Dome Light Bulb Options...

Crazy question. I just started a job that requires me to drive a lot at night, but also read at the same time. Is it possible to replace the 88 Toyota Pickup dome light bulb A12V5W with a red one? You know, like the bridge of a naval vessel red-lit at night?

Yours,

mothy

Reply to
mothy
Loading thread data ...

Drive and read at the same time. Please give me your home address and license plate number so I can shoot you dead before you kill someone else.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Go to an RV Supply shop and buy a 2-lamp Thin-Lite fluorescent fixture with two separate ballasts. Mount above the rear window in a standard cab. You can snake a power wire through the headliner and pick up a hot feed at the factory dome light.

You can put a red lamp in one side (or wrap the regular lamp with red filter plastic) for night vision reading, and leave the other one white for when you really need to see. They put out a LOT of light for the power input, much more efficient than incandescent.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Reply to
Malcom Gillette

Thank you for your concern. I sit still when I'm reading, and need to be able to look outside for house numbers very quickly (and my night vision isn't so good). Please give me your home address and license plate number so I can give you a hug.

mothy

Reply to
mothy

Thank you, Bruce. I will look into it post-haste.

Yours,

mothy

Bruce L. Bergman wrote:

Reply to
mothy

I used to line the lens with red carbon paper. Worked great.

Skip

Reply to
Skip

If you need cheap and dirty, rather than paint the dome bulb you can always get a few red marker lights and mount them over the window - just watch for the heat buildup and vinyl headliner material. But the Thin-Lite is still a lot slicker solution, and much better light.

Speaking of Posts... (Segue Master!)

They still make Post Spotlights, and they still work slick - Had a pair on my 84 Toy Pickup, have a pair on my LandCruiser, and am looking into one or two for the Work Truck. Put the light on the outside on the door pillar, and it won't kill your night vision.

formatting link
Get the 250 series, 5" - trust me, the 6" looks too big on a Toyota.

1988 takes a 250H-H spot and the 27 (left side) or 27RH (right side) installation kit. Available through any good parts store.

Not difficult to install if you have decent tools, but you have to be careful cutting the doorpost trim panel.

Will run you between $200 and $250 per light and install kit, they are indispensable in bad weather - no sticking your arm out the window with a flashlight, no glare from trying to use it through the glass.

-->--

PS: So? Paper route, Pizza delivery...? (BT, DT.)

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

Alas, Bruce, you've solved the riddle. Until the sales materially improve in my day job, I'm delivering papers. After a couple of weeks, I won't even really need to read any list in the cab, but until then I was looking to check my lists while spying house numbers that are typically not as obvious as you'd think (and I've come to despise the folks who spell their house numbers in obscure, cursive script). I didn't think I would enjoy getting up at 2:00AM and working until

5:00AM, then sleeping before my real job, but it's surprisingly enjoyable. Reality seems slightly askew in the middle of the night, but the solitude is nice. We'll see how worth it it will seem post-first-paycheck...

Thanks,

mothy

Reply to
mothy

As I said, Been There... You don't need to light the whole cab - Rig up a small one-bulb red marker light as a reading lamp over a notepad holder, shield it so it only lights the pad. If you need a road map after the first few days...

At first you write all the addresses on index cards, with street names and house numbers in the order you'll hit them. Punch one corner and use a binder ring to keep them in order. Then you just note and highlight the changes on the cards. Then you just keep a one page "Hot Sheet" of the latest changes.

A post spot is perfect for finding those pesky addresses if you ever "sub" someone else's route and have to find them all. A cheap handheld spotlight will work just fine for occasional use.

And if you have a lot of traffic at that hour, go get an amber magnetic warning rotor beacon for the roof - then they have no excuse for "not seeing you". Especially if you zig-zag and hit both sides of the street in one pass.

My second paycheck went bye-bye after an advance - the first week they got complaints from a subscriber's three neighbors.

Said subscriber wanted the paper dropped at his garage door, and lived on a flag lot with a 250-foot 10% grade driveway. My Corvair had a small hole in the collector pipe, which normally wasn't a problem - except when fully loaded and blasting up a long steep driveway at 3/4 to wide-open throttle.

Of course, the muffler shop tried lighting the car on fire with the "Hot Wrench" in the process. He scoffed at me when he lit the cutting torch and I uncoiled a water hose and gave it a test squirt "Just In Case" - and not 30 seconds later...

When that little voice in the back of my head talks, I listen. Experience has proven that it's usually right.

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

The easiest way is to get a light you can plug into your cig lighter. Most have flexible necks and if you can't find a red bulb, put some red saran wrap over the end of it.

Reply to
Skip

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.