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While I really love the look of the super fancy multi-light set ups from Diode Dynamics, Rigid & Baja Designs that fit the modular bumper, I am not a fan of spending $1000+ for some extra light.
I bought a pair of 8 inch Rough Country Black Series single row spot LED light bars for $59.99 each and fabricated some custom brackets and installed them in the bumper & wired them up to Aux1 (yellow wire)
Let me know what you think…
Before & After
close up
low beams
low beams with LED bars
As DRL
Some Notes:
Sorry - I didn’t document the build details with pics along the way but, it really wasn’t too difficult - just a bunch of trial & error because there is not a lot of room back there for my ham fists and I wanted to make sure the light was level and properly angled for proper output. You cannot simply mount a light bar to the bumper bolts because the bumper ends angle outward. I needed to get a little creative to mount it angled so the light is focused in front of the vehicle and not the sides - all while centering it in the bumper opening so it works well & looks good too!
Basically, there are just 2 metal brackets that I fabricated to hold each end of the light bar.
The outside mount is 1/2” wide flat bar that is 2.5” long that I drilled holes @ 1.75” on center. (I harvested this from a black powder coated L bracket). This is attached horizontally to the outermost bolt on the underside of the bumper on one end and the other end is attached to the supplied end of the light bar via a 1/2” long stainless bolt & nylon lock nut. The supplied light bar mount L bracket was installed to the bar with the end facing inward toward the center of the bar for proper clearance.
The inside mount is made from 1&3/8” wide perforated, zinc plated steel that I picked up from Lowes. I used holes that were 3.5” on center (which equates to 4 full holes). I cut this piece to length and the top is attached in a vertical orientation to a 13mm bolt on the bottom of the radiator behind the bumper. The light bar is then attached to the 4th hole down. Similar to outboard mount, I bolted the light bar mount to the steel with the same stainless hardware. BUT - I had to attach the light bar L bracket mount to the light bar with the bracket facing outward which is the opposite direction of the other side so it fits properly. Once everything is snugged up tight, I needed to bend the perforated steel backward toward the motor so the light was focused toward the center of the vehicle. Thankfully this perforated material is strong enough for mounting but malleable to bend it backward to the perfect angle.
Last few tidbits - mount the bars with the wiring end toward the center of the vehicle so you don’t see and wires and then just run the harness up and over the front underneath the plastic shroud for the radiator then along the drivers side fender and up the Aux switch connection and grounding point. BTW - I cut the supplied wiring harness apart and only used the molex end and the red (+) & black (-) cables in the supplied techflex wiring loom and used zip ties along the way to prevent anything from coming loose or chafing.
I hope this helps others with this project!
I bought a pair of 8 inch Rough Country Black Series single row spot LED light bars for $59.99 each and fabricated some custom brackets and installed them in the bumper & wired them up to Aux1 (yellow wire)
Let me know what you think…
Before & After
close up
low beams
low beams with LED bars
As DRL
Some Notes:
Thank you very much - glad you like it. I enjoy doing my own work, it’s very satisfying and the positive feedback is validating.
Sorry - I didn’t document the build details with pics along the way but, it really wasn’t too difficult - just a bunch of trial & error because there is not a lot of room back there for my ham fists and I wanted to make sure the light was level and properly angled for proper output. You cannot simply mount a light bar to the bumper bolts because the bumper ends angle outward. I needed to get a little creative to mount it angled so the light is focused in front of the vehicle and not the sides - all while centering it in the bumper opening so it works well & looks good too!
Basically, there are just 2 metal brackets that I fabricated to hold each end of the light bar.
The outside mount is 1/2” wide flat bar that is 2.5” long that I drilled holes @ 1.75” on center. (I harvested this from a black powder coated L bracket). This is attached horizontally to the outermost bolt on the underside of the bumper on one end and the other end is attached to the supplied end of the light bar via a 1/2” long stainless bolt & nylon lock nut. The supplied light bar mount L bracket was installed to the bar with the end facing inward toward the center of the bar for proper clearance.
The inside mount is made from 1&3/8” wide perforated, zinc plated steel that I picked up from Lowes. I used holes that were 3.5” on center (which equates to 4 full holes). I cut this piece to length and the top is attached in a vertical orientation to a 13mm bolt on the bottom of the radiator behind the bumper. The light bar is then attached to the 4th hole down. Similar to outboard mount, I bolted the light bar mount to the steel with the same stainless hardware. BUT - I had to attach the light bar L bracket mount to the light bar with the bracket facing outward which is the opposite direction of the other side so it fits properly. Once everything is snugged up tight, I needed to bend the perforated steel backward toward the motor so the light was focused toward the center of the vehicle. Thankfully this perforated material is strong enough for mounting but malleable to bend it backward to the perfect angle.
Last few tidbits - mount the bars with the wiring end toward the center of the vehicle so you don’t see and wires and then just run the harness up and over the front underneath the plastic shroud for the radiator then along the drivers side fender and up the Aux switch connection and grounding point. BTW - I cut the supplied wiring harness apart and only used the molex end and the red (+) & black (-) cables in the supplied techflex wiring loom and used zip ties along the way to prevent anything from coming loose or chafing.
I hope this helps others with this project!
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