The importance of a rear dust light in the southwest.

[lugueto]

I will insist: driving inside a dust cloud is plain dumb. I don't believe any of the posters is doubting the use of rearward facing lights, what they are saying is that you shouldn't be in that cloud in the first place, even if you can see the vehicle in front of you. And that you shouldn't be driving the way the OP is trying to insist on.

Why would you care if a blue light is technically illegal on the street? Are you planning on using it while outside the dust cloud?

Red lights don't necessarily indicate braking, remember you have two sets of red lights on the rear of the vehicle....

Using RED will tell you that you're actually looking at a vehicle driving in the same direction you are, whereas amber or white might trick someone into believing the vehicle inside the dust cloud is driving towards them, creating more confusion. This off course applies to vehicles not aware of each other (ie. not driving in a convoy).

 

[UHAULER]

On public trails in ohv areas, there are no speed limits. In rough sections, more capable vehicles MUST keep speed up in order to smooth out the ride. It's how high dollar suspension systems work, going to slow could cause a the vehicle to lose control.

Growing up in the desert it's always been common knowledge that the faster trucks have right of way and your *** will get nerfed(rear run into to let you know a faster truck is behind you) if you don't get out of the way.

It's only recently where people have started taking their stock vehicles onto trails previously only used by off-roaders. And I believe that public land is for everyone to enjoy, and in order to do that safely, people need a dust light.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Did you not read this post ? Those are his words.

This thread is amazing! i haven't laughed so much in my life! I am positive the OP was not condoning "nerfing" in a normal instance of running the Mojave trail... I can guarantee you that if a group of vehicles do a group run any where off road, a Rear facing Amber light is by far one of the best things to have for visibility... I don' care if you spend 10.99 from Amazon prime, or get a Rigid. Amber is proven to be more visible in the dust, then any other light..Having other colors such as red, would indicate breaking when breaks aren't being applied, and blue is technically illegal on the street (even though races trucks now have blue and amber)
I was doing a run across the Indian reservation with my friends from Adventure Driven a while ago, and every time we came up to a washed out area, the soot got real thick and they disappeared, I couldn't tell if they were 400 yards in front of me or 40ft.
First thing i told Seth, was get an amber rear facing light, and stick it as high as possible. This isn't about nerfing people, this isn't about whose lights are better. Its about the fact, that if your out in the dust, make your self visible, end of story! Weather your going 40mph (legal speed limit) or 5mph, dust is dust...and with the larger amount of vehicles hitting the dirt, don't you think being visible is a good thing??

 

[calicamper]

I put this right up there with the clowns I see driving around town with their lightbars on. I had to chuckle when our local PD had one knuckle head stopped and was clearly pointing out the illegal use of said light.

The rear facing lights are not nessisary but if you plan on racing they are required. Enough said

 

[NMC_EXP]

Common sense dictates that in all low visibility situations you do not drive faster than you can come to a full stop when an obstruction becomes visible.

Darkness, fog, dust.....all the same. Do not overdrive your vision envelope.

Then again, "Common sense is very uncommon."

 

[eggman918]

Common sense dictates that in all low visibility situations you do not drive faster than you can come to a full stop when an obstruction becomes visible.

Darkness, fog, dust.....all the same. Do not overdrive your vision envelope.

Then again, "Common sense is very uncommon."

Were back to the "basic speed law"......

 

[toyick]

Did you not read this post ? Those are his words.

haha you Clearly are misreading what he said. I dont know the OP, nor do i really care if he likes to nerf people in the Desert, Nerfing is a normal thing in the off-road\race industry... Now with that being said, these industries (race/offroad/adventure rigs) are crossing paths, And times are changing...just because what you think is common sense, doesn't make it common sense, i can be in double low range, in the heart of the Rubicon Spring river bed in second gear, and be able to stop in say 3-4 feet, and still not be able see the car 4-10 yards ahead of me....why is it such a big deal for some one to say that it should be common sense to run a dust light...its like me saying, you should check your tire pressure before you go out, and then you saying, my tires are pumped up, why do you care....common sense tells me you have air in your tires, but at least i know exactly what i got in mine, and i can make a decision to go more or less depending on terrain... anyways, for those of you that dont have a stick up there BUTT, This is a very nice thing to have, and a common courtesy to the person eating your dust...and in all honesty is a highly wise thing to have but hey to each their own!

