Damn Rough Country light bar, Get what you pay for.

[CoronaRaptor]

The “other guy” I’m talking about is Rough Country, the company you seem to believe only sells cheap stuff. Then you admit you sell cheap stuff and then down the “Jeep” customers that buy your cheap products. IMO you need to think about what you post a little more before posting. If you don’t like cheap stuff stop selling it and tell the Jeep crowd to go somewhere else. See how that works for improving your income..

You're right about the jeep thing, a lot of raptor owners also own jeeps, me included.

 

[rayofsi]

had plenty of cheap light bars. nothing really lasted. Now i run Rigid, Baja or Diode Dynamics Lights.
Don't think i've had any issues yet asides from salt eating the powder off my Rigid fogs.

 

[MDJAK]

There was mention above about Bd or Rigid being 3 times the price and not 3 times as good. I have to agree.

As an example and perhaps poor seque (no, not Segway ), Years back I spent 8 grand on a large hot tub. it was awesome, used it a lot, and it lasted about 10 years. 1-800-Junk came and hauled it away.

Now I bought a new hot tub and spent 13 grand on it. Yes, I need my head examined. Yes, it is awesome. I'd say it's cool, but it's really hot. Changing LEDs built in, waterfalls, bluetooth audio.

On the other hand, Costco sells hot tubs on sale for 4 or 5 grand. Is mine twice or 3 times as good? Hell no.

I could buy 3 Costco hot tubs over the years to equal what I paid for mine and they'd outlast this every day of the week.

Back to lights, I've only had experience with BD and Rigid. I always thought BD was better. Unfortunately, BD brackets and screws, in spite of being supposedly SS, rust and rust quickly. So much so, I had to send back 2 lights and they were great in that they replaced the shells. I could not get the screws out. Too rusted. In a very short time. So much for quality.

Then I got a Rigid 20" light bar installed while at Raptor Assault in Utah. That damn light was so friggin bright I couldn't believe it. Great spread, great throw.

 

[Baja Designs]

There was mention above about Bd or Rigid being 3 times the price and not 3 times as good. I have to agree.

As an example and perhaps poor seque (no, not Segway ), Years back I spent 8 grand on a large hot tub. it was awesome, used it a lot, and it lasted about 10 years. 1-800-Junk came and hauled it away.

Now I bought a new hot tub and spent 13 grand on it. Yes, I need my head examined. Yes, it is awesome. I'd say it's cool, but it's really hot. Changing LEDs built in, waterfalls, bluetooth audio.

On the other hand, Costco sells hot tubs on sale for 4 or 5 grand. Is mine twice or 3 times as good? Hell no.

I could buy 3 Costco hot tubs over the years to equal what I paid for mine and they'd outlast this every day of the week.

Back to lights, I've only had experience with BD and Rigid. I always thought BD was better. Unfortunately, BD brackets and screws, in spite of being supposedly SS, rust and rust quickly. So much so, I had to send back 2 lights and they were great in that they replaced the shells. I could not get the screws out. Too rusted. In a very short time. So much for quality.

Then I got a Rigid 20" light bar installed while at Raptor Assault in Utah. That damn light was so friggin bright I couldn't believe it. Great spread, great throw.

Hi MDJAK,

Do you know which lights you've experienced rust? The housings for all of our LED lights are made out of aluminum. All our U and L brackets that we use with our light bars and auxiliary lighting are stainless steel. The same goes for our mounting hardware. They should NOT rust. If there is a situation where you experience rust, please let us know and we'll be make sure you're taken care of. The only thing that comes to mind is a supplier issue but we'll do everything in our power to correct it once it's identified. We pride ourselves in our quality and we want make sure every customer is 100% satisfied with their decision in choosing Baja Designs as their LED lighting solution.

I did notice you have New York in your location. Do you live in an area where they salt the roads in the winter? I'm sure you're aware, but salt can cause corrosion that can seize hardware overtime. If you haven't already, I strongly recommend putting a corrosion inhibitor on your hardware to prevent future issues. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00631GWS4/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

 

[MDJAK]

thank you for your reply, BD. One thing to keep in mind, I did say I sent two lights back to you and your service was excellent, you replaced the shells of both lights and sent them back at no charge.

Also know, as many here do, that I'm a wacko in that I've now owned 3 brand new Raptors since 2017 and so very little time goes by before I buy a new one. I owned my first Raptor for 10 months, my second for slightly less, and I'm now on my 2020 which I got in March. It was my first one which had the issue with the rust that I sent back.

The second one also rusted and led me to trade it in with the lights in place as I could not be bothered to fight it to remove it.

On my 2020, I bought your light kit from 4x4 LED in Long Island and that's been installed only a month or so so we shall see.

I wasn't meaning to demean your product or company in any way. I feel your lights are of the highest quality but do, as others I'm sure will also, suffer from rust regardless of being SS.

