Ditch Lights on a 2011 F-150 XLT Crew Cab

Bravo1782

Adventurer
Philosophy of Use - Or - What are ditch lights and why should I bother?
The idea of "ditch lights" is to provide yourself with some peripheral lighting to cover ditches and roadsides, as well as wider trail lighting and more area lighting. Personally, I live in an area with a very high deer population so being able to get more peripheral lighting to look for their glowing eyes on back-roads is instrumental in avoiding deer-related collisions. Secondary to this, I have the very bad habit of ending up getting into campgrounds and state forests late at night (in the midwest, it's several hours of driving to any park worth seeing, so late night arrivals are the norm). Some extra area lighting for reading signs, looking for hard-to-see roads, and area lighting for setting up camp would be outstanding.

If you're an owner of a Jeep Wrangler, you buy some reasonably-priced windshield light brackets and you're in business. Just about everyone else is on their own and in need of a custom solution. I figured I'd share my solution with you in case this is something you could use.

The Hardware and the Install
I noticed there is a small opening in the plastic upper grill under the windshield by the hinge of the hood of my 2011 F-150 V-8 XLT 4x4 Crew Cab. It seemed reasonable to me that I could make a bracket that shared the bolts of the hinge and popped up through these holes. Disclaimer: I am not a master welder, I'm new to it, and I know just enough to be dangerous. This is only my second or third project, so I have a lot to learn yet. That said, I'm generally happy with how they came out. I used 1/8" thick, 1" wide bar stock for everything. After hours of welding, grinding, and test fitting, I generated these: (see thumbnails).
I primed them with self-etching primer, painted them flat black and installed them. For lights, I purchased a pair of Auxbeam 18W Flood Pattern Lights from Amazon. I'd had these in the past and for $20, they're hard to beat. Yes, they're Made in China, but you know what, they're good enough for me. I know a lot of people love their Rigid industries, but that's a lot of money for someone like me. I'm not traveling through the Sahara, I'm not sponsored, and honestly, my real world experience with them has been excellent. The last pair I purchased served as backup lights, and I beat the living tar out of them, and they still work great! I'm a big fan.

Note: I had to buy different mounting hardware...I needed shorter stainless-steel bolts because of the low clearance of the lights over plastic windshield grill. A quick trip to a local hardware store solved this small problem.

Wiring
I made a custom wiring harness for it...turns out you can buy wire loom super cheap on amazon. I used 1/4" loom and 14awg wire. The connections were sealed with proper Delphi Weatherpack Connectors. I want to be able have all the connections watertight and still be able to easily remove them if I ever want to repair or replace the lights. I purchased the connectors from http://www.performanceplusconnection.com/ They're super affordable and their shipping is super cheap. The connectors shipped with instructions with how to install them with the proper tool and also with a standard wire crimper. Their directions are excellent, adn they ship quick. I used Hella Waterproof Relays with the Waterproof Pigtail attached to a custom relay bracket. I've got another post about that fuseblock if you're interested.

Switches
Of course, you need a switch to turn your lights on and off. Turns out, if you swing over to OTRATTW.com and purchase their switches and a three switch panel, it'll fit perfectly in the cut outs where the factory break controller fit (if you don't have a factory brake controller). No cutting or modifying, just remove the trim and unscrew the little cubby. It's not a perfect fit, but it looks good, doesn't fall out, I didn't have to hack up my dash, and I can remove it if I need to change switches, etc. Frankly, it works for me! I really like the OTRATTW switches...they're a little pricey, but well made and they have all the hardware to do clean custom installs. Plus they do custom text for free!

Conclusion\Final Thoughts
So far, I really like this upgrade. I'll try to get some good night shots on my next adventure, but it definitely gives me good ditch illumination and excellent area illumination. At highway speeds there is no wind noise or noticeable drag. They're not intrusive, don't block my view at all, and the brackets seem plenty strong. You could totally mounts different lights, run forward facing spotlights...there are a lot of possibilities. There's also ways to save money...you don't NEED to run Contura V switches or weatherpack connectors. You could buy a generic wiring harness from amazon and use that and save a lot of time...but I wanted to do something specific for my rig, and frankly it was a lot of fun. I'll post an update after I've been on a few trips and have tested them out. Frankly, I've been sick for a few days, so I decided to write all this up.

Thanks for taking a look!

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04Ram2500Hemi

Observer
I've always liked this idea, but I've yet to figure out a light setup similar to this that would work on my Power Wagon. Well done!
 

Bravo1782

Adventurer
Thanks guys!

Modification with a purpose. That's what it's all about!

You know what, this is a huge point. I got sucked into the whole "modification for the sake of modification" when I had my Jeep. One day I woke up and realized I had 3/16" and 1/4" thick skidplates on this thing, two hardcore axles that I was going to install, a locker, rock crawling style bumper...the whole nine yards, with plans upon plans for it. Do you know how many times I went rock crawling in that thing? Exactly none times. Not once. Sure I took it offroad, but nothing that warrented the time and money I was putting into it. I realized the absurdity of dumping money into a rig that wasn't getting used to that level. So you know what I did? I sold it! Sold it to someone in Arizona who needed that kind of rig. I'm not going to make the same mistake with my F-150. The things I'm doing are out of necessity. For example! The rear bumper on my truck is LITERALLY falling off...as in, there's a bungie cord holding it on...so it needs a rear bumper...that I'll build to my specs. I know I need a better departure angles, so I'm going to work on that.

In other words...Wheel First, then modify. Not the other way around.
 

Kevin108

Explorer
Didn't know there was a name for such lighting! I put mine in because I was drunk and thought it would be a cool place to have lights. I have a 32" bar in the bumper. With the "ditch lights," headlights, and the light bar, I have a full 180° of light out front. It's great on trails and those deer-heavy country roads.

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Bravo1782

Adventurer
Oh man, those are awesome! They really fit right in on the edge of the bumpers there. Haven't had any problems bumping them on tight roads?
 

FLoffroad1

Observer
Great write-up and install. For some reason, cowl mounts just make sense to me (as far as light projection, positioning, etc.).
 

Bravo1782

Adventurer
I agree for the most part...it depends on how you have them installed I suppose. Hood glare is a real problem...I had one of those serious roof mounted LED light bars at one point...I HATED that bar. Despised it. Removed the brackets and sent it back! Maybe I'll do a write up on it. They're really popular, and for the life of me I can't figure out why (other than they look cool).

Cowl lights are great because they're protected, they're safe, easy to position...Although I like "hidden" light bars even more...there's another post coming in a week or two on the subject...just you wait...
 

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