chuck743

I need educated please. Looking for a 42" light bar. But the prices vary greatly. I see them on ebay from 136.00 all the way up to 600. And what is CREE led bars. From what I gather, CREE is just a brand of LED bulbs, but not the brand of the light bar itself. I don't want to spend a lot, but I don't want to buy junk either. Surely someone on here and bought the 150$ish light bars and tried them out. Looking for feedback on these cheap light bars and if they are worth it.

F1Addict

Here's a recent discussion on light bars. Read and learn...

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/le...t-bars-183813/

heydockyle

For the record, I have a 20" ebay bar on my jeep and a 13" bar on my quad. Yet to have a problem with either. Probably going with a ebay 50" for the roof of my other jeep.

chuck743

Read through this whole post, didn't really answer my question. Looking for people that have bought the cheap ebay bars and what there experiances are. Good write up for rigid and olympus supporters though. I just don't want to spend those kinds of dollars.

chuck743

How long have you had the bars?

caronaxtr

Also interested, from what I've read LED's have different qualities just like everything else. Even when you inquire RIGID on their way over priced LED light bars they won't tell you the exact specs on the diodes.

Over on Jeep Forum, a bunch of guys have a post about a $40 50" LED light bar from china. No one has received any yet, but I keep watching. All LED (along with everything else) comes from china & I haven't heard anything bad about the cheap china bars, except they're cheap and don't expect them to out perform a RIGID LED bar that goes for $600-$1000.

I'll watch to see what everyone else has to say, I'd love to have a 42-50" above my windshield.

chuck743

From what I gather, CREE is a united states bases LED bulb manufacturer. I've noticed some of the LED Bars on ebay advertise they are CREE. They do cost a little more. About $40-50 more for a Cree 42" versus the others. Which I wouldn't mind paying if I knew quality was better.

heydockyle

Both of mine are Cree. One on the jeep I've had for about a year. One on the quad a few months. Both of them are combos. Only thing I don't like about the 13" on the quad is it has diffusers infront of the flood leds to create the flood. 20" doesn't have them, uses a wide beam bulb instead I'm assuming. Afraid that being on the quad and bouncing all around they will eventually break.

investinwaffles

I too am interested in a few light bars. A 40-50" for the roof would be sweet, and a 20" for the front bumper would also be sweet.
I just dont want to buy one and have it die the first time I throw a little mud at it...

PurpleToxin505

I've heard a lot of good on the ebay bars. How long it lasts depends alot on what your going to be putting it through. If your a mall crawler(not saying anyone is) itll last forever. Run dunes, itll last long, its when you get on those tight trails where you hitting it on branches and rocks that will break it. Me personally, I'd be more concerned with how well the structure is going to hold up, as I'm sure ill break the glass/casing before I kill an LED

F1Addict

Yeah, it sort of did. The answer to your question is that almost always, without exception, you get what you pay for.

I once bought a Jensen amplifier from Pep Boys. It cost half of what a fancy one at the stereo store cost and it had more watts! It totally worked and it made my radio louder for a while. Then, a few months down the road, one side stopped working and it smelled funny in my car. Then it caught fire. I bought a Soundstream which had slightly less watts but it sounded 10 times better and was actually louder, despite the less exaggerated output numbers.

The moral of my story? You know the moral of my story. The only way someone will be able to compare the ebay bars to the more expensive ones is if they've actually used both and that's unlikely. I bet the ebay light bars work. I bet they produce light when you turn them on. I bet places like Zeus and Seward and Rigid aren't charging double or triple the price just for funzies.

heydockyle

I've hit a few trees with mine. Mounts bent. Bar itself is just fine. Had to peel the bark off it.

wiggles

All of the bars labeled as "cree" bars are almost always Chinese knock off bars. Almost all of the light bars on the market use cree chips, but what sets brands apart is the quality of the boards on the inside, that's the big difference.
If you want a 42" bar we have a 42" for you!
http://olympusoffroad.3dcartstores.c...-Row_p_26.html
If you are looking to save a little cash here is one from our most affordable line.
http://olympusoffroad.3dcartstores.c...W--_p_233.html
If you have any questions or want to order let me know, we have discounts for you guys!

andrewmp6

The best roof mount i know of is http://www.detoursusa.com/led-head.php the other options http://www.omcoffroad.com/apps/webst...s/show/4057581 and http://shop.hooliganoffroadengineeri...r-mount-LB.htm the hooligan one works with any size light bar tho.

wiggles

That reminds me, as of this week Olympus carries the hooligan light bar mount. And for a limited time we are giving 10% off with the purchase of the hooligan mount and one of our lighting products.