Prinsu roof rack light bar

Hi all, I’m considering a prinsu roof rack with a 40” light bar. How did everyone run the wiring?

My bed rack is being powder coated now. Install soon!

thanks!

 

I don't have a light bar, but I do have lights up there. I routed mine going down the pillar and into the engine bay.

 

Can you post a pic of the pillars and how you got the wiring down? Doing this myself soon and I'd love to see your execution.

 

Truck is in the shop right now, but here is an old photo:


The circles are where the wires start going down to the pillar.
- Pry the weather stripping on the side of the windshield. It should come off fairly easily.
- I suggest you place a towel on the windshield and pry on the windshield side, not where the pillar and strip meet.
- When you put the strip back on, apply clear silicone where the wires go in to and out to make sure no water gets in. The same one you use to install the bolts of the roof rack works fine.

 

Damn this is EXACTLY what I'm going to do, and I really appreciate the additional detail and quick response.

 

Follow up question. How much height does the rack add to a Tacoma? Website lists height as 8”, but I’m guessing the actual height increase is less. Thanks!

 

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

 

So I bought the Prinsu roof rack Tonight. Any 40” light bar recommendations? Not too expensive, but not cheap.

 

8"? I wonder where they got that from. Measured at the pillar between the front and rear door, the height of mins is 3-1/2". But the roof bows up toward the center, so overall, I'd guess an inch less. It's about even with the top of my shark fin antenna.

I ran my wires the same way as Zeke, but didn't pry up the weatherstrip, I just stuffed them in. Seems to work fine.

The light bar I got was a Heretic. It's what Prinsu said their cutout was designed for. I'm reasonably satisfied with them. I also got their ditch lights. I did not like the brackets that came with them. I ended up having them powder coat and send me another set, then found my own stainless hardware to mount them.

 

I’ve had great experiences with @CaliRaisedLed lightbars. I have their 43in Amber/White lightbar on my Prinsu and it’s outstanding. Great value for how bright they are. I’ve had a ton of their lights on the truck for years and absolutely no issues with them. You can also barely see the wiring on the passenger side of the truck running down into the engine bay

In an ideal world, Heretic, Rigid, KC, and Baja Designs are the top competitors, but I can’t justify spending x3-x4 more on lightbars compared to CaliRaised. For light pods and fog-lights, I’ve got Baja Design stuff. Just my .02

 

2012TacomaGuy, what are you using to hold your skis?

 

I use a Thule skiclick designed for one pair of skis. They are meant for thinner skis so I had to modify it a bit and trim down the end of the bolt that goes into the Prinsu T track, but it works. Shoot me a PM, and I can explain more/ take some photos for you!

https://www.thule.com/en-us/sport-rack/ski-racks/thule-skiclick-_-7291

 

Here is a better picture of how my wires go down:

If you are only running one set of wires, I think you can get away with not even taking the strip off. I have two one side and three on the other so I took strips out, butted the wires against the pillars and put the strip back on while making sure the wires don't move. I still applied clear silicone where wire started to go in, but honestly, you don't really have to since the glass should be watertight.

 

If you happen to not be able to fit it through gap on the windshield pillar, KC makes these wire hiders - https://www.kchilites.com/universal-wire-hider-kc-6300.html

 

I stuffed my wires into the other side of the weather strip - between the glass and the weather strip. Still works. If it doesn't stay put, I may remove the weather strip (I didn't know it could "safely" come out), or I'll use that KC stuff.

 

2012TacomaGuy - that light bar looks excellent! The Cali Raised site says the 43" bar requires some "modifications to the wind faring." Curious if you had to do anything extra to mount that or if it just dropped right in? I've also got the Prinsu rack with the 40-inch cutout. Thanks!

 

It’s a great lightbar for the price. Of course, a Baja, Heretic, or Rigid will be brighter, but also cost a lot more. Regardless, I had to use a Dremel to cut back the wind deflector cutout about another inch or so on each side. Add some touch up paint to the bare metal and you’re all set. Super easy, quick job.

 

Thanks for the tip! Looks like a nice, clean install!

 

I ran mine down the driver A pillar along the windshield, then caulked with black, marine grade caulk. Don’t have a great picture. Zoom in and enhance I guess.

 

I got the Prinsu Rack and a 42” single row light bar from Cali Raised, installed perfectly. No trimming needed.