Vehicle and mobile LED screens in Dubai: LED displays for cars, vans, trucks and trailers

What a mobile LED screen is

A mobile LED screen is an LED display built onto something that moves: a car, a van, a truck, a trailer, a bus, or a person wearing it. It ranges from a message board the size of a number plate in a rear window to a truck carrying three screens of several square metres each, with its own generator.

People search for it in many ways: LED screen for car, car LED display, mobile LED display, LED van, LED advertising truck, digital billboard truck, mobile billboard, mobile video wall, LED trailer.

Three things make a vehicle screen different from a fixed one:

• Power. There's no mains socket. The screen runs from the vehicle's battery and alternator, a second battery, or a generator.
• Movement. It's shaken, heated, rained on and driven through wind at speed, so the fixing and the electronics have to be built for it.
• Rules. It's on the road among drivers, which brings traffic law and advertising permits into the design.

Most vehicle screens also work in two modes. They're seen in traffic, and they're parked and used as a display at an event, a showroom forecourt or a roadside pitch. Which of those matters more decides what you should build.

Types of vehicle LED screen

Vehicle LED screens come in seven types: roof-top displays, rear-window displays, side screens on vans, truck-body screens, trailer screens, bus displays, and small portable screens for bikes and backpacks. They differ in size, power source and how they're attached.

We supply and fit all of these.

Roof-top displays

A slim double-sided screen in a weatherproof housing on the roof, facing left and right. It's the format used on taxis in many cities, and it suits any car or van that spends its day in traffic.

Rear-window and in-car displays

A display inside the rear glass, facing the cars behind. These are the products most people mean when they search for an LED screen for a car. They range from a simple scrolling text board to a full-colour panel or a transparent LED film.

Van, truck and trailer screens

Large outdoor-grade screens on the sides and rear of a vehicle body, or on a trailer with a mast. These are what the industry calls mobile billboards or LED trucks. They're covered in their own section below.

Buses, bikes and backpacks

Destination displays and advertising screens for buses, lit and screen-fitted delivery boxes, and wearable screens for promotions on foot.

What's allowed on the road in Dubai

Advertising on a vehicle in Dubai needs a permit, and the published permit conditions cover static branding. They don't mention LED screens at all. A dedicated advertising vehicle is a separate category with a fee of AED 50,000 a year and requires an advertising trade licence. So before fitting any screen to a vehicle, get the authority's approval in writing for that screen on that vehicle.

Here's what's published. Vehicle advertising permits are handled through Mada Media's platform, and its page for commercial vehicles lists the categories and fees (Mada Media):

The same page gives a processing time of 3 to 7 working days and sets conditions on the design, including:

• Arabic must be at least 50% of the advertising content, and the trade name must match the licence.
• Nothing on the windscreen, and wraps exclude the windows.
• No images of real people, no 3D images, no barcodes, and no more than five images per side.
• A Dubai trade licence. For mobile advertising vehicles and trailers, a licence with advertising activity.
• A no-objection certificate from the leasing company if the vehicle is rented.

Placing unauthorised advertising on a vehicle carries a fine of Dh500, as reported by Khaleej Times.

What that means for a screen

• Screens aren't listed. The published categories describe stickers and wraps. Whether a roof display, a rear-window panel or a side screen is acceptable on your vehicle is for the authority to say. Ask, and keep the answer.
• An LED truck is a "mobile vehicle". A vehicle whose purpose is to carry advertising falls in the AED 50,000 category and needs an advertising licence. That's a business for advertising companies, and it's why most LED trucks in Dubai are run by them.
• Moving images near drivers. Dubai's outdoor advertising manual doesn't approve video or animated signs where drivers can see them, as reported by Khaleej Times. Expect the same thinking to apply to a screen on a vehicle in traffic: still images at most, and possibly no display at all while moving.
• Windows. The permit rules keep advertising off the windscreen and windows. A rear-window display also affects the driver's view. Both points need clearing before one is fitted.
• Lights. Traffic rules restrict lights on vehicles that could be confused with signals or emergency vehicles. Red, blue and flashing displays facing other drivers are the obvious risks.
• Vehicle modification. Adding a structure, a generator or significant weight to a vehicle may need approval from vehicle licensing, and the vehicle has to pass its inspection.
• Events and private land. A screen used only when parked on private land, at an event or inside a venue is a simpler case, though event and temporary permits can still apply.
• Other emirates have their own rules. A vehicle approved in one isn't automatically approved in another.

