Leaning toward Rigid Industries

[jlandry287]

So we just got back from camping in back country Colorado and I realized something. Even with all the flashlights/lanterns/headlamps etc we brought, it was still dark as shit.

Although I don't camp very often (1x a year, maybe) and I'm typically near some light source, I do happen to live where hurricanes are frequent.

Having some lights on the JL feels like a smart move, and I've been researching and am leaning towards rigid industries.

I'm thinking about the Rigid Dually Side Shooters, and probably a combination of 4 lights (2 sets).

I'm thinking one set of driving and one of the flood. The driving would likely go on the front bumper and the flood would go on the A-pillar.

I've been watching a lot of youtube videos but it's hard to capture brightness on camera.

Does anybody have any experience with this configuration or recommend something different? I'm not married to Rigid, I just liked what I saw but am open to any suggestions.

My goals are to have a well lit area around the jeep, and a good distance ahead for driving. They will be wired to different switches so they can work together/independent.

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[GATORB8]

I'm still working on my plan for the rear, but I finally got some trail night running in last weekend to test out my first setup.

I was pretty happy with near lighting from A pillar mounted KC C3 LED Cubes with a 90* spread, pointed 45*+ outboard. They miss the hood and do okay lighting directly to either side of the Jeep.

We've since put on a 50" Pro6 bar, but two combo pattern Pro6s on the front bumper were a big improvement for down trail visibility.

With your top, there are some rear window hinge mounts that'd I'd probably do something low profile like the KC C2 floods.

 

[white walker1]

Just ordered three sets of Baja Designs squadron sport LED with spot drive combo. doing white and yellow on the A-pillar and one set on the bumper. like you looking at getting as much light around the jeep as possible. For me the KC lights were a little to much for the amount of use I would get out of them.

 

[Whiskeybiskit]

Are you set on pods or would you consider a light bar? I have 18" @Diode Dynamics light bar on my front bumper. The cool thing with their bars is that they come in 6" lenses you can change out to configure how you want. So on mine, the middle lens is driving/spot for distance, and the two side ones are fog/wide lens for lighting up the side of trails. And let me tell you, their fog/wide lens throws an insanely wide beam.

 

[Jeepeto]

I've got 2 Baja Designs LP6 lights up front and I don't think I'll ever add more. It's a combination of spot and flood lighting that offers plenty of light on the darkest night, and has side lighting built in as well to light ditches on deer infested back roads. Easily replaces the 3 pairs of squadron lights I ran on the last rig.

KC and Baja Designs are both fantastic options that I've used and can vouch for. I can't personally speak for Rigid, although I've heard great things. I'm sure you'll be happy with any of the above.

Something of note, I personally like the lighting produced by the amber lights better than the white ones. I find it to be easier on my eyes for long periods of time. It cuts measured output by a small fraction, but in the real world it just feels like nicer light to my eyes. Everyone is different, but it's something you may not have considered so I figured it should be mentioned. This can be changed with a cheap user serviceable lens on the Baja Designs lights if that is of interest to you, I believe the others offer "clip on" lens covers to do the same.

Current set up with LP6's

Last rig with 3 pairs (2 fogs, 2 spots, 2 ditch lights) of Baja Designs Squadron lights; Similar to what you're planning on doing

 

[roaniecowpony]

So we just got back from camping in back country Colorado and I realized something. Even with all the flashlights/lanterns/headlamps etc we brought, it was still dark as shit.

Although I don't camp very often (1x a year, maybe) and I'm typically near some light source, I do happen to live where hurricanes are frequent.

Having some lights on the JL feels like a smart move, and I've been researching and am leaning towards rigid industries.

I'm thinking about the Rigid Dually Side Shooters, and probably a combination of 4 lights (2 sets).

I'm thinking one set of driving and one of the flood. The driving would likely go on the front bumper and the flood would go on the A-pillar.

I've been watching a lot of youtube videos but it's hard to capture brightness on camera.

Does anybody have any experience with this configuration or recommend something different? I'm not married to Rigid, I just liked what I saw but am open to any suggestions.

My goals are to have a well lit area around the jeep, and a good distance ahead for driving. They will be wired to different switches so they can work together/independent.

