Non OEM Light Bar recommendations

[Coachgun]

Good morning all,

I'm wanting to install a roof light bar on my HD8 and would appreciate any recommendations for after market light bars.  The local dealer has Rigid and Open Trail and I've also heard of Tusk?  Which ones should I seriously consider and are there are any to avoid?  My buggy is primarily used on our hunting lease for duck hunting at 0 dark thirty! 

Thank you in advance!

CG

[Andystoy19]

I suspect that most of them are made in the same country and possibly in the same factory with different brand names to help marketing. The more info that is on the box the more likely that you are getting some quality. For eg. most list lumens but that is meaningless to most of us. They also list watts, this allows us to determine what type or strength of led is being used: watts/12=amps. Amps is the load the light will draw on the charging system. The standard charging system produces about 50 Amps. maximum at 4000 RPM or above. Sometimes they list the led type Cree or Philips which are recognised brand names or copies of them. Cree leds are usually 3 watt and some Phillips may be as high as 5 watts. If the type of led is not listed than they are likely cheap knockoffs that are 1.5 watts or less and not worth buying. 120 watts/40=3 watt leds.

A combo light bar has spot leds in the center and flood (diffused led on the sides) producing a light which illuminates a long ways ahead but also lights up the sides of the trail and closer to the vehicle. My combo light bar )20" dual row 120w and 8 combo per side with 24 spot in the center) lists beam distance of 426m or about 1400' about 3/8 of a mile which is plenty of distance in uneven terrain. 

The box may also show an IP 67/68 which suggests that it was built to a certain spec with respect to water resistance, wiring and connection quality etc.

Hopefully this info will help you decide on what will work for you.😉

 

[Coachgun]

Thank you Andy for the detailed info!  I will certainly do my research on these options.

CG

[A hunt 2 remember]

As for lighting?? I went cheap!! LED bulbs are LED bulbs... So why spend the money on a name??? I went with Harbor Freight lights.. Nice thing was... The bolts on the top of the door fit perfectly with the mounting brackets so I mounted one on each door as well... used a rubber trans. plug to make a waterproof seal at each light.... 8 in total...

Good luck!! It really depends on what you want/need...

[Rick]

Those fender flares really look nice. I have a Defender Limited on order & am uncertain whether to use the CanAm product or an after market set. What kind are those you have?

Rick

[A hunt 2 remember]

On 10/2/2020 at 4:19 PM, Rick said:

Those fender flares really look nice. I have a Defender Limited on order & am uncertain whether to use the CanAm product or an after market set. What kind are those you have?

Rick

These are the OEM full flares. I've had to add to the fronts since the 32's... was an easy fix... took a rear mud mat for a mini van, cut it in half and fitted it to the flare. Now they work WAY BETTER...

[Rick]

Thank you for the response. They look great. I think that, for now, I’ll stick with the standard 27” tires. Without the flares, do the doors, etc. get unbearably covered with mud? I’m in the Arkansas Delta; should I get the standard flares?

[A hunt 2 remember]

20 hours ago, Rick said:

Thank you for the response. They look great. I think that, for now, I’ll stick with the standard 27” tires. Without the flares, do the doors, etc. get unbearably covered with mud? I’m in the Arkansas Delta; should I get the standard flares?

For sure flares... I ended up having mud in the cab even with them on with the original wheel/tires