We're sign and screen makers, and this isn't legal advice. What we do is prepare the drawings and mock-ups of all four sides that the application needs, submit it with you, and build only what's been approved. For static vehicle graphics, see vehicle branding.

Car roof and taxi-top displays

A roof-top display is a double-sided LED screen about a metre long in a sealed housing, fixed to roof bars and powered from the vehicle's battery. A typical unit has a pixel pitch of P2.5, a brightness of 4,000 nits or more, an average power draw of about 126 watts, and is updated over 4G.

One manufacturer's specification gives the measure of the product (Unit LED):

What to know before fitting one:

• It's a small canvas. 384 × 128 pixels takes a logo, a phone number and a short line. Design for a glance.
• Fixing. On roof bars rated for the weight, with the housing bolted through, never held by magnets or straps alone. At motorway speed, the wind load on a box that size is considerable.
• Height. The display adds to the vehicle's height. Check car parks and height barriers.
• Power. At 126 watts average, it draws about 10 amps from a 12-volt system. That's fine with the engine running and will flatten a car battery in a few hours with it off, so it's wired through the ignition with a low-voltage cut-off.
• Heat. The roof is the hottest place on a car in summer. The housing needs ventilation or a fan, and the display should dim or shut down if it overheats.
• Brightness at night. Automatic dimming from a light sensor, so it doesn't dazzle drivers alongside.
• GPS. Lets content change by location and time, and shows where each vehicle is.
• Fleets. One system controls every display, so a campaign changes on all cars at once.

Rear-window and in-car LED displays

A rear-window display is a panel or film fitted inside the rear glass, showing a message to the vehicles behind. It runs from the car's 12-volt supply and is programmed from a phone. Types range from single-colour scrolling text boards to full-colour panels and see-through LED film.

• The driver's view comes first. A solid panel across the rear window removes the view through the mirror. Keep it to the lower part of the glass, use a see-through type, and make sure both door mirrors are clear.
• Tinted glass dims it. Much of Dubai's rear glass is tinted, which cuts the display's brightness for the drivers behind. A brighter panel is needed than the catalogue suggests.
• Heat behind glass. A parked car's rear shelf can pass 70°C. Cheap displays warp, fade and fail. Ask for the operating temperature, and expect a shorter life than an outdoor screen.
• Power. Small text boards run from the 12-volt socket. Larger panels should be wired to a fused, ignition-switched feed.
• What it may show. A company name and number is one thing. Changing adverts, video or anything red or flashing facing drivers is another. Check before fitting, as described above.
• Legibility. The car behind is 5 to 20 metres back. Letters need to be at least 5 cm tall to be read, and a line of more than about 15 characters has to scroll.
• Fixing. Brackets or suction mounts that won't let go in a hard stop. A loose panel in a collision is a hazard to passengers.

For lit name boards and fixed scrolling signs on buildings, see LED scrolling message boards and LED sign boards.

LED vans, trucks and trailers

An LED truck carries outdoor-grade screens on its sides and rear, usually 6 to 12 square metres a side, powered by an on-board generator. A trailer carries one larger screen on a mast that lifts and turns. A van carries smaller side and rear screens from a battery system. All three are built from the same weatherproof LED cabinets as a fixed outdoor LED screen.

One manufacturer's specification for truck screens gives a brightness of 7,000 nits or more, a refresh rate of 3,840 Hz and above, IP65 sealing, and power of 800 watts per square metre at maximum and 400 on average (Leeman).

