Rave Off Road Stealth Tail Lights installed

[TMLifer]

I replaced my original factory tail lights with Rave Off Road Stealth Tail Lights this weekend. They offer it in Stealth Red or Stealth Black. I purchased the Stealth Red tail lights (goes well with my rig's Heritage Blue). The sequential turn signals and the start-up sequence is what attracted me to these tail lights.

The most difficult part of the upgrade replacement was disconnecting the stubborn wiring harness connector from both original factory tail lights. Otherwise, the rest of the upgrade replacement work (removals and installation) is straight-forward and easy. Tools needed are ratchet, 10 mm socket, socket extension, and adjustable pliers. Rave Off Road doesn't mention anything about using adjustable pliers. But I discovered that adjustable pliers helped me to disconnect the stubborn wiring harness connector from the original factory tail lights. It helped to squeeze down the latching tab on the connector and pull the connector off the back of the original tail lights.

As a side note, the Stealth Tail Lights have a rocker switch in the back that allows you to disable or enable the start-up sequence. The tail lights are delivered with rocker switch preset with the start-up sequence enabled. If you want to change the start-up sequence setting, you have to set the rocker switch before you install the tail lights.

Note: The video is from the Rave Off Road's Web site. Not of my rig.

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[T_Pomp]

That is Heritage Blue? I have the same color, but yours looks more gray in this video.

Also, FWIW, I have seen a few posts about the metal (where the roof rack is mounted to the truck) being pushed through, creating a crack or rip in the headliner of the truck. The people to whom this has happened to had RTTs mounted on top.

 

[TMLifer]

That is Heritage Blue? I have the same color, but yours looks more gray in this video.

Also, FWIW, I have seen a few posts about the metal (where the roof rack is mounted to the truck) being pushed through, creating a crack or rip in the headliner of the truck. The people to whom this has happened to had RTTs mounted on top.

I mentioned in my post that the video is from Rave Off Road's Web site which shows the features of the tail light. I don't have a photo of my installation available yet.

 

[T_Pomp]

I mentioned in my post that the video is from Rave Off Road's Web site which shows the features of the tail light. I don't have a photo of my installation available yet.

Oh, sorry, missed that. Thanks!

 

[BonRunner]

Hate to break it to you, but you got seriously fleeced by Rave Off Road.

These shops don't design or manufacture anything. It's the classic white-label hustle: they buy generic tail lights straight off Alibaba or AliExpress (China) for under $200 a pair, slap their own branding on the packaging, and flip them to the community for $540. They're literally just middlemen pocketing an insane markup.

You can find the exact same lights with the identical start-up sequence and sequential turn signals on Alibaba right now for around 200 bucks.

Don't let these "brands" fool you into thinking they engineered anything custom. Always reverse image search or check Alibaba first before handing over that kind of cash.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Spedking-LED-Tail-Light-for-Toyota_11000030785812.html

 

[TMLifer]

@BonRunner I'm aware that the US online retailers get these at wholesale prices from overseas factories and resell with their branding. I actually brought up this subject up in one of my posts. I also don't want to buy a minimum of 20 pairs of these tail lights just to get it at $200 per pair when I only need one pair of tail lights. I'd rather pay a little more knowing that the product is going to be delivered promptly and knowing that the seller will support what they sell.

Also, buying from Alibaba, EBay, and Temu can be sketchy (overseas scam sellers). Also, if something breaks prematurely, you're not likely going to find any overseas seller back a refund (or ever hear from them again).

 

[BonRunner]

@BonRunner I'm aware that the US online retailers get these at wholesale prices from overseas factories and resell with their branding. I actually brought up this subject up in one of my posts. I also don't want to buy a minimum of 20 pairs of these tail lights just to get it at $200 per pair when I only need one pair of tail lights. I'd rather pay a little more knowing that the product is going to be delivered promptly and knowing that the seller will support what they sell.

Also, buying from Alibaba, EBay, and Temu can be sketchy (overseas scam sellers). Also, if something breaks prematurely, you're not likely going to find any overseas seller back a refund (or ever hear from them again).

TM,
That screenshot was just a quick example to show where the taillight originates. You definitely do not need to buy 20 sets.

Plenty of suppliers on Alibaba and AliExpress sell single pairs as "samples" or just straight up individual orders. You still pay around that $200 mark without having to buy bulk.

I get wanting local customer support and faster shipping, but a $340 markup on a $200 item is a massive pill to swallow just for a middleman warranty. Half the time, dealing with those dropshippers on warranty claims is its own headache anyway.

At the end of the day it's your money, but for anyone else reading, you can 100% grab just one set direct from the source and keep a few hundred bucks in your pocket.

 

[TMLifer]

TM,
That screenshot was just a quick example to show where the taillight originates. You definitely do not need to buy 20 sets.

Plenty of suppliers on Alibaba and AliExpress sell single pairs as "samples" or just straight up individual orders. You still pay around that $200 mark without having to buy bulk.

I get wanting local customer support and faster shipping, but a $340 markup on a $200 item is a massive pill to swallow just for a middleman warranty. Half the time, dealing with those dropshippers on warranty claims is its own headache anyway.

At the end of the day it's your money, but for anyone else reading, you can 100% grab just one set direct from the source and keep a few hundred bucks in your pocket.

@BonRunner Thank you for sharing the information and agree that the US retailer "middle man" markups and what the US consumers pay are often times quite ridiculous. I had an unfortunate bad experience with a transaction with a foreign seller, so I'm very weary of overseas sellers who are usually unvetted and are outside the purview of the US consumer protection safety net. I'm not saying people shouldn't consider it, because the difference in advertised prices can be significant. But just saying buyer beware of the potential risks associated with a foreign transaction and lack of warranty.

 

[SNDR]

@BonRunner Thank you for sharing the information and agree that the US retailer "middle man" markups and what the US consumers pay are often times quite ridiculous. I had an unfortunate bad experience with a transaction with a foreign seller, so I'm very weary of overseas sellers who are usually unvetted and are outside the purview of the US consumer protection safety net. I'm not saying people shouldn't consider it, because the difference in advertised prices can be significant. But just saying buyer beware of the potential risks associated with a foreign transaction and lack of warranty.

I'm happy to have a bad experience with an overseas seller for something this a cosmetic taillight upgrade. Pay with PayPal to protect yourself financially. I'll keep my stock ones. If one goes bad, I'll put the stocks back in then do a warranty claim. If the warranty claim is a real pain, I'll buy another set. All while being under the cost of buying direct from Rave. AND I'll have a spare!

If we're down to spend more for warranties, I'd pretend these don't even exist and just upgrade to OEM PRO or Platinum taillights.

Paying a premium for something that is known to be available cheaper AND validating that purchase due to fear of it breaking and needing a warranty claim is...somethin.

I understand you maybe didn't know about the Alibaba availability when you purchased, but defending your purchase now is what fuels these guys like Rave.

Good looking out @BonRunner

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