Fog lights for a truck?

[Lurp]

Hello,
This is my first post here and wanted to start off by saying thank you for this great forum which has taken up countless hours of my time while lurking here and probably even more now that i'm registered. It has been a great source of knowledge and a privilege to learn from you guys. Also I didnt know where to post this thread because I didnt notice any forum where this would fit in so I thought I would try here, but mods please feel free to move this to the appropriate forum. Thanks.

I have a 1999 4x4 extended cab Toyota Tacoma and am looking to get some fog lights on the top. I am looking for bright lights at a reasonable cost and would like to have about 4 lights on the top. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[grillmasterp]

Have you been to ttora.com yet?
Hella 500's are some of the best bang for the buck lights-
They come in fog or driving (pencilbeam)
Should run about $60-65 / pair-
-Since you are getting them for the top- they really should only be "Offroad Only use"
Fog lights will not be as effective at that height-
Be sure to run a relay

I also have a 1999 Tacoma 4wd -
I have some Hella 500's mounted on my ARB Bullbar
-GrillmasterP

[scott.cr]

To add a bit to what grillmaster said, I had roof-mounted lights on my old rig (1955 Jeep) and there was awful glare off the hood. Of course, on that vehicle you could see the hood from the driver's seat; I don't know about the Tacoma. I imagine some glare will be had if the windshield isn't clean, even if you can't see the hood.

I noticed on the Camel Trophy trucks that they paint a portion of the hood flat black; I imagined this had to do with driving light glare.

[Orbit]

FOG lights or driving lights?

IF you want FOG lights you do not want them on the roof.
If you want driving lights then thats a completely different story.
The ectended cab will prevent the glare off the hood if you mount them on a roll bar or roof rack a fair way back. the rest can be achieved with selective placement of tape/paint/ focusing.
I get no glage off the bonnet (yes it's not a tacoma but) my bonnet is sloped and my lights further foward relative to it. it's just a matter of doing it right.


And you will get output similar to this.
be mindful in this pic the lights are prefocusing and aligning.




OK so i have a few questions for you.
1. show or function?
2. fog or driving?
3. budget?
4. specific beam pattern in mind?
if you answer me these, i can design you a beam patten and set up, to suit.

ORB.

[Diesel_Bomber]

Lurp- Welcome, friend! Dive right in, the water's fine(and well illuminated).

If you're going for FOG lights, then mounting them on the roof and actually using them in the fog will be downright dangerous. The glare off the fog will blind you. If you're going for driving/work lights, then the roof would be fine. You might look at this thread.

Orbit- Are those Lightforce lights? Do you live in Oz? What kinda car is that? Thanks.


Cheers.

[Lurp]

1. I want these lights to look good and function well if thats not to much to ask .

2. I would like driving lights on a roll bar.

3. Dont have something to specific money wise but would like to keep it all under about $500 including the bar if thats possible.

4. I would like a good balance between throw and flood on the lights.

I'm sorry if I sound like I have no idea what i'm talking about because I actually dont have a clue . I like to do a little offroading and night fishing and figure these would come in handy, plus they look bad ass . Thank you for all your help.

[Orbit]

Big D, yep they are LF, the car is a Ford falcon utility. running dedicated LPG with extended tanks soon to go in.

It's fine you have no idea, thats the point of questions! You never know if you never ask.

OK, now for your set up.
For looks i assume you want chrome? if not then i suggest lightforce lights, they are simply the best available on the market, though they are reasonably expensive.

If used only occasionally i'd recomend something on the cheaper end, for LF this meand 140's of 170's (www.lightforce.net.au , tha american site isn't running yet) i would be inclined to go 170's to match the size of the tacoma, or 240's if your budget will streach. have a read of the site, look at the differnt clip on lense combinations.

Other suppliers are hella, narva, KC, IPF, night stalker.

that sohuld get you started, sorry this is only short reply, but i've got to run.
have fun reading and i'll post more later.

ORB>

[Lurp]

I really appreciate your help and will throroughly look into these lights in the morning after a good nights rest. I'm going to do a little investigating and some more working to support this buy (poor college student) .

[Orbit]

once you've had a read, and a bit of a look around at what it will cost you. Then we can talk beam patterns, lense options, bulbs options etc.

have fun reading. If you have any other questions, just ask away, i'm sure someone will be able to help.

ORB.