Rigid Industries LED lighting

[Timgco]

Just wanted to get you guys an update. I know i have talked with/ quoted a few of you for RI lighting over the last 3 weeks. I have not sent out invoices as I was waiting on solid ETA's. With the Moab trip and playing phone tag with my rep, I was not able to hammer down ETA's on shipping. I just found out that my rep is no longer with the Company. :no: He was there from the start of RI. Great rep and will be missed. If you are still interested in RI lighting, please contact me and we'll get them ordered asap. sorry for the delay on this. I try to have eta's hammered out before invoicing (with teh exception of group buys).

In talking with the owner, I am now informed that all orders are 3 weeks to ship. they are building as orders come in. Business is doing great for these guys, but taking some time to fill their backorders! I support RI over all the other LED manufacts. I have had opportunity to sell most of their competitors brands. Bottom line, I won't! The RI lights are truley the best on the market in my experience. We have tested these on our SUT with flawless results (along with my cutomers using them for the last 2 years). The failure rate on these is less than 1%. With the other xyz brands, I have seen everything from "fishbowl" issues, to led's going out, to bad relays and harnesses. That doesn;t make the other brands bad (things happen) but I do believe RI has a higher quality control/ attention to detail in assembly and testing. All of their lights are tested before they send them out.

I open this thread to any and all comments you guys have on these lights. I do not want this to turn into "my lights are better then your lights thread." I want to keep this open to discussion on RI lighting, pics of the lighting, experiences (good or bad), pricing, mounting, uses, etc.

Thanks to those that have been patiently waiting on their order(s). If you already have these lights, post up some pics and your "review". please do keep in mind this thread is in an Expedition Hardware section, so if you bought the lights somewhere else, I'm ok with that, just will not be happy if you list them up in the EH section.

Thank in advance.
Tim.

 

[Timgco]

this was a custom H2 bar that I have custom cut to length. in look back, I would have gone to a larger 20" bar and mounted to the factory brushguard. The integration wasn;t bad, but took some time to figure out and get mounted in there.

What I did learn out of this project, is that any led bar under 20" should be either spot of flood only. If I did this again, I would have done the spot beam only. Combo beam patterns should be 20,30,40, and 50 only. Useable light output is beter that way imho.

50" in front of the H2. Mounting it out in front of the ligthbar is best for full un-obstructed light output. It's easy to mount too.

Overall, the 50" bar was super bright. Mounting it out in front and wheeling in teh trees, left it vulnerable, however, even hitting small branches at slow speed proved not to be an issue for the lense or framework of the fixture.

 

[Timgco]

Trailbraker had a 20" on his H3T and was happy with it. I have not talked with in a while to see if he is still using it or not. I know he sold his truck, so not sure if it mounted to his new rig or not. hi bother also has a 20" on his JK along with 2 D2 Duallys.

 

[Timgco]

I've also done some Ford Raptor's. The 20" bar fits perfect in the lower grille. RI has a bracket kit available for the Raptors or Daully lights, 20" and a 30" bar. The 20" bars are where these lights really make a huge difference. The D2's are super bright as well.

 

[is350]

Has anybody ever put a rigid lights in the lower grill of an h3 ?

 

[alrock]

I really like my Rigids. It's great that they come fully wired, ready to go out of the box with switch, relay, connectors and loom. I anticipate I won't be using my KCs anymore due to the high amp draw vs. the low draw of the LEDs though I will hook them up since they are there. I have considered a light in the lower grill but in the heat of AZ I need as much as as possible hitting the radiator so I do not want to impede airflow.

It would be nice if the E series and the D2s fit behind the bars of the Stealth rack but I don't consider that a significant issue, just a minor drawback.

 

[JGBB04]

I'm still good for my order

 

[JR3T]

Couldn't be happier with the LED bars from Tim at Expedition Hardware. Rigid Industries makes some good LED bars. Lots of with and withOUT pics on some nearby back roads.

 

[3Hummers]

Great pictures Jeff. I am interested in a light bar for the 92 with a couple of rear facing lights. They would mount to the roof rack, which is square tube so I will need to look into mounting hardware for this set up.

 

[Timgco]

I'm still good for my order

Hey there, when you are free, please give me a call or let me know when a good time to call you is.
tim@expeditionahrdware.com 303 766 3239 office

We should be good pretty quick here.

