomesan arduous task.
Therein lies the biggestproblem up to this point.
Jamie Irvine (04:02):
Why would a fleet want to go to the extra cost of
adding this lighting inside ofa trailer?
I think we all understand theimportance of headlights and
taillights and marker lights andthings like that, but why would
a fleet look at this and sayyou know what?
This is an investment that'sworthwhile because it's actually
going to create a positiveimpact for us.
(04:24):
Walk me through that.
Daryl Grady (04:25):
So that's an interesting question because as
we were doing this kit,inventing this kit, we first got
involved in it from anautomotive, with our background,
of course, but from a safetystandpoint.
Ford had a couple incidences ofa worker being injured while
inspecting a trailer.
(04:46):
There was a large piece of woodprojecting at such an angle
that it actually entered theperson's leg, and that happened
because they could not see.
So, despite the fact thatthere's a dock light at the back
of the trailer, once a personor somebody enters the trailer,
all it really does is illuminatethe back of the person or the
forklift.
So that happened and then,immediately or not long after
(05:09):
that, somebody actually fell offthe side of a trailer because
trailers, as you know, now areall composite down the side.
So the large rivets had beensheared and the forklift went in
with a load of racks and tokind of straighten it up on the
side as they do, they kind ofuse the side of the trailer to
get things squared and he wentout the side of the trailer.
(05:29):
So, even though the trailer wasinspected, that was missed.
So that is how we originally gotinvolved with the lighting
system.
So they made a request that thelighting system be invented for
safety and inspection reasons.
System be invented for safetyand inspection reasons.
What we found is, as we weredoing it, other reasons came to
(05:49):
bear.
People with multi-stopshipments needed to read labels.
We have a customer thatservices rock and roll shows, so
they have our lights in thetrailer because people are
entering the trailer with theirhands full and they need to be
seeing inside the trailerwithout turning on, on and off
switches and then also thedropped aspect.
(06:10):
The other thing we had toinvent was illuminated the
trailer when it's separated fromthe tractor.
There are light systems outthere that there are no light
systems that do that, but thereare light systems that allow you
to plug them in but of courseyou can imagine the dangers of
somebody going out with anextension cord around a dock
situation.
The businesses wanted to do awaywith that liability.
Jamie Irvine (06:31):
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense and you know,
safety is something thatunfortunately they're I mean, I
don't think that everybodythinks this way, but there's
certain people who think thisway.
They're like it's just extracost.
It's almost like, you know,they resist it because it're
like it's just extra cost.
It's almost like they resist itbecause it's almost like
they're resisting it, likepaying an insurance bill or
something.
They just don't want to spendthe money.
But at the end of the day, ifyou've ever run a business where
(06:53):
people can get injured, youknow that once they get injured,
any money you save disappearsand a lot more goes out trying
to offset that situation.
So safety is an investment, butit's an investment that has a
positive return on investmentpretty quickly.
Daryl Grady (07:08):
Yeah, and we were also looking into that cost
investment, and so we wanted tomake a device that could be
resellable so once it'sinstalled in the trailer.
That is a positive that thetrailer has this lighting system
in it so that charge could beimplemented during resale.
Also, the fiberglass typetrailers are more expensive to
(07:31):
buy and harder to get rid of.
This is a solution for that too.
So one of our potentialcustomers we're in talks with
now, ashley Furniture, isactually looking at this system
instead of buying their normalfiberglass roofed trailers.
For those reasons Also, if anydamage happens to a fiberglass
roof trailer, it's much more ofa hassle than the standard
(07:51):
skinned trailer.
Jamie Irvine (07:53):
So, when you were developing this solution, what
kind of voice of the customerdid you engage in?
How did you work with thefleets and the commercial
trucking industry to uncoverpotential pitfalls, as you were
putting the product together?
Daryl Grady (08:08):
The biggest one that was.
The challenge right out of thegate was make me a lighting
system where I can drop thetrailer and I don't have to plug
it in.
So that led, of course, to abattery situation, and then you
have to think where do I put thebattery and what kind of space
do I have to deal with?
So we decided to put it in thenose of the trailer, behind the
(08:29):
what's normally plywood in thenose, and so that's a.
I have a device right here andyou can see how thin that is,
and inside of there is not onlythe battery but a voltage
regulator, a charging regulator,the charger pickups, so it can
be run by solar or the truck orby itself, and so that's the
(08:49):
entire apparatus right there.
Jamie Irvine (08:51):
For those that are listening that aren't
watching this, it's about thesize of a tablet in you know
surface area, but it's probablywhat about three inches thick.
Daryl Grady (09:00):
Not even so.
It's just, yeah, just underthat actually, and so that's the
standard size of a semi-trailer.
So we had to make sure that itcould be retrofitted into any
existing trailer and, of course,if it's being installed in the
manufacturing level that itmeant that are complied with all
the manufacturers as well.
Jamie Irvine (09:20):
I'm always fascinated to talk to people who
engineer products because Iwant to learn how they went
through the process.
So, trailers I mean, sometimesthey're in blistering heat,
sometimes they're in really,really cold.
And we all know batteries thatwhen they lose their charge they
don't do well in the cold.
So how did you address theenvironmental changes that all
these trailers are going to gothrough?
And then also, trailers willsit for a long time, sometimes
(09:43):
without being used, and thenthey're all of a sudden they're,
they're sprung into serviceagain.
So how did you address thoseissues?
Daryl Grady (09:48):
And the battery itself too has to be a
non-spillable.
So it is a glass mat batteryand it is specifically designed
so we've had actual trailerswith the kits on the road now
for a little over four years toaddress those problems and to
take readings.
So there's, there's tests.
We can do that in theautomotive market, where the
(10:08):
tests are supposed to simulate,you know, two years of whatever
discharging and charging.
Jamie Irvine (10:14):
Like to accelerate it, so you don't have
to wait two years, right.
Daryl Grady (10:17):
Well, those are great tests, but nothing is as
good as actually being out onthe road.
So we went through quite a bitof adjustments to address what
you're talking about, but thebiggest one that we found was
not allowing the battery todischarge below 10 volts, and
that's important.
(10:37):
So the battery has a regulatorinside of it that once it gets
to 10 volts, the whole systemshuts off and it will not allow
itself to turn back on untilit's hooked to the tractor again
, and then, once it's hooked tothe tractor again, it will run
off the tractor and also thebattery charger will kick in and
eventually it will go to itsfull charge.
Now, when it's fully charged,all the lights in the trailer
(11:00):
can stay on continuously forover four hours.
But to allow that to go evenfurther, what we've done and I
guess some people can't see this, they can just hear, but this
is a light, one of the lights,and there's eight in a kit Each
light has a motion sensor, sothe entire kit stays on.