Layouts

• Three-sided box. Screens on both sides and the rear of a truck body, showing the same or different content. The classic mobile billboard. For fixed ones, see LED billboards and advertising screens.
• Glass-sided truck. One or both sides open as a glazed showroom or stage, with a screen as the back wall. Used for product displays and roadshows.
• Stage truck. A side folds down into a platform, with the screen behind. A screen and a stage in one vehicle. See stage and event LED screens.
• Lifting screen. A screen that rises from the roof on a hydraulic mast and turns to face the crowd.
• Trailer. The screen folds flat for towing, then lifts and rotates on site. No engine to maintain, and it can be left in place for days.

Choosing between them

• For being seen while driving, a three-sided truck or van, subject to what's permitted.
• For events where people gather, a trailer or lifting screen, which gets the picture above heads.
• For both, a truck with fixed sides and a lifting roof screen, at the highest cost.
• For a tight budget and city streets, a van, which parks in an ordinary bay.

What the screen needs

• Brightness of 6,000 nits or more. The screen faces whichever way the vehicle is parked, including straight into the sun.
• Fine enough pitch for people standing close. A parked truck draws a crowd within a few metres. P3 to P4 suits that. P6 is enough for a screen only seen from across a road.
• A high refresh rate, since people film it.
• Front or rear service, depending on whether there's a way into the body behind the screen.
• Light cabinets. Aluminium or magnesium, to keep within the vehicle's payload.

Moving or parked: how the screen will really be used

Most LED trucks and trailers do their real work parked: at an event, outside a showroom, at a launch, beside a stadium. Driving is how they get there. Decide which matters more before you specify the vehicle, because a screen built to be watched by a standing crowd is different from one built to be glimpsed in traffic.

• Parked use is the easier case to get approved, especially on private land.
• A parked truck needs stabilising. Jacks or outriggers, so it doesn't rock when people climb on the stage or the wind catches the raised screen.
• Think about the generator's noise and fumes beside an audience. A silenced set, positioned away from the crowd, or a mains supply where the venue has one.
• Where will it park? A truck needs a flat, firm pitch with the right side facing the audience and the sun behind the viewers if possible.

Power on a vehicle

A vehicle screen runs from the vehicle's own electrical system, a separate battery bank, or a generator, depending on how much power it needs. Small displays under about 150 watts can run from a car's 12-volt system while the engine's on. Anything over a kilowatt needs its own supply.

How much power

The larger figures use the truck-screen manufacturer's 400 and 800 watts per square metre. Sound, lighting and air-conditioning for an operator's cabin add to them.

Running from the vehicle's battery

• A 126-watt roof display draws about 10 amps at 12 volts. A healthy alternator supplies that easily while driving.
• With the engine off, a typical 60 amp-hour car battery has about 30 amp-hours of usable charge before it struggles to start the engine. That's roughly three hours of display.
• So fit a low-voltage cut-off that switches the display off before the battery is too flat to start the car, and wire it so it can't be left on overnight.
• Vans and buses on 24 volts need a display rated for it. Most roof displays accept 9 to 36 volts.

A second battery bank

For a van, a bank of deep-cycle or lithium batteries with an inverter gives silent running for a few hours, charged from the alternator while driving and from the mains overnight. To size it, multiply the screen's average power by the hours needed. A 6-square-metre van at 2.4 kW for four hours needs about 10 kWh, which is a large and heavy battery. Silent running is expensive.

A generator

Trucks and trailers use a diesel generator in a soundproofed compartment.

• Size it for the maximum load plus a margin, since a full-white image draws twice the average.
• Fuel. As a rough guide, a diesel set uses about 0.3 litres for each kilowatt-hour it produces. A truck averaging 8 kW burns about 2.5 litres an hour, so a ten-hour day needs 25 litres and a tank to match.
• Ventilation and exhaust routed away from the screen's electronics and the audience.
• A mains inlet as well, so the vehicle can plug in at venues that have power.
• Earthing and protection. A proper distribution board with breakers and earth-leakage protection. A generator-fed metal vehicle in a crowd has to be safe to touch.

Saving power

Darker content, automatic dimming at night and an energy-saving screen all cut the load, which means a smaller generator, less fuel and longer battery running.

