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

[LosAngeles]

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!

[JaxDad]

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.

[schlep1967]

Grit dog wrote:

Btw, do you feel guilty for removing the do not remove tag from a new pillow, or just live with it so as not to break the “law?”

Nope! Because I can read and it says .... Under Penalty of law this tag not to be removed EXCEPT by the consumer. If I bought it, I can take the tag off of it.

Glad we got all of that straitened out.
Have a good day and may all your camping trips be Sunny and Mild.

[Grit_dog]

@schlep.
That was my exact point, but it blew right past you.
The ONLY time I’ve been hassled for lights was literally 30 years ago by a Cracker Jack box local deputy, who’s responsibility wasn’t to protect and serve the public. It was solely to fund the city’s (villages) revenue. If you haven’t had the pleasure of living in or near a “speed trap” town, you wouldn’t understand.
Fwiw I give everyone every bit of respect they deserve, always have, and even some to those that don’t deserve it. But sometimes it just doesn’t matter, because you’re getting screwed regardless of how nice you are.
And I wasn’t bragging about getting tickets, although I probably had enough traffic tickets by age 21 to paper a wall (most of them well deserved). I was pointing out the foolishness of worrying about having driving lights. The 5 ticket thing was a real revenue generator for this town. Even had their own city tow truck that the maint guy would show up in when he got the call from Barney. Then the city would tack on an exhorbitant tow bill of which they got 100% of the revenue for as well. The one time I got my 5 ticket string, I was actually 100% legal and not disobeying any traffic laws either. But somehow , even with a copy of the dmv paperwork, the officer couldn’t “ verify” with dispatch that my vehicle registration had recently changed. Well no sht Sherlock. The internet didn’t exist and the dmv wasn’t open for them to “call” on a Saturday afternoon.
Good times. The best part was the look on Barney’s face when my defense attorney was also the county prosecutor that day and somehow the county “did not have any records of the alleged violations”!!
I support ethical law enforcement all day long and twice on Sundays, lol, but it’s hard to get behind the crooked ones.

Back to driving lights, who gives a f?
They’re lights. Put them on, don’t put them on, doesn’t matter.


Btw, do you feel guilty for removing the do not remove tag from a new pillow, or just live with it so as not to break the “law?”

[Grit_dog]

^ That old GMC square body looks very nice! Any more pics?

[hornet28]

I've been all over the country with these two trucks with extra lights and have never been stopped because of them or for any other reason

[deltabravo]

Get some DOT Legal LED Lights. I have a set of DOT fog lights from Rigid Industries on my Crosstrek.

[Edd505]

Why not just get the stock driving lights? Work fine on my 15 F350. And what about all these lifted "big foots"? I know WA has a max height above ground for head lights? I carried a tape measure doing traffic safety, over height, over width.

[schlep1967]

Grit dog wrote:

LosAngeles wrote:

schlep1967 wrote:
If they are "Off Road Lights" they must be covered when on the road or you risk the chance of being fined. That is why the old "K.C. Lights" on the roll bars had covers on them.

Cool. I suspected as much

Any inexpensive generic covers that won’t blow off on the road?

The cheap lights I am considering don’t have covers as an option.

Little bags with a drawstring? Or ...?

Must be a clever cheap option ......Hmmmmm

😕

Thanks all. 🙂

Suspected what? That schlep is now the driving light nanny?
You have zero to worry about having any lights mounted to your rig.
When's the last time either of you seen or heard of any of the millions of people with "off road" lights being pulled over because their lights didn't have covers?
Some folks need to find other things to worry about....

LA, find whatever lights suit your fancy and use them. Although "cheap" lights are CHEAP. Personally I wouldn't cobble some junk to the front of my nice brand new pickup with nice brand new camper.
I'd get a decent quality LED light bar or pods and mount it/them in a professional looking manor.

And if you think the lights draw too much for the switch, don't use one switch for each light. Wire them to a relay. (But I'm sure you can run a couple of those little LEDs off of one switch with no issue.)

Driving Light Nanny? So you brag about getting tickets and being a wiseguy when pulled over for breaking the law. So I'll give you the difference between you and me. If extra lights are illegal, (See my second post above referencing the California Vehicle Code) I won't put them on my vehicle. I won't be pulled over and "harassed" for being dumb enough to voluntarily break the law. And I won't be the guy badmouthing the people paid to keep law and order and uphold even the little laws that some "better than everybody else" people think they know better about.
I answered the original posters question and backed it up with a link to the actual Vehicle code. Break all the laws you are willing to pay the fines for. Don't tell others they can do whatever they want because you don't care about the consequences and nothing is ever your fault.

[ford_truck_guy]

Grit dog wrote:

LosAngeles wrote:


This hit the news a while back. In case you missed it. Just for your amusement Gritty Dog. 😉

https://www.thedrive.com/news/31975/california-highway-patrol-hassles-toyota-tacoma-owner-for-uncovered-light-bar

A while back, like today?
I didn't say it was impossible to get hassled for it, I said you have nothing to worry about. Last time I was hassled for it was about 1990, in high school. Local D bag DOT regs expert revenue generator in the neighboring 1 horse, 3 cop car town wrote me up for snowplow lights being mounted on the truck (not in use) after Apr 15 and before Nov 1.

