Light bar question for new '16 taco...

apologies in advance if this had been asked specifically. I see many of you fine folks with a light bar intergrated in the lower part of the front grill/bumper, between the fog lights. They look great. Asking for info and advice on your brand and model LED light, where did you purchase. For me, the simpler, easier installation would be appreciated also. Any links and videos would hePlease. Thanks and happy driving in 2018!

 

https://caliraisedled.com/

One stop shop. Everything is included in the kit.

 

Caliraised is a vendor on here and provides one of many light/bracket combos available, but this is the one i have installed. There are both cheaper and more expensive routes to go. Happy shopping!

https://caliraisedled.com/collectio...bar-lower-bumper-brackets?variant=26127135760

 

I would recommend the caliraised kit, around $250. I did not go that route because I figured the wife would flip spending that much and ordered off Amazon. I still spent $130 on the bar, caliraised mounts, harness and switch. She eventually said why didn't you get the one you wanted....

 

I bought this light bar. Easy to install and works great.

$168 iJDMTOY Behind Grille 30" LED Light Bar Kit Compatible with 2016-23 Toyota Tacoma, Includes (1) 180W High Power LED Lightbar, Under Hood Mounting Brackets & On/Off Switch Wiring Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0LW2DA/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

I'm on the fence on which to get too for my 18. I live right by Caliraised and might go there. My buddies are telling me to go cheap Amazon route and do install ourselves, since we did it on their Jeeps. Wouldn't mind saving the $120 install fee for the light bar and $80 for rock light install but also wouldn't mind having it done for me. Decisions decisions...

 

I bought the rigid kit. Includes everything except a switch that fits one of the blanks - it just has a round toggle switch. Best price on the kit was off Amazon.

 

I’m running cali raised mounts and a rough country dual row light bar. Comes with harness as well and I just switched to the oem style switch to make it clean. Super easy to install. I love mine and it requires no cutting of the grill.

 

So here’s the difference. The top one is the $250 dollar caliraised 32 inch bar on my Tacoma. The second is the $150 dollar mictunning 32” bar from Amazon. On the Caliraised bar everything was extremely good quality. From the bar to the brackets. The mictunning bar was okay. And I had to make my own brackets. Took 3 times as long to install. I could not be happier with the Caliraised stuff. It is at least twice as bright if not three times. Spend the extra money and get the good stuff.


Disclaimer: These pictures were taken over a year apart on 2 different vehicles using 2 different cell phone cameras. Top picture is Caliraised 5d 32” light bar on a 2” lifted 2016 Tacoma using Caliraised stealth mount brackets. Bottom picture is Mictunning 32” dual row led bar mounted in front lower bumper of a 3” lifted 2003 4Runner. Both vehicles are not parked in exactly the same spot in driveway and both bars are not adjusted to the same orientation. Light output between bars is dramatically different.

 

Would help the comparison if the lights were actually adjusted the same...

 

I bought in on the Rigid group buy.. $$$ light bar and I feel I might have spent more than I should have, but the quality is superb.. The kit came with wiring hardness (Relay, fuse, rocker switch). I took a bit of different route on the rocker switch and used my OEM fog light switch on the turn signal stalk. I purchased H11 socket adapters from Amazon that plugs directly into the OEM fog light plug. Think of this as a "remote" turn-on circuit much like a stereo HU sends signal to a sub-woofer amplifier:

$9 2 Pcs H11 Headlight Bulb Male Wire Socket Adapters

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XP4PLKW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And I had a pair of weather proof plugs that I used between the light bar and the relay. For main power/ground I have a spare aux fuse panel with dedicated 100amp circuit. Everything I did is plug and play and reversible as no wire cutting was involved.

 

Wow, you folks sure come through! Appreciate not only any makes and models, but many described the pros and cons and installation habits. Thanks, I'll check these out.

 

Did you end up switching to an oem style switch? If so how difficult was the install into the blank located below the a/c controls?

 

Yep I’ve got an oem style switch below the AC controls. It was pretty easy, I popped off the trim around the radio and took out the head unit (4 Screws). I then just reached down through that opening and could fish the wires and get the blank out to put in my switch.

 

Do you have a thread or a writeup of how you wired everything? I've seen some but nothing specific for that switch location.

 

I haven’t done a write up but it was pretty simple. I used the rigid wiring harness and started in the cab running the fused power cable and light cable though the firewall. I tucked the relay behind the wiring that is by the adapter for the trailer brake controller. There was some open space up there and seemed like just the perfect amount of space for the relay to sit. I ran the wire for the switch up and around everything and came through the opening you can see looking down from where the unit is - I just straightened a coat hanger and stuck it down there then taped the wire to it and pulled it up through the opening. I kinda followed the wiring for the gas pedal and used a couple zip ties to keep everything out of the way.

Under the hood I got some of the flexible plastic cable tubing to add a little extra protection and keep everything nice. I had a bigger diameter piece I used from the firewall to the side up to where the battery is. Positive off the battery, ground to the side with the other ground that’s already there. I then used a smaller piece of tubing to run from the battery to the plugin for the light.

The wiring harness is plenty long if you have the relay in the cab where I put. If you have the relay under the hood (which is what I was originally going to do) you’ll have way too much wire under the hood and not near enough inside the cab to get to the switch location.

That should pretty much cover it but if you’ve got other questions let me know. I’ll probably do a write up this spring when it warms up. I really need to start a build thread.

 

Thank you for the information. I'll have to take a look in the truck to get the full idea but it's too cold for that right now. If you end up doing a write up it would help the MT owners on here as I've searched a lot without finding anything specific to that switch location.