Off road lights: A confession and a couple of questions...

[Martinjmpr]

Alright, I'll start with the confession. I used to at people who had built up trucks with big banks of off road lights. I was like "dude, you're not running the Baja 1000."
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But then...on our recent trip to Tucson and back, we had a couple of experiences where we were trying to find a campsite in the dark and at one point, we actually drove right past the entrance to a state park because I didn't see the sign telling us to turn. And in Valley of the Gods, we drove past a couple of pretty decent campsites simply because I couldn't see them.
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I realized that I was very limited in what I could see, especially to the sides. And it got me to thinking that maybe some additional lighting wouldn't be a bad idea, since we like to camp a lot in the "shoulder" seasons (Spring and Fall) when it gets dark very early.
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Now I suppose I could go for a setup like this:
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:sombrero:
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But in reality what I need are just enough lights to see the area around me, and particularly off to the sides. It would be nice if there was an option that could be installed and removed - maybe a magnetic mount light? - since I wouldn't need it all the time.
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But that brings me to another question: My very first 4x4, a 1957 International Harvester Travelall, had an A-pillar mounted spotlight, just like police cars have. Why don't off-roaders have those anymore? Seems to me they'd be very handy - certainly if I'd had one on my trip I could have switched it on and used it to look around without having to get out of the truck.
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I know police and emergency vehicles still have those, so they still make them, just seems strange to me that more off-road drivers don't use them. Do they need to be professionally installed?
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In any case, I'm just wondering what recommendations people can make for a preferably moveable off road auxiliary light.

 

[DaveInDenver]

I've always thought a spot light like that would be very handy.

Ever since seeing my tire tracks were the morning after pulling into the Toroweap camp ground the night before, I've stopped thinking I have enough light. That is one place you do not want to stumble around in the dark and we did stop to scout it when we got there. Just where we drove and eventually decided to park wasn't all that far from the edge. A spot light like that would have been ideal to see the sign that pointed to the day parking.

I will say, though, that it's not the number of light bars but how you put together a system that really matters. I mean think about where you need light, how it's going to be used, etc. It's not about turning night into day but rather putting light where you need it to see.

I also try to match color temperatures for all my lights so that an under fill appears seamless into the long beam. For example, on my old truck I had Hella 500 fog lights that I had aimed like low beams. I stacked the two bars, essentially the two lamps were crossed eyed slightly, the left one under the right pointed at the center. Then the regular high beams (also Hella, they were E-code H4) would pick up at the top edge of the right beam, being slightly aimed higher than normal. It was very effective on the highway for me with all them at 3200K it looked like a very long triangle from the lower edge of view to a very distant. The intensity (just plain 55/60 in the headlights and 55W in the 500s) and color didn't wreck my peripheral, either.

 

[Hopeless Diamond]

Look at http://golight.com/golight-led/ Saw these on Overland Hadley's build, Tardis (which some scumbag, waste of oxygen, stole) . Seems to be the ticket

 

[Hilldweller]

I have two HID lights pointed forward and two LED floods angled to the side of the road. Along with top-tier JW Speaker headlights and foglights, I don't miss much.
This is for offroad only, mind you. Not remotely legal or safe for the street.

 

[4x4x4doors]

http://www.larsonelectronics.com/
Called a doormount or post mount spotlight. A door mount for the Colorado is <$275 including the install kit. Probably similar for the Burb. (I see they also list one for the Aveo:Wow1:
My guess is the initial cost and the commitment to drilling a through body hole plus the catching on trees/branches and potential for damage is their drawback.
I could certainly see the utility of this.

As I think a minute or two more, the potential for being mistaken for undercover 50 might be a drawback in urban areas.

 

[Trophycummins]

I'm betting a couple of Baja designs or rigid pods would be more than adequate for your uses. Look into BD's wide cornering pattern.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Martinjmpr]

http://www.larsonelectronics.com/


As I think a minute or two more, the potential for being mistaken for undercover 50 might be a drawback in urban areas.

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Drawback? I was thinking it would be a distinct advantage! :sombrero:

 

[DaveInDenver]

http://www.larsonelectronics.com/
My guess is the initial cost and the commitment to drilling a through body hole plus the catching on trees/branches and potential for damage is their drawback.
I could certainly see the utility of this.

I notice the utility trucks usually have a different type. I assumed that was because they are usually looking up at overhead lines, at least in the case of the electric company. They are mounted on the roof or sometimes on the hood or fender. They may be magnetic mount now that I Google it.

Like these from Larson.

More links:
http://www.hardworkingtrucks.com/roof-top-spotlights-how-to-install/
http://khindustries.com/category/lighting/remote-control-vehicle-spotlights/

 

[NMC_EXP]

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Drawback? I was thinking it would be a distinct advantage! :sombrero:

Drawback if they have a guilty conscience and are trigger happy. I used to drive a retired Crown Vic police interceptor with the spotlight. Did get some very dirty looks in certain neighborhoods. Driving that car was both a source of entertainment and a PITA.

