First on the list of lighting modifications were some driving lights to replace the lights that were in the stock front bumper. There was no place for those lights on the Ranch Hand front end replacement, so I had to get some mountable aftermarket lights. I went with KC HiLites 57-Series driving lights. They're nice and bright and fill in the dark gap in the middle of the road left by the headlights. And it worked out nicely, because I was able to connect the lights into the existing wiring for the stock driving lights. That made it so my regular stock headlight switch will power them on and off - no extra switch or wiring to mess with.
Next, it was time to get the headlights a little brighter. I installed a set of Sylvania SilverStar bulbs. They're a significantly cheaper alternative to HIDs, and while they're not as bright, the light on them is definitely whiter than the regular halogen bulbs. I've enjoyed them so far.
Something else I did with the headlights: I installed a DFuser heavy duty headlight wiring harness upgrade. This upgrade decreases wire resistance and increases the voltage delivered to the bulbs, thus making the light from the SilverStar bulbs significantly brighter. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade, and not terribly expensive, either.
At some point in the future, I will be converting the entire headlight assemblies over to 2005+ model headlights. These have the clear lenses rather than the ribbed lenses on my year model, and the light they provide is more focused and brighter. That will take a little modification to the truck itself, though. When I do this, I'll also be converting the turn signal bulbs to LED bulbs rather than incandescent.
Speaking of LEDs...
I travel to Louisiana quite a bit for my job, and I had been noticing semi trucks and trailers, as well as local tow trucks, with those cool LED lights. After doing a little shopping, I found that I could buy replacement LED lights for my headache rack and for the lights in the drop bumpers. So I drove over to Houston Chrome Shop over in Baytown and picked up the replacement lights and installed them. What a huge difference they make! They're a lot brighter and when you've got the turn signal going, they're instant-on, instant off. Well, with this modification installed, I couldn't have cool LEDs in the headache rack and regular incandescent bulbs in the tail lights. So I went out and ordered a set of Sonar brand tail lights from Pure Diesel Power and installed them not long after the LEDs in the headache rack. Others I had seen while out shopping looked a little too pimpy for my taste, but these look virtually stock, and I really like them. Now the whole back end of the truck is LED, nice and bright, and has the quick on-off. Pretty sweet. Here are some pictures (the first pic is with the stock tail lights in place).
