The Guide to Off-Road Lights
Hitting the road at night, in storms or in fog can be quite hazardous. Doing the same thing when there isn't even any pavement below your wheels is an entirely different matter. You must be able to see where you're going at all times. But, no ordinary lights can handle the harsh environment of life on the trail. Everything must be built stronger, tougher and more resilient in order to survive. In other words, what works for city slickers just won't cut it out in the country, but you can get special off-road lights.
Off-road lights are a lot like auxiliary lights. They come in your choice of fog lights or driving lights and in a wide range of beam patterns, too. Unlike normal auxiliary lights, off-road lights are built to different standards:
Because off-road lights must be able to endure anything that Mother Nature can throw at them, they are crafted from heavyweight materials. Some are tougher than others, so you'll want to get a set of off-road lights that matches how hard you work or play in the dirt.
- ABS Plastic (Tough): ABS plastic has long been a staple ingredient in the automotive parts industry because it's quite strong, impervious to rust and easy to shape. If you're into the occasional adventure, off-roading lights that are made from ABS plastic are an excellent choice.
- Aluminum (Tougher): For strength, durability and resilience that's a step above ABS plastic, aluminum is the way to go. An all-metal light is better equipped to survive off-roading hazards, such as run-ins with low-hanging branches and scrapes with boulders. Aluminum off-road lights is recommended for off-roaders who regularly hit the dusty trails.
- Steel (Toughest): The same material with the strength to support skyscrapers is available to safeguard and protect your off-road lights. In fact, there is no tougher material than steel when it comes to shielding your off-road lights. It's the only choice for back country adventurers who push their trips to the extreme.
When you head out into the backcountry, you expose your vehicle to harsh conditions that just do not arise when you're on city roads. You're not very likely to run into a mud bog in the middle of Main St, or drive through a sand storm while commuting to work on the freeway. As such, off-road lights have to be built to a higher standard of ruggedness than normal auxiliary lights.
A quality off-road light will be sealed against its most common elemental enemies: water, mud and sand. Also, the wiring harnesses for many off-road lights are insulated to prevent short circuiting. Plus, the light covers are thicker and sturdier to deflect kicked up rocks, gravel and other airborne debris. For the finishing touch, most off-road lights have a tough wire mesh shield to ward off larger hazards.
When there are no streets, there are no street lights to help illuminate your path. Even if there's a full moon out, it's hardly bright enough to make driving over dirt roads safe. To compensate for the natural darkness of the frontier, off-road lights come in larger sizes than auxiliary lights. You can get lights that are just about 10" in diameter, which is big enough to make even the darkest stretch of road seem like daytime.
Besides being built larger, off-road lights are also designed for greater mounting flexibility. They can bolt to your bumper, your grille guard, your light bar, your headache rack or even the top of your roll cage. Normal auxiliary lights are strictly limited when it comes to installation because state laws regulate the maximum mounting height. Off-road lights are not bound by these same laws, so you can attach them wherever you please. However, it is not legal in most states to use your off-road lights unless you actually are off-road. Besides, you should keep protective covers over your off-road lights for an extra line of defense when you're not using them.
We hope you have found our Lights & Lighting Research Guide Center a good guide in helping you choose the best Lights & Lighting for your vehicle. It is AutoAnything's goal to provide the most information on the Internet and through our Auto Accessory Specialists on every product we sell. If you have any information that you think could help improve this section, please email us at researchcenter@autoanything.com.