AEV bumper lighting options

[Bumble-Ski]

for those with AEV bumper (mine arrives today) were there alternative options for aux lights/skid plate light bar

When I spoke to AEV they said their mount was compatible with their lights only at this time. An alternative bracket may be available at some point. Curious if someone else has solved for this already.

regarding skid plate light bar I was advised the Baja Designs S8 was recommended. However all of their stock photographers include vision X. What else have you found to be effective?

I spent quite a bit on the bumper. Way more than the wife knows or would approve for a bumper. An additional $2k for lights/harnesses/brackets istoo rich. I’m not looking for cheap knock offs, but something in between...

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[Bumble-Ski]

for those with AEV bumper (mine arrives today) were there alternative options for aux lights/skid plate light bar

When I spoke to AEV they said their mount was compatible with their lights only at this time. An alternative bracket may be available at some point. Curious if someone else has solved for this already.

regarding skid plate light bar I was advised the Baja Designs S8 was recommended. However all of their stock photographers include vision X. What else have you found to be effective?

I spent quite a bit on the bumper. Way more than the wife knows or would approve for a bumper. An additional $2k for lights/harnesses/brackets istoo rich. I’m not looking for cheap knock offs, but something in between...

bumpitidy bump. Anybody?

 

[LostWoods]

I sincerely hope they didn't go with proprietary light mounts... that's about as shitty a business practice as I can imagine when the only option they sell is an 8,000 lumen pair and BD LP6 or Rigid 360 will get you twice the lumens for less. Since the mount kit sells separately, I would hope you can get the $120 kit and it will allow for a standard 10mm stud like I think their normal lights use. If you take a pic of where their bracket attaches you might get a better response.

As for light bars it all depends on what you want to spend. IMO the BD S8 is a great light at a reasonable price for what you get but the Rigid SR or Vision X lights are good alternatives. Since you can pair them with the round lights, you really don't need to go all out on power and they're way too low to utilize the throw of something like the BD OnX6+. Just get a good driving/wide pattern and avoid spots on the bar to avoid shadows. Then try to find a mid-range spot pattern for the round lights (~15 degree is good) and I think you'd be set.

 

[KurtP]

Heretic Studio makes a nice light bar too. I have one on my ADV motorbike and love it.

ive been an aev fanboy for years. But the more i read about these bumper shenanigans the happier i am i went with ARB.

 

[LaterGator]

How do you make a proprietary light mount bracket? It's a metal tab with a hole in it.

BD LP6 lights work great and have low/high beams.

 

[LostWoods]

How do you make a proprietary light mount bracket? It's a metal tab with a hole in it.

BD LP6 lights work great and have low/high beams.

https://www.aev-conversions.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/jl-stubby-front-bumper-4.jpg

Dunno what the other end looks like but that sure looks proprietary to me. It also looks like a piece of C-channel should suffice to convert it to normal use but that's after paying $120 for the mounts.

 

[LaterGator]

not really proprietary. Just a bracket design that is incompatible with other lights. As you said, maybe that extension bracket can be removed and replaced with a simple c-channel bracket to mount the light.

Never really understand why some mfg's limit their sales with silly designs that don't allow easy customization. Even Jeep has recognized that with the JL/JT flexibility for adding new components.

 

[LostWoods]

not really proprietary. Just a bracket design that is incompatible with other lights. As you said, maybe that extension bracket can be removed and replaced with a simple c-channel bracket to mount the light.

I mean a bracket designed to be incompatible with the industry standard stud design and compatible with only your lights is the very definition of proprietary. It doesn't mean others can't adapt to it, only that special tooling will be required specific to the application.

Never really understand why some mfg's limit their sales with silly designs that don't allow easy customization. Even Jeep has recognized that with the JL/JT flexibility for adding new components.

The bumper in question could be optioned upwards of $4,000. I think the answer is pretty simple: $$$$. A large chunk of Jeepers have money and they are fully taking advantage of the market.

 

[KurtP]

How do you make a proprietary light mount bracket? It's a metal tab with a hole in it.

BD LP6 lights work great and have low/high beams.

ClearWater does that too. Its such a nice feature.

on my motorbike my HereticStudio light bar is set up with a fog/flood pattern and my HS pods on a spot/driving pattern. i wired them up into a CANBus controller so daytime = zero aux lights; night time low beam = spot pods 0%, fog lightbar at 20%. Any time the highbeam switch is hit, the sun comes on.

its fucking rad.


just drill the bumper in the pan or the hoop spine and add the lights you want. Fuck those guys.

 

[LaterGator]

Are you nuts?! drill a hole in a $2500 bumper?!

 

[KurtP]

Are you nuts?! drill a hole in a $2500 bumper?!

it only hurts on the first push then it gets easier.

i feel your pain, but at the end of the day it is a piece of equipment. Make it work for you.

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