Hey All,

Need some input, looking at either the KC Lightbar or Smittybilt. I do like the fact the KC lightbar has the tabs behind the bar, however I'm not going off road enough where I'm worried about the tabs being in front.

Any pro's/con's of each? I appreciate everyones response. If you have pictures, please post them as well!

Thanks in advance.


EDIT - Trucks a stock 11 FX4. Thanks in advance

 

A member on here has a blog for his truck and posted about adding some KC lights on a NFab light bar. Here's the link with some pictures and a writeup

http://www.bisonium.com/project-iron...ar-kc-8-lights

 

I wanted the tabs in back on the lightbar too in order to povide some measure of protection but the Smittybilt had them in the front. But the protection would be relatively minor as the lightbar is not designed to take on any significant impact. I also didn't think they looked bad up front after the install and used aftermarket light locks for extra protection and security (and cleaned up the look as well).

Here you can see the light locks on my '09 FX4:


What I do like about the Smittybilt is the simple and clean install and how it follows the bumper lines; I also predrilled mine so all the wiring is tucked away inside the lightbar with no visible wires to the truck:


The Smittybilt doesn't protrude too far out from the truck either:


I did same exact install for my 2011 and thought it was clean looking:


I have not seen how the KC lightbar follows the bumper contours from above, but looks like a similar install. However, when I was researching both I seem to recall that the KC lightbar was priced higher than the Smittybilt at the time I ordered mine so that might be a consideration.

 

Wow, just so you know I have ALWAYS admired your trucks!

Anyway, I like the way yours looks. I like the clean, simple look. My concern is durability. I heard the Smittybilt bars can vibrate, they don't seem as strong as the KC bar. Now with respect to that, I am not going ridiculous off road here, I just want something thats going to be sturdy on the front of my truck. I also heard that the Smittybilt has a gloss finish that scratches very easy.

Thanks for your reply, its greatly appreciated!

 

Thansk NJ for the compliment! Well, I have had three Smittybilt lightbars so far and never experienced any issues with vibration; the mounting seems to be very much the same as the KCs. As far as being strong, the KC lightbar may be thicker but for mounting lights the Smittybilt is fine. I personally preferred the streamlined look of the Smittybilt (versus something bulkier looking) but agree that the gloss finish will scratch easier than the powdercoated.

I take my trucks off road and don't have any issues with the Smittybilt lightbar; lights do not vibrate when in use so don't know if I am the exception. But you usually get what you pay for, so even though the KC is pricier you get the tabs behind the lightbar, powdercoating, and thicker bar.

Don't think you'll go wrong either way!

 

Thanks for the info! Looks like I'll be going with the Smittybilt. As long as its durable, im sold. The KC bar light def. looks more durable and more sturdy, but honestly I do not need that (its not a work truck). Thats for all the information. How hard was it to wire the lights through the bar? I'm considering doing the wiring through the bar lights myself, any tips? Any drilling? Also any tips for mounting this Smittybilt? Any where you reccomend I purchase it?

Thanks in advance!

 

Sounds good!

The wiring was not hard. I used 3/8" drill bit for each hole (drilled at an angle downward behind each tab at the back of the lightbar and one hole each underneath the bar at each end inside the welded flange for the mounting arms). If you have a vise, secure the lightbar (using shop towels to protect the finish) before drilling. I cut off the light connectors and spliced on new wires (color coded to match the supplied wires) to make sure I had enough wire to run through the lightbar and back into the lower grille area where I could resplice the connectors back on to hook into the supplied wiring harnesses that connect to the battery and switchgear.

Fishing the wires through takes a little time but once through, I made sure I had the wires through the grommets before connecting them with heat shrink connectors and stuffing the connectors into the lightbar and then sealed with the grommets. I had two lights fished through the bottom hole at one end, and two lights fished through the other. I then mounted the lightbar per the manufacturer's instructions and hardware (attach the supplied 2 bolts...lol).

After extending the wires along the inside of each of the mounting arms into the lower grille area (again make sure you pushed through the grommets first), I used black wire loom and attached the wires to the lightbar mounting arms with black zip ties for a very secure and almost totally hidden run to the lower grille area. Once you're in the grille area, just resplice the connectors back on and plug into the supplied harnesses of the light kit and hook up per the instructions. Again, I used zip ties to keep everything neat and secure so nothing hung down into the open areas.



