Lights behind grill

Wormydog1724 · July 23, 2014

I had a 2006 gmc sierra sle vortec max and had some lights installed behind the grill.

Has anybody done this with the 2014's? They would be just for off-road and foggy mornings. Wondering which lights to use and what kind of bracket would need to be fabricated.

Thanks for any ideas.

Luster · July 23, 2014

Only one I've seen.

Wormydog1724 · July 23, 2014

Sorry I should have clarified I am asking about a 2014 silverado. I confused my post by mentioning my 2006 sierra.

I think I'm going to order the light bar and just play with it when it gets here to see what it will take to get mounted.

Anybody have any preferences on lights or companies?

nando87 · July 23, 2014

I just got my 30" Double Row LED Bar, looks like it will fit perfect behind the grille.

My LED bar only mounts on the outside of the bar and from what I can see there isn't anywhere to mount he bar behind the grill in those spots. I'm going to get a long piece of metal (33-34" x 1.5") and mount the LED to that, then mount the metal piece to the area behind the grill that I can get some good support.

Wormydog1724 · July 23, 2014

Can you document the process? I'm interested in doing this.

Thanks

nando87 · July 23, 2014

Here is a picture of the LED bar my Cubes that will replace my Fog Lights.

Spurshot · July 23, 2014

This is how I mounted lights to my 2014 Sierra. I'm guessing the Silverado has a similar structure behind the grill.

I used a piece of 1 1/2" aluminum angle and clamped it to those diagonal braces.

KUUG · July 23, 2014

30 light bar seems to be the most common but I don't think it would be too much harder to fit a 40

Spurshot · July 23, 2014

A 40" will require some cutting of the grill baffling.

nando87 · July 23, 2014

30 light bar seems to be the most common but I don't think it would be too much harder to fit a 40

I was going to go with the 40" but after measuring only a 30" will fit, I didn't want to cut.

nando87 · July 23, 2014

This is how I mounted lights to my 2014 Sierra. I'm guessing the Silverado has a similar structure behind the grill.

I used a piece of 1 1/2" aluminum angle and clamped it to those diagonal braces.

That's a great idea, I didn't think about that. What did you use to clamp it to the diagonal braces?

I was going to use the same concept with the 1 1/2" aluminum angle piece, but I was going to bolt it to the plastic pieces/fingers that come out towards the grill (the pieces that have red writing on it in your pic).

Spurshot · July 23, 2014

That's a great idea, I didn't think about that. What did you use to clamp it to the diagonal braces?

I was going to use the same concept with the 1 1/2" aluminum angle piece, but I was going to bolt it to the plastic pieces/fingers that come out towards the grill (the pieces that have red writing on it in your pic).

The "clamps" were 2 pieces of 1" aluminum angle behind the diagonal bar and two 1/4" bolts thru the angles. I also looked at clamping/bolting to the FRP (plastic) shroud, but I just wasn't happy with that solution. This solution was simpler, solid and quick. The flat facing leg of the angle is behind the grill bar and hidden pretty well, once painted flat black. I also drilled a few holes in the lower leg of the angle for tie straps to hold the wiring harnesses going from one side to the other. My relays are mounted inside the shroud on the passenger side and the wires feed thru the notch where you see that wire sleeve feeding thru on the upper passenger side.

Also, I recommend you read my thread about relay voltage spikes and how to ensure your truck electronics doesn't get damaged.

Wormydog1724 · July 23, 2014

What's the difference between the less expensive light bars on eBay vs the more expensive ones on auto anything and other places?

Spurshot · July 23, 2014

What's the difference between the less expensive light bars on eBay vs the more expensive ones on auto anything and other places?

The info at this link http://www.bajadesigns.com/science-of-lighting/copperdrive is one of the pieces of information that convinced me that the Baja Designs lights are high quality.

Check out other links and information on their site.

Aside from the electronics and LED light output, the quality, quantity, and usefulness of the light is controlled by the reflector and lens design and execution quality