Shaving Tails & Replace With LED Strips?

Hey all, I've got an '89 rc stepside. On another forum I read a member pointed me to a step shave kit that I have been looking for for several months. Now that I've found it however, I'm not longer able to order a rollpan that already had LED strips installed that functioned as turn, brake, reverse and running lights. I've been considering shaving my tails, but am uncertain as to the legality of it, aside from the fact that I wouldn't know where to find full functioning LED strips. So I have a few questions,

1) Is it legal to shave the tails provided I have all necessary lights (running, reverse, turn & brake)
2) What would be the best LED strips to use
3) If I do carry this out, where should the placement of the LED strips be?

Thanks!

Low 89 said:

1) Is it legal to shave the tails provided I have all necessary lights (running, reverse, turn & brake)

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I don't know about the laws in Canada, but reverse lights aren't legally required here in the States. Sure, all cars come with them, but they're more of a convenience feature than a required safety feature. I would check into your local laws on the subject. The main issues pertaining to them are going to be the brightness, mounting location and reflectors. My LEDs are plenty bright according to Texas laws and they're within the proper range for mounting height. The only thing they could really get me on is a lack of reflectors, but with the prismatic lenses of my LEDs, they can fool the unknowing into thinking they are reflective. I drove daily for a few years with the LEDs. I was stopped plenty of times for speeding, tint and other stuff during that time, but never once did I get ticketed for the LED strips.

2) What would be the best LED strips to use

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Mine came from Precision Rodware. I don't even know if they're still around anymore.

HiTech Products has a pretty good selection of LED strips. I've heard good things about them in the past. You can get them in solid red, red with an amber blinker section, or red with an amber blinker and clear reverse light if you desire. I would recommend sticking with 12" or longer.

http://www.hitechledproducts.com/index.php?cPath=26_34&osCsid=335d8482beb2655eeb6e7b1b83472ba9

3) If I do carry this out, where should the placement of the LED strips be?

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I was told that with the flush mounting and lenses being smoothed and cleared over, mounting them to a steel panel would be better than mounting them to fiberglass, so I put them in my tailgate. Having them in the tailgate also helps to shield them from road spray and anything else that would be flying around behind a rollpan.

Wow, thank you for that long right up, it is extremely appreciated. I'll have to look into those lights you suggested to me though. With the LED's being in the tailgate, are you still able to open and close the tailgate properly? I'm just thinking about the location of the wires and all. It seems I'll have to look into the local laws here a bit more in depth though to ensure I can't get in trouble for it. What is the best way to get the LED's flush with the tailgate? Again, thank you for your assistance.

Low 89 said:

With the LED's being in the tailgate, are you still able to open and close the tailgate properly?

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Absolutely!

I'm just thinking about the location of the wires and all.

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My wires are run into the lower corners of the tailgate on both ends right near the pivot point. That way there's not much extension of the wiring when the tailgate is opened.

What is the best way to get the LED's flush with the tailgate? Again, thank you for your assistance.

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Cut the hole in the panel just a hair larger than the size of the lens.
Glue the lens to the backside of the panel.
Sand the lens down until it's smooth with the panel.
Cover the lens areas completely with body filler.
Sand the filler down until the entire lens is visible.
Prime the panel, covering the lenses.
Sand the lenses out again.
Tape off the lenses and spray your color.
Remove the tape and clear the entire panel.

Follow those steps and you'll come out with something like this:

When you say cut the panel and then glue the LED strip to the backside of the panel, do you mean within the hole? As in the LED is thick enough that it will cover the distance to the frontside? Sorry, I'm not completely certain of the construction of the tailgate. I think I understand for the most part. And what grit do you suggest I sand with? I presume you had used a varying array of grits. Thank you again for ther assistance, I'm forever grateful.

As far as the local laws, I printed off the standards booklet early this evening (a whopping 90 pages) and I plan to begin reading it shortly. One thing I noticed on my taillights today is that they have a clear spot for the reverse lights. I am not sure as to if this is how they were generally made, or if it is because it is a Canadian vehicle.

Low 89 said:

When you say cut the panel and then glue the LED strip to the backside of the panel, do you mean within the hole? As in the LED is thick enough that it will cover the distance to the frontside? Sorry, I'm not completely certain of the construction of the tailgate. I think I understand for the most part. And what grit do you suggest I sand with? I presume you had used a varying array of grits. Thank you again for ther assistance, I'm forever grateful.

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The lens is considerably thicker than the sheetmetal of the tailgate. The backside of the lens has a flared lip that you use to glue it in from the backside of the body panel. The lens will then be sticking out a good 1/8" or so past the face of the body panel. I didn't actually do the work myself, but I was there to watch the process. Start on the lens with a coarse grit to take it down. Once you get closer to being even with the panel, go to a finer grit, and so on.

One thing I noticed on my taillights today is that they have a clear spot for the reverse lights. I am not sure as to if this is how they were generally made, or if it is because it is a Canadian vehicle.

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Well...yeah. You have the same stock taillights as all the US trucks do. No difference. Like I said, ALL vehicles come with reverse lights, but they are NOT legally required in the US.

Oh okay, I'm pretty sure I undeerstand now how to do this. Of course, it'll be different once I finally get working on it. Funds have to be allocated to new tires first,m and then to the shaved roll pan. After that though I'll hopefully be workin on this. Going to take a while, but at least I'll still be able to drive the truck while I work on the tailgate, as I'll wait to shave the tails until the last minute. Thank you for all of your assistance it is much appreciated!

You're welcome.

Also, I had considered the possibility of running into legal issues with the lack of reflectors and had thought out possible solutions. A couple of strips of red reflective tape down either side of the license plate or maybe a couple of magnetic reflectors to stick on the tailgate temporarily.

I wasnt so much worried about the rear reflectors as I am the side markers. I dont know if they are required down in the states, but up here we need two side reflectors. One is at the front and the other at the rear. The current tails can account for them, but if I shave them then I lose that side marker, so i have to figure it that out. Or just hope no cop dings me on it

I believe they're required here, but nobody ever pays any attention to them. People put taillight covers on their trucks all the time that cover up that part of the light.