(11:21):
There is no on-off switch, it'salways on.
So if you walk near this light,it turns on, but it only stays
on for approximately about fourminutes, maybe a little longer,
and then it turns off.
So if you're just working in aspecific area of the trailer,
only those lights will stay lit.
If you remove yourselfcompletely from the trailer for
(11:41):
over four minutes, the entirekit will shut off.
So even though we say the kitwill stay lit constantly for a
little over four hours, it'sactually much longer than that,
because the kit is regulatingitself to only be lit when
somebody is actually in need ofthe light.
That's fantastic.
Jamie Irvine (11:57):
We're going to take a quick break.
We'll be right back.
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We're back from our break.
Before the break.
Daryl, thanks for talking alittle bit about the situation
with trailers interior lightingsafety.
We think about the, the ledtechnology that's been around
for a really long time and thisis just a problem that just
hadn't been addressed yet, andyou've done a really good job of
describing some of the aspectsof this product that you're
(13:45):
developing.
Maybe you could take a momentto describe to us kind of in
more detail the way thattrailers are currently lit and
why it's problematic.
I know you mentioned it before,but I'd like a little more
detail on that.
Daryl Grady (13:59):
Well, first off, most trailers don't have any
lighting at all, which is reallyproblematic.
You're right, I see.
I think in the future thatthey'll all be lit.
I think that this inventionhere is a step in that direction
and maybe down the linethere'll be other kits offered,
but I see in the future thatthey all will be.
And in a dock situation, rightnow we're still, after decades,
(14:23):
still using the lamp that'sattached to the dock itself, the
building that swings around andshines into the trailer.
And even though that canilluminate a trailer, when
you're standing on the docklooking into the trailer you can
see fine.
The problem is is the minuteyou step into the trailer or you
take a forklift or product intothe trailer, it's just
illuminating your back, so itimmediately just becomes a giant
(14:46):
shadow.
So the fact that we've beendealing with that technology for
decades is kind of mindboggling is kind of
mind-boggling.
Although, as we mentionedbefore, even though the LED's
been invented, there were some.
The conditions inside of atrailer are so violent from day
to day that a way to harness theLED and keep it safe in that
(15:09):
environment has been a whilecoming and it's finally here.
Jamie Irvine (15:13):
Yeah, let's talk a little bit more about that.
You know, in the testing forthis product, no doubt you
looked at all these differentenvironments.
But talk to me a little bitabout the temperature at the
roof of a trailer and how thatwas a real problem you had to
overcome.
Daryl Grady (15:27):
Yes, so you can imagine a trailer spends time.
It could be in Lubbock, Texas,all the way to Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
So these trailers go throughhuge temperature swings and the
materials on the roof of thetrailer also.
You can imagine expanding andcontracting constantly.
And so when we were firsttrying to put LEDs onto the roof
(15:48):
of the trailer, we had somecatastrophic failures, but those
were all learning experiencesfor us.
We wanted to pull data off ofthat, but those were all
learning experiences for us.
We wanted to pull data off ofthat.
And finally.
So what we had to do is I knowsome people can't see this,
(16:19):
they're just listening, but wehad to lift the actual control
board off of the ceiling enoughand put a big enough heat sink
between the ceiling and thelight itself to keep that safe
in all of those conditions.
And it took us a while to getto the right mix, because of
course, the other challenge isthe light can't stick down
beyond the roof bows, Otherwisethey'd be damaged, so you have
to keep it at a certain thinaspect to it but also be able to
achieve the heat sinking.
And it took a while, but we gotthere.
There's a couple otherinteresting things, if I can too
(16:40):
.
Each light has a voltageregulator in it, so the light at
the front of the trailer is thesame luminosity as the light in
the back of the trailer.
That is another thing that yourun into when you're trying to
make an amperage and voltagetravel a 53-foot trailer.
The light closest to the powersource is brighter than the
light that's in the back of thetrailer.
Of course we had to adjust thatby voltage regulating each
(17:02):
light.
So when you go into one of ourtrailers it is a consistent
light all the way throughout.
Jamie Irvine (17:07):
Right, and, and, and it's you know.
You just think to yourself oh,let's put some lights in a
trailer.
Like should be easy.
Daryl Grady (17:12):
You find out.
Jamie Irvine (17:13):
No, wait a minute .
Daryl Grady (17:17):
There's a lot of a lot of math and a lot of
science that needs to go intothis, yeah, yeah, and and to to
um, endure the violence thathappens in inside of a.
You know, you can imagine whatit's like is it's going down the
road it's uh, 70 miles an hour,you know, hitting, bouncing
around, going into docks, allthe temperature changes, uh, the
moisture changes, that's uh.
Another thing we had to addressis make sure everything was
watertight.
(17:37):
I think one of the crowningachievements, though, is making
sure, no matter who installed it, it would be installed
correctly.
That was a thing that we had tolabor on intensively is to make
sure, no matter who installedit, it would be in such a way
that it would not allow you todo it incorrectly.
So that was a good one.
Jamie Irvine (17:57):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
I love learning about this and,as we said, there's a lot of
science that goes into it, a lotof math.
But there's also some uniquechallenges when you're making
products for heavy duty.
So, for example, with a classeight trailer, you've got
forklifts running in and out ofthem all day long.
What kind of hurdles did youhave to overcome when you were
(18:17):
developing the product and youwere thinking about okay, how do
we make this work withforklifts zipping in and out of
the trailer daily?
Daryl Grady (18:23):
There's three things that come to mind right
away as you were saying that.
First off, the box itself,making sure that it was placed
in the nose of the trailer insuch a way where a forklift
punching through the front ofthe trailer would not destroy
the box.
So the box is the size it isand easily placed high up on the
wall behind that plywood.
So even if a forklift were topierce its forks through the
(18:46):
nose of the trailer, it's fine.
Second was if inevitablythere's going to be a forklift
that goes through the roof ofthe trailer, you can't stop that
.
So we made the trunk insections, the trunk cable in
sections, so when that happensyou don't have to replace the
whole light kit, you can justreplace a portion of it if the
trunk cable gets damaged.
Also, will all the lights stillwork after a forklift takes out
(19:08):
one or two of them?
Yes, so we made sure weaddressed that.
But this one was a real pain forme was the on off switch.
No matter where I put an on offswitch, it was inside the
trailer, it was.
It was getting damaged.
Uh, I was, um, using uh, justpassive touch switches like your
mouse pad, uh, that thin, anduh, I just could not prevent.
(19:31):
Uh, no matter where I put it, aforklift was going to get it.