 

[Timgco]

Great pictures Jeff. I am interested in a light bar for the 92 with a couple of rear facing lights. They would mount to the roof rack, which is square tube so I will need to look into mounting hardware for this set up.

Dave, do you have a close-up pic as to where they need to mount? any measurments? I'm sure we cna figure something out.

 

[cgalpha08]

Those lights sure do make a difference! !

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[Gunner_45]

Hey Dave,

While you are buying ****......Get me a 48" light bar for the front of my Gobi.

Maybe a couple of small ones for the rear as well.

Timmay knows where to ship it all after you make the payment.

Thanks brother.


:wink::wink::wink:

 

[06 H3]

My dream is a 50in light bar...those bastards are so bright, bomb proof and expensive :whaa:

 

[Timgco]

My dream is a 50in light bar...those bastards are so bright, bomb proof and expensive :whaa:

all you need now is the $$$ and a wider truck so it will fit. lol

 

[Timgco]

Chris, we could cut the vertical bars out of your GOBI and stck TWO 40's in there. :gaah:

 

[Portager]

Hi Tim;

I'm wondering what you think of the newer RI SR (single row) series LED lights. Here is a comparison of the SR series 40" to the older E-series 40" LED light bar:

Specifications _________SR series_________ E-series
LED's__________________40________________80
Weight (lbs)____________6.75______________11.55
Watts (W)______________139______________169.8
Current (Amps)__________9.6_______________11.8
Raw lenems*__________12,800____________15,800____* based on LED manufacturers specs
Lux @ 10 m____________1,852_____________4,550
Beam distance**_______1,087.7____________1,349.1___** Testes using ANSI/NEMA FI standard
Retail price ___________$999.99__________$1,299.99
Lumens/Watt (lm/W)_____92_______________93
Height (in)_____________1 5/8_____________3 1/4
Length (in)______________3_______________3 1/4
Width (in)______________42 7/8___________42 7/8

Even though the light output of the 40" SR is 19% lower than the E-series, I think it is still adequate for my needs (they are both probably overkill) and I like the lower height, weight and cost of the SR series. I think the lower height make it less vulnerable to branches (i.e. the SR has 1/2 the exposed area of the E-series) and should produce less wind noise. The 42% lighter weight should make allow it to be supported by a lighter weight structure. The lower power consumption and cost are also nice.

 

[alrock]

I know you asked Tim for his opinion but I'd like to chime in as well. While the raw lumens are close on each set of lamp I think you might want to consider the "Lux at 10m" measure which shows the E series putting out nearly 2.5X the light at ten meters' distance vs. the SR lights.

Mounting location and of course appearance are both important so you need to pick what works for you but the light output difference is pretty significant.

 

[Timgco]

They are both very bright, durable bars. You already pointed out the difference in specs, so you're already know the difference on paper.
The tougher part to figure out how much brighter (real world) the E Series over the SR. I have seen both lit up, just not side by side.
I would run either of two without question.

The SR series $949 shipped vs the E series $1234 shipped.
Beam pattern is pretty close as well. The E Series projects a wider and longer beam. Will it be that much more useable in your "real world" driving?

Unless you are doing some serious baja style driving, you will not outdrive either pattern.

Both bars use a bombproof houseing and lense. I often get questions on how they will hold up to branches. If you hit a branch that will dent your truck, the light will take on damage as well. they are pretty tough though. I had a branch about the diameter of a quarter smack the front of the 50" I had. it left bark on the lense and corner of the case. wiped off clean with very little marks behind. that was at a pretty good speed too. So durability isn't really an issue with these.

IMHO, it comes down to what look you like the best and how much room you have to mount them.

If you come up with any other questions, please let me know.

Tim.

 

[Portager]

I know you asked Tim for his opinion but I'd like to chime in as well. While the raw lumens are close on each set of lamp I think you might want to consider the "Lux at 10m" measure which shows the E series putting out nearly 2.5X the light at ten meters' distance vs. the SR lights.

Mounting location and of course appearance are both important so you need to pick what works for you but the light output difference is pretty significant.

