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I'm pondering what I want to do . I'm heavily leaning towards mounting one of those rigid 54" light bars on top of the van (looking forward). Just want to see some pics if anyone has done it...
Anyone install a giant light bar on top of the van?
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I'm thinking of putting one in the middle of the front bumper, in the step cut out area. Sort of like a driving long throw light.
Roof would be fairly easy. Those big led bars that are 60 inch wide cost like 2k. Where as the smaller 12-14 inch wide ones for the bumper are under 500.
Roof would be fairly easy. Those big led bars that are 60 inch wide cost like 2k. Where as the smaller 12-14 inch wide ones for the bumper are under 500.
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Geez, where do you guys shop?! LED lightbars can be had for under $100 on amazon or Ebay for the dimmer ones, and thousands of lumens for under $300. I'm sure the $2000 ones are better built, but how much "built" do you need?
And yes, bright lights will get the attention of Squatch and chase them off. As will trialcams and any other form of photo capture or recording. One lady that attends expeditions will surround her tent with trailcams because she doesn't want bigfoot to mess with her tent while she's sleeping. Sound strategy. Works every time.
And yes, bright lights will get the attention of Squatch and chase them off. As will trialcams and any other form of photo capture or recording. One lady that attends expeditions will surround her tent with trailcams because she doesn't want bigfoot to mess with her tent while she's sleeping. Sound strategy. Works every time.
I will say there are cheap lights for much lower cost. But They will not do the same thing.
Check out these. http://offroad.rigidindustries.com/products/rds-series
They have lights for fog, light for projection etc. Not just a flood work lamp kind of light.
I would be using mine on the highway, tied in with my hi beams. For good ditch coverage and some projection along the shoulder. It would be nice to have it drop down too with the low beams into a fog mode. They make dual mode lights.
Check out these. http://offroad.rigidindustries.com/products/rds-series
They have lights for fog, light for projection etc. Not just a flood work lamp kind of light.
I would be using mine on the highway, tied in with my hi beams. For good ditch coverage and some projection along the shoulder. It would be nice to have it drop down too with the low beams into a fog mode. They make dual mode lights.
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50,000 lumens for $160 http://www.ebay.com/itm/5D-52Inch-5...ash=item3ab6f8aae0:g:a~kAAOSwCGVX5OvT&vxp=mtr
I always installed "critter lights" to illuminate the side of the road in front of me, like KBs. I think I might put two LED floods in my T250 grill, but I doubt I'll spend more than $100 including the high amp relay.
I always installed "critter lights" to illuminate the side of the road in front of me, like KBs. I think I might put two LED floods in my T250 grill, but I doubt I'll spend more than $100 including the high amp relay.
I contemplated putting lights in the bumper step, but ended up going with the Rigid DOT/SAE legal fogs on a bar. I find I actually use the bumper step more than I thought I would.
http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/electronics-audio-lighting/4418-driving-lights-3.html#post228682
I've been super happy with them. They have a very positive cutoff which I have aimed just below the top of the low beam. They are far brighter than the stock lights and have a very wide pattern. I've had them for a year and have never been flashed, though I mostly use them to cut through the rain at night. Great product for about $200.
JP
http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/electronics-audio-lighting/4418-driving-lights-3.html#post228682
I've been super happy with them. They have a very positive cutoff which I have aimed just below the top of the low beam. They are far brighter than the stock lights and have a very wide pattern. I've had them for a year and have never been flashed, though I mostly use them to cut through the rain at night. Great product for about $200.
JP
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I put 6 of these on the side and back corners of my rack. I've got headlights for forward.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJKXW8M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GJKXW8M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Putting a light bar on the roof should be no problem, especially if you have a roof rack. If not I bet it would not be hard to use the roof rack mount points for your light.
As others have noted - you can spend a lot or a little, it's up to you. I have done a bit of research and settled on these for my van.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015FL6DL...UTF8&colid=MICHLCSEPFXG&coliid=I1L90VPPF6IFU3
I plan to mount them into the grill. They are SAE compliant which means you can use them anytime on the street legally - other lights are "off road only".
Most times in life you get what you pay for - I think more expensive lights have a tighter light pattern and better overall quality. LED's are a good thing as they use little power.
As others have noted - you can spend a lot or a little, it's up to you. I have done a bit of research and settled on these for my van.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015FL6DL...UTF8&colid=MICHLCSEPFXG&coliid=I1L90VPPF6IFU3
I plan to mount them into the grill. They are SAE compliant which means you can use them anytime on the street legally - other lights are "off road only".
Most times in life you get what you pay for - I think more expensive lights have a tighter light pattern and better overall quality. LED's are a good thing as they use little power.
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The cheap knock offs are exactly that. Cheap knock offs. I don't care how many lumens they claim to have. There are a ton of videos comparing junk lights to rigid industries. No comparison.
I actually think I'm going to put a 20" bar in that air dam cut out in the bumper. The style I'm looking at doesn't block to much air flow so I think it would be ok.
I actually think I'm going to put a 20" bar in that air dam cut out in the bumper. The style I'm looking at doesn't block to much air flow so I think it would be ok.
I've had cheap led lights and they may light up, but to get a good light it's going to cost more than 160 buck.
I want them not to dump light, but to focus the light. I've only heard good things about rigid lights, and I see them on a lot of vehicles.