I like your idea of a combination of spots and floods. I'm not wild about having floods on the A-pillar. They tend to light the hood up and cause your pupils to close and reduce your vision further out. You end up with this kind of shroud of light feel, where you can see great where your lights have a lot of illumination, and they black beyond that. Blacking out the hood helps. But I'd rather avoid pillar mounts.

I like the floods better on the bumper, spots up higher. If you have a need to wheel in the dark or just like doing it, maybe a roof mounted light aray (multiple individually aimable lights) is something that would benefit that activity. If it's just a case of being caught out in a challenging trail unplanned. I'd get a couple small LED ("tactical", there I've said it) flashlights in excess of 2000 lumens, to illuminate side areas for difficult obstacles.

I don't like the wind noise from a lot of lights in the breeze. On my pickup, I've had 4 Baja Designs S2 lights (2 wide beam and 2 spot beam) at about headlight level, for about 8 years now. My use for these is on deserted back country highways where my speed is high and deer or larger game is plentiful and the need to see the road better is needed. I have them wired to my high beams via a relay. So when I need to dim them or turn them on again, it's instantly available because of the convenient switch location. Having a panel full of switches overhead or on the console may look cool, but they are a crappy way to turn lights on and off quickly on the highway. I think, having to lean or take your eyes off the road to dim lights is bordering on a hazardous activity.

Good lights are expensive. I've settled on Baja Designs as my choice, because of their good engineering and build quality. As you see above, I've run a set of BD lights for 8 years and they are still reliable. I had one set of Rigid lights on that truck and the lenses yellowed and crazed (micro cracked). I called them and they suggested that I had been using harsh chemicals to clean them. I told them I never clean them. They reluctantly replaced them. I still have the replacement lights new in a box. They are an SAE compliant wide fog light cube. My JLUR has a set of Baja Designs Squadron Pro combination (wide and spot) lights mounted in the bumper foglight positions of my Rockhard aluminum bumper.

 

[GATORB8]

To give an example of why I recommend spreads on the pillars pointed out away from the hood, I found a video on on my wife’s phone.
While they help as ditch lights, they can definitely light up a camp or work site. The pro 6s are on as well which are useless nearby.

Note, the KC C3s are under $100 a light.

 

[BajaDesigns]

So we just got back from camping in back country Colorado and I realized something. Even with all the flashlights/lanterns/headlamps etc we brought, it was still dark as shit.

Although I don't camp very often (1x a year, maybe) and I'm typically near some light source, I do happen to live where hurricanes are frequent.

Having some lights on the JL feels like a smart move, and I've been researching and am leaning towards rigid industries.

I'm thinking about the Rigid Dually Side Shooters, and probably a combination of 4 lights (2 sets).

I'm thinking one set of driving and one of the flood. The driving would likely go on the front bumper and the flood would go on the A-pillar.

I've been watching a lot of youtube videos but it's hard to capture brightness on camera.

Does anybody have any experience with this configuration or recommend something different? I'm not married to Rigid, I just liked what I saw but am open to any suggestions.

My goals are to have a well lit area around the jeep, and a good distance ahead for driving. They will be wired to different switches so they can work together/independent.

Hey jlandry287,
we have a number of jeep plug and play kits for the 22 JLUR.

Depending the bumper trim, we have a corresponding fog light replacement kit for our squadron-r series.

The most common on road/off road hybrid light that we offer is the squadron sport. It is going to be the best hybrid for daily driving and off-road use.
Link: Squadron Sport Kit

For A-pillars we have a kit that will be plug and play as well, we can use a number of lights for that kit....but here is our squadron sport kit, these would be great as as ditch/turning light used as supplementary lighting for the forward facing lighting.
Link: Squadron Sport A-pillar Kit

For additional lighting options, here is a link to all of our Jeep specific kits:
2022 Jeep Kits
For additional Lighting info check out this video:
Lighting Zone
Best,
Brock

 

[Headbarcode]

I've been very pleased with my 2 pairs of cube lights on the a-pillars. The inboard pair has spot lenses aimed dead ahead, and the outboard pair are floods aimed 45° to the sides to serve as ditch and flank lighting. I get minimal hood glare in the pitch dark.

