Adding lights to UTV??
- Thread starter tom4018
- Start date
kenny thomas
Well-known member
LED bars
Looking at them, spot or flood pattern? I thought flood would be better.
GoWyo
Well-known member
Big flood lights. Light up a half mile by quarter mile of pasture. Mine are old high intensity lights and not LED. If running a handheld 12 volt spotlight, the lightbar and the headlights all at the same time it will draw down the battery and UTV quits running. Had to walk home in the snow and dark one time.
The little square flood lights do a good job.
If you buy a light bar by quality, not just big. I've seen the cheap 50" bars put out less light than a high quality 12" light bar.
If you buy a light bar by quality, not just big. I've seen the cheap 50" bars put out less light than a high quality 12" light bar.
The new LEDs should not do that. They use only a fraction of the power that old bulbs use, as I recall it is about 75% less.
I don't want to hijack the thread, but can anyone recommend a good battery for a Ranger? Mine is a 2011 diesel and the OEM battery is just now needing to be replaced. I hate to pay OEM prices for a new battery.
Fleabay has them from $97 to $160.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...1313&_nkw=2011+ranger+diesel+battery&_sacat=0
They probably make replacement led lights for the headlights also if you don't already have them.
Our Ranger has pretty nice lights from the factory, so I've never mounted any additional forward facing lights. I just use one of these when I'm checking cows after dark:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley...ortable-Handheld-Spotlight-SL10LEDS/306184796
I can see where the light bars would be helpful, but it's not exactly flat here and I get more use out of the handheld jobs. I did mount a pair of these on the back of the cab facing rearwards, really handy for when you get out to shut a gate behind you.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074QL92DW/?tag=cattletoday00-20
One pointed off to each side would be helpful also, but I've never taken the time to do so. I've mounted a few of the Nilight light bars on the front of tractors for cutting hay and the front of an old feed truck with horrible lights and haven't had any issues with them. We have a pair of these mounted to the headache rack on all of the bale trucks pointing rearward, no complaints:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZ9VAOI/?tag=cattletoday00-20
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Stanley...ortable-Handheld-Spotlight-SL10LEDS/306184796
I can see where the light bars would be helpful, but it's not exactly flat here and I get more use out of the handheld jobs. I did mount a pair of these on the back of the cab facing rearwards, really handy for when you get out to shut a gate behind you.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074QL92DW/?tag=cattletoday00-20
One pointed off to each side would be helpful also, but I've never taken the time to do so. I've mounted a few of the Nilight light bars on the front of tractors for cutting hay and the front of an old feed truck with horrible lights and haven't had any issues with them. We have a pair of these mounted to the headache rack on all of the bale trucks pointing rearward, no complaints:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZ9VAOI/?tag=cattletoday00-20
They draw a lot less but still use a considerable amount of power. And a lot of the smaller side by sides don't have a real alternator, just a stator that is really only good for running a pair of headlights in addition to the fuel pump, ECM, power steering, and whatever other gadgets they come with.
A lot of the bigger machines do have a real alternator, which is good but you're still only talking about 30-60 amps. The Ranger diesel being the exception with a 110 amp alternator.
I'd stick a good size light bar on the roof and invest in a good cordless spot light. Just seems to me like it would be a hassle to try and get your mounted lights pointed where you want them all the time.
People run leds and light bars all the way around, dome lights, winches, sound bars, phone chargers, etc all on oem set ups.
My mule pro is 75amps I think. The battery was not cheap.
My mule pro is 75amps I think. The battery was not cheap.
Ouachita
Well-known member
My son put an LED light “bar” on his ATV last fall. He took his girlfriend for a drive on the place. I took this picture from the house. They a shade over a quarter mile away.
Y'all are way more sophisticated than me! I just go bouncing around in my Polaris, wielding whatever flashlight happens to be handy - and hope the batteries aren't dead. I do, however, have a headlamp if I need to get out for further inspection. Precisely why I calve out my heifers & any cow that may be a concern in the barn that will light up like a Christmas tree.
It crack me up when people put those light bars on their hunting rigs. The animals think they are about to get abducted.
Paralyze them with fear, they are easier to shoot standing still!
Texas G@l
Well-known member
LED light bar on tractors, atv and one of the four wheelers .