So eventually we moved to themotion sensor and just leaving
the kit on all the time, andlittle beknownst to us, because
we were just thinking inautomotive terms, that ended up
being a big sell.
For example, the truck and rollpeople that do the rock
concerts, because those guys aregoing in and out of the
(19:53):
trailers with their arms fullall the time.
They can't reach over and turnon a lighting system.
They want to just walk in andhave it turn on.
Yeah, but those three come tomind right away for forklift
problems.
Jamie Irvine (20:06):
Right, and I can imagine mounting.
It would have been interesting,like if you just use bolts or
something, wouldn't that justlike shear them off, as every
time?
Daryl Grady (20:13):
Yeah, If you step inside a well-used trailer,
there's nothing but marks allthe way up and down the entire
side.
And even automotive trailershave a plank of thick steel
right when you first go in thetrailer, because it's just from
hitting the dock plate.
They're constantly hitting theroof of the trailer.
So yeah, the automotive racksactually most industry racks are
(20:36):
made to cube out.
They want to get the most outof a trailer that they can, so
their racking systems are goingto go from floor to ceiling,
which doesn't allow a forkliftdriver a lot of room for error.
You know, that's just the wayit is.
Jamie Irvine (20:49):
So, now that you have the product in the market,
this is something that youmentioned could be retrofitted
to existing trailers.
What is the process that theyhave to go through to do the
retrofit Roughly?
How long does it take?
Can an average technician do it?
Is there any specialinstructions they need to think
about?
Daryl Grady (21:06):
So anyone can visit our website.
And on the website is theactual installation manual.
So anyone can visit that andthat's an interesting question,
the way it's presented on ourwebsite.
I would say two people wouldtake about two hours.
However, that is, we'vepresented the cleanest, neatest
installation.
(21:27):
So, always thinking in theautomotive realm, with, you know
, the big automotive racks andthe forklift drivers going in
and out of there, in thatinstallation you see no wires
whatsoever.
So the wires from the lightsand the trunk cable going down
the trailer.
We give you instructions how toactually install that.
(21:48):
So when you look up thefinished product, all you see
are lights.
Now, different people havedifferent needs.
So if you just wanted to tapethe wire up there and just have
the lights, of course, you couldprobably do the entire thing by
yourself in 30 minutes.
Jamie Irvine (22:03):
We went to the craziest scenario and then you
can just work your way backwardfrom there, right, but a couple
hours to retrofit the wholetrailer, I think that's a pretty
reasonable timeframe.
And now, what about serviceableparts and replacement parts?
So, over time, things wear outright LEDs, the diodes burn out,
batteries need to be replaced.
They just don't hold a chargeanymore.
(22:24):
So what is the availability onservice parts?
Daryl Grady (22:27):
And you brought up a good point there too.
So this is the lights, and thelights has just a simple plug in
here that can only go one way.
That's important too.
So if somebody's doing aninstallation, there's no wrong
way to do it.
It only allows you to plug itin one way.
If one light were to get damagedor need to be replaced, the
rest of the lights still work.
It's been addressed in such away that so let's say, some
(22:50):
damage happens to a section, youjust order one light from us
and we'll send it to you and youcan replace that.
We've also taken the main trunkcable and put that into three
sections.
So let's say somethingcatastrophic happens just in the
area of the trailer.
You don't have to buy a wholekit.
Catastrophic happens just inthe area of the trailer.
You don't have to buy a wholekit.
The battery, four screws andthe lid opens two terminals.
(23:14):
It's that easy and everythingis warrantied for two years.
But like you said, eventually Iwould expect the battery to be
the first thing that starts togo on a ramp down as far as
holding its charge, and thatcould easily be replaced.
Jamie Irvine (23:28):
Yeah well, it sounds like you've put a lot of
thought and effort into makingthis as easy as possible, and
it's so important becausepeople's safety, their bodily
you don't want to have peoplehaving bodily harm come to them
just because they're there doingtheir job and so I love the
fact that it's easy to install,easy to service.
That means it's going to workand it's going to be there when
(23:50):
you need it to be there, whichis great.
Typically, in like a 53 foottrailer, how many light fixtures
do you end up installing inaddition to the battery pack and
the main trunk cable?
Daryl Grady (24:00):
With the 53 foot trailer we found the number to
be eight.
Each light has a output greaterthan a 100 watt bulb.
That seems to be the standard.
When people ask me questionsabout brightness, they always
want it measured against the 100watt bulb.
So they're brighter than a 100watt bulb.
So imagine eight of thoseinside of a 53 foot van trailer.
You have no problem reading.
(24:20):
It's much like an office that'swhat it reminds me of Like
you're just sitting in youroffice when, when that happens.
We also chose eight because theentire package draws just over
one amp at that point and thusyou get the long hours out of
the battery when it's when it'sdropped from the tractor.
That makes a lot of sense, yeahso, daryl, who is your ideal
(24:42):
customer?
Jamie Irvine (24:43):
so far have you been working with a lot of
little independent fleets.
You work with the big megacarriers.
Who do you find are the onesthat have been adopting this
product quickly?
Daryl Grady (24:53):
Actually surprisingly both.
So our ideal customer?
We really don't have one.
Jamie Irvine (24:59):
Well, you got to own a class eight trailer.
Daryl Grady (25:02):
We've actually talked to Amazon, for example,
and we're in talks with themright now.
So I mean, ideally for a firstcustomer that would be fantastic
.
But we've also got lightsinstalled in a couple of fleets
where they only have fourtrailers.
In fact, one of those customersI'm very grateful we had early
on because they operate out ofFlint Michigan on a multi-stop
(25:24):
basis, out of Flint Michigan ona multi-stop basis.
So they actually they were agreat test bed for us because if
it could survive in thatenvironment, you know that was a
great R&D thing for us.
So he was, he was a big help,not only a customer, but we
really relished the ability tobe involved in that fleet.
Jamie Irvine (25:40):
So, daryl, let's talk a little bit about the
future.
What's the big dream for thisproduct?
Daryl Grady (25:46):
I think this product or products like it, I
think that eventually allsemi-trailers, all of them right
out of the manufacturer, aregoing to be lit.
It's not even going to be anoption, because I think the need
for it especially as we touchedon the safety and the liability
aspect of things from thehumanistic standpoint, I think
(26:09):
it needs to happen.
We've already achieved a way tomake it easy to be part of the
manufacturing process.
There's hardly any modificationthat would need to be done at
all.
If you wanted to hide the wirescompletely, the roof bows would
need a simple hole added,because the roof bows that go
(26:30):
across the trailer are alreadyhollow.
90% of it is already made forthis to happen.
