Rigid Industries SR20 LED Bar and 2013 Grill

Here is a quick independent review of a Rigid Industries grill and LED light bar.
Well lets get to it.

Grill:
Build Quality:
Highly impressed with the build quality. Fit an finish of the grill are very well done. I can see why the cost of the grill is where it is.

Hardware:
Hardware used to mount the grill include both coarse and fine machine threaded bolts.

Instructions:
Basic but gets the pint across and easy to follow when you have both the physical OEM part and instructions in hand. Take a deep breath and start cutting into the OEM grill.

Impressions:
With just the grill on the truck I was doubting the decision to go this direction. I did not paint in behind the grill and this may change my opinion of running just the grill. With the light mounted the behind the grill becomes much darker. In my opinion if you are getting the grill a LED light bar should follow shortly behind it if not at the same time. This is just my opinion.

LED Bar:
Build Quality:
Fit and finish of the LED bar it self is very well done.

Hardware:
Mounting hardware is heavy duty and would not hesitate to use it. Since the RI grill was already mounted on the vehicle the LED bar integrated well.

Instructions:
Did not have any instructions with the LED bar. If you are mechanically minded you really do not need them. I would expect a wiring diagram to be included.

Electrical:
Wiring Harness:
Thank you for including a wiring harness it is appreciated. Being an electrical engineer in the aerospace industry, I felt the wiring harness could have been done significantly better and at a lower production cost to RI. I cut off most all of the supplied connections. The harness was customized adjusting wire length +/-, new connectors were added. I understand why Rigid supplied the harness the way they did, but I will be re-engineering the harness when I mill out an aftermarket electrical distribution box.

Switch:
The supplied rocker switch is just over an inch in diameter with a rubber boot over the body. Backside of the switch is open which is fine for standard vehicle use. For race use I would want to see a backshell with strain relief.

Aiming:
Aiming the light is simple pivoting off the two side bolts. That being said I have only had it out one night starting off to low and now I think it is to high. This weekend when I get out in the desert I will be able to actually dial it in right.

Light output:
OK, this thing is bright and throws light several blocks. If you want to use a LED bar to use in the desert at speed then this would be great. Since I do not plan on driving at 90MPH through the desert I would love a wider spread in a driving or flood pattern. An elliptical optic throwing a horizontal beam pattern would be great. In my opinion this would make the light more usable to a wider audience.

Impressions:
Overall I am happy with the grill and LED combo. This weekend I will be aiming the LED bar seeing what it can really do. At no point and time do I ever see myself out driving the light throw of the RI LED bar in a straight line. I really want to see how it lights up the sides of the desert identifying potential wildlife, trees, or rocks that may pose a hazard. Canyons and cliffs you really can not see at night and can become very important features to avoid dropping a tire in when getting out to a few spots. Having a rappel light mounted to the softopper but I think I'd be in a very small market for something this specific.

Areas for improvement would be in usable light and wiring harness.

Hindsight is 20/20:
If I did this modification again I would take the following into account;
1. A-pillar amber D2 driving lights
2. Find a driving pattern LED bar filling the gap, even if not Rigid brand
3. Amber LED bar over clear LED bar

 

Daughter got a nice telescope for Christmas so we took the truck out earlier than anticipated to the desert. After looking at a few stars we aimed the light in proper. Adjustment was minor but made a difference none the less. Light output is great as previously mentioned.

Experts at Rigid have really done their homework when it comes to making a quality product. For daily use this thing would be to bright, but desert running at high speed this thing would really be fun.

 

Thank you for the business and the honest review! Would love to see some pics of your truck with it installed.

 

First chance I had to snap a pic.

 

Looks awesome man!

 

nice review!