Discreet 40" LED Lightbar on Factory Roof Rack (6 Viewers)

[WildYoats]

Just thought I’d share a little mod I recently finished making….some brackets to fit a nice low-profile single-row LED light bar onto the factory roof rack. Nothing really earth-shattering behind it all, but I think it turned out pretty slick in the end so I thought I’d share.

I opted for the single-row light bar as I wanted to keep it discreet and low profile. My wife also drives the rig to work and the whole work parking garage height issue is also a concern for us. The lightbar sits tucked below the roof rack bows in case I ever need to strap any cargo up there.

LED LIGHTBAR

I found the perfect Single-row LED light bar (size 40”) that was made by BLACK OAK LED. I have no connection to Black Oak but upon researching their website, specs, and lifetime warranty (not to mention law enforcement/military discount), the product appears to be meet or exceed the quality and light output specs as some major brands out there and of course at better pricing. The dimensions were spot-on; the width of the unit (from end to end of mounting screws) is EXACTLY the width between the side rails of the factory roof rack.


BRACKETS

I made the bracket shapes out of cardboard initially, then metal. I may take them to have them laser cut out of stainless steel for better rust protection later, we’ll see. They’re roughly 1/8” thick.

WIRING ROUTE

I routed the harness down the driver’s side roof channel. I was able to get the harness under some of the rubber rack stanchion gaskets. The harness went all the way to the back and into the back of the car via the hatch.

 

[WildYoats]

Continued....

Last of the wiring route (into the back)

SWITCH

For the switch(s), I bought the aftermarket Toyota push-button switches from Cruiserheads via Amazon. Accessing the switch panel is rather easy: two screws and three tabs removes the bottom black under-dash panel, then two more bolts and some gentle prying pulls off the lower part of the dash.

With all that said, I haven’t yet completed the rest of the wiring as I am adding a circuit breaker and additional Blue Sea fuse panel to the engine compartment.

(Test fit (pre-paint) pic. I also replaced the factory KNOBs with M6 30MM bolts (stainless)

I'll eventually add a couple long-throw HID or LED rounds on the front bumper as well once I have something to mount them too.

 

[eljune]

Wow, nicely done... Awesome looking rig btw....

 

[Markuson]

Certainly looks clean. Nice work.
I'm curious to see it's projection angle.
Seems like the roof would restrict it mostly to distance, but perhaps that's what you wanted.
Maybe you can post some night shots?

 

[Desert Nomad]

Continued....

Last of the wiring route (into the back)

View attachment 1279313

SWITCH

For the switch(s), I bought the aftermarket Toyota push-button switches from Cruiserheads via Amazon. Accessing the switch panel is rather easy: two screws and three tabs removes the bottom black under-dash panel, then two more bolts and some gentle prying pulls off the lower part of the dash.

View attachment 1279314

With all that said, I haven’t yet completed the rest of the wiring as I am adding a circuit breaker and additional Blue Sea fuse panel to the engine compartment.

(Test fit (pre-paint) pic. I also replaced the factory KNOBs with M6 30MM bolts (stainless)
View attachment 1279315 View attachment 1279316

I'll eventually add a couple long-throw HID or LED rounds on the front bumper as well once I have something to mount them too.

Looks great, we need night time shots.

Just wondering with my roof lights I routed them towards the front down the rain channel in the A pillar and straight to the engine bay, you can also route the wires to the switch through the firewall grommet.

 

[Bawa]

Wow, very nicely done. This is the best install of a light bar I have seen! Love to see night shots too!

 

[WildYoats]

Thanks folks. I most certainly will get some night shots soon!

 

[Sinister]

Very nice, well done.

 

[dukmon]

Nice work.

 

[ceb]

While it is a great install, I'm afraid that as a lighting unit it will bring no benefit and may well cause interior light pollution (even with a closed shade) and will just cause glare. I'm really curious about the pictures.

 

[WildYoats]

While it is a great install, I'm afraid that as a lighting unit it will bring no benefit and may well cause interior light pollution (even with a closed shade) and will just cause glare. I'm really curious about the pictures.

Thanks for your concern, I hope to get the additional wiring and unit wired up for some pic this weekend. Cheers!

