Aright guys, finally got the Bars installed in my grill. Overall, very happy with the final outcome of the product. Installation was difficult at the beginning because of the terrible installation instructions which seemed to have skipped many key important steps. Mounting the light into the bracket was good, but adjusting the bar is not well designed and very hard to get a good alignment. But I think I did well, my lower bar is angled up a tad bit, I will adjust at a latter time.
Here's some pics for you guys who are on the fence. I tried my best to tuck in the bars as much as possible, being that the grill in slightly curved, the edges of the bars to stick out a little. Funny how all the pics on Rough Country.com do not; note nor show the bars stick out at the edges. But its not biggie. Bars were wired straght to AUX1(top) & AUX2(bottom)
Are the mounting knobs on the sides touching your grill at all?
Mine are just a tad and I'm worried about it rubbing the color off. I put a little weather stripping on them over the weekend to hopefully prevent it..
I mounted mine much deeper into the grill... The mounting tabs on the light bar fit perfectly behind where the chrome stops on the grill. There's like a notch there. At least for the upper. Yours look like they stick out too far...
I have an entire kit for sale if anyone is interested. Brand new in Box. Never installed. Light Bar box was never opened. Install kit was opened to make sure all the pieces are there. Make me an offer!
They are 300 watts combined, so at 12 volts that 25 Amps. I wired them both to Aux 1. I'm yet to run them for more than a few minutes so I don't know if it will blow the fuze eventually. The wire does get warm. I will put a relay in once the weather flips. I don't think mine stick that far out of the grill either. How are you guys changing depth? There's no real way to change it with the mounting brackets they provide.
And therein lies the problem... 25A running current in a circuit that's fused @ 25A. The general convention is that circuits are fused @150% of rated load as a means of protection not control. So, by that convention, a circuit fused at 25A (which if you didn't know, the current ratings for the upfitters are actually the fuse ratings) should only be loaded to nominally 17A or so... Next look up the current rating of the gauge of wiring used for the upfitters and you will find reason #2 why the wires get so warm...
I didn't realize Ford dropped the 30amp upfitters down to 25amp.. that is just a stupid move!!! I contacted Rough Country this morning and they said each light draws 12 amps each so 1 upfitter would essentially be maxed out..
Grrrr.. I needed to do the same thing because I had 5 different lights with 4 upfitters. Maybe I'll just get a single light then so everything is correct and independent.
Also, Rough Country said the sale is going to run till May when I inquired this morning. I will obviously state "subject to change" but this is what they told me when I asked. Gives someone plenty of time to decide.. but frankly don't understand a 3 month long sale..
Aright guys, finally got the Bars installed in my grill. Overall, very happy with the final outcome of the product. Installation was difficult at the beginning because of the terrible installation instructions which seemed to have skipped many key important steps. Mounting the light into the bracket was good, but adjusting the bar is not well designed and very hard to get a good alignment. But I think I did well, my lower bar is angled up a tad bit, I will adjust at a latter time.
Here's some pics for you guys who are on the fence. I tried my best to tuck in the bars as much as possible, being that the grill in slightly curved, the edges of the bars to stick out a little. Funny how all the pics on Rough Country.com do not; note nor show the bars stick out at the edges. But its not biggie. Bars were wired straght to AUX1(top) & AUX2(bottom)
So I just finished installing mine a few hours ago and I had the same issue as you with the upper bar but the lower sits in just fine.
Looking at the upper, the edges of the bar are touching the grill C channel on each side and there is no way to push it in any further since the bar is about 1/4" wide then the grill.
Edited - Watching the video on rough country's website of their truck, the upper light does stick out slightly like mine. Have to go to the 23 second mark and it does a slow scan of the whole light and you can see the corners protrude a little.
So I just finished installing mine a few hours ago and I had the same issue as you with the upper bar but the lower sits in just fine.
Looking at the upper, the edges of the bar are touching the grill C channel on each side and there is no way to push it in any further since the bar is about 1/4" wide then the grill.
I slid it back as suggested. I did not have enough play to do it. The eye bolt screws are now at a slight angle, and I had to add 4 washers in it for spacing. Looks like **** behind the grill, and I'm not happy with the way that part of it looks, but it works.
If Rough Country made the brackets the way they should to fit out grills it would be a very simple install.
I installed my grill back on the truck and don't mind the edge sticking out slightly.. I put it like yours during install and agree I don't like the huge gap in the grill either.
They should have a 28-29" light and not 30" so it can be set correctly in-between the C bars rather then in front or behind.
I am thinking about finding some flat plate and extending my brackets by an inch or so just to straighten everything up. Bolt the plate to the bracket where the light sits now, and bolt the light to the new piece of plate.
Shouldn't be hard to do, and I think i have enough clearance..
I question if this is really an issue. When you look at their video on the website and it shows the light bars, they are mounted just like mine and stick out a little as well. They are not recessed in the back of the grill.
I still stand by it's all in how you guys are mounting... Mine sits in between the side pieces. Now there is 0 gap, but it definitely sits in between. At first it was in front to where you could see the side mounting bolt hole (as in some of your pictures) on each side, so I just loosened the brackets, slid the bar back and tightened everything up. Done deal. I did have to loosen it up enough to adjust the level of the bar as it sits in the notches but again it was pretty easy.
Took a few pics of the light output for those who are on the fence about these.
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