Show me your DITCH LIGHTS or ROCK CLEARANCE lights

[CHAMP:t]

Don't think I have enough posts yet to show any pics, but sure I can talk some about it.

Just got her not long ago, 1986 K20 Suburban Silverado. About a 4" lift (I believe) with 17" Fuel wheels and 37" ProComp tires. Only thing stock on the motor is the block, previous owner went through Everything: bored .30 over (355), port matched vortec heads, forged rotating assembly, COMP cam, roller rockers, aluminum intake, 650 carb... plenty more. Behind that an NV4500 out of a '99 8.1L 1 ton with 12" clutch. That overdrive is a life saver, and I swear she likes the highway better than back roads sometimes. She cruises 70-80... even up to 90 and just purrs. Be nice to her and she'll get over 16mpg even. Hard to believe it at first, but GPS doesn't lie.

Rear end is 14 bolt with Detroit TruTrac and front has hardened shafts in a Dana 44 I believe. Has a 208 xfer case, would prefer the gears of a 205, but I'm not hard on her when in 4x4 anyway. Future upgrade maybe.

All in all, a pretty clean truck. Never was the biggest fan of square bodies, but one look at her, work well done by previous owner and well taken care of: garaged, correct fluid changes, clean, little rust (for a square body), I was sold.

 

[CHAMP:t]

 

[CHAMP:t]

There's a few pics for ya.

 

[Ivan]

I've got a huge amount of white light out of a pair of inexpensive LED 'Daytime Running Light' strips. They're a sealed plastic strip not much bigger than a popsicle stick. Very low power draw. Saw them here, posted by another member, also as under-hood lighting. It was the topic looking for low-cost mods. The pair was <$8. I would think 3-4 pairs would give one all the ground lighting you could want. They mount easily with double-sided tape and weigh almost nothing. I substituted the red/gray heavier duty 3M double-sided tape and mine are stuck to the inside of the hood right above the radiator. Been there in that heat over a month and still stuck solid and working.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C1YI2XA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Really having a hard time swallowing the pricing from Rigid and other similar companies. http://www.rigidindustries.com/led-lighting/40020. Are the worth a 15-fold price premium?

Just be advised, those allegedly generate a lot of heat (somewhere in the 200*+) if left on for an extended amount of time.

ETA: full disclosure, I actually bought the same set about a year ago for the same purpose (haven't wired them yet). Now I'm on the fence about using those light strips for underhood lighting. Might repurpose them for camp lighting for my cooler :coffeedrink:

At this point, a set of rock/clearance/perimeter lights can be done for as cheap as you want.

You could get a set of cheeeeeeeep DRL lights like these, or "splurge" and get something like this.

Some silicone, dielectric grease, and they're water resistant enough depending on your use.

This is actually my next project for both of my vehicles. My main concern is where to mount to provide the most amount of useful light with the least chances of being damaged in day-to-day use (road debris, paved and off road), and total amp draw.

I'm actually considering these, and wire them to have the option of solid white for clearance/perimeter/rock lights, and flashing hazard lights for when needed.

 

[rayra]

well that spot likely hits 200F in normal operation anyway, right on top of the radiator in a truck with a 187F thermostat and which runs at 195F, so I'm not really worried about it. Doubly so, as they are only on with the hood up, in the open air.

 

[Trophycummins]

These KC lights look interesting... http://www.expeditionportal.com/for...bo-diesel-37s-and-550hp?p=2136502#post2136502
This member also had the Rigid brand and got rid of them.
Is this the same Rigid company that makes the craptastic shop vacs?

Rigid industries makes led lighting, ridgid makes ****ty tools.

I love my cyclones, I'm buying quite a few more of them for different things. They do work great for rock lighting. They even have a rock light kit.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Trophycummins]

I'm actually in the process of building a little something for the Cyclones.

 

[jprovence]

I have a handful of Cyclones that I'm going to hand off the Leitner rack facing downward. Should create a good space a night for working around the truck in camp.