Drop in Baja Hitch reverse light

And I just happen to have a spare switch... just need to find spare time and spare change from under the couch cushion

 

Well, I finished the install using the trailer plug last week. The hitch pin hole was so shallow that the pin was hitting the heatsink fins on the light, so I had to oval it out in order to get the pin through. A bit too much, because it wiggles in the hitch now. Ah well.

Honestly, I'm not sure I'm all that crazy about it. It's bright, sure. But it's so bright that it completely blows out the white balance on the camera, making things less visible in the "cone". Still trying to make my mind up about it. Keep in mind that the reverse lights have Osram Gy6.35 halogen bulbs in them as described here.























You can see that the light totally blows out the camera, making it harder to see. While looking out the window has improved, the backup camera is much harder to use now.

 

Overland points went up

 

True, that's the only reason I'm keeping it

 

Anyone have a recommendation on a gray/smoke film to apply over the light?

 

I'd like to see the harpoon

 

You didn't see me backing up?

I don't have a stock radio but the hitch light doesn't overpower the camera. These license plate leds are a lil strong though

 

@mynameistory - It looks like the right use case for this setup is not as a backup light per se but as a light to see behind you when you are on a trail at night ... kinda like a light bar in the rear of your vehicle.

That said, for that to work, you prob want it hooked up to a separate control, not the reverse lights, which at a minimum means running a wire up to the front of the truck, which is always a pain on a 4Runner. I guess you could fish it through the frame rail or something ...

 

You might be right. However if I'm running wires back and forth I'm probably doing some dedicated lights in the bumper or rack at that point. This was meant to be a quick plug-n-play.

That's why I'm still puzzling over the application this light serves best. It's too low for a chase light. From my understanding, you want a chase light to be high up so it's easiest to see- and I see them mostly in spot pattern (you can see the light beam in heavy dust, which helps drivers behind you not only see the source of the light but determine which direction your truck is pointed).

And it's not quite a good light for general camping use. Again I'd use a higher light, perhaps with a flood or scene pattern.

I might take it out, I might leave it in. I tried playing with the camera contrast but the beam still overpowers the Osram HIR bulbs (and they are the brightest backup bulbs you can stick in the factory housings).

 

@cementJay it looks nice. It appears you have the Amber light. If you do, could you post a day light picture? In California we have black license plates with yellow numbers/letters. It believe Amber color would make a great match. Thank you in advance.

 

Super easy mod, thanks Colton. Hardest part was getting my old body on the ground to zip tie harness. Finally can see when I back up! Would love to see how to wire to cab to also use when camping.

 

Is there something I can buy to still keep my tow hitch and still have the Baja tow hitch reverse light?

 

Lol why

 

10797 looks really close to a match now that I take another peek at it:

 

10796 has the spot for the "Christmas tree" retainer. I have not seen the 11110, it seems to be a junction type connector without any protruding features.

 

So... I asked about work/scene vs wide cornering before, but now that more of these are out in the wild - what's the preference? I want the best visibility, but also don't want to blow out the reverse camera.