Off-Road Lighting Guide for the 2018 Dodge Ram 1500: Pods, Bars, and Rock Lights morsunled.wordpress.com

Light bars are the heavy hitters of off-road lighting. They range from slim 6-inch single-row units to massive 50-inch curved double-row bars that span the entire roof. On a 2018 Ram 1500, popular configurations include a 20-inch to 32-inch bar mounted behind the grille or in the lower bumper opening, a 40-inch bar on a bull bar or bumper bracket, and a 50-inch curved bar above the windshield. The advantage of a light bar is sheer output and coverage. A quality 50-inch bar can produce well over 30,000 lumens, turning night into day across a wide field of view. The trade-offs are wind noise, especially with roof mounts, and legal restrictions. In most states, auxiliary light bars must be covered or disconnected when driving on public roads, and they should never be used in traffic because of the glare they cause. For wiring, a roof-mounted bar requires routing the harness down the A-pillar and through a grommet into the cab, while bumper-mounted bars are simpler because the run to the battery is short.