Tailgate Light Bar / Bulb Replacement

[rmrc]

The replacement bulb units for the tailgate light bar are Truck Lite #19's. Truck Lite now offers a replacement that uses LED's. Has anyone used these? If so, are they any brighter than the normal bulb units?



I would prefer to use these due to their supposed longer life and less voltage use.

 

[DennyDay]

Truck Lite

Switched to LED replacements about a year ago. Yes they are brighter and with the long life, worth the money.



Denny

 

[rmrc]

Thanks for the quick reply.



Now all I have to do is find a supplier on Long Island who carries them.

 

[cD'amato]

Hey rmrc,



Are you using a stock 3500 light bar on your tailgate? I wanted to pick one of those up from Thomas Dodge but I hear they are real pricey.



-Chris

 

[chucksram]

Chris,

Are you looking for the complete light bar or just the mounting? I replaced my mounting bar and it cost about $15. 00 I think.

Chuck

 

[Dkevdog]

Has anyone tried the LED replacements from Grote to see which (Trucklite or Grote) is brighter? The Grote uses pretty large LED's, just not as many us most, but I know their 4" STT's are real bright.



Kev

 

[Got Smoke?]

If anybody could get a hold of a tailgate 3500 bar cheap I'll be willing to purchase it for price paid (contact me prior). A TDR member mentioned he had found them for $10 sometime last year but when I inquired if he could get me one he basically told me to go to a junkyard (I wouldn't have contacted him if I thought I could have got one here that cheap!)

 

[rmrc]

Tail Gate Light Bar

Originally posted by cD'amato

Hey rmrc,



Are you using a stock 3500 light bar on your tailgate? I wanted to pick one of those up from Thomas Dodge but I hear they are real pricey.



-Chris

Chris,



I also called Thomas Dodge when I first decided on intalling the tailgate light bar. They quoted me some thing like $85. 00 ( before tax ) for the complete set up. I still think DC is smoking some funny stuff in their pricing department!!!



I checked quite a few bone yards on Long Island. It seems that most of the 3500's already had the light bar removed. One yard would only sell me the light bar if I bought the entire tail gate! Yea right!!!



I put an add for one in the classified section a few months ago and finally received a responce from a TDR member in PA who had one for sale.



I'm still looking for for some used light bars for other TDR members. The first I find is already spoken for. If I find more, I'll contact you and Mark Harris!



As far as Truck Lite vs Grote. I was only able to find the Truck Lite LED replacements locally. They seem to be a bit dimmer ( not much ) than the stock bulbs but the extended longevity and reduced voltage draw convinced me to go with them. I'd also be interested in the Truck Lite vs Grote LED comparison!

 

[JGK]

When I damaged my tailgate in '01 and went shopping for a replacement, I found one off a dually, but the lightbar was missing. Ended up buying a new one from the stealer. Yeah, the wiring harness is priced separately from the bar, which is separate from the lights. And you can't buy the black screws from the dealer, they don't have them for sale. All said and done, it's close to $100.



I later found replacement lights at NAPA, but they weren't LED. Much, much cheaper at NAPA than at the stealer. The LEDs may be cool, and perhaps a bit brighter, but depending on the cost, you may be able to by several rounds of replacements from NAPA for the cost of one the LEDs. Sorta like the flourescent bulbs to replace your standard incandescent bulbs in the home. (Still too pricey to be cost effective. I only use them in hard-to-change locations. )



FWIW,

-Jay