# LED Light Bars



## linckeil

I wasn't sure what section to post this in, but I'm looking for some experiences people may have in using LED light bars to supplement your existing plow lights.

The lights on my plow truck suck. I know the newer plow setups with isolation modules and modern lighting are leaps and bounds ahead of the 20 year old technology that runs my plow lights. they have always been enough for me to do the job, but I definitely find myself wishing they were better. 

I see a lot of low draw LED light bars putting out a ton of light. I'm toying with the idea of mounting a 20-30" bar in between my existing plow lights. I would wire them with a 3 position switch (on,off,on only with high beams) and through a relay.

anyone have such a setup? in the middle of a storm i'd imagine the lights may reflect off falling snow and do more harm then good (hence wiring them as I described). 

anyone have an experience or thoughts on the matter? pictures would be nice if possible.


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## BossPlow2010

linckeil;2039619 said:


> I wasn't sure what section to post this in, but I'm looking for some experiences people may have in using LED light bars to supplement your existing plow lights.
> 
> The lights on my plow truck suck. I know the newer plow setups with isolation modules and modern lighting are leaps and bounds ahead of the 20 year old technology that runs my plow lights. they have always been enough for me to do the job, but I definitely find myself wishing they were better.
> 
> I see a lot of low draw LED light bars putting out a ton of light. I'm toying with the idea of mounting a 20-30" bar in between my existing plow lights. I would wire them with a 3 position switch (on,off,on only with high beams) and through a relay.
> 
> anyone have such a setup? in the middle of a storm i'd imagine the lights may reflect off falling snow and do more harm then good (hence wiring them as I described).
> 
> anyone have an experience or thoughts on the matter? pictures would be nice if possible.


I recently purchased a rigid industries light bar, 20"
It puts out 18,000 lumens. It's bright and durable.
I got that on sale but it still cost 700$. 
When purchasing led lights you need to remember they're usually meant for off road use only, however Rigid does make a light that is DOT approved but it isn't as bright and is aimed differently.


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## linckeil

the rigid lights are really nice, but absolutely outrageous at $700 for a 20 incher. I'm sure they are heads and shoulders above the others, but I can't stomach that cost.

I'm thinking of this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ight bar 22&qid=1445277968&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

this light has really strong ratings. out of 65 reviews it has an average rating of 4.8 out of 5. 12,000 lumens is not as bright as rigid, but far better than what I have currently. it does have a 1 year warranty. I figure if it self destructs after the warranty period maybe i'd upgrade to a better light. but right now i'm in the experimental phase and can deal with a $75 hit if it doesn't work out as I hope it to. but taking a gamble at 10 times that amount is a bit too rich for my blood at this stage.

and yes, most all of these light bars are only for off load use - i plan to use it only when plowing (on private property). so where did you mount your light? got a picture? how do you like it? I hear nothing but great things about rigid - as one would hope at those prices....


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## 1olddogtwo

I have some video links in here

http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=161613&page=3


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## jhall22guitar

I would say its a great idea for when you are in a driveway or an EMPTY parking lot. I had two small pod lights we used as work lights and if I ever left them on while driving the would blind anyone near the beam at 1200 lumens.

If you have the 12000 lumen bar on and a car is coming at you they are going blind and won't see the road. You could mount the bar between the headlights as long as A. you can see and B. its aimed so that the output helps you the most


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## jhenderson9196

jhall22guitar;2039734 said:


> I would say its a great idea for when you are in a driveway or an EMPTY parking lot. I had two small pod lights we used as work lights and if I ever left them on while driving the would blind anyone near the beam at 1200 lumens.
> 
> If you have the 12000 lumen bar on and a car is coming at you they are going blind and won't see the road. You could mount the bar between the headlights as long as A. you can see and B. its aimed so that the output helps you the most


I had a plow truck come at me last year on the road with his light bar on. I couldn't see a thing. By the time I got turned around he was gone. If I could have stopped him I'd have ripped them off his truck. Be sure to tie them to your high beams and aim them properly lest you hurt someone.


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## jhall22guitar

jhenderson9196;2039772 said:


> I had a plow truck come at me last year on the road with his light bar on. I couldn't see a thing. By the time I got turned around he was gone. If I could have stopped him I'd have ripped them off his truck. Be sure to tie them to your high beams and aim them properly lest you hurt someone.


Im down in Texas for a semester at school here, and there are dumba$$es with daddy's pickup truck with all the toys and gadgets running around with 50" lighter bars on the roof turned on on city roads in this town. I can't stand it.  Time to weed them out! :angry:


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## ScubaSteve728

I have two sets of led lights on my truck two Atomic led pod fog lights in the grill and two square chines ones on my back rack. Both are very bright. If i ever put some on my plow I would put a plug on the grill lights and run a wire and corresponding plug to two pods mounted on the outside of my plow lights with an extending bracket. Because i wouldn't not use the fogs when the plow is on. The lights would be the same height as my existing fisher plow lights and would just be out wider on each side. I would want them on a on off switch so i can turn them on or off and not blind people and not sacrifice valuable viewing area in-between my plow headlights. And i think the lift triangle raising in front of the light bar and blocking the light and sort of blinding you would get old fast.


