Backup/reverse lights: thoughts?

[kjp1969]

Nice Kevin! Will you share a parts list? How did you attach the lamp to the top of the extension pole?

Here's a bit of a writeup with a few more pictures. http://mandamus.typepad.com/onefullplate/2008/11/back.html

Parts list:
One extendable paint roller handle
One tractor light
A bunch of wire, nuts and bolts, etc from the bucket under my workbench.

I didn't do a full writeup with five-part harmony and feeling, but the photos will show a bit.

The paint roller handle had a pot metal threaded portion at the top that I drilled through to bolt the tractor light up. I used a piece of all-thread, but a longish bolt would work also. I wound a bunch of wire around a tube and heated it up with a heat gun to make my own coiled wire- that's inside the roller handle so it can extend and retract without wires hanging around the outside.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I was wondering what you did with the pot metal end. I wish I could buy more of them before destroying the one it came with. I am thinking about just machining an end piece from scratch, but the hex is a weird size, 0.900". Thanks for the idea about making the thread into an innie, I wasn't thinking straight and was going to make it a male thread with a nut on top that would clamp my crossbar for a dual head light.

 

[kjp1969]

I was wondering what you did with the pot metal end. I wish I could buy more of them before destroying the one it came with. I am thinking about just machining an end piece from scratch, but the hex is a weird size, 0.900". Thanks for the idea about making the thread into an innie, I wasn't thinking straight and was going to make it a male thread with a nut on top that would clamp my crossbar for a dual head light.

I was going to do the same thing, until I realized that the pot metal threaded part is hollow, and I'd probably run out of material before I got a real thread on it. So I just drilled out the center and ran a piece of allthread through, with a bolt on either end, to snug them together. Then I had the rest of the allthread sticking up to bolt the light to.

The crossbar and double light is a good idea- if I had two lights sitting there instead of one, I would have done it that way.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

What's "Allthread" exactly?

 

[JPNCA]

What's "Allthread" exactly?

A threaded rod. like a bolt with out a head.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Ah, that's what I was thinking, but I guess that should read "with a nut on either end to snug it up". Threw me off.

 

[kjp1969]

Ah, that's what I was thinking, but I guess that should read "with a nut on either end to snug it up". Threw me off.

Yes, that's it. Sorry for the confusion.

Too bad you don't live closer- you could just come on over and check it out. Feel like a California vacation?

 

[trail-explorer]

I'm running this one... flood pattern and does a pretty respectable job of lighting things up with it being LED.

http://www.4x4led.com/accessories/worklight.htm

 

[CYi5]

Bumping this thread up for a new product release. Looks like DDM tuning just came out with a line of LED lamps for a VERY reasonable price. They come in square or round, spot or flood. Seems a DIY camp light setup will be in the works.

 

[red87]

Oh hey, nice find

 

[2500ak]

This is how I'm planning to wire up my reverse lights:

Stock lights trigger the aux lights, and then there's an override in the cab that kicks them on too.

Idea being the relay keeps the stock lights isolated from the auxiliary ones, and then the diodes keep the in-cab switch a low power switch, because it's not trying to feed the stock reverse lights.



I'm pretty sure that should work anyway.

Oh, and pretend I didn't forget to put a fuse between the 30 post and the + battery terminal.

 

[bat]

I have leds one on each side of my shell and 2 in the back on my roof rack, I have them switched so one side and one back come with a 2 button remote. I can hit just one button for two lights or both button to light up all around truck. I can also use them for backup lights if need be by just hitting the remote from inside the truck. I found that if I was sitting around the camp fire and wanted to go to the truck I needed to turn a switch on at the truck. I can just hit my remote when my wife wants to go to the truck and one side or all lights are at my finger tips from my chair.

 

[Conrad_Turbo]

I have two sets of backup lights, two utility lights on the rack.

And two lights tied to the OEM reverse light.

 

[matt t]

MR16 bulbs The middle two are spot, the others are flood.

 

[snowbear]

MR16 bulbs The middle two are spot, the others are flood.

Nice, what housings did you use?