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1st gen led light bar ideas

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by 2002, Sep 30, 2014.

  1. Jan 12, 2017 at 5:33 AM
    #321
    Willrox1

    Willrox1 Well-Known Member

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    BFG AT KO2 31 Bilstein 5100 OME 883
    Where did you get those little lights in your grill?
     
  2. Jan 12, 2017 at 5:41 AM
    #322
    Roo1041

    Roo1041 Well-Known Member

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    Riley
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    They are bolt LEDs from superbrightleds.com
     
    Willrox1 likes this.
  3. Jan 12, 2017 at 8:53 PM
    #323
    BHill_teq

    BHill_teq Cruisin Hills

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    Finished product!

    IMG_1544.jpg
     
    NC Taco Camper and harper7 like this.
  4. Jan 13, 2017 at 8:39 AM
    #324
    SEAMONSTER401

    SEAMONSTER401 Well-Known Member

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    How did you mount those pods up beside your mirrors?
     
  5. Jan 13, 2017 at 6:34 PM
    #325
    Yota31

    Yota31 Well-Known Member

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    Led Tailights, OEM roofrack, 3 inch lift, Halo light bar and Black Wheels
    There called ditch light mounts
     
  6. Jan 13, 2017 at 6:45 PM
    #326
    BHill_teq

    BHill_teq Cruisin Hills

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    I bought the brackets from CBI Offroad. They're solid, and I don't feel like they get in my line of vision at all.
     
  7. Jan 14, 2017 at 10:19 AM
    #327
    SEAMONSTER401

    SEAMONSTER401 Well-Known Member

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    Nice I might look into that. Just finished installing a 20" incher in my bumper valence. Looks pretty clean I think.

    IMG_0292.jpg
     
    BHill_teq likes this.
  8. Jan 14, 2017 at 10:29 AM
    #328
    devinzz1

    devinzz1 Well-Known Member

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    lewisporte Newfoundland
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    cxr turbo, fic6, methanol injection, king coilovers, jba uca, skyjacker leafs, rear 12" 5125s, no-slip rear locker, 35" grabber x3, magnaflow muffler, retrofit headlights, trans cooler, bed lined exterior, etc...
    Ive been pronouncing your name SEMENster
     
  9. Jan 14, 2017 at 11:56 AM
    #329
    SEAMONSTER401

    SEAMONSTER401 Well-Known Member

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    How creative. My last name is Seamon and that was funny for like 5 mins in the 6th grade. Some people never grow up I guess.
     
  10. Jan 14, 2017 at 11:59 AM
    #330
    devinzz1

    devinzz1 Well-Known Member

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    lewisporte Newfoundland
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    Nope.
     
  11. Feb 2, 2017 at 8:28 PM
    #331
    Danloes

    Danloes Active Member

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    Heated seats, roof rack, OME 3" lift, 883 springs.
    I thought I'd contribute to this thread. I've attached several photos of my truck as I added lights.

    The bar in the grill mounts to the metal cross bar. I did have to trim the valiance to get it in but it turned out very clean and even. It's a 29" bar with 10watt crees off of Amazon. I can find the link if your interested.

    The amber triangular lights on the grill are actually turn signal lights off a gsxr crotch rocket. I did go through about 3 pairs of these cause the LEDs kept shorting out from water getting in there so I used clear silicone and made them water proof. These were wired to the running lights.

    The switch panel was really fun to make too. It's a lid off a Tupperware container cut to fit the din size, drilled out the switch and indicator light holes and then wrapped it in vinyl wrap. Turned out awesome. I wired it up to an aftermarket fuze box with dedicated relays for each circuit. The relays were triggered by the switches in the cab by switching/providing ground to the relays.

    The rack has two 40watt spots on the front and 4 18 watt lights one the front, back and sides. Underneath is 4 18 watt LEDs that are wired into the alarm system so they would turn on for 30 seconds when you unlocked the truck or when you press the aux putting the the key fob. The truck originally came with manual locks, but I installed lock actuators and presto! Keyless entry.

    The last couple photos were taken with a drone, the one photo at 200'. Pretty rad.

    Hope you like it.

    FB_IMG_1486094695443.jpg
    FB_IMG_1486094717525.jpg
    FB_IMG_1486094749004.jpg
    FB_IMG_1486094808726.jpg
    FB_IMG_1486094835087.jpg
    FB_IMG_1486094847100.jpg
     
  12. Feb 2, 2017 at 10:04 PM
    #332
    NightProwler

    NightProwler Well-Known Member

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    Harlan
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    Noice!! How you liking the single row with 10watters? Pretty good spread eh? Love mine.

    And duuuuude, loving the aerial shots. I wanna get a drone with a camera just for that purpose. Not TOO knowledgeable regarding drones.. Looked up a few. What do you have?
     
