Lights on roof vs cowl vs bumper

[ReimundKrohn]

I know it's not the popular opinion but, the truth of the matter is, most of the off road specific lights don't meet the needs of most of the off road drivers. So, buy what looks cool since you're probably not going to really need or use them anyway, haha!

My thoughts exactly! And speaking to “cool” and the Gen6’s perfect homage to the EB, I have chosen to go with Roof-mounted 6” KC HiLites Apollo Pros. I get the practicality and power advantages of modern LEDs; but I find they look tacky. Just a matter of taste, I guess..... nothing can beat the classic look of those KC HiLites!

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[AcesandEights]

I even contacted Warn to see if I could get an 8274 mount. No luck.

 

[Rivers90]

Factory lights are so much better now then years ago.

Dark mud can swallow up a lot of light.

Mud can cover lower lights first. Roof lights stay clean longer. But if you have a lot of mud it will go everywhere eventually.

In the desert long range lights are nice.

Depending on the type of Wheeling you do you may or may not need a lot more lights.

 

[Virtual-Chris]

Factory lights are so much better now then years ago.

Dark mud can swallow up a lot of light.

Mud can cover lower lights first. Roof lights stay clean longer. But if you have a lot of mud it will go everywhere eventually.

In the desert long range lights are nice.

Depending on the type of Wheeling you do you may or may not need a lot more lights.

I‘m in the Pacific NW and don’t see myself wheeling in the dark, but I could imagine having an emergency or getting caught so I’m coming out of a trail or on a forest service road after dark.

Here’s my thinking...

Fog/snow: some DOT approved fogs in the corners of the modular bumper (as low as possible).

Rear: Flood light for working at the back, reverse, recovery or camping... not sure where to mount this yet... But high up angled down would be ideal. Maybe on the back roll bar cross-member so it can shine through whether the tail gate is open or not. Ideally on a pivoting mount so I can adjust the angle from straight down to straight back? I dunno.

Cool factor: LED light bar (full width) on front of roof rack, if reviews are not to hard on wind noise.

 

[Virtual-Chris]

Further to my reply above... Looking at the back, where would you guys mount a light that would be helpful for recovery/reverse etc...

 

[vintage]

I have the Mopar 7" on the front bumper of my Rubicon and love them. 8000 lumens each, lights the hell out of everything in front of you. I'll probably go with a similar set up on my Bronco.

 

[AcesandEights]

Further to my reply above... Looking at the back, where would you guys mount a light that would be helpful for recovery/reverse etc...

I would buy a magnetic mount work light and change the cigarette lighter power supply to a 4 or 7-pin type so you can use it with your tow package wiring already run to the rear. That way it's out of the way when you don't need it, and is plug-n-play when you do need it. Magnetic mount also allows you to mount it to either side, for in camp use...unless the quarter panels aren't magnetic??? But, you can also mount it high, on the roll bar, if you need a larger area/more dispersed.

$28.00 and exactly what you need for recovery or reverse:
https://www.amazon.com/WOWLED-Magnetic-Portable-Tractor-Engineering/dp/B01HG905NE

 

[Bud2020]

I have 4 Squadron sports on my RS, partially because I like the rally look and partially for snowy winter driving, and they are awesome. Two would put out plenty of light.

Front plate requirement there is a goddamn travesty.

 

[AcesandEights]

I‘m in the Pacific NW and don’t see myself wheeling in the dark, but I could imagine having an emergency or getting caught so I’m coming out of a trail or on a forest service road after dark.

...

I've been wheeling in the PNW for a while and what I've found is the trails are narrower than say California, or the east side of WA/OR. So, you're usually not able to travel at speed, and the trees close in the trail, even on Forest Service or BLM roads. What works the best for driving lights, for off road, are fog lights. You may want driving lights, and they may come in handy when you're really bombing down a rural highway or even a really wide FS road, but you'll use fog lights a lot more on the trail than you will driving lights.

I know I mentioned these before, but it wasn't in the context of PNW off road/trail driving. If you can put one set of Hella 500 fog lights and one set of Hella 500 or 700 (they're similar, but 700 are larger) driving lights on your rig, you'll cover all of your off road (and most of your on road) driving needs. It'll cost you though. Both sets of lights will set you back, probably $135 plus shipping. They are easy to wire, come with switches (which you won't need if you have the Hero switches), wiring harnesses and relays. Ford makes wiring things to the auxiliary switches about as easy as can be.

In the PNW, there isn't much better for tight wooded trails and the rural roads to get there.

 

[TJconvert2.7]

School me: what IS the legality?

I remember over the years seeing light bars for wranglers as “off road use only” which then makes it like... oh, so when will I actually use it?

and now when I see pick ups with light bars on, I just think they are douches.

are spot lights for off road only, but flood can be used for fogs?

do they have to be the height of head lamps or lower?

more w

Or what?

 

[BE5OME1]

I have 4 Squadron sports on my RS, partially because I like the rally look and partially for snowy winter driving, and they are awesome. Two would put out plenty of light.

damn that front plate ........

 

[YEGDriver]

School me: what IS the legality?

I remember over the years seeing light bars for wranglers as “off road use only” which then makes it like... oh, so when will I actually use it?

and now when I see pick ups with light bars on, I just think they are douches.

are spot lights for off road only, but flood can be used for fogs?

do they have to be the height of head lamps or lower?

more w

Or what?

I'm guessing the laws may be different depending upon where you are. I know that here in Alberta it's not legal to use any lightbars or flood lights or anything other than factory lighting on the road. Off road is fine though. Backup lights are different, since they're not used when actually driving on the road.. You're also not allowed to use blue or red lighting either, since that is reserved for emergency vehicles, but I still see people with blue lighting around license plates or blue tinted fog lights all the time anyway.

 

[TJconvert2.7]

I'm guessing the laws may be different depending upon where you are. I know that here in Alberta it's not legal to use any lightbars or flood lights or anything other than factory lighting on the road. Off road is fine though. Backup lights are different, since they're not used when actually driving on the road.. You're also not allowed to use blue or red lighting either, since that is reserved for emergency vehicles, but I still see people with blue lighting around license plates or blue tinted fog lights all the time anyway.

Funny story.... I owned a 1993 Ford Explorer Limited, that I had a light up Ford logo on the grille.

I got pulled over and got a ticket but with no fee, must appear.

so I called and was told it was an equipment violation, $56.

okay.

I go to the courtdate and was told that morning that it wasn’t an equipment violation but rather “emergency lights”, and was a $350 fine plus a $50 court fee...

 

[Imissmy1996bronco]

I am assuming you have seen the reverse light setup from Baja specific for the Bronco? 100% getting that setup for the rears. It's not that expensive.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Ford-Bronco-Reverse-Kits.asp

My one question with this, is how much is that going to complicate getting the spare tire off? It looks like it mounts on top of the rim, with the wiring going through it, so do you need to disconnect these to get the spare off?

 

[AcesandEights]

School me: what IS the legality?

I remember over the years seeing light bars for wranglers as “off road use only” which then makes it like... oh, so when will I actually use it?

and now when I see pick ups with light bars on, I just think they are douches.

are spot lights for off road only, but flood can be used for fogs?

do they have to be the height of head lamps or lower?

more w

Or what?

YMMV
https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/are-light-bars-legal

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