plarkinjr
Member
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2014
- Posts
- 84
- Reaction score
- 12
- Location
- the upper east side of Texas
- Ram Year
- 2014
- Engine
- 6.7L Cummins Turbo Diesel
[I know this post is long, but I believe if I provide as much info as possible, you guys will be able to give the most applicable suggestions.]
2014 Tradesman 2500.... Got it Monday before last. Super basic, all the options were geared to towing. I have no idea if my headlights are quads, halo(gen?)s, duals, projectors (or even if those are terms applied to headlights). I live in the county: winding and hilly 2-lane undivided highways with no shoulders, no street lights, (Farm-to-Markets for my fellow Texans)... 9 miles from the nearest "town", 25 miles from a county-seat. My only complaint about this truck so far is that forward low-beam lighting sucks. Harsh top cut off, poor spread and weak lower illumination... like I'd imagine the view thru a Sherman tank periscope would look. The top cut-off is especially bad when nearing the bottom of a downhill stretch, or when approaching an uphill section. It also seems like lo-beam throws only 50 yards, while hi-beams throw past 100yds; if an oncoming car is at 99yds, there's a 49yd gap of darkeness beyond my low-beam range. I'd like to soften the top cut-off so I can get a deer's eyes to glow farther out ahead of me (like in that 50yd dark zone), and also get more light into the edges/ditches. When I turn from one county road to another, I pretty much can't see the road I'm turning onto and have to guess... that's not the contingency I was planning for when I got 4WD.
Obviously, I need to improve my lighting, but that is where my certainty ends. There seem to be so many options, none of them 100%, and thus I'm baffled. I'd prefer not to cut & drill metal, and have minimal wiring mods (plug-n-play harness adaptor plugs are good). I like the look of curved light bar and think it would fit nicely in the bumper slot between the tow-hooks (see Installed 42" curved led light bar in 2014 sport bumper - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums ). Maybe if I get a "spot only" version (if available) and aim it downward a bit to keep from blinding other drivers?
It might be nice if I could wire them into the low-beam circuit. But best of all would be wiring it to the parking light circuit (so they are kinda like DRLs, plus enhanced nite illumination under both hi- & lo-beams).
Would I do better to get a couple like this and mount them pointing outward-ish?
SLIM2X18W Spot LED Work ATV 4x4 Offroad Light Fog Driving Bar CREE Truck SUV Car | eBay
Or, am I totally missing another option? Is there a better more cost effective way of improving my low-beam lighting without a bunch of fabrication and rewiring? What's the story on this?
Retroshop HID Headlights/Foglights install photos. - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums I'd like to keep it under $500, so $2K HIDs are out. But there might be some aftermarket drop-in replacement headlight modules that might solve my problem?
-- Needing more throw and dispersion, without blinding oncoming traffic
P.S. This truck is not for show but for work. So I don't need glamor, but I don't want ghetto look either.
P.P.S. I'm going to need some rear illumination too... kinda hard to back into a spot between the trees. But that will be a separate post.
2014 Tradesman 2500.... Got it Monday before last. Super basic, all the options were geared to towing. I have no idea if my headlights are quads, halo(gen?)s, duals, projectors (or even if those are terms applied to headlights). I live in the county: winding and hilly 2-lane undivided highways with no shoulders, no street lights, (Farm-to-Markets for my fellow Texans)... 9 miles from the nearest "town", 25 miles from a county-seat. My only complaint about this truck so far is that forward low-beam lighting sucks. Harsh top cut off, poor spread and weak lower illumination... like I'd imagine the view thru a Sherman tank periscope would look. The top cut-off is especially bad when nearing the bottom of a downhill stretch, or when approaching an uphill section. It also seems like lo-beam throws only 50 yards, while hi-beams throw past 100yds; if an oncoming car is at 99yds, there's a 49yd gap of darkeness beyond my low-beam range. I'd like to soften the top cut-off so I can get a deer's eyes to glow farther out ahead of me (like in that 50yd dark zone), and also get more light into the edges/ditches. When I turn from one county road to another, I pretty much can't see the road I'm turning onto and have to guess... that's not the contingency I was planning for when I got 4WD.
Obviously, I need to improve my lighting, but that is where my certainty ends. There seem to be so many options, none of them 100%, and thus I'm baffled. I'd prefer not to cut & drill metal, and have minimal wiring mods (plug-n-play harness adaptor plugs are good). I like the look of curved light bar and think it would fit nicely in the bumper slot between the tow-hooks (see Installed 42" curved led light bar in 2014 sport bumper - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums ). Maybe if I get a "spot only" version (if available) and aim it downward a bit to keep from blinding other drivers?
It might be nice if I could wire them into the low-beam circuit. But best of all would be wiring it to the parking light circuit (so they are kinda like DRLs, plus enhanced nite illumination under both hi- & lo-beams).
Would I do better to get a couple like this and mount them pointing outward-ish?
SLIM2X18W Spot LED Work ATV 4x4 Offroad Light Fog Driving Bar CREE Truck SUV Car | eBay
Or, am I totally missing another option? Is there a better more cost effective way of improving my low-beam lighting without a bunch of fabrication and rewiring? What's the story on this?
Retroshop HID Headlights/Foglights install photos. - DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums I'd like to keep it under $500, so $2K HIDs are out. But there might be some aftermarket drop-in replacement headlight modules that might solve my problem?
-- Needing more throw and dispersion, without blinding oncoming traffic
P.S. This truck is not for show but for work. So I don't need glamor, but I don't want ghetto look either.
P.P.S. I'm going to need some rear illumination too... kinda hard to back into a spot between the trees. But that will be a separate post.