LED Lights for Off-Road or Winding Country Roads

[Old No7]

Ahoy the forum from the coast of Maine...

As I've grown older and more selective in my hunting areas -- far away from the maddening crowds and yahoos, that is -- I find myself more and more on winding back country roads or woods roads to get to the areas I want to hunt. Yeah, I know these LED light bars aren't street legal, but I typically see very few vehicles on the road at oh-dark-thirty and I'll be careful to watch for oncoming cars if I do ever use these on winding public roads. Once off road though, these are fine to use and ought to LIGHT UP the woods roads, sharp turns and any other hazards pretty well.

Here's the stock low beam lights of my 4Runner, with fog lights on:

4Rnr 2017 08 LED Light Bars low.jpg

And the high beams on (fog lights go off, but there's still a decent spread to the side):

4Rnr 2017 09 LED Light Bars high.jpg

And now, here's the LED Light Bars along with the high beams!

4Rnr 2017 10 LED Light Bars high LED.jpg

Yowza, that will work! And she looks pretty gnarly all lit up too!
(Kinda makes you think of a "close encounter", doesn't it???)

4Rnr 2017 11 LED Light Bars on.jpg

And just in case you were wondering...... Check out the Westin pushbar *, knobby tires and oh yes! My vanity plate!

4Rnr 2017 02 Pushbar (small).JPG

Cheers!

Old No7

* ps: Saved $200 (delivery included) versus all other online sellers on that pushbar by buying it on Amazon, believe it or not...
(My son had suggested that, and I was surprised -- but very happy to save some $$.)

[harry]

I use a led light bar on my truck, it also has amber lights you just toggle the switch from white to amber.

[harry]

The white and amber from the same light

[GunnyMack]

I put a 30" led bar on the roof of my Polaris Ranger and 2 4" cubes on the back. It didn't have backup lights so the cubes make a world of difference when plowing snow at night. The bar on the roof really does an awesome job of illuminating the driveways that I plow in my neighborhood. The factory headlights might as well be AA maglights taped to the fenders compared to the led lights. I have both sets switched individually. Worth every penny.

Light bars aren't legal here either but more and more are on vehicles and the police don't do anything about it.

[2ndovc]

Cool!


Harry,

How do you like that canvas top?
I keep looking at those, they look pretty slick. My tonneau cover has seen better days and I need to do something else.

Jason

[harry]

Jason I really like it, I’ve had it for three years, used and abused it, and it’s held up well. When I use my goose neck camper I just take the windows out and fold it towards the cab, strap it down and go. The only issue I’ve had is the drivers side window, when you met a tractor trailer the blast of wind would undo the window. What I did was placed a 1 1/4” round dowel behind the window and that fixed it.

[Grizz]

a blessing and a curse at sea. try running thru an active crab fishing fleet at night, it's instant blindness. they are illegal now as running lights, but used anyway. they can disrupt night vision from 15 miles away.

i will have spreader lights that i can rotate "a little" to ease passage. there are whole trees and big deadheads floating around the channels, it takes some light to see them, but the lights seem to be hard to focus to prevent glare to the rest of the mariners.

I had to shut my flood lights off one night because we were in a blinding type snowstorm, and it looked for all the world as though we were flying sideways at around 60 knots!

[earlmck]

Around these parts those LED lights are quite popular among the --so far small-- percentage of folks who do not dim for oncoming traffic. If I ever succumb to the "goin' postal" urge, those blue lights gonna' be my first targets.

[AJMD429]

Around these parts those LED lights are quite popular among the --so far small-- percentage of folks who do not dim for oncoming traffic. If I ever succumb to the "goin' postal" urge, those blue lights gonna' be my first targets.

We get the ones in pickups who come up on your bumper thinking that a half-car-length is appropriate following distance for 50 mph, brights on and all. In my testosterone-filled youth, they'd get an airborne coke bottle lobbed out my window at mid-windshield height, or I'd slam on my brakes just hard enough to induce them to have to swerve and run off the road. Now that I'm old, I just gradually slow down to whatever the appropriate speed correlates with the 'following distance' they have established. Then they eventually pass me in a huff, and no harm done.

[Blaine]

Certainly handy for seeing off road, and on rural roads with little traffic.
But, around here the duck-tards leave them on all the time.
They should be wired into the High Beam circuit.

The Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs are a great replacement for the quartz-halogen bulbs if your rig didn't come with LED. I used them on my touring motorcycles and it extends the night range by about half. I think I'll put them on my Ram 1500 as the stock low beams are lacking quite a bit.

[Ysabel Kid]

Sweet ride Darryl - and I love the plate!

[Scott Tschirhart]

The factory headlights on my Jeep were woefully insufficient. So I replaced them with LEDs and it made a world of difference.

I put two small LED off road lights one on each side of the windshield and these are really handy but I only use them off road.

I also put a set of rattlesnake lights underneath the Jeep. Six small round pods of LED light boltedto the frame and switched to the dash. I think off road drivers use them to spot rocks and position their tires. For me, it lights up a workspace if you need to crawl up under the vehicle.

[Old No7]

I also put a set of rattlesnake lights underneath the Jeep...

Well, that's one LED accessory I won't need...

