Hey guys, so now that the truck is comin to germany, ive been thinking.. especially since ive been takin the fiance's jeep around the trails.. I NEED auxillary lighting on the truck, these trails get DARK.. so hears my question..


Whats the BEST and most EFFECTIVE way to add lights up top? ive already got 2 KC's on the grill gaurd, but ive got 4 more 130(maybe 15o, cant remember) watt long range lights for the top, but im having an internal battle on the best way to mount them..

first i wanted to do a light/roll bar app. but after looking at pics, it doesnt look like the lights would be very effective.. next was a roof rack idea, but dont know if i like the looks..

so, this is where you all come in.. Mainly Redneckstone since he is the self proclaimed "resident light addict" lol...

Just a little note, some of these trails, the branches come down REALLY low.. and it gets really tight, so whatever ideas yall throw out there, just remember that...


THANKS!!!!!

PICS WOULD BE GREAT TOO!!

 

actually, i SHOULD BE the light addict: since 1983, i have purchased and installed (and removed) over 500 sets of lights for my trucks. from $10 cheapo's to $300 Cibies and everything in between. as for your truck, go with what you want: if you use the bed, a roof rack might suit you better. if you like the rugged looks of a roll bar, get that. only you can decide.

 

Well im more asking for which seetup would be most effective as i have never done this before.. like i said these trails get narrow, and DARK AS **** at night.. some of them youll be drivin through middle of the day and its like night because the trees block out the sun.. I need functionality more than looks..

so whats gunna be most effective on putting the light where it needs to go?

 

im guessing the most effective way would be to have the lights mounted as far foward as possible, correct? but how?!

 

anything where there is branches hanging and can hit it i would go with a roll bar in the bed with lights its stronger.

ther KC bar is disconntiued but CARR makes one just like it. those wouldnt do well with being smacked all the time. neither would a roof rack i have seen them get ripped right off a roof before..

maybe do one like that black truck on here it was custom by the company but i bet they would do one again

 

If you don't want to take up bed space with a light bar (roll bar) you could mount them on a headache rack. Shane's (FX4Wannabes) is really nice and if I still had my truck that is the route I would go.

 

I have seen pics of a roof gutter rail rack, but not sure where it came from, those are much less obtrusive and could be mounted more forward if desired. Maybe a push bar/brush guard/prerunner bar to hold 4 lights could help.

 

yeah ive already got the 2 lights on the front cattle gaurd..

let me ask this.. if i go the rout of the light bar/roll bar, would the lights effectively light up the path? the lights are pretty far back...

how are roof racks attached to the cab?

 

the lights on a rollbar are plenty effective. You don't have to worry about an extra 2 feet back not making them work any better. unless you buy those cheap little fog lights and put them up there.

But with 4 daylighters on top and the two 7" lights on the bumper I have 180 degrees of light at night.

 

The five 100w procomp lights on my roll bar and 2 100w procomps on my push bar make it look like day time. If I just run the top lights and my stock fog lights I have a complete 180 degree field of light. No dark space in front of the truck where the lights don't cover. Also remember the way you wire it is a big part of how bright your lights are gona be. Go to advanced or autozone and get a 4 fuse fusebox and run some fused 10 gauge to it then run your wires and switches off that.

I know a couple friends that bought the same lights after I did and neither of their's are as bright as mine. As for the light bar I used a scrap piece of square stock aluminum and painted it black. Strong enough to do the job looks good and was free.

 

thanks for all the help guys.. im gunna have to do all the wireing myself when it gets here, which i have never done lol.. im sure ill find someone around here that knows how to do it..

 

not to jack this thread but im on CARR's website. . .would i want to order the light bar for a b4000? or an exploder seeing how they dont have one vehicle specific for a ranger

 

prob. a b4000 as its pretty much the same vehicle.. explorer's are a little diff.

 

they only have the b4000 up to a 93 the exploders are up to 01, i guess ill try it and find out ha

 

hmmmm... i honestly dont know which would be closer to our cabs..... how far above the cab does the caar light bar stick? does it say?

 

nah it doesnt, im gonna say mayb 2-3in like most light bars. .

 

You have to order the Expo bar and cut it down to size.

 

now i dont know anything about germany but why not sell the ranger and get somethin fast and enjoy the autobahn

 

germany doesnt have many pickups thats why, second autobahn is a highway. . well highways, and ill thank another RF member for tellin me that.

 

The Autobahn SUXS, lol i hated it when i was there, would much rather have had a ranger.

 

because the trails and such OFF road here in germany are much more fun then the autobahn. the autobahn has too much construction..

 

hey guys, ive been looking into the carr light bars for teh explorer.. How high above the cab do these sit? And they have a low-profile design, but it doesnt have ANY ford applications.. could one of these be made to fit?

http://www.carr.com/store/carrlowprofile.asp