So I suspect in the not toodistant future that this kit, or
a kit like it, is going to beeverywhere.
Jamie Irvine (26:44):
One of the best ways to get the manufacturers to
do anything is to have somefleet start specking it and
they're like where do I get thisfrom?
And they tell you.
So hopefully some fleets arelistening right now.
We know that they are.
We know some big fleets listenand they've actually adopted
some of the recommendations ofguests of this show.
I have confirmation on that andwe know the OEMs are listening
as well.
So hopefully this helps thosepeople all come together.
(27:08):
Yeah, well, you know, I justwant to say thank you on behalf
of the heavy duty industry.
Right, we need new players tocome in and look at things from
different perspectives, leveragedifferent technologies and
bring great new products to theindustry.
So you know from all of usthank you very much for your
efforts on this.
It sounds like this is going tobe a very successful product
(27:29):
for you.
Daryl Grady (27:30):
I think so as well.
I think there's a real need forit in the marketplace, and
thank you for having us.
Thank you.
Jamie Irvine (27:36):
You've been listening to the Heavy-Duty
Parts Report.
I'm your host, jamie Irvin, andwe've been speaking with Daryl
Grady.
He's the Director ofEngineering at SSR Lighting
Solutions.
If you'd like to learn moreabout this specific product for
heavy-duty, go tossrlightingsolutionscom.
Well, I hope you enjoyed theinterview with Daryl Grady from
SSR Lighting Solutions.
(27:57):
As I mentioned, they are aclient of the Heavy-Duty
Consulting Corporation.
We're very happy to be workingwith them.
There's going to beopportunities for you, if you
are a distributor, to sell thisproduct in the North American
market, so make sure that youreach out to them as soon as
possible.
It's time for that's Not HeavyDuty.
In this edition of that's NotHeavy Duty, I wanted you to
(28:19):
consider the pros and cons ofcustom lighting on big rigs.
Now, in the show notes, we'regoing to share the link to this
entire video.
It's about eight to nineminutes long.
It's from ET Transport, wherethey go into their opinions.
At least one of their driversgoes into their opinion about
the pros and cons of customizingyour lighting on a big rig, but
(28:43):
in that discussion he mentionsthat truckers should be able to
customize their trucks and thatthere are differences in laws
between the US and Canada.
But then he makes aninteresting statement.
He says that sometimes the finefor custom lighting or for even
tinting of windows is like ahundred bucks, and he basically
says that truckers should justdo what they want to do,
(29:06):
customize their trucks the waythey want, and if they get a
fine here or there, it's reallynot that big in the grand scheme
of things.
It's not that much money in thegrand scheme of things.
So instead of me telling youwhat's heavy duty and what's not
, I wanted to ask you youropinion.
Is this heavy duty?
Is this the way we shouldapproach things?
Should law enforcement justback off on custom lighting?
(29:27):
Is it okay for truckers to justput the lighting they want and
pay the fines and just move on?
What do you think?
I'm really looking forward tohearing your comments Now.
You can reach out to us inseveral ways.
One, on social media,especially on LinkedIn.
That's where we spend a lot ofour time.
Two, you can put the comment inthe YouTube video for this
episode.
Or three, you can go to theshow notes on your podcast
(29:49):
player and click the text buttonand text us.
We'd love to hear your thoughtson whether or not this is heavy
duty If you're listening tothis episode on the day that it
dropped, which is October 14th2024, I am in Florida this week
at the MEMA Tech Conference.
Now, this is a big honor for me.
First of all, I'm getting theopportunity to moderate several
(30:12):
of the panel discussions, so I'mgoing to be moderating three
sessions.
One is a mentoring session forstartup finalists because
they've got a startupcompetition.
Two, I'm going to be moderatinga panel on AI, uh.
Two, I'm going to be moderatinga panel on AI how it's a
reality in the aftermarket.
And I'm going to be moderatinga panel on heavy duty e-commerce
(30:33):
data standards.
In addition to that, I'm alsogoing to be a judge for the MEMA
aftermarket startup challengeand I'm mentoring one of the six
finalists.
If you are interested in thisuh, stay tuned to our socials on
LinkedIn.
I'm going to be posting somevideos and some content for my
attendance of the show.
(30:53):
And if you want to participatein next year's startup challenge
, make sure you head over toMEMA and check out the tech
startup challenge.
It is going to be awesome.
Thank you for listening andwatching our program.
We really appreciate yourongoing support.
If you haven't already, headover to heavydutypartsreportcom,
(31:14):
hit the follow button and signup to our weekly email.
You get one email a week, nospam.
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And finally, on YouTube, if youlike watching the video
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Thank you again for yourongoing support and, as always,
I want to encourage you to beheavy duty.
You're listening to the Heavy-Duty Parts Report.
I'm your host, jamie Irvin, andthis is the place where we have
conversations that empowerheavy-duty people.
Welcome to the Heavy-Duty PartsReport.
In this episode, we are goingto talk about lighting.
It is now October.
The days are getting shorter,the nights are getting longer.
(00:21):
Lighting is a issue this time ofyear.
Interior lighting in trailersis an ongoing challenge,
especially when the trailer isdisconnected from the tractor,
and so I wanted to share withyou an interview that we did
with a client of ours, ssrLighting Solutions.
Now, this interview originallyaired in 2023.
(00:41):
So when you hear me talk about2023, no, I haven't forgotten
what year it is.
It's just that we recorded itlast year, but it's just as
relevant in 2024 and beyond.
So, for those of you who've notheard the interview, this will
be the first time you're hearingit.
For those of you that areregular listeners of the show,
it's been over a year, so it'llbe good for you to hear that
(01:02):
again.
I really like this interviewbecause we talk about the
problem, we go into detail aboutthat, and he also goes into
some real detail about theengineering that went into this
innovative product, so I thinkit'll be good for all of us to
listen to that again.
Hope you enjoy the interview.
I'm very happy to have my guestwith me today.
My guest is Daryl Grady.
(01:23):
He's the Director ofEngineering of SSR Lighting
Solutions.
Daryl is a shareholder andheads up the R&D development at
SSR Lighting Solutions.
His career began in automotive.
We won't hold that against him,because now he's really
motivated on trying to helpheavy duty, so we're very happy
to have Daryl on the show.
(01:43):
Daryl, welcome to the HeavyDuty Parts Report.
Hey, thanks for having me andwelcome to being heavy duty.
Yeah, thank you.
Thank you All right, so let'stalk a little bit about lighting
.
You know, I remember many yearsago unfortunately, this is like
20 plus years ago when all of asudden, the LED light became a
(02:05):
reality and I remember, you know, talking to fleets about
getting the LED taillights sothat the light would show up
faster and people would respondto it quicker and there'd be
less rear end collisions.
