Improving Backup Lights?

Emoto · Feb 27, 2012

Hi,

Has anyone made changes that improve visibility to the rear when backing up at night? If so, I'd love to see what you did and how you did it. I have some friends that I visit and the way their place is set up I have to back either in or out, and in the dark it is very difficult to see; they're way out in the woods, and if I go off the driveway in either direction it would be bad. Thanks for your thoughts!

tommudd · Feb 27, 2012

Lights up on the RL rack
they are unhooked right now so I can rewire and add a switch in line but they work pretty good when hooked up!

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Emoto · Feb 27, 2012

Wow, great looking rig, Tom!

Ry' N Jen · Feb 28, 2012

Emoto said:
Hi,

Has anyone made changes that improve visibility to the rear when backing up at night? If so, I'd love to see what you did and how you did it. I have some friends that I visit and the way their place is set up I have to back either in or out, and in the dark it is very difficult to see; they're way out in the woods, and if I go off the driveway in either direction it would be bad. Thanks for your thoughts!

Have a look at these: Design Tech Back Up Alert
I've used these in all my work trucks and they work very well!
You can also get them with a back up alarm if you so desire.
BTW, this was the first link I picked off of google.
I've seen them for as little as $10.00 each.
And yes, you can get them with a 3157 base so they plug right in to the existing bulb socket.

Emoto · Feb 28, 2012

Ry' N Jen said:
Have a look at these: Design Tech Back Up Alert
I've used these in all my work trucks and they work very well!
You can also get them with a back up alarm if you so desire.
BTW, this was the first link I picked off of google.
I've seen them for as little as $10.00 each.
And yes, you can get them with a 3157 base so they plug right in to the existing bulb socket.

Thanks! That would certainly be a simple solution. And you say they work well. I am going to give these a shot and see.

dude1116 · Feb 28, 2012

Ry' N Jen said:
Have a look at these: Design Tech Back Up Alert
I've used these in all my work trucks and they work very well!
You can also get them with a back up alarm if you so desire.
BTW, this was the first link I picked off of google.
I've seen them for as little as $10.00 each.
And yes, you can get them with a 3157 base so they plug right in to the existing bulb socket.

Lol I like those advertisement pictures XD.

If you're not looking to blow a lot of cash and don't have the wiring skill to rig up the rear lights that Tom posted, I suggest these:

02 03 04 Jeep Liberty Altezza Tail Lights JDM Black | eBay

I have these on my Jeep now. Not only do they look a lot nicer (in my opinion), but the reverse light is MUCH more reflective than the old one. It's been enough to see where I'm backing up in a pitch black forest, so I think these should help you out. If you want them even brighter, I'm sure you can probably use the more powerful bulb in combination. They were a big difference, but if you are looking for something that will light up the whole path as well as, say, headlights, then you might want to look in to something like Tom suggested.

If I get time to post a picture I will.

PS - the casing of those lights come in black (the one that I posted), smoked, and chrome. Just look for them on Ebay or something of the likes.

Emoto · Feb 28, 2012

dude1116 said:
Lol I like those advertisement pictures XD.

If you're not looking to blow a lot of cash and don't have the wiring skill to rig up the rear lights that Tom posted, I suggest these:

02 03 04 Jeep Liberty Altezza Tail Lights JDM Black | eBay

I have these on my Jeep now. Not only do they look a lot nicer (in my opinion), but the reverse light is MUCH more reflective than the old one. It's been enough to see where I'm backing up in a pitch black forest, so I think these should help you out. If you want them even brighter, I'm sure you can probably use the more powerful bulb in combination. They were a big difference, but if you are looking for something that will light up the whole path as well as, say, headlights, then you might want to look in to something like Tom suggested.

If I get time to post a picture I will.

PS - the casing of those lights come in black (the one that I posted), smoked, and chrome. Just look for them on Ebay or something of the likes.

Very interesting. Thanks for that. Sounds like they would do the job.

I am capable of wiring up lights and relays and whatnot; have done several over the years. If anyone has done that for backup lights, I'd love to see where they put and ran everything rather than re-invent the wheel, so to speak.

RenegadeBullitt · Feb 28, 2012

I threw a couple of cheap lights on my rack. Wired them to a relay and switch and also ran a wire to the reverse bulb wire in the tail lights. I can toggle them on or off and they automatically come on when i go into reverse.

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Emoto · Mar 10, 2012

RenegadeBullitt said:
I threw a couple of cheap lights on my rack. Wired them to a relay and switch and also ran a wire to the reverse bulb wire in the tail lights. I can toggle them on or off and they automatically come on when i go into reverse.

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Nice. I'm trying to think about the wire runs involved in doing this and how to keep them as short as possible. Presumably, except for the switch where you have to get through the firewall, all the wiring is external to the cab, right? When you wired up the relay, did you pull the main power right from the battery, or did you splice into another circuit that is powered when the vehicle is running?

mmc757 · Sep 19, 2012

For wiring up something like this, is it as simple as splicing into the existing reverse bulb wires?

Loki · Sep 19, 2012

I made a step plate to plug into my receiver hitch. Added a flood light to it for more lighting in the reverse mode. Simply plug it into my seven pin.

tjkj2002 · Sep 19, 2012

I used these................

Square 10W Heavy Duty High Powered LED Spot Light | Work Lights | Truck/Trailer | Super Bright LEDs

Wired them independantly with a relay and switch.

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Then replaced the reverse lamps with these..............

3156 LED Bulb - Single Intensity 45 SMD LED Tower | LED Brake Light, Turn Light and Tail Light Bulbs | LED Car Bulbs | Super Bright LEDs

In white of course.

Ohio-white-kj · Sep 20, 2012

Quickest way to improve - open the liftgate window

I have 2 55 watt floods on the trailer hitch and with the blacked out window it is of little help - see great in the mirrors.

If I need to back a long ways in a blind trail I open the gate window if possible.

Improving Backup Lights?

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