Built for the road: vibration, heat, wind and weight

A vehicle screen has to survive what a fixed screen never meets: constant vibration, the shock of potholes and speed bumps, wind at driving speed, and a body that flexes. It also has to stay within the vehicle's weight limits. Most failures of vehicle screens are mechanical, in the fixings and connectors, and those are decided in the workshop.

• Vibration. Every connector, cable and module is shaken for hours a day. We use locking connectors, clipped and sleeved cables, thread-locked bolts and modules fixed by screws as well as magnets.
• Anti-vibration mounts between the screen frame and the vehicle body, so the chassis's flexing isn't passed into the cabinets.
• Wind. A roof display or a raised trailer screen is a sail. Fixed screens on a truck body are designed for the vehicle's top speed plus gusts. A raised trailer screen is lowered when the wind rises, and trailers carry outriggers and a wind limit.
• Weight. Outdoor LED cabinets weigh roughly 28 to 48 kg per square metre. Twenty square metres of screen is 560 to 960 kg, before the frame, the generator, the fuel and the sound system. That has to fit within the vehicle's payload, with the load spread across the axles.
• Centre of gravity. A heavy screen high on a body makes a vehicle less stable in corners. Keep the mass low and central.
• Heat. A closed truck body in the Dubai sun, with a generator and several kilowatts of screen inside, gets very hot. It needs forced ventilation or air-conditioning for the electronics.
• Sealing. IP65 front and back, with drainage. A vehicle is washed with a pressure hose and driven through rain and dust.
• Vehicle approval. A structural change, a generator or a big change in weight may need the vehicle to be re-inspected and its registration updated. We advise on this before the build.
• Insurance. Tell the insurer. A modified vehicle carrying a valuable screen is a different risk.
• Access. Lockable hatches to reach the back of the screens, the generator and the controller.

Buses, delivery bikes and backpack screens

LED displays also go on buses, on delivery bike boxes and on people. Buses use destination boards and passenger information screens as well as advertising panels. Delivery boxes carry lit logos and small screens. A backpack screen is a wearable display for promotions on foot.

Buses

• Destination and route displays. Amber or white LED boards at the front, side and rear, showing the route number and destination in Arabic and English. Single-colour, very bright, and legible from a long way off.
• Passenger information screens inside, for next-stop announcements and notices. These are LCD screens.
• School and staff buses use displays for the route, the school's name and safety messages.
• Advertising screens on buses fall under the same permit questions as any other vehicle screen.
• 24-volt systems. Buses run on 24 volts, so displays must be rated for it and protected against voltage spikes.

Delivery bikes

A delivery box can carry a lit logo panel or a small LED display on its rear face, run from the bike's battery or a small battery pack. The published permit has a category for motorcycle advertising at AED 250 a year. Weight, waterproofing and a secure fixing matter most, and the display must not be confused with the bike's own lights.

Backpack and wearable screens

A slim screen of about 55 to 75 cm worn on the back or carried on a pole, run from a battery for a few hours. It's used for promotions in malls, at exhibitions and in pedestrian areas. It weighs several kilograms with its battery, so plan for shifts. Promotions in public places need the venue's or the authority's approval.

Food trucks and mobile shops

A menu screen and a brand screen on a food truck or mobile shop, used when parked. These are outdoor-rated LCD or LED screens run from the truck's generator or a mains hook-up. The published permit lists "special status vehicles" for mobile sales and services as a separate category. See digital menu boards.

Content and control on the move

A vehicle screen is updated over a mobile data connection, with content scheduled by time and, where GPS is fitted, by place. The content itself has to be simpler than on any fixed screen, because the audience and the screen are both moving.

