5150 Whip Light: Post-GB

I don't know what everyone's experience with their whip light has been but mine had basically sat in my garage. I ran the wiring and mount but literally never drove with it on.

Fast forward to a few months ago (Sept) when I decided to use it on my new-to-me golf cart. Hooked everything up and the whip lit up but zero response from the app. Wouldn't connect.

Reached out to Amy Noland, the liaison for the group buy, and she directed me to their warranty dept. I was told to fill out a warranty claim, after getting an RMA, then wait for approval. About a week later, I get the go head to mail everything back to them - at my cost. UPS charged me almost $70 to ship that 6ft whip. I was also told it would take 4-5 weeks with an extra 1-2 weeks for processing 4-6ft whips.

I also had to pay $25 for warranty processing and handling.



Has anyone else had issues with their light(s), and if so, did you reach out to them? How's your experience been?

 

@AT x AT has dealt with them a bit… albeit because of non-manufacturing defect issues

I’ve had no issues with mine. Did your controller respond to the remote and just not via Bluetooth? I did have an issue one time where another truck in our group was also using 5150 whips and his controller hijacked mine, due to both controllers having the same name and no pairing security, but was able to figure that out on the trail, rename my module, and life was good.

 

I misplaced the remote so I didn't have that to try. The cheapo RGB rock lighting you get on Amazon can be changed with random remotes too - kinda funny.

Going off the tracking info email they sent, it appears the problem was in the whip itself.

 

Yeah they don’t really use top of the line controllers.. but it gets the job done

that makes more sense that you posted the return order. I wonder what could have died in the whip though…

 

No idea but it is startling given their reputation and seemingly robust stance on quality. The light never got rained on, baked in the sun, nor even spent a whole night mounted to my truck.

 

@TRDFerguson when did you get one of these???

 

Wife traded in her old shitbox for it about a month ago. And the engine still hasn’t blown up.

 

Must be dechromed

 

They're seriously sexy af. Wife wants one but she saw the price tag and....still wants one.

They're included in the recall I think but oddly enough I don't think they've fallen prey to the fallout the Tundra has.

 

I know this pain.

They’re “not in the recall” because they’re all hybrid motors, so you can technically “get off the highway and to safety”

Ours is a late 2024 build so I’m hoping we’re good to go, but the whole thing definitely gave us pause while looking at cars. So far we haven’t had any quality issues with this one. Which is good, given the price tag…

 

Wellllll, they're actually being voluntarily recalled due to a transmission issue/possible defect, but no mention of the engine being faulty.

I keep her at bay by reminding her that our 2015 has way more cargo space which makes sense when he cart both dogs down to the coast.

 

Haven’t heard/seen anything on that but I’ll keep an eye out. Just checked the app and no recalls were listed. Was it a TSB if certain symptoms were found?

Edit: looks like the recall was from earlier this year, so going to play ignorant and assume all is good now

 

Here's a link on a Toyota site.

 

Back to the shipping…

I’ve shipped lots of fishing rods up to 8’ for a fuzz over $30 via FedEx. Have also shipped plenty of target bows via USPS for less than $50. Coast to coast…

I like UPS, but they’re not cheap for the regular guy. Buddy has an off road manufacturing company and his UPS prices are legit. Gotta move a lot of volume to get good prices from them it seems.

 

I guess I'd best go find my neighborhood FedEx because USPS is horrid - losing stuff and just plain bad service from the counter & beyond.

FedEx used to be expensive but I guess things have changed.

 

Heads up looks like they now have a dedicated app to control lighting:



Got the whip back and it looks great. They sent a new controller and reworked the lighting on the whip itself. I'm very pleased with the quality of work but the lead time is a minor drag.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot to post about that when I opened up my new one the other day. The new controller is pretty slick but the app has a bit of a learning curve, without as many preconfigured animations.