Guessing I told him the same thing as I'd tell a cop today if that was their biggest beef with my lawfulness. "Go suck a ____."
(Didn't matter with those guys, you were getting as many tickets as they could dish out even if you had a fresh box of Krispy Kremes for them! Best I ever did was 5 at once with those ____. It was 5 because if they wrote more than 4 tickets, for anything, they could tow and impound your car, which equaled even more revenue. It was like freakin Boss Hogg and Roscoe P Coaltrain, swear to god. Not alot different than Black Diamond WA for you guys that live around here, or Alma Colorado.)

Some folks could use to live a little more in life and not be intimidated by the fog light police.

Wooooooooo Wooooooooo (that's a siren...)
Bad boys bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when the come for you bad boys bad boys...

I thought I was the only SAP to get puled for that.....

[Grit_dog]

LosAngeles wrote:


This hit the news a while back. In case you missed it. Just for your amusement Gritty Dog. 😉

https://www.thedrive.com/news/31975/california-highway-patrol-hassles-toyota-tacoma-owner-for-uncovered-light-bar

A while back, like today?
I didn't say it was impossible to get hassled for it, I said you have nothing to worry about. Last time I was hassled for it was about 1990, in high school. Local D bag DOT regs expert revenue generator in the neighboring 1 horse, 3 cop car town wrote me up for snowplow lights being mounted on the truck (not in use) after Apr 15 and before Nov 1.

Guessing I told him the same thing as I'd tell a cop today if that was their biggest beef with my lawfulness. "Go suck a ____."
(Didn't matter with those guys, you were getting as many tickets as they could dish out even if you had a fresh box of Krispy Kremes for them! Best I ever did was 5 at once with those ____. It was 5 because if they wrote more than 4 tickets, for anything, they could tow and impound your car, which equaled even more revenue. It was like freakin Boss Hogg and Roscoe P Coaltrain, swear to god. Not alot different than Black Diamond WA for you guys that live around here, or Alma Colorado.)

Some folks could use to live a little more in life and not be intimidated by the fog light police.

Wooooooooo Wooooooooo (that's a siren...)
Bad boys bad boys, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when the come for you bad boys bad boys...

[LosAngeles]

SAR Tracker wrote:
Little bags with a drawstring?

LOL!!!

Best. Forum. Post. Ever! 🙂

[ford_truck_guy]

FWIW -

Way back in the day when I was around 17 ( 39+ or - years ago ) or so I was pulled over by a Local Yokal while in route to the mountains.

I had removed the plow lights off the front of my truck, back in the day they were awful to look at while driving. It just so happened that I had a set of off road lights added to the plow frame.

The Super Cop pulled me for illegal running lights... While stopped , he hit me for illegal pictures in the rear window.. I had a full window screen of 2 BIG BUCK.

He then checked my gun rack to make sure it was TIGHT.. checked the shotgun in the rack to make sure it was not loaded.. checked the inside to make sure I had no ammunition..

I truly believe he stopped me because I was young and had a gun... but will never know..

Took my lumps and drove away.

I would hope things have changed in the past 40 years

[LosAngeles]

Grit dog wrote:

LosAngeles wrote:

schlep1967 wrote:
If they are "Off Road Lights" they must be covered when on the road or you risk the chance of being fined. That is why the old "K.C. Lights" on the roll bars had covers on them.

Cool. I suspected as much

Any inexpensive generic covers that won’t blow off on the road?

The cheap lights I am considering don’t have covers as an option.

Little bags with a drawstring? Or ...?

Must be a clever cheap option ......Hmmmmm

😕

Thanks all. 🙂

Suspected what? That schlep is now the driving light nanny?
You have zero to worry about having any lights mounted to your rig.
When's the last time either of you seen or heard of any of the millions of people with "off road" lights being pulled over because their lights didn't have covers?
Some folks need to find other things to worry about....

LA, find whatever lights suit your fancy and use them. Although "cheap" lights are CHEAP. Personally I wouldn't cobble some junk to the front of my nice brand new pickup with nice brand new camper.
I'd get a decent quality LED light bar or pods and mount it/them in a professional looking manor.

This hit the news a while back. In case you missed it. Just for your amusement Gritty Dog. 😉

https://www.thedrive.com/news/31975/california-highway-patrol-hassles-toyota-tacoma-owner-for-uncovered-light-bar

[Grit_dog]

LosAngeles wrote:

schlep1967 wrote:
If they are "Off Road Lights" they must be covered when on the road or you risk the chance of being fined. That is why the old "K.C. Lights" on the roll bars had covers on them.

Cool. I suspected as much

Any inexpensive generic covers that won’t blow off on the road?

The cheap lights I am considering don’t have covers as an option.

Little bags with a drawstring? Or ...?

Must be a clever cheap option ......Hmmmmm

😕

Thanks all. 🙂

Suspected what? That schlep is now the driving light nanny?
You have zero to worry about having any lights mounted to your rig.
When's the last time either of you seen or heard of any of the millions of people with "off road" lights being pulled over because their lights didn't have covers?
Some folks need to find other things to worry about....

LA, find whatever lights suit your fancy and use them. Although "cheap" lights are CHEAP. Personally I wouldn't cobble some junk to the front of my nice brand new pickup with nice brand new camper.
I'd get a decent quality LED light bar or pods and mount it/them in a professional looking manor.

And if you think the lights draw too much for the switch, don't use one switch for each light. Wire them to a relay. (But I'm sure you can run a couple of those little LEDs off of one switch with no issue.)

[schlep1967]

Since you are in California you should look here California Vehicle Code