Installed LED side flood lights.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

When we drive along mountain and other smaller dark at night roads, there have been many times when we simply could not see what we were turning into such as a ditch, stump, rock, etc... I was looking around for some type of light that I could install that would do the job. I finally came across a 4" round LED light by ECCO that would fit inside a rubber grommet that would fit into a 4-1/2" hole drilled into the F-250's bumper. I drilled a hole on both the left and right sides of the bumper centered in the flat of the bumper but still pointing down and forward at about the correct angle to illuminate the blind area we have driving into the turns. The LED floods only use .9 amps and put out 650 lumens. They do a good job of lighting the dark areas. This is a good solution for anybody else who experiences this problem. The installation is clean and could almost be mistaken for factory option.



This is a view of the flood from the right side.



View of the right side flood from in front of the truck.



Flood and headlight on viewing at 45 degrees.



View from the front with the headlights and flood lights on.



Flood illumination as seen from drivers seat.



Flood illumination as seen from front left corner of truck.



View from 15'~ in front of truck. Flood light only shining to illuminate side.

It's a good solution for my needs and perhaps others. Cost was 130.00 for all parts and about 3 hours time.

[trail-explorer]

RoyB wrote:
...I always had bright lights like those mounted on the top bar of my jeeps and every time DOT SAFETY INSPECTIONs came up I had to remove them before they would issue my inspection sticker.

There is definite DOT rules involved when mounting lights on the FRONT and REAR of vehicles. There is also DOT laws on how many lights can be ON at the same time on vehicles. Then when you finally figured what can be installed they hit with non-approved DOT lens on the light assemblies hehe..

Very good points.

Washington does have specific rules regarding lighting, but the good thing is they don't have annual vehicle inspections like some states do. I know Washington only allows a certain quantity of forward facing lights to be on a given time, when on public roads.

They really aren't much different than cornering lights, which some luxury cars have, which get activated when a turn signal is turned on.

I just helped my brother install a pair of these in his rear bumper...

6" oval LED light

Same concept, just oval instead of round.

[bka0721]

In all my years of doing enforcement, I would not have contacted you or enforced anything unless you were driving with them, going down the road. Using them in your intended purpose, would be fine. IMHO Many older upscale cars, have these type of lights that are activated by use of a turn signal. They are aimed downward so as not to impact adjacent motorists. By the photos you shared, they do appear to impact other motorists if they were to drive into the beam of your aux lights. As with anything, some abuse a light like this. Back up aux spot lights, on the rear of vehicles, have been a big issue of people flashing the vehicles/people driving behind them.

Yes, you are restricted to the number of lights, forward, on your vehicle, whether lit or not. It was always a good reason for a stop. Check your state’s restrictions for this enforcement.

I would hope if anyone has a belief of a violation that they quote the statute for their area, for validation of their belief. There are many tools on the internet, to research these statutes, then share with us. Same for officers stopping an individual, they should be able to provide the statute number of the violation, if asked or shown on the citation.

I think this light is a great improvement. Me? I would just get one of these, like the power companies use.

Remote Control Spotlight

[GordonThree]

nice looking install job!

if DOT gives you a hard time, leave, put some black tape over the lens and go back in. when they ask tell 'em the lights are for off road use only 🙂 at least in Michigan, you're allowed to have off-road lights anywhere you want, but they're supposed to be covered when you're on the Govt roads.

[msiminoff]

Nice mod! Thanks for sharing.
-Mark

[Gsturner]

Great idea and well executed. Very nice.

[gbopp]

Excellent job. And, a great idea.

[RoyB]

As nice as they are they may be borderline on being DOT approved lighting in some states.

I always had bright lights like those mounted on the top bar of my jeeps and every time DOT SAFETY INSPECTIONs came up I had to remove them before they would issue my inspection sticker.

There is definite DOT rules involved when mounting lights on the FRONT and REAR of vehicles. There is also DOT laws on how many lights can be ON at the same time on vehicles. Then when you finally figured what can be installed they hit with non-approved DOT lens on the light assemblies hehe..

The borderline thing that catches my eye is the wrap around portion of the front bumper. If the local laws say not to install on the front or rear bumpers it may not make a distinction to whether or not the bumper is a wrap around type (??)

My trailer so called scare lights are mounted up high on the side of the trailer an get used alot for backing into dark spot for us.

My POPUP trailer has an OEM installed large scare light mounted over the front deck which has got questioned on a couple of DOT State Inspections but I was never told I had to remove it since it was not controlled from my truck.

Just saying....
Roy Ken

[sabconsulting]

Very good idea.

Steve.

[loulou57]

Excellent! .

We were at Canadian Tire and saw some lights very similar. They were around $20 (Canadian)
Hubby is going to mount one on each corner of the TT, so that he can see backing in at night and for setting the blocks for leveling.

Once again excellent job and idea.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

deltamaster wrote:
First time I visited this thread I was able to view the first picture only. The others had some sort of error.

This time I can view the last picture in the dark and none of the others.

What I could see so far it really does look like an OEM job and I am impressed enough that I am thinking of something like that myself. I would like to have it set up to operate with the turn signals but I can see the advantage of having it on a separate switch instead.

Nice job and good idea.

Don't know what the problem you have with viewing is. I just checked and verified all the pictures are set to public and anyone can view them. It may be that the pictures were just uploaded and may still be processing.

[deltamaster]

First time I visited this thread I was able to view the first picture only. The others had some sort of error.

This time I can view the last picture in the dark and none of the others.

What I could see so far it really does look like an OEM job and I am impressed enough that I am thinking of something like that myself. I would like to have it set up to operate with the turn signals but I can see the advantage of having it on a separate switch instead.

Nice job and good idea.

[Camper_Jeff___K]

TucsonJim; deltamaster;
I have a power distribution block inside the cab that I took power from. I routed the wire up to a toggle switch on the dash in a blank area then routed the switched power to the lights. At a total draw of 1.8 amps, I don't even need a magnetic cube relay just a 5 amp fuse.
I cut the holes after carefully measuring and setting the drill point with a 4-1/2 " Milwaukee hole saw. I sealed the holes around the grommets with black QUAD caulk and cleaned up with paint thinner. Cordless drill set on low speed and chuck 1 click from full lockup.

[deltamaster]

How do you have them set up to switch them on?

Many caddys have a similar sidelight setup where they come on when the turn signal is activated. It is a very good option to have.

How did you cut the holes?

[TucsonJim]

Nice looking job. How do you activate them? A switch?