Budget 54" Curved LED Light Bar; Looking for opinions, user reviews.

Bravo1782

Adventurer
Hey Guys,

Let me start this thread with the following disclaimer: I do not have the budget for Rigid Industry Products. I'm trying to build a solid, budget-minded Domestic Expo Rig, and the price of a Rigid Light Bar is more than I can reasonably afford. With that said...

So I've got my eyes on a 54" curved LED light bar. I picked up a rough country light bar mounts for my truck specific to a 312 watt 54" curved LED light bar ridiculously cheap. Now I need the bar. As I see it, I have three real options:

1) Cheap Chinese bar (eBay): I've heard horror stories of moisture infiltration on these units. Also, many of them forgo CREE LEDs and instead use EPISTAR LEDs, which I've heard are not nearly as bright and do occasionally burn out. Depending on the seller, we're looking at $200-300 for this option. Lowest price, highest gamble.

2) Totron LED Light Bar: Another Chinese company, but they seem to be more reliable, they have more US dealers, and they use actual CREE elements. I believe they also offer a warranty. Depending on the seller, these are around $450

3) Rough Country LED Light Bar: This is the most expensive of the three options, coming in at $579+ship, but they offer a three year warranty (from what I've heard) excellent customer support, sold in the US (although probably still a Chinese bar) Lowest gamble, highest price.

So I'm torn on which way to go. I'm leaning towards the RC Bar, but anywhere I can save a little money, I'd like to. Alternatively, I could get away with a 52" 300Watt bar with some modification to the bracket (which I'm fine with).

I'm open to suggestions, other options, comments and opinions. Does anyone have any experience with these? What do you guys think?
 

mitchman

New member
I have a 20" rough country bar and am pleased so far. I've also heard good reviews of the totrons.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Bravo1782

Adventurer
Checked out trail worthy fab....they've got some nice stuff, but not quite what I'm looking for.

mitchman, I'm definitely leaning towards the Rough country, but the price tag on the totron is very attractive. I'm still trying to find some solid, definitive reviews of the product. The nice thing about the RC is it comes with a three year warranty and the company is stateside, so I could reasonably get some customer service if I ever had issues with it.
 

rexwang

Observer
why not get a couple smaller light bars? perhaps one with flood and the other with pencil beam... also you wont get the glare coming off the hood, i presume the curved bar would be roof mounted.
 

Bravo1782

Adventurer
Two reasons:1) I already have the roof brackets. 2) Second type of cool: I think it looks really awesome.

The big bars I'm looking at are all combo beams....spot beams in the middle and flood on the sides, so in theory I should get the best of all worlds. I am worried about the glare, but I can always plastidip my hood flat black. My truck is Dark Blue, so it probably wouldn't look terrible. I'll cross that bridge if it's an issue.

If I didn't already have the brackets and I had a welder, I would definitely fabricate brackets for several smaller lights.

The other issue is this isn't my only rig...i've for two other project 4x4s I'm working on....so I like the idea of one light to do everything i need it to and then develop more specialized applications for my other rigs.
 

rexwang

Observer
i think the "looks really awesome" is the likely driver here.

I am really sensitive the glare issue. my road bike had a light on it that would shin against my brake cable. so i wrapped a section of the brake cable with electrical tape. It still didnt help much. when its pitch black outside and you have a very powerful light shining on a black surface youd be amazed how bright that surface is.
 

MoRogers

Observer
If your not getting any of the high-end lights, which is perfectly fine, the only distinguishing factor with the Chinese bars is the warranty or return policy. I have a two year with mine from a local HID shop. I have a 52 radius hyper and two 100w 7" diffuse on the bumper. Depending on where you mount the radius and what type of beam pattern you get, glare may or may not be a issue. I personally would avoid the combo bars if it's going anywhere over the windshield and not the roof, but that jus my opinion
 

Raul B

Explorer
I have been running and selling totron lights for over a year now with no complaints. I wouldn't think twice about going with totron
 

superbuickguy

Explorer
I have a curved bar on my H3, and I really like it except it whistles... I've done a bunch to make it whistle less, but that's the deal with several of the curved light bars - one sharp edge in the wind and you've the potential of whistles. Some don't care, some, it'd drive them nuts... if you buy a US-made (like Rigid) or one that has a large US presence (like Trail Gear) - should the situation happen to you, you're golden... otherwise, if you aim it just right, it doesn't whistle as much....
 

Onorur

New member
Sorry for a bump...just my two words...
don't waste your money on rigid you can get curved lightbar off amazon or eBay for under $300 vs $2,150 for a Rigid. Rigid might be a little bit but not 2 grand brighter. Second, be prepared for a lot of wind noise when you get up to around 50+mph you can be drowned it out with the radio but it's annoying if you want to talk to someone else in the truck. Its worth it if you do a lot of night driving off road Third, there is a good amount of glare on the hood so you might want to angle it up just a little it bothers some people more than others. Personally, I'm ok with it I have a 52" straight bar in Nfab mounts https://10carbest.com/best-curved-led-light-bars and its amazing I also have a 34" on my bumper that's drowns out my high beams and the 52" drowns it out I thought about getting a curved one but ended up going for a straight one and couldn't be happier with it it looks great and puts off a TON of light
 

madcratebuilder

New member
I have a cheap Chinese 42" bar from Autofeel, may not be the brightest around but it's been on my truck for six months and seems to be fine. No moisture, no burnouts, works great with my wireless remote. Claims to be 8 watt OSRAM's but maybe not. I have a hard time with some of the 300-600 lights that are "brand name" but still come out of China. I can afford to replace mine ten times at those prices.
20180812_081442_zpss7lsisyl.jpg
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,541
Messages
2,875,679
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top