less expensive LED light bar

[NSW550]

Anyone heard of Tuff LED light bars?

Tuff Led Lights UTV Side By Side 20" Inch LED Light Bar - 72 Watt - 4000 Lumen Better Then Rigid E Series Off Road Polaris Razor ATV INCLUDES: FREE UNIVERSAL WIREHARNESS WITH INLINE FUSE, RELAY, AND TUFF LED PILOT TOGGLE SWITCH : Amazon.com : Automot

I'm trying to decide if its really worth my money to wait and save up for a rigid or vision x LED light bar at much much more $.
I plan to put this light behind the grill using Socal's fabricated mount from the group buy.

 

[thebwlife]

Here is another company to look at - though I've not used either.

Trek Lights ? Off Road LED Light Bars | Military L E D Lighting | Defense L.E.D. Lights | Agriculture LED Lighting | Marine LED Lights | Mining LEDs | Landscape L.E.D Lights | Expedition LED Light Bars | LED Light Bars & Pods

 

[GrantK]

I can't compare any of the LED systems out there but here are some things to research for any one that might be thinking about buying.

*) The LEDs themselves and electronics are pretty much the same for everyone. Different companies make small changes to try to give them an edge but at the core, they are all the same.

*) Cooling is a big issue! They generate a lot of heat and dissipating it before it shortens the life of the LEDs and electronics isn't easy. Cooling in a 72F office/store is a lot easier than out on a trail at 100F. A good warranty implies better quality cooling.

*) Lens technology is VERY important with LEDs. Try to get photos of the light patterns for different types of lenses used by companies to make sure you get a pattern that works for you. Also is the lens glass or plastic? Plastic will scratch easily, glass will break if not properly manufactured.

*) A lot of new companies are popping up trying to get a piece of the pie. Make sure they have a track record and aren't some cheap POS imported from China by Bob's LED of the Week Shop.

 

[Intruder]

*) A lot of new companies are popping up trying to get a piece of the pie. Make sure they have a track record and aren't some cheap POS imported from China by Bob's LED of the Week Shop.

I have friends who bought light bars from China and they're almost as good as Rigid for a lot less money, so that's not always the case. The other question you have to ask yourself is how often you're actually going to be using the light bar. If you live in the city surrounded by high traffic highways, probably not that often unless you enjoy blinding other drivers or constantly flicking the lights off and on. Even when we go on a trail run at night only the guy leading uses his.

 

[pelle047]

Anyone heard of Tuff LED light bars?

Tuff Led Lights UTV Side By Side 20" Inch LED Light Bar - 72 Watt - 4000 Lumen Better Then Rigid E Series Off Road Polaris Razor ATV INCLUDES: FREE UNIVERSAL WIREHARNESS WITH INLINE FUSE, RELAY, AND TUFF LED PILOT TOGGLE SWITCH : Amazon.com : Automot

I'm trying to decide if its really worth my money to wait and save up for a rigid or vision x LED light bar at much much more $.
I plan to put this light behind the grill using Socal's fabricated mount from the group buy.

4000 lumens seems pretty dim to me. i have a 13.5 inch led bar from hanma and it was similarly priced. it produces 5000lm. contact gaterose and see if he has a groupbuy for more leds.

 

[FatTiresRollin]

Just my opinion...

I have friends who bought light bars from China and they're almost as good as Rigid for a lot less money, so that's not always the case. The other question you have to ask yourself is how often you're actually going to be using the light bar. If you live in the city surrounded by high traffic highways, probably not that often unless you enjoy blinding other drivers or constantly flicking the lights off and on. Even when we go on a trail run at night only the guy leading uses his.

I am with Intruder on this one. Unless you are doing a lot of night trail riding...lets face it, that light bar is just for bling and just to be used as a status symbol to be able to say "Hey, check out my light bar and my super special custom mounting job...."...HAHA, at least that is what I would say. When I get around to the santoshi mod and mounting my bracket, I will be using one of the lesser expensive models. Keep your eye out on other forums, especially Tacoma world as it seems they have constant group buys for Chinese LED lights.