Anyhow thats my opinion. But ya got to spend what is on the budget. 2k is not on my budget for a bar, so if I wanted a 52 inch bar I very well my try the Ebay one.
But I just want a 20 inch one too.
I want them not to dump light, but to focus the light. I've only heard good things about rigid lights, and I see them on a lot of vehicles.
Anyhow thats my opinion. But ya got to spend what is on the budget. 2k is not on my budget for a bar, so if I wanted a 52 inch bar I very well my try the Ebay one.
But I just want a 20 inch one too.
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I use the step to wash the window, so that's out as a mounting location for me.
The LEDs themselves are exactly the same, it's the housing that differs between the cheap lights and the expensive ones. Maybe the lenses; glass would be much more durable than plastic over the years. And there are different styles of lens shape, to; projector, flood, refracting, etc. If someone is going to bash about on back roads a lot, then by all means get the sturdiest product you can afford. For the 98% of us who drive on pavement and maintained gravel/dirt roads 99% of the time, the cheaper lights should be perfectly fine.
Looking at the ads, I was wondering about how they quantify their products. I know Lumens are a measurement of brightness, and that watts are a measure of power consumption. Many of these lights list "watts" to describe how powerful the lights are, which is erroneous when comparing LED to HID or standard bulbs. For an LED light system to use 500 watts, it must be pretty **** bright. many of the light bars are made with 3-5 watt individual LEDs, so a 500 watt system would use 200-300 individual LEDs. My 1200 lumen flashlight is pretty **** bright, so I can just imagine what these 50,000 lumen light bars can do!
Regular car headlights are 800-1500 lumens depending on brand and type. HID headlights are up to 3500 lumens.
Quantifying brightness; 1 candlepower = 12.57 Lumens. Remember the old 15 million candlepower spotlights? That would be 188 million Lumens! I think the way they measured and rated those spotlights was off...a bit! Lux is 1 lumen to 1 square meter, another measurement of note.
A lot of products are measured at 3 meters, or about 10'. Depending on quality and efficiency of the lens material, a light that measures 1000 lumens at 3 meters may be much brighter at 100 meters than a light that measures 5000 lumens at 3 meters. It's best to do a little research and read reviews to see if something is actually going to do what you want it to do.
The LEDs themselves are exactly the same, it's the housing that differs between the cheap lights and the expensive ones. Maybe the lenses; glass would be much more durable than plastic over the years. And there are different styles of lens shape, to; projector, flood, refracting, etc. If someone is going to bash about on back roads a lot, then by all means get the sturdiest product you can afford. For the 98% of us who drive on pavement and maintained gravel/dirt roads 99% of the time, the cheaper lights should be perfectly fine.
Looking at the ads, I was wondering about how they quantify their products. I know Lumens are a measurement of brightness, and that watts are a measure of power consumption. Many of these lights list "watts" to describe how powerful the lights are, which is erroneous when comparing LED to HID or standard bulbs. For an LED light system to use 500 watts, it must be pretty **** bright. many of the light bars are made with 3-5 watt individual LEDs, so a 500 watt system would use 200-300 individual LEDs. My 1200 lumen flashlight is pretty **** bright, so I can just imagine what these 50,000 lumen light bars can do!
Regular car headlights are 800-1500 lumens depending on brand and type. HID headlights are up to 3500 lumens.
Quantifying brightness; 1 candlepower = 12.57 Lumens. Remember the old 15 million candlepower spotlights? That would be 188 million Lumens! I think the way they measured and rated those spotlights was off...a bit! Lux is 1 lumen to 1 square meter, another measurement of note.
A lot of products are measured at 3 meters, or about 10'. Depending on quality and efficiency of the lens material, a light that measures 1000 lumens at 3 meters may be much brighter at 100 meters than a light that measures 5000 lumens at 3 meters. It's best to do a little research and read reviews to see if something is actually going to do what you want it to do.
I completely understand people's reasoning on whether or not they want to spend a ton of money on lights, or less on other lights. I'm still trying to decide what I should do for my van. I was hoping someone had installed a light bar on the top and they could give feedback about wind noise, or possibly even gas mileage?
Dog
Dog
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I'm still in the planning phase. I don't think I want anything sticking up catching wind all the time. I think I might look for some recessed mount round/oval LEDs for either the cab above the windshield or the front fenders to spot stuff that might run out in front of me in the woods.
*FOR OFFROAD USE ONLY in case the NSA is trolling this website
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general info on LEDs: https://www.westmarine.com/WestAdvisor/LED-Lighting-Technology
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Ditto on the reason being to see critters. Curvy road with frequent airborne deer on my way home in the fall. The HR EXT suuuuucks on gas already. My son got a cargo rack on his Jeep Patriot and lost 2-3 mpg. Pics of anyone's aftermarket lights that help spot Bambi would be helpful.....
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found using the forum search box, the first, second and last picture in the first post by the thread starter. http://www.fordtransitusaforum.com/accessories-add-ons/15801-aluminess-custom-roof-rack-etc.html
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I, too, was planning on a 20" light bar in the front bumper step cut-out. Does anyone know if this would not be advisable
due to reduced airflow? Not sure how important airflow is through that slot, but, a good portion would be blocked by the light bar.
due to reduced airflow? Not sure how important airflow is through that slot, but, a good portion would be blocked by the light bar.
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