I want to add some brighter backup lights to my truck. Want to do it cheaply. Ideally I would be able to get someone in thick by 6in wide LED flood lights to mount down by the trailer hitch and more less disappear. Do those exist? Other options? Goal is clean unobtrusive and cheap as well as highly functional.
On my Jeep I sunk a pair of the flush mount version of these into the rear bumper: http://myhellalights.com/index.php/products/auxiliary-lamps/led/valuefit-mini-light-bar-6-led/
Looks like this when installed and they throw enough light that even through the factory 20% tint on the rear window, I've never wished for more. IIRC, the pair of lights was about $70
LED lights have had a market explosion. There are tons of cheap china lights out there. A quick Amazon search brings this example for $21.99
I envision these mounted to the "under bumper" and they are only 1 3/4" tall.
Welsh is right. Use the bro-dozer scourge for good instead of evil.
I've played with a number of the cheap LED lights on Amazon- generally, even on the really inexpensive ones, the only problem people really run into is water intrusion. A lot of the ones I've received had loose hardware, so make sure all the little screws holding the lens on are tight if you want them to stay waterproof.
The beam patterns are the most inconsistent thing about them, but generally speaking if they say they're a flood they're really a flood pattern, if they say they're a spot but they're cheap then they're a flood pattern, and if they say they're a spot and are expensive ($50+ per light) then they might actually be a spot.
rslifkin said:On my Jeep I sunk a pair of the flush mount version of these into the rear bumper: http://myhellalights.com/index.php/products/auxiliary-lamps/led/valuefit-mini-light-bar-6-led/
Looks like this when installed and they throw enough light that even through the factory 20% tint on the rear window, I've never wished for more. IIRC, the pair of lights was about $70
That's the ticket, right there. I flush mounted lights in my saddle bags on my Harley. Came out good. Put a dab of silicon around anything that can get wet. Plan placement to avoid Backing into things or trailer swing.
John Welsh said:LED lights have had a market explosion. There are tons of cheap china lights out there. A quick Amazon search brings this example for $21.99
I envision these mounted to the "under bumper" and they are only 1 3/4" tall.
This is why i ask questions here. Spent an hour looking for this exact setup. 20 minutes later i have a link and ways to make them better.
Thanks!!
And i didn't want to cut the bumper for round floods or square either. Dont know why, but i judt have an aversion to the idea....
I have noticed that Ridicu-bright LED backup lights are sort of a thing. I understand that backing up a dark driveway that they would be freaking awesome but, In a dark rainy parking lot they are in my mind a nuisance.
There is a reason these things are non DOT approved. They indiscriminately throw photons everywhere in a blinding everyone behind the vehicle sort of fashion.
Nothing like rolling along looking for a parking spot at the busy grocery store when the Brodozer or XJ that wants to back out turns on some aircraft landing lights making all the pedestrians invisible to the folks driving while their pupils suddenly contract. What is worse is when they are wired to the GM factory lighting harness so they stay lit for more than a minute after the driver has exited their truck.
Not saying don't do it, just putting out another layer of info. Perhaps some sort of switch to turn them off when around the public?
In reply to Jumper K Balls :
I've thought about that concern with mine. Only reason I haven't put in a cut-out switch is that 99% of the time I back into parking spots, so most of the times I'm in reverse, there's not a car behind me to blind.
I am in the process of adding brighter LED reversing lights to my Disco. Not because I need to see, the LED lamps I have in there now are bright enough, but so that people KNOW when I am backing up. I have had several people drive behind me when I am in reverse and I already lost a rear bumper to a lady who backed into me while I was already backing up.
Could be nice if you have a manual trans with a sensitive backup light switch.
Someone tailgaiting? Push in clutch and bump the reverse detent a couple times to reverse high beam them.
Or, just leave them on an entirely separate switch, as has been pointed out you don't always want then when you are backing up. Another situation is residential areas between midnight and 6 am. You can wake someone up by hitting their bedroom window with a high powered light.
On the sensitive reverse light switch note, I run mine on a delay relay set to about a 1/2 second. That's enough to avoid a quick (bright and annoying) flash if you shift in or out of park a hair too slowly. It's not noticeable with the stock incandescent reverse bulbs, but the LEDs snap right up to full brightness so the flash was kinda obnoxious.
rslifkin said:On the sensitive reverse light switch note, I run mine on a delay relay set to about a 1/2 second. That's enough to avoid a quick (bright and annoying) flash if you shift in or out of park a hair too slowly. It's not noticeable with the stock incandescent reverse bulbs, but the LEDs snap right up to full brightness so the flash was kinda obnoxious.
that's a damn good idea.
Yes it is
Link to the relay?
Relay I used is this guy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003C508Y8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I dunno if there's a cheaper alternative, but I couldn't find one at the time. It's a pricey solution compared to the cost of the lights, but the camera flash effect was too annoying for me not to put the relay in.
Solid state version.
Used often on motorcycles and converting headlamps to HID so you don't fry the ballast with voltage surge / drops when cranking the starter.
NOTE: They offer loads of relays , delay on and off etc.
I was just looking at LED bulbs for the backup lights in the mazda. Can't hurt right?
I hung a couple 4", 18 watt cheap china LED offroad lights under the bumper of the F250 when I had it for backing down my driveway. Wired it to the reverse lights. They were obnoxiously bright, like a 747 landing. One of them got water in it. Still obnoxiously bright. With the big longbed truck it was nice to let people in parking lots know I was backingout because I had no way of seeing down the aisle, and everyone assumes you have back up cameras now. I'll be doing the in-bumper version on my Jeep at some point.
In reply to ultraclyde :
As a note for fitting the lights I used in a ZJ rear bumper, you either have to cut into the bumper support beam or cut the cooling fins off the lights (that's what I did) for them to fit depth-wise. And you'll have to cut out a bit of foam where they sit.
MazdaFace said:I was just looking at LED bulbs for the backup lights in the mazda. Can't hurt right?
That's what I have in my truck. I have a long dark driveway and need something better than the stock ones. They work great.
Suprf1y said:MazdaFace said:I was just looking at LED bulbs for the backup lights in the mazda. Can't hurt right?
That's what I have in my truck. I have a long dark driveway and need something better than the stock ones. They work great.
Exact reason for this thread.
But gmt400 backup lights suck no matter what
I have two of the pods versions of Welsh's link on my f150.
There is a bolt hole on the stock springs. I just bolted them to that. Tucked up and out of the way but still enough back up light to see fore miles. I have a camera on the truck for backing up, and the factory back up lights did a horrible job of lighting the world up. These definitely made an improvement.
I do wish I could mount them higher. As the camera adjusts to the additional brightness so now it's black after the cutoff instead of just hard to see what's not in the light.
Dusterbd13 said:Suprf1y said:That's what I have in my truck. I have a long dark driveway and need something better than the stock ones. They work great.
Exact reason for this thread.
But gmt400 backup lights suck no matter what
I don't know if anybody really has good backup lights, but there are some really good, really bright bulbs out there that fit the stock sockets. Mine are actually pretty good now.
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