Like this is going back 20 plusyears.
Led has been around for quite awhile in the industry and yet
we still have issues related tolighting, and that's what we're
here to talk about today.
(02:25):
So talk to me a little bitabout where we are right now, in
2023, as it relates to lighting, semi-trucks and trailers and
the trucking industry.
Daryl Grady (02:36):
Inside of the trailer.
As far as LED lighting isconcerned, we do see trailers
that have LEDs in the ceiling,but when you do see those the
LED mounts they have to bemodified in such a way to have
them installed, so they havebrackets on the outside of them
that are made to hold them inplace and riveted in place.
(02:57):
And then, of course, the entiredelivery system of the voltage
and amperage is something thatisn't even tailored to the
trailer at all.
So you just have these lightsthat are installed and then the
trunk cable that runs down theside is just.
Everything is aftermarket.
It isn't an actual, completedevice that is made specifically
(03:18):
for inside the semi-trailer.
Jamie Irvine (03:19):
Is that because there is a bit of an attitude
towards trailers like they'rejust a box on wheels and so when
fleets are speccing them new,they're not requesting this, and
then it becomes an afterthoughtwhere they think, well, maybe
we need it, so they have to addit in the aftermarket.
Is that how that happens?
Or like, why are we in thissituation in 2023?
Daryl Grady (03:41):
I think it's because an actual entire kit was
just never, up until this point, addressed and invented.
I'm running into people thatit's been a constant need.
But when you do install it in aaftermarket scenario, you're
collecting pieces, so it becomesan arduous task.
Therein lies the biggestproblem up to this point.
Jamie Irvine (04:02):
Why would a fleet want to go to the extra cost of
adding this lighting inside ofa trailer?
I think we all understand theimportance of headlights and
taillights and marker lights andthings like that, but why would
a fleet look at this and sayyou know what?
This is an investment that'sworthwhile because it's actually
going to create a positiveimpact for us.
(04:24):
Walk me through that.
Daryl Grady (04:25):
So that's an interesting question because as
we were doing this kit,inventing this kit, we first got
involved in it from anautomotive, with our background,
of course, but from a safetystandpoint.
Ford had a couple incidences ofa worker being injured while
inspecting a trailer.
(04:46):
There was a large piece of woodprojecting at such an angle
that it actually entered theperson's leg, and that happened
because they could not see.
So, despite the fact thatthere's a dock light at the back
of the trailer, once a personor somebody enters the trailer,
all it really does is illuminatethe back of the person or the
forklift.
So that happened and then,immediately or not long after
(05:09):
that, somebody actually fell offthe side of a trailer because
trailers, as you know, now areall composite down the side.
So the large rivets had beensheared and the forklift went in
with a load of racks and tokind of straighten it up on the
side as they do, they kind ofuse the side of the trailer to
get things squared and he wentout the side of the trailer.
(05:29):
So, even though the trailer wasinspected, that was missed.
So that is how we originally gotinvolved with the lighting
system.
So they made a request that thelighting system be invented for
safety and inspection reasons.
System be invented for safetyand inspection reasons.
What we found is, as we weredoing it, other reasons came to
(05:49):
bear.
People with multi-stopshipments needed to read labels.
We have a customer thatservices rock and roll shows, so
they have our lights in thetrailer because people are
entering the trailer with theirhands full and they need to be
seeing inside the trailerwithout turning on, on and off
switches and then also thedropped aspect.
(06:10):
The other thing we had toinvent was illuminated the
trailer when it's separated fromthe tractor.
There are light systems outthere that there are no light
systems that do that, but thereare light systems that allow you
to plug them in but of courseyou can imagine the dangers of
somebody going out with anextension cord around a dock
situation.
The businesses wanted to do awaywith that liability.
Jamie Irvine (06:31):
Yeah, it makes a lot of sense and you know,
safety is something thatunfortunately they're I mean, I
don't think that everybodythinks this way, but there's
certain people who think thisway.
They're like it's just extracost.
It's almost like, you know,they resist it because it're
like it's just extra cost.
It's almost like they resist itbecause it's almost like
they're resisting it, likepaying an insurance bill or
something.
They just don't want to spendthe money.
But at the end of the day, ifyou've ever run a business where
(06:53):
people can get injured, youknow that once they get injured,
any money you save disappearsand a lot more goes out trying
to offset that situation.
So safety is an investment, butit's an investment that has a
positive return on investmentpretty quickly.
Daryl Grady (07:08):
Yeah, and we were also looking into that cost
investment, and so we wanted tomake a device that could be
resellable so once it'sinstalled in the trailer.
That is a positive that thetrailer has this lighting system
in it so that charge could beimplemented during resale.
Also, the fiberglass typetrailers are more expensive to
(07:31):
buy and harder to get rid of.
This is a solution for that too.
So one of our potentialcustomers we're in talks with
now, ashley Furniture, isactually looking at this system
instead of buying their normalfiberglass roofed trailers.
For those reasons Also, if anydamage happens to a fiberglass
roof trailer, it's much more ofa hassle than the standard
(07:51):
skinned trailer.
Jamie Irvine (07:53):
So, when you were developing this solution, what
kind of voice of the customerdid you engage in?
How did you work with thefleets and the commercial
trucking industry to uncoverpotential pitfalls, as you were
putting the product together?
Daryl Grady (08:08):
The biggest one that was.
The challenge right out of thegate was make me a lighting
system where I can drop thetrailer and I don't have to plug
it in.
So that led, of course, to abattery situation, and then you
have to think where do I put thebattery and what kind of space
do I have to deal with?
So we decided to put it in thenose of the trailer, behind the
(08:29):
what's normally plywood in thenose, and so that's a.
I have a device right here andyou can see how thin that is,
and inside of there is not onlythe battery but a voltage
regulator, a charging regulator,the charger pickups, so it can
be run by solar or the truck orby itself, and so that's the
(08:49):
entire apparatus right there.
Jamie Irvine (08:51):
For those that are listening that aren't
watching this, it's about thesize of a tablet in you know
surface area, but it's probablywhat about three inches thick.
Daryl Grady (09:00):
Not even so.
It's just, yeah, just underthat actually, and so that's the
standard size of a semi-trailer.
So we had to make sure that itcould be retrofitted into any
existing trailer and, of course,if it's being installed in the
manufacturing level that itmeant that are complied with all
the manufacturers as well.
Jamie Irvine (09:20):
I'm always fascinated to talk to people who
engineer products because Iwant to learn how they went
through the process.
So, trailers I mean, sometimesthey're in blistering heat,
sometimes they're in really,really cold.
