Baja Designs Rock Lights - Project/Review

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stewwalker

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My Baja Designs rock lights came in today. Here is a brief review of my first impression.

PROS

- Incredibly small. I originally thought the lights were going to be bigger and noticable once mounted, but after opening the box they were shipped in, I was amazed at how small they are.

- These things are built to last. CNC'd from aluminium, anodized, and sealed with epoxy (I think). You won't break these if you bang them while offload.

- BD provides you with all hardware and even give you a tube mount if you want to zip tie these to a cage. (I'm opting to use my own hardware on this project)


CONS

- No "flush" mount. The wiring exits the side of the housing. This was a concern of mine before purchasing, however BD emailed me a pic of the back side of the light before I ordered them. If you want to mount these and hide the wiring, keep reading.

- Heat. These things heat up quick. I hooked them up to a battery and within 2 or 3 minuets they were quite warm. BD website does tell you this, but I hope it docent affect the longevity.

- Output. Me being me, and also having other BD products, I was expecting a HUGE amount of light output. Kind of disappointed at first but after a few minuets of playing with them, I realized these are not driving, flood, or work lights. They are rock / overhead lights that are designed to throw even light over a relatively confined space.

CONCLUSION

I am very impressed with the quality. Is there a brighter rock light? Probably. Will these things last the life of the truck? Absolutely. Are they worth the price? $65 per light is a a bit much for an overhead light IMO, but they are made in the USA and have a life time warranty. That goes along way with me. I think they are worth the extra coin. You get what you pay for, remember?

More info to come.
 

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SilentShooter

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I wanted to get 6 for under the truck, but I am looking at other options that are much better priced. Hell I might just get two lengths of SMD LED Tape that is waterproofed and run it along the frame rails and see how it does.
 
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stewwalker

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My plan for these light is to mount them in the bed and use them during after hours loading and unloading. We had a horrible time loading 2 bikes and gear in the pitch black Baja desert last trip, and I'll be dammed if we have to do that again. I haven't decided where exactly I want to put these light yet, but I'm thinking in the back of the bed pointing towards the front. I did notice that the mounting holes look like they are the same distance apart as the mounting bolts for the factory tie down straps. I need the tie down straps, so I'll mount them in a different location.

I have decided that I want have the install look clean or "flush mounted" and not have any exposed wires for gear to get hooked on. The back of the lights are sealed with an epoxy with the positive and negative wires just at the surface. The wires exit out the side of the housing. I dug out the positive and negative wires from the epoxy, cut them, and pulled out the rest of the wire BD provides. I was careful not to fully penetrate the original sealant, only enough to dig out the wires. I backfilled the original sealant with 5 min epoxy and made sure to plug the hole where the original wiring left the housing. As of now everything still looks to be waterproof. My only concern now is that the 5 min epoxy can withstand the heat the light generates. Time will tell.

I would NOT suggest doing this. I'm pretty sure it voids the warranty, and I felt guilty cutting into an expensive light.

More info when I get a little farther.
 

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stewwalker

stewwalker

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I wanted to get 6 for under the truck, but I am looking at other options that are much better priced. Hell I might just get two lengths of SMD LED Tape that is waterproofed and run it along the frame rails and see how it does.

I flirted with the idea of LED tape under the bed rails, but they just seem cheep to me and wouldn't last long. I know there are plenty of people who do it and it looks great, but for how long?
 

2014RubyRed

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FYI - I've had my strip LED's under my bedrail since the truck was new (2014). I USE the bed of my truck and throw (yeah, literally) stuff in it every day. Never have had an issue with them or the wires. And they throw a really even, bright light that won't be in your eyes when your trying to load/unload your gear.

I think your lights will work fine, but don't put them up front shining towards the rear. That's gonna blind you when you're standing behind the truck trying to see what you are looking for. They need to be mounted up under that bedrail. That's the prime spot for this type of lighting. Takes all of the glare out of the equation.....
 
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stewwalker

stewwalker

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I just got done testing placement with some VHB tape. The under bed rail placement sucks with these lights. The 360 pattern is blocked by the lip of the bed rail and cuts out the majority of the lights. Mounting directly to the side of the bed works perfect. 2 lights mounted mid bed give an even throw throughout, but I think I still want them at the back of the bed pointed forward so they don't blind me and I can see what I'm looking at.

As always, once you start putting lighting on trucks, you seem to want more and more...
 

Baja Designs

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My plan for these light is to mount them in the bed and use them during after hours loading and unloading. We had a horrible time loading 2 bikes and gear in the pitch black Baja desert last trip, and I'll be dammed if we have to do that again. I haven't decided where exactly I want to put these light yet, but I'm thinking in the back of the bed pointing towards the front. I did notice that the mounting holes look like they are the same distance apart as the mounting bolts for the factory tie down straps. I need the tie down straps, so I'll mount them in a different location.

I have decided that I want have the install look clean or "flush mounted" and not have any exposed wires for gear to get hooked on. The back of the lights are sealed with an epoxy with the positive and negative wires just at the surface. The wires exit out the side of the housing. I dug out the positive and negative wires from the epoxy, cut them, and pulled out the rest of the wire BD provides. I was careful not to fully penetrate the original sealant, only enough to dig out the wires. I backfilled the original sealant with 5 min epoxy and made sure to plug the hole where the original wiring left the housing. As of now everything still looks to be waterproof. My only concern now is that the 5 min epoxy can withstand the heat the light generates. Time will tell.

