LED Tractor Lighting

[Fromjim]

I hope to get some help in choosing Lighting for my tractor, up here in Canada we have very long and dark winters and trying to make my work more comfortable I decided to upgrade my work lights on my Kubota M108 X tractor, but the more I read the more questions and doubts I have, the only thing I have found that I can accept so far is to buy CREE LED lights, I have read hours and hours of advertisements and claims only to find out that I believe we are being misled by many sellers of LED lighting, the confusion comes from all directions, as far as I can tell, Lumens is a very good indicator of the light out put but you will see ridiculous claims, some I believe give the value of all the lights in a set in such a way that you may think it is for an individual light and really can't believe what you are reading. They are not lying but worded in such a way that you simply move on to another seller, price is not a help, you can see prices from $15.00 to over hundreds of dollars, some ads seem good until you find out that this light has a pattern of bright lines or other problems distributing the light, wide beams vs spot, even the hardware, wiring, it's hard to remember what you need to look out for when you are buying the best, latest, most powerful, light you can get, even the longevity of the LED should be taken into consideration, new technology is coming out so fast it's hard to keep up. I have read that the CREE is the most advanced at this time, so if this can be confirmed it would really help in the decision making, and I know that a standard is set but even CREE who makes lights to that standard, which I can't remember, is already making lights to the next level or standard, so I guess I am going to have to take notes when I read about the very best there is in Cree Led lighting, in the meantime I would like anyone who is interested in helping people get the very best LED tractor lights post their comments, opinion on the Topic of buying LED Lights.

Thanks

God bless all

James

 

[airbiscuit]

Here is a link o my experience of adding LED lights to my ROPS. They are not CREE (which I admit are good), but they are bright, the beam is wide, and they cost less than $25 with free shipping on Amazon.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/348520-48w-led-vs-55w-halogen.html

 

[shui5612]

Personally the way I see it is : you need to decide how important that single light is in lighting the area you want to be lit. For example if you want to add abit more light to the side of your tractor then you can get cheap eBay lights. while if you have no light and will be relying on that light then I would go slightly higher quality in order to get the best performance. While I've had some pretty good luck with cheap eBay lights, so far only had one fail out of the 30 I have installed on my toys and my friends.
Just look up the size and style you want and you will get much more light when compared to oem or halogens.

If you want something that is slightly higher quality then I recommend AuxBeam. You can get them on amazon. Have 3 lightbars that I installed, one being on a ram truck and another on a subaru impreza. They have so far survived 2 winters of getting sprayed with salt and vibrations and the cold + heat and work the same as they did the day they were installed. I believe procomp is pretty similar in price and quality. Depending on the led style..

Lastly if you want something that is very very high quality then look up RIGID Industries LEDs, they are pricey but it will most likely be the only time you'll ever need to buy them in your life. Many styles available and light patterns. Very high build quality. I've had a set on my rear bumper of an f150 that get constantly sprayed and hit with gravel, even survived a small fender bender accident and they have worked flawlessly for 5 years now.

Only issue with LEDs is they don't heat up to melt the snow off.

If I could give them a score on : brightness, quality, bang for buck then it would be:

Cheap chinese:
5/10 brightness
5/10 Quality
10/10 value

Auxbeam:
7/10 brighness
7/10 quality
7/10 value

Rigid:
9/10 brightness
10/10 quality
5/10 value

There are more expensive brands out there that perform slightly better but the prices are astronomical.

Figure a normal 50w halogen would give 2-3/10 brightness and a 50w xenon performs a 4-6/10 in terms of brightness

So even cheap leds will give you plenty of light and good visibility but it is the overall quality of the light and where it is focused that counts.

I'm from Montreal so we have the same winter here

Hopefully this helps.

P.s. I don't think you would benefit any from CREEs since they are often made to be spot lights that are "driving" lights meaning they are in between a spot and a flood beam, giving a medium range and medium width of the beam.

Depending on how many lights you are wanting to install, their location, I can help you out through PM to help you select the lights you'll need and make for a good set-up.

 

[Otgaugres]

Links below to my LED installations on both my Polaris Ranger and JD 4066R. In both cases, I used Mictuning LED’s that I purchased on Amazon. I think these are relatively low cost lights, but so far, after 1 season, performance has been awesome. Not knowing what the OP’s needs are, hard to say whether relatively minor differences in light output or patterns is of consequence. In my case, very happy with the results, and they didn’t break the bank. Good luck.