 

[ceb]

Let's hope it works as good as it looks.

 

[Willy beamin]

Just finished wiring this up

• Willy beamin
• Feb 15, 2016
• 1

heres mine tucked up and out the way - now it does sit further forward than yours and therefore I get zero glare off my hood. not sure how far forward your roof rail is slid but if you have slack in your cable you may be able to adjust it a bit if glare becomes noticeable.

 

[dukmon]

I cannot look directly at the photo........ too bright.

 

[Willy beamin]

I know - its crazy bright

 

[Markuson]

Just finished wiring this up

• Willy beamin
• Feb 15, 2016
• 1

heres mine tucked up and out the way - now it does sit further forward than yours and therefore I get zero glare off my hood. not sure how far forward your roof rail is slid but if you have slack in your cable you may be able to adjust it a bit if glare becomes noticeable.

Hey Willy, what's the deal with the yellow outers? Curious.

(Love love love your beast of a truck, btw)

 

[Willy beamin]

The ambers are for heavy rain / fog / dust / and snow. The yellow / amber light doesn't seem to reflect as much off of airborne particles as much as white light. Kind of the same principle as yellow fog lights. ever followed someone down a dusty trial at night and had to slow down because you were easily out driving your light throw due to the (whatever) floating through the air? works out well - something to think about when light shopping

 

[Markuson]

The ambers are for heavy rain / fog / dust / and snow. The yellow / amber light doesn't seem to reflect as much off of airborne particles as much as white light. Kind of the same principle as yellow fog lights. ever followed someone down a dusty trial at night and had to slow down because you were easily out driving your light throw due to the (whatever) floating through the air? works out well - something to think about when light shopping

So are the yellows controlled separately?
If not, I would have thought the whites would sorta do the reflection thing anyway. Curious how you set that up. Laminated? Or separate feature of that bar?

I'm really missing lights on my Cruiser. My 100 had Large HID's, which--at the time--seemed amazing. Light bars weren't really a thing yet... Can't wait to add them, as I love late night stuff.

I have a very bad habit of serious mountain biking at night, too.
With a combined 5600 lumens via NiteRider bike lights (3600 on bar, 1800 on helmet), I swear I can see trail contours BETTER than daylight due to the low angle. Nothing like a late night ride in the heat of Summer.

 

[ceb]

The problem is that you really want the lights in front of you. While LEDs are the latest and greatest, unless a manufacturer spends huge amounts on housing design, they are useless for driving. They might work for lighting up the night while stationary but will most likely detract while driving.

Fogs work because they are low to the ground. EU requirement are that they are no more than the equivalent of 12 inches off the ground. This allows them to illuminate the ground without reflecting back at you. The amber lights in the photo above look cool (and probably work better than the rest of the light bar inclement weather but still don't work well for the purposes of lighting the road.

There is nothing wrong with spending money on mods that look cool - as long as we don't delude ourselves into thinking that they improve performance.

 

[Markuson]

The problem is that you really want the lights in front of you. While LEDs are the latest and greatest, unless a manufacturer spends huge amounts on housing design, they are useless for driving. They might work for lighting up the night while stationary but will most likely detract while driving.

Fogs work because they are low to the ground. EU requirement are that they are no more than the equivalent of 12 inches off the ground. This allows them to illuminate the ground without reflecting back at you. The amber lights in the photo above look cool (and probably work better than the rest of the light bar inclement weather but still don't work well for the purposes of lighting the road.

There is nothing wrong with spending money on mods that look cool - as long as we don't delude ourselves into thinking that they improve performance.

LEDs useless for driving off-road? I really have to disagree.

I mountain bike at night with 5600 lumens worth of LEDs, and they are absolutely AMAZING for very rough, off-road, rocky trails.
Visibility is INCREDIBLE. -I would argue that I can actually see the contour of the trails **better than I can see in sunlight for even high-speed rides in the dirt/rocks.** Properly used, LED's can be fantastic for visibility. I do wonder about the rearward placement on his roof, since the roof will limit the light's ability to hit nearer ground...but I strongly contend that LEDs make fantastic off-road driving lights.