And we all know batteries thatwhen they lose their charge they
don't do well in the cold.
So how did you address theenvironmental changes that all
these trailers are going to gothrough?
And then also, trailers willsit for a long time, sometimes
(09:43):
without being used, and thenthey're all of a sudden they're,
they're sprung into serviceagain.
So how did you address thoseissues?
Daryl Grady (09:48):
And the battery itself too has to be a
non-spillable.
So it is a glass mat batteryand it is specifically designed
so we've had actual trailerswith the kits on the road now
for a little over four years toaddress those problems and to
take readings.
So there's, there's tests.
We can do that in theautomotive market, where the
(10:08):
tests are supposed to simulate,you know, two years of whatever
discharging and charging.
Jamie Irvine (10:14):
Like to accelerate it, so you don't have
to wait two years, right.
Daryl Grady (10:17):
Well, those are great tests, but nothing is as
good as actually being out onthe road.
So we went through quite a bitof adjustments to address what
you're talking about, but thebiggest one that we found was
not allowing the battery todischarge below 10 volts, and
that's important.
(10:37):
So the battery has a regulatorinside of it that once it gets
to 10 volts, the whole systemshuts off and it will not allow
itself to turn back on untilit's hooked to the tractor again
, and then, once it's hooked tothe tractor again, it will run
off the tractor and also thebattery charger will kick in and
eventually it will go to itsfull charge.
Now, when it's fully charged,all the lights in the trailer
(11:00):
can stay on continuously forover four hours.
But to allow that to go evenfurther, what we've done and I
guess some people can't see this, they can just hear, but this
is a light, one of the lights,and there's eight in a kit Each
light has a motion sensor, sothe entire kit stays on.
(11:21):
There is no on-off switch, it'salways on.
So if you walk near this light,it turns on, but it only stays
on for approximately about fourminutes, maybe a little longer,
and then it turns off.
So if you're just working in aspecific area of the trailer,
only those lights will stay lit.
If you remove yourselfcompletely from the trailer for
(11:41):
over four minutes, the entirekit will shut off.
So even though we say the kitwill stay lit constantly for a
little over four hours, it'sactually much longer than that,
because the kit is regulatingitself to only be lit when
somebody is actually in need ofthe light.
That's fantastic.
Jamie Irvine (11:57):
We're going to take a quick break.
We'll be right back.
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care of your commercialequipment.
We're back from our break.
Before the break.
Daryl, thanks for talking alittle bit about the situation
with trailers interior lightingsafety.
We think about the, the ledtechnology that's been around
for a really long time and thisis just a problem that just
hadn't been addressed yet, andyou've done a really good job of
describing some of the aspectsof this product that you're
(13:45):
developing.
Maybe you could take a momentto describe to us kind of in
more detail the way thattrailers are currently lit and
why it's problematic.
I know you mentioned it before,but I'd like a little more
detail on that.
Daryl Grady (13:59):
Well, first off, most trailers don't have any
lighting at all, which is reallyproblematic.
You're right, I see.
I think in the future thatthey'll all be lit.
I think that this inventionhere is a step in that direction
and maybe down the linethere'll be other kits offered,
but I see in the future thatthey all will be.
And in a dock situation, rightnow we're still, after decades,
(14:23):
still using the lamp that'sattached to the dock itself, the
building that swings around andshines into the trailer.
And even though that canilluminate a trailer, when
you're standing on the docklooking into the trailer you can
see fine.
The problem is is the minuteyou step into the trailer or you
take a forklift or product intothe trailer, it's just
illuminating your back, so itimmediately just becomes a giant
(14:46):
shadow.
So the fact that we've beendealing with that technology for
decades is kind of mindboggling is kind of
mind-boggling.
Although, as we mentionedbefore, even though the LED's
been invented, there were some.
The conditions inside of atrailer are so violent from day
to day that a way to harness theLED and keep it safe in that
(15:09):
environment has been a whilecoming and it's finally here.
Jamie Irvine (15:13):
Yeah, let's talk a little bit more about that.
You know, in the testing forthis product, no doubt you
looked at all these differentenvironments.
But talk to me a little bitabout the temperature at the
roof of a trailer and how thatwas a real problem you had to
overcome.
Daryl Grady (15:27):
Yes, so you can imagine a trailer spends time.
It could be in Lubbock, Texas,all the way to Minneapolis,
Minnesota.
So these trailers go throughhuge temperature swings and the
materials on the roof of thetrailer also.
You can imagine expanding andcontracting constantly.
And so when we were firsttrying to put LEDs onto the roof
(15:48):
of the trailer, we had somecatastrophic failures, but those
were all learning experiencesfor us.
We wanted to pull data off ofthat, but those were all
learning experiences for us.
We wanted to pull data off ofthat.
And finally.
So what we had to do is I knowsome people can't see this,
(16:19):
they're just listening, but wehad to lift the actual control
board off of the ceiling enoughand put a big enough heat sink
between the ceiling and thelight itself to keep that safe
in all of those conditions.
And it took us a while to getto the right mix, because of
course, the other challenge isthe light can't stick down
beyond the roof bows, Otherwisethey'd be damaged, so you have
to keep it at a certain thinaspect to it but also be able to
achieve the heat sinking.
And it took a while, but we gotthere.
There's a couple otherinteresting things, if I can too
(16:40):
.
Each light has a voltageregulator in it, so the light at
the front of the trailer is thesame luminosity as the light in
the back of the trailer.
That is another thing that yourun into when you're trying to
make an amperage and voltagetravel a 53-foot trailer.
The light closest to the powersource is brighter than the
light that's in the back of thetrailer.
Of course we had to adjust thatby voltage regulating each
(17:02):
light.
So when you go into one of ourtrailers it is a consistent
light all the way throughout.
Jamie Irvine (17:07):
Right, and, and, and it's you know.
You just think to yourself oh,let's put some lights in a
trailer.
Like should be easy.
Daryl Grady (17:12):
You find out.
Jamie Irvine (17:13):
No, wait a minute .
Daryl Grady (17:17):
There's a lot of a lot of math and a lot of
science that needs to go intothis, yeah, yeah, and and to to
um, endure the violence thathappens in inside of a.
You know, you can imagine whatit's like is it's going down the
road it's uh, 70 miles an hour,you know, hitting, bouncing
around, going into docks, allthe temperature changes, uh, the
moisture changes, that's uh.
Another thing we had to addressis make sure everything was
watertight.
(17:37):
I think one of the crowningachievements, though, is making
sure, no matter who installed it, it would be installed
correctly.
That was a thing that we had tolabor on intensively is to make
sure, no matter who installedit, it would be in such a way
that it would not allow you todo it incorrectly.
