LED Tailgate Bar

I am looking into purchasing an Led tailgate bar for my gen 3. Does anyone have any suggestions on which one is bright and has 5 functions. I see mixed reviews on the OPT-7 and Putco products.

Any suggestions??

 

Is this one of those strips that goes under the gate, above the bumper?

I've only seen those on domestics, not that that should functionally matter I guess. But they almost never seem to be working right.

Curious what the 5 functions are. Running, brake, left turn, right turn and ??

 

Yes, they get mounted under the tailgate/above bumper. If I could find one that I know has good results I'd at least give it a try...the 5th function is reverse.

 

I have a 48" Putco Blade and it is much brighter than the images on their website show. I put it on in early May and (6,000+ mi later) noticed last week that I have one LED segment that is out on the right turn signal. YMMV

https://www.putco.com/blade-led-tailgate-light-bar

 

Damn man that sucks, are you going to try to get a new one through warranty? I was looking at that same led bar as well. You would think with a higher price tag it would last at least a year before going out...

 

I just noticed their 3 year warranty listed on the website...I will have to follow up on that.

 

I ordered the opt7 led bar and used the curt wiring harness 5 way so I crimped the reverse wire with a bullet connector and plug to this harness. Since the bar will cover the spare tire hold, I used 2 sided 3M dual lock tape
SJ3551 to tape to the truck and the bar in case that I need to remove the LED bar.

$38 CURT 56584 Replacement Vehicle-Side Custom USCAR 5-Pin Trailer Wiring Harness , Black

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-56584-Custom-Wiring-Harness/dp/B007EA6WQU

$12 Vinyl Insulated Male Bullet Connectors 22-18Ga 100pcs - Red

https://www.amazon.com/Insulated-Bullet-Connectors-22-18Ga-100pcs/dp/B001HXFW8Y

 

Do these not block the access hole for the spare?

 

What's your opinion so far on the OPT-7, any good??

 

I just had it for 3 months. So far everything is still functional. I like the sequential signals. Reverse light is bright. The LED bar is about 1 inch long so it will cover the hole.

 

Thanks for the feedback! Do you have any pi s of it on your truck? I have not seen any pics on a Tacoma.

 

I think I did the same thing that you did, or vise versa.

I love my

$90 OPT7 48" Redline Triple Row LED Tailgate Light Bar w/Sequential Amber Turn Signal - Weatherproof Rigid Aluminum Light Strip for Colorado Frontier Ranger - Full Function Reverse Brake Running

Opt-7 light bar. I have had other brand on previous vehicles and most seem to have points of failure after 1-2 years. The Opt-7 works like new, not a single led has failed.

My only critical comment would be that the channel holding the lights is filled with silicone which does a great job of sealing it. They did not add any vinyl, plastic, or other hard or more durable protective cover. A hard cover my shed dirt faster/better but will also run a risk of breakage. Both clear plastic and vinyl would run risk of yellowing with sun exposure, so I don't know IF there is a better solution.

Mine has had zero trouble. I have noticed that the exposed silicone does seem to hold a bit of dirt that must be hand washed. I found that when I wiped the bar with alcohol, a lot of soot looking stuff came off and the bar itself looked much clearer. The alcohol wipe was the simplest and fastest method I have found to date to completely clean it after a wash.

My critic in no way diminishes it's value, just a suggestion for future improvement. I would definitely, get this one again if I had need for another arise.

 

Thanks for the input, I may just go with the opt-7 then. Do you remember which model you purchased?

 

Amber sequential signals. I linked it. see product section below.

 

I have this Opt-7 48” bar:
http://www.opt-7.com/redline-triple-led-tailgate-light-bar-with-reverse-sequential-turn-signals/

I’ve had it on the truck for over a year now and still works like new

 

Purchased the OPT-7 48" in red! Hopefully it works longer than a week!

 

my amber is going strong. Put it on truck March 2017, less than a week after I got the Taco.

 

yes.... it blocks the spare tire access hole!!!

 

Been considering the opt-7 but saw that lag for the blinker. Hoping they redesign it to work instantly with blinker.

 

The delay is because the light bar has to seperate the signal for brake and turn. The bar uses the 4 wire trailer plug so the same wire carries both signals. Essentially the bar must give the signal time to hit the blink cycle to determine if it is brake or turn.

The only way, that I can think of, to change that is to get the source signals from separate wires. I am not sure but the 7 pin trailer plug also carries turn and stop on a single wire (per side). So in order to get separate signals several taps to the tail wiring or "T" harness would need to be made for every truck model it might be put on. That is not cost effective, lots of R&D and a different kit for each make of truck, and would drive the bar cost way up.