95.5-2004 Tacomas & 96-2002 4Runners 4th gen pickups and 3rd gen 4Runners

Brighter Reverse Lights?

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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 09:46 AM
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Quattro15's Avatar
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Brighter Reverse Lights?

So my rear window is tinted and my camper cover is tinted. At night, even at dusk, when my camper cover is on and I'm backing up I can't hardly see anything.

How can I remedy this? I know that I'll need better lighting back there but are there some kick-ass reverse lights that I can replace my stock lights with? I don't want to have to mount more lights unless I have to.

Thanks!
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 09:57 AM
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honestly if your looking through a couple layers of tint, im not sure even brighter lights will do it for you.

however, you can prob. replace your reverse light bulbs with leds or something of the sort, or you can check out the white night kit that hangs on to your trailer hitch out of the way of rocks and sedans\

or you can do what i did ( ive got my back tinted limo over the factory dyed glass) and get a back up camera, eclipse makes one and its about 120 on ebay. good luck
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:01 AM
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From: Richland, Washington
Get some aux. lights and mount them in the back. Then when you need the light, turn them on.

I found that when I switched my brake light covers from stock to clear, my back-up lights and brake lights are extremely brighter. I can hit the brakes or put it in reverse and light up the stop sign down the street.
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:12 AM
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From: B'ham, AL
What ever you decide to do, DO NOT replace your reverse bulbs with these type of LEDS:

Product: 921-x12 Wedge Base LED bulb $ 3.95 (each)
Color: White 921-W12 2.00

I purchased a pair of these from superbrightleds.com last week and have since returned them. With these installed, I could not see a freaking thing while backing up. I had to use the light emitted from my brake lights to illuminate the area behind me any time I had the truck in reverse. There might be better LED bulbs out there to use as revese bulbs, but the ones I mentioned above are simply garbage.

I've since gone back to stock halogen bulbs for my reverse lights. Granted they are not that bright, but the light output blows away the above LEDs I previously owned.

Good luck.
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:13 AM
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:15 AM
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Well you just saved me time and money on that one!!!!
my roommate has a Ford Explorer (cough) and he put PIAA super whites in his and they work well
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:21 AM
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yup...everyone says it looks stupid with fogs on the rear, but its so handy when your stuck up a hill and you need to reverse
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:26 AM
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From: B'ham, AL
Originally Posted by bobs01sr5
my roommate has a Ford Explorer (cough) and he put PIAA super whites in his and they work well
I once had the PIAA super whites as reverse bulbs too...however, that blue film they have on the outside will slowly burn off over time.

I know, b/c when I replaced my oem taillights with the Burtman LED taillights, I wanted to reuse the same PIAA reverse bulbs. I found that when I removed the PIAA bulbs from the oem tails, 70% of the blue film had already burned off the bulb itself. Thus transforming the PIAA bulb back into a stock halogen bulb, which produces a some what yellow cast.

And I only had the PIAA bulbs installed for 8 mons or so. It is not like I run my truck in reverse all the time. I'd stay away from these as well.
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:32 AM
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Oh damn I am sure he will be glad to hear that !
He paid quite a bit for them , I would go with the aux lights then not much for show but I am sure they work quite well they use them on plow trucks and they are bright !
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:34 AM
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Aux back up lights are the way to go.



https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f131...oblems-118861/

Erich
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 10:41 AM
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From: Gilmanton NH
Holy crap you could land a plane with those babies !!!
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 05:51 PM
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You can get 50 watt reverse light bulbs on the internet. Try eBay. I got mine there. They light it up good.
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 06:10 PM
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From: Chico, California
I had a pair of hella 500's and when i bought new ones i mounted the old ones underneath the truck(like where the spare tire would go). Doesn't sound like it would work too well, but i angled them so its perfect when looking at the side mirrors. (i've also been told it helps other drivers see obsticals(rocks) when they are in another truck behind me on the trail at night time.

It was either that or give them away, so i made them work.
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Old Mar 18, 2008 | 07:04 PM
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From: Hopkins, MN
Originally Posted by Matt16
X2, but wire them through a switch and through the reverse lighting. That way they go on anytime you are in reverse, but they can also be switched. Heck you could even get a 2 way switch w/ a relay. That way they can be on full time, or only when in reverse (and even then only if you wanted them)
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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 10:06 AM
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Mine are wire like so:

A fused 14ga. wire runs from the battery to three relays in parallel. One relay is throw by the reverse lights directly so when I'm in reverse, they're on (use a "test light" to locate the reverse light wire). Another relay is thrown when I flick a swtich on my dash (tailgaters, night time off road recovery or the likes). The third relay is thrown when I flick a switch located in the bed of my 4Runner so I can access it while camping.

Aux. lights are the only way you're really going to get any real light back there. You could try this, but not sure whether it works on you're Tacoma: http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main...&products_id=8

Last edited by Matt16; Mar 19, 2008 at 10:08 AM.
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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 10:17 AM
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From: Thunder bay Ontairooo
engine oil bypass kit???? lol
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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 01:00 PM
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From: Hopkins, MN
There are a few guys that have recommended that site.

My fav is the cross drilled brake lines.
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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 01:12 PM
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I've got some Polarg Super-white bulbs w/ magnified lens for my reverse lights. They are pretty bright. I can take some pics later, when it gets dark.
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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 06:47 PM
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go HID or go home, LOL

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/j.../reverse02.jpg
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Old Mar 19, 2008 | 07:17 PM
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Originally Posted by superjoe83
Where did you get those and do they melt your truck?!?!?!
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