Which light bar?

Hey everyone. I'm interested in doing the mod where you fit a 30" lightbar behind the opening in the front bumper, and was wondering what 30" light bar is most highly favored. I was looking at the rough country one but it looks like for whatever reason you have to cut out the grill part of the bumper to fit it in? Maybe that's just because of what mounting bracket Rough Country sells it with? So, I guess my question should be: what bracket should I get for mounting a 30" light bar behind the bumper without having to cut the bumper, and what 30" light bar should I get? Or do you guys think cutting the bumper is really that big of a deal? I think it just looks cleaner without cutting the bumper... I want a spot beam light bar that's US government road legal... Also, another question... has the bumper been changed at all for 2018? It seems a lot of mod manufactures are putting 2014-2017 compatibility on their products for the bumper, but I don't think it's changed at all? Thanks in advance!

 

https://www.tundras.com/posts/519689/

 

Ah crap you're right, there it is right there. Sorry about that. Still trying to improve my forum etiquette.

 

From one Tundra to another helping out that's all! Njoy!

 

We all have to start by learning how this forum thing works

I’m a fan of @Baja Designs lighting but they aren’t cheap. But, they are the best I’ve found

 

Baja designs is great no doubt. I personally run rigid stuff. I have their dot fog lights and I like everything to match.
I don't think cutting the plastic part on the bumper is a big deal. Very easy and makes for a nice install. Look up different brackets and see how they mount
I don't think any light bars a road legal. I know for sure mine isn't. I can't even look at it on when it's a block away

 

I went cheap on the bar itself. Could not see spending $1k on a bar. I put mine behind the grate and left the grate in. It looks like it would come off fairly easily. I had to cut the tops off the brackets. Grate offers some protection and does not affect light output. I have seen some bars with fluted lens but still probably not street legal.

 

Anyone have pics of where you mounted the switches for your bars?i had 2 cali raised bars on my tacoma with no issues.thinking on thoa truck ill go with 1 in the lower opening and nothing behind my new pro grille i ordered the other day

 

Thanks for posting up!

Unfortunately we don't have any street-legal or DOT approved lights but we do have plenty of high performance options! If you decide to expand your search I'd recommend our S8 30" LED Light Bar. With one of the great mounting solutions on the market the light will fit nicely in the lower bumper opening.


Here are a few reasons why customers choose Baja Designs (BD) over some of the competition:

uService Technology -
All of our LED Light features replaceable lenses and optics. These can be changed in a matter of minutes! This allows you to fine tune the light setup to your specific needs and also gives your light many uses. Change mounting location? No problem! Change the pattern to something a little bit more optimal with one of our Lens Kits found here.

CopperDrive -
BD’s CopperDrive LED management system uses next gen circuit board and driver technology to safely run high powered LEDs at 100% power. 4 levels of thermal management transfer LED heat up to 3000% more efficiently and provide an extra layer of vibration isolation creating the highest performing and longest lasting LED light on the market. This allows us to list accurate, usable, lumen counts where often the competition lists a raw, generic, lumen count.

ClearView Optics & 5000K Color Temperature -
The above is great and gets even better thanks to ClearView optics. Our optics focus the light into usable patterns like Spot, Driving/Combo, Wide Cornering/Wide Driving, and Work/Scene. Instead of having a lot of light everywhere you have the light focused for a specific use. These can easily be changed thanks to the uService technology. Your usable light is increased even more with the 5000k Color Temperature. We use 5000k color since it closely resembles daylight and offers less eye fatigue and improved terrain recognition over the bluer colors (6000k, 6500K).


S8, 30" LED Light Bar, Driving/Combo
https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/S8-30-inch-Driving-Combo-LED-Light-Bar.asp



The Driving/Combo pattern offers a nice blend of near field, midfield, and distance lighting. This is a great all-in-one pattern and would be our top recommendation if this is going to be your primary light.

Post up if you have any questions! We do offer a 10% Forum Discount that can be applied with $5 shipping to the Lower 48.

Code: BDForums
www.bajadesigns.com

 

If you still have switch blanks in the dash, this switch looks like it'd fit perfectly there, and it has the same illumination as all the other switches. I don't have any dash blanks left, so I'll probably throw it in my console box unless i find a good spot on the dash below all the other switches.

 

Rigid guys, what series of Rigid lightbar did you choose? With the link that @aramirez73 posted, I see that you can use the Rago Fabrications mount if you don't want to cut your bumper.

 

Get with @1UPPER believe he has a double row

 

Sounds expensive. I don't need a double row...

 

Like Sean266 and some other members say...pay once cry once

 

Haha! That's true, but I reeeallyyy don't need a double row. RIGID SR series is hella expensive just as a single row, and 21k lumens is pretty much as bright as the sun, which I don't need. The Rough Country light bar is only $260 and it still has a crap ton of lumens, 12k. As for Baja designs, I'm looking at about $760 for 13.5k Lumens. However, @Baja Designs is a dual beam and it's built probably the best out of all of them... decisions, decisions.

 

I had the Rough country light bar. Cutting the bumper isn't a big deal you are just removing the plastic slots on the bottom. Personally I thought it was very clean. It was cheaper than most which was also nice. However it was more of a Flood pattern. All in All i still liked this product.
I have since removed the RC light bar since adding my steel bumper, I'll be adding a Baja Designs light bar in its place.

I also have the NSV that sits in the hood bulge. and this is by far my favorite mod. Looks factory, and gives the spot lighting pattern you are looking for. Its more expensive but worth it in my opinion. Also gives the night rider swipe feature and additional driving marker lights.

*Note* - No light bar is going to be legal on any US roadway. You'll only want to use it off road or when not in traffic.

 

It's really just a matter of your preference, functionality and the look you want. Baja Designs definitely makes a great light with lots of light output. I wouldn't recommend a cheap light off of Amazon or eBay though. If your mounting behind the bumper you can fit a double row or single row.

 

I wouldn't buy off of eBay. I always see people buy cheap Chinese light bars from eBay and then getting surprised when they light on fire or last for 30 minutes

 

I can see why Baja Design's costs more, with the dual beam, IP69K waterproof rating, and those special features. RC has a 30 degree spot beam, which is pretty wide for a spot beam. @Baja Designs, is 13,560 a combined rating? If so, what is the lumen rating for just spot and driving, not combined?

 

not the best pic but mine is left of steering wheel. I took the pic because someone wanted to see the illumination. I should have take one in the day time.

 

Gotcha!

 

I want to add a Rigid SR20 light bar behind the grill of my 15.

Buy once, cry once.

 

When I bought my PRO grille I bought it with a 42" light bar together at the time I didn't know it was a no name brand so it gave out...I plan on getting a 30" RC

 

Rigid Radiance amber light bar

 

The rough country light bar is nice. I had one get moisture in it and they took care of it without question. Great customer service.

 

What size you going with behind the grill?

 

Im thinking of leaving the grille alone so the bar wont distract from it,just 1 single row bar in the bumper cutout if i can make it work from behind,i like the stealth setup personally

 

You are correct. That entire plastic grill comes right off. It can be reinstalled if needed. I just installed a diode dynamics 42” bar there and very impressed with it. Wasn’t expecting it to be that bright.

 

WTF?!?! Is that American TOYOTA letters?!?! AWESOME SAUCE!

 

I have the 32" RC just above the license plate area, and just also put the 30" behind my grille, fixing to order the RC 8" set and have them placed u see rear bumper