Help reinstalling lighting after new bumper/winch

[blau iii]

I just installed the RR HD Stubby and a Superwinch SX12k with synthetic rope. Love the next look but I'm struggling with two issues related to lighting..

- I have a pair of KC Slimlights that used to live on the quadratec HD mounts. I can't use them now that I have a winch. I was planning to put the lights in the holes that are in the bumper for the overrider bar but after installing, I realized they're right over the frame and there's no room on the underside to put the nut for the light even if I sourced shorter bolts. My first thought was to drill new holes (argh) in a brand new bumper on the inside of the frame rails but where I'd have to drill the hole would put the light hanging over the void next to the winch. My last option is to drill the holes on the top of the bumper on the outside of the frame rails but I'm worried this won't look right. Real men of genius is there another option I'm missing? I thought about drilling straight through the existing hole into the frame but was worried about drilling into the frame and also wasn't sure how the hell I'd hold the nut.

- I'm also looking to add another set of lights and I'm 90% sure I'd put them on the cowl. I'm torn between the KC Flex Era 3 and the KC C3 3" cube lights. Any thoughts on which way to go? The FE3 are $200 more but have that cool backlight (and why do anything if you can't look cool doing it). Any thoughts on which lights to look at? Spot or Spread for either? My other thought was the Baja Design Squadron Pro a-Pilar kit but wasn't sure it's going to look right mixing light brands.

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[WILDHOBO]

I just installed the RR HD Stubby and a Superwinch SX12k with synthetic rope. Love the next look but I'm struggling with two issues related to lighting..

- I have a pair of KC Slimlights that used to live on the quadratec HD mounts. I can't use them now that I have a winch. I was planning to put the lights in the holes that are in the bumper for the overrider bar but after installing, I realized they're right over the frame and there's no room on the underside to put the nut for the light even if I sourced shorter bolts. My first thought was to drill new holes (argh) in a brand new bumper on the inside of the frame rails but where I'd have to drill the hole would put the light hanging over the void next to the winch. My last option is to drill the holes on the top of the bumper on the outside of the frame rails but I'm worried this won't look right. Real men of genius is there another option I'm missing? I thought about drilling straight through the existing hole into the frame but was worried about drilling into the frame and also wasn't sure how the hell I'd hold the nut.

- I'm also looking to add another set of lights and I'm 90% sure I'd put them on the cowl. I'm torn between the KC Flex Era 3 and the KC C3 3" cube lights. Any thoughts on which way to go? The FE3 are $200 more but have that cool backlight (and why do anything if you can't look cool doing it). Any thoughts on which lights to look at? Spot or Spread for either? My other thought was the Baja Design Squadron Pro a-Pilar kit but wasn't sure it's going to look right mixing light brands.

Different bumper, but similar mounting decision needed to be made. I removed the lower mount from one light and took pictures with it sitting in several spots on top of the bumper. That way I could be sure I liked it before drilling two mounting holes. KC Flex Era 4 in this case. The pictures are on a strange angle that make them look out of adjustment for some reason.

 

[blau iii]

Different bumper, but similar mounting decision needed to be made. I removed the lower mount from one light and took pictures with it sitting in several spots on top of the bumper. That way I could be sure I liked it before drilling two mounting holes. KC Flex Era 4 in this case. The pictures are on a strange angle that make them look out of adjustment for some reason.

Awesome, Thanks for that. Now that you've lived with it for a bit, happy with that location?

How are you liking those FE4's? My longer term plan was to get a pair of those replace the slimlights but they're getting into LP6 territory..

 

[WILDHOBO]

Awesome, Thanks for that. Now that you've lived with it for a bit, happy with that location?

How are you liking those FE4's? My longer term plan was to get a pair of those replace the slimlights but they're getting into LP6 territory..

I like them. The plan was to use the amber lens covers for snow driving, then removing them to go white off road. I put them on this winter, so they haven’t seen a trail yet, but our neighborhood is dark sky conscious; so it’s pitch black for trying them out. They’re very very bright and easy on the eyes for the driver. I wouldn’t use them in white on the road. The amber is fantastic on the road I think, but haven’t used them in a true blizzard yet. It won’t be long though.

As far as size, these are as physically large as I wanted. I never wanted a full row of lights on the hood or pillars. So knowing that I wanted to stay a little subdued without getting in the way of the winch, grill, or headlights, these seemed perfect. At a small size, about 5”, I wanted them to be pretty powerful. I like the skins you have as well, but they may have been too big for my spot. I couldn’t go narrower due to internal bumper structure that would interfere with mounting.

 

[Mr._Bill]

Mopar and Quadratec both have mounting brackets for lights that attach to the frame between the grille and the bumper.

 

[blau iii]

Mopar and Quadratec both have mounting brackets for lights that attach to the frame between the grille and the bumper.

I had these on the quadratec hd brackets but you can’t fit them with a winch on there. Or at least I couldn’t figure out how to do it.

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