So that was a good one.
Jamie Irvine (17:57):
Yeah, that's fantastic.
I love learning about this and,as we said, there's a lot of
science that goes into it, a lotof math.
But there's also some uniquechallenges when you're making
products for heavy duty.
So, for example, with a classeight trailer, you've got
forklifts running in and out ofthem all day long.
What kind of hurdles did youhave to overcome when you were
(18:17):
developing the product and youwere thinking about okay, how do
we make this work withforklifts zipping in and out of
the trailer daily?
Daryl Grady (18:23):
There's three things that come to mind right
away as you were saying that.
First off, the box itself,making sure that it was placed
in the nose of the trailer insuch a way where a forklift
punching through the front ofthe trailer would not destroy
the box.
So the box is the size it isand easily placed high up on the
wall behind that plywood.
So even if a forklift were topierce its forks through the
(18:46):
nose of the trailer, it's fine.
Second was if inevitablythere's going to be a forklift
that goes through the roof ofthe trailer, you can't stop that
.
So we made the trunk insections, the trunk cable in
sections, so when that happensyou don't have to replace the
whole light kit, you can justreplace a portion of it if the
trunk cable gets damaged.
Also, will all the lights stillwork after a forklift takes out
(19:08):
one or two of them?
Yes, so we made sure weaddressed that.
But this one was a real pain forme was the on off switch.
No matter where I put an on offswitch, it was inside the
trailer, it was.
It was getting damaged.
Uh, I was, um, using uh, justpassive touch switches like your
mouse pad, uh, that thin, anduh, I just could not prevent.
(19:31):
Uh, no matter where I put it, aforklift was going to get it.
So eventually we moved to themotion sensor and just leaving
the kit on all the time, andlittle beknownst to us, because
we were just thinking inautomotive terms, that ended up
being a big sell.
For example, the truck and rollpeople that do the rock
concerts, because those guys aregoing in and out of the
(19:53):
trailers with their arms fullall the time.
They can't reach over and turnon a lighting system.
They want to just walk in andhave it turn on.
Yeah, but those three come tomind right away for forklift
problems.
Jamie Irvine (20:06):
Right, and I can imagine mounting.
It would have been interesting,like if you just use bolts or
something, wouldn't that justlike shear them off, as every
time?
Daryl Grady (20:13):
Yeah, If you step inside a well-used trailer,
there's nothing but marks allthe way up and down the entire
side.
And even automotive trailershave a plank of thick steel
right when you first go in thetrailer, because it's just from
hitting the dock plate.
They're constantly hitting theroof of the trailer.
So yeah, the automotive racksactually most industry racks are
(20:36):
made to cube out.
They want to get the most outof a trailer that they can, so
their racking systems are goingto go from floor to ceiling,
which doesn't allow a forkliftdriver a lot of room for error.
You know, that's just the wayit is.
Jamie Irvine (20:49):
So, now that you have the product in the market,
this is something that youmentioned could be retrofitted
to existing trailers.
What is the process that theyhave to go through to do the
retrofit Roughly?
How long does it take?
Can an average technician do it?
Is there any specialinstructions they need to think
about?
Daryl Grady (21:06):
So anyone can visit our website.
And on the website is theactual installation manual.
So anyone can visit that andthat's an interesting question,
the way it's presented on ourwebsite.
I would say two people wouldtake about two hours.
However, that is, we'vepresented the cleanest, neatest
installation.
(21:27):
So, always thinking in theautomotive realm, with, you know
, the big automotive racks andthe forklift drivers going in
and out of there, in thatinstallation you see no wires
whatsoever.
So the wires from the lightsand the trunk cable going down
the trailer.
We give you instructions how toactually install that.
(21:48):
So when you look up thefinished product, all you see
are lights.
Now, different people havedifferent needs.
So if you just wanted to tapethe wire up there and just have
the lights, of course, you couldprobably do the entire thing by
yourself in 30 minutes.
Jamie Irvine (22:03):
We went to the craziest scenario and then you
can just work your way backwardfrom there, right, but a couple
hours to retrofit the wholetrailer, I think that's a pretty
reasonable timeframe.
And now, what about serviceableparts and replacement parts?
So, over time, things wear outright LEDs, the diodes burn out,
batteries need to be replaced.
They just don't hold a chargeanymore.
(22:24):
So what is the availability onservice parts?
Daryl Grady (22:27):
And you brought up a good point there too.
So this is the lights, and thelights has just a simple plug in
here that can only go one way.
That's important too.
So if somebody's doing aninstallation, there's no wrong
way to do it.
It only allows you to plug itin one way.
If one light were to get damagedor need to be replaced, the
rest of the lights still work.
It's been addressed in such away that so let's say, some
(22:50):
damage happens to a section, youjust order one light from us
and we'll send it to you and youcan replace that.
We've also taken the main trunkcable and put that into three
sections.
So let's say somethingcatastrophic happens just in the
area of the trailer.
You don't have to buy a wholekit.
Catastrophic happens just inthe area of the trailer.
You don't have to buy a wholekit.
The battery, four screws andthe lid opens two terminals.
(23:14):
It's that easy and everythingis warrantied for two years.
But like you said, eventually Iwould expect the battery to be
the first thing that starts togo on a ramp down as far as
holding its charge, and thatcould easily be replaced.
Jamie Irvine (23:28):
Yeah well, it sounds like you've put a lot of
thought and effort into makingthis as easy as possible, and
it's so important becausepeople's safety, their bodily
you don't want to have peoplehaving bodily harm come to them
just because they're there doingtheir job and so I love the
fact that it's easy to install,easy to service.
That means it's going to workand it's going to be there when
(23:50):
you need it to be there, whichis great.
Typically, in like a 53 foottrailer, how many light fixtures
do you end up installing inaddition to the battery pack and
the main trunk cable?
Daryl Grady (24:00):
With the 53 foot trailer we found the number to
be eight.
Each light has a output greaterthan a 100 watt bulb.
That seems to be the standard.
When people ask me questionsabout brightness, they always
want it measured against the 100watt bulb.
So they're brighter than a 100watt bulb.
So imagine eight of thoseinside of a 53 foot van trailer.
You have no problem reading.
(24:20):
It's much like an office that'swhat it reminds me of Like
you're just sitting in youroffice when, when that happens.
We also chose eight because theentire package draws just over
one amp at that point and thusyou get the long hours out of
the battery when it's when it'sdropped from the tractor.
That makes a lot of sense, yeahso, daryl, who is your ideal
(24:42):
customer?
Jamie Irvine (24:43):
so far have you been working with a lot of
little independent fleets.
You work with the big megacarriers.
