LED BAR QUESTIONS

I'm planning on my first mod being a LED Light bar on the bumper. I have a lot of questions and i know it will take some time before i go through with it. Some of my questions are... How much should i pay for a LED Bar? Would i need a 30" for this area? How hard is it to install? And more questions. I'm new to this so any info will help.

 

anyone?

 

I am in the same boat and looking to install in the same place. I read so many threads about LEDs burning out or water leaking into them and Chinese products being worthless. I'd like a list of which ones suck so I can stay away from them. Hopefully some pros will chime in soon.

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I cannot comment on installing it in this location because I don't know anyone that has but as far as price is concerned... you get what you pay for. My personal opinion is to stick with something like Rigid or Baja Designs. I have recently seen others using other types of LED bars and myself I have one from LED Warehouse. But if you want completely hassle free go with a proven brand.

 

Yes you need a 30" bar for that area. A double row will fit but it is tight. How much you should pay is up to you. Opinion starts here- You could spend a couple hundred and buy an import knock off. Of course then you would be supporting the stealing of American jobs and intellectual property (see video in link below)

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/of...cheap-imported-products-come-sema-2014-a.html

There are companies out there that make LED bars in the states. Yes you will pay more, a lot more. However in the end you will have a better, longer lasting product.

 

A 30" fits perfectly in your lower valence. I've installed it behind the valence and currently have it installed with Rigid's bracket. If you're just installing it behind the valence, it's easy. Take off the bumper and use self tap screws and you're done. You can cut the stock grille or leave it. If you go with Rigids bracket, it requires some modifications.

 

The wiring isn't complicated?

 

If you buy a bar with wire harness, easy. The only hard part is running the wire through the gourmet for your switch.

 

Sorry i know nothing. I dont have a switch how hard is it to install one?

 

I used a cheap LED light bar and mounted it behind the lower valance grill, leaving the original grill in place. Any 30-32" LED light bar with the brackets on the ends (instead of along the back or bottom edges) should work.

The cheap LED light bars aren't nearly as bright, and typically need to be disassembled and re-sealed before you use them, otherwise they let water in and get ruined. Better quality products like those from Rigid don't require any up-front work before installation so go that route if you can.





I used a 32" LED bar (with the brackets it included). To mount, I only had to drill 4 holes (2 per side) into the aluminum inner bumper, and screwed it in place. The brackets were are the very edge of the inner bumper. Without some custom brackets, I'd estimate 32" is as big as you can get in there. I pulled off the front grill as well as the front bumper cover which made things super easy. It's possible to do it by just removing the front grill, but it'll be way harder that way.

As for wiring, you'll need a switch, fuse, and wiring. Like gym_jamz said, the wiring isn't really all that complicated. The most difficult part is getting the switch mounted cleanly and the wiring run into the cab where you have the switch.

 

No need to apologize! I'll help as much as I can. Majority of the led light bars comes with a harness like so. Comes with a similar switch. The wire harness comes pre-wired.

 

Are you around Hall County by any chance? I don't mind meeting up to help you with your install.

 

So can that switch be changed to one that is more similar to the switches in our trucks? Do you just cut that one off and tie the existing wiring to a different switch? I also know nothing but appreciate the assist.

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so i'm gonna end up paying around $700? I just searched rigid light bar and that was the cheapest.

 

You are correct. Here is an example diagram of the wire harness and what connects to what.

 

I would not recommend self tapping screws if you live in a colder climate, like I do. It'll get cold they'll get brittle and it'll snap. I just spent the day re-doing mine due to my self tapping screws snapping. I would use bolts and do it right the first time.

 

I actually live in Gwinnett but i dont have the money yet, i looked at the chinese models so i was expecting them to be a lot cheaper.

 

If you want a Rigid, yes. I personally have an AVEC bar and have no problems with it at all! High quality. You can check out their website or you can purchase it through Mike, who sells them here for a big discount. Mine was around $211, free shipping, including wire harness.

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/buy-sell-trade/336748-avec-led-light-bars.html

 

That's not far from me. About 30 mins. Whenever you purchase one, pm me and i'll drive down to help ya!

 

Interesting. Not sure why yours snapped. I had no problems as well as many members here.