Bumper mounting a LED Bar?

[wake_rider]

Hello all. This is my first post on the forum, so please excuse if I'm making a repost (I did a few searches but didn't really find what I was looking for).

I purchased a stock 2000 Limited 4wd about a year ago and have been going back and forth to New Mexico and Colorado from here in Oklahoma to do some backpacking. The car has been fantastic off-road, but my biggest complaint is the poor lighting, to which I have a few desired solutions.

One, I want to be able to keep the factory fog lights on while the brights are activated, so I'll be trying to figure out how to accomplish that before my next trip.

Second, I really think that an LED light bar would serve me well, but I'm not sure how I should go about getting it mounted. Ideally, I don't want to drill into any of the body, but I'm not against drilling into the bumper. I also don't really want to get a bull-bar that lowers the front end clearance or approach angle under the bumper. So, I've seen a few light bars that mount through the lower opening in the bumper, but I think that they're completely custom and I do not have the ability to weld or fabricate metal. My other thought is to just drill into the top of the bumper, but I'm concerned that the LED unit itself might be too deep to be able to clear the grill and I'm also concerned that getting into the back of the bumper in order to bolt it all in might be a beast (I'm pretty mechanically capable, so that's the lesser of my concerns).

Lastly, I've seen the gutter mount low-profile light mounting bars and thought that the higher location might be better for visibility over the tops of sharp hills and such, but I don't know how I'd run the wiring to the top location without having a bunch of exposed wire or having to drill into the sheet metal somewhere (which I thoroughly want to avoid).

Btw, the LED bar I'm looking at is the 20" double row bar from Exploration Outfitters. I also looked into the 30" single row bar, but it had about 2,500 less lumen output for the same price.

Any suggestions or experiences that can point me in a good direction are sincerely appreciated...

 

[Millerad1651]

You have plenty of room to mount on top of your bumper in front of the grille. I mounted two KC lights and it was very easy. If you take out the grille, you can reach behind and under the top of the bumper to tighten nuts/bolts. If you take a look in my build thread, I have some close up pics of the lights.

Take a look down this page, I have some pics...
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/113006-millerads-build-thread-gigi-7.html

 

[Mike&Ike]

Downpour11 makes super dope roof mounts, just a thought if you wanted to go that route.

 

[Millerad1651]

Downpour11 makes super dope roof mounts, just a thought if you wanted to go that route.

While those do look badass, OPs light bar is way to narrow for his mounts..they fit like a 40" bar or something close to that.

 

[nm01runner]

Yup there's plenty of room to mount a led bar on the bumper. Super easy to reach the bolts underneath too when mounting!

 

[Mr.4runner]

Yup it'll fit. I have a 24" on my bumper and fits just fine. And I have the CBI OFFROAD pilar light mounts. Love the look and the functionality.
Still need to adjust them abut but work good for now.
It's kind of hard to see but here is my set up.

 

[wake_rider]

You have plenty of room to mount on top of your bumper in front of the grille. I mounted two KC lights and it was very easy. If you take out the grille, you can reach behind and under the top of the bumper to tighten nuts/bolts. If you take a look in my build thread, I have some close up pics of the lights.

Take a look down this page, I have some pics...
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/113006-millerads-build-thread-gigi-7.html

Awesome. I'm also going to have to do your reverse light mod. I can't stand having to roll the back window down to be able to make sure I'm not about to hit a tree, and I'm just rolling with stock tint.

 

[Millerad1651]

Ya that definitely helped. I knew I had to do something as soon as I tinted my front windows.

 

[wake_rider]

And onto the next ideas!

Yup there's plenty of room to mount a led bar on the bumper. Super easy to reach the bolts underneath too when mounting!

Yup it'll fit. I have a 24" on my bumper and fits just fine. And I have the CBI OFFROAD pilar light mounts. Love the look and the functionality.
Still need to adjust them abut but work good for now.
It's kind of hard to see but here is my set up.

This is all exactly what I was looking for. Thank you, gentlemen!