Great idea though!

Old No7

[gcs]

Whatever lights are in my daughters Subaru, makes it look like an alien spacecraft landed compared to the stock lights in my Dodge pickup...I need to look at those Sylvania bulbs...

[jeepnik]

On my Jeep I have a hardwired remote controlled spot/flood light. It's supposedly for marine use, but I figured if it would work on a boat in that environment it should handle anything my Jeep could throw at it. I guess I was right since it's been there since 1983.

I was thinking about doing the same thing on my Tacoma. But running wires under a headliner and drilling holes in the rood really don't appeal. So I get an email from MIlwaukee today and low and behold they have this.
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/ ... /2123-21HD
Took about a half a second to hit the buy button.

[BenT]

I have a 20 inch lightbar on my older Subaru and it really lights up the ditches for deer. I taped the round light switch to the end of the steering column lever for high beams. When I turn off the high beams I flip the switch off all in one motion to the lightbar. When my high beams are on so is my light bar. It may not look pretty with the electrical tape but is totally functional. My wife has a 2015 subaru and it needs no additional lights . The factory lights are excellent.

[marlinman93]

I went from really old technology on my '39 Chevy that didn't even have sealed beam headlamps. To LED headlamps by making my own retrofit conversion setup.
I used the existing reflectors, and cut out the old sockets. Then got a couple crunched halogen reflectors at the local wrecking yard, and used JB Weld and rivets to install the sockets into my old 1939 reflectors. Got LED lamps to fit the halogen sockets, and instant bright lights!
And since they didn't have turn signals back in 1939 either, I bought a pair of repair sockets for 1157 lamps, and added turn signals to the reflectors also. Did the same to the rear taillights by gutting the sockets and reflectors, and installing Harley Davidson LED turn signal lamps inside the original Chev housings. Now I've got modern, bright lights front and rear that look stock.

[spurgon]

Certainly handy for seeing off road, and on rural roads with little traffic.
But, around here the duck-tards leave them on all the time.
They should be wired into the High Beam circuit.

The Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs are a great replacement for the quartz-halogen bulbs if your rig didn't come with LED. I used them on my touring motorcycles and it extends the night range by about half. I think I'll put them on my Ram 1500 as the stock low beams are lacking quite a bit.

Blaine
You mentioned the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs
as a replacement for your 1500 Ram. I need headlight replacement in my 1997 Ram 1500. The
Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs are the brightest ones that I can find that are straight- forward "bulb only"
upgrades. I can't do a more radical swap out of the whole headlight/ reflector assembly. Did your research turn up any brighter bulb-only replacements? I might be able to add LED fog lights and or a light bar, but I really don't know where to start about choosing this items either.
Much abliged
spurgon (James)

[OldWin]

The factory headlights on my Jeep were woefully insufficient. So I replaced them with LEDs and it made a world of difference.

I put two small LED off road lights one on each side of the windshield and these are really handy but I only use them off road.

I also put a set of rattlesnake lights underneath the Jeep. Six small round pods of LED light boltedto the frame and switched to the dash. I think off road drivers use them to spot rocks and position their tires. For me, it lights up a workspace if you need to crawl up under the vehicle.

Yup. The headlights on my old TJ are pretty sad. And yes, those are called Rock Lights in these parts. Many in my club have them. In my experience, any "off road lights", no matter where they are mounted, take an awful pounding. If it is just for gravel roads or open country, they hold up much better. For our type of wheeling, they are usually the first victim.
I avoid wheeling at night these days. Got that outta my system in my younger days.
For simply driving where more light is wanted, I find them mounted in a protected place on the bumper the best. Mine are behind my winch plate and have avoided destruction for many years.

[Rusty]

I hate those things.

[Blaine]

Certainly handy for seeing off road, and on rural roads with little traffic.
But, around here the duck-tards leave them on all the time.
They should be wired into the High Beam circuit.

The Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs are a great replacement for the quartz-halogen bulbs if your rig didn't come with LED. I used them on my touring motorcycles and it extends the night range by about half. I think I'll put them on my Ram 1500 as the stock low beams are lacking quite a bit.

Blaine
You mentioned the Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs
as a replacement for your 1500 Ram. I need headlight replacement in my 1997 Ram 1500. The
Sylvania SilverStar Ultra bulbs are the brightest ones that I can find that are straight- forward "bulb only"
upgrades. I can't do a more radical swap out of the whole headlight/ reflector assembly. Did your research turn up any brighter bulb-only replacements? I might be able to add LED fog lights and or a light bar, but I really don't know where to start about choosing this items either.
Much abliged
spurgon (James)

I've been looking online at the Sylvania site doesn't seem to have Silver Star bulbs for my 2021 Ram....The LED replacements might be the way I have to go.
I started another thread just for LEDs and replacement for halogen factory lamps...

[spurgon]

I replaced my headlight bulbs with the Sylvania Silver Star Ultra bulbs. They improved over what I had. I still need more light on the road in deer country. I have a 1997 Dodge Ram 4x4 and I'm unable to find LED fog light housings that fit my bumper. The few options that I find are reviewed as being flimsy. If i had marlinmans skill on repurposing items.... oh well.