Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I would like to have front running lights installed on my honda crv/suv for better illumination for road herping. Anyone know anything about which brand names or kinds of lights illuminate the road well? thx.

You can easily spend upwards several hundred dollars on road lights. You can get huge watts of lights that sometimes do no better than el cheapos in the 50 to 100 watts found at wal-marts. After losing several external lights due to hitting animals ( yep...road looking for herps ) and having some of those big wattage bulbs having to be replaced due to water getting inside the " sealed beams " I have gone to el- cheapo 50 watts. You don't need a super heavy duty car battery for these. I have had these 50 to 100 watts on every vehicle that i have had since 1989. One note....if you have them installed and you don't do it, in some states you can only have them LEGALLY installed working with your low beam regular head lights. Of course you don't want them hooked up to your regular head lamps and you want a control switch like a toggle or rocker switch. And carry an extra switch and bulbs with you. I've had both kind of switches burn out while hunting before.

I find clear foglamps much more useful than driving lights for spotting snakes (I have used both over the years). They provide better illumination of the road and shoulder and make it easier to see snakes. They also reduce overall eye fatigue when hunting for long hours. Another benefit is that fog lights don't blind other drivers if they are set correctly and therefore they can be left on when passing oncoming vehicles, unlike driving lights.

I have a pair of PIAA clear foglamps on my truck and I love them. They are 55 watt halogens.

You also want to mount them as low to the ground as reasonably possible.

Also be aware that you can only have 4 lights (two pairs - i.e. your headlights and one other pair of lights) illuminated at any one time on roads in most states (including TX). I have been pulled over in the past for having 3 pairs illuminated.
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Chris Harrison

I didnt know about the three lights thing. My brights come on and my regular lights turn off though, so I should be able to run with brights and fog. Ill have to install some, thanks!

I've been playing with the idea of figuring how to mount a pair of GE Q4559x bulbs on the bumper of my Jeep. I think 2 12v batteries should be able to power the lamps even though they are rated at 28v. There will be some loss of light but at 600w each I don't think I'd notice it too much. And then theres the cables. I guess they'd have to be pretty beefy. Oh well, I'll let you know how it works.
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Ed
Tortoise_Keepers-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

thanks for input guys.