John Deere 4066R LED Light Bar Installation - YouTube

2011 Polaris Ranger 800XP with Mods for OTG AuGres - YouTube

 

[bspeedy]

I have had good luck with Tuff LED lights from Amazon. I have three that have been on my tractor for a couple of years and one that has been on the back bumper of my pickup for a year or so. No issues and very bright. About 20 bucks a pop on Amazon. I have also used the Nilight brand lights from Amazon. About half the price, but not as bright. No issues with these either. My strategy is to use the lights with hundreds of positive reviews. I have been 100 percent satisfied - acutally shocked at the quality of these lights for the money.

 

[plowhog]

James, your avatar picture shows a cab tractor. I've seen reports here on TBN that LED lights that are not CREE have caused radio interference problems. One more thing to consider, ugh.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Links below to my LED installations on both my Polaris Ranger and JD 4066R. In both cases, I used Mictuning LED’s that I purchased on Amazon. I think these are relatively low cost lights, but so far, after 1 season, performance has been awesome. Not knowing what the OP’s needs are, hard to say whether relatively minor differences in light output or patterns is of consequence. In my case, very happy with the results, and they didn’t break the bank. Good luck.

John Deere 4066R LED Light Bar Installation - YouTube

2011 Polaris Ranger 800XP with Mods for OTG AuGres - YouTube

I couldn’t tell from your video, did you buy combination flood / spot light bars. That’s what I used on my Polaris Ranger XP700. 20” on front and 10” on rear.

 

[varmint]

I bought carefully selected LED lights from eBay, usually cheap but not necessarily the cheapest, and have had zero issues with quality, construction or performance. Because they are so low cost, and draw so little current, it is easy to use a number of them, lighting as needed. FWIW, I have never had an issue using them in driven snow, either. About the only time I have used the lights is plowing snow at night. Light bars have gotten great reports, as well.

The waterproof switches are from eBay, and I imagine they all come from China, no matter whose you buy. You most likely won't be driving at high speeds, so seeing well beyond 50' isn't that important? Avoiding hotspots and shadows is important, though, which is where multiple lights help. You want to avoid having the light beams shine on you tractor's components, obviously, because that will distract from what you need to see.

 

[kevinwak]

I personally went with Rigid Industries D2 lights on my JD 2520. I work long hours and wanted something I could depend on to be 100% reliable when I get him from work in a blizzard, or need to mow lawn at midnight. (Which I have done lots since I work lots of night shifts and don’t have neighbors)
I had a first hand experience to the quality of Rigid lights before I bought them. We have two field operator trucks at work with Rigid light bars. These are turned on between 4 and 12 hours a night (depending on if it is summer or winter in norther Alberta) every night of the year including Christmas for the last four years and we haven’t had a single issue. We use them to light up our work area on wellsites at night. They were expensive and I think they are more than worth it.

 

[marchanna]

I bought a pair of $20 LED lights from amazon and I知 quite happy with them so far. CREE or SMD leds are both fine. The key is a well sealed housing with a good heat sink body. LEDs can overheat which usually causes them to fail. No need to spend a lot of money, theyæ±*e all made in China anyways.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'm another vote for cheap ebay lights. I bought a pair (USA) only to see "made in China" on it. The die cast body & hardware & const. was close to exactly the same as the 80% cheaper ebay lights. I went into it with the "disposable" mindset and have not have one fail yet!

 

[ssrider]

Speaking from experience, there is a huge difference in light output depending on the quality/price of the LEDs your buying. That being said, you don't need the expensive LEDs for every application. On my truck I have quality name brand LED fog lights, as I need the LED to project a long ways ahead of me. For my backhoe, I don't need that kind of projection. I've found for the most part, the cheap LED's still provide lots of light at a closer range.

I purchased these from amazon to install on the back of my backhoe and they do a great job.
Lightfox 2Pcs 4Inch 18W Flood Cree LED Light Bar Offroad Pods Lights 4wd LED Driving Lamp Work Light Bulb Fog Lights for Truck Pickup Jeep SUV ATV UTV Waterproof, 1 Year Warranty: Amazon.ca: Automotive

Here's a picture of them on

 

[lostcreekranch]

Agree, for what they charge for the Rigid Industries D2 lights, you can replace the lower cost ones every year and still be way ahead. I don’t do that much after dark on tractors or Polaris Ranger.

