Mounting Off Road Lights on 3rd Gen 4runner? Best way?

[mdgrmt]

Im looking to put some kc lights sometime or even a safari rack on top, can i do this on my 3rd gen, who has pics/suggestions!!??

 

[BlairB]

Well mine is not a 3rd gen, but there are many options you can use to mount lights. I have a lightbar in the front and also a roof basket with light tabs.

Other guys also drill into and mount lights directly to their bumper.

You can tell that I like lights

 

[alaskaman]

several of us are currently talking about this. I am going to the shop on Friday and will post what they did to prevent movement when they went through the front bumper.

 

[juiceboxer]

I'm Currently trying to find a mounting point for the front, without drilling through the bumper or installing a light bar, similar to the floating light bar for the 4th gens.

 

[alaskaman]

IMO the bumper provides the stability the lights will require.

 

[createbmx]

Hey Blair B,
Do you notice a lot of shake with the bumper mounted lights? I was considering building something similar of my own.

Also; are the bumper lights all the same, or are the outside ones pinspots and the center ones floods? I'm asking because I was considering doing something like that with Hella's. The pinspots go super far, and the floods would work great to light up the road infront.

I dig the roof rack with the lights as well. Very jealous. Do you have a spare battery?

 

[HB 4X4]

Hey Blair B,
Do you notice a lot of shake with the bumper mounted lights? I was considering building something similar of my own.

Also; are the bumper lights all the same, or are the outside ones pinspots and the center ones floods? I'm asking because I was considering doing something like that with Hella's. The pinspots go super far, and the floods would work great to light up the road infront.

I dig the roof rack with the lights as well. Very jealous. Do you have a spare battery?

His bar is very sturdy. You can't move it even if you tried to shake it with yours hands. The bar is actually attached to the frame, which is why it's so solid.

Correct on the lights. His 2 centers are the long distance focused beams, and the outer lights are driving lights.

No he does not run a spare battery.

 

[createbmx]

His bar is very sturdy. You can't move it even if you tried to shake it with yours hands. The bar is actually attached to the frame, which is why it's so solid.

Correct on the lights. His 2 centers are the long distance focused beams, and the outer lights are driving lights.

No he does not run a spare battery.

i have found holes in my frame that I planned on using for blaires setup. Good to know it's pretty solid. Where can I find one of those light bars?

Also, why the pinspots in the center?

 

[HB 4X4]

i have found holes in my frame that I planned on using for blaires setup. Good to know it's pretty solid. Where can I find one of those light bars?

Also, why the pinspots in the center?

He got his from Defiant. I was about to get one myself, but now I am fairly sure that I will be getting a Shrockworks full front bumper in the next week or two instead.

I'm pretty tired so my memory is a bit scattered right now, but I am almost certain that he has those in the center, and the wider beam patterns on the ends because the sides of the road will be lit up better.

 

[createbmx]

He got his from Defiant. I was about to get one myself, but now I am fairly sure that I will be getting a Shrockworks full front bumper in the next week or two instead.

I'm pretty tired so my memory is a bit scattered right now, but I am almost certain that he has those in the center, and the wider beam patterns on the ends because the sides of the road will be lit up better.

Cool, let me know if that's not correct. It would be interesting to know the choice behind it.

 

[sn0wrunner]

I'd like to see some night pics with all those lights on!

I've considered getting some lights for the front of my TJM, but I'm not sure what kind or where to buy. I really like Rock Slide's Hella-4000 HID conversion, I just dont know how much i want to spend on lights and conversion kits. I'm just gunna keep checking craigslist :bigok:

 

[BlairB]

Everything Josh said is 100% correct. I have the spots in the center b/c they really throw light straight down the road well, and the other ones light up where the high beams leave off, basically. I figured I don't need a really long distance beam in the direction I am not traveling.

The bar is very solid and the lights there don't shake, the ones on the roof on the other hand do move a decent amount. I will try to get some night shots soon, I just put in 100w bulbs into the Hella 500's yesterday.

 

[createbmx]

So my next question is how many watts can your battery handle? How long do you use the lights for on average? I'm trying to figure out how many amps my battery has left so I can do this right. Eventually I'll get a spare battery for the lights as well.

 

[robertcrav]

I know it's an old post....

but I have a 3rd gen, and Paul at Defiant recently finished my light bar...I opted for the longer version. These are my cell phone pics, but he has better pics up on his site.

 

[4Runnin Tahoe]

Sorry to be reviving an old thread, but I got a question about lights. I bought these cheap "driving lights" (navigator halogen at pepboys) for my moms Yukon a while back, basically to be used as fog lights/extra driving lights. I mounted them to the bumper.

Since I got my 4runner, I've been thinking about taking the lights and putting them on it. My question is, can I just buy brighter light bulbs for them? If so, which ones are the best? And if I can just buy brighter bulbs, whats the point of buying Hella's or PIAA's expensive light kits?

 

[Pikeman]

Sorry to be reviving an old thread, but I got a question about lights. I bought these cheap "driving lights" (navigator halogen at pepboys) for my moms Yukon a while back, basically to be used as fog lights/extra driving lights. I mounted them to the bumper.

Since I got my 4runner, I've been thinking about taking the lights and putting them on it. My question is, can I just buy brighter light bulbs for them? If so, which ones are the best? And if I can just buy brighter bulbs, whats the point of buying Hella's or PIAA's expensive light kits?

The reason PIAA'a, Light Force etc. are better isnt just because they are brighter. The reason tey are more expensive is the quality of the lense and reflective surface inside giving a more accurate cleaner light output.

 

[magert54]

While this isnt a 3rd gen. I would like to provide some ideas as well.

This is the back side

This is the FJ switches I purchased (sitting next to my stock DAC)

<a href="http://s964.photobucket.com/albums/ae127/Magert54/?action=view&current=IMG_4921.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae127/Magert54/IMG_4921.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s964.photobucket.com/albums/ae127/Magert54/?action=view&current=IMG_4924.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae127/Magert54/IMG_4924.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>


This setup was simple, Drill into existing roof rack for mounting of lights and route the wires through the truck.

 

[4Runnin Tahoe]

While this isnt a 3rd gen. I would like to provide some ideas as well.


This setup was simple, Drill into existing roof rack for mounting of lights and route the wires through the truck.

Thanks man, I've wondered what it would look like with lights on the stock roof rack. Do the lights hold up well?
Great looking 4runner btw, I really like everything you've done to it.

 

[magert54]

NO issues with stability. I have the 2 outer light use extra slack so they can rotate to face 45 degrees to the rear, while the middle can go 45 outward