Recommendations: External add-on lights

[TheWaterman83]

I am looking for some recommendations for add-on external lights, perhaps from folks who use their trucks for hunting as well. I do a lot of hunting where I often find myself at a pitch black sand boat ramp, or in the middle of the woods, or even at the beach.

The first logical one is chase lights. Backing a boat up at a pitch black ramp, I can basically see the boat/trailer, and that's about it. Whatever I get from the reverse lights is all I have and it's pretty much pitch black anywhere beyond the rig, in the backup camera. I was thinking maybe chase lights up high on the front corners of the bed and then some on the bumper?

I suppose a light bar for the front bumper might be a good add-on as well?

Looking for some functional recommendations, that don't break the bank, from folks who find themselves in the same situation. Trying to keep it to a max of a small three switch panel.

 

[boogielander]

well first off, you want something that lasts or you want something that you will need to troubleshoot in the future?
If it's the former, you can't go wrong with Baja Designs and Switch Pros 9100 Combo. Yes they are expensive but they are guaranteed to last through all kinds of stuff you put them through.
If it's the latter, go with those Amazon China lights and switches. Just know that if you go down that route you will need to fix/ replace in the future. I got no recommendation for the latter one, since I practice "buy once cry once" and "do it right, do it once"

Now, for reverse, go with these:

RAM S2 Sport Dual Reverse Light Kit - RAM 2019-23 1500 NOTE: Rebel - Baja Designs - Off-Road LED & Laser Lights | Automotive, Jeep, Truck, UTV, ADV, Dirtbike

The 2019-On Dodge Ram Rebel Dual S2 Reverse Kit has your back! If your stock reverse lights are not cutting it in the dirt or in your daily life, Baja Designs has a solution for you. This kit comes with everything you need for a simple installation that provides a huge upgrade to your stock...

www.bajadesigns.com

For front, instead of behind the bumper, go with these:

RAM LP9 Pro Bumper Light Kit - RAM 2019-23 1500 Rebel; 2021-23 1500 TRX - Baja Designs - Off-Road LED & Laser Lights | Automotive, Jeep, Truck, UTV, ADV, Dirtbike

The Ram 1500 TRX LP9 Bumper Kit gives you all the off-road performance and a cool look with our amber back-light feature for your truck. This kit utilizes two LP9 Pros in a clear Driving Combo lens pattern, giving you a total of over 22,000 lumens....

www.bajadesigns.com

gives you the throw distance and wide angle.

Why Baja Designs?
Because they are the only company that teaches you what "light zones" are and develop products that put lights in those zones.

Lighting Zones Explained - Baja Designs - Off-Road LED & Laser Lights | Automotive, Jeep, Truck, UTV, ADV, Dirtbike

Lighting Zone system by Baja Designs helps you mix and match the right lights, the right lenses, in the right places to achieve the best light package.

www.bajadesigns.com

Also because their products are race proven and used on podium winning trucks. If those lights can handle the harshness of Baja 1000 and other races, they can handle whatever you throw at them. BD is a US company and made many of their products in house, whereas others are mostly made elsewhere.

Switch Pros:

SP9100 Switch Panel Power System

store.switchpros.com

8 slot switch systems that allow you to expand in the future. Switch Pros 9100 features dimming, strobing, flashing, and even battery operated function, whereas other Chinese panels do not have those. 9100 is also compatible with bluetooth, and is weatherproof.
Switch Pros products are also race proven and used on podium winning trucks. Switch Pros 9100 is 100% made in USA.

Mount:

19+ RAM 1500 Switch Pros Mount

Fuse box mount for SP-9100 and RCR-Force-12 makes running and/or changing accessory positions a breeze. No more cutting and splicing every time you need to change something, just simply pop the cover off unscrew and move. Mounts behind existing hardware where the fuse box meets the core support...

www.nhoverland.com

Use this to mount the control panel in the engine bay.

19+ RAM 1500 Switch-Pros Sunglass Mount

Need a convenient or hidden place to mount you Switch-Pros SP9100 Touch Panel? How about the sunglass compartment? Keep your touch panel within reach and visible without taking your eyes off the road. These will be powder coated in textured black with stainless screws to match the interior. Made...

www.nhoverland.com

Optional mount to mount the controller inside your sunglass box.

