Bed roll bar? yes or no?

Most of those "roll bars" available aren't actually roll bars, they're "light bars" or something else.

A roll bar denotes that it is integrated into the frame.

 

Cool truck, they don't make the 4cyl 4x4 manual anymore. let alone a reg cab like that.

love those 80's trucks with the solid front axle

 

Added one to mine and love it. GoRhino bed bar kit off of Amazon. Install was a bear, fair warning. Haven't decided yet if the lights are going to go on top. Open to suggestions.

 

Unless your Michael J Fox, I say No

 

I think it looks nice, does it actually go through the bed into the frame though?

 

Looks bad ass, definitely throw some kcs on there. I doubt it goes to the frame, as mine does not... It's just roll bar sounds cooler than light rack

 

Yea a legit roll bar into the frame would be nice. And a lot safer too.
And then you could throw some long travel suspension on it for the rear haha

 

FWIW lights mounted overhead don't work all that well. I've had them on trucks for 20ish years both halogen through led. They do a great job of making your hood super bright and highlighting how dirty your windshield is. If a place to mount lights is really what you're after, go with an aftermarket bumper or a bull bar.

 

I like the light bar look a whole lot...

 

IDK man, mine throw a ton of light downrange. If you tilt them down too far, yeah all they would light up is your hood. I use them for distance lighting, and use the from bumper lights for closer range.

But what do I know, I'm only running 8 HIDs with something like 40k lumens total IIRC.

 

The only way to keep them from hitting the hood is to extend the bar forward (most light mounts you see do that to help) and also run a bottom shield, which most don't. By the time you angle them up far enough to stop kicking off the hood the people on the ISS will be bitching at you because they're trying to sleep.

My last taco I ran a bar on the bumper and an overhead. I used the bumper all the time, worked great. The overhead I really only used when I was in the mountains and the twisties. The light spectrum the LED's kick out make deer eyes light up from 100 miles away and a deer will cannonball off a cliff if they think they can get in front of you

During a snow storm, OMG beyond useless. You go from 10 feet of visibility to 0. The same with dust. But again the bumper bar, mounts lower than the headlights, punches through both fairly well.

Back in the halogen days my truck had 6 lights on the rollbar (real actual roll bar), a pair on the A pillars, and 4 on the bumper. I don't recall the lumens but I ran 130w bulbs in all of them. I used spots in the center of the bar, more directional than others and worked ok.) Then floods on the outside pointed about 45 degrees out to light up the side trail. I used to kick out enough light that trees would burst into flame as I drove by I was always at the front of the line for trail rides to say the least.

 

I've got the same split of spots in the middle and spreads on the sides.

Mine really don't have an issue hitting the hood or roof. Then again they are about 9" tall and the light bar is even with the roof, so they sit up off the roof a bit. There is some glare on the roof, but definitely none on the hood. Mine are all pointed straight forward, not even angled up.

I definitely don't turn them on when on the roads, that would be dangerous.

 

As long as you know it's not really a roll bar, and you like it, do it.

It's the boy racer equivalent to a level lift. Looks. Only.

Unless automatic weapons are mounted to it. Along with a support system for the trigger man.

 

I was looking around at the GoRhino and Black Horse ones.. I like the look of the powder coated tubing. Any opinions on either company??

 

There is a guy down the street with one on a 3rd gen. It has a laser cut star on the bars and a big black sticker on the side of the bed that says us army edition. I think it looks super tacky.

 

I have the goRhino powder coat black kit installed on mine and have so far been really pleased with it. Good fit, good finish. Mine is a garage queen now though, so I can't speak to whether it holds up to everyday use without loosening or rattling around back there

 

If I were going to build one, I'd use this style, but extend the rails all the way to the back corner of the bed. I had the rails on my 2002 Dodge 2500 and actually got a lot of use out of them for tie downs. I'd also add some hooks to the bottom and/or inboard sides of those long tubes for wrapping rope, hooking straps, etc.

 

Bump- Nice truck! What is the make/model of your roll bar? I like it.