Off road lighting for brush truck

fao1101

New Member
Dec 24, 2010
6
USA - KY
I am writing a grant to install off road lighting and area work light on the sides and rear of the truck.
On the front of the truck we are wanting some long range lighting for driving off road and long range left and right alley lights. Which would be better LED or HIDs.

The truck has front take down and alley lights installed in the MX7000 bar we are looking to light the area further out than the bar mounted lights do.

For the side and rear lights we most likely going with FRC Spectrum led lights.

Thanks
Tim
 

whatevah

Member
May 26, 2010
388
Delaware, USA
Generally, HIDs in big housings (Vision X 8.7" lights are killer) are best for long range, but unless you're desert racing at 100mph, a good LED bar will be more than enough. Quality and longevity vary wildly depending on pricing... Rigid the gold standard but there are other quality brands like Vision X and KC Hilites.

A combination bar with wide and narrow optics or "driving" optics which are wider but not tall (so you don't waste light up in the sky or on the hood) will probably be best for you, coupled with some 3" cube style lights like the Rigid Dually series set up around the sides and rear. If you have the mounting room, you can use a smaller light bar instead of the cube lights. I still like the cube lights for a brush truck because some models can be flush mounted that lowers the risk of damage to almost nothing. Something like this: http://www.rigidindustries.com/led-lighting/15231 combined with this: http://www.rigidindustries.com/led-lighting/51131

I recommend using a known brand for LEDs whenever possible for both longevity and radio interference. Many of the off brand/generic lights generate RF noise that can jam or lower the radio range of both your two-way mobile and AM/FM stereo radios. This is also true for cheap HIDs, as well.
 

OSP959(R)

New Member
Mar 22, 2011
720
Ohio
I have (2) 130 watt ProComp spots on the front of my F350 along with a LED offroad bar that has spots on the ends, and floods in the middle. It seems like an odd combination, but I find that the Halogen (and even HID) are a better long range light. If I'm driving down a rural highway at night and flip on the LEDS, it's as if they only light up what they can reflect off of, where as the other lights definitely throw a beam of light.

However, if I turn on to a road with a lot of trees or buildings and turn on the LED bar, it's like God turned daylight back on.

If I could get enough funds, I would do Vision X HID's in the front of the truck (hey, they work for Alaska State Troopers) along with a LED bar above the windshield, or use one of the LED emergency lightbars that will go to full takedown along the front. Speaking of which, have you ever noticed how those lights really light up the suspect vehicle and anything close that they can reflect off of, but dont throw light very far down the highway? Then I'd add a LED bar to the rear and each side to flood the area with light.
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
53,869
Messages
449,604
Members
19,083
Latest member
DOHCZC

About Us

  • Since 1997, eLightbars has been the premier venue for all things emergency warning equipment. Discussions, classified listings, pictures, videos, chat, & more! Our staff members strive to keep the forums organized and clutter-free. All of our offerings are free-of-charge with all costs offset by banner advertising. Premium offerings are available to improve your experience.

User Menu

Secure Browsing & Transactions

eLightbars.org uses SSL to secure all traffic between our server and your browsing device. All browsing and transactions within are secured by an SSL Certificate with high-strength encryption.