 

[silverWS6]

Baja Desings is great and if I would wheel my truck every weekend like boogilander then I would definitely invest in them... that being said, some of us barely use our lights and some lesser brands work great too lol

I have a 40 inch rough country light bar integrated into my ADD front bumper, works great and has a nice "running lights" light up option. It more of a flood light and lights up the road very well for low/medium speeds. If you're going to be doing some highway speeds then I would recommend staying away from flood lights and using more spot lights. Refer to the "zone area" that boogie lander shared.

40 Inch Black Series LED Light Bar | Curved | Dual Row | Cool White DRL

40 Inch Black Series LED Light Bar | Curved | Dual Row | Cool White DRL

www.roughcountry.com

I also have 3" Lasfit pods as "ditch lights" with the lasfit bracket on my hood. Again, flood pattern. They are not the pro model and light up pretty good for my needs/wants. I also like the brackets because I did not have to cut into any plastic. I did have an issue with one of my lights, one of the led's went out and they quickly replaced it after I sent them an email. No questions asked, I had a new light in 2 days and no need to send the old one back.

3" LED Pod Sport Series Off-Road Hood Ditch Light SAE Fog Flood 18W

With custom-engineered TIR optics, we made all the high performance features available to our 3" pod lights. Heavily torture-tested, we want to bring the most advanced experiences for you on the trails!

www.lasfit.com

I also have SS2 Diode Dynamics chase lights mounted by the cab, also flood pattern. These could use a little more output but they are pretty small and I also got them because of their backlit feature (still gotta find time to wire that up). I used some brackets from Aegis Offroad because my bed cover is still fully functional and I liked the design to them. These provide good light to the sides but as far as immediate backup light, they aren't great for that. The bed blocks alot of that light output.

Stage Series 2" SAE/DOT White Sport Standard LED Pod (pair)

<style><!-- .rammobcontainer{ max-width: 400px; margin: auto; text-align: center; } * { box-sizing: border-box; } @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { .ramcontainer{ display: none; } } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) { .rammobcontainer{ display: none; } } --></style> <div...

www.diodedynamics.com

Lastly, for my controller, I have the Auxbeam 8-gang RGB controller. I love it, I can set my lights to strobe, momentary switch or on/off and I can also set the background color to the switch panel via an app. Also, makes wiring future lights alot easier.

AR-800 RGB Switch Panel with APP, Toggle/ Momentary/ Pulsed Mode Supported(One-Sided Outlet)

Off Road Lights switch panel for truck: chevy colorado, silverado, jeep, jeep jk, jeep tj, dodge ram truck, ford f150 f250, gmc sierra, marine, boat.

auxbeam.com

 

[Darksteel165]

I always love to save money and troubleshoot a little but I would second to not go the route of buying cheap China lights.
It's annoying how expensive the lights can be from real brands, but so isn't needing to reinstall them 2-3 times due to failures. I had an Opt7 light bar that was BLINKING white lights while I was driving, would of been a very expensive ticket from a cop but I found out when I remote started my truck and saw it from behind, like wtf.

 

[boogielander]

I always love to save money and troubleshoot a little but I would second to not go the route of buying cheap China lights.
It's annoying how expensive the lights can be from real brands, but so isn't needing to reinstall them 2-3 times due to failures. I had an Opt7 light bar that was BLINKING white lights while I was driving, would of been a very expensive ticket from a cop but I found out when I remote started my truck and saw it from behind, like wtf.

exactly. electricals are annoying to troubleshoot, especially if it's a whole kit of cheap china ones... could be harness, could be the lights, could be the switch, could be the relay, could be the wires no good.
get something from reputable sources with good warranty and aftersale support.

 

[firemedic10584]

Only thing I can add to this thread is I put a 22" Lasfit slim lightbar on my front bumper. It's sleek looking (IMO) and I have the relay tied into my high beam switch so no aux switches installed in the cab.

