Okay, so me and my buddy were looking at putting some lights (probably 2 sets) under the truck...

WE were wondering about positioning....if you were trying to effectively light up whatever you happened to be driving over in the dark, which of these color setups would you choose? The colors circles denote where the lights would go, and the rectangles off of the lights denote the direction they would face.

You can vote by saying which color positions you would use, and option 1 for the direction they show to face on the diargram, or option 2 to reverse the direction of the lights.

Also, any other ideas, just pot them here, since I didnt make an option for "other" in the poll...
Thanks!!!

 

for my dad's truck, we are installing backup lights, but same concept, you want the underside of the truck illuminated but most importantly just ahead of where your tire is going. so for me, i would take thoes red, and rotate them out to face the tires.

correct me if im stupid.

 

i would put (talking aobut one side of the truck only) one right up in the bumper shining at the very front of the front tire, one right behind the front tire shining at the FRONT of the BACK tire, and one right in front of the back tire shining at the BACK of the FRONT tire. Which those two beams crossed as such, you get a better angle of the lights to get under the tire. for the front two in the bumper, if the angle is too severe to actually get under the front tire, you might try pointing them at the inside of the opposite front tire and have them cross the vehicle

 

Okay, going with your idea David, then you would actually need 4 sets of lights, right? your talking a total of 8 lights, right?

EDIT, your talking 3 sets for a total of 6 lights, correct?

 

oh and if its just 4 lights, i would take the green option for the front but reverse the light direction, and take the red option from the front and reverse those to light the rear wheels.

 

6 lights is what i explained, so 4 lights i would try doing what i just posted

 

 

Good ideas. We would like to stick with 4 lights....we are poor, and even though the cabellas 9.99 lights....money is tight. lol.

 

How about the front bumper cross light idea, and then put the next set behind front tires, toward the front of the rear tire, would you get more ambient light under the truck, if you crossed these also? Or what if you mout them closer to the center of the truck (lef tto right, and front to back) and aimed them out at the rear tires?

 

the first part is what i explained but you could just try moving them closer (front to back) and seeing if that helps but im trying to think of angles here and tire shadow. mounting them toward the center of the truck and facing slightly out would probably work fine too it would just make a different shadow pattern on the ground outside the vehicle

 

Okay guys...
Brand New Picture....
I would say the front (red) is set. The yellow lights show where the light will point.

I just need opinions on what to do with the rear set of lights. I cant help but think you will get more ambient light under the truck if the light crosses under the truck, angling to the sides....

But I dont know, so vote for your favorite rear set. so post up let me know your favorite rear set....no poll on this one. Thanks.

 

i would say any of those would work, it all depends on mounting positions and if things will block the light path. try it out without securing the wiring and if it looks good, secure it all. if the lights have the right pattern id go for the purple option though personally im going to do green unless i run into a problem.

 

Do a search on rock lights. You'll even find the thread where I proposed to Molly (lysmachia) LOL

I have 8 mounted like what would be in your drawing:
blue ones in front
red between the wheels, but facing the opposite direction as drawn
green in the back

Provides a pretty even coverage.

NOTE: This represents A LOT of current drain on the electrical system, especially at idle. YOU NEED TO UPGRADE YOUR ALTERNATOR IF YOU'RE GOING TO RUN THEM FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME!!! Or, go with LED's, but you're talking bucks now...

 

I had one mounted to the Budbuilt skid plate facing forward, then on mounted off of a homebrew bracket bolted to the transfer case facing aft and that was plenty, unless your a trying to look like something out of Star Wars!

 

Hey Rock Taco,

If you got those $9.99 Hella's and wanted to use those, I got mine mounted yesterday.

This is what they look like:



I put one maybe 2' back from the front wheel well pointing directly down and forward, and the other maybe 2' in front of rear wheel well pointing backwards. No crossing, just straight shots.

I was concerned about shadows going under the vehicle. Seemed if I dropped them low enough to clear shadows, they would be to vunerable to rocks and such. This way, I could really tuck them underneath.

 

I had the "Red setup" like in your first picture. I used the 35w tractor lights. 4 lights total, 1 behind each front tire, and 1 in front of each rear tire. They worked great! I was going to add 4 more though. 1 in front of each front tire and 1 behind each rear wheel.

But before I ever got around to doing that, I started swapping the rock lights onto my '98 which I then wrecked.

When I get another 3rd gen, I plan on doing LED rock lights like the roundeyes ones.