It may be legal to have it on you truck, it just might be illegal for “on-highway” use. It could be legal in the state but illegal within city/town limits. I deal with state inspection of vehicles so I get a lot of things like this that are in grey areas of state laws. Mainly its just a lot of aftermarket stuff that does not meet DOT regulations or has no DOT numbers on the part. The two people I know who have railroad air horns have them mounted under the hood… out-of-sight out-of-mind. At my old job I met a truck driver ( 18 wheeler) who had a three horn AirChime mounted on his truck, not sure if it was legal or not. Its just one of those things that very by location.
Do you (or anybody) have an idea of where I could find out? I’ve done some online research, where I could find nothing for my state, city or county that mentioned anything close to this. My thought leads me to the Oklahoma DOT, possibly contacting them about it? I don’t think the people at the local DMV would be very helpful, plus it is always super busy and the workers are pretty crabby.
Thoughts?
Acela
Try this and click on ‘vehicle equipment.’ You will have to scroll down like it says.
http://www.traffic.findlaw.com/traffic-tickets/oklahoma-traffic-laws.html
(I’m having wicked formatting problems with this–I DO know how to do it but…!!! [|(][:-,][tdn])
Here is an excerpt from that same document:
A. Every motor vehicle when operated upon a highway shall be equipped with a horn in good working order and capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than two hundred (200) feet, but no horn or other warning device shall emit an unreasonably loud or harsh sound. The driver of a motor vehicle shall, when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation, give audible warning with a horn but shall not otherwise use such horn when upon a highway.
B. No vehicle shall be equipped with nor shall any person use upon a vehicle any siren, except as otherwise permitted in subsection D of this section.
C. Any vehicle may be equipped with a theft alarm signal device which is so arranged that it cannot be used by the driver as an ordinary warning signal. A theft alarm signal device shall not use a siren, as described in subsection D of this section.
D. Every authorized emergency vehicle shall, in addition to any other equipment and distinctive markings required by this title, be equipped with a siren, or similar device, capable of emitting sound audible under normal conditions from a distance of not less than five hundred (500) feet and of a type approved by the Department of Public Safety, but such siren shall not be used except when such vehicle is operated in response to an emergency call or in the immediate pursuit of an actual or suspected violator of the law, in which said latter events the driver of such vehicle shall sound said siren when reasonably necessary to warn pedestrians and other drivers of the approach thereof.
E. It shall be unlawful for any person to use a de
Okay, this is really helpful. Thanks!
Thanks for all the great help so far!!
Acela
I guess that just leaves me with one more question until I can (hopefully) take this to the next step.
As far as air horns go, lower air pressure=deeper tone & less noise, right? So in theory, blowing a horn on say, 80psi would be quieter than, say, 110psi. Right?
Regardless of if I can mount them on my truck or not, here is one I found recently I am considering bidding on…I just can’t believe the current bid is only $51.00!!
And thanks for all the help!! You have been a big part in hopefully making a dream a reality! [:D]
Acela
The few trucks I have seen with train horns have them mounted underneath the sleeper (usually hidden by the fuel tanks), and they are pointed straight down, presumably to deafen the poor DOT inspector that gets to go into the pit at the inspection barn…
Anyway, usually these horns are set up as a third horn, apart from the city and air horns (city horn=the horn found on most cars). The valve for the horn is usually mounted next to the driver’s seat on the cab floor.
Personally, I would like a multi-chime horn that makes the same amount of noise as the factory single-note honker on my semi, and a bell (real or electronic) that I could turn on when maneuvering in parking lots or backing into docks, just to warn people that a truck is ready to move. Would not have to be louder than those backup beepers, would even be more noticeable, I think…
The only place I have found that sells train horn kits is at www.hornblasters.com. I have no ties to this company as I found it 2 years while I was researching the same idea for my crewcab dually.
We have lots of highways with the DC Metro in the median. When there is track work the driver sounds the main train horn to alert the track workers. They also have a yard “buzzer” but they do not use it on the lines. After the train horn sounds the traffic on both sides of I-66 goes a little crazy.
Let me pass on a little bit of history less it be lost forever. Back in 2006, I got a hair for a real trolley bell and after several months of searching on eBay, was the only bidder and winner of a New York City, Third Avenue Railway System (TARS), roof mounted trolley bell. It was obtained from the ground by a young man on an afternoon trip to the Mount Vernon scrap yard in 1947. The cars there had their king pins pulled and then flipped over, which turned the car bodies into splinters. He had no way to tell what car it came from. In corresponding with the seller, who was looking to give his beloved bell a new home, found out that for a few years he had it mounted in his Plymouth!
No small bell, it is 12 inch in diameter and 2 ½ inches high, the mounting bracket is 17 inches long and the legs are off set by three inches to accommodate the curve of the TARS roof. It weights in around 15 pounds. He had a lot of fun with it as back then the memory of street cars and bells were ingrained in every driver! A few years of this and the local cops got after him and he had to remove it. Only to be heard for wake up the neighbor parties.
This bell has some voice and the my family ringers her out for celebration parties, call to Thanksgiving dinner and new year’s night. This is a well balance bell, it resonate for almost a minute and glad to have found it from it’s second owner.
It sure would make a driver back in the 40’s sit up and look for the trolley’s headlight that’s about to run him over!
OK, I understand that bells & whistles scare can scare innocent pedestrians and drivers. But as a motorist who has had it with the bad driving of others (“road rage” is such a negative term!), I need to ask if it is illegal for some reason or other to mount a flame-thrower on my car for use in heavy traffic? I think this would be even more effective than the loud and disruptive bells and whistles for clearing a path down the streets and avenues.
I’m sure in Oklahoma y’all have some sort of state inspection station for cars and trucks. If you go by a reputable garage that does inspections there should be a knowledgable person there who could possibly answer your question or direct you to someone who can. They also may be someone who could tell you how to just get by under the law [:-^] …
This afternoon we cabbed down to Council Bluffs to pull a train out of the yard. We stopped at the local Pilot truck stop as we normally do. While waiting at the check-out, I saw they had a train horn for trucks on a shelf. I don’t know who makes them and I’ve seen them there before. Right next to them, which wasn’t there before, was a similar product called, “Union Pacific Express.” I don’t know who makes them, or if it’s a licensed product, but there’s a picture of a UP diesel (from across the room looked like a SD70M, but not sure) on the box.
The horns pictured on the box appeared to be about the same.
Jeff
I work for a company that builds RR Equip. we buy our horns from Nathan Air chimes. We regulate the air to 80,-90 psi otherwise its too loud. Need 1/2" air line with tank and 120psi. We buy our air operated bells from a place in oak creek wi. but I can’t remember the name.
I believe the store you mentioned is J.C. Whitney, an auto parts and equipment supplier.
Try this: www.jcwhitney.com
Speaking of stupid people, about 10 years ago a trespasser actually stole a horn off of a BNSF locomotive in the Mitchell, South Dakota yard. It was highly publicized with a reward offered for its return. About a month later, a local trucker went to a shop and wanted it installed on his rig.
The cops were waitig for him when he came back.