Headlights are sufficient for normal street conditions, but if you take your truck off the road into places that aren’t illuminated by lampposts, buildings, or other drivers, you may need brighter lights. LED light bars are perfect additions to the front of your vehicle because they produce extra brightness without eating up too much energy or generating to much heat. Their design also protects each lightbulb from outside damage. That said, there are a few different places on your truck where you can install them. Uncover how to choose an LED light bar mounting location by weighing the pluses and minuses of each potential spot.
Front Bumper
The usual and most straightforward choice for an LED light bar is the front bumper. This is because the points of connection for wires are often located near there, and the bumper design may already have holes for you to affix the light bar. Since there aren’t other components getting in the way, and your visibility isn’t going to be affected, you also have the freedom to pick between various light bar sizes. The one minor drawback to this spot is that your light bar will face the same direction as your headlights, so you won’t have a much broader range of light to work with while driving.
Lower Windshield Pillar Mount
Lower windshield pillar mounts are structures that you screw in at the bottom two corners of your front windshield, somewhat near your side-view mirrors. You can then attach LED light pods, which are basically the same as light bars, save for the fact that they are much shorter and are square-shaped rather than rectangular. This is a more complicated process than putting a light bar on the bumper, and you cannot use long bars because they would get in the way of the windshield. However, the benefit of using lower windshield pillar mounts is that you can point the lights at angles that are distinct from your headlights. You’ll be able to see the surroundings to your left and right better because of this.
Above the Windshield
If you want to combine the ability to go big with your light bar with the ability to widen your view with a greater angle range, placing your light bar above the windshield may be your best option. In fact, this is the only spot on your truck where you can mount the largest bars offered by manufacturers. Along with the maximized visibility, this is reason enough for many off-roaders and adventurers to choose this location. As with the lower windshield, you must use hardware to hold the light bar steady, though. Your wires will also need to extend farther from the engine, so drilling holes to accommodate them is unavoidable.
Knowing how to choose an LED light bar mounting location is just the first step when you want to modify your truck. Next, you must actually find lights to use. For high-quality Ford Raptor light bars and other related equipment, call Specialty Performance Parts today.