Streamlight flashlight install in my 80

[asutherland]

I bought this light new off of a local classifieds site. It came with the light, battery pack, and TWO charger/holder things - one AC (for in the house) and one DC (for in the vehicle)

It's a decent light, bright (not the brightest I've owned but plenty bright enough) and 3 brightness settings. It's waterproof (up to several meters) and break/shock proof. Perfect for the truck. Plus the fact the holders also charge the light is perfect - never pick it up out in the woods and realize it's dead.

I didn't mount the charger for the longest time because I just couldn't find a good spot to mount it. I tried several locations, mockups, nothing. Several months passed and one day I had an awesome idea.

When the door closes, it barely misses the edge of the holder. But it doesn't touch. You can't see it when the door is closed, not even the little red charging led.

IF by some way it came out of the holder while travelling (it is in there very tight) it has no where to go, and cannot possibly roll forward.

I took the seat out, then the metal shroud under the seat out, drilled 2 holes and put bolts/lock washers/nuts in, remounted the shroud with the holder attached, and wired in the charger through a fuse and into my (constant 12v) source.

 

[lrowe_csp]

Nice! Could you have done the same thing on the other side of the truck? (mine is 2000 miles away so I can't take a look for myself)

 

[asutherland]

Nice! Could you have done the same thing on the other side of the truck? (mine is 2000 miles away so I can't take a look for myself)

Yup! I wanted mine on the DRIVERS side though

he he he

 

[Douglas S]

Why is the trim popped in underneath the ignition on every HDJ81 I see? It drives me nuts in mine and there doesn't seem to be an easy fix.

Light looks sweet, I've been looking for a good spot to mount my Fenix in my truck.

 

[rolliges]

Looks great.

Can you get to it with the door closed?

 

[CruiseOrlando]

Do you have any other info about the light itself? Make/model? That's slick, I like it.

 

[asutherland]

You can't get to it with the door closed, have to open the door a few inches to grab it. That being said, it's a bit bright for use inside... so 99% of the time I'm grabbing it as I leave the truck and it's in a perfect grabbing location. And I'm REALLY happy I don't have to take it out and hide it everytime I leave the truck parked on the road somewhere.

The model is this one: Stinger Series - Stinger DS LED | Streamlight

 

[ngrich99]

Myself and 7 of my employees have this light or a variation of the same light and use them every day. They are good take abuse and work well in an automotive environment. I also have a charger/holder wired in my 80.

 

[asutherland]

Myself and 7 of my employees have this light or a variation of the same light and use them every day. They are good take abuse and work well in an automotive environment. I also have a charger/holder wired in my 80.

Cool. Where did you mount yours?

 

[Jrob80]

That seems to work out pretty good... I stole this idea from Landtank, works great...

_

 

[thatcabledude]

I'm sure you've considered this already, but my experience with flashlight chargers like that has been that they drain the battery. In my work truck that was fine until i was on vacation for more thatn 3 days..... Dead battery everytime. That was a mag light though. Same concept

 

[asutherland]

Yeah, Landtank's spot was one of the places I was considering. But the Streamlight charger is a little taller, so it stuck out really far.

I did look into the battery drain, the Streamlight charger is a "smart" charger, you place the flashlight in it and it will rapid charge it until the battery pack is full, then just trickle charge it after that. The light goes solid when charging and flickers every 4 seconds or so when trickle charging.

The instructions actually said to tie it directly to an always on source rather than ignition. I am assuming that's so every time you start the vehicle it doesn't attempt to start rapid charging which would be detrimental for the flashlight battery.

I've left the truck for 2 weeks now and not had any problem starting. That and the fact I have dual batteries so I am not concerned

 

[rolliges]

That seems to work out pretty good... I stole this idea from Landtank, works great...

_

Hey, cut a small hole in the Husky mat for the hook. No more sliding and much safer.

I like that flashlight location too.

 

[finderscuba]

Why is the trim popped in underneath the ignition on every HDJ81 I see? It drives me nuts in mine and there doesn't seem to be an easy fix.

Light looks sweet, I've been looking for a good spot to mount my Fenix in my truck.

Not sure what you mean here. Can you post a picture? I've had the trim in mine out several times and if you install it correctly it seems to fit flush.

 

[asutherland]

Not sure what you mean here. Can you post a picture? I've had the trim in mine out several times and if you install it correctly it seems to fit flush.

The problem with mine is likely that I arr not so gud at put-ting teh trim back.

 

[finderscuba]

It can be tricky without growing an extra arm. There are a bunch of tabs that have to line up properly.

 

[Tapage]

I notice your light in the pic you post in the other thread .. pretty nice ..

I'm debating if maglite LED upgrade route or just buy a new one .. ( could or could not be Maglite despite I'm Maglite lover .. ) so what are the options in LED out there for us .. ?

 

[Jrob80]

Hey, cut a small hole in the Husky mat for the hook. No more sliding and much safer.

I like that flashlight location too.

If I cut a hole in the mat then the water it catches leaks out onto my carpet ... that is why I bought the mats.

 

[rolliges]

Here is the stock mat hook. About half an inch up. How much water do you keep around your feet? Main thing is that the mat cannot jam up the gas or break pedals.

Looking towards the rear:

 

[JohnR]

I run the Stinger DS Led HP. I have chargers in my '10 ram and the fjz80. I just swap it depending on what vehicle I'm using.. but I've spent alot of time on the road recently, but a good flashlight by my side is a necessity. I'm hopefully going to buy a new one for the 80 soon..