I can't speak directly to any specific brand as I have not bought any yet....but I have done a TON of research and reading via google search and others forums out there for Wranglers, Tacoma, FJ, Tundra, ETC. I think your research will lead you to the same conclusion I have come to. As always, you pay for what you get. Obviously anyone that can afford Rigid or Vision X is extremely happy with their purchase, but the reality is that not everyone has $1000 to drop on a rigid light bar. For as much as it will be used and the fact you can get a double row 20" LED bar for sub $200 and/or a 40" for sub $400 and the fact that it is hard to find anyone that has been disappointed with their lesser expensive LED light purchases....I just can't justify (or explain to my wife) why I would need to purchase one of the popular/mainstream brands.

This rant may or may not help, but I have been thinking about this a lot myself lately...so I figured I would weigh in my $.02

 

[Titanpat57]

Here is another company to look at - though I've not used either.

Trek Lights ? Off Road LED Light Bars | Military L E D Lighting | Defense L.E.D. Lights | Agriculture LED Lighting | Marine LED Lights | Mining LEDs | Landscape L.E.D Lights | Expedition LED Light Bars | LED Light Bars & Pods

Before you consider this company...you may want to read this.

February LED Light Bar Group Buy

I'm not sure if he stocks them, or waits until he has enough orders to purchase form overseas....but either way his style leaves a lot to be desired.

I heard Gaterose is good, and I used this guy..the lights are good, and his customer service was excellent .... LED LIGHT BARS

 

[Ducmonsta]

If we were really comparing the dollar for dollar value in lights we would all be driving Nissan Xterras. Let's face it, we could have all bought a Nissan with very similar options to an SR5 and saved several thousand $$$.

But we're driving 4Runners.

LED technology has come a long way. Rigid uses a totally different reflector/projector technology than the Chinese equivalents. If you look closely to any of the Rigid Hybrid spot or flood or combo series, you'll see a miniature projector lens on them. This goes for the SR and E series of lights. The only exception are the "driving" or specter pattern lights. The circuit boards are also very similar. Although Rigids boards are wired so that only 2" of leds will go out if there is a break. Every 4" is another board. Many Chinese systems do not take the time to do this. Usually they are all daisy chained. Which means a much longer stream of leds could go out if just a few were damaged.

I agree with others though. If you're not going to use them that often, then there's no need to buy high quality components. On the same note, if your 4R is lifted, I would probably expect that you're not using components from Icon, Camberg, Bilstein, Light Racing, Toytec, etc. You should probably be only using spacers. Simply because its cheaper.

 

[4ShoreRunner]

I'll piggy back off duc to add that you simply get what you pay for.

I purchased treklights flood pods during the group buy for my rear aux lights. I trusted the cheaper chinese alternative because lets face it, for aux lights I don't need the latest LED technology. I just wanted some extra light back there (I'll add that I'll never do business with them again, but as Titanpat has already linked you to that mess, I won't go into detail)

If I was going to be doing a lot of night trail riding and needed a forward light bar, rigids would provide that long-lasting durability. I don't think any of the chinese guys have been around long enough to say exactly how much more durable...but you get the point.

I have bilstein 5100s and every time I offroad with joneseyyy I regret not getting ICONs from the beginning.

 

[Intruder]

How are you guys comparing suspension to lights? Your suspension gets used every time you drive the vehicle both on and off road. How often are you going to use a light bar realistically? How far down the trail do you really need to see? I've done plenty of night time trail runs and never felt I needed more than my regular headlights or occasional high beams.

You also don't always get what you pay for. PIAA's supposed extreme headlight bulbs are way more expensive than most bulbs but don't allow you to see any better and are in fact worse than a set of $30 bulbs. Some of the Chinese light bars are definitely going to be garbage, but there are some that the average person won't be able to notice any difference when compared to a Rigid. Do your research on the Chinese bars to find a good one like Hanma and invest the money you saved by not buying an overpriced Rigid in mods you'll really use.

 

[thebwlife]

I used this guy..the lights are good, and his customer service was excellent .... LED LIGHT BARS

This guy lives 30 min from me in Moore - where the huge tornado hit. Maybe I can get with him and see about a group buy.

