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I bought a pair of 7" LED light bars off amazon and used the included brackets to rivet onto the underside of the hitch. Your hitch is nothing more than a hollow steel tube. You won't hurt anything by drilling a few small holes for screws or rivets.
So, here's my reverse lights. I bought them on Amazon for $36/set. They are 36w each and make PLENTY of light, albeit they are a bit ugly. I also installed a set similar to yours on my (now son's) Ridgeline and he loves them. They look better, but have half the light.
I ran a line level 3 way switch from the cab to the lights. The switch allows for OFF(all the time), ON(any time, even with ignition off) or ON(with reverse lights). I used a relay and tapped off the trailer harness for that function. If you don't want to backfeed the switch, you'll need a DIODE in there. I didn't bother. I put the relay and connections in an outdoor GEM style box mounted under the bed.
Anyway, the MOUNTS; I used two existing bolts that hold the bumper bracket on. I fabbed the light brackets out of TECOs. I was worried that they weren't stiff enough, but that turned out GREAT because this winter, twice I backed into a snowbank and BENT the lights 180 degrees. After, I just bent 'em back and they seem good as new. DON'T drill you bumper! Well, I didn't anyway.
TomJV
I bought a pair of 7" LED light bars off amazon and used the included brackets to rivet onto the underside of the hitch. Your hitch is nothing more than a hollow steel tube. You won't hurt anything by drilling a few small holes for screws or rivets.
^^This is not true. Drilling into the hitch can compromise the structural integrity of it. A hole will cause a weak point in the tube. I would not tow with the hitch afterwards. Just my opinion. Contact the hitch maker and ask them before altering your hitch. Again just my $.02.
With all the holes that are in the hitch tube already four 1/8" holes won't reduce the towing ability to the point of failure. I had 1/4" bolts through my last one for 200,000+ miles and towed a lot and never had a problem, no cracks or bends.
With all the holes that are in the hitch tube already four 1/8" holes won't reduce the towing ability to the point of failure. I had 1/4" bolts through my last one for 200,000+ miles and towed a lot and never had a problem, no cracks or bends.
PLEASE, don't drill holes into your hitch. Holes create stress concentrations, and if the hole is in an area of high stress can lead to failure. Unless I have designed a part and ran the simulations, I don't drill holes. I stole this photo from the internet, but it shows what the stress does around a hole. The blue area is low stress, but the red spots at the top and bottom of the hole are high stress, and that is where the failure will start. Throw in fatigue from many miles of bumps and tugs while towing and it is a disaster waiting to happen. For a 3 dimensional part, there are regions of high and low stress throughout the part, the existing holes have been put in areas that are acceptable to see these stress concentrations.
Please use the holes the engineer already created on purpose, or find a way to attach the lights by using clamps.
^^This is not true. Drilling into the hitch can compromise the structural integrity of it. A hole will cause a weak point in the tube. I would not tow with the hitch afterwards. Just my opinion. Contact the hitch maker and ask them before altering your hitch. Again just my $.02.
Drilling a 1/8" hole for a screw isn't going to substantially eat into the factor of safety. Drilling 3/8" holes all over the place is a different story. Furthermore, the majority of owners aren't going to tow anywhere near the maximum load rating of their hitch. If you're towing heavy enough for a 1/8" hole to induce failure, it's time for a fifth wheel.
I had to make my own brackets out of 1/2x1/2" aluminum angle but I really,like them out here. They're tucked far enoug that they don't scream LIGHT but they still cast light a long way.
Any chance you could take a couple pics from underneath - showing the brackets? Also, how are you guys wiring them up? Are you running straight off the battery to the switch and flipping them on and off when you want, or tapping into the fuse box, or tapping into the reverse wires?
