Light Bar that Doesn't Require Drilling

[maxboi0807]

Hi,

I own a 2007 Ford Explorer. I'm pretty serious about this SUV; I take very good care of it and I do light off roading here and there. I have began going on trails at night and for safety I think I need a light bar as the headlights aren't always sufficient. I looked around and only found bars that needed to be drilled into the roof, and I am a little hesitant to drill through the roof of my truck. Any suggestions?

 

[Mbrooks420]

Mount it to the front bumper or behind the grill.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Mount it to the front bumper or behind the grill.

That's what I did to my Ranger -

EDIT - I just reread the title... Unfortunately this still required drilling into the main support right around where the hood latch is. Not quite sure how you plan on mounting it without some sort of modification/drilling? Another thought would be to install a bull bar or brush guard and mount and/or drill into that.

 

[Explorer_PL]

You could use the roof rails but that would put the light a little back.

 

[bobditts]

I mounted mine behind the grill. Works great.

2006 XLT stealthy light bar install

 

[PotatoExplorer]

I mounted mine behind the grill. Works great.

2006 XLT stealthy light bar install

Whoa, did you really need to remove the whole front end to install the light bar? I'm planning on doing something similar sometime in the future but haven't really looked into the logistics yet. Also, plastidipped the whole grille? Do you have a full vehicle picture by chance? Also thinking about doing this.

 

[bobditts]

It is much easier to remove the bumper than just the chrome grill. I can get the bumper off in 5-10 minutes. I would also recommend getting a light bar that is 30" or less if you are planning in the same location as I did. Would fit much better with less modification.

The grill isnt plastidipped. I used spray on truck bed lining. My chrome on the grill was bubbling really badly so I removed what I could, sanded it down and sprayed away.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

It is much easier to remove the bumper than just the chrome grill. I can get the bumper off in 5-10 minutes. I would also recommend getting a light bar that is 30" or less if you are planning in the same location as I did. Would fit much better with less modification.

The grill isnt plastidipped. I used spray on truck bed lining. My chrome on the grill was bubbling really badly so I removed what I could, sanded it down and sprayed away.

Ah, I see. I guess I pretty much removed the whole front end minus the bumper on the Ranger to do mine. Yeah, I was thinking of that similar place. I might have to reevaluate placement. I plan on getting a bull bar come tax time.

Well either way, I dig the look on your grille. I'm contemplating just doing the recessed center part and leaving the outside chrome alone. I'm also trying to figure out what to do with the lower trim that surrounds the headlights/grille. Mine was repainted due to the previous owner accident but it's already bubbling/spiderwebbing. I'm afraid painting it a different color with plastidip or something is going to look horrible and I'm not trying to pay $100+ to be repainted again...

Sorry for hijacking!

 

[MotorCityFats13]

the whole grill just requires a butter knife and looking for the locking clips.... 1 no drill option is to buy a bull bar and a 22" light you still need to redrill the bullbar but it requires no mods to the truck.... except for notching the chin spoiler

I still think the slats are too large to really let light shine through on the 4th gens.... if it was a honey comb grill sure

 

[Paul Merrill]

Hi,

I own a 2007 Ford Explorer. I'm pretty serious about this SUV; I take very good care of it and I do light off roading here and there. I have began going on trails at night and for safety I think I need a light bar as the headlights aren't always sufficient. I looked around and only found bars that needed to be drilled into the roof, and I am a little hesitant to drill through the roof of my truck. Any suggestions?

Hi Max, im new here and i too have a used 07 Ford Explorer XLT (purchased in '22 for $11.5K /one owner /excel cond /78K miles) and want to attach a light bar without drilling. ive seen several on Amazon and eBay, and a HQ one at a HARBOR FREIGHT TOOLS store (Long Beach CA) that is in 3-4 diff lengths (all are strait, not curved) also similarly priced. Im not good at tinkering, so im guessing i would remove the front grill, remove the bar brackets and attach it to the bottom of the grill with 4 automotive hose clamps (spray-painted black to not be visible, and with black rubber liners to prevent cracking the plastic grill), then re-attach the grill. I would prefer the curved type (which closely follows the curve of the grill) that ive seen online. - Paul M.

 

[J_C]

^ Welcome to the forum Paul!

Unfortunately the member you quoted (maxboi0807) has not been seen on the forum since June 28, 2018