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Ratus Systems bumper bar and Rigid SR Pro Midnight light bar installed

jjonesx86

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This could have gone in lighting or exterior mods but since it is both I just put it in general. Admins can feel free to move.

I just finished installing a bumper bar and light bar on my 18 JLUR. After looking at everything on the market, I had Ratus Systems recommended to me. They are a great company in Oregon known for making some of the highest quality roll cages in the racing industry as well as JK (eventually JL) roof racks. Their bumper bar for the JL oem steel bumper looked beautiful, was the perfect size and I knew it would be high quality. Chromoly with a powder coat that perfectly matches the oem bumper (they can do other options too). I paired that with a 10" Rigid SR Pro Midnight Edition light bar and Ratus built in mounting brackets to match on the bar. They can also do mounting brackets for two cubes, or none at all. I have included a lot of photos below because there isn't much out there yet about the Ratus bars so I thought a few additional angles might help folks.

The Rigid light bar is super easy to mount on the bar because of the built-in bracket. I had to customize the Rigid wiring harness so I could feed it through the bumper bar. Ratus provided a grommet to make the install clean.
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Mounted up and ready to install in the morning!
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At first I thought the Ratus hole would line up with the hole created by the unused third bolt for the bumper but it didn't line up (and I can see why it couldn't), so I just drilled a new hole to match. Much easier than I expected with some help from my son spraying some WD40 to keep the bit cool as I went. I painted the exposed metal to prevent rust and added a grommet to protect the wires going through the hole. Perhaps Ratus could increase the size of the part of the bar that mounts to the bumper and allow the use of the third bolt hole for running the wire. It would make the install easier but take away some of the fun :)
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With the wires ran through the bar and the new hole, it was easy to keep it clean and tidy running up under the hood.
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Wiring tucked up nicely under the hood.
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It looks perfect in my opinion! The perfect height, the right width so it doesn't interfere with using the hooks and the fit and finish looks better than factory. My reflection in the photo makes it look amber, but this is the midnight edition so it actually has a smoked out clear lens.
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You can see what it really looks like on the left side of this photo.
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Profile shot.
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Another angle.
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Clean look with no visible brackets.
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Easy to adjust the light.
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Wiring job was okay, I should have left the Rigid harness a bit longer and just ran that in to the grommet but I changed my mind half way through and had already cut it short.
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Now with the winch, the bumper bar and the light bar...my front bumper is done!
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RW Sting Gray

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Have you had a chance to light up the midnight bar at night? When I eventually install some cubes, I was thinking of getting the midnight editions. Not sure if the all black would be too much black AND how real world lighting would be. I was debating the midnights or the DSS side shooters. Midnights are cheaper but the side shooter lighting looks nice for the quick research I did for those ones. I havnt researched much for the midnights really. (I wanna get a lift before I get lighting).
That looks pretty clean tho. Nice set up!
 
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jjonesx86

jjonesx86

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I haven't had the chance to use the bar yet at night, I installed it this morning. The midnight 10" bar only comes in their hybrid spot pattern which should be a good combo between a flood and a spot. I also have two Rigid D-SS series cubes (side shooters) mounted on the A-pillar. I'll check later tonight but I think this should be a good combo package to pair up with my oem LED lights. The midnight option isn't blacked out and doesn't reduce the light as far as I know...just a bit of a smokey clear lens look.

Here is a photo of my cube lights:
IMG_2890.jpg
 

blessidsoul12

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Grille guard looks great, like it much more than the fitment of the Mopar guard. It sucks that Ratus's website is so terrible...
 
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jjonesx86

jjonesx86

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Grille guard looks great, like it much more than the fitment of the Mopar guard. It sucks that Ratus's website is so terrible...
I think they stay so busy with their larger scale work and much of what they do is custom...they haven't invested in a slick website and you need to order over the phone. They are pretty active on Facebook with more photos of their recent JL work, just no product pages on their site. That being said, they were great to work with and I highly recommend the bumper bar.
 

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jjonesx86

jjonesx86

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Clearly my post is not political in nature, so I think it would be best if you either deleted your comment or at least got back to the subject at hand...Jeeps.
 
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Stretcher

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Man, that looks 100% factory! Like a factory upgrade of sorts; I love it! Very clean.
 

TrailTorque

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Clearly my post is not political in nature, so I think it would be best if you either deleted your comment or at least got back to the subject at hand...Jeeps.
Just asking lol nice setup though!

I think it would be best if you edited/cropped your photo.

EDIT:

So that there’s no more questions asked about it. Very controversial signage there. I’m sure you didn’t intentionally leave it in the photo of course.
 
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jjonesx86

jjonesx86

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Man, that looks 100% factory! Like a factory upgrade of sorts; I love it! Very clean.
That's what I thought as well. I like the looks of the other bumper bars out there. I know Mopar makes a good one, Warn has several in different sizes that look great. The Ratus option just seemed to nail the dimensions of the oem steel bumper the best and to my eyes, the whole front bumper looks in balance now.

I managed to find a dark and isolated road last night and between the oem LED headlights, the Rigid DSS cubes and the Rigid 10" light bar, I can easily turn nighttime into daytime with a good mix of side lighting and longer range lighting. I'm very happy with the setup.
 

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jjonesx86

jjonesx86

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@jjonesx86

I didn’t see mention of where you ran the wires to unless I missed it.

Did you utilize your Aux Switches for this?
I had a few photos of running the wires through the bumper bar, under the bumper, the grill and then up to under the hood. The Aux package makes it so damn easy that even a novice like myself can do it. I have my cubes hooked up to aux3 and the bar on aux4. Works great.
 

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I had a few photos of running the wires through the bumper bar, under the bumper, the grill and then up to under the hood. The Aux package makes it so damn easy that even a novice like myself can do it. I have my cubes hooked up to aux3 and the bar on aux4. Works great.
That’s what I was just about to ask you lol which aux’s did you use haha thanks for the info.

I’m thinking of getting some cubes!

Yes the Aux package is awesome!

I only wish there was about 2-4 more buttons haha
 

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Just asking lol nice setup though!

I think it would be best if you edited/cropped your photo.

EDIT:

So that there’s no more questions asked about it. Very controversial signage there. I’m sure you didn’t intentionally leave it in the photo of course.
Until you mentioned it I never even noticed! I’m betting not many others noticed like you did.
 

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Looks awesome! I sure don’t want to be the oncoming car when you decide to light up the night.
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