I've purchased them 3 times now so it certainly hasn't turned me off to them.

 

[Baja Designs]

thank you for your reply, BD. One thing to keep in mind, I did say I sent two lights back to you and your service was excellent, you replaced the shells of both lights and sent them back at no charge.

Also know, as many here do, that I'm a wacko in that I've now owned 3 brand new Raptors since 2017 and so very little time goes by before I buy a new one. I owned my first Raptor for 10 months, my second for slightly less, and I'm now on my 2020 which I got in March. It was my first one which had the issue with the rust that I sent back.

The second one also rusted and led me to trade it in with the lights in place as I could not be bothered to fight it to remove it.

On my 2020, I bought your light kit from 4x4 LED in Long Island and that's been installed only a month or so so we shall see.

I wasn't meaning to demean your product or company in any way. I feel your lights are of the highest quality but do, as others I'm sure will also, suffer from rust regardless of being SS.

I've purchased them 3 times now so it certainly hasn't turned me off to them.

I'm happy to hear our warranty department took care of it! We appreciate your support and in no way do I think you're demeaning BD. I just want you and anyone else to know if there is ever a issue with any of our products, you're more than welcome to reach out to me via PM or on our "contact us" page on www.Bajadesigns.com to discuss a solution that works best for the customer. We're the most expensive light on the market and our customers deserve the best quality in service and quality.

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

thank you for your reply, BD. One thing to keep in mind, I did say I sent two lights back to you and your service was excellent, you replaced the shells of both lights and sent them back at no charge.

Also know, as many here do, that I'm a wacko in that I've now owned 3 brand new Raptors since 2017 and so very little time goes by before I buy a new one. I owned my first Raptor for 10 months, my second for slightly less, and I'm now on my 2020 which I got in March. It was my first one which had the issue with the rust that I sent back.

The second one also rusted and led me to trade it in with the lights in place as I could not be bothered to fight it to remove it.

On my 2020, I bought your light kit from 4x4 LED in Long Island and that's been installed only a month or so so we shall see.

I wasn't meaning to demean your product or company in any way. I feel your lights are of the highest quality but do, as others I'm sure will also, suffer from rust regardless of being SS.

I've purchased them 3 times now so it certainly hasn't turned me off to them.

I concur with his "wacko" statement. The guy drove all the way out here to Long Island to have his truck rhino lined (technically Line-X). He had the wheel wells lined and I believe his bed cover also (unless it was like that from the manufacturer). I guess he's not taking ANY chances this winter lol. Really clean though.

I've had some things rust over the years, but that's as BD said, because of the salt trucks here on the road. This past winter wasn't so bad as previous ones though... we just didn't have a lot of snow.

 

[smurfslayer]

I concur with his "wacko" statement. The guy drove all the way out here to Long Island to have his truck rhino lined

Any excuse to drive the Rap is a good one. Even to LonG island. ( for you right coasters )

As an example and perhaps poor seque (no, not Segway ), Years back I spent 8 grand on a large hot tub. it was awesome, used it a lot, and it lasted about 10 years. 1-800-Junk came and hauled it away.

Now I bought a new hot tub and spent 13 grand on it. Yes, I need my head examined. Yes, it is awesome. I'd say it's cool, but it's really hot. Changing LEDs built in, waterfalls, bluetooth audio.

On the other hand, Costco sells hot tubs on sale for 4 or 5 grand. Is mine twice or 3 times as good? Hell no.

Sure, you can buy a lot of stuff at costco and some of it is really good. Ditto Amazon and Walmart. But will the costco hot tub be as freakin’ awesome after a ... shall we say, challenging... workout? I would venture to say not, as I am relegated to our current peasant, inflatable hot tub while my super expensive hot tub is still pending delivery.

I could buy 3 Costco hot tubs over the years to equal what I paid for mine and they'd outlast this every day of the week.

Does that also include the PITA factor to replace them? I don’t know.

Then I got a Rigid 20" light bar installed while at Raptor Assault in Utah. That damn light was so friggin bright I couldn't believe it. Great spread, great throw.

Well YEAH.

I have to kind of sympathize with the Rigid and Baja Designs folks, I’m sure not everything they develop pans out and you have R&D to cover in the cost and they have to make money, or they won’t be around for long offering us decent lighting options. Plus, you’d think by now they would be offering their own financing plan ;-)

I started with cheaper lights too, and I don’t regret it. I tried what I thought I wanted, identified what I didn’t like about it and found what addressed those concerns.

 

[Oldfart]

I had learned pretty long ago, when BD was not very well known, how good they were, with my dirt bike racing lighting. At that time already they were the top notch place to deal with. They were one of very few places with the expertise to build me a custom stator to go along with a great light set up and a custom wiring harness. They also had really knowledgeable tech help if you ran into something odd.