After this last trip to the desert I've been thinking of adding some aftermarket lights to my truck. When I wheel at night, 90% of the time I'm behind someone and not going very fast, so I dont really have the need for racing lights such as lightforce's hella's etc. I was thinking more along the lines of rock lights something to illuminate immediate obstacles.

An idea poped into my head after my brother and I were discussing rice rockets. How about using those neon underglow lights as rock lights? I have seen conventional lights mounted to sliders to illuminate the surrounding ground. Ive never seen them in action but I would assume it would create more shadows and blinding reflections than anything else. White neon underglow lights would have a larger source of light and the light would be diffused to reduce shadows and not mess with night vision as much. After I purchase and install sliders I was thinking about mounting the neon above the inner tubes on the sliders.

What do you guys think?

Hey, I bet if I have em on while cruisng the strip at night the'll attract the ladies like flies to a bug zapper!!

Oh and one more thing... Anyone have any ideas on interior lighting? I hate scrounging around for stuff in near darkness. The stock dome light just doesnt cut it.

Thanks,
Josh

 

You've been watching too much of Fast and Furious lately.

 

Basically... I was hanging out with my brother and a few guys from his Mitsubishi 3000GT group (similar to yotatech).

 

lol are those lambo door hinges!

 

Yup, all $1400 worth

 

JC Whitney has the white rope light (or something like that).
I was actually thinking about picking some of those up and sticking them under the railing of my truck bed. I think it's a good idea as long as you stay away from the neon-ish colors

 

You can string some Christmas lights up all around under your rig

 

Nice doors, too bad it cost half as much as my rig did, geez, $1,400 . I like the idea of the rope lights myself, i've just always figured on cheep WalMart or NAPA lights for rock lights, I would be interested in seeing if the rice rocket lights would do a good job and how they would perform in the long run.

 

Those doors are especially convenient when you park in your garage.

 

Interesting idea. Aren't these things glass though? Or are they plastic and can take a hit/rock spray?

 

I'm not a salesman for DeMello or anything but he can add tabs to his sliders for lights facing down to the ground. Might be something you can do or have done to yours.

http://www.demello-offroad.com/taco_rnd.html

Look at the very bottom of that page for a pic of slider mounted lights.

 

As long as it's not a neon color I don't think you'll get laughed off the trail.

I would go with the cheapest light source whether that the neons or a normal light. I was planning on using cheapo walmart fog lights ($14 for two) and scuffing up the lens.

 

The smaller "driving lights" you get from Walmart for $15 put out just the right amount of light for rock lights. No reflection or glare, but good visibility. The white neon would be cool, but you'd have to mount it away from rock-chip prone areas.

I just slapped a Walmart dome light ($6) in my 4Runner...welded a plate to the rollbar and wired it up. That thing puts out plenty o' light - far better than the stock "cargo lamp". It has a switch right on it so it's more convenient, too.

 

not to sound redneckish, but my buddy and i would mount those cheap as dirt wal-mart marking lights under the dash and seats. we used self tapping screws (cut a hole in the carpet if you have carpet, threads will grab a hold and make a big mess) and ran a hot to a switch in the dash. they are grounded by the self tapper. ok so it does soubd redneckish. ya got me!?

 

beyond the fact that they are cheap, the red light wont mess up your night vision. they are just bright enough to make finding misc things on the floor, and casting a romantic glow for those late night outings with you significant other

 

rock lights need to be cheap- they get busted frequently.

I use the $9.99 tractor flood lights available at NAPA, AutoZone. etc. Relatively cheap, very bright, draw low amperage (35 watts bulbs) and since there rubber mounted, are very durable.

I also use the 4" dia white backup lights that fit into a rubber grommet - the ones you see on a semi-trailer. They are very cheap- $3.99, brighter than you might expect, and throw a broad pattern. Total setup cost for two lights is $16.99 or so, that includes the grommets, wiring harness and lights. Cut a 4-1/2" circle in 16 guage flat stock for a mount, the lights pop in and out of the grommet relatively easily, and if ya bust one, no biggie.....

 

I use the tractor lights on my '85. They work well, I have 2 more pair to install once I figure out where to mount them:

 

ROB (WATRD) has six HELLA 55W rock lights.

Check under 'mods' on his website (WATRD.COM).

Didn't want to post the image without permission.

The image is fantastic by the way.

 

I had the clear rope lights under my truck for quite awhile. They do indeed provide a uniform light that is easy on your night vision, and the nice thing is that they don't get busted. (they are small lights encased in rubberized plastic rope). However, they have to be secured with zip-ties which is kind of hokey - but it works. I just recently removed them because they just got too dirty (it's a pain in the butt to clean 50 linear feet of rope) and even though easy on the night vision, they just aren't quite bright enough IMO. So I am going to switch to more conventional spot lights or maybe work on an LED setup.

Regarding interior lighting, check out the Osram Copilot K. They are super bright for only using 5 watts (less than 1/2 amp) and have an adjustable arm so you can aim them at whatever you need to.

 

Another maplight to check out are these from littlite . The LED ones are pretty cool, although they aren't cheap by any means. I don't know how they compare in brightness to other brands or types. I'm not sure they are as bright as an incandescent, but they do seem to be bright enough to read by. The LED versions have a red mode to.