 

[zilla68]

This guy lives 30 min from me in Moore - where the huge tornado hit. Maybe I can get with him and see about a group buy.

Thanks to Mr. Lambert from NY for checking on myself and my family, and offering assistance. It's really satisfying knowing people that I've never met or talked to have called or emailed to see if we made it.

We did make it ok, but there are many many families who didn't, so please pray for them. We will be ok, no power, but I have a generator to keep the fridge going.

I'm getting the net from mcdonalds in norman ok, a few miles away.

If thebwlife would like to host a group buy, shoot me a pm or email thru the site and we can get one going, after the one on another site is over this week.

I'm shipping lights daily still with no power, in the dark, but my issues aren't a concern for my customers.

If your interested, let me know.
thanks
Chris
okledlightbars.com

 

[Ducmonsta]

[MENTION=66300]Intruder[/MENTION] Just so we're clear, I'm merely poking fun at all the discussions had about spending money.

Oil service intervals, 5k or 10k? It's my money to "waste" at 5k and it's my truck.

Lights, spend $1000 or $100. I understand people want to know if it's too cheap. As in, will they go out within a couple of weeks. No one here has had that problem. Or at least has reported it.
I have a couple of Hanma lights in my LED display at my shop. I have one right next to a plain old Rigid Dually (not D2, that just wouldn't be fair). When customers see the output of both side by side, there's no question which one's they buy. When they see the quality and hold each one in their hand, same result.
But again, it's my money to waste.

You're absolutely correct in my analogy of suspension vs. lights. It is absurd to compare the two. But at the same time, why aren't we driving a similarly equipped Nissan Xterra over our 4Runners to save thousands of dollars? Brand loyalty, quality, or do we really just want a back window that rolls down?

 

[jangoforhire]

Get the best lights you can that still fit within your budget.

I went with Rigid mainly because of their track-record. No one will deny their quality and dependability. I like knowing that when I flick that switch those lights are going to come on. I feel like if I went with a Chinese brand the thought would always be in the back on my head that maybe that last trail was too rough and rattled the bulbs or circuit boards loose and they will fail this time. With the Rigid's I never have to worry about that. I've driven some washboard trails pretty hard that have even rattled some of the under-hood stock plastic connectors loose. Vibration will kill some electronics faster than water and I want to know my equipment can stand up to the torture.

Not trying to step on anyones toes here, just weighing in to the argument and telling you my thought process.

 

[phillyd2]

Having lived through all economic scales the simple fact remains that you will never regret buying quality. If I could not afford Rigids today, I would wait while I saved enough to buy them in six months. Or be nice to a guy who was giving some away. :boink:

This is especially true if you ever take your truck off road at night. If it fails when you really need them what did you save?

 

[Antman]

Or be nice to a guy who was giving some away. :boink:

:hiding:

 

[Ducmonsta]

This is especially true if you ever take your truck off road at night. If it fails when you really need them what did you save?

I feel the exact same way about winches. I know there are some Chinese 10k winches for $400.

 

[Antman]

I feel the exact same way about winches. I know there are some Chinese 10k winches for $400.

What's wrong with a $400 Chinese Wench?





er- Ok. I'll stop now.

 

[phillyd2]

I feel the exact same way about winches. I know there are some Chinese 10k winches for $400.

True that! A winch is completely different as it would be insane to consider anything but the best you can afford, and then some. Remember, you grab the winch line when everything including speaking harshly to the stuck truck did not work.

Got a 2500 lb. Harbor Freight for my lawn tractor (yes, I really do get everything stuck) but only because I know if it craps out I have two others ones as back up.

The truck or ATV? No chance in hell.

 

[GrantK]

Just a note, I have a set of Baja Designs sitting here waiting to go my front bumper and plan on Baja for the light bar after I install the roof rack. One reason I went with Baja (besides their quality) is the pattern for the ones on the bumper and for the rack mount light bar, they have a dimmer option which will important if I go with their OnX lights which are VERY bright.