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LosAngeles's avatar
LosAngeles
Explorer
Jan 27, 2020

Mount “ditch spots” on tow hooks? / legality / clamps?

Mount “ditch spots” on tow hooks? / legality / clamps?

Hi all

For times when driving country roads with no one around, it might be nice to have some “ditch” spots to throw more light ahead to help spot deer.

I’d put them on an up fitter switch (I have the Ford ones)

There is no obvious place to hide them behind the 2020 F350 grill, so how about clamps on the front tow hooks?

I’ll have to measure to see if these fit - but they look pretty perfect (if they fit)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2PCS-Work-Light-Mounting-Bracket-2-2-3-1CM-Bumper-Tube-Clamp-Bar-Holder-Solid-/152489286430

any other recommendations?

They will be inexpensive LED lights (about $35-60/pair) so I don’t mind if they get munched or stolen.

and…. for a second I thought about using yellow lights as these “ditch spots” so it is a constant reminder for me to turn them off if a car approaches… is that a good or a bad idea?

Looking at these 2 lights as inexpensive and decent options:
any preference between the two options below?

I don’t want to get fancy and do any fancy wiring / integration. Just on an up fitter switch or two. :-)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07H3VBF5Z (I would have to use 2 x 25 watt up fitter switches, I believe as they are 25 watts each)

or the SPOT version of these (40 watt total, for the pair, so I could put on up fitter #5 or #6, together)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q14YV19

also - with them in place (but off) any chance any highway patrol in any state (perhaps fussy California?) would be upset with them just being there? (but turned off) Serious question.

p.s..... I have thought about these details.

:)

I will have the correct tool to remove the lights off the tow hooks, in the unlikely event I need them. Would take about 20 seconds if I use the mounts I posted a link to on eBay

And I don’t want to mount them on the bumper as I don’t want to drill any holes.

So this all strikes me as being …. a simple option. :-)

thanks!
  • JRscooby wrote:
    Grit dog wrote:
    I think the fog light interlock stems from old school headlights and the 4 light rule.
    But it makes absolutely no sense as OE "fog lights" which are typically called driving lights anyway are the least offensive to oncoming traffic and they typically do a good job complemeting the high beams. Which should be shut off anyway with oncoming traffic.


    Over the years I have done some mods to lighting on vehicles. And in my world, Fog lights and Driving lights are not the same. My last Pete, I had a pair of each mounted and used. The Driving lights, only able to be on with high beams, would light a area well past and to the side of the high beams. The fog lights, would not come on with high beams. And if I was out in the country in heavy fog, I would shut headlights off. The amber worked best.
    On of my Super Duties, had a 4 lamp headlight system. Loaded to gross, aim the headlights to where I could see down the road on High beam, when MT, would shine up in the trees. Replaced the inner pair with double filament like the outside. Added a 2nd headlight switch/relay and another dimmer switch. Mt, used the factory set. Loaded, put factory switch on park for taillights, turn on other switch for low beam inside pair. High beam on that switch would light all 8 filaments.
    Roadside safety inspection, CMV inspector said the wrong headlights where on. Showed him how it worked. "Not sure that is legal, but good idea." Still got a overload ticket. Changed so the outside worked when loaded. Preferred to be stopped MT.


    You're 100% correct scooby and the discussion has turned to the light cops talking about OE "driving" lights which aren't offensive in the least to oncoming traffic.
    I've got real driving lights on vehicles too. The kind that let you see a deer in the ditch 300yds away (or 250m for Jaxdad) those are not acceptable to use into oncoming traffic. But they're also useless in the greater Toronto area. Not where I live and drive though.
  • JaxDad wrote:

    There’s also no need to have my fogs on while my high beams are on, I don’t drive a 20 year old North American POS with useless $2 headlights.

    On my daily driver I have a mix of auto-aiming Bi Xenon low beams and halogen high beams.


    Fog reflects light back at you. Your low beams put out a whole lot more light than you can use. High beams? It is worse than meeting a car with high beams. This is why if I can't see the lights of another vehicle, I would cut the low beams. I could see more with just the amber fog lights.
    Of course, by the time I sold it that 16 year old USA built iron was approaching 2 million miles.
  • JaxDad's avatar
    JaxDad
    Explorer III
    Grit dog wrote:
    I've got real driving lights on vehicles too. The kind that let you see a deer in the ditch 300yds away (or 250m for Jaxdad) those are not acceptable to use into oncoming traffic. But they're also useless in the greater Toronto area. Not where I live and drive though.


    It’s ok, I understand Imperial measurements just fine thank you, I’m an American after all.

    Oh, BTW, you probably don’t know much about your neighbours to the south but the Toronto area is about 150 miles east to west and about 100 miles north to south so I live much further from Toronto and out into the countryside than you do from Seattle, more than twice as far in fact.
  • JaxDad wrote:
    The law, which is pretty uniform across all of North America, says you must have a minimum of 2, and a maximum of 4 LIT lamps on the front of a motor vehicle. That is why on 4 lamp systems with fogs, the fogs won't come if the vehicle's high beams are on, or the high beams turn the fogs off.

    I've not seen anything that restricted how many lights you could have, just that you can't light up more than 4 of them at a time.


    Then PLEASE tell some of the car manufacturers that! I'm starting to see more and more cars/SUVs/crossovers with 6 lit white lights: headlights, fog lights, AND extremely bright LED strip lights. And they look like a ball of light coming at you until you're less than 50' away from them! Or the Ford trucks that have 4 very bright headlamps on (all separate bulbs too), AND their fog lamps (2 separate bulbs there).

    Regards,
    Mike
  • LosAngeles wrote:
    Okee dokee.... anyone want to comment on ditch lights? ;-)


    Nah, lets move one to something less provactive.
    How about Owl Search lights?

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