 

[LukeSkywalker43]

I have a bunch of Baja designs stuff across all of our vehicles. There is no better light company in my opinon for sheer amount of light. To give you a comparison, i also have a rigid 20" adapt on my FJ. The amount of light it throws is way less than the LP6s i took off the FJ. The rigid lights do have a nice beam cutoff, but that really only matters on road so you dont blind others. If you want something for offroad you gotta go with Baja Designs.

Also, and to me the most important. you can change beam patterns with baja since you can service the lights yourself, this is a huge huge plus. The only light that ridig has you can change the pattern is the adapt (which is insanely overpriced, i got mine for so damn cheap i couldnt pass it up) after having installed it, i wouldnt buy it again.

Lastly, Bajas customer service is easily 10 times better than rigids.

If i were you, i would get a pair of Squadron sports for your A-Pillars, a pair for your fog lights, and maybe some lp4-lp6 in the bumper if you want light cannons. Then you can put an S1 on each side if you have a roof rack and an s1 in the rear and have a ton of 360 lighting. I know its pricey but its worth it if you use it a lot.

 

[jlandry287]

just wanted to give a little update on this thread.
After reading thru all the comments, I started to lean towards Baja lights instead of rigid. I watched a few videos and decided I’d do the squadrons on the a-pillar and some lp6 on the bumper.
I stopped by a local store today to see what they had available; no lp6’s but they had a set of amber lp4’s driving combos they ordered for somebody else that changed their mind.
The manager cut me a pretty good deal, I got the lp4’s for $325 a piece.

now I’m wondering about wiring. Is it recommended to wire the highs the one aux (factory) switch and the lows to another? Or install a selector switch that leads back to one aux switch so I toggle the light then select high/low?
Also, the factory aux switches can’t do 3-way right?

 

[[DELETED USER 82058]]

I’v had the Side Shooters, work great as A Pillar lights. Since then, I’ve ditched Rigid for Baja Designs. They seem brighter, more clear and you can change up the housings and lenses if you decide to repurpose them.

 

[Jeepeto]

just wanted to give a little update on this thread.
After reading thru all the comments, I started to lean towards Baja lights instead of rigid. I watched a few videos and decided I’d do the squadrons on the a-pillar and some lp6 on the bumper.
I stopped by a local store today to see what they had available; no lp6’s but they had a set of amber lp4’s driving combos they ordered for somebody else that changed their mind.
The manager cut me a pretty good deal, I got the lp4’s for $325 a piece.

now I’m wondering about wiring. Is it recommended to wire the highs the one aux (factory) switch and the lows to another? Or install a selector switch that leads back to one aux switch so I toggle the light then select high/low?
Also, the factory aux switches can’t do 3-way right?

No three way setting on factory aux switches. You could use one switch for power and a second to control the high low setting using a relay. Wire the LP4 high to the Normaly Open contact and the low to the Normally Closed contact and when you activate the switch it would alternate between the two (one aux switch provides power and the second switch controls high/low, when the selector switch on the LP4 is high and switch off is low)

I finally settled on using one switch for high after trying to come up with a one switch solution.

Edit: Bahaha, I should have checked, I just assumed it was the same as the LP6 with a High/Low function. That settles that I suppose

 

[GATORB8]

just wanted to give a little update on this thread.
After reading thru all the comments, I started to lean towards Baja lights instead of rigid. I watched a few videos and decided I’d do the squadrons on the a-pillar and some lp6 on the bumper.
I stopped by a local store today to see what they had available; no lp6’s but they had a set of amber lp4’s driving combos they ordered for somebody else that changed their mind.
The manager cut me a pretty good deal, I got the lp4’s for $325 a piece.

now I’m wondering about wiring. Is it recommended to wire the highs the one aux (factory) switch and the lows to another? Or install a selector switch that leads back to one aux switch so I toggle the light then select high/low?
Also, the factory aux switches can’t do 3-way right?

The LP4s look like they are DRL or beam, I’ve seen other simply operate the DRL’s off the stock DRL circuit.

 

[JLanesey]

I’ve got the rigid SS on the a pillars and Baja squadron pros on the bumper in amber. The bajas blow the rigid out of the water.

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