Light Bars

[GotSandH3]

Is there any other company that makes a light bar similar to this one but with a lower price tag?
http://www.somo.com/Hummer-H3-SS-Light-Bar-p/rw604-1-a0103.htm

[Sewie]

Haven't seen anything else like that one. Pretty simple design, but like all RealWheels stuff, its overpriced. Just take the pic down to a local shop and they could probably make you one while you wait. ;)

[f5fstop]

Without the lights, that price is ridiculous.
Also, would love to know if all that metal affects the XM radio reception.

[Groundpounder]

I would be interested in the bracket to attach the light bar to the roof. That is where it starts - attaching it. After that I can find someone to bend the rod for the lights.

[Crash ?]

Go down to your local exhaust shop and have then bend a pipe to fit..

A little brainstorming on how to make some mounts.. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking some 2 inch L peices about 6 - 12 inches long.. Drill through the tube horizontally in a place or two and bolt em to the L high enough to keep the pipe from laying on the roof Then bolt the L to the holes in the plastic roof rails..

FWIW.. I'd make the tube long enough to go all the way back to the rails, pop a small hole in the plastic trim UNDER that clip off cap, route the wires through some wire loom and up into the ent pipe to hide them out well.. Run the ground side of the lights out the other side of the pipe and ground to the nearest torx head bolt... Drill holes for the lights and wires (USE RUBBER GROMETS for the wire accesses)...

Maybe $50 in parts and 3 hours of labor including time to gather the parts together.. Actually it's prolly a full day project from start to finish...

Kinda makes that $433.35 seem like a fair price huh..??

I just installed 6 lights on my truck.. 2 on the front, 4 on the top rack.. Found some cheap lights on Ebay.. $120 for eight 130 watt lamps.. I was out another $100 for the misc nuts, bolts, brackets, switches, paint and wire to set and hook them up the way I wanted.. I've got an EASY 30 hours of labor into the job.. And that certainly makes the $600 that 4 Wheel Parts wanted to do the job look a lot less expensive.. But I know they are done RIGHT with the right wire sizes and all joints soldered and heat shrinked..

[f5fstop]

Go down to your local exhaust shop and have then bend a pipe to fit..

A little brainstorming on how to make some mounts.. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking some 2 inch L peices about 6 - 12 inches long.. Drill through the tube horizontally in a place or two and bolt em to the L high enough to keep the pipe from laying on the roof Then bolt the L to the holes in the plastic roof rails..

FWIW.. I'd make the tube long enough to go all the way back to the rails, pop a small hole in the plastic trim UNDER that clip off cap, route the wires through some wire loom and up into the ent pipe to hide them out well.. Run the ground side of the lights out the other side of the pipe and ground to the nearest torx head bolt... Drill holes for the lights and wires (USE RUBBER GROMETS for the wire accesses)...

Maybe $50 in parts and 3 hours of labor including time to gather the parts together.. Actually it's prolly a full day project from start to finish...

Kinda makes that $433.35 seem like a fair price huh..?? (Price does not include the lights or the installation; or else I'm reading something wrong.)
I just installed 6 lights on my truck.. 2 on the front, 4 on the top rack.. Found some cheap lights on Ebay.. $120 for eight 130 watt lamps.. I was out another $100 for the misc nuts, bolts, brackets, switches, paint and wire to set and hook them up the way I wanted.. I've got an EASY 30 hours of labor into the job.. And that certainly makes the $600 that 4 Wheel Parts wanted to do the job look a lot less expensive.. But I know they are done RIGHT with the right wire sizes and all joints soldered and heat shrinked..

Some great ideas. As for a mount, if you went back to the actual roof rail opening, this type of mount I use for my CB antennas would work, just make it a bit smaller and don't add in the large hole for the antenna stud.
Very easy to make...
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m252/f5fstop/CBCloseup.jpg

As for the price I still say it is high for an item that is mass produced.
The mounts I made for the CB took less than a 1/2 hour to drill the holes and to paint. Cost for the brackets was under 20 bucks (would be around 40 if someone needed to purchase the tie down straps that came with my H3). Pay someone another $50.00 for the bar and the bending, then spend 5 bucks to paint. Ok, you now have about two hours of work (depending on where you have to drive to have the pipe bent, and the trip to the local store for the aluminum for the brackets). (Granted, if you lived out in the country, it might be costly on fuel to travel to locations to find the aluminum or steel or pipe, etc.)
The item that will require the greatest amount of time will be the installation of the lights to the bar, the running of the wires for each light through the bar, and the install of the unit. Then, you have to run the wires into the vehicle, connect relay(s) and switch(es).
I would say if the bar was priced around $250.00 it would be fair. Then again, it probably has what is known as the "Hummer Tax" (similar to a Corvette Tax). Basically anything made specifically for a Hummer costs more than something made for another vehicle.
Just my 0.2 on Hummer owner's being overcharged.

[evldave]

Also, would love to know if all that metal affects the XM radio reception.

I can't say for this light bar, but I noticed a dropoff of reception when I put on my roof rack. The front rail of my rack is 1-1/2" square tubing about 4-5" in front of the antenna, with the center of the tubing about in line w/the top of the antenna.

I get 'dead' spots when driving due south, with nothing like trees/buildings in the way - the only explanation I can come up w/is that the front rail blocks the signal just perfect for enough time for the buffer to run out (XM has a buffer, right?). It might be the expanded metal floor or the upper rails affecting it too, but it was worse after I put the rack on. Anyway, it's a nuisance, but I'm not gonna give up a full-size roof rack for the occasional dropoff of reception :) I guess life is full of tradeoffs...

[f5fstop]

Both XM satellites are south of the US near the equator. One is at 85 degrees W. Latitude, and the other is at 115 degrees W. Latitude. So, any solid object between the antenna and the sats could block or make the XM skip. However, if in a city or large urban area, XM has repeaters that broadcast the signal.
Yes, they do have a small buffer; not sure, maybe 10 or 15 seconds?

[Idaho-Hummer]

Yes, they do have a small buffer; not sure, maybe 10 or 15 seconds?


That a bigger buffer then the old Siruis (sportster) has drive under and overpass and I will lose signal for about 1 sec. at freeway speeds.