speaking of trips and lights

[Grizz]

I may get a road-trip opportunity next month, and I am looking for specific recommendations for extra driving lights.
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light bars? hellas? for the long night watches in the Republic on the fast country farm roads.

this is for the Yaris, which has a lot of mounting spot issues. there are spots where fog lights were mounted, and might be a good spot for lighting up the road sides where the suicide deer wait for their chance.

then i wonder about light bars and think about how to mount those, and how to direct them. i'd prefer to have them/it independently switched. this would be in part for the ranch road, which is challenging for low-rider compact, and the angles and rock piles and twists leave gaps in the minutia of keeping the tires on the narrow traction targets, and avoiding the prickly pear that seem to want to share the contact patch.

so for you guys with experience, what's a good working setup for a compact road car that sports itself on jeep trails whenever possible?

think dune buggy, sort of. or vw bug-ish.

thanks in advance for helping to make the T2R greater again . . . for the night life :)
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T2R-2024-09-01 YAR.jpeg

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notice the tow hook? it holds up the "bumper" part of the body. shoe goo and aircraft safety wire holds some of it together. hey, maybe i can mount a driving light there. at least it's attached to the "frame" :shock:
†
grizz

p.s. yes, i know he needs a lift. there is a 1.5 inch kit, so when the piggy bank has suspension cash, i'll deal with that.

p.p.s the white top gives a 125+ degree temperature difference from the black metal parts. a best-class mod.

[GunnyMack]

Back in 16 when I bought my Polaris Ranger I got a 36" LED light bar, mounted it on the roof with a slight downward tilt- hitting the ground about 20 yds out. Switched independent of the anemic head lights. With the snow plow the head lights are next to useless.
The light bar came with two 4" cube LED lights and I mounted those to the bed rails as backup lights, independent switched as well.
The light bar will light up my 450' long driveway!

[Grizz]

Back in 16 when I bought my Polaris Ranger I got a 36" LED light bar, mounted it on the roof with a slight downward tilt- hitting the ground about 20 yds out. Switched independent of the anemic head lights. With the snow plow the head lights are next to useless.
The light bar came with two 4" cube LED lights and I mounted those to the bed rails as backup lights, independent switched as well.
The light bar will light up my 450' long driveway!

thanks for that info. going to look at them at tractor supply, see if I can mount them on Yar.

[Grizz]

Back in 16 when I bought my Polaris Ranger I got a 36" LED light bar, mounted it on the roof with a slight downward tilt- hitting the ground about 20 yds out. Switched independent of the anemic head lights. With the snow plow the head lights are next to useless.
The light bar came with two 4" cube LED lights and I mounted those to the bed rails as backup lights, independent switched as well.
The light bar will light up my 450' long driveway!

I ordered a couple of 60W cubes, will devise a mounting plate at the level of the tow hook and aim them ahead of the wheels. this will make the low-rider safer climbing the limestone canyons that characterize the ranch road. there are a couple of spots where i could leave most of the engine and transaxle behind if i mis-aligned the contact patch. LOL

the lift will have to come on a different budget cycle. still, it's twice as cheap to travel compared to 4runrun, and very handy, like Jim's 16" carbine vs a long gun - - -

[jkbrea]

In Wyoming, I nearly hit a herd of elk in the middle of the road at night during snow. I bought and installed a light bar on my Ram truck. It worked awesome. It would light up the entire canyon up to the tree tops. I had a switch to shut them for oncoming traffic. The only downside to those LED light is they produce no heat and will cover up with snow.

[Old No7]

there are spots where fog lights were mounted, and might be a good spot for lighting up the road sides where the suicide deer wait for their chance.

then i wonder about light bars and think about how to mount those, and how to direct them. i'd prefer to have them/it independently switched.

I think you're very wise to get those and use them when there's no other oncoming traffic. Here, they're not "street legal" to run them -- off road only -- but on deer-infested roads at oh-dark-thirty, I've been known to run 'em and just watch for any traffic coming my way. If I ever got stopped for using them, I'd just mention the "very close call" I'd just had with a large deer...

My 4Runner has a pushbar mounted on the front, so they're mounted on that, and I'll include a few images below -- the last one which will show you HOW BRIGHT those LEDs are and how much MORE of the road they will illuminate.

Old No7

The center 12" LED bar is a combo of wide beam side/fog lights and spots, and the 2 smaller 6" LEDs on each side are very tight spots:

4Rnr 2017 11 LED Light Bars on.jpg

Here's the road with Low Beams and Fog lights:

4Rnr 2017 08 LED Light Bars low.jpg

And with High Beams (the Fog lights switch off on the Toyota at this setting):

4Rnr 2017 09 LED Light Bars high.jpg

And the High Beams with all the LEDs on (all wired into one switch controlling the relays):

4Rnr 2017 10 LED Light Bars high LED.jpg

You can see how much more down and to the side of the road those LEDs light up!

[Grizz]

there are spots where fog lights were mounted, and might be a good spot for lighting up the road sides where the suicide deer wait for their chance.

then i wonder about light bars and think about how to mount those, and how to direct them. i'd prefer to have them/it independently switched.

I think you're very wise to get those and use them when there's no other oncoming traffic. Here, they're not "street legal" to run them -- off road only -- but on deer-infested roads at oh-dark-thirty, I've been known to run 'em and just watch for any traffic coming my way. If I ever got stopped for using them, I'd just mention the "very close call" I'd just had with a large deer...

My 4Runner has a pushbar mounted on the front, so they're mounted on that, and I'll include a few images below -- the last one which will show you HOW BRIGHT those LEDs are and how much MORE of the road they will illuminate.

Old No7

The center 12" LED bar is a combo of wide beam side/fog lights and spots, and the 2 smaller 6" LEDs on each side are very tight spots:
4Rnr 2017 11 LED Light Bars on.jpg

Here's the road with Low Beams and Fog lights:
4Rnr 2017 08 LED Light Bars low.jpg

And with High Beams (the Fog lights switch off on the Toyota at this setting):
4Rnr 2017 09 LED Light Bars high.jpg

And the High Beams with all the LEDs on (all wired into one switch controlling the relays):
4Rnr 2017 10 LED Light Bars high LED.jpg

You can see how much more down and to the side of the road those LEDs light up!

Perfect! thanks for the photos. i'll have a master switch and then a rocker for the lights. these lights should be great for winding roads so i can see into the turns. I ordered two 18W lights in case i need more. Then i'll make a little road trip to tune them up.

Later on i'll put aux lights on 4Runner

[Old No7]

Perfect! thanks for the photos. i'll have a master switch and then a rocker for the lights. these lights should be great for winding roads so i can see into the turns. I ordered two 18W lights in case i need more. Then i'll make a little road trip to tune them up.

Later on i'll put aux lights on 4Runner

Good luck Grizz -- "Light 'em up!"

Old No7