Jump to content
Ford Transit Connect Forum
   

Recommended Posts

Does anyone else feel like they need more lighting on their van?  I find myself engaged in nocturnal activities.  We go night fishing a lot.  It's really just an excuse to go out to the water, and drink beer.  But we still put our lines in the water, and sometimes we catch something.  The crab pots always fill, so we never go home empty.  My buddies & I also like bonfires at the beach.  So I've been using an aftermarket LED light bar with my pickup.  Thinking about adding 1 to the van also.   

 

71QxQQKmybL._SL1200_.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

   

I was going to mount one to my 2012. But effective Oct. 1, 2017 they are against the law here in NC on the roadways. It is still legal to have them on the vehicle and drive, but illegal to drive on the road with them on. And seeing how 95% of my driving the van is done at night on state maintained roadways and not backwoods country roads (like I would prefer to stay on), I cant not see adding one now when it would never get used. Politicians...... GRRRRR !!!!!!!

 

But I always say more light is always better than having to say what the hell did I just hit ??? At least you can see and know what it was. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
49 minutes ago, Fifty150 said:

61eyXnuTsDL._SL1000_.jpg

You will almost certainly be unhappy with any sort of license plate light bar mount. They ALL vibrate and bounce because the license plate mounting points are not sufficiently rigid.  The result is that the light flickers and vibrates sickeningly on the road.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The main problem is that all of the weight is on 2 little screws, which are only meant to hold a license plate.  With all of those extra holes, I could easily add a few more nuts and bolts to secure the piece and support all of the extra weight.  And with the front end being mostly plastic, There are plenty of places that I can drill, without worrying about rust down the line.  With my pickup truck, the light bar is mounted to magnets.  This allows me to simply tuck the wiring behind a trim panel when I'm not using the light bar.  For daily driving, I don't have my light bar mounted onto the roof.  When I know that I'm using the light bar, I stick it on the roof and connect the wires.  For my wiring, I simply used a couple of 2 pin headlight sockets & plugs.  It plugs in easily, is waterproof, and I can just as easily unplug it when I don't want to use it.

 

s-l300.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

On the pickup truck, the light bar tucked nicely into the air dam.  On the van, the license plate add-on shelf did the job.  I was undecided over using a 12" light bar with spot/flood combination, or 2 7" flood lights.  I keep changing them back & forth.  No worries, since they are not that expensive, and it's simply a matter of 2 nuts & bolts, and plugging it in.

 

 

 

KIMG1328.thumb.JPG.cc450dacbf82f08aca60b063d14abf5f.JPGKIMG1021.thumb.JPG.ce8938943c45820d10e804cc9f78cb16.JPGKIMG1020.thumb.JPG.07e9975af53ca6ec395e55b94f32c18b.JPG

KIMG1334.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the van, I am considering using a 30" light bar.  This will put out more light than what most jurisdictions will allow on a public roadway.  However, there really is no restriction for off-road use.  On private roads, campgrounds, on private property such as a ranch or farm.........you do whatever you need to, in order to see what you want.   Here in The City, whenever there is a power outage, I drive with the lights on, come to intersections and flash them with the strobe feature, and police and traffic control officers waive me on through.  Whenever there is fog, I use the yellow lights without a problem.  I also use my yellow lights when I go through tunnels, and in day time driving through Down Town and Financial District streets where traffic is heavy, and there are always double parked delivery trucks.  I've never had an issue using my strobe lights driving through construction zones with workers on the side of the road, when the police have streets and lanes closed off for road construction.  When the highway between CA & NV has heavy snow, the Highway Patrol closes the road, then leads small groups of cars across slowly.  I am always allowed to use yellow lights and strobes flashing.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/Multi-Color-Autofeel-Spotlights-Mounting-Brackets/dp/B07414KRSG/ref=lp_10718189011_1_9?srs=10718189011&ie=UTF8&qid=1514005633&sr=8-9

 

710mPhDrNBL._SL1200_.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...