 

[AV8OR]

Me, I would rather have a few low wattage bulbs along and at the rear of the trailer then having 1m watts of illumination on my headache rack.

 

[TheWaterman83]

I appreciate the input. I am going to take some time and go through this. Definitely some sticker shock on those light prices. I definitely want to make sure I put something on that is quality for sure.

 

[boogielander]

I appreciate the input. I am going to take some time and go through this. Definitely some sticker shock on those light prices. I definitely want to make sure I put something on that is quality for sure.

the BDs are for sure expensive but they are worth every penny; the performance and the quality are unmatched. If you can wait another 9 months you can wait for Baja Designs' Black Friday Sale.


In this photo, 2 LP6s mounted to bumper, 2 XL Racers Edition on top of the hood (those are thin spot lights that are designed to go far), and 2 S2 Sports in the rear.
I have 2 more S2 that I am going to mount on the side to cover the side.

 

[GreatWhite]

I recommend going with Diode Dynamics. I run 2 6” amber lights in the grill of my ranch hand bumper along with a 30” combo light bar up front. Plenty of light! I also have 2 light pods from them in my rear bumper. I have my lights wired up to a 6-gang auxbeam controller that I mounted on the bottom of my center console.

Diode dynamics are great lights, at a fair price for what you’re getting.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I have a 30" Amazon light bar hidden in my front bumber.
I used a Shifts and Grins mount that locates the bar behind the center bumper grill.
5th Gen Ram 1500 30″ Light Bar Bracket Set (Behind Bumper Grill) 1 Pair – Shifts and Grins Fabrication

The bar is on a separate wiring harness, but the trigger to power the bar is my high beams switch.

On the back of my truck I wired in some extra light under the bumper.
The brackets are from Diode Dynamics
Stage Series Reverse Light Kit for 2019-2023 Ram 1500

For the wiring harness I also used Diode Dynamics. I liked this harness because it can be set to off, on, or triggered by the backup lights. I can turn the lights on for hooking up trailers and such at night while the truck is parked.
Reverse Light Wiring Kit (w/ running light)

For the switches I mounted them in the dash panel to the left of the steering wheel.

 

[TheWaterman83]

I recommend going with Diode Dynamics. I run 2 6” amber lights in the grill of my ranch hand bumper along with a 30” combo light bar up front. Plenty of light! I also have 2 light pods from them in my rear bumper. I have my lights wired up to a 6-gang auxbeam controller that I mounted on the bottom of my center console.

Diode dynamics are great lights, at a fair price for what you’re getting.

I've been looking at them and the Oracle light bar for my front grill. What boogielander posted looks killer. But for the prices, it's a lot. I know he does a lot of serious offroad and overlanding. For me, it's more trying to make sure I can see around me at 4am at a desolate boat ramp in the middle of winter.

 

[boogielander]

I've been looking at them and the Oracle light bar for my front grill. What boogielander posted looks killer. But for the prices, it's a lot. I know he does a lot of serious offroad and overlanding. For me, it's more trying to make sure I can see around me at 4am at a desolate boat ramp in the middle of winter.

for boat ramps only that's near field.
You can get away with just a pair of Squadron Sports or even S2s.

The amber in the rear is done with a pair of S2 sport.

The amber behind the truck in the middle is done with a pair of Diode Dynamic SSC1. To me, I'm a bigger fan of BD's amber color than Diode's. It's a lot more useful for driving BUT DD's amber is a lot more easy on the eye for camp use (look at how close the colors are between the amber behind the middle truck vs the two amber lights toward the bottom)

 

[Lamont22]

I've been looking at them and the Oracle light bar for my front grill. What boogielander posted looks killer. But for the prices, it's a lot. I know he does a lot of serious offroad and overlanding. For me, it's more trying to make sure I can see around me at 4am at a desolate boat ramp in the middle of winter.

I’m pretty much in your exact situation. I do a lot of duck hunting, so dark boat ramps are the norm. The stock reverse lights prioritize the backup camera, which is useless to me when backing up a trailer in the dark.
I’ve been looking at the Diode Dynamics reverse light kit for the rear bumper. It’s pretty expensive, but seems like a clean solution. Let us know what you go with.