As shown in this thread (HRG Lift Kit & Nitto Ridge Grappler Photos!), another member has a nice LED light bar installed. I think the Apex roof platform just screams to have one, so today I stopped by a local custom truck shop to get an estimate. It actually turned out to be a very reasonable one, at most $600 for everything: 32" light bar (which I think is too short), custom fabricated brackets, wiring, etc. The only thing I really don't like is that they want to drill a single hole in the roof of my brand new CX-50. My thought is that it'd be better to drill into the side of a roof rail, then into the bottom of the rail then the roof. I think there'd be a better chance of preventing water intrusion doing it this way as the roof hole can be sealed up and protected under the rail, then the rail could be filled with a generous amount of silicone afterwards.
An alternate location could be at the front end where those 2 big black pieces of the grill stick out (is there a name for them?), but I don't know what's underneath or behind them, so I'd be hesitant to start drilling there as well. I don't currently have a front license plate installed, so those cheap "bull bar" type license plate mounts with a light bar won't be an option (I will note that I had one on my 2002 Escape that worked quite well).
So my question is, does anyone else have any ideas for installing a light bar?
An alternate location could be at the front end where those 2 big black pieces of the grill stick out (is there a name for them?), but I don't know what's underneath or behind them, so I'd be hesitant to start drilling there as well. I don't currently have a front license plate installed, so those cheap "bull bar" type license plate mounts with a light bar won't be an option (I will note that I had one on my 2002 Escape that worked quite well).
So my question is, does anyone else have any ideas for installing a light bar?