Alex; Good point. However, I think you found an error in RI's brochure. The graph @ http://www.rigidindustries.com/product-p/srseries40.htm shows 2,958 Lux at 10 meters. If you look at their other brochures the graph and the value in the table are the same. I think either light bar would be overkill for my needs, so which one is more of an overkill is kind of irrelevant. A better comparison would probably be the 30" E-series versus the 40" SR. The retail cost of these are the same and performance is very close.

Specifications _______40" SR series______ 30" E-series
LED's__________________40________________60
Weight (lbs)____________6.75______________8.85
Watts (W)______________139______________127.5
Current (Amps)__________9.6_______________8.85
Raw lumens*__________12,800____________11,850____* based on LED manufacturers specs
Lux @ 10 m____________2,958_____________3,415
Beam distance**_______1,087.7____________1,168.8___** Testes using ANSI/NEMA FI standard
Retail price ___________$999.99__________$999.99
Lumens/Watt (lm/W)_____92_______________93
Height (in)_____________1 5/8_____________3 1/4
Length (in)______________3_______________3 1/4
Width (in)______________42 7/8___________32 7/8

I still think I like the SR series better, although I’ll admit you get more light out of the E-series.

Thanks for the feedback Tim. I agree, I not going to the reach of either light. I’m not into speed, I just want to be able to see into the hole in front of me. The next problem is figuring out how to mount it. I always said I didn’t want to add a rack just to hold lights.

 

[06 H3]

There's ways to get a light bar up there without a rack...im on my phone but can get pics later.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

 

[06 H3]

This mount can be used with the RI Tube clamp or you can go custom and get a custom mount like the JK style bar.

I like this idea. It can be done pretty easy actually.

The rack is a good choice but probably doesnt benefit a T as much as a 3. I use mine often, road trips to picking up stuff at home depot or the metal shop. For the T you have the back bed...

 

[Timgco]

This mount can be used with the RI Tube clamp or you can go custom and get a custom mount like the JK style bar.

I like this idea. It can be done pretty easy actually.

The rack is a good choice but probably doesnt benefit a T as much as a 3. I use mine often, road trips to picking up stuff at home depot or the metal shop. For the T you have the back bed...

Since the roof chanel runs all the way up on the H3T, I think it would be possible to mount the bar to the track.

What is the exact width? measuring from center of track on pssd to center of track on the drsd.

 

[Portager]

This mount can be used with the RI Tube clamp or you can go custom and get a custom mount like the JK style bar.

I like this idea. It can be done pretty easy actually.

The rack is a good choice but probably doesnt benefit a T as much as a 3. I use mine often, road trips to picking up stuff at home depot or the metal shop. For the T you have the back bed...

The Real Wheels light bar looks interesting, but since it is curved and the RI LED light bar is perfectly straight I think they would look weird together.

The JK style bar might work, but I think it would be easier to attach to the roof rails.

The idea of the rack is starting to grow on me. I have to admit it looks really good and it might come in handy when I need to haul something longer than the bed. I have a 24' extension ladder that comes to mind. A high cross bar for the back of the SlantBack would helpful :hmm:. Fortunately the rack for the H3T is only 50 lbs. OTOH it is $$$$ to provide a mount for a $$$$ light that weights 6.5 lbs and it only provides 6.5 sq ft of cargo space with the sun roof opening (14.6 sq ft with the sun roof insert).

Since the roof chanel runs all the way up on the H3T, I think it would be possible to mount the bar to the track.

What is the exact width? measuring from center of track on pssd to center of track on the drsd.

I'll measure the rails on my T when I get home tonight. Unless you want to make me a great deal on a Gobi stealth with the front vertical bars left out!

 

[Timgco]

another optiion:

Yakima:
Control Towers (2) $99.00
Landing Pads (2) $35.00
58" corssbars (2) $80.00
Lock Cores (2) $35.00

I have mounted my bike/ ski racks on on my H3's and H2's this way. I have used them with and without the GOBI. The landing pads mount to either the expanded metal mesh of the GOBI. you can also mount them to the fatory tracks on the roof of the H2/3. This would be a less expensie alternative to mounting the LED bar vs a GOBi rack. I have found the GOBi is a more useable option of you are hauling gear, bikes, etc, however if you do jnot want the weight of the gobi up there or like the clean look of the roofline, this would be another option.