What Extra Lighting do you have on your truck?

Work Lights, Driving/fog/spot? HID/LED?


What do you think about driving at night overland? Do you think it its dangerous and that you should only travel in the day?


Are there restrictions or regulations concerning Lighting on vehicle's in europe/america/rest of world?



Jas

I don't and never have had any extra front facing lighting on any of my vehicles - but only as I've never felt the need to (and they'd stand a fair chance of getting knocked off with me!)

The 90 is the first one I've ever toyed with the idea of extra lighting but as yet I've not bothered.

At the end of the day, IMO, extra ligthing is just going to mean you can go a bit quicker - not always the best idea if it's night time and you are already tired from driving all day. Maybe more crucial if you are venturing well off tarmac?

Do want to set up a rear work light on the 90 but again as yet not got round to it as other jobs have been further up the list of priorities at the mo.

i don`t know about the rest of the world , but in the uk spot lights should either be wired into the main beam or be on a seperate illuminated switch.
personally i don`t think the wiring for the main beam would be able to cope with the extra amps that are needed to run a pair of 55 watt spots , it is however more than able to trigger a relay .

ive had 3 sets wired on seperate switch`s so if for any reason one set fail you still have the others to fall back on .

having a landy the headlights are not the worlds best i have tried all sorts of headlights and none offer the sort of lighting that extra lights can,
i used to have a roof rack untill a tree ended that had two wipacs and two random big rectangle lights and they were fab!!
but i since swaped a light bar for some stickers with some dirt cheap lights from driffield land rover show and they are rubbish!!
so i ordered from my supplier some terrafirma spot lights ( supplied by Free Spirit 4x4 ) to test for my range rover and they are much better than anything i have had previously,
HID lights are good too, need the correct wiring for them though,
KC daylighters are some of the best lights ( supplied by Matt Savage ) i have worked with the lights and they are bomb proof and easy to rebuild when they do die as well as all parts available, they also have a very wide range of lights including HID and LED
Light Force lights ( i have never used ) are rumored to be really good aswell ( Supplied by 4x4 Overlander ) the feature i like about them is the changeable lenses for differing conditions

i think they are a must have but opinions are differing

cheers kieran

I had a set of Light force 170's on a old pick up of mine that were quite good but on my current truck i have Piaa 520's, IMO there some of the best around, 2 years worth of greenlaneing and they still look new, alot of light from 55watt bulb.

Should you drive at nighttime on a overland trip?

Should you drive at nighttime in the UK?

Unexpected things can happen in the UK as well as abroad.

Yes it is more sensible not to drive when it is dark in more remote places as chances of the unexpected is higher. However what do you do 20 miles away from your campsite and darkness comes down??

In these sort of situations good lights become essential.

There are many different lights out there varying from about a tenner up to about £500. Many people rate lights by the wattage but what does that have to do with light output??

As additional driving lights we have used Light Force and IPF lights. The better light are the Lightforce lights. Better light output, focusable, waterproof rust proof and extremely tough. Most of the comp boys in Oz use lightforce lights for desert nighttime racing!

Glass front lights are susceptible to gravel rash, rusting becoming gold fish bowls

So when we set up in business the additional driving lights we choose to stock are Light Force.

For camping/rear work lights go for LED. Draws about 1 amp whereas the standard 55 watt light draws almost 5 amps. Risk of flattening the battery???

HTH

Brendan

HID lights are a contentious issue, the legalities of fitting them as conversions are basically illegal for original vehicle fitment lights such as headlights because they are not E marked, neither are the bulbs, and many boy racers fitting them to their pimped up vehicles have been fined when stopped by the Police.

Basically the law stands as:

You cannot fit any aftermarket HID lights as driving lights to a vehicle which was manufactured without them as they are illegal.

Certain vehicles are fitted with HID headlights as standard, if the vehicle was manufactured with them they are legal as the units have been tested, E marked, and excempt under the Construction and Use Regulations for block exemption. They can be replaced only with an original manufacturer, or approved supplier to that manufacturer component.
If the vehicle was not fitted with them, but they were an optional extra, they cannot be retro fitted.

Spotlights or auxiliary lights are another issue, these can be HID or halogen and can be fitted to any vehicle as long as they are not used for general road use, as long as their use is confined to off road lighting or work lights there are no issues, they are perfectly legal.

They must be wired into the high beam circuit and fitted with a seperate switch so they can only operate with the headlights on full beam, and they must have a warning light, or other visible indicator to show when they are switched on.

Hey T.Jas,

Most states in the U.S. have lighting restrictions dealing mainly with where the lights are placed rather than what lights are mounted. In California, "driving lights" cannot be place higher than either 42" of 44" from the ground. Anything over that is considered off the road lighting and must be covered when driving on public roads. Driving lights are considered ancillary to the vehicle's headlights and should be connected to the high beams, so they work in concert with the hi-beam headlights. Off road lights can be 1 million candle power for all the State cares and can be wired or switched anyway you like, as long as they are covered, as previously mentioned.

Even though I have the dual batteries, I still tend to be conservative in my lighting - just a big work light in the rear in place of the stock backup lights and two IPF driving lights in front. I must admit, however, that I do have some super duper replacement headlights (illegal, by the way) on one of the cars, and they are very nice indeed.

What do I have..."upgraded" (ahem) to Defender headlights on my Series Landie. 2 pairs of rooflights and a pair of lights mounted on the bumper for low-ish level extra lighting. They are cheapo Ring spotlights, most of which were bought on ebay for a few quid. Standard bulbs, and if I hit a tree with one of them, buy another set for under a tenner. No probs. I couldn't be bothered to make a light bar on this occasion so I bolted them to the roof. All running on relays and decent wiring. It does the job and I dont see much point in spending any more than that.

I know many people will say you do not need extra lighting...yeah if you are sticking to main roads then not a problem usually. However, without my lights I reckon I would be scrwed on a number of occasions. There have been time where I have been switching (off road driving or very poor mountain roads) between high and low level lights because of terrain/climate. Of course I could just stop the car and not carry on. But for various reasons, including being in a place where simply stopping is not a particularly safe or wanted option. And of course with forward planning, or taking the decision not to press on, I could have avoided that situation in the first place. But for the sake of a few quid, which gives you more options of driving styles....why not?

It is a slightly contentious issue as peoples use of vehicles can vary enormously, and i, like many others, have been caught out while off roading and been stuck on lanes in the dark. Technically it is illegal to drive green lanes with roof lights switched on, but what chance is there of a Police vehicle being there to nick you, and what chance is there of you getting a ticket anyway as in most instances the Police would simply advise you.

On road this is a different matter, you can use correctly located spotlights or driving lights as long as they extinguish when you dip your full beam when other vehicles approach.