- 2,677
- 8,649
- 113
- Location
- Alexandria, La
But that’s not the point of this thread.
The other day I added reverse facing lights to the deuce (see “European Style Blinker” thread). One of the drawbacks was that the left one flashed in my face and made backing the deuce (tough under best circumstances, what with the green light and all…..) almost impossible.
I was taking a stroll through the woods today kicking leaves and pondering the answer to the question “How do I increase the available light I have to back the deuce with?”
I also was thinking about poor lighting in general behind the deuce. I know these are tactical vehicles, but I also wanted a practical vehicle, you know? Sometimes you need more light to work back there.
While I was pondering, I kicked something buried under some leaves and lo and behold! It was two floodlights from a M809 Bridge truck! I picked them up and was about to throw them away when I realized I had found the solution to both questions!
What I did was drill some 5/8 holes into my mud flap bracket to facilitate mounting the lights. I then cut some pipe the same diameter as the mounting rods to decrease the number of threads on the rod for a tight fit.
After that, I wired both lights together, ran 14 gauge wire through the frame to the front of the truck and came in through the firewall. This wire was spliced to one side of the toggle switch; then I spliced the a wire into the light wire for my right dash light (this ensures the toggle only works when the lights are on) and mounted this to the other side of the toggle. Then I drilled the needed holes to mount the toggle switch on the dash.
(Of course this entire process took about 6-7 hours).
All in all I am pleased with the results. Pics attached!
The other day I added reverse facing lights to the deuce (see “European Style Blinker” thread). One of the drawbacks was that the left one flashed in my face and made backing the deuce (tough under best circumstances, what with the green light and all…..) almost impossible.
I was taking a stroll through the woods today kicking leaves and pondering the answer to the question “How do I increase the available light I have to back the deuce with?”
I also was thinking about poor lighting in general behind the deuce. I know these are tactical vehicles, but I also wanted a practical vehicle, you know? Sometimes you need more light to work back there.
While I was pondering, I kicked something buried under some leaves and lo and behold! It was two floodlights from a M809 Bridge truck! I picked them up and was about to throw them away when I realized I had found the solution to both questions!
What I did was drill some 5/8 holes into my mud flap bracket to facilitate mounting the lights. I then cut some pipe the same diameter as the mounting rods to decrease the number of threads on the rod for a tight fit.
After that, I wired both lights together, ran 14 gauge wire through the frame to the front of the truck and came in through the firewall. This wire was spliced to one side of the toggle switch; then I spliced the a wire into the light wire for my right dash light (this ensures the toggle only works when the lights are on) and mounted this to the other side of the toggle. Then I drilled the needed holes to mount the toggle switch on the dash.
(Of course this entire process took about 6-7 hours).
All in all I am pleased with the results. Pics attached!
That is one of those inside questions that nobody but me knows the answer to.
