The Chevy Silverado is one of the most iconic American pickup trucks out there. They’re tough, dependable, and they look awesome. After you’ve installed a lift kit and larger tires, it may be time for some LED light bars.
If you live in the desert like we do, you probably prefer off-roading at night, since off-roading in the day is simply too hot. Even if you don’t live in the desert or go off-roading at night, LED light bars offer way more lighting performance than your OEM headlights.
In this short guide, we will cover the best LED light bars for your Chevy Silverado or GMC Sierra. We’ll cover everything from 1988 to the current generation trucks. There are a lot of different LED light bars out there and many of them offer really poor light output.
In this guide we’ve only included light bars we would use on our personal vehicles. We will also cover the best LED light bar brackets which will make your install look much cleaner.
| Brand | Type of LEDs | Waterproofing | Warranty | Price Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid Industries | Cree | IP68 | Lifetime | Check Latest Price |
| Baja Designs | Cree | IP68 | Lifetime | Check Latest Price |
| KC HiLites | Cree | IP68 | 27 Years | Check Latest Price |
| Rough Country | Cree | IP67 | 3 Years | Check Latest Price |
| Rigid Horse | Cree/Philips | IP67 | 1-5 Years | Check Latest Price |
| Auxbeam | Cree/Philips | IP67 | 1+ Years | Check Latest Price |
| Nilight | Cree | IP67 | 2 Years | Check Latest Price |
Best Roof Mounted Light Bars for Chevy Silverado
Roof mounted light bars help eliminate shadows on the trail, and they look awesome. If you use the brackets that come with your new light bar, however, you must drill holes in your roof/windshield frame.
This will damage your roof, so we will focus on light bars you can buy vehicle specific brackets for. For the most part, the roof of any Silverado can fit a lightbar ranging from 50-inches to 54-inches.
#1 Rigid Industries 50” RDS-Series Midnight Edition
If you’re looking for cheaper lighting options, we have some further down the list. It’s not much of a secret that we love Rigid Industries products. Not only are they incredibly bright and project the light in a proper beam unlike cheap LED light bars, but they’re also backed by an awesome warranty.
Their products are very expensive, but you get what you pay for.
This 50” RDS-Series outputs 26,150 lumens at 375W. For this guide we chose the midnight edition because the all-black design looks so much better than standard “chrome” light bars. If you like the look chrome don’t worry, they offer this exact product in a standard design.
We know some of you Chevy guys like to go hard on your trucks and Rigid Industries knows this too. That’s why this light bar is dust, water, and shockproof. Plus, if you somehow break it, it’s covered by an awesome lifetime warranty.
If you’re building a pre-runner, you may want the straight version of this light bar which will project the light further down the trail. For typical trail riding, however, this RDS-Series light bar will be perfect.
- Warranty: Lifetime
- Power: 375W
- Output: 26,150 lumens
#2 Rough Country 50” X5 Series
Second on our list is a much more budget-friendly product from Rough Country. Everyone wants a high-quality product, but not everyone wants to spend thousands of dollars on lighting upgrades.
This 50″ X5 Series is a perfect balance between cost and build quality. If might not have the same beam pattern, light output, or warranty, as a more expensive LED light bar, but it offers the best of everything.
Plus the unique X design helps Rough Country use an extra row of LEDs, which ultimately gives this light bar great light output for the cost.
This LED light bar from Rough Country outputs 25,650 lumens at 285W. The only problem with the X design is that the projectors are small. Small projectors mean it’s much harder to project the light far forwards, which is a major issue if you’re going fast in the desert.
If you’re just cruising along, however, the X design will be perfect. This light bar isn’t as tough as one from Rigid Industries with its IP67 waterproof rating. It also doesn’t have as long as a warranty. It does, however, have a very attractive price.
If you plan on pre-running with your truck look elsewhere. Rough Country has other budget oriented products that will do a much better job at projecting the light far forwards such as their Black Series light bars.