 

[UHAULER]

haha you Clearly are misreading what he said. I dont know the OP, nor do i really care if he likes to nerf people in the Desert, Nerfing is a normal thing in the off-road\race industry... Now with that being said, these industries (race/offroad/adventure rigs) are crossing paths, And times are changing...just because what you think is common sense, doesn't make it common sense, i can be in double low range, in the heart of the Rubicon Spring river bed in second gear, and be able to stop in say 3-4 feet, and still not be able see the car 4-10 yards ahead of me....why is it such a big deal for some one to say that it should be common sense to run a dust light...its like me saying, you should check your tire pressure before you go out, and then you saying, my tires are pumped up, why do you care....common sense tells me you have air in your tires, but at least i know exactly what i got in mine, and i can make a decision to go more or less depending on terrain... anyways, for those of you that dont have a stick up there BUTT, This is a very nice thing to have, and a common courtesy to the person eating your dust...and in all honesty is a highly wise thing to have but hey to each their own!

I am reading what he said, not mis reading it. He could have said running a dust light is another safety item that might be a good thing to have . It wasn't necessary to say his rig is so bad *** it isn't safe to drive slow and that it is common for faster vehicles to nerf slower ones, most people are aware of desert racing and nerfing. The same thing goes in motocross with block passes, in a race fine, but if you are just riding around you just don't block pass and take someone out.

You proved the point with your Rubicon story, only drive as fast as safe and you can stop in time.

I don't think anyone has a problem with a dust light, I think it was more about the attitude that we are a group of wanabee trophy trucks and you better be more visible and get outta the way 'cause we can't slow down, our trucks are too Bad*ss

 

[mrfish27]

I've read through a good amount of this discussion and I'll consider getting a dust light for my rig. I usually head to places that don't get many visitors, and go off-season to more popular destinations; so far I haven't needed one.

As an environmentalist and a desert overlanding 4x4 custom building beer drinking target shooting kinda guy, I'd like to say that I do not want to shut down trails, but I would like it if people had less impact on the land. Staying on the existing trails, using firepans (mine is a cheap steel wok) and carrying out your ashes, picking up garbage ... these are easy practices that benefit all of us.

 

[Comanche Scott]

I've read through a good amount of this discussion and I'll consider getting a dust light for my rig. I usually head to places that don't get many visitors, and go off-season to more popular destinations; so far I haven't needed one.

As an environmentalist and a desert overlanding 4x4 custom building beer drinking target shooting kinda guy, I'd like to say that I do not want to shut down trails, but I would like it if people had less impact on the land. Staying on the existing trails, using firepans (mine is a cheap steel wok) and carrying out your ashes, picking up garbage ... these are easy practices that benefit all of us.

That would be the Tread Lightly principle, and is a good thing for all of us. :beer:
https://www.treadlightly.org/

 

[DaveInDenver]

That would be the Tread Lightly principle, and is a good thing for all of us. :beer:
https://www.treadlightly.org/

Also need to plug Stay The Trail, good resource if you're in Colorado.

http://www.staythetrail.org

And Responsible Recreation.

http://www.fs.fed.us/visit/know-before-you-go/responsible-recreation

 

[kmlacroix]

On the trail in moab this spring my group went down a very dry road. As the dust rose and visibility reduced the group slowed down and spread out. that is how responcible recreational drivers act.

 

[Robert Bills]

On the trail in moab this spring my group went down a very dry road. As the dust rose and visibility reduced the group slowed down and spread out. that is how responsible recreational drivers act.

What, no one approaching from the rear nerfed you in order to push you out of the way or insisted that they had the right of way because they were faster than you and their suspension cost more than yours?

Utah must be a more civilized place than the desert in TrophyCummins's imagination. :Wow1:

BTW- I was recently with a group in Death Valley, and although we slowed down, spread out, and drove responsibly when the dust got thick, the rear-facing dust lights were still valuable for keeping track of the rig in front. Also, not everyone was consistent in calling out on their Ham radio when encountering oncoming traffic or stopping, which is what reinforced my opinion that dust lights are a good safety feature and convinced me to install a dust light on my rig before the next trip to dusty country.

 

[DanCooper]

May I install a "dust light" but call it a "snow" light for when I am driving and pulling a plume of snow behnd me? Don't want to step on the toes of any desert folk. . .

 

[Robert Bills]

May I install a "dust light" but call it a "snow" light for when I am driving and pulling a plume of snow behnd me?

Sure, why not?

I'm going to call my "dust light" a "tule fog 'please don't run up my tailpipe' visibility light" when I'm driving in the California central valley tule fog.

Those of you who have experienced an 18-wheeler approaching from the rear on I-5 or US 99 at 60 mph in zero visibility fog will know exactly what I mean.

 

[JaSAn]

Some questions for you experienced off-roaders.

1. What candlepower or lumens would be minimum for a good dust light?
2. Would a projection or driving light give better illumination than a fog light? Does diffraction play a role in spreading the light out?
3. Is higher better? Centered? Left side?
4. What color is better? yellow? red? White is out (rear facing white lights outlawed in Minn. for forward moving vehicles on public roads).

I run into fog (Lake Superior) and blowing snow more than dust, but I did kick up some impressive 'roostertails' in Southern Utah this spring.

jim