I would NOT suggest doing this. I'm pretty sure it voids the warranty, and I felt guilty cutting into an expensive light.

More info when I get a little farther.


*WARNING - DOING THE ABOVE WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY*
At some point in time, we might offer the option for the power cord coming out the rear of the housing instead of the side. No word on IF or WHEN we might offer this.
@stewwalker Please call us at (800)422-5292 if you do have any issues with the lights.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 AM ----------

My Baja Designs rock lights came in today. Here is a brief review of my first impression.
......


Thank you for posting up your feedback and all of the information. We really appreciate it! Here are some note for the Cons:

CONS

- No "flush" mount. The wiring exits the side of the housing. This was a concern of mine before purchasing, however BD emailed me a pic of the back side of the light before I ordered them. If you want to mount these and hide the wiring, keep reading.
PLEASE SEE MESSAGE ABOUT WIRING ON DOME LIGHT AND ROCK LIGHTS.

- Heat. These things heat up quick. I hooked them up to a battery and within 2 or 3 minuets they were quite warm. BD website does tell you this, but I hope it docent affect the longevity.
THESE LIGHTS DO HAVE A LIFETIME WARRANTY. WE ARE LOOKING AT A WAY TO KEEP THESE COOLER TO PREVENT ANY POSSIBLE ISSUE FROM THE HEAT. YOU WON'T HAVE ANY PERFORMANCE ISSUES WITH THE HEAT CURRENTLY.


Thank You,
Bailey, Baja Designs

www.bajadesigns.com - (800)422-5292x114 - [email protected]
 
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stewwalker

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I finished up mounting and wiring the lights but haven't had any time to get any good photos. The only pic I have is of the finished lighting. After testing these lights for a few weeks, I am thoroughly impressed. When I first unboxed them and hooked thump to a 12v battery, they were not very impressive, but after wiring them to an up fitter switch, they are extremely bright and throw a perfect 360 pattern. I'll take some better pictures of them later.

Here is a quick iPhone photo.
 

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stewwalker

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*WARNING - DOING THE ABOVE WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY*
At some point in time, we might offer the option for the power cord coming out the rear of the housing instead of the side. No word on IF or WHEN we might offer this.
@stewwalker Please call us at (800)422-5292 if you do have any issues with the lights.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 AM ----------




Thank you for posting up your feedback and all of the information. We really appreciate it! Here are some note for the Cons:

CONS

- No "flush" mount. The wiring exits the side of the housing. This was a concern of mine before purchasing, however BD emailed me a pic of the back side of the light before I ordered them. If you want to mount these and hide the wiring, keep reading.
PLEASE SEE MESSAGE ABOUT WIRING ON DOME LIGHT AND ROCK LIGHTS.

- Heat. These things heat up quick. I hooked them up to a battery and within 2 or 3 minuets they were quite warm. BD website does tell you this, but I hope it docent affect the longevity.
THESE LIGHTS DO HAVE A LIFETIME WARRANTY. WE ARE LOOKING AT A WAY TO KEEP THESE COOLER TO PREVENT ANY POSSIBLE ISSUE FROM THE HEAT. YOU WON'T HAVE ANY PERFORMANCE ISSUES WITH THE HEAT CURRENTLY.


Thank You,
Bailey, Baja Designs

www.bajadesigns.com - (800)422-5292x114 - [email protected]

So far no issues with my wiring modification. I'll let y'all know if there are any long term issues.
 
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stewwalker

stewwalker

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*WARNING - DOING THE ABOVE WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY*
At some point in time, we might offer the option for the power cord coming out the rear of the housing instead of the side. No word on IF or WHEN we might offer this.
@stewwalker Please call us at (800)422-5292 if you do have any issues with the lights.

---------- Post added at 11:14 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:08 AM ----------




Thank you for posting up your feedback and all of the information. We really appreciate it! Here are some note for the Cons:

CONS

- No "flush" mount. The wiring exits the side of the housing. This was a concern of mine before purchasing, however BD emailed me a pic of the back side of the light before I ordered them. If you want to mount these and hide the wiring, keep reading.
PLEASE SEE MESSAGE ABOUT WIRING ON DOME LIGHT AND ROCK LIGHTS.

- Heat. These things heat up quick. I hooked them up to a battery and within 2 or 3 minuets they were quite warm. BD website does tell you this, but I hope it docent affect the longevity.
THESE LIGHTS DO HAVE A LIFETIME WARRANTY. WE ARE LOOKING AT A WAY TO KEEP THESE COOLER TO PREVENT ANY POSSIBLE ISSUE FROM THE HEAT. YOU WON'T HAVE ANY PERFORMANCE ISSUES WITH THE HEAT CURRENTLY.


Thank You,
Bailey, Baja Designs

www.bajadesigns.com - (800)422-5292x114 - [email protected]


1 year update... lights are still just as bright as they were the day I installed them.

Heat issues. NONE. I accidentally left the bed lights on for 7 hours while driving across Texas in 100+ degree heat. The lights were shit HOT, but still work!!! Highly recommended.

Waterproofing. Even with my warranty voiding modification, these things are still water tight. No moisture in the housing.

Only con. The black anodizing fades after prolonged sun exposure. Not enough to notice at first glance, but if you look at the lights you can see they are a bit off black. All anodizing does this.

As always Baja Designs products are worth it. Buy once, cry once.

Looking to get some more for rock/entry lights.
 
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