Parts List:
4 lights of your choice
4' - 3/4" square aluminum rod
2 bolts - 1.5" long
2 washers
2 nuts - same size as bolts
2 end-caps for your aluminum rod
2 1" x 3" x 1/16" aluminum sheet (with hole in it)
lots of wiring accessories (relay, switch, fuse, wire, connectors, plugs)
Tools:
JB Weld
can of flat black spraypaint
sheet of sandpaper
hacksaw
drill with drill bits for metal
wire stripper
wrench set
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How-To:
Take the aluminum rod, and cut it slightly longer than your roof rack with the hacksaw. I believe I cut mine to be 44.5" (I cant remember exactly, but there was about .5" of overhang past the roof rack).
The next job is to drill the holes. I used the 1/4" bolts as the main vehicle connection bolt. So I accordingly drilled 1/4" holes in the aluminum support rod at the direct center of the roof rack (you will have to measure this also, sorry).
You have to drill the holes for the light's bolts next. I chose 11" spacing between lights, it seemed to work ok. My light bracket bolts were 3/8", check your size before drilling. I did not drill these holes on the same face of the aluminum rod however. I drilled these on the opposite face, that is how I made the 'low profile' look. That choice is up to you.
After cutting and drilling, it is time to paint. Go over the entire surface of the rod with some sandpaper. You want to rough up all surfaces so that you can get a good bond (get the edges too, don't just focus on the flat surfaces). You can paint it with primer first, or you can find paint made for metal.
While waiting for that to dry, make your attachment brackets. I made mine from 1"x 1/16" extruded aluminum sheet. I cut this into two 3" sections. The sections would then measure 1"x 3"x 1/16". I drilled a 1/4" hole in the center of each of these plates. You want to take a free bolt and nut, and attach that through the hole in this plate. Next take JB Weld, and put a small amount around the edge of the nut. This will basically weld your nut to the plate.
While this is drying, wire up your vehicle. I cannot give you exact directions here, but this should be fairly straight forward. I recommend using a relay, as most switches cannot handle the amperage associated with 4 lights.
After letting the paint and JB weld dry, attach your lights to the rod. These go in the 4 holes that were drilled 11" apart.
While this is on your workbench, it is time to wire it up. Do not wire them in series. You want to run two wires down your rod, and then attach the red wires of the lights to one wire, and the black wires to the other wire. I used heat-shrink around each of the wire junctions with a spot of silicon in the heat-shrink. This provides a pretty good seal for the electrical connections. I used some small zip-ties to attach the wire to the aluminum support rod.
Extend your wire 12" or so past the end of the rod, and put a two-pin plug at the end. Run this wire in the rear door. From your wiring package in the truck, run the associated power and ground wires up to the top of the B pillar. Put the other plug on the end of this line.
Its now time to mount your light bar. Insert the plates with the nuts into each side of the rack. Position the light bar over the plate, and insert your 1/4" bolt into the hole in the roof rack. Thread the bolt into the plate's hole. and tighten it where you want the light bar to be located.
The last step is plugging your lights in, and flipping the switch.
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Here's a closeup of the wiring, nuts and light mounts. (
JamesDub, the lights stick above the center of the roof by 5.5")
Switch location. Left switch is the roof lights. Right switch is the red and white emergency lights. (the go-fast switch)
Location of relay, power and ground sources. Under the rear seat.
Location of the plug for the lightbar. That is the b pillar. View from rear seat.
Quick wiring diagram.
The roof rack mounting plates.
Closeup of the plates when mounted in the roof rack.
The switch has power, fuse is good, soldered the pigtails from the lights onto the power and ground wires fine.. just can't get them to turn on. Ugh.