Who do you find are the onesthat have been adopting this
product quickly?
Daryl Grady (24:53):
Actually surprisingly both.
So our ideal customer?
We really don't have one.
Jamie Irvine (24:59):
Well, you got to own a class eight trailer.
Daryl Grady (25:02):
We've actually talked to Amazon, for example,
and we're in talks with themright now.
So I mean, ideally for a firstcustomer that would be fantastic
.
But we've also got lightsinstalled in a couple of fleets
where they only have fourtrailers.
In fact, one of those customersI'm very grateful we had early
on because they operate out ofFlint Michigan on a multi-stop
(25:24):
basis, out of Flint Michigan ona multi-stop basis.
So they actually they were agreat test bed for us because if
it could survive in thatenvironment, you know that was a
great R&D thing for us.
So he was, he was a big help,not only a customer, but we
really relished the ability tobe involved in that fleet.
Jamie Irvine (25:40):
So, daryl, let's talk a little bit about the
future.
What's the big dream for thisproduct?
Daryl Grady (25:46):
I think this product or products like it, I
think that eventually allsemi-trailers, all of them right
out of the manufacturer, aregoing to be lit.
It's not even going to be anoption, because I think the need
for it especially as we touchedon the safety and the liability
aspect of things from thehumanistic standpoint, I think
(26:09):
it needs to happen.
We've already achieved a way tomake it easy to be part of the
manufacturing process.
There's hardly any modificationthat would need to be done at
all.
If you wanted to hide the wirescompletely, the roof bows would
need a simple hole added,because the roof bows that go
(26:30):
across the trailer are alreadyhollow.
90% of it is already made forthis to happen.
So I suspect in the not toodistant future that this kit, or
a kit like it, is going to beeverywhere.
Jamie Irvine (26:44):
One of the best ways to get the manufacturers to
do anything is to have somefleet start specking it and
they're like where do I get thisfrom?
And they tell you.
So hopefully some fleets arelistening right now.
We know that they are.
We know some big fleets listenand they've actually adopted
some of the recommendations ofguests of this show.
I have confirmation on that andwe know the OEMs are listening
as well.
So hopefully this helps thosepeople all come together.
(27:08):
Yeah, well, you know, I justwant to say thank you on behalf
of the heavy duty industry.
Right, we need new players tocome in and look at things from
different perspectives, leveragedifferent technologies and
bring great new products to theindustry.
So you know from all of usthank you very much for your
efforts on this.
It sounds like this is going tobe a very successful product
(27:29):
for you.
Daryl Grady (27:30):
I think so as well.
I think there's a real need forit in the marketplace, and
thank you for having us.
Thank you.
Jamie Irvine (27:36):
You've been listening to the Heavy-Duty
Parts Report.
I'm your host, jamie Irvin, andwe've been speaking with Daryl
Grady.
He's the Director ofEngineering at SSR Lighting
Solutions.
If you'd like to learn moreabout this specific product for
heavy-duty, go tossrlightingsolutionscom.
Well, I hope you enjoyed theinterview with Daryl Grady from
SSR Lighting Solutions.
(27:57):
As I mentioned, they are aclient of the Heavy-Duty
Consulting Corporation.
We're very happy to be workingwith them.
There's going to beopportunities for you, if you
are a distributor, to sell thisproduct in the North American
market, so make sure that youreach out to them as soon as
possible.
It's time for that's Not HeavyDuty.
In this edition of that's NotHeavy Duty, I wanted you to
(28:19):
consider the pros and cons ofcustom lighting on big rigs.
Now, in the show notes, we'regoing to share the link to this
entire video.
It's about eight to nineminutes long.
It's from ET Transport, wherethey go into their opinions.
At least one of their driversgoes into their opinion about
the pros and cons of customizingyour lighting on a big rig, but
(28:43):
in that discussion he mentionsthat truckers should be able to
customize their trucks and thatthere are differences in laws
between the US and Canada.
But then he makes aninteresting statement.
He says that sometimes the finefor custom lighting or for even
tinting of windows is like ahundred bucks, and he basically
says that truckers should justdo what they want to do,
(29:06):
customize their trucks the waythey want, and if they get a
fine here or there, it's reallynot that big in the grand scheme
of things.
It's not that much money in thegrand scheme of things.
So instead of me telling youwhat's heavy duty and what's not
, I wanted to ask you youropinion.
Is this heavy duty?
Is this the way we shouldapproach things?
Should law enforcement justback off on custom lighting?
(29:27):
Is it okay for truckers to justput the lighting they want and
pay the fines and just move on?
What do you think?
I'm really looking forward tohearing your comments Now.
You can reach out to us inseveral ways.
One, on social media,especially on LinkedIn.
That's where we spend a lot ofour time.
Two, you can put the comment inthe YouTube video for this
episode.
Or three, you can go to theshow notes on your podcast
(29:49):
player and click the text buttonand text us.
We'd love to hear your thoughtson whether or not this is heavy
duty If you're listening tothis episode on the day that it
dropped, which is October 14th2024, I am in Florida this week
at the MEMA Tech Conference.
Now, this is a big honor for me.
First of all, I'm getting theopportunity to moderate several
(30:12):
of the panel discussions, so I'mgoing to be moderating three
sessions.
One is a mentoring session forstartup finalists because
they've got a startupcompetition.
Two, I'm going to be moderatinga panel on AI, uh.
Two, I'm going to be moderatinga panel on AI how it's a
reality in the aftermarket.
And I'm going to be moderatinga panel on heavy duty e-commerce
(30:33):
data standards.
In addition to that, I'm alsogoing to be a judge for the MEMA
aftermarket startup challengeand I'm mentoring one of the six
finalists.
If you are interested in thisuh, stay tuned to our socials on
LinkedIn.
I'm going to be posting somevideos and some content for my
attendance of the show.
(30:53):
And if you want to participatein next year's startup challenge
, make sure you head over toMEMA and check out the tech
startup challenge.
It is going to be awesome.
Thank you for listening andwatching our program.
We really appreciate yourongoing support.
If you haven't already, headover to heavydutypartsreportcom,
(31:14):
hit the follow button and signup to our weekly email.
You get one email a week, nospam.
Just one email a week tells youall of our new content.
Also, if you like to listen onthe podcast player of your
choice, take a moment and followfor free.
And if it gives you the option,please give us a five-star
rating and review.
We would really appreciate that.
(31:34):
I've heard that helps us withour reach.
And finally, on YouTube, if youlike watching the video
versions of our program, hitthat subscribe button and the
bell notification so you nevermiss out.
Thank you again for yourongoing support and, as always,
I want to encourage you to beheavy duty.
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