Off-Road Lighting Kits for the Texas Trails
The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of Texas. That may be true, but those stars are not bright enough to safely navigate trails in some of Texas’ best off-road tracks. Like the song says, “the coyotes wail along the trail,” and we’ll guarantee that trail will be pitch black if you’re in Big Bend National Park, River Run, or the Ironwood Trail System at night. If you are into nighttime off-roading, your OEM headlights and fog lights are not enough. You need an off-road light kit to see that coyote (or pothole, mud pit, or fallen tree) along or on the trail.
The right light kit can open up a whole new world of off-road adventuring. Hitting the trail at night is a great way to beat the Texas summer heat, and even the most familiar trails take on a new and exciting look. And with the advances in LED technology, your overnight campsite can be illuminated by your rig with minimal draw on your battery.
Don’t Take Off-Road Lighting Lightly
Ten years ago, the off-road lighting business was ruled by a half dozen brands offering mostly halogen and high-intensity discharge (HID) lights. LED changed everything. Now there are dozens of companies hyping their products, many of whom, unfortunately, are in a race to the bottom. Cheap LED lights, faulty wiring, and even cheaper mounts abound on eBay and discount parts sites. At AWT, we carefully vet every brand we represent to ensure it will perform as advertised and the company stands behind its warranty or guarantee. We have our favorites, and we will get to them in a minute. But first, you need to know what works best for you
There is a cornucopia of off-road lights available, including fog lamps, cornering lamps, rock lights, floodlights, driving lights, pencil beams, and spotlights each with different beam patterns. They can come individually mounted or blended to get a mix of beam patterns in a light bar. Which one(s) you need depends mainly on how fast you travel.
If you are a rock crawler, you’re going 0 to 10 mph, and you will need plenty of diffused light immediately in front and all around you. If twisty, winding trails are more your style and you are cruising at 10 to 50 mph, additional driving lights and spots will come in handy for seeing challenges directly in front of you and along the trail sides as well. If you are doing over 50 mph, you are probably on a paved road, and it is important to check with state law regarding the legality of light bars and spots on the highway.
Brands You Can Trust
We mentioned we had our favorites. We have several favorites, but these three brands can be counted on for quality in lights and manufacturing techniques. And just because we are talking big brand names does not mean big dollars. When it comes to light kits, we think you will be pleased with the price points you find.
KC HiLiTES Cyclone LED Rock Off-Road Lighting Kit
KC HiLiTES, the granddaddy of auxiliary lighting, has a must-have kit if you plan to crawl rocks in the dark. The Rock Light kit consists of 4 Cyclone LED floods that are designed to mount on OEM locations on the undercarriage with no drilling required. These floods provide an enormous amount of diffused light under and around your ride, providing the illumination needed to take on boulders in the dark. Durable with an IP rating of IP68, the Cyclone LED floods can open up a whole new experience in rock crawling.
RIGID Adapt Light Bars
A light bar for all needs and speeds. The Adapt light bar has eight lights with beam patterns ranging from a 90-degree short-distance flood beam to a highly focused long-distance 15-degree spot, They come in a variety of sizes including 10″, 20″, 30″, 40″, and 50″ to help fit your needs. It automatically adjusts the mix of beams to meet illumination needs based on vehicle speed. How? A Dash Controller and under dash module contain a sophisticated program that automatically makes the adjustments. There’s even more to this bar than mentioned here. Contact us and learn how this unit can make you own the night.
Rough Country CREE LED Utility Floods.
These 2-inch square CREE LED floods are mountable almost anywhere on your ride. Rugged IP68 units that can be used to augment a lightbar mounted on fenders to flood rocks or mounted flush in grilles, these units come with a 3-year warranty.
