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Has anyone had any success with a light bar or other LED type lights on or near the rear bumper for helping the rear camera to work at night? I basically can't see much from the camera at night, and I'm thinking I'd like to add some light back there. Thanks!
If you get some smaller (not too big) LED lights, you can add them to the reverse power wire. That's how mine are hooked up to my current vehicle, I like them to be automatic.
Some people like to use a dedicated switch so they can also be used without the vehicle in gear. In that case, you can use any size LED light bar.
I have not bought/ordered my SD yet, so I can't speak directly to it....but I've never had trouble hooking up quality LED lights to help brighten things up.
If it's for use with the camera, don't go too bright. It will wash out everything nearby in the camera and your distance viewing will be reduced. I like mine pointed up a bit to prevent this.
I ran a set of Rigid Dually floods. Works perfect. Buy the reverse wiring harness, you tap the relay to the reverse lights and you can wire an upfitter to override them and turn on if you need the extra light hooking up a trailer or something.
These are on an '02. I just installed these as the last set failed.
I like the profile of these as it allowed me to mount them up high and out of the way. My previous set were square and hung down lower.
I ran separate switched power to them as I use them regularly without the truck in reverse. Also they are so bright I want to avoid blinding people in parking lots where I really don't need the extra light.
Back in '02 we had to come up with our own Upfitter Switch solution...
When I get my new truck I plan to use one of the surface mount solutions mentioned above and run them off one of the Upfitter Switches.
I installed these from Amazon. Very cheap, and I did use silicone on the wire entry into the light housing to increase water proofing. I figure if they go bad, it's not big loss and they can easily be replaced by something better. They're bright enough for my purposes, and I wired into #6 upfitter so I can use them when the truck is off.
To clarify, no extra tint here. The stock backup lights work just fine for me for pulling out of parking lots or the garage. That's why I do NOT have these lights wired in to turn on automatically when the truck is in reverse. No, I use these for "work light" when I'm setting up in a camp site after dark or to prep the camper for towing before the sun is out.
I'm looking at the Rigid D-SS. (Dually Side Shooter) They are new and not listed on their site. You have to search the web for Ridgid D Side Shooter and it will go to their location. If you know what a Dually is already, well they added leds to the dual row to shoot out the sides at about 45°. Should make it nice when you want to work out back. They come in all light patterns.
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