Posting here due to the most activity these days.

In my state (Vermont) it is illegal to have any form of tint on the front windows. However, you can put anything you'd like on the back and rear windows.

I'm curious to hear from any of you who are current or ex police officers and I'd love to know your honest opinions. Or anyone else who has gone through all of this and learned the hard way.

As far as the front windows, I know it's illegal, but would adding something like a 70-80% tint not be overly noticeable?

For the rear, since I can do any shade, I was thinking 35%?? I don't want to go too dark to where my rear window is completely useless. What about 50%?

Thanks!

 

I'm in pa and it's illegal to tint front as well but I've had all my vehicles tinted to match back 20% as well as a drop on windshield and "knock on wood" haven't had any problems.

 

This is usually only something you have to worry about if you are a kid, or doing something stupid... or driving through the wrong part of town

 

I have 35% on my sides and 15% rears.
Just remember any tint you 70-80 might be fine. I would do 20% on your rear window and call it a day. Having a white truck the tint always looks darker.

 

Thanks everyone!

As far as the 20% on the rear, I do agree it'll look great. However, will it render the rear window practically useless?

I want to go for 50/50 looks / functionality.

 

Not at all. I did my buddies f250 single cab. 35% on the sides and 20% rear. Not dark at all. He was worried because he doesn't like dark tint!!
If you went 15% or 5 then that's getting dark. My old truck was 5% rears. I could still see out but no one could see in. It was dark.
I'm doing 30% sides and 10 of 5% rears this spring.

Look up 3m window tint on eBay. All comes pre cut.

 

I've got 20% over the factory tint on the rear doors and back sliding glass, it's dark but I can still see through them pretty well. It's not an issue for me though, it may as well be completely blacked out. I use my mirrors when backing up, do you have to turn around?

If you tint the rears darker than the front it'll make the front appear darker.. In your case i probably wouldn't go more than 35% on the front doors and 20% everywhere else, I think you'd be happy and ok with it. 50% is barely anything at all and IMO would be a waste. Might as well tint the eyebrow too, think I did 20%.

Do you have state inspections in VT? They will fail you even if it's just an emission test, that's a problem is you don't have a garage or friend that will inspect and pass it for you. Other option is to peel the tint everytime you go in and re-tint afterwards.

 

Or if it's warm out keep the windows down!

 

That might work and it might not.. Here in NJ that would raise a red flag. I even got refused once from a private garage that asked me to roll up my windows and noticed the tint.

 

I have a good friend who I simply pay 20$ and he puts a sticker on. He knows the upkeep I do on my truck. Still, I make him put it on the lift and check it. He definitely wouldn't fail me for tint.

I may just go 35% all around. I need to look at some tinted trucks and see what percentage I like.

I don't want to go really dark, just a little tint.

And I don't turn around to back up, but I do like the use of the rear view mirror and I've read a lot of people say their rear window is useless with heavy tint.

 

Factory tinted rear windows are about 20% already and it's perfect for me. Easy to see out of at night. Still dark enough to look good. I had my front windows tinted to 50% (that's as low as I can go while staying legal) and I wish I could go a bit darker and match the rear factory tint.

Edit: if you're looking for photos of tint, my sig photo shows the factory tint on the rear windows but the front windows weren't tinted yet.

 

Factory tinted rear (20%) which looks darker in the picture.



It's illegal for any tint on my fronts, although I have them done at 20% as well.



I've been through the ringer with my old truck, it was black, with 5%(limo or whatever) all the way around. Looked killer but it ultimately wasn't worth the hassle.

The 20% all the way around is great. No complaints.

 

70-80% VLT tint lets 70-80% of the light pass through that tint ..... and this is after / before the light passes through your truck's glass which is usually gonna be about 70-80% VLT it's own self without any tint these days. Assume 70% on both, .70x.70=.49 .... that's 49% VLT which in Virginia ..... is legal on front side glasses. Virginia law is generally 50% VLT frt and 35% rr glasses and back glass if vehicle has two outside mirrors in the cases of passenger vehs. This is exactly how I had the Mercury GM of ours tinted in 2005 before our first long trip out west. Applied 70% on frt sides and 50% on rear sides and back .... with tint meter it measured 49% up front and 35% on backs ..... Va. law includes 7% tolerance.

It was always plenty dark ..... but last year I removed the tint on the front side glasses ..... windows work better with no tint. I also removed the tint on my '92 T-bird for same reason after motor quit. Rarely do we ever use rear window motors.






I carried a issued tint meter for 20 plus years of my career, wrote a lot of illegal tint tickets ..... it is not just an officer safety issue ..... it's also a traffic safety issue. Tinted glass prevents other drivers from seeing if you are on the cell phone or looking the other way when you are easing up to that stop sign before pulling out in front of them with the TT on your back .... and it causes reflections at night like when you look left and see lights ..... but they are really coming from your right and reflecting. I also found many from both Va. and other states with doubled layers of 5% VLT which on a glass checked at 2% .... just paint the glass I'ld tell them ..... but sign here first.

 

Thanks everyone. They all look good. Tough choice.

Tbear, I appreciate your honest opinion being that you're ex law enforcement. I'm leaning towards either 50% all around or 50% up front and 35% in the rear. I'll admit, 20% would look great on my white truck, but I don't think I want to go that dark. I just want a slight tint for looks but not to effect vision dramatically.

I found a seller on eBay that sells pre cut tint that's vehicle specific. Only $23 with free shipping and you can mix and match the tint levels. I want to try the diy job first. I've watched a few videos and besides cutting (that's why I want pre cut), it all seems very simple.

 

I put precut tint film on my truck's front windows, 2008_XL. To do it, I removed the weatherstripping around the window and then the door panel, which gave better access to the edge of the glass and lower down on the window itself.

Make sure you get the window CLEAN, and apply soap film to both the glass and the tint, so that it can be slid around. It's actually pretty easy if you are careful, and, if you're careful you'll end up with no bubbles.

Don't be surprised if the tint looks "cloudy" just after being applied. That will clear up once it cures.

Here in Arizona, 35% is legal on the front glass, so that's what I used. I suspect you'll be ok with 50% tint where you live.

- Jack