A Beginner's Guide to LED Light Bars for Trucks

Trucks are popular vehicles in American where light truck sales accounted for almost 60 percent of all vehicles sold in 2016.

Increasingly, new trucks come equipped with LED lights. In fact, the automotive LED market was worth $2.8 billion dollars in 2017.

If you're interested in buying an aftermarket light bar for your truck, then you'll want to look at LED light bars for trucks.

Not sure how to choose and install the right LED light bar for your truck? We're here to tell you what you need to know.

What to Look for When Buying Light Bars for Trucks

Here's what you need to know about when shopping for LED light bars.

Understanding Lumens

Lumens are a measure of a light's output. Higher lumen lights will be brighter than lower lumen lights.

Knowing the lumen output of the light bar can help you compare it to other lights so you'll know which light bar will produce the greatest amount of light.

Looking at Wattage

The wattage of a light bar tells you how much power the light bar draws from your truck.

Finding a light bar which gives the same number of lumens using less power can help make sure you don't drain the vehicle's battery when using the light bar.

Considering Multiple Light Bars

Instead of buying a single larger light bar, you should consider buying two smaller ones.

The advantage of having more than one light bar is the flexibility this gives you in mounting the light bars.

By angling the lights in slightly different directions, you can increase the overall illumination they give.

Checking the Reviews

Reading some reviews will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of different light bars.

Look for unbiased reviews and check to see if any of the reviews have photos or videos of the lights in action.

This can help you decide which LED light bar is right for you.

Tips for Mounting the Light Bar

Once you have the light bar, you'll want to install it. Here are the steps you need to take.

Mount the Light Bar

The first step is to secure the light to the mounting bracket.

Once you secure the light to the mounting bracket, you're ready to attach the bracket to the vehicle using the supplied hardware.

Wire the Light

After you've mounted the light bar on the vehicle, it's time to connect the wires to the relay switch.

Simply match the colors of the wires and connect red to red, black to black. Once the connections are firmly made it's a good idea to wrap the wire connections in electrical tape to cover any bare wires.

Connect the Battery

Once the relay switch is connected, it's time to wire the relay switch to the battery.

The red wire goes to the positive terminal on the battery while the black wire goes to the negative terminal.

Test the Assembly

The last step is to make sure everything is working.

Turn the light on an off several times to check whether it is working properly.

Once you're sure the light is working correctly, give the mounting bar a good shake with your hands to make sure it's firmly attached to the truck.

You're Ready to Go

Now you know how to select and properly install an LED light bar.

We're here to help you select the best LED light bar for your truck. Check out our extensive lineup of LED light bars for trucks today.

And feel free to contact us if you have questions.