Rock & Utility Light Tech

[JohnnyU]

Granted nighttime wheeling has become less frequent, but rocklights are an increasing concern, as it seems like utility and area lighting is always useful to have anywhere.

Please discuss (politely and itelligently) different styles of rock lights/utility lights that you have used or have experience with. I'm interested in pros/cons. Everything from reliability to cost to functionality.


Discuss.

 

[Explorin94]

I have used the implement lights as the bulb is mounted in rubber and can take a hit without destroying it.

 

[JohnnyU]

I have used the implement lights as the bulb is mounted in rubber and can take a hit without destroying it.

I like those lights too Brett, used to use them for everything, but they draw so much power that I'm hesitant to use many of them. I really like those Tantrum and VisionX LED lights, anyone have them yet?

 

[4x4junkie]

I'm running a couple of cheapie (plastic) driving lights up under the body that I took a sander to the lenses to "fog" them up so the light they cast is much more dispersed.

Up front I did the same to a couple of those little 12v tracklighting bulbs (MR16 type? I think?) mounted on some homemade mounts.

Guessing total wattage for all 4 is around 160 or so.

 

[strvger]

my rubber implement light has a 100w aircraft landing light in it for long range viewing. out back, i'm using a pair of 55w halogen driving lights mounted high up on my topper so i get a very bright, clear view of everything in back of me. for everything off to the side, i carry a bf flashlight. but, that's just me.

 

[JohnnyU]

I recently installed a set of these lights from O'Reilly's under the rear bumper of the Dodge as backup/auxillary lights.

They cast a nice white light without the goofy blue-tinted lense. They feature 55W bulbs, so they aren't the most efficient or lowest-current drawing lights out there, but they cast a nice beam. They feature a die-cast aluminum housing and use any standard H1 bulb. I'll take a few pictures tonight.

 

[Jason]

Those implement lights work very well. We have them on every truck at work and 4 on each tanker.

 

[Explorin94]

I found this website looking for the LED 194's. They have alot to offer and I think the round white LED's will work in the rubber housing the implement lights have.

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi

 

[Rotagotideas]

lighting

hey guys just putting in my 0.02 in. on the implement lights issue, some of those implements may run a higher voltage system and those lights are desigined to take that. that being said I have a pair of implement lights off a combine that ran 24V and have a max amps rating of 40 amps . what this means is that even if you are only running 30 amps on 12v to run the lights in paralel ( this means that the amps are divided by 2) you have a light that will give you 180 watts each light more than a eagle eye light that you can buy. but these lights are't cheap either and they can take a hit or two! and that's why i have them, because i will only be using them when I absolutely need them like night wheeling in a forest or snowing so bad that you can barely see what's in front of the truck. I am consdiering upgrading my altenator anyway as should anyone else when adding extra electrical acc.

(I will also be adding a resistor before my fuse after I figure out how long of wire i am going to run and the resistance of the run of wire. so that I don't blow it everytime i use it)

 

[4.0B2]

simple little LEDs that are cheap.. i have not installed them yet b/c i'm busy on bigger items but here are the things that most of my local club is using...
http://www.oznium.com/prewired-superflux

here's some threads on them on MSJ
http://midsouthjeeps.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=18768&hilit=led+light+uses&start=0

page 2 shows a list of what he uses and page 3 has some pics...

i'll quote those 2 for the lazy people... lol

So far so great! I have all of the lights installed and have been impressed with the results thus far. Might be a different story on the trails but we will have to see. The hardest/most time consuming part of the whole install in the wiring of course but other than that it is a breeze.

Parts list:
10 - pre-wired superflux 4-chip 12V LED from http://www.oznium.com/prewired-superflux
1 - Rocker Switch from Autozone $3.99
1 - In-Line Mini Fuse
50' of Red 18g wire
50' of Black 18g wire
End-to-End wire splicers
4' section of Pre Drilled/Slotted Angle from Lowe's
Self-Tapping Metal Screws
Superglue
$.97 Flat Black Spray Paint

I cut the 4' pre drilled/slotted angle into to sections that contain 2 full holes (about 2" long) with a chop saw. I round the edges and they were ready to go.

I then decided the mounting points (10 total). Once decided I used the Self-Tapping Metal Screws to secure them to the Frame (2 per Bracket) and painting them Black. The 2 in the front are glued to the Factory Front Bumper that I am still Rocking !

I let them sit for about 2 hours then I superglued the lights in place for mounting and did electical work.

Electrically, I started with runing the in-line fuse line from the battery to the rocker switch installed under the cigerette lighter and back out. The whole system has to be ran parallel and hidden . I tried to run the majority of the wires thru the chassis to keep it protected from the off-roading.


I left 2 holes in each bracket in case I want to add additional lights later. Like I said before I want more of these so if anyone else decides to order some let me know, I like to replace some of the factoru lighting inside and made add some more elsewhere.

Total investment:
Parts - $60
Labor - 3hrs

a couple of pics:

nevermind..you'll have to go over there and look at the pics since he didn't host them w/ photobucket or anything, they are just attachments on there.

 

[Dhillbilly]

not to steal your thread or anything but i was wondering what guys with 1st gen rangers do for fog lights. I have seen them before but they usually look trashy. i was thinking maybe putting some small ones where my bodylift gap is but i dont know what they would look like or if it would be worth it oh and i want them to match my 6k hids. thanks

 

[4.0B2]

personally, if i was you... i'd mod the bumper to NOT have the fugly gap on your truck... then i'd just cut 2 holes in the bumper and make mounts directly in the bumper for fogs.

 

[stiluv]

visionx trantrum in blue

in green

and my new rock lights i got from http://www.horsepowerjuice.com/led-lights/rocklights.html

all my lights on

the tantrum lights from visionx dont really work for rock lights they just look cool. the lights from horsepower juice kick ass. for $35 you get 20 of them and they are bright and have very little power draw.

 

[RyanV8]

Before you start complaining, I know I revived an old thread. I searched the forum and youtube for videso but did not get any results, it may be related to the censored internet overseas. I am considering installing some rock lights and haven't decided which way to go. I'll start on the high end.

The ones I am considering are KC HiLiTES 1351 Diffused Cyclone LED (six of them), LiteSPOTS Under Chassis Kit (Marcus sells these, they must be good), Vision X (good reviews https://4wdlife.com/best-rock-lights#Visionx-TANTRUM-Lights) and these from Amazon RioRand® 18w LED Spot Work Light 1800 Lumen 6500k 30 Degree Waterproof Light (draw more power than the others). I haven't found any videos of the KC's used as rock lights or the LiteSPOTS, the vision X lights have mixed reviews and I have seen the Amazon lights in person. Does anyone have a video of the KCs or LiteSPOTS in action?

 

[thorsranger91]

I have a cheap set of the green daisy chain rock lights. Ran them outside of the frame. They work awesome and take a beating. There's 3 light pods per strip and 4 strip per chain. I haven't done anything else yet. However my vw touareg has a 22" Alpena smart bar and it's insane. My touareg has been used for towing, logging, wrenching, blizzards and that bar rules at 5500 lumens