• 4G control. Each vehicle has a SIM card. Content is uploaded from an office and reaches the whole fleet in minutes.
• GPS scheduling. Different content in different districts, near a particular branch, or at certain times of day.
• Tracking and proof of play. A record of where the vehicle went and what the screen showed, which advertisers ask for.
• Offline playback. The player stores its content, so a dead spot in coverage doesn't leave a blank screen.
• Brightness control. Automatic, from a light sensor, with a low night level.
• Stop when moving. A controller can hold a still image or blank the screen above a set speed and release it when parked. Where the authority allows a screen only when stationary, this is how it's enforced.
• Still images for traffic. A name, a short line and a number, held for several seconds, with clean cuts.
• Arabic at least half, following the permit's rule for vehicle advertising.
• No red or blue flashing, and nothing that resembles a traffic signal or an emergency vehicle.
• Video and sound when parked, for the event crowd.
• Live inputs. Trailers and trucks at events take a camera feed or a laptop through a video processor.

We design content for vehicle screens and set up the control system and fleet software.

Buying or hiring, and what it costs

Buy a vehicle screen if you'll use it regularly through the year. Hire one for a single event or campaign. We build and sell vehicle screens and don't hire them out, so for a one-off roadshow or match screening, a rental company is the better choice, and it will arrive with an operator and the permits.

Published figures are scarce. One manufacturer gives a factory price of a little over US$1,000 for a taxi-top display (Unit LED). Our own guide prices:

Prices are for the screen and conversion and exclude the vehicle itself.

What moves the price

• Screen area and pixel pitch.
• The power system. A generator, a battery bank or the vehicle's own supply.
• Hydraulics. A lifting and rotating mast costs far more than fixed screens.
• The body. Glass sides, a fold-down stage, an operator's cabin.
• Sound and lighting.
• Fleet quantity. Ten roof displays cost much less each than one.

Running costs

• The permit. From AED 250 for a name on the doors to AED 50,000 a year for an advertising vehicle, at the published rates.
• Fuel for the generator and the vehicle.
• Mobile data for each screen.
• A driver and an operator.
• Maintenance, which runs higher than for a fixed screen.
• Insurance.

See our LED screen price guide for screen prices in general.

Maintenance

A vehicle screen needs checking more often than a fixed one, because vibration loosens things. A monthly inspection of fixings and connectors prevents most breakdowns.

• Fixings. Check every bolt and bracket monthly, and after any knock.
• Connectors and cables. Look for chafing and loosened plugs.
• Cleaning. Wash by hand with low-pressure water. A pressure lance at close range forces water past seals.
• Generator. Service it by its hours, and keep its air filter clean in dust.
• Batteries. Check the charge system and the low-voltage cut-off.
• Hydraulics. Inspect hoses and fluid, and service the mast.
• Failed modules. Replaced from spares of the same batch.
• After a long run, look over the screen face for stone chips.
• Warranty. Our conversions carry a 1-year warranty, and we offer maintenance contracts afterwards.

Mistakes to avoid

Most problems with vehicle screens come from building first and asking permission afterwards.

1. Fitting a screen before getting written approval.
2. Assuming a branding permit covers a screen.
3. Planning video for a screen that's seen by drivers.
4. A rear-window panel that blocks the driver's view.
5. Running a roof display from the battery with no cut-off.
6. An undersized generator, sized from the average load.
7. Exceeding the vehicle's payload.
8. Magnets or straps as the only fixing.
9. No ventilation in a closed body.
10. An indoor-grade or low-brightness screen on a vehicle.
11. Building a truck for driving when it will mostly be parked, or the reverse.
12. Not telling the insurer or vehicle licensing about the modification.

How we deliver a vehicle screen

A vehicle screen project starts with the approval, then the vehicle, then the screen.

1. Consultation. What the screen is for, which vehicle, how it will be used, and what's likely to be permitted.
2. Design and mock-up. Drawings of all four sides with the screen in place, the power system and the weights, for you and for the permit application.
3. Approval. The application submitted, and the build confirmed against what's approved.
4. Conversion. Frames, screens, power, cabling and controls built and fitted in our workshop.
5. Testing. A road test and a soak test with the screen running, before handover.
6. Handover. Content loaded, driver and operator trained, documents and spares handed over, warranty started.

Lead time is typically 4–8 weeks from approval, depending on the vehicle and the screen.