So, as many know we purchased a house and are making the transition to fixing it up and moving in. Well, during this transition we've had power on/off at the house and have not had time (priorities) to install outside flood lights. So, a couple observations from someone moving to the middle of no where.

Being able to see is VERY important... so with that said light is everything. When it gets dark, even with a moon it is DARK. The trees cover EVERYTHING. You will not be able to see from your car to your house.

With no light you can't get anything done, it makes it 100x harder to load your vehicle, it makes it harder to even change your shoes outside.

That's for around your house... it can be fixed, add some flood lights (I have many to install), motion sensors, and key fob activated lights... all are being installed to fix this problem.

However, I also learned that light while driving to and from (not in the city) the lights your vehicle shine on the road are important. To low of a beam and your eyes tire and you look down to much. I`ve upgraded lights in one vehicle already to remedy this solution, and fog lights in my other have solved that too.

Flashlights are VERY important. If something goes wrong or you need to look at something outside or make an emergency stop you can not see w/out a light. Also, a 200 lumen flash light does little for reading a manual or looking under your hood... it blinds you, even aimed at your target.

My opinion on lights that go IN a vehicle that routinely sees 1+hr of rural driving. Head lamp, multi-LED. Long lasting, if one burns out you can still see and use it. Lithium batteries to pro-long life and IMHO are built to higher standards. Hand-Held light, again LED, and multi-LEDs incase something goes wrong.

What we use... Zipka Tika Plus (4 LED) w/retractable head strap. Stays in glove box. Easy to use, super bright, and lasts a LONG LONG time on one set of batteries.

My next light WAS the Streamlight Ultra Stinger because it's powerful (INSANE) and rechargeable... but like I said it's WAY to bright to be useful for anything but searching for a prisoner or blinding on coming traffic to stop them (by causing an accident). Not to mention this light dies in ~1hr of usage, not to good for walking through the woods or on a road finding your way along.

I've replaced the Streamlight with an Inova X5. Multi-Led, lasts a VERY long time, well made, and relatively cheap.

What's funny is I've always been a flashlight guy. I have a bunch of streamlights, surefires, and inova's, fenix's, etc... BUT I mainly used them camping or to take the dog out at night.

I never used them over and over, day after day... this is how I learned what kind/type/brightness light I needed. I needed a soft-glow that spread to illuminate my work area, and also something reliable and that would burn a long long time.

Selecting the proper light for the job is VERY important.

I also have an Inova X0 (I believe that's it) it's an LED but is more of a spot-light than the X5 flood, another good choice or 3rd light to add to your car.

I hope what I've learned can help someone.

-Todd

If you're having a problem with your headlights, make sure they are aimed correctly. If you're in the country, feel free to use your brights often, as long as traffic isn't a problem.
Of course, some cars just have crappy headlights. I previously drove a chevy cavalier and had dark thoughts about how much illumination I got even with fancy aftermarket bulbs. Switched to a full size pickup and am very happy now even with OEM bulbs. Haven't figured out if it was the design, shape, size or height difference that is making the grade.

My truck is actually slightly lifted and so the OEM lights are not powerful enough to shine far enough where I see the ground. With my OEM fog lights on I can see great, the brights don't help to much, not sure why. On our other vehicle (jeep) we replaced the entire assembly and it is SO MUCH nicer I also adjusted the aim when I installed them, and it's night and day difference it's amazing.

I've had good luck with a Streamlight Stylus: it fits in the pen slot of my shirt pocket, sits over my ear like a pencil, and points where I look, when I'm trying to write, without blinding me.

Had you adjusted the aim on your truck after you lifted it? That would cause the lights to shine too high up. Wasn't quite sure if you had done that from reading your post.
I thought I'd mention that because a lot of people do not think about stuff like that, though I'd assume the people on this board would.

I haven't touched them. It's not lifted, but 'leveled', came from factory that way. I'd hope they would have adjusted for it like they did for the larger tires. (compensate for the correct speedo gear/setup).

Normal beam is great, brights not so much.

Check the speedo, you may be surprised to find it has not been compensated for. I run around 3 MPH slower than the speedo reads compared to true calibrated RADAR and LIDAR (laser). And yes, the truck is bone stock in that department.

Watch the "Fog Lights" in a previous life they were called"auxiliary lights, for off road use only". It was not an inexpensive issue either.

The speedo is never right by the time it gets up to interstate speeds, even with OEM everything. Take your GPS sometime and match it against the speedo.

I've noticed my truck appears to be leveled as well, the front end looks to be the same as the back. Problem is I always seem to be carrying somehting so the back end sits lower. There is a ~1.5" block between the rear axle and springs from the factory, I'm going to see if I can find a 2.5" to put the back up a little and make it have the factory slant forward so I've not adjusted my lights yet.
I upsized my tires and compared to my gps and its right on.

Nice, practical post. It is always good to hear field notes. I look forward to bringing something to the housewarming potluck.

All of the farmers around here have what they call a yard light. Not a yard light like you put on your garage, but comparable to a streetlight. Only taller and brighter. It's not bright enough that you could read, but you couldn't walk across the yard and not be seen, man or animal. I guess a lot of them don't even have switches on then, just a light sensor so they come on automagically. A real security conscious person would still need to illuminate the various dark nooks and crannies though.
I'm guessing you probably have more trees where you are.

My speedo is correct I have used a GPS (or two heh) to verify

Eugene- Good point, I do normally have something back there that may elevate the front a bit, shouldn't be that much but it may be... I`m just glad my normal lights are fine and brights not really needed.

Fog lights help a bunch, and they work great with normal brightness on my truck.

dweste- Thanks! I hope we can be 100% moved in by the new year Maybe a spring potluck

Nishnabotna- I have a couple of those, I forget their name but that's what I plan to install. They are like street lamps (large), bright, and I got the CFL version to use less energy. I`ll have to post some pics when I get them installed.

I did update my blog though with new pictures of the house... all before pictures right now, the after/work ones coming soon. Lots has changed.

Those are called NEMA "Barn lights" - if you do put one up, please, please put on a "full cutoff" shade on them. It prevents light from angles above 180 degs from exiting the fixture - aka you don't light above the fixture - this is good for 2 reasons - you actually get more light on the ground where you need it, and it doesn't mess up the night sky for miles around

BTW, if you can SEE the lit fixture, you are getting "glare" (it's the definition of glare). The problem at that point is that your pupil constricts, and it actually makes the dimmer parts of your yard darker! If you properly put in "full cut off" lighting, you will not have glare, and you will see better, even though the are might seem dimmer, because you can't see the bulb.

If you decide to put in a "Barn light" look at putting a Hubbel Sky Cap or GE Skyguard shield (if you get a hubble or GE fixture), or a RAB "Sky shade", which is generic

The RAB Shy Shade fits Screw On “Barn Lights” from: RAB, Lumark, American, Heath-Zenith, Regent/NCI, Electripak, Designer’s Edge. Additionally, it fits Clip-On “Barn Lights” from Hubbell and GE.

There is a lot of info at darksky.org (although in some ways they are a bit crazy)

http://starrynightlights.com/blog/2007/06/

Preaching to the choir

now, picture I'm into dark skys, have fco lamps and I live in NYC