- Warranty: 3 Years
- Power: 285W
- Output: 25,650 lumens
#3 Auxbeam 50” Philips 5D
Last, but not least is a light bar from Auxbeam. The quality is lower than a Rough Country light bar, but the price is even lower. If you’re on a tight budget, then this LED light bar is definitely the way to go.
We’ve owned Auxbeam light bars in the past and had great success with them, however, they don’t offer the best light output. For the cost, the light output is fantastic, but it’s pretty weak compared to more expensive options.
This light bar from Auxbeam outputs about 28,800 lumens at 288W. It‘s likely Auxbeam estimated the lumen rating, rather than properly testing it for the accurate output number.
If they properly tested this light bar, output would likely be around 20,000 lumens. The 5D design helps this light bar project far down the trail, a necessity if you plan on high-speed off-roading. The flood beam projectors have little diffusers which helps spread the light, improving how well the flood beam works.
It’s not as tough as the other light bars listed above, but that’s what happens when you buy cheap products. We wouldn’t recommend this light bar unless you’re on a tight budget. The Rough Country light bar listed above is far superior in every single way and isn’t that much more expensive.
- Warranty: 1 Year
- Power: 288W
- Output: 28,800 lumens (Questionable)
Rough Country Chevy Silverado Brackets
Like we mentioned before, mounting an LED light bar to your roof without proper brackets will cause major dents on your roof. Not only will this cost a ton of money down the line to fix, but it will also cause your install to be ugly.
Rough Country makes some nice brackets for every Silverado/Sierra from 1988 to current. They make the brackets from high-quality steel so you won’t have to worry about them bending, plus the brackets are powder coated with a durable finish.
Also included with the brackets are all the mounting hardware and some rubber pads to reduce vibrations. These brackets are super easy to install, easier than the crappy brackets that come with your new light bar in fact.
These brackets rivet to the inside of your A-pillar, completely eliminating the chance of roof denting.
Best Bumper Mounted Light Bars for Chevy Silverado
One negative about roof-mounted LED light bars is the windshield glare they produce. This happens when the light emitting from the light bar shines on the windshield, creating a glare.
Roof mounted lights also create large shadows on the trail, which can sometimes make small bumps look much larger than they really are, making it extra difficult to judge how fast you can safely go.
The easiest way around this problem is to mount a light bar down low on your bumper or grill.
#1 Rigid Industries 30” SR-Series Midnight Edition
Once again we’ve picked a Rigid Industries product for our number one spot. Mounting a light bar down low makes it more susceptible to getting hit by rocks, so you’ll probably want a tough light bar with a solid warranty.
This SR-Series from Rigid Industries uses a low profile single row design. It outputs an impressive 11,250 lumens at 177W. Just like other Rigid Industries light bars, this one is water, dust, and shockproof
Plus, even if you break this light bar it’s covered by Rigid’s awesome lifetime warranty.
If you wanted to, you might fit a 40” SR-Series light bar on your bumper, but it’ll be a tight fit. The product is expensive for the amount of light it outputs, but we would definitely recommend this if you plan on wheeling your truck hard.
- Warranty: Lifetime
- Power: 177W
- Output: 11,250 lumens
#2 Rough Country 30” Black Series
Second on our list is the 30” Black Series single row from Rough Country. We wanted to include the single row version of this light because a low profile light bar won’t block the radiator.
Plus mounting a light bar on your bumper will make it more susceptible to getting hit with rocks and decreasing the surface area of the light bar means there is less to hit.
We chose the Black Series because of its simple and clean look. Plus, it will easily blend in with the rest of your truck. This light bar outputs 12,000 lumens at 150W which is actually slightly more than the Rigid Industries light bar listed above.
Unfortunately, this light bar is only IP67 rated so it isn’t as water, dust, and shock resistant as a Rigid light bar. If you break this light bar it’s covered by Rough County’s three-year warranty.
- Warranty: 3 Years
- Power: 150W
- Output: 12,00 lumens
If you’re still unsure what light bar is for you be sure to check out our full Light Bar Buying Guide which we update every single month.