Fun to watch the folks about to pass me on the highway going 20 over the speed limit jump on the brakes when they realized it was a CVPI. PITA when they would match your speed and hang in the blind spot, afraid to pass.

I digress.....

I've owned a couple of vehicles with Unity brand A pillar mounted spot lights. Even the incandescent versions are bright and LED is standard now. A friend had a roof mounted model on his pickup. It was very useful when checking the herd during calving season. The roof mount option would give a 180 degree field of vision, maybe wider. Roof mount might be a better option.

 

[DaveInDenver]

"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

 

[BPD53]

I drive a police cruiser everyday. The spot lights are only good to illuminate certain areas, not broad areas. They are really handy for checking specific things that need more light, but not handy for driving. I use mine a lot but you really can't beat the cheap Chinese off road lights while driving.

The new LED style "police style" lights are a pencil beam. The older ones (halogen) lights had a broader beam.

Long story short, I would not recommend police style lights for overlanding. I much prefer a broad flood style light. I drive slow and don't need a far reaching beam. I am usually more concerned about deer strikes anyway.

 

[Regcabguy]

"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas."

"We're on a mission from God and we're wearing sunglasses."

 

[MOguy]

Martinjpmr, were you into "off road" before "overland"?

I felt the same as you, but now I do more offroading than just trail rides at off road parks. My needs have changed. Lighting is one of them. When you are crawling down a difficult trail at 3ph you don't need to see that far ahead of you versus going faster down an unimproved road. Chances are you won't be crawling at night anyway.

As far as the police style spot light attached to the vehicle, they are expensive. I do have a spot light but it is a much cheaper hand held one.

At this point with 50 year old eyes and spending more time in the woods exploring as opposed to the day at the offroad park the more light the better.

I just ordered my son these spots for Christmas ($20.00) and am thinking about a pair for myself. I already have some old school KCs that are more of a flood than a spot and they can take a beating. I am not sure how durable these spot will be. They get good reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EAN9DUU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Martinjmpr]

Martinjpmr, were you into "off road" before "overland"?

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I'm tempted to say "I was overlanding before it was cool" but that would make me an "overlanding hipster" wouldn't it? :sombrero:
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I felt the same as you, but now I do more offroading than just trail rides at off road parks. My needs have changed. Lighting is one of them. When you are crawling down a difficult trail at 3ph you don't need to see that far ahead of you versus going faster down an unimproved road. Chances are you won't be crawling at night anyway.

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When I'm on an "off road" trip I generally like to be parked, camp set up, and sipping a beer by the fire long before the sun goes down, hence my previous disdain for off-road lights.
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But more than once I've found myself rolling into a camping spot after dark and that's when the limitations of the factory lighting really make themselves known.
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The inadequacy of the factory lights is not in how much candlepower or lumens or whatever they put out. The limitation is in the fact that they only illuminate a small area immediately to the front, which makes it hard to see the sides of the trail or to maintain "situational awareness" of the surrounding environment. I think that's why I'd really benefit from something that could be moved around.
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As far as the police style spot light attached to the vehicle, they are expensive. I do have a spot light but it is a much cheaper hand held one.

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The drawback to the hand held, of course, is that it's hand held. Even with an automatic transmission I'd rather not be trying to hold a light with one hand and drive with the other.
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At this point with 50 year old eyes and spending more time in the woods exploring as opposed to the day at the offroad park the more light the better.

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I hear you about the eyes. I turn 55 at the end of the month and mine have been deteriorating for a while.
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I just ordered my son these spots for Christmas ($20.00) and am thinking about a pair for myself. I already have some old school KCs that are more of a flood than a spot and they can take a beating. I am not sure how durable these spot will be. They get good reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EAN9DUU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think I actually have those lights on my "wish list" on Amazon, to replace the PIAA halogen lights on my BMW. The PIAA's are nice and bright, but they're hella expensive (new bulbs are $40) and they only seem to last a few months before they go out. I'm going to replace the PIAAs with LEDs.

 

[MOguy]

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The inadequacy of the factory lights is not in how much candlepower or lumens or whatever they put out. The limitation is in the fact that they only illuminate a small area immediately to the front, which makes it hard to see the sides of the trail or to maintain "situational awareness" of the surrounding environment. I think that's why I'd really benefit from something that could be moved around.

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I was out checking traps with my son in his new to him 1986 Toyota 4X4 pickup and spent over an hour dealing with inadequate lights.

I live in the woods and it gets dark. Seeing straight out in front isn't enough. I have the factory fog light from my Jeep in the back of my Jeep and want to be able to illuminate the sides as well as the front and back.