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## linckeil

thanks for the link. i'm never in the boss forum so that explains why I didn't see that thread. but I knew someone else must have done it. I'm gonna go ahead and give the setup a shot. 

and yes, these lights are very dangerous if used with oncoming traffic. I hope the cops start cracking down on these idiots. they are a much greater threat than someone doing 5-10mph over the speed limit - which is the usual target of the police around here.


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## snowymassbowtie

Just a heads up. I read somewhere that amazon is having a problem with fake reviewers. I would be Leary about reviews on any web site. I know I am.


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## jhall22guitar

snowymassbowtie;2042008 said:


> Just a heads up. I read somewhere that amazon is having a problem with fake reviewers. I would be Leary about reviews on any web site. I know I am.


Its more for smaller items. if there are a ton of reviews it should be alright. (Sellers were paying people on Fiverr to review their items)


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## linckeil

so i installed the light i linked above today. i made a bracket to mount it. its wired on a 3 position switch just as i planned - on, off, on with high beams. i also went through a relay, although it probably wasn't necessary. between the light, switch, relay, and relay holder i am in it just under $100. the wires and steel i had laying around. 
i'm very happy with the light. tonight when it was dark enough i went for a test drive and i hate to use this pun, but it was literally night and day. i was amazed. i tried to take a picture of just my high beams and then just the light bar, but the flash on my camera at night wouldn't allow me to take a decent picture of the light output. i'll see if i can try and use a different camera. 
so now the only question is how will it perform in falling snow - that remains to be seen but so far this installation is a success and a huge upgrade.


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## linckeil

and that's just a reflection in the first picture - the light is not on.


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## ilucas

Just checking in to see if you had an update on your light mod. Are you happy with your set up? How is it in heavy snow? does the light bar interfere with your line of sight in the middle of the plow frame?

Thanks


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## Zigblazer

I put this "Light Bar" on my plow a couple years ago. $100 in total parts. Got the LED flood lights on amazon for less than $10 each, 2 cheap flood lights for $10, and put HIDs in the larger flood lights for $32, then built the rack. Wiring, 2 relays, and 3 switches (HID, LED, Strobe) in the dash brought the total up to $100. I used the same LED lights in the back for reverse lights, I wired them to come on with the LED top lights, and still come on in reverse. Built the cage because I'm rough with the truck and was sick of breaking lights.

It all works great, except I chose 3000k HIDs that are just too yellow to help much in the snow. The LEDs put the HIDs to shame.

I now have to figure out how to outfit my new plow truck with lights. I still have to get the dump box on anyway, but I am leaning toward a light bar for the front like the OP did. Not sure what for the rear until I get that dump box on.

Another point is that only DOT approved lighting is allowed to be used while on public roads, regardless of type and brightness. But you still can't stop jerks from running around with all of the off-road lights on blinding people.

I live in the country and did occasionally use my LEDs as brights, but as soon as I saw another car, they went off. Which did suck because the plow lights were almost useless. The new plow lights are so much better than the old, so extra lighting isn't such a priority. Warning lights will be more work, the dump box will block the view from the rear of the cab mounted one.


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## anteater6788

I used a 20" amazon LED bar wired on it's own switch and relay, also have a 6" LED on each side which is nice in tight driveways or if your looking for a house number in the dark, they are also on their own switch.










Stock headlights










Stock lights plus the center LED.










The side lights.


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## ilucas

looks good, nice neat job!

how are they during a storm with snow falling?


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## john r

Thats a good idea with the side lights


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## linckeil

ilucas;2116172 said:


> Just checking in to see if you had an update on your light mod. Are you happy with your set up? How is it in heavy snow? does the light bar interfere with your line of sight in the middle of the plow frame?
> 
> Thanks


very happy with the setup - glad I went with what I did and avoided the huge expense of a rigid light. I'm sure they are great, but couldn't justify the cost and I really couldn't imagine the benefit of a light any brighter than what I am using.

I too was concerned about the line of sight, but you get used to it real quick. going down the road its a non-issue. when plowing in tight quarters I sometimes find myself peering between the top of the hood and the bottom of the light (the pic I posted from inside the cab shows the gap I am talking about).

as for falling snow, I find it reflects back just as it does with the existing headlights - just at a greater intensity. it did not pose enough of a problem that I would turn the light off, but I did wire it in such a way that I have that option. it's more work to wire it as I did, but well worth it to have that flexibility.


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## snowish10

Put a 30'' led bar on the front of mine, hooked it up to my high beams on my plow.


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## john r

Is that one of those Rigid bars?


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## ilucas

linckeil;2118788 said:


> very happy with the setup - glad I went with what I did and avoided the huge expense of a rigid light. I'm sure they are great, but couldn't justify the cost and I really couldn't imagine the benefit of a light any brighter than what I am using.
> 
> I too was concerned about the line of sight, but you get used to it real quick. going down the road its a non-issue. when plowing in tight quarters I sometimes find myself peering between the top of the hood and the bottom of the light (the pic I posted from inside the cab shows the gap I am talking about).
> 
> as for falling snow, I find it reflects back just as it does with the existing headlights - just at a greater intensity. it did not pose enough of a problem that I would turn the light off, but I did wire it in such a way that I have that option. it's more work to wire it as I did, but well worth it to have that flexibility.


Thanks for the reply. Looks like a great set up. I have a Fisher and it looks like the lift arm will interefere wth the light. I will have to look into mounting it on some type of riser. Thanks again!


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