Light Setup

I have kc hilites on my brush guard, and I've added LED ditch lights. Amazing light and I can see very well. The hilites are less impresive honestly.

I thought about doing the hood scoop light mod.But, I want the roof light, either on a bar, or roof mount rack. Not sure which yet, not sure I want the rack.

Would that be too much light? I considered also replacing the hilites with a 3 row led setup.

forest trails, camping, fishing, and maybe south ga, north fl offroad, so not much offroading for this rig.

 

Welcome! What KC lights are you running? They have many models and some outstanding performers, but it really depends on what you are running and what type of light you are looking for. What is your objective? Wide area for trails? Long distance for high speed? A driving pattern for aux high beam street use? Based on the last line it sound like you are looking for a wide area off road light for trail use.

Note that most roof mount lights cause a significant hood glare issue that can be more harmful to your distance night vision than helpful. There are exceptions like Diode Dynamics driving light bars and KC Pro 6 LED light bars, but generally roof mount bars will cause significant hood glare.

 

These are the closest i can find. 6" APOLLO PRO HALOGEN https://www.kchilites.com/industry/off-road-lights/6-apollo-pro-pair-pack-system.html
Bought as a gift back in 2014. So, hard to recall.
Yes, mostly trail use. And of course, if i'm using the lights for work, like getting out of the mud, or hooking a boat, etc... I didn't like the spot beam of the KCs when driving through a curvy trail down along the coast. But headlights, and fog lights gave me enough side light to be ok. Ditch lights now more than cover that area. I was thinking of adding the hood scoop light to get that wider near field forward light, and if I wanted down trail lights the KC more than reach out. I think its redundant to have hood scoop, roof, and the KCs mounted on the brush guard. but the hood scoop light is cool as hell.

 

It isn't that the lights are poor performing, it is that you have the wrong pattern for your needs. Spots are typically for high speed to see as far ahead as possible but in a very small narrow area, they are all but useless on a trail. For larger area near field coverage on the trail you would want spread or wide pattern. Those lights area available in a spread pattern, but I think you'll have to purchase and entirely new light. The KC Pro6 LED lights are impressive and available in a wide pattern. You're going to be able to pack a lot more power and useful light using larger lights on the brush guard than you will a very small light bar on the scoop. Note that if mounting a light bar on the roof, hood glare is a real issue harming your night vision. The best light bars in controlling light focus to prevent hood glare are Diode Dynamics light bars and the KC Pro6 light bar. The Diode Dynamics light bar is in a driving pattern which is a distance light pattern, the KC you can get in a few patterns, but they are quite pricey. If you are looking for better near field light, I don't think the roof mount would be the best option especially since you already have ditch lights.

Also, if you haven't already, you can vastly improve the existing lighting on the vehicle without having to add more lights:
Headlights: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

Fogs, see the Diode Dynamics SS3 fogs linked at the top for best performance:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-led-sae-j583-fog-pod-fog-light-review.554813/

 

Great info and advice, thank you. I think I'll work in the upgrades to the stock lights, and replace the spot beams with a good bar and forego the roof bar. Your advice about vision, and the noise concerns, help make up my mind. Those ditch lights, a 2 row light by Nilight from Amazon

$25 Nilight ZH009 LED Light Bar 2PCS 18W Spot Off Road Lights with 16AWG Wiring Harness Kit-2 Lead, 2 Years Warranty.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XRZW1LD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They rock. Really impressive.

 

Added a 25" light bar, flood and spot combo, by Nilight. Really happy with these so far. We'll see how they do after a few south ga hurricanes. I'll see how this works for me, and maybe replace the 2 spot lights with just the bar. I actually saw 6" flood lights and might get those instead of the KCs and/or light bar.

Thanks for the tips.

 

Looks good!

Also looks like your boy is claiming his truck when he's older

 

That would be nice, that he's driving dad's truck in about 11 years. 8 years if he's like me.