Lighting solutions for trucks with factory bumpers

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pnolanIH8MUD

pnolanIH8MUD

10 Year
Joined
Jun 13, 2011
Threads
40
Messages
240
Location
Austin, TX
Website
activthrust.com
I'm driving to OKC tomorrow and am looking for lighting solutions for night driving. I don't have any light bars to mount anything.

4 wheel parts recommended their 35 watt HID BUT that doesn't include projector lamps...It would yield 3 x the light but not change the reflector pattern...

Any thoughts? LED light bar?
 
Send (2000UZJ) a private message...his name is Nick he can retrofit some bi-xenons for you. Your Cruiser will look stock but have awesome light.

I had LS430 projecters retrofitted....at night about 8 lanes of highway are illuminated with an awesome cut off....I have never been flashed in two years.

I plan on reaching out to Nick for a retro on my wifes Cruiser....bi-xenon this time.
 
Hey, I am in OKC and want to know why you are coming from Austin for a lighting solution. I think you will past a bunch of good stores before getting here...lol :) so far I have not found anyone here 4wheel parts that really know **** about 100 series. There is a guy in NW OKC that has a body shop "Dent Depot" that rebuilds landcruisers. I could use a light upgrade as well.
 
Just curious why you need better lighting for night time driving? Just to throw more light out for wild life?

I've personally been fine with high-beams when out in the country, but at times I did wish for more lighting to the side of the vehicle. On my last truck, I just mounted some KC spot lights directly to the factory bumper with big old washers and pointed them at the direction I needed. I suppose you can do the same with the spot lights or LED lights on the 100. I'd personally go that route instead of HID retrofits. IMO, after owning several HID equipped cars, they don't help that much, especially compared to a good set of driving lights.
 
Just about to get the ball rolling on this....I am wanting to install 2x 11" Led light bars in my front bumper, plan is to remove the black grills shown in my pic and use the bar behind it to mount my Led lights, any advise on this or suggestions would be appreciated!! only concern I can think of is air flow but then many aftermarket bumpers would hinder airflow as much anyways, thoughts please?

Also my vehicle has the DRL and uses the high beam at reduced wattage for DRL mode, my question is if I hook my led lights into the high beams how do I prevent them from coming on in daytime running light mode? I only want lights to activate when my high-beams are on high-beam setting.

Thanks for any help and Happy New Year to you all!! ( ps. Don't freak out my running boards are off, this is an older pick haha!)

image-600715969.webp
 
I have used this licence plate frame/ light mount successfully on a 100-series:

http://www.amazon.com/CARR-167301-Light-Black-Powder/dp/B000CINS7M/?tag=ihco-20

This was several years ago, and I had some normal incandescent PIAA flood lights mounted to the Carr 167301 licence plate mount. The flood lights were wired into the factory high beam circuit; they were activated by the stock high beam switch, and came on simultaneously with the factory high beams. This set-up gave a lot of bang for the buck, and it looked fine. It does not require any modification to the bumper or interior switches. I am sure you could use LEDs in place of the incandescent flood lights if that's what you want.

The Carr 167301 licence plate mount works fine if you don't want to add an aftermarket bumper. It is plenty durable as long as you don't run into things with it. And it only costs $84.

Hope this helps
 
Thanks for your reply, I'm more looking for info on mounting the led light bars where I have shown on my pic above. Just hoping someone has done this before and if anyone thinks it will cause an overheating issue. Thanks again!
 
You should try it.

The only question I would have is:
How are you actually going to attach the lights to the bar so that they can be adjusted/aimed to shine where you want them?

Seems like the lights would need to be nearly flush with the front of the bumper in order to get a decent beam pattern and prevent the plastic bumper cover from interfering with the beams. You might need to fabricate some mounts to accommodate your application.

Others will know better, but I think that LEDs generally do not generate much heat compared to incandescent bulbs. You probably will not have to worry about the LEDs overheating, provided they are quality LEDs.
 
I'm also looking into a temporary solution to mount front driving lamps.
I plan in the future to install an ARB bar on my 100 but for now I just want something to mount a pair of driving lamps on.
I was thinking of finding a bracket of some sort to mount it like the cruiser in the attached photo.
I think another option is just drilling an mounting in the stock bumper but I don`t want them to be wobbling while driving.

Browsing online also found this quick solution but the chrome does not make me too happy. Maybe plastidip-t for a gun metal black?
http://www.lightforceusa.com/products/accessories/unibar
Any advise?

lights toy.webp
 
Hi all,
I bought the Rigid Industries D2 Driving set before OKC and I installed them right into the indicated holes in the bumper that Lx470iH8Mud points out, only on my 2002 UZJ, the holes were smaller.

I removed the plastic grill with a very sharp, heavy duty carpet blade and a hacksaw. Actually came out cleaner than I thought. Open the hood and remove the grill with the three screws. LIft up and set it aside. The mounting locations are two 3/8" holes drilled into the 2" steel tube behind the plastic. I chose to drill them at the center of the bumper opening BUT you will have to drill the holes 1/8 from the back edge of the bar to allow enough room in front of the lights for adjustment and covers.

I picked up two – stainless steel 2.5" carriage bolts that went all the way through the bumper tube and lock washers and nuts. You will want an 8" long x 3/8 high carbon bit for this work. You'll have to play with the bracket to ensure it's set up correctly before installing with the long carriage bolt through the bracket. The side hex nut mounting bolts included are a little tricky to get started but you'll need them installed before you set the lights into the opening. Slide the assemblies into place and slide the washers and nut on. A little tricky to do but patience counts. Tighten the lights up and proceed to the wiring. Stretch out the wire harness and run wiring down to the lights then upward to the firewall. Drill a hole in the firewall and use a self-tapping screw to mount the relay. Lay out and attach your wiring but I wouldn't lash anything down till your done.

Now, find the grommet that passes all of the wires through the firewall under the brake master cylinder. I had a previous wiring hole already in that grommet (Of course if you know of a more waterproof way of doing this please share). I then used a household fish-tape from the interior switch plate out to the engine compartment to pull the wires through to the switch. I drilled a hole in my switch plate near the mirror switch plate that was empty and attached the wires and after attaching power wires to the battery posts, I was in business.

I will say that I had a car and an 18 wheel want to road rage me over the lights on the 400-mile trip but these lights are small, and incredibly bright at 3000 lumens. Visibility trumps that halo-eyed BMW all day. The driving LED's are in elliptical 6-up boxes that direct the beam forward while providing flood lighting. They're a perfect solution for a stealthy install for us grocery getter/part time mountain folks that need to see the deer first. At $280, the lights are a great deal. I don't know if you really need the 11" bars at all now and I was set to put a 22"er on the top of the bumper. This is a great solution. Pictures to come. I just bought a set of amber covers which firmly snap in place for the foggy driving of Austin's winter. Those damned LEDS lose no intensity but I think I'm less likely to get pulled over for the glare. Feel free to ask me for directions.
 
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