I have always loved the way the 2nd and 3rd gen's looked, but could not ever find one that fit my budget or wasn't ragged out. Now that we have this, I'm loving the vehicle, and it was a very compulsive buy. We were not car shopping, but happened across this one with 118k for $7,500. I couldn't pass it up, so I bought it then sold off my little DD 97 Civic Coupe, took my wife's 06 Acura TSX to get back and forth from school and work (she hated driving the little car and wanted to go back to something more similar to our Honda Element which had been totaled by a phone distracted sorostitute blowing through a stop sign about a year prior), and put her in "Wiley," as we have come to name him. She loves it.

Now that I'm going through these forums, I'm coming across quite a few improvements that I'd like to make. I already went through all the fluids (aside of the brake fluid which could probably use a flush as well as power steering), and replaced both diff fluids, auto tranny, coolant, and the other common vitals. The climate control unit has a few buttons that work only when it's freezing cold outside, but never when it's above 10 degrees F or so, so I'm planning on sending that in to a guy who fixes it with a lifetime guarantee for $70, and the stock HU is terrible and is missing all of its backlighting, so that needs to be replaced (thought I really don't like the looks of aftermarket HU's. Too colorful, flatfaced, and flashy. I really wish I could replace the innards of the stock unit and keep the faceplate stock). There is a slight oil leak in both valve covers, but it is ever so slight. In 1,500 miles I've lost about 1/8 or a liter, but it's still something I want to fix. Lastly, I need to replace the rear hatch struts as they need a lot of assistance to raise the rear hatch.

Aside of just tightening up some of the factory stuff that needs tlc, the mods I want to do come next.

The suspension is a bit loose and definitely sagging, so I want to swap that out in time. The problem is that this is my wife's DD and she's a 5'2", 110lb Persian gal who has to grab our daughter out of her car seat over and over.... Ergo, a real lift is probably out of the question. I thought that a 1.5 to 2" lift would be reasonable, but anything larger will be too aggressive for her small stature. I had even thought about just replacing the shocks and trying to find a set of the Highlander springs as I was told that they are about 1" taller than my 2000 Limited stock setup. I have read that a slight upgrade in tire size is possible on the stock suspension, so I'll replace the treads with some 265/75/16's when the current tread wears thin. Aside of that, extremely large tires and high suspension are not my aim. We offroad a fair amount, and yet I have yet had too much of a clearance issue. One part is that this a pretty capable truck in its stock form, the other is that I'm a clever line chooser (a lifetime of motocross and GNCC/local cross-country dirtbike racing has developed that instinct).

I would also love to find a stock e-locker rear end and swap that out. I hate not having the ability to lock the rear diff. Seems like a silly cost-cut to not include that factory option for the original owner.

Aside of that, I'm not too sure that I want to do a whole lot else. I really do love this car, and I think Toyota built a remarkably solid vehicle with great attention to sturdy build quality. I will have this one car around from here on out, regardless of mileage. If it ever comes to needing it around 400k or so, I'll swap the motor or rebuild before I buy one of these gawd-awful, bloated newer SUV's on pathetic unibodies. Real frames are where it's at...:thumb:

 

[TCMach]

Led bars are the way to go. So much brighter with less draw. Pair it up with a nice switch in the knockout spots and your good to go!

Whereabouts in Oklahoma are you? I'm in bartlesville at my parents currently and I come down every so often.

 

[wake_rider]

Led bars are the way to go. So much brighter with less draw. Pair it up with a nice switch in the knockout spots and your good to go!

Whereabouts in Oklahoma are you? I'm in bartlesville at my parents currently and I come down every so often.

Yeah, I already have a nice rocker switch on order which states it matches up perfectly with the Toyota knockouts. I'm happy to keep a clean and possibly stock looking setup.

I'm originally from Ponca City, so I'm very familiar with Bartlesville. However, now I've been living in Norman for the past 9 years or so. I met my wife while I was living/working/in school in OKC just over 10 years ago, and moved down to Norman about a year later. We got married about 3 years after, she moved in, we bought a house within a few months, and have been here ever since. I'm back in school full time working on another bachelors as well as a grad program here at OU, and I also work full time, so we'll be here in Norman for a bit longer.

