D40 Canopy mounted driving lights

[flashum1]

just down having a look at my handywork and i may have to keep an eye on another possible issue. there is a little bit of flex on the canopy roof, not much but i'll be watching it anyway. may need to extend the inside brace plates back to the rear roof bar mounts too, we'll see.

 

[flashum1]

little bit of research finds that roof rails are rated to a load capacity of 80kgs, doesn't look like i'm gonna have any problems, keeping an eye on it just to be safe.

 

[KraftyPg]

For those asking about specific state laws your best bet is always go to the local roads mob and find the laws. You'll find most of them have the basic rulings on line somewhere these days. There is too many people currently doing it for the cops to be enforcing the law but that doesn't mean they can't or wont.

On the reflected light issue we had the same problem in the boat when we mounted the lights above the windscreen for longer range. Our boat is white aluminum so white light in the pitch black reflecting off the boat makes it not worth using so we solved it with a make shift blinker. I believe there is a company somewhere in aus making them for the leading light manufacturers but I can't remember their name, but all they do is hang on the bottom of the light and stop the light reflecting downward for a small distance.

We solved it with a bit of aluminum about 4 inches long riveted to the base of the light and then sealed. It wont last forever but by cleaning the salt off it every time we take the boat out it's already lasted us about 4 years. It's not as professional as you might want on your daily ride but it's a cheap option to stop reflecting off the bonnet.

 

[flashum1]

ta krafty, somethin to keep in mind

 

[roundy]

Ha been "internet researching" (if there is such a thing) this and is the greyest area ever! Responsible use would surely outweigh legal or not in the eye of the law unless the boys in blue are having a bad day.

I reckon the lights will be far enough back over the roof not to produce too much bonnet glare, let us know how they work out

 

[KraftyPg]

It's not really a grey area under Victorian law. They clearly state that there is not be no such protrusions whether they be lights or rod holders etc. For some reason they claim making an extension that goes over the top and forms part of the structure you've mounted them to is fine but without the bar they are illegal. If the coppers down here really wanted to enforce the law they'd be too busy pulling over Commodore and Falcon utes to do any real police work though.

Flashum1 the other cheap and easy way to stop the glare off the bonnet would be to put a strip of duct tape along the bottom of the lens. Some of the larger Narva lights have the black plastic block at the top of the lens to stop some glare heading straight up and hitting bullbars which can reflect into drivers eyes, especially on trucks. So by the same principle a bit of dark duct tape along the bottom of the lens will stop the glare going down as well. It may not last every long but it will be a test for how much light you need to deflect, if any.

 

[Old.Tony]

Make sure that duct tape has a decent heat rating!

 

[KraftyPg]

I guess you probably could do that, I've never done it myself and I've used duct tape to seal the edges of Narva 175's and 225's with 130 watt globes in them. I've even used the to seal a cracked lens, sure it doesn't last for ever but the weather usually gets to the tape before the heat does, if anything the heat just makes the tape shrink a bit.

 

[flashum1]

they'll be hid anyway, no heat. you could rest ya nuts on lens after having them on for an hour*

n.b. * assumtion only, not clinically tested!

 

[flashum1]

also, only hearsay, but i was advised today that queensland light height has been abolished, saw 3 4x4's today in the 30 klm i travelled.

also also, when i picked up nav from nissan thisarvo (see rattles) they had it parked out the front of the lot, hope it generated some sales for them cause geez it looked good.

 

[KraftyPg]

You could be right on QLD law being different. I saw an ad yesterday for some mob from QLD making campers out of Isuzu trucks and they mount 3 driving lights on the roof rack. In Vic this would be illegal for two reasons, one a truck roof is higher than the allowable 2.2 metre limit for light mounts and two because there is three of them, our law for some reason sates there is not allowed to be an odd number of lights no matter where they are mounted.

Any mob making such trucks would obviously have to get road worthies and be subject to some sort of manufacturing laws so I'm sure for the sake of three lights half their buyer probably don't use they wouldn't be stuffing around weaving in and out of the law.

 

[Stunub]

they'll be hid anyway, no heat. you could rest ya nuts on lens after having them on for an hour*

n.b. * assumtion only, not clinically tested!

Hid's do get hot still albeit not as hot as others. I wouldn't go and put your nuts on them to test your theory.

Stu

 

[KraftyPg]

Ewww that conjures up some interesting images. Do you sit on the bullbar and let them dangle in front so nothing else gets burnt or do you attach them with a D Shackle like the below image?

 

[flashum1]

my navs got a set of chrome nuts, and yes, once converted to hid I would rest my nuts on them, yes mine! hopefully a rough idle from dodgey fuel will provide some stimulation, heat won't be an issue.