  13. Feb 2, 2017 at 10:15 PM
    #333
    Danloes

    Danloes Active Member

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    Thanks bro. The 10watt crees were great, but the bar wasn't a great design. It didn't have a breather port so they fogged up and one of the LEDs eventually quit. Im still looking for an alternative single row.

    The gsxr lights had the same issue but I think they looked pretty bad ass so I just kept buying them and trying different ways to seal them up. I haven't seen another first gen with lights in those slots and those gsxr light fit almost perfectly.

    The drone was a DJI Phantom 3 professional. Look them up on Craigslist for a good deal. Fun and super easy to fly. 12mp camera, 20min flight time.

    You should post a pic of your switch setup. I'm looking building another 1st gen with a double din deck so my bad ass switch panel design ain't gonna cut it.
     
  14. Feb 2, 2017 at 10:45 PM
    #334
    NightProwler

    NightProwler Well-Known Member

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    Post a link to your bar. Lemme take a looksee. I'm using vision x evo prime clones(they make a 30"). No issues with these. Probly costs a lil more than yours did tho. Then there's also their newer xpr design (they make a 29" iirc), single row but optic-less. The evo prime design is better tho.. Then there's the Baja designs types too which I hear are also great, but haven't seen them in person.

    And, I don't have any switches.. Ha. They're all wired to my high beams;)

    And, I also looked up the phantoms b4. Probly be one of those if I get one. Little out of my price range atm. One day.
     
  15. Feb 5, 2017 at 6:01 PM
    #335
    Danloes

    Danloes Active Member

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    Heated seats, roof rack, OME 3" lift, 883 springs.
  16. Feb 6, 2017 at 8:02 PM
    #336
    Trev7

    Trev7 Well-Known Member

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    Icon 2.5 ext travel street valve, Icon 2.0 resi, rebuilt leaf springs, built right UCA's, single stage ppg Orange paint.
    I threw a 32" (31.5" actual) LED light bar in the bumper. The distance from outside to outside of the frame is 31.5" so putting a 31.5" bar there was a simple job. IMG_2658.jpg
    I cut 2 pieces of 90 degree aluminum (~ 4 inches) and screwed it to the frame and mounted the bar from Amazon ($36).
    Works great! IMG_2659.jpgI wanted something that filled up the space and brightens up the darkness!
     
  17. Feb 7, 2017 at 7:23 PM
    #337
    Danloes

    Danloes Active Member

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  18. Feb 8, 2017 at 8:40 AM
    #338
    HSmith_11

    HSmith_11 Tacoma Enthusiast

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    Bump. I'm in the market for some lighting and I was wondering if I could get a quick lesson on how much I would have to drill cut and whatever else to mount a light bar up top (~42"). Thanks.
    IMG_0006.jpg This is what I'm working with 2001. Completely stock besides suspension and tires.
     
  19. Feb 8, 2017 at 1:53 PM
    #339
    HSmith_11

    HSmith_11 Tacoma Enthusiast

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    And what are some options for the front bumper if I don't want to remove the license plate.
     
  20. Feb 8, 2017 at 2:26 PM
    #340
    NightProwler

    NightProwler Well-Known Member

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    Well, most light bars all mount the same up top. I'm guessing you'll need some prefabbed brackets. There's a few companies, as well as members here that's all them. They all need to be drilled into the door frame and nutserts put in. Or rivets. Or some people used self tapping screws but I don't suggest that. However itd be the easiest.

    There are some exceptions on how some light bars install. With mine, the vision x evo prime, it didn't come with those nutserts in the end caps. So I had to get a looooooong 1/4 threaded rod inserted through the bar, with nuts on the ends after I snipped it to length to have the threads sticking out just far enough.. It also has bottom mounting pieces, but those won't work. Some of these clones have the nutserts, some don't. Its the only bar I know of that is hit or miss with those. Vision x did make some small threaded rods that insert into the end caps though. As most of their older designs did not have nutserts. If you're really interested in my bar, I can give you more details. Its about $200 now iirc. Plus your mounts. Plus hardware if you'll need to get any depending on which version you get. There's lots of other options though. As far as cheaper light bars less than the clones. The clones are typically a bit more expensive than your average generic budget bars. But are worth it.

    Otherwise, I'd suggest a Baja designs clone. Should be an easier install. They all should have regular mounting options.

    As far as your light bar in the bumper goes without removing license plate, not a lot of options there for ya. You could get the universal bumper bar pictured at the bottom of this page. Not sure how practical itd be for ya. Otherwise I've heard of people relocating their plate. Or just getting a ~30" bar behind valence and just dealing with the plate blocking the center. Thatd be easier than trying to mount two smaller bars in the sides..

    Anyways, if I can help more I'll try. But some of this has already been covered. Just keep searching and reading. You'll find some useful info.
     
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