light bar-front bumper

[longbox]

Man I thought something was fishy over at DT... Just found where everyone went thanks to some clues left behind.

On another note, I've been trying to find a light bar for the front that works with the PW. One that just bolts on the bumper and holds a few driving lights that presently have been gathering dust for years in the basement. Defiant did make one, but their website is on vacation- literally.

Thanks,
Longbox

[SilverWagon05]

Welcome.

[LKelly]

On another note, I've been trying to find a light bar for the front that works with the PW. One that just bolts on the bumper and holds a few driving lights that presently have been gathering dust for years in the basement. Defiant did make one, but their website is on vacation- literally.

There're a few that are just simple tubes that attach at the front tow loops - or to the front side of the frame, hard to tell from the pics. I'd think that they would work fine with the PW, but I'm not sure if that's what you're looking for.

http://randyellisdesign.com/products-pa ... bars/dodge

http://www.ultimateautoaccessories.com/ ... /7430.html

There are a few other brands that are similar...though I have no idea which ones are decent quality and which ones will rust away in 6 months. My Westin guard has been good, but I don't think they make something like you're looking for.

[neotech]

Hi Long Box

You can buy one or make one.

[Ducky's Dad]

Defiant did make one, but their website is on vacation- literally.

Has Defiant disappeared, or are they just on vacation? I have a Defiant bar on my PW, and it's the best. Was duck hunting over the weekend about 400 miles from home and some guy with a 3G CTD stopped and asked me where I got the bar. It was the best bar I could find six years ago, and it's still the best I have seen.

[longbox]

When I check the website, all I see is a big white screen with "We are taking a leave of absence" in black. Weird.

I'll follow up on those other leads, but essentially all I need is a something basic to hold the lights that won't interfere with the winch.

[Ducky's Dad]

When I check the website, all I see is a big white screen with "We are taking a leave of absence" in black. Weird.

Defiant's primary business is as a big muffler shop. They do a lot of custom exhaust work on street rods and such, but also have a BIG shop with lots of metal cutting and bending equipment. They are about 40 miles from me, but I can try to stop by there next time I'm in the area. I was last there about 14 months ago and bought some really nice light mounts. Their stuff is good.

[Cactus Red]

http://www.dtprofab.com/DTP02035-1-LIGH ... p_170.html makes a decent light bar. If I hadn't already purchased a RED Inc. bar, I would have probably got one from Dave. Five lights would be one hell of a show! With 5 of my current KC's, I'd have probably close to 90 degrees of pure light.

[Ducky's Dad]

The DT ProFab bar is the closest thing I have seen to the Defiant bar. Looks like a good alternative. Select your light tab placement carefully and allow spacing for bigger lights in the future (just in case). My bar is set up for four Hella Rally 4000s, but I still have space for some LED units if I want to add them. If I were setting up the truck today instead of seven years ago, I'd just go with LEDs and skip the halogens or HIDs.

[longbox]

Thanks for all the help. Your recommendations would all work, the Profab bar in the link looks like it would interfere with the winch though, or not? Am I misunderstanding or can you chose your tab spacing to suit your own lights? On the long flat designs, can you mount lights all the way to the ends? How about upside down mounting?

You guys have seen just about everything so I would rely strongly on your recommendations. And I'm not likely to see any of these in person.

Longbox

[Ducky's Dad]

When I ordered my Defiant bar, they welded the light tabs specifically to accept the lights I was planning to use. Could have had 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, whatever, tabs. Good guys. I also have a couple of DT ProFab products and their stuff is equally high quality. Just guessing that DT ProFab would put whatever tabs you want on the bar, and they will know about any potential winch interference. On my setup, I can mount lights on top or under the bar, but if you want to go under the bar you should be specific with the builder. I wouldn't usually put any lights under the bar unless they were fog or cornering lights or rock lights. Once the bar is on the truck, you can still add lights without additional welding by using tube clamps from an off-road shop. Tube clamps are used on rock crawler exoskeletons and quads and Razers to mount aux lights, and generally work better with smaller (lighter) lights, like LEDs. You can also add lights later by hanging them from the front core supports behind the grill. This gets them up above whatever is already on the light bar.

If you call DT ProFab, ask them about the truck's tow hooks. Some light bars force you to ditch the tow hooks to mount the bar, and I can't really tell from the pic on DT ProFab's site whether they retain the tow hooks. Defiant lets you keep the tow hooks, and they claimed that their bar is strong enough to let you lift the whole front end of the truck with a Hi-Lift under the center of the bar. Don't know if you could get away with that on a CTD.

[longbox]

Excellent tips! I look forward to seeing if Defiant is still in business. That the defiant bar is so strong is a huge plus for me. I hadn't thought that some of these might ditch the tow hooks. That would eliminate them from my consideration. I indeed have one set of lights that are fogs that I would try to mount lower. They are an old set of Piaas that have a driving light and fog in the same long rectangular unit. Cost a fortune way back when and never got used.

Any Canadians here that bought and imported their bars from these guys?

[TwinStick]

I really wish that someone would make a HD pre-runner style/brush guard, that bolts to where our tow hooks are, so we can keep the stock bumper, mount lights & still have some protection from deer coming through the grill or taking out our headlights.

[longbox]

When I check the website, all I see is a big white screen with "We are taking a leave of absence" in black. Weird.

Defiant's primary business is as a big muffler shop. They do a lot of custom exhaust work on street rods and such, but also have a BIG shop with lots of metal cutting and bending equipment. They are about 40 miles from me, but I can try to stop by there next time I'm in the area. I was last there about 14 months ago and bought some really nice light mounts. Their stuff is good.

Hey DD, any update? Thanks.

[myoung84]

I'm a little late to the party but I'm very happy with my Randy Ellis light bar.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I had a little incident a couple months ago at a stop light. Chick started moving, freaked out, don't know why, slams on brakes, I slam on brakes, Power Wagon is fat and doesn't stop well, Power Wagon meets trunk lid of Cavalier. All it did to my truck is push the lights on the light bar back a little. I simply pulled them forward and you can't tell anything happened, just a couple nicks on the powder coat. Her car didn't fare so well... Without the light bar, the damage on my truck would have been much worse. I think that says a lot about how stout the RED light bar really is.

[MSCH2112]

sorry, i had to laugh when i saw the bumper stickers on the cavalier...

mike

[myoung84]

I felt bad when I hit her, until I saw the stickers. Then I didn't feel bad at all... It sucks the damage wasn't on the bumper so the stickers would have to come off...

[Original_Junior]

So did she make love and not war???

[myoung84]

LOL. There was no love making involved. I think my truck scared her.