Since it's dark now by 5:30 here, it's hard to get much wood work in after getting out of the office at 5:00. I was able to score a 300 watt 52 inch light bar from a friend's son who was changing trucks and the wiring harness kept shorting out. I got it all mounted and wired today. Now I can split in the evenings and get some other outdoor work done after work. It pulls about 25 amps so I'll have to be careful not to work too long and drain the battery... I'll be needing an adult beverage by then anyway... LOL Testing it out... Over by the barn splitting some of the 20 / 21 season wood This thing is awesome and really lights it up... I just got this truck this summer cuz the old Ram 1500 was starting in with the tranny shudder and droopy fenders. This new to me truck came with a nice snowplow. I built some running boards to help get in an out. I made a headache rack to keep the back window from being abused and continued back the sides so I can get more wood piled on there per load... All that is made from Locust so I shouldn't have to mess with it for a while although an oil change next summer will provide stain for the wood... For extra measure, I put a spare tire carrier on the sideboard to get the spare up out of the bed and make it a little less likely to get stolen (the stupid cable crank thingy under the bed is broke and they're no fun in the mud and snow anyway). Now with the light bar added, it's my dream truck (on my budget, LOL). I can rotate the light bar to the front if I need to for plowing snow, but the snow plow has a nice set of lights on it already.
That sure does light it up nicely. I have a nice double halogen pole light set up that I use but I have not found much time for cutting let alone needing to split.
Wow, that is bright! Amazing. I like how you said it swivels. This just pulls from the truck battery? Seems it run it down. Your side panel racks... I see how you extended the back portion only half as far up as the front portion... is that something you just dreamed up or learned it's the best way? I guess you just pile it up higher toward the headache rack to center it more in the middle of the truck? Those locust boards are amazing. Can you take these racks off pretty easy or need two people? Or just leave them on?
Yes, it is bright. I'm planning on using it out in the woods at night for cleaning up some underbrush also. I ran it for about 2 hours last night splitting, but I did start the truck and let it idle a couple times while I was working. I really need to get the clamp on dc ammeter out and check the current draw while on battery and then the charging current from the alternator while it's idling to see how fast it's recharging. That way I can get a better feel for how long I can run it on bat and how long the idling will run it and recharge the battery. The side racks I just figured to keep the main part of the load forward over and ahead of the axle. I just figured I didn't really need it to go all the way to the back and would lower the wind drag a tad too. It shouldn't really matter that much and I don't plan on going crazy loading it. The main reason for the side boards for me was to brace the headache rack part that is protecting the back window and get the spare tire mounted (plus it just looks cooler to me). I blew out one of the windows on the old Ram when a piece of wood sliding on the bed caught a corner and flipped up and shattered it. Hoping to avoid that PITA since a lot of my splitting is done at the rear of the truck with the splits getting tossed directly into the truck when coming off the splitter. The Locust boards came off my sawmill, all out of one 9' long 18 -20" log. I have the stakes all going down into all six stake pockets of the truck bed and they are a snug fit. I do have screws in them so they can't possibly come out (not that they would)... If I want to take it off, which I'm not really planning on ever doing, I can just take out six screws, drive it under a big limb, unhook the light bar, hook a come along to the headache rack, and call the neighbor over to assist. Too much work for me... This truck is pretty much a wood cutting truck that will stay on the property with occasional trips to get pallets, 55 gallon drums, and other stuff that won't fit in the car. Looks are not the main issue here... LOL I just need it to make my life easier for cutting wood and plowing the drives and lanes of ours and a few friends and family members that live close.