I used wire loom inside the engine bay as well to try and keep the clean factory look. On my '09, I went through the firewall grommet on the passenger side (see pic) but it was much easier going through the hood release grommet on the driver’s side of my '11 (sorry, no pic). Again, I used wire loom when extending the wiring from the battery side (passenger side) over to the driver’s side (by fishing through the plastic cowl of the upper firewall and/or securing with zip ties).



Once inside the cab, I removed the bottom most panel of the center stack and drilled two notches in the bottom edge of the panel to install my light switches. I fitted the switch wires by pressing into the notches and installing the switches with the supplied double-sided tape onto the front of the panel. So when I pressed the panel back into the center stack, the switches are sort of tucked out of the way but easy to get too. Due to the angle of the panel, you cannot see the notches and have no exposed wires on the dash. (On my 2011 XLT without the center console shifter, I ran the switch wiring up to the steering column and installed one switch on the dash panel on either side of the steering column so that you can see the lighted switches through the steering wheel but easy reach on the dash).

Dash panel intall:





Center console install:





Once all done, I then cut to fit wire loom for each light to cover the wires entering the lightbar; gave it a very custom look with the thick wire loom curving from each light on top of the lightbar.



End result, no exposed wires hanging from the lightbar running to the front grille or inside the cab or engine bay. And the lights actually work!



As far as purchasing a Smittybilt, you can order one from 4WheelParts online. I think I paid $99 during one of their sales that also included free shipping.

 

Well, of course nothing goes simple. I ordered from 4wheelonline, whom I've never purchased from before. Price was good, they were descent over the phone. I ordered the correct part number for the Smittybilt bar. Box comes...took some time. Open the box, looks good. I check the packing slip, correct part # and all. However, I take the bar to the front of the truck - and bam, WRONG BAR. I had to fill out some return slip online. However, then I called them and the guy on the line says "Well if you ordered the wrong bar you can return it", and I'm like whoa, I ordered the correct bar, all the packing info is even correct (Part # ect), but the wrong bar is in the box. He said "Well if its not what you want, you can get something different". The guy did not get it, So far I am NOT pleased with 4wheelonline. However I am not going to jump to any conclusions or bash anyone until the matter is resolved, which I hope it will be. Just more time I'm going to wait....it happens, everyone makes mistakes but its just annoying lol

 

So NJ.....did you get the issue resolved? How did the lightbar turn out?

 

Well at first it was a bit difficult to get throught to them, I had to e-mail management again because there "returns e-mail address" didn't respond to me for a few days. I assume they contacted the mfr directly because they had it drop-shipped from them. They finally sent me the correct bar, however told me to ship the old one back. I said absolutely NOT. I did not order the first bar, its not even for my truck, it doesn't fit it - doesn't near fit it. The paperwork had the correct part number and information, but it is the wrong bar. Why should I pay for shipping back?

So I had to send 4wheelonline pictures to prove to them, which is no problem. Howver, they said it was the mfr mistake and they will let me know what they say regarding the shipping I have to say, the poor communication and the passing the blame isn't right. I get they didn't package the item, but guess what - I didn't buy it straight from the mfr I bought it from them.

Here are the two light bars....

The top one is the correct one, the bottom one was the one they originally sent.

Got the KC lights on order (two long ranges, two day lighters) and I am going to follow all your pics and instructions on wiring these up.

 

with out a doubt one of my favorite trucks. one of the best looking Ive seen period.

 

Man, what a hassle! Not sure I will ever try ordering anything from them after hearing about your story. I usually order from 4WheelParts online and the good thing about that is if there is a problem, I can go down to their store to complain to a real person face to face and not get the run around.

I totally agree with you; the thing missing here is "they" chose to have an online parts store and "they" chose to sell product for a profit, so it's not your responsibility to police or take on any liability for their suppliers that they make money on. If their suppliers screw up, it's their responsibility to fix the situation including maybe getting a different supplier if their worried about their own branding image. The audacity of the whole thing!

Hope you get it all worked out soon, and I'm sure your truck will look great with the setup! Hang in there!

 

Hey thanks 30Fx4JD!!!!

 

Thanks buddy. They finally sent me the return label via e-mail.. I just want this part out of my house already lol. I am looking forward to getting my lights and mounting these up! Thanks again!

 

Hey, Lite locks were mentioned, but I have SlimLites and all the lite locks I found said "Will not fit slim lites". Any idea how to find lite locks for these???