 

[tmcj]

I always recommend Rigid Industries LED's also. They are pricey but you won't be disappointed. I would rather do it right the first time than do it wrong over and over with cheap imitations that just don't compare.

 

[chim]

I get all my lighting at The Trailer Shoppe in Leola PA. All the work lights are flood pattern. Most are Maxxima and none have failed since I built the cab in 2012. My L3200 won't do 70 MPH, so there's no reason for spots. I want a wide pattern that does a good job of illuminating anything I need to see within maybe 50 feet or so. As I stated on another light discussion, the LED's don't seem to provide the definition that the old halogens did when it comes to seeing the cut/uncut grass at night. And again, they throw annoyingly bright light way beyond the lit area. I was standing on a hill about 25 yards away from the tractor for the second photo and it was unpleasant to look at the small sidelight (bright spot at rear of tractor). I believe this is common for LED's, since I noticed the same effect from aftermarket lights on many of the SUV's that local "offroad pretenders" seem to be going to.

The first, third and fourth pictures are a pretty accurate depiction of what it really looks like. There's no dark area in front or behind the tractor as the second picture would have you believe. The second picture doesn't do them justice - I'm guessing the sensor on my cell phone hastened the exposure to make it look darker around the tractor than it is in real life.

 

[Otgaugres]

I couldn稚 tell from your video, did you buy combination flood / spot light bars. That痴 what I used on my Polaris Ranger XP700. 20 on front and 10 on rear.

View attachment 534477

View attachment 534479

Yes, I should have clarified. I used the combo spot/flood. Very impressed with output.

 

[Rustyiron]

I always recommend Rigid Industries LED's also. They are pricey but you won't be disappointed. I would rather do it right the first time than do it wrong over and over with cheap imitations that just don't compare.

That's just it. 3 years ago I was setting up a tractor and decided to try out the LED's rather than my favorite 'HELLA' dual bulb Halogen's for work lights. I picked up some expensive ECCO brand lights, a trusted name to me (a big player in truck equipment, Boise ID). I also had 2 ebay-China lights coming soon. They were both sq body 24 watt LED's and I put them on a bench hooked to a battery. Both were same shape & wattage and although not identical, it took a lot of looking to spot a minor difference (externally). The light & pattern produced was the same. They both were made in China and I returned the expensive ECCO brand. I have 4 on the tractor and have not replaced one of them and they get aprox. 110 hours of use per year just in the winter. (3 years of use)
I'm right with you on do it once & do it right but (sadly) it seems It's all made in China and by cutting out the middleman that put's the same light in a better box and charges 3-4 time the amount for the same thing....... I have 2 spare 48w lights sitting on a shelf for a back up. They have not been needed and iirc that's only about a $20 (cost of them) insurance policy.

 

[tmcj]

Rigid LED's are 100% Made in USA. That was definitely a factor in my decision to go with them over others also.

 

[Fromjim]

James, your avatar picture shows a cab tractor. I've seen reports here on TBN that LED lights that are not CREE have caused radio interference problems. One more thing to consider, ugh.

I know for a fact they interfere with my auto door opener, the first time I tried to open the door with the remote opener in the cab and with my lights on, (cheap led from Princess Auto) the door would not open, shutting the lights and the door opened, these cheap lights are very bright, 1875 lumens each, and provide good lighting over the blower, but I would like more distance in the front, I believe two wide angle, which is what I have along with two spot would help, in front I have two Led and two original Kubota lights, you can definitely see the difference, not to mention the yellow tint to the originals, my main concern is the short distance, 150' or so, that the Led lights illuminate, but the Leds have no dark areas within the distance they can cover. I was thinking that they don't interfere with the radio, but, I always play Country CDs when I use the tractor, I'll have to try the radio and let you know, my lights are not CREE, hope someone who knows comments. God bless, Jim

 

[marchanna]

It doesn稚 matter in the LEDs are CREE, SMD or some other cheep Chinese brand, they will all cause radio interference. The device must be shielded in order to prevent radio interference. I致e had several CREE and SMD devices and bulbs, and as soon as they turn on, the radio goes dead. My Dewalt flashlight is very high power, but it痴 shielded and causes no interference.