I like it here, and she was raised here after her family moved from Iran. However, once I'm finished with school we're hoping to move up to either New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, or possibly even the Vancouver area. We shall see when it gets here, but I'm just prioritizing my studies and attempting to not look too far ahead right now.

 

[541joseph]

Oregon is a great state for off roading and great to just look at. Central oregon is awesome to live in and off road. Good luck hopefully you pick Central Oregon for your new home in a few years!

 

[wake_rider]

Oregon is a great state for off roading and great to just look at. Central oregon is awesome to live in and off road. Good luck hopefully you pick Central Oregon for your new home in a few years!

Oregon seems like a great state for just about anything outdoors. We love to backpack and hike as family, but individually I also am a big disc golf enthusiast so wherever we end up has to have access to a healthy number of solid courses.

 

[JohnBill53]

Yeah, I already have a nice rocker switch on order which states it matches up perfectly with the Toyota knockouts. I'm happy to keep a clean and possibly stock looking setup.

I'm originally from Ponca City, so I'm very familiar with Bartlesville. However, now I've been living in Norman for the past 9 years or so. I met my wife while I was living/working/in school in OKC just over 10 years ago, and moved down to Norman about a year later. We got married about 3 years after, she moved in, we bought a house within a few months, and have been here ever since. I'm back in school full time working on another bachelors as well as a grad program here at OU, and I also work full time, so we'll be here in Norman for a bit longer.

I like it here, and she was raised here after her family moved from Iran. However, once I'm finished with school we're hoping to move up to either New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, or possibly even the Vancouver area. We shall see when it gets here, but I'm just prioritizing my studies and attempting to not look too far ahead right now.

If you ever need any help or want to go down to the canadian to wheel PM me my brother

 

[99 sr5 highlander]

I mounted mine in the grill. I bought a 96-98 grill and cut out the center aka "satoshi grill" I mounted the light bar behind a mesh, so its a little more hidden and joe blow off the street can't just unbolt it and steal it. Plus I think it looks sweet.

 

[wake_rider]

If you ever need any help or want to go down to the canadian to wheel PM me my brother

Definitely, my fellow Normanite. We head down to the Canadian fairly often, so I'll be sure to hit you up.

I mounted mine in the grill. I bought a 96-98 grill and cut out the center aka "satoshi grill" I mounted the light bar behind a mesh, so its a little more hidden and joe blow off the street can't just unbolt it and steal it. Plus I think it looks sweet.

I do like the way that looks. However, I really don't want to alter the grill. I like the stock appearance but just needed more light. I'm thinking of trying to sew together some type of outdoor vinyl to make a cover for the light when not in use to just protect it from the elements as well as make it less conspicuous. Seems like just a cover won't be too much of a deterrent for thieves, but adding some red loc-tite to the nuts should make it far more difficult to take it off without a torch...

 

[4Runner4TW]

I am interested in this thread as well. What brands are people going with for their LED bars? Everyone knows the name Rigid but are there any other brands that offer quality and reasonable price?

 

[wake_rider]

TaoTronics® 10-30V 21.5'' 120W Whole New Upgraded Led off road SUV Jeep off road Truck ATV High Power Light Bar Work Lamp 8000 Lm White FLOOD
Lights IP65 Waterproof

I purchased this one from Amazon and I'm waiting for it to come in.

That said, it was $157 with free shipping. Out of the 14 reviews it has, all are 5 stars except one, and it's 4 stars with the complaint only being that it did not state where the light was shipping from.

When I get it all plugged in, I'll take some before and after pictures and post them up.

 

[wake_rider]

I'm installing the bar tonight, but I've finished the mounting aspect of the install. Now, how did you guys go about wiring it up? Did you use relays, or just an inline fuse and rocker switch?

 

[Millerad1651]

Not sure about the light bar guys, but I used a relay when wiring up my lights. Mine draw more power than yours since they aren't LED though. From the lights to the relay, from the relay to the switch, and from the relay to battery. I bought the relay at Radio Shack, it was